“Ah, the scent smells really good.”
Max gazed at it with a sense of relief and pride. Bright red buds saturated the area around the small puddle dug by the servants, and the shrub trees that were lined up like little soldiers had bluish-purple flowers sprouting, next to them was a field of various herbs which grew pleasantly and created a wonderful harmony with the flowers. Max placed a handkerchief on a flat chair carved out of stone and sat.
“The p-plants here… all of them can be used as h-herbs and spices.”
“You mean you made an edible garden?”
“It’s o-one thing to have pretty flowers in a garden, b-but planting useful plants… I thought that it w-would be nice.”
Max’s words made Riftan laugh gently. “I will instruct the guards to make sure that nothing harms this garden and to keep it intact.”
“Do you l-like… it?”
He looked down at Max who was sitting a step away from the flower garden and then he nodded slowly. An intense emotion flashed over his eyes and then disappeared briefly.
“Yes, I like it.”
The voice that came with his response was oddly strained. Max looked at him with a puzzled glance, when Riftan squatted near her, patting his lips as if trying to hide his feelings.
“A year ago, I never imagined I would spend such a leisurely time in a flower garden with my wife.”
Max grew nervous upon realizing that Riftan was pertaining to the time he went on an expedition.
“I heard that… you have g-gone through a lot of t-trouble during the e-expedition.”
“It wasn’t easy. There were thousands of monsters living in the Lexos mountains and the road to the Dragon lair was surrounded by layers of barriers and labyrinths.”
He replied grimly, rummaging through a basket and taking out an apple. He took a big bite out of it and its fresh juice gently moistened his lips. Max’s face flushed red, sensual memories flashing in her head. Regardless of her wild imaginations, Riftan, who was sitting on the ground eating an apple, seemed free and relaxed; like an innocent boy who was naïve of the cruel world. He took a green apple and offered it to her.
“It tastes pretty good. Try it too.”
Max absently took a bite on the apple. There was no taste on her tongue as it was hardened by the tension she was feeling. She had suffered immensely because of her father, which made her so preoccupied with her own misery for the past three years that she had never thought about the hardships Riftan went through. Rather, she even feared that if he came back, he would inflict unimaginable harm on her.
But how can he be so comfortable by my side?. Overwhelmed by the question in her head, Max looked down carefully at Riftan who was enjoying the breeze.
Has he ever blamed me? Max hoped that wasn’t the case, but after all, Riftan married her even knowing all the hardship it was going to bring him. Wouldn’t any man in the world who faced such misfortune lament? It was a miracle that he decided to keep his wedding vows and was satisfied with her. Her thoughts made her heart feel uncomfortable, so she quickly changed the topic.
“Is the r-road construction…going well?”
“It’s going well. It will be completed by the time fall comes.” Riftan threw the apple seeds into the bush with an ambitious smile. “I will expand the port as soon as the road is complete. It would cost a lot of money to keep it indestructible by monsters but the traders from the south will be able to dock huge ships and they will reward us handsomely for that. It’s going to be extremely profitable.”
“Can you make t-that much money… from t-tolls alone?”
“It’s not going to be just tolls. Partnering with merchants can make you more money than the king. They share a portion of their income in exchange for protecting their expensive cargo and helping them run their business smoothly. There already are many merchants lining up to cooperate. I won’t let you miss the privilege of enjoying rare silks and spices coming from the south at an affordable price.” He leaned back and smiled at her. “When the trader brings the ship, I will give you 500 silk clothes.”
“I have m-more than enough s-silk clothes.”
“It’s not enough”, he affirmed and laughed. “Hang in there. I will give you countless numbers of the most expensive clothes in the world. Then, I’ll put diamond rings that shine brighter than the sun on each of your finger. From your neck to your wrist, to your ankles, I’ll decorate you with jewels.”
He grabbed her hand and pressed his lips on her wrist. The feeling of the slightly cold, wet lips pressing against the sensitive, pulsing skin made Max shudder. Riftan’s dark eyes were deeply satisfied.
“I will make you the most honorable lady in the Seven Kingdoms. I will make you enjoy as much as wealth as the princess of Roem.” Riftan caressed her palm and spoke passionately to her. “If the empire did not perish, you would have been treated as the most precious woman in this continent. Someone like me wouldn’t have been allowed to even talk to you.”
“D-don’t say such nonsense. Roem perished a long t-time ago and the Roem family barely maintains their name… now t-they have no power, n-no influence. I am j-just one of the m-many many nobles of Whedon.”
