“Then, here I go!”
Maxi summoned as much mana as she could and flooded the rune with it. Her heart pounded, cold sweat dripping down her spine. The sound of boots thudding was followed by a loud impact that violently shook the barrier.
Maxi nervously eyed the wall of earth. A few more thuds followed, but it did not break.
Even she could not believe it. After staring in bewilderment, she turned to Riftan triumphantly. He towered amidst the cloud of dust, his expression inscrutable, and the smile faded from Maxi’s lips.
Undaunted by Riftan’s silent brooding, Hebaron walked over to him with a grin and laughed. “That should be more than enough to convince you, eh, Commander?”
Riftan whirled around. “You can do as you please.”
With that, he stormed off.
Hebaron shrugged. “Do not dwell on it, my lady. The commander is a reasonable man. His anger should abate soon.”
Praying that he was right, Maxi anxiously watched Riftan’s retreating form. Her heart felt heavy for going against her husband’s will so flagrantly, but she gathered her couragewith a shake of her head. Come what may, he had given his permission.
If it meant she could stay by his side, she would gladly endure his cold shoulder.
—
The knights immediately wentback to preparing for the journey as Maxi returned to the great hall to collect her belongings.
Ludis packed for her like an overanxious mother, and it was a battle trying to stop her from cramming fifteen dresses inside a leather bag. Rodrigo and the other servants were desperate to help as well, and they kept bringing random items to her. Even the dressmaker couple offered a hat and veil in case of harsh sun.
Maxi opted to take only the few things she deemed essential. She folded an extra pair of sturdy trousers, three sets of undergarments, a pair of socks, and two tunics. It was enough to fill her bag nearly to the brim.
With the tiny amount of room that was left, she managed to cram in a pouch of herbs, Ruth’s medical tools, and three magic stones. And, because she couldn’t bring herself to give them up, she tucked an ivory comb and half a bar of soap into a quilt pouch tied to her belt.
The illustrated bestiary and her books on magic theory were too heavy and expensive to bring, so she packed some of the parchments Ruth had prepared for her instead.
She was tying the cords of her bag into a tight knot when Ludis said in a shaky voice, “Must you really go somewhere so dangerous, my lady?”
Maxi blushed in pleasure at the usually stoic maidservant’sshow of affection. “D-Do not worry. I am going with the strongest knights in the Western Continent, r-remember? Nothing bad is going to happen.”
Ludis took Maxi’s hands in hers. “Please…look after yourself, my lady.”
Gazing into the maidservant’s dark brown eyes, Maxi nodded. Ludis smiled sadly and gave her hands a final squeeze before she stepped back.
After hugging and kissing each of the yowling cats, Maxi left.
The servant waiting outside the door offered to carry her bag, and the rest gathered in the great hall. They gave her a tearful send-off and watched as she mounted Rem.
The knights were already in formation when Maxi arrived at the training grounds. The final preparations had not taken long, as they had been making all the necessary arrangements over the past two days.
As Maxi rode up to the knights, Gabel paused his inspection of the ranks to address her.
“Have you packed everything you need, my lady?”
Maxi nodded. Gabel narrowed his eyes as if to gauge the size of the pack tied to her saddle, then beckoned to someone behind him.
“Oi! Lady Calypse has arrived.”
At his call, two youths stepped out of the junior knights’ ranks stationed at the back. Maxi grew wide-eyed when she saw Ulyseon and Garrow leading their large stallions toward her. Ulyseon rushed over to her in a flurry of exuberant energy.
“We were told that you would be coming with us, my lady.We shall be your escorts on this journey.”
“But…you and Garrow are still squires. How were you able to j-join the campaign?”
