Although Maxi knew that Riftan must have been just as tired, she found herself unable to refuse his attentive care. The delicate way he handled her like fragile glass was a balm to her battered mind and body.

Leaning her head against the tub, Maxi watched him caress her skin, the tendons showing stark on his bronze hands. She felt her blood warming and her tense muscles easing.

“Sleep if you’re tired. I’ll get you dressed and tuck you in.”

Riftan hugged her from behind and kissed her temple. He did not seem to mind that the sleeves he had rolled up to his elbows were soaked.

Maxi gazed at his hair, damp from the steam, and at his flushed cheekbones before allowing her heavy eyelids to close. The rattling window and trickling water created a strange symphony that echoed in her ears. Enveloped in a peaceful yet somber mood, Maxi drifted off to sleep.

***

Now back at Calypse Castle, Maxi’s health bounced back. Riftan’s life mission seemed to be putting more flesh on her bones, and everyone in the castle appeared to have joined the effort.

Every morning’s breakfast consisted of chicken stew and a variety of vegetable dishes. Once her appetite returned, the menu changed to fattened pheasant, duck, lamb, and veal. It was usually followed by dessert — sweetened cakes drizzled with honey and cinnamon alongside an array of peculiar fruits from the Southern Continent.

The road construction had been completed during their time away, and Anatol’s markets were now brimming with all kinds of rare ingredients. Riftan seemed determined to present all the cuisines of the world to her.

Maxi huffed a small sigh when she saw Riftan enter their chambers bearing a tray of food that looked much too bountiful for two people.

“I-I will become a hog… i-if I keep eating like this every day.”

“Please, do.” Placing the tray next to the bed, Riftan swept his eyes over her scrawny body. “You need more meat on you. Come now, eat.”

He placed the spoon in her hand as if she were a fussy child. Today’s meal was steamed sea bass drenched in cameline sauce and a huge slice of goose pie. Maxi shoveled small pieces into her mouth under Riftan’s watchful gaze.

While she ate, Riftan sliced the large chunk of wine-cooked meat that was also on the tray into bite-sized pieces. Maxi obediently took some whenever he proffered a forkful. The relief that flickered across his face whenever the meals diminished was what fuelled her efforts, but he never seemed to be satisfied.

After managing to finish a third of the food, Maxi lowered her cutlery onto the tray.

Riftan lifted another piece of meat. “A little more.”

“I-I really am… full.”

“Just one more bite, then. “

Maxi resignedly opened her mouth. Although all this gorging made her feel like a sack of grain, she was willing to endure being bloated for a few hours if it reassured her husband.

Still chewing, Maxi gave Riftan a sideways glance as he called for a maidservant to take the tray away. His overprotectiveness had worsened several times over after seeing her in such a wretched state. Though he reluctantly left their chambers to fulfill his duties as lord of the castle, he came to check on her every few hours and always brought her meals himself.

She had regained much of her energy, and the only thing that kept her cooped up in her chambers now was Riftan’s excessive worrying. Even so, she could not bring herself to complain knowing that his uneasiness was her own doing.

Maxi let out a surreptitious sigh. “A-Are winter preparations… going well? A-Are you sure there is nothing I can—”

“You stocked up all the necessary supplies last year, so we only have to prepare enough food.” Riftan furrowed his brow and turned to look at her as he washed his hands in the basin.

“And even that is almost done. Rodrigo has been working on it using your ledger from last year as a reference.”

“W-What about the infirmary?”

“Ruth and Melric are managing that. There are fewer patients lately since there aren’t as many monsters. ”

His reply was smooth as if he had practiced it. Maxi’s face fell upon hearing that everything had been going fine without her.

The crease on Riftan’s forehead deepened. “You were on death’s door, then that hellish experience… Don’t worry about anything else. Just focus on getting better.”

It was as though he still saw her bleeding before him. When Maxi noticed the tinge of pain in his ebony eyes, she quickly changed the topic.

“I-Isn’t this the busiest time of year for you? You don’t need to… s-spare so much time for me.

I’m feeling much b-better… and you must have m-more important matters…”

“You are the most important thing.”

Maxi flinched at his sudden gruffness. Riftan’s lips stiffened, and he slowly cast his eyes down. A cautious silence fell over them. Lately, they both seemed afraid that they might end up hurting the other person’s feelings. Perhaps it was inevitable after having seen each other in their most vulnerable state.

As if the silence was getting on his nerves, Riftan irritably rubbed his forehead. “I… like watching you eat. I used to imagine preparing all sorts of delicacies for you.”

Maxi blinked at him, stunned. “W-When?”

There was a pause.

“The first time I attended a banquet at Croyso Castle,” he replied brusquely, shifting in his seat.

Maxi tried to think back to how long ago that would have been.

Riftan added anxiously, “The table was full of dishes I’d never seen or heard of before, and the servants would bring out new ones even before a plate was empty. But you sat meekly beside the duke, staring down at the table. I… used to watch to see what dishes you liked.”

Maxi felt her face flush. She looked at him hesitantly, but he avoided her gaze.

