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,” she groaned.
“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 she ate fueled her efforts, but he never seemed to be satisfied. Aftermanaging 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 he saw 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 the 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.”
“Wh-What about the infirmary?”
“Ruth and Melric are managing that. There are fewerpatients lately, since there aren’t as many monsters.”
His reply was smooth, almost 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-Is this not the busiest time of year for you?” she asked. “You don’t need to…s-spare so much time for me. I am 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 downward. 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. “Wh-When?”
There was a pause.
“The first time I attended a banquet at Croyso Castle,” he replied brusquely, shifting in his seat.
Bewildered, Maxi tried to think back to how long ago that would have been.
Riftan added anxiously, “The table was full of dishes I’dnever 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.
