Chapter 119: Chapter 1
The servant waiting outside the door offered to carry Maxi’s bag, and the rest gathered in the great hall. They gave her an overanxious 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 likely 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?”
“Junior knights are usually chosen among the squires that are about to be knighted. We have gained enough experience during the last few months, so you need not worry, my lady.”
Garrow puffed up his chest, and Ulyseon nodded resolutely beside him.
“I shall not put you in danger like last time, my lady,” said Ulyseon. “Please be rest assured that we shall keep you safe no matter what!”
Maxi smiled as she looked at the young men who had become quite gallant during the short time she had not seen them.
“Th-Thank you. I trust that you w-will be more than up to the task.”
“Livakion and Rovar here are the best among the juniors. Please make sure to stay by their side at all times during the journey, my lady,” cautioned Gabel. “You must never leave the ranks on your own. If there is a problem, please inform me or the other knights.”
Maxi nodded solemnly. “I will keep that in mind. And... w-where is Riftan?’
“The commander is over there.”
Maxi turned to where he pointed and saw Riftan in a discussion with Rodrigo, two white-haired knights, and three younger subordinates.
“He is delegating the castle duties,” Gabel explained. “He is leaving Rodrigo in charge of the great hall, while Sir Obaron and Sir Sebrique will be in charge of managing the military facilities.”
After handing the dignified old knight and Rodrigo a ring of keys each, Riftan took his place at the head of the ranks. Maxi kept her eyes on him as he effortlessly mounted Talon. Riftan’s gaze soon darted to her as well.
Maxi stiffened, worried that he might change his mind and insist that she stay behind. However, Riftan simply stirred his horse toward the gate without a word.
“Let us depart!”
The sentries on the castle wall blew their kopels at Riftan’s command. Hearing the signal, the knights began to cross the drawbridge in an orderly procession.
Maxi gripped the reins and led Rem to move with the ranks. As Calypse Castle grew distant, an odd feeling of excitement and fear surged inside her. She wondered what awaited her on this journey.
As if sensing her anxiety, Garrow, who was riding beside her, said calmly, “You do not have to be so worried, my lady. We have been scouring Anatolium all spring to subdue the monsters. There will be no attacks any time soon.”
Despite being younger than her, Garrow showed more bravery than Maxi. She gave him an embarrassed look. Not only was the squire calm, but all the junior knights of similar age seemed to be as well.
As the Remdragon Knights deftly led their towering warhorses through the village, the villagers flanking the road gazed up at them in awe. Maxi felt like a small pup that had somehow been lost in a pack of wolves.
Gabel rode ahead of her. He looked over his shoulder as he said, “My lady, please move to the center once we pass the village gates.”
Following his instruction, Maxi fell back to the center of the formation as soon as they were out of Anatol. Riftan glanced at her from his place at the front before picking up speed. The knights followed suit, galloping down the dirt road that ran through the valley.
Maxi rode Rem carefully to make sure she did not bump into the other horses. Riding down a narrow and uneven dirt road proved more difficult than she had thought. If she had not practiced with Rem whenever she could, she would have struggled to keep up with the knights.
They rode for a long time. Ulyseon noticed her sweating and heavy breathing, and he called to her in encouragement.
“We must pass through two mountains today, but the road will be smoother once we are out of Anatolium. Please persevere until then, my lady.”
Maxi nodded, wondering in amazement how he was able to articulate so well atop a galloping horse without biting his tongue. Her thighs and buttocks were already throbbing, but she could not complain. She was the one who had stubbornly insisted on coming along after all. Maxi tried her best to keep up.
The knights thankfully slowed down once the road became steeper. Finally able to relax a little, she scanned her surroundings.
Lush hazel trees lined the narrow path through the valley. A pointed rock that looked as if it had been carved with a chisel loomed precariously from the mountain peak. Somewhere in the distance, the sound of rushing water floated over to them. They rode for a while longer before stopping to rest at a brook.
Maxi dismounted onto shaky legs with great difficulty and led Rem to the water. While the horses guzzled from the brook as though they intended to drain it, the knights ate rations of bread and jerky. Maxi quenched her parched lips with her waterskin and gulped down a chunk of tough jerky as hard as a block of wood.
After only twenty minutes’ rest, the knights mounted their horses again and set out. The campaign was only half a day old, and Maxi was already losing her confidence.