“When I was alone, I would imagine sitting at a table with you, just the two of us. I wanted to hold banquets as grand as your father’s… No, even grander, and make sure you had your fill of the finest cuisines every day. You’ve no idea how many times I imagined your eyes shining in the candlelight, your content smile… How I wished you’d raise your head to look at me just—”

Riftan cut himself off, evidently thinking that he had said too much. As if to hide his faint blush, he ran a hand through his hair and muttered in a self-deprecating tone, “A childish delusion.”

“E-Even my father… d-does not do that every day. H-He only puts on… such lavish banquets… to flaunt his wealth to guests.”

Unable to bear her fluttering heart, Maxi fixed her eyes on her lap. Even her fingers were flushed with a rosy tinge. She wriggled her toes under the blanket as she continued.

“Th-The food in Anatol… is s-so much better. I-I’ve never been able to… enjoy s-such diverse dishes regularly before.”

A coldness glinted in Riftan’s eyes. “Did that man ever starve you?”

“N-No! That never happened. More specifically… my father n-never cared… whether I ate o-or not.”

Riftan stared into her eyes as if to ascertain if she were telling the truth.

“I want to know everything about you,” he said, emphasizing each word. “Nothing matters to me more than your well-being and happiness. So don’t look so disheartened — it makes me want to kill that man whenever I see you like that.”

“I-I…” Maxi gulped and barely managed to continue. “I don’t… understand. .. w-why you would care for me so much…”

Riftan’s face grew cold.

“I can’t explain it,” he replied after a while.

He stared down at his fist before abruptly pulling her toward him. Maxi hunched her shoulders when she felt his warm lips against the pulsing vein in her neck. After pressing his cheek to her hair, he rose with a sigh.

‘You should take a nap. I’ll be back with supper.”

Maxi watched him leave the room. Her heart stirred at the revelation that someone had thought of her during a time when she firmly believed no one did. She felt both the exhilaration of floating on clouds and the anxiousness of being adrift in a vast ocean.

Maxi clasped her trembling hands. Riftan had wanted her without knowing anything about her. Was he simply pouring his affection into a fantasy he had created while stubbornly denying the truth?

She looked at her reflection in the mirror. Though the color had returned to her cheeks and she had gained some weight, she was still unsightly. Her red hair was like tangled vines, and brown freckles spattered her nose and cheekbones. Her nose was too small while her eyes were unnaturally big.

Maxi frowned as she scrutinized her unbalanced features. She was in no way a beauty that could make such a striking man fall in love with her at first sight. What was more, Rosetta had also been at Croyso Castle. How could Maxi have caught his eye over her angelic sister? Tucking her overgrown, curly bangs behind her ears, Maxi heaved an uneasy sigh.

The black cat, Roy, sauntered over from his spot near the fireplace and climbed onto her lap. Maxi stroked his soft fur and turned her gaze to the window. Bare branches and clear, blue sky filled her vision. Feeling stifled, she walked over to it and swung it open. Servants bustled about in the garden below.

Maxi sat idly watching them when she spotted about fifteen men cut through the garden accompanied by the Remdragon Knights. The newcomers carried longswords and wore somewhat peculiar clothing; they appeared to be from the Southern Continent. Maxi narrowed her eyes. They were clearly not merchants.

A knock came at her door.

‘Your tonic, my lady.”

“C-Come in.”

Ludis entered the room with a tray. She stopped when she saw Maxi standing by the window.

“The weather’s quite chilly today, my lady. You might catch a cold in that icy wind…”

“A-A little… shouldn’t hurt. More importantly… do you know who those men are?”

Ludis put down the tray and walked over. Her face grew uncertain when she saw the Southern men climbing the stairs to the great hall.

Seeing the maidservant hesitate, Maxi frowned and said with a slight reprimand in her voice, “D-Do you think it would do for the lady of the castle… t-to be the only person who doesn’t know who our guests are?”

“T-To my knowledge…” said Ludis tentatively, “they are mercenaries, my lady. I heard his lordship intends to hire a large number of the men that served as guards for the big merchant guilds up from the south…”

Maxi’s face fell. “F-For what reason?”

“That, I do not know, my lady. The little I do know is from what I’ve overheard from the knights…”

Ludis studied Maxi’s face, looking worried that she might have said too much. Maxi turned back to the window. The men must have entered the castle, as they were nowhere to be seen.

Was it truly necessary to hire that many foreign mercenaries just to protect Anatol? Or was Riftan set on waging war? The hairs on her forearm stood on end. Seeing Maxi hug herself, Ludis hurriedly shut the window.

“I shall close this now, my lady. You don’t look well.”

A flurry of thoughts went through Maxi’s head as Ludis ushered her to the bed. It would not be in Riftan’s interest to start a war without just cause. King Reuben would never tolerate anything that could disrupt the current order in the kingdom. On the other hand, the Duke of Croyso was not one to let a transgression pass.

After gnawing her lip, Maxi bolted to her feet and threw on her robe.

Ludis looked startled, pausing in her pouring of the tonic. “My lady, you mustn’t go out—”

“I-I am not trying… to go outside. I just… want to see our guests. Do you know where they were escorted to?” .