“You are inexperienced, but you’re already as good as any other knight. Especially in terms of talent, you’re even comparable to Lord Riftan.”
At Hebaron’s words, Yulysion immediately jumped up.
“What nonsense are you talking about? I’m not even close to the feet of Lord Riftan’s feet!”
“… it would be really useful if you could just fix that insincere personality.”
Hebaron sighed deeply and told the servants standing behind him to serve more food. Riftan sat right next to Max, ignoring all the conversations, and she smiled awkwardly at his sharp face. Riftan, wearing a black tunic and a gold belt, was giving off a seductive charm like the devil in the Bible, but at the same time he looked cold. After that day’s incident, Riftan was as alert as a watchman whenever he witnessed her being around the knights. He seemed worried that someone might hurt her, just like Uslin did.
“You didn’t rush during the meal, did you?”
“Oh, no. T-the knights… T-they were e-explaining about t-the initiation c-ceremony…”
Sir Gabel didn’t succumb to Riftan’s flamboyant attitude and entered the conversation with a smile.
“Don’t Rovar and Livakionhave to make a declaration before the ceremony? It’s right before the water season that the Banryongs wake up from their lethargy.”
Riftan stroked his chin with a thoughtful look.
“Are you training them to hunt the beasts?”
“I’m doing it, somehow. But I think it would be better to gain more hands-on experience before the initiation ceremony or they won’t be trustworthy.”
At Lord Caron’s severe words Yulysion pouted in protest, but when Riftan’s eyes came to him he immediately straightened his mouth and posture. Riftan carefully examined the two apprentices with a sharp look.
“You guys should join the next scouting. A marmul hunt is different from normal combat, it would be helpful to have hands-on experience.”
“Okay!”
Riftan smirked at their quick answer. The eyes of the boys who were looking up to Riftan were filled with awe, respect and admiration, and he seemed to be somehow affectionate to the young knights too.
Max was envious of the strong bond between them: she was there with them, but she didn’t really belong in their world. On the other hand, Yulysion and Garrow were about to become knights in a few months and share all the risks with Riftan. She felt left out in the corner, thinking they were closer to him than she was herself.
“What’s wrong? You don’t like the food? Should I ask the servants to prepare you something else?
Riftan frowned and asked as he realized that her spoon was no longer moving. Max shook her head.
“Oh, no. I’ve had enough.”
“Eat a little more.”
“I-I’m full…”
With an awkward smile, she picked up the book she had put aside.
“I-I’ll get up. I’m a little t-tired.”
“You haven’t finished yet.”
“I-I’m telling you, I a-ate a lot”
Riftan looked at her and nodded with a sigh, so Max slowly walked out of the kitchen. After the winter he probably had to leave for an expedition again and this thought broke her heart, she would have to wait for him alone in the castle again. Max nervously bit her lips. If she could perform a powerful magic, would have Riftan decided to take her with him? After a moment of hopeful thoughts, Max shook her head, recalling his stubborn attitude. In reality, she didn’t even know if she had the courage to ask him such a thing. She gave a long sigh as she swept her messy hair with her hands.
***
The severe cold wave was now gone and spring was slowly approaching Anatol. At that time, Max began to learn new defensive magic and patiently tried to correct her stammering habit. At first she noticed some little progress, in fact, as a result of her persistent practice with a calm attitude, she became able to read a verse without stuttering. Of course, they were not verses from difficult ancient poems as those she learned when she was young, but from poems with easy and simple sentences that wandering minstrels enjoyed singing. However, she shed tears of joy when she succeeded in saying her first perfect sentence. As Ruth said, it was helpful to relax and practice speaking slowly. It was still hard to say words with a difficult pronunciation or long phrases, but the stutters improved little by little, probably thanks to the fact that she consciously tried to talk a lot.
Max had also begun to read aloud sentences that Ruth had made in his spare time and started exercising to loosen her stiff tongue which started to feel sore as if she had been biting a needle for a long time, maybe because she was using muscles she didn’t usually use, nevertheless she practiced every morning without skipping it. If it could fix her stammering, she would have done it even if she had to keep a knife in her mouth. One the other hand, Max became too slow in speaking as she tried to do it accurately. Ruth said it would get better over time, but Max was still conscious of it, thinking that someone could feel frustrated with the way she talked.
