Chapter 165: Chapter 1
Maxi bunched the blanket in her fists, wondering just how distraught Riftan must have been to make this sorcerer with nerves of steel uneasy.
Realizing he had said something he should not have, Ruth hastily said, “You need not worry, my lady. You are the hero of this war. Even if Sir Riftan were to get angry at you, the whole of Eth Lene would step in to stop him. And if need be, I’ll come to your defense. I’ve served him for a long time, I doubt he’d kill me.”
The attempt at idle chatter barely eased the worry etched on Maxi’s face.
Ruth scratched the back of his head. “Come to think of it, I have yet to offer my gratitude. Thank you, my lady. We owe you our lives.”
Taken aback, Maxi waved him off. “No need to thank me. I-I am just... glad everyone is safe.”
Ruth’s lips suddenly twisted into a sad smile. Before Maxi could ask about the reason behind it, he was making his way out of the tent.
The short exchange had been exhausting, and Maxi slumped on the cot. She could not believe that she had been unconscious for a week. Though all of her injuries seemed to have healed, her limbs felt limp and her head heavy.
After a while spent staring at the ceiling with bleary eyes, she forced herself up in an attempt to revive what energy she could. As if on cue, she heard hurried footsteps outside. Two female clerics rushed into the tent.
“Lady Calypse!”
Maxi beamed when she saw a teary-eyed Idsilla and Selina, and she sighed with relief. Both of them were alive.
Idsilla approached the cot and propped Maxi up with a thick cushion. She immediately began to chide her.
“You mustn’t try to get up on your own yet. What if you fall over?”
“I-I was... just trying to sit up.”
“If you need something, call for someone to help you. You’ve just woken up. You shouldn’t try to move on your own for a while.”
Idsilla continued her nagging as she pulled the blanket up to Maxi’s chin.
Selina placed a tray beside the head of the cot and said gently, “I made you some light porridge. The herbs are mild, but they should help with energy recovery.”
“Th-Thank you.”
Maxi studied her as she took the proffered spoon. She had worried when Selina had disappeared during the chaos, but the female cleric must have found a safe hiding place.
However, Maxi’s happiness was short-lived. The tide might have turned in their favor, but it had still ended up being a large-scale battle with a great number of casualties.
“H-How are things... at the infirmary?”
“Many were wounded, but they’re in a stable condition now thanks to the mages.” Scooping the porridge into a small bowl, Idsilla pulled a stern expression. “Please worry about getting well first, Lady Calypse. We will manage the infirmary, so you mustn’t be too concerned.”
Clutching her bowl, Maxi glanced about nervously. Though she wanted to inquire after everyone else, particularly whether any of the Remdragon Knights were injured, she did not wish to trouble them when they were already so busy. Blowing on the steaming porridge, Maxi quietly ate her meal.
When she was done, Idsilla hid the cot behind a partition and wiped Maxi’s perspiring face, hands, and back. Though it was slightly embarrassing, Maxi did not express discomfort and meekly submitted to their care. She had administered the same treatment for the wounded men hundreds of times after all.
“W-Which reminds me... who changed my clothes?”
“It was me, and the female clerics took turns tending to you,” Selina replied as she helped Maxi into a new dress she had taken from a small chest.
Thoroughly worn out from the effort of changing, Maxi slumped back onto the cushion and asked hesitantly, “Did you perhaps... find a small coin in m-my clothes? There should have been... a c-copper shekel in the robe pocket...”
“A coin?”
Dark clouds converged in Maxi’s heart when Selina cocked her head. The coin could have fallen out during her desperate escape from the monsters. She remembered stumbling several times. Her mouth went dry at the possibility that she had lost an item Riftan had carried with him since he was a youth.
“C-Can I check my clothes? Th-The coin was from my husband. H-He gave it to me... It was his talisman...”
Selina’s expression grew troubled. “They were probably burned because they were so dirtied...”
Maxi’s face fell.
Seeing her expression, Idsilla folded her arms and said optimistically, “Everyone’s been so preoccupied that they may have put your clothes aside and forgotten all about them. I’ll check for you.”
“I-I don’t want to trouble-”
“You mustn’t say such things! It’s not even that much of a-”
Idsilla’s voice cracked. She coughed lightly to conceal her emotions and, shepherding Selina along with her, hurried out of the tent with the wet towel, basin, and empty tray. Maxi sipped at the porridge a few more times before falling asleep again.
A short while later, Idsilla returned. Her bouncing footsteps awoke Maxi from her restless sleep. She looked up at the girl with a mixture of hope and unease. With a grin, Idsilla held out a copper coin rimmed with soot.
“The soldiers found this in the ashes. I tried washing it with water, but the soot refuses to come off completely.”
Maxi accepted the coin, looking both apologetic and relieved.
“I-I didn’t know... it would require so much effort. I apologize f-for troubling you... when you are already busy looking after the wounded.”
