Max looked up, startled. Fireworks were cascading over the festival grounds, scattering flashes of light everywhere. Max was entranced by the magnificent scene but Riftan groaned shortly beside her ear.
“F*ck, Agnes.”
Max understood: clearly, Agnes had initiated the fireworks display. Then she came to her senses, panicked, and tried to push Riftan away.
“W-we should go and see w-what happened.”
“She’s having fun again. That woman loves being a pain in the a**.” He sighed and let out a shaky breath, trying his best to calm his growing desire. He wiped his face, where his excitement was easy to read. “F**k, what’s Elliot doing, letting this go on?”
“Y-you should help.”
Again, the loud eruption of explosives resounded in the air. Riftan slammed his head against the tree and began cussing out. Max didn’t know how she could help him. Her body was still leaning against Riftan’s, which was still burning like a hot fire. When she heard people cheer on the festival grounds, Max came back down to Earth, and a wave of embarrassment overwhelmed her.
Dear God… Sir Karon must know what we were up to. What did he and the passerby think when they saw us leave quietly?
Hot steam seemed to blow out of her ears and Max began to cry out from shame, her face turning a deep red. Riftan sighed at her discomfort and reluctantly set her feet on the floor.
“damn, give me a minute. Let me calm down.”
Like a small, discouraged boy, he collapsed onto the ground and pressed his forehead against his knee. Max kneeled next to him and waited for him to cool down completely. In-between her legs it was still throbbing from the desire and the roof of her mouth was dry.
She was so embarrassed about the situation that she couldn’t raise her face and Riftan’s mood was the same, if not worse. He had dug his head over his knees only for a few seconds when another spark suddenly flashed in the sky. He gritted his teeth.
“That damn woman. I’ll exile her from Anatol.”
“Oh, d-don’t say that. She is a guest from t-the royal family.”
“Should we let unwanted guests stay here?” Riftan said bluntly, glancing at Max. “You’ve gotten pretty close to her lately, have you?”
Max gave an uncertain look as the question floated in the air. Although she and Agnes were polite with each other and had played in the festival hand-in-hand, she still didn’t know her true character. Max was too honest to reply that they had a good relationship, so simply said with a nervous laugh, “S-she seems like a nice person a-and is kind to me.”
“Aren’t you tired of her dragging you around?”
“It’s okay. A-actually, I feel I have more energy than usual”, Max said trying to placate him.
She waited for his answer, wondering if it sounded convincing enough, but in response Riftan just looked down and curled a few strands of Max’s hair between his fingers, then tugged them behind her ears.
She shuddered at his touch. A few soft leaves fell and left a pale green shadow over his sharp face as they fell to the ground. Riftan, who had been staring at Max quietly for a while, muttered softly, “Today is the first time I’ve seen you so happy, enjoying yourself… having fun.”
“Th-this is my first time at a town festival”, Max answered, caught off guard by his serious gaze.
“Do you want me to hold a festival every day?” Riftan said, seriously.
“D-don’t be ridiculous,”
“I’ll pay for them all.”
He looked like he was being too serious, so Max clasped her hands and turned pale. “Y-you mustn’t. N-next year. It w-would be nice enough to c-come here together again.”
Riftan’s eyes became unfocused. He closed his eyes, thinking deeply about what she said. “Yes, next year, the two of us…”
Before he could finish speaking, another BANG rang out and his brow furrowed. He stood and said distractedly, “Let’s head back. I need to put this out before she burns all of Anatol.”
Max clumsily stood as well. Riftan patted her clothes, took her hand, and led the way out of their spot behind the tree. She still felt light-headed, as if she were walking on a cloud. A warm, spring breeze flowed around her body, as if hugging her. She couldn’t even remember why the festival was being held in the first place.
At the top of the hill, Agnes was still emitting fireworks into the sky with her magic. She only stopped when Riftan came to berate her and stuck her tongue out at him. At his terrible gaze, Sir Karon muttered his apologies for not being able to control the princess. Riftan’s dark mood didn’t dissipate as he walked down the hill among crowds of spectators, he stared at every face who caught his eye with a menacing glare. Agnes’ followed him, morosely.
“You needn’t be so angry. Everyone enjoyed the lights”, she mumbled.
“Some of these people might’ve recognized you. Christ. You’re a blond, blue-eyed wizard. Isn’t that typical of a Capitol citizen?” He locked eyes with the princess and said menacingly, “Please be aware. You’re a king’s daughter, and some people here want to hurt you.”
