Chapter 115: Chapter 1
Maxi looked like a ghost as she made her way to the training grounds through the dark. She held up her lamp as she passed through the gate. The soldiers standing guard looked surprised to see her, but she ran straight for the council room without explaining her presence to them.
Angry shouts emanated from behind the door of the dimly lit building.
“We cannot afford to wait that long! We must leave as soon as tomorrow. It would take us twenty days to get there even if we hasten our departure!”
“Calm down, Sir Hebaron. The commander is right. There are only three or four vassalages on the way to the border, and they are small villages that do not have proper guilds, let alone a merchant guild that could supply us with provisions. And with all these monster attacks, we can’t even be sure they are still there. It would be too dangerous for us to leave without a mage.”
“Did you not hear me? Every last guild mage has already gone north to Livadon! I’m sure you are all aware that every landed noble in the realm is frantically competing with each other to employ more mages in their service, so how exactly do you suggest we find one?”
“If we send a request to Osiriya, they would send us a hierarch capable of healing magic.”
“Ha! Do you not know how finicky those bigots are when it comes to sending their clerics? It would take them at least a couple of months to send one.”
“Since the central church will also be sending reinforcements, we could choose to travel with them...”
“If we did that, we’d be traveling the long way around for three weeks even if the Temple Knights were to meet us halfway! Goddammit! Stop talking nonsense! It doesn’t matter if we don’t have a mage. We’ve fought in situations more dangerous than this! Isn’t that right, Commander?”
Maxi stood petrified. Her chest tightened with fear that Riftan might agree with Hebaron.
The terrifying descriptions she had read in the illustrated book on monsters flashed through her mind. Creatures with venom powerful enough to melt bones in an instant, monsters of the Ayin race that were said to possess the strength of six humans, and the dragon subspecies that could wield powerful magic...
No matter how strong the Remdragon Knights were, it would be impossible for them to fight unscathed in this long journey. Maxi held her breath as she waited for Riftan’s answer. The silence stretched before his deep voice rang out.
“It would be impossible for us to depart tomorrow. Give me some time. I’ll find a mage in four... No, three days.”
“It will be a waste of time! You’ve already tried searching everywhere for a mage, and the one you finally managed to find was an eighty-year-old! So how are you going to find one in just three-”
Hebaron’s outburst ceased abruptly. Maxi stood outside the door wondering if she should continue eavesdropping, but she reflexively leaned in when the knight’s voice died down. At precisely that moment, the door swung open, and Hebaron’s hulking form marched out.
“Who the hell is out he-”
The knight grew wide-eyed when he saw Maxi standing outside.
“My lady? What brings you here at such an hour?”
“I-I...”
Maxi staggered back as the other knights peered past Hebaron’s shoulder. Embarrassed that she had been caught eavesdropping, her face flushed pink.
“I-I apologize for disturbing you. I m-merely wanted to know... what you were all p-planning to do...”
As she weakly mumbled her excuses, Riftan stepped out of the council room and shoved Hebaron aside. His expression was grave. Was he angry because she had left her chambers to roam the castle this late at night?
After staring down at her with a thunderous look, Riftan grunted a command over his shoulder. “Gabel, escort my wife back to her chambers.”
It was an obvious dismissal.
Maxi wet her lips. “R-Riftan... I did not mean to interrupt. I was just... w-worried for those who joined the campaign... and I wanted to know what the Remdragon Knights i-intended to do...”
“And why would that concern you?” Riftan shot back.
Hurt, Maxi glanced up at him before saying hesitantly, “Th-There c-could be something I could do to help-”
“Gabel!” Riftan bellowed over his shoulder. “Did you not hear me? Why are you not escorting her ladyship back to the great hall?”
Maxi’s lips twisted into a frown. She could feel the knights behind him regarding them warily. Gabel, who had been hesitating in the back, walked out of the council room and stood next to her.
Grabbing the door handle, Riftan said in a gruff voice, “Don’t wait up for me.”
With that, he closed the door, putting an end to any further discussion. Maxi reluctantly turned away. Gabel hovered nearby and took the lamp from her.
“The commander is out of sorts at the moment because of the bad news. Please do not take offense at his harsh words. Everyone is a bundle of nerves right now...”
Maxi tried to look agreeable for the knight who was clearly concerned for her, but even she could tell that her smile was stiff.
“I-I am all right. More importantly, I apologize... for troubling you like this. I found it impossible to wait...”
Gabel raised the lamp to better illuminate the steps for her. “You are also close with Mage Ruth, so it is understandable that you would be worried, my lady.”
They ascended the stairs in silence. So many thoughts were running through Maxi’s head, including Riftan’s surly reaction and the things she had overheard. It was only when they reached the middle of the garden that Maxi cautiously opened her mouth to speak.
“I-Is a mage absolutely necessary... in a campaign? If I recall... you did not bring Ruth with you when you went to the capital in the past.”
Gabel paused in his tracks and let out an awkward laugh. “There are plenty of merchant guilds and big cities on the way to Drachium. We could stop by the guilds at any time during the journey to have our wounds treated or hire mages working for mercenary groups for short periods of time. However, there are no big cities on the route from Anatol to Livadon. Since we would not be able to find a suitable place to have our wounds tended to if needed, it would be tough to travel without a mage.”
