Relaxing, she sat at the desk by the window and began to sort through the herbs she had brought. The knight finished binding his wrist and left the room with another nod. The sounds of swords clanging rang out as she placed the herbs inside a wooden chest. She was busy organizing them when she heard a deep voice near the door.
“What’s this? Have you already patched things up with the commander, my lady?”
Maxi gave a neutral smile. “G-Good day to you, Sir Hebaron.”
“Good day to you as well, my lady,” replied Hebaron, striding into the infirmary and bowing deeply. “Are youfeeling better today?”
“I w-would say so.”
In fact, she felt terrible. She closed the lid of the chest with a loud thud.
Hebaron gave a knowing smirk when he saw her expression. “Ah, I see that the battle is still on.”
“I am not in battle w-with my husband.”
Displeased at his blatant amusement, Maxi glared at him, but he remained unfazed, enjoying the teasing too much. With a sigh, she changed the subject. “Are you…h-here because you’ve hurt yourself?”
“As you can see, my lady, I am perfectly fine. I’ve come to pack some emergency herbs for the scouts.”
“Th-They are on the shelf. I’ve placed some coagulants, detoxicants, and restorative herbs…inside the sack.”
Hebaron walked over to the shelf and picked up the sack before cheerfully strutting out of the infirmary, leaving Maxi alone so she could skim through a book on southern medicine. When the sun began to set, she returned to her chambers.
It was still early, but there was a chance that Riftan could return at any moment. This time, she would truly be asleep when he did.
Hellbent on avoiding him, Maxi settled into a schedule of going to sleep early and waking up terribly late. By day three, Riftan’s patience finally ran dry.
Maxi had been back at the infirmary tending to the cuts and bruises of the knights when her husband burst into the room. Not wanting to miss the spectacle, Hebaron and a few of the knights crept in behind him. She shot them a glare before looking down and pretending to be busy scribblingon some parchment.
Riftan stalked to her desk and looked down at her with a gloomy expression. “Maxi, we need to talk.”
Maxi continued writing even as she felt his furious gaze boring into the top of her head.
“Maximilian Calypse, do you not hear me?” Riftan said, gritting out each word.
“Sir Hebaron,” said Maxi, turning her gaze to him where he leaned against the wall. The knight looked confused at hearing his name being called out so unexpectedly. Completely ignoring Riftan glowering next to her, she continued, “Could you please inform the person standing next to me…th-that I have nothing to say to him?”
Icy silence fell over the room. Hebaron blinked at her slowly, then glanced at Riftan.
“Commander, her ladyship says she has nothing to say to you.”
“I heard her.” Clenching his jaw, Riftan slammed a hand on the desk with a thud. “Ihave something to say.”
“Sir Hebaron,” said Maxi again. The knight gave her a withering look that Maxi pretended not to notice. “Could you please tell the person s-standing next to me…that I do not wish to hear anything he has to say?”
“Commander, her ladyship says—”
“I can hear just fine!” Riftan bellowed. He leaned over and brought his face close to hers, and Maxi stubbornly turned her head away from him. “Stop acting as if I’m not here. Look at me when I’m talking to you!”
“N-No.”
Riftan drew in a deep breath at her terse reply, and thehostile edge in his voice dulled into defeat when he said, “Maxi, what I said to you last time came out wrong. I swear to you, I never intended to belittle or criticize you.”
When she still refused to meet his eyes, he began to plead with her.
“I was merely worried for you. I didn’t want you to be burdened with such a task! Once you start taking on the role of healer, people will come to you whenever a problem occurs. When that happens, a day might come when you’ll have to push yourself to your limit again. I don’t want you to go through such a thing!”
“You must think that…I am incapable of handling s-such a burden, do you not?” Maxi said in a choked voice, her eyes fixed on the desk. “You don’t believe…that I could ever be like P-Princess Agnes. Isn’t that why…y-you are always worried about me?”