“On the second floor… u-underneath the terrace… I want to make a flower garden… How long will it take?”
Max, who was reading the landscape plan carefully, looked up and observed Aderon’s expression on the opposite side. The merchant answered in a polite manner, showing how competent he was.
“It’s not easy to get so many seedlings right now. Why don’t you plant small shrubs first? If it’s a seedling of azaleas, you can easily get it from us. Beautiful red flowers will bloom.”
“B-but… I want to fill the flower bed, too….”
“If it’s a modification, we can get it right away. I’ll tell the servants who manage the garden.”
Rodrigo, who was following them, helped her with a few words. Max tried to draw a picture in her head: if she laid quality soil in the desolate garden, planted grasses and shrubs and decorated them with various flowers and landscapes, it would become unrecognizable.
But Max couldn’t help but think about the costs. More servants had to be hired to manage the garden, and planting flowers and trees costed a lot of money. She put the plan down on the table, thinking it would have been better for Ruth to examine it one more time before signing the order.
“I’ll have to think a little more…”
“Okay. I’ll try to get as many species of flowers as I can in the meantime.”
“Please… do.”
Max smiled and got up from her seat. As the day began to unravel little by little, the market in Anatol started opening again and merchants began to visit. According to the knights, there was a den of Banryong beyond the northern part of the Anatol Mountain and mercenaries flock in time for them to wake up from their lethargy. The dragon’s subspecies was very dangerous, but their scales, mana stones and bones were expensive, being very useful as ingredients for elemental weapons.
Mercenaries, who naturally tried to find things to be sold for a fortune, and merchants, who wanted to buy the mana stones and bones they would bring back, began to visit Anatol. In the full-fledged water season, more people would definitely come.
I’d like to finish all the landscaping before then…
In spring, a banquet would be held and there would be occasions where wandering musicians and theater troupes would be invited. She wanted to prevent them from spreading rumors that Lord Calypse’s castle, who had gained great fame across the continent, was gloomy.
Above all, Max was worried that Riftan would be looked down by the aristocrats, so she was determined to decorate the garden as nicely as possible since it was an important place that gave visitors a first impression of the castle.
“Madam, here you are.”
Thinking about what kind of trees and flowers would be good as she was walking down the stairs, a maid called her. Max looked up with a curious face and the old maid spoke in a polite tone.
“My Lady, Lord Riftan asked you to come to his office.”
“Any… any problem?”
“Lord Riftan didn’t tell me the exact reason, My Lady.”
It was rare for Riftan to be in the office in broad daylight, but it was even rarer for him to call her in this way. Max hurried up the stairs wondering what was going on. Riftan’s office was located on the upper floor of the library, opposite stairs. She walked quickly on a dark brown carpet and stood at the wide mahogany door, waiting until the maid who followed her knocked on the door to let him know of her arrival.
“Come on in.”
When his loud voice rang out from over the door, the maid pulled the handle with a careful touch. Max stepped cautiously into a spacious room with a fluffy carpet and then she heard a loud flap of wings from somewhere. She looked around the room surrounded by bright light with curious eyes. Next to a large window in front of her, a cage was placed in a spot higher than where she could reach with her head. Inside of it white and small pigeons were sitting tightly and peeping, while on the left side of the room there were shields and swords so huge that made her wonder if people could actually lift them.
“Come on in. Why are you not sitting down?”
As she was standing absently by the door and looking around the office, Riftan, who was sitting in front of the desk and writing down something, rushed her. Max walked slowly towards him and looked at his sharp face. His black hair was messy, as if it was swept away roughly several times or he had been hit by the wind, and his muscular forearms under his rolled-up sleeves were in tension. Mack blushed with anxiety.
“W-What’s the matter… Did something happen?”
“I got a telegram from the palace of Drakium. I think I should tell you in advance.”
“Drakium?”
Note – Well that was a way to describe how charming Riftan is, a devil in the bible?! Lmao. Also I apologize if you feel this chapter was a bit off, for some reason I found it particularly difficult to proofread ?