“What if...”
Maxi trailed off. It was not until they reached the top of the stairs that she managed to muster the courage to finish her sentence.
“What if... I-I was to go with you?”
She could feel the knight’s wary gaze studying her in the dark. She wanted to look confident, but she was unable to conceal her shaking hands.
“The commander would not allow it,” Gabel replied after a long silence.
Knowing he was right, Maxi clenched her mouth shut. Yet, the thought remained in her mind even as she returned to her chambers.
Curled in bed, Maxi mulled over how she could convince Riftan. Though the knights had not dared to suggest it, it was clear that they privately thought of taking her. Their gazes had told her as much.
Her heart fluttered anxiously. She could not send Riftan to a place swarming with monsters equipped inadequately. Even if he were to leave perfectly prepared, she would still be beside herself. She could not allow him to leave without a mage to tend to them in case of an emergency.
Gnawing her lip, Maxi waited for Riftan to return. No matter how staunchly he opposed the idea, she would not concede this time. She would not send her husband into danger unprotected.
The sun began to rise before she knew it, and Riftan had still not returned.
Maxi drifted off to sleep and woke to the sound of Ludis entering the room. Ludis looked taken aback when she saw Maxi sprawled on the bed wearing the same dress she had worn yesterday. Maxi leaped up and rushed over to the maidservant.
“L-Ludis... has the lord g-gone out already? I have not been asleep long, and I did not hear him enter...”
“His lordship slept in the knights’ quarters last night, my lady.”
“Where... is he now?”
“He is currently meeting with a merchant in the drawing room.”
...
Maxi’s eyes were red from lack of sleep. After rubbing the crust from them, she hastily combed her hair with her fingers and flew out of the room.
As she descended the staircase, she saw Riftan and Aderon sitting across from each other in the quaintly furnished drawing room. She stopped with four steps left to go and listened to their calm voices echoing softly down the corridor.
“It would be difficult to hire a mage anywhere in the continent at the moment. You would likely have to hire one from the Mage Tower, but it would not be easy with all their rules. Even if you were to succeed, it would take more than ten days for them to get here.”
“We can’t wait that long. Use your guild’s trade channels to send a message to the nearest territory, and...”
Riftan trailed off when he spotted Maxi.
Maxi took a step back but managed to steel herself. She briskly descended the remaining steps and strode into the drawing room. Riftan’s face was taut with tension.
“We are still in the middle of a discussion. Leave us.”
“R-Riftan... please, let me join you. You are looking for a mage, are you not? If that is so, I could-”
“I said, leave us,” Riftan said, his voice grim.
Maxi glared at him, then turned her attention to Aderon. “Will it be possible to f-find a mage... in three days’ time?”
Flustered, the merchant looked back and forth between Riftan’s menacing face to Maxi’s determined one before saying evenly, “I am sorry to say... that the probability is slim. The Earldom of Loverne and the Barony of Louvain are the only territories near Anatol. And as you may know... the Earl of Loverne is not a man who would hand over one of his mages, while the Baron of Louvain only has one mage in his service. So, it is unlikely for the baron to send him as a mercenary.”
...
“Y-You mean to say that it is impossible?”
“Maximilian!” Riftan bellowed sharply, losing his patience. “This is not a matter for you to meddle in! I have told you to leave us.”
Despite stiffening reflexively at his intimidating tone, she stood her ground and met his gaze. “I-I am... your wife, so how is this a matter I cannot m-meddle in?”
“This has nothing to do with you,” he snapped.
Her heart stung as if pricked by a needle. Like a child dismissed by a parent, Maxi’s face fell. She clenched her fists.
“O-Of course it concerns me! I... I am a mage! Are you not aware of that? I-”
“Shut your mouth.”
Riftan said it in the low growl of an angry beast. Maxi froze.
Although she had seen him enraged numerous times, he had never looked as cold as he did now. His icy glare pinned Maxi’s shrinking frame before he turned to address Aderon.
“I want you to get me one of the earl’s mages. I do not care how much it costs. Do you think you could try?”
“My guild has a branch in the earl’s territory... so I should be able to send someone to infiltrate the household and try to make contact with his mages. However, if we were to get caught doing such a thing, my guild’s reputation would be...”
The merchant trailed off cautiously.
Riftan placed a bulging leather pouch in front of him. “I shall pay you ten times the brokerage fee if you succeed. Tell the mages I am willing to pay them five times what the earl is giving them.”
After eyeing the pouch to gauge its weight, the merchant nodded with a sigh.
“Well, I shall give it a try, but I suggest that you do not pin your hopes on it. The earl’s mages are no different from the knights who have served their house for generations. It will not be easy to persuade them to leave.”
“Then you will have to do whatever it takes,” said Riftan.
He rose to his feet. Aderon followed suit, shoving the leather pouch inside his robe.
“I shall bring you the results in two days.”
The merchant bowed his head at both of them before leaving the room.
Maxi stood motionless. As she anxiously studied Riftan’s face, he picked up his cloak and marched out without so much as a glance in her direction. She rushed after him, but Riftan quickened his pace so that she almost had to run to catch up with him.
“Riftan... please... l-listen to what I have to say.”
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel