Maxi sat by the window after the steward left, peering nervously down at the grounds. A few moments later, five men on horseback entered the garden. They were too far away to see their faces clearly, but the two men at the front appeared to be Remdragon Knights, while the three behind them were the newcomers who bore a triangular orange banner.
Maxi squinted at it; it did not contain the golden bird, the royal family’s emblem, but it still felt familiar. She decided it must belong to one of the other noble families of Wedon.
She wracked her brain trying to remember which household the crest belonged to, but soon gave up and rose to her feet. No matter who the visitors were, it was her duty as the lady of the castle to welcome them.
Maxi left her chambers after Ludis fixed her hair, descending the stairs just as Riftan led the guests into the castle. Maxi searched his solemn face before looking over the guests behind him.
An older but stout knight and his two younger subordinates inspected the hall. From their wary expressions, Maxi did not think they were from a noble family that was on friendly terms with Riftan.
She approached them nervously. “Riftan, I was told…that we had guests.”
Riftan furrowed his brow and strode to meet her, touching her still-damp hair. “We must have disturbed your rest. They are from Ruigen. They are only staying for two days, so you need not trouble yourself.”
His blatant dismissal of the guests flustered her, though the visitors themselves did not seem offended. The middle-aged knight stepped forward and kissed her hand.
“Greetings, my lady. I am Aeron Levia. We have come under the command of the Earl of Loverne.”
“It is a p-pleasure to make your acquaintance, Sir Aeron…. I hope your stay here will be comfortable.”
The Earl of Loverne was one of the king’s vassals who had a sizable estate not far from Anatol. Why had the earl sent his knights here? Feeling both curious and cautious, Maxi studied the deeply lined face of the knight and was about to speak again when she heard Riftan’s sharp voice.
“You traveled a long and dangerous way to make small talk with someone else’s wife.”
“I was merely greeting the lady.”
“Didn’t you say it was an urgent matter? We’re wasting time. Follow me.” Riftan spun on his heel and began climbing the stairs.
The knight sighed. Each man gave a respectful nod to Maxi before following after Riftan. Since they clearly were not welcome visitors, Maxi decided her role as hostess was over, walking slowly back to her chambers.
—
It was late inthe evening when Riftan returned, looking exhausted. Maxi had been pinching her thigh in an effort to stay awake, and she leaped out of bed to rush over to him.
His eyes grew wide when he saw that she was not asleep. “Why are you still up?”
“I…I was waiting for you to return. I wanted to knowwhat was going on.”
Riftan’s brow furrowed slightly as he perched on the arm of a chair and began removing his armor. Maxi placed a kettle full of water over the fire so he could wash, then went over to stand behind him. As Riftan untied the joints of his vambrace, she placed her hands on his waist to help him undress.
Riftan stiffened and awkwardly pushed her hands away. “You don’t have to mind me. I can do it myself.”
“It is a wife’s duty…t-to attend to her husband.”
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Maxi’s face flushed at how brazen she sounded. She could not count the times he had attended to her. She could not say the same for herself.
She hastily added, “I am rarely able to do so because you…return late and leave early in the morning. But it is normally a w-wife’s duty to make sure…her husband is able to rest in comfort.”
With that, she snatched the heavy armor from his hands without waiting for a reply. The weight made her stumble, and she barely managed to remain upright as she staggered over to the armor stand. She hung the chain mail and neatly placed the vambrace and greaves over it.
It took less than twenty steps to move to the stand, but droplets of sweat dotted her forehead. She wondered how Riftan was able to walk around normally with something so heavy weighing him down.
“Just leave that there,” Riftan said when she tried to pick up his sword to put it away. “You won’t be able to carry it.”
Maxi looked skeptically at the weapon. Compared to themassive swords that some soldiers strapped to their backs, Riftan’s looked ordinary. The blade was roughly four kevettes long, and neither the unadorned hilt nor the leather scabbard appeared to be too heavy.
“N-Nonsense,” Maxi retorted. “I may not be able to swing it…but I doubt that I…w-won’t be able to pick it up.”
Riftan, who was pulling his sweat-soaked tunic over his head, eyed her slender arms with an arched eyebrow. “You can’t.”