The brutal saddle made her buttocks feel like they were on fire, and her lungs stung as if pricked by a knife. Even her hair annoyed her; curly locks kept slipping free from her braid and sticking to her face. In contrast, the knights appeared at ease in their heavy, iron cast-like armor.
Maxi pressed her thighs against the saddle as she struggled to maintain her posture. It was not until the narrow, secluded road turned into a smooth path that the hellish march finally came to a stop. Riftan’s voice resonated down the ranks.
“We will sleep out here tonight.”
Garrow muttered under his breath as he slid off his horse. “I suppose it would be difficult for us to traverse the mountains in a day...”
Maxi was so relieved that the ride was over that she had no qualms about spending a night in the mountains. She nearly tumbled off her saddle. If Ulyseon had not been quick to steady her fall, she would have ended up face down in the damp ground.
“You must be exhausted, my lady. Please, sit over here. I will pitch a tent for you immediately.”
Gripping her shoulders, Ulyseon helped her onto a flat rock. Maxi thanked him weakly.
The two squires showed no signs of exhaustion as they untied their saddlebags. The other knights bustled about, piling stones into fire pits, sparking kindling, and watering and feeding their horses.
Maxi knew she should help, but she did not have the energy to even lift a finger. She placed her rein-burned palms onto the cold stone to cool them.
“I’ve prepared a cot for you first, my lady. It is not much, but please rest-”
“I will look after her.”
Maxi jumped and turned her head at the sudden voice. Riftan looked back at her impassively.
“You two, go graze the horses.”
Garrow and Ulyseon promptly darted away. Maxi grew tense, worried that he would chide her for not listening to him now that he had seen her so disheveled and exhausted. Riftan wordlessly scooped her up and carried her to a tent pitched under a tree.
“I’ll bring you food once it is ready, so lie down and rest.”
“I-I am all right. I should help-” Maxi stopped when she saw Riftan’s frightening gaze. He lowered the flap of the tent and disappeared. Too tired to move any further, Maxi fell back and sprawled out over the thick layer of blankets.
...
Tomorrow’s ride was already on her mind. There was no doubt that her buttocks would be bruised blue; she wondered if she would be able to endure the constant, lengthy rides.
Maxi shook her head. No, she only needed to get through one more day and they would be out of the Anatolium Mountains. According to the map she had studied, there were more plains on the way to Livadon. Since she would acclimate to being on horseback by then, and the road ahead was smoother, the journey would be easier than it was now. It was too early for her to feel daunted.
She was in the middle of consoling herself when Riftan re-entered the tent.
“We should massage your muscles before you eat. Take off your trousers.”
After practically folding himself into the cramped corner of the tent, he took out a small vial of oil.
Wondering if she had heard him correctly, Maxi looked up. “What... did you just...?”
“Take off your boots and trousers. We have to apply this so you can keep riding tomorrow,” he said calmly.
He then took off his gauntlet, gaiters, and vambrace and placed them in a corner.
Maxi merely watched him vacantly. He frowned at her as if to ask why she was not moving, then went to take off her boots himself. Alarmed, Maxi curled herself into a ball at the tent’s edge.
“I... I-I do not think that will be necessary! I am perfectly fine!”
“Do you expect me to believe that? You look as if you’re about to drop dead.”
...
Riftan blocked Maxi’s escape and made her lie down on the blankets again. Her already throbbing muscles screamed in pain when he grabbed her thigh.
At Maxi’s stifled cry, Riftan frowned as if to say, ‘I told you so.’ He untied her bootlaces that were wound tightly up her calf.
Maxi’s face flushed crimson. “A-All right. I-I will do it! If you g-give me the vial, I shall do it myself... so please w-wait outside.”
“You are too tired to even lift a finger.”
“That is not t-true. I can do it m-myself, so-”
“I know you think so little of your husband’s words, but...”
His cold voice cut Maxi’s statement short.
“You should at least pretend to listen sometimes,” he hissed.
Realizing that he was on the verge of losing his patience, Maxi pressed her lips together. He pulled her boots off and threw them aside, then placed his hands on the straps of her trousers. Maxi glanced at the entrance of the tent.
“W-What if someone comes in...”
“Don’t worry about that. I have told them not to come anywhere near the tent,” he said brusquely as he pulled off her trousers.
Maxi’s face flushed once more when she felt the cold air on her bare skin.
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