“Don’t be so stiff. If anyone tries to harm me, I can take care of myself.” She clamped her mouth shut upon Riftan’s cold gaze. She rolled her eyes, but eventually said softly, “I may have overdone it a bit this time since I was excited.”
“You went overboard”, Riftan said fiercely through his teeth. He looked around. Although he wore a hood, there were still many young townspeople who seemed to recognize him. Even worse, Agnes, the person who had magically set off the fireworks, was in his presence.
Spectators were watching them and whispering, the word was spreading among the festival participants that the Lord Calypse and an elite wizard were among them. To avoid trouble, Riftan and the group headed straight for the main road.
“Please, wait one moment. I’ll bring up the coach”, Sir Karon said quickly once they broke from the crowd.
Looking back, Agnes said sincerely, “I am sorry that our outing ended early because of me. I only wanted us all to enjoy ourselves more.”
“Oh, it was a n-nice surprise. I enjoyed your magic. It w-was amazing! I d-didn’t know a technique like that existed.”
Agnes beamed from Max’s praise. “I learned how to make fireworks when I was at the Wizarding Tower. The fireworks are a bit noisy, but cool to the touch. Since it burns quickly, it won’t affect its surroundings either. I often conjure them for annual celebrations.”
“I see. T-This magic is for entertainment.”
Maxi lowered her eyes, a bit disappointed in herself. A while ago, she had almost become comatose from wasting too much mana, even after trying to preserve as much magic as she could for her patients. Yet Agnes had emitted scores of fireworks and looked perfectly fine: to the princess, that amount of mana was miniscule. Max felt an inferior gap between herself and Agnes again.
While Riftan was checking the carriage, Agnes leaned in and whispered in Max’s ear, “By the way, it looked like a scene from a tale.”
“Y-yes?”
“When Riftan took the dancing Maximilian into the forest.” Max’s face began to turn as red as charcoal burning in a fire, but Agnes didn’t stop. “What did you two do in the woods?”
“A-agnes!” Max almost screamed.
Agnes giggled and scampered into the carriage. Riftan, who was checking that the jockey was still sober, looked at the princess retreating back in surprise. Max shook her head to show that nothing important had happened and quickly followed her into the carriage. Agnes was leaning against the carriage door when she saw Max’s expression and laughed.
“Your face looks red like a plum. Aren’t you too innocent to be a married woman?”
“D-don’t laugh. Please.”
“That’s a hard request to obey. I enjoy teasing you, Maximilian.” Agnes blue eyes shone brightly while her laughter turned into suppressed giggles.
Max began to sweat, not knowing how to respond to this odd behavior. The princess smiled gently.
“Thank you for coming out with me today. I’m glad we were able to make some happy memories together before I head back.”
Max’s eyes widened at this remark. “H-have you finished your duties here?”
“I should head back to the Capitol soon. I see it’s pointless now to convince that man to come with me”, she said pointing outside at Riftan. “I should be satisfied now that I’ve confirmed he’s doing well.”
Max’s breath stopped as she heard the admiration in Agnes’ voice. She wasn’t sure if Agnes favored Riftan as a man or admired him as the invincible Mahgo.
Agnes looked at her and her countenance became serious. “If you have the time, please consider stopping by the Palace at least once. I’ll guide you from there to every corner of the surrounding Capitol.”
“Th-thank you for the offer.”
“I mean this sincerely. It’s a formal invitation”, Agnes raised her finger in emphasis.
Max averted her eyes to hide her embarrassment. The princess did not seem upset to be leaving Riftan alone, which made her a bit more relieved. If Agnes really did have feelings for Riftan, she would not be this kind, Max considered. If that was the case, the princess would have stayed longer and taken advantage of her situation in Anatol to win him over.
After another moment, Riftan and Sir Karon finished their discussion and entered the carriage. Once all the passengers were seated, one of them knocked on the partition, and the carriage began to travel back to the Calypse estate.
Looking out through her window, Max saw the fields, green from early spring, pass her by. Soft leaves rustled in the wind, as if a spirit were singing faintly.
It was a lovely scene, but also somehow lonely.
Note – LN: Agnes is having fun at everyone’s expense lol
Nymeria: I’m sorry for the delay, tough period. This is a bonus chapter to make amends! <3