“You’re being too humble. You are the descendant of the great imperial family who once ruled the empire, and the eldest daughter of the most powerful Duke in Whedon. You are not just any noblewoman.” Suddenly, a look of cruelty permeated Riftan’s face. “I despise your father, but I don’t intend to disrespect him. The reason the Duke chose me as your husband is because I was useful to him, not exactly because I’m a suitable or worthy groom for you.”
Max’s hand, which was held by Riftan, flinched. Like a hound that instinctively crushes a bird flapping out of his claws, he tightened his grasp.
“I have no noble relatives. Even if I die, I have no brothers who will bother to avenge me. A commoner knight who has the skill and reputation, but no power. It was no big deal for him to make me his acting commander, it wouldn’t be difficult to take care of any matter that may arise. He just chose me to be the man whom he could use, then let die.”
“Th-that’s…”
“He thought I would never come back and continue our marriage.” Riftan emphasized gently but his tone was frightening. “But I came back alive, and our marriage is real. Now that man has no authority over you. I am your family.”
At those words full of possessiveness, she felt a cool breeze sweeping through her heart. She was worthless to her father, it was only Rosetta that the duke acknowledged as his daughter. Maximillian was a failure, a useless daughter, who was married to a commoner knight at a timely opportunity, just to be of use to the Duke, so the fine noblewoman Riftan was referring to couldn’t possibly be her, but Rosetta.
Max bit her lips. The fact that her own father had thoroughly deceived and used her husband gave her a new kind of anger and she felt unbearably sad that she had been the key to that deceit. The Duke of Crox should have given a cherished daughter to a young knight who would risk his life for him, he should have given the beautiful and bright Rosetta to Riftan. He should have been treated with that much. As the emotions rose fiercely in her heart, Max began to speak in a trembling voice.
“I’m r-really… s-sorry.”
All of a sudden, as if all the spite escaped from him, Riftan clasped her face between his palms.
“damn, I’ve said too much nonsense. I wasn’t trying to blame you, I know you have nothing to do with your father’s evil tactics. You never wanted to marry me, did you?” That was true. He smiled at her bitterly as he looked at her eyes that couldn’t deny what he said. “You are just another pitiful pawn who was forced by your father to marry a lowly human like me.”
“I-it’s not like that. D-d-don’t say it that way-”
But he did not listen to his wife’s urgent words. “However, I will make you perfectly satisfied. I will make you feel like marrying me was better than marrying any other noble or royalty.”
Unable to bear his words anymore, Max started to speak. “I-I already feel that way. S-so…”
Suddenly she leaned over and wrapped her arms around his neck. Riftan stiffened from surprise, before raising his arms to hug her vigorously. He pulled her head and placed his lips over hers. Max trembled helplessly as his sweet tongue, faintly scented with green apples, gently filled her mouth.
The urge to bury her face against his neck and cry soared. The fantasies he had of her was ridiculously surreal. Max closed her eyes tightly, feeling miserable: no matter how hard she tried, she would not be able to meet his expectations.
They stayed together like that, with their bodies glued to each other, for a long time. When a guard came looking for him, he stroked her cheek and stared at her with a sad expression, then gave her a gentle kiss and reluctantly got up from his seat. Max watched gloomily as she watched him leave to fulfill his duties as a Lord. She was feeling so much guilt thinking that her father had thoroughly deceived him and she just had silently obeyed him. She knew the unchanging past wasn’t worth thinking about, but she couldn’t shake her own self-condemnation.
Max trudged back to the room and collapsed on the bed. The fact that Riftan treated her like an honorable princess made her uncomfortable to her bones. For the past 22 years, Max was raised like a dog by her father. When the dogs rebelled, her father would raise his whip, but they would at least bare their teeth at him. Max instead just sat down on her knees, bearing the punishment and obeying with tears in her eyes.
She had a deep understanding of how helpless and miserable she was. As she crawled on the floor like a bug and hung on her father’s feet, Max couldn’t forget what her figure looked like through the mirror in the room. Her skin was all swollen and she wriggled on the stone-cold floor like a worm.
Princess, Duke’s precious daughter… all those titles were ridiculous.
Max curled up and buried her face in her lap. The more she thought of Riftan, the tighter her chest became. Was it okay to admit who she really was and how far she was from his perfect wife idea that he had in his mind? However, just imagining herself telling the truth to her husband caused her body to have cold sweats and twisted her stomach.
She was well aware of how the servants of Croix Castle looked at her. Their glances, filled with lukewarm sympathy at a distance, were sometimes harder for her to bear than her father’s violence.
It would be better to die than to receive such a look from Riftan. Her husband believed that his wife was the most honorable lady in the world, and she never wanted him to know how miserable she had been living.
Max got out of bed and left the room after she couldn’t bear the spiralling depressive thoughts anymore. If she continued to be locked up alone, her own negativity would swallow her whole.