“Stop! It was no trouble at all. Everyone gladly searched the ashes when I told them it was important to you,” Idsilla said, shrugging her shoulders as though she were talking about something trivial. “Everyone is grateful. They would have scoured the mountains for you.”
Maxi’s face fell as she brushed the rough surface of the coin. Idsilla’s words made her feel conflicted. Toppling that boulder was a feat she had accomplished while abandoning the city to save her own life.
Burdened by the admiration in the girl’s eyes, Maxi looked away. Though a part of her felt guilty, she could not bring herself to tell the truth. She was afraid that everyone would spurn her for it.
“Could you... th-thank the men for me?”
“I will. You, on the other hand, should lie down now. I’ll return with more porridge later. If you need anything, please ring this bell at any time.”
After cheerfully acting the part of maidservant, Idsilla left the tent once more. Maxi lay back on the cot and fiddled with the coin. It was more dented than she remembered, and one side was completely blackened.
She rubbed the surface to wipe off what soot she could. Then, overcome with exhaustion, she closed her eyes and fell into a deep slumber.
She was floating in hazy consciousness when she suddenly felt something touch her face. Her eyes fluttered open to find Riftan standing beside the cot. How long had he been there?
All sleepiness dissipated when she saw his blank face. Maxi sat up, anxiously studying him.
Riftan looked as frightening as the day of their reunion at Croyso Castle. Dressed in a navy-blue tunic and the oddly forbidding dark-gray armor of the Remdragon Knights, his sharp face was strained, and a strange tension lurked behind his icy gaze.
The cold-blooded knight who had so terrified her looked down without a word. His calmness was petrifying.
He silently swept the tangled hair off her forehead with no indication of anger or concern. His gaze then fell on her overlapping hands beside the pillow. Maxi’s face flushed when she realized that he was looking at the coin.
“I-I’m sorry for not taking better care... o-of something so important...”
For a brief second, Maxi saw anger flash behind his dark eyes. Sensing that he was trying to hold back, Maxi curled herself into a ball. Instead of yelling as she had expected, however, he merely picked up the coin in her palm with a frighteningly calm expression. He tossed it on the ground.
...
The coin clinked as it rolled into the corner of the tent. Watching it with a vacant expression, Riftan muttered in a gruff voice, “As if such a thing really works...”
The blood drained from Maxi’s face.
After staring at the ground for a long while, Riftan calmly went on as though nothing had happened. “In two days, Princess Agnes will return to the capital with the royal guards. You will go with her to Drachium Castle.”
“B-But... the war isn’t-”
“The tides have turned. The monster leading the army was crushed beneath the landslide.” A smile tugged at his lips. “A pathetic death for a creature that managed to lead an invasion of this size.”
He sounded peeved that the monster had died so easily. He was clearly trying to suppress his anger as he continued tightly, “The Royal Knights of Livadon, the Temple Knights of Osiriya, and a portion of the combined forces of Wedon and Balto should be enough to defeat the remaining monsters. After monitoring the situation for two more days, Princess Agnes will return to Drachium, and you will go with her. The princess has promised me that she will keep you safe at all costs.”
“Then... w-what about you... and the Remdragon Knights?”
“A select few of the Remdragon Knights will accompany you. Ursuline and Elliot have volunteered.”
Running his hand over his mouth, Riftan finally looked at her. It was as if his eyes were veiled behind dark drapes.
“Duke Aren has offered his personal carriage, so your journey back shouldn’t be too hard.”
“W-Will you... remain here?”
...
He did not reply, but his silence was all the answer she needed.
After anxiously biting her lip, Maxi plucked up the courage and said, “Th-Then I will also-”
“Go!”
He yelled so suddenly that Maxi recoiled. Riftan’s muscular torso heaved. His large body trembled as though he could no longer contain himself, and he lowered his head in his hand.
“Please, just go... I want you to leave this place...” Riftan choked, his body swaying like a rampart about to come crumbling down.
Maxi reached out to him. Riftan backed away as if she wielded a knife, and his face contorted with pain.
“I can’t... bear to have you here any longer. I’m begging you. Just go.”
An angry admonishment would have been a hundred times better.
Riftan’s gaze contained the pain of a man torn to pieces. When he slowly closed his eyes and hung his head, Maxi found herself unable to say another word.
***
Two days later, reports came that the coalition army had managed to drive all the monsters north. The Royal Army of Wedon, as well as a portion of the common soldiers, promptly began preparations for their return to Drachium.
Knights from Osiriya and Livadon were tasked with transporting those who could no longer fight to safe cities. A number of female clerics as well as two high priests also joined the large return party.
It worried Maxi that so many were leaving when the war had not yet ended.
“The best of our knights should be enough, Maximilian,” said Princess Agnes as she laid Maxi on a bed prepared inside their luxurious carriage. “While you were unconscious, the Remdragon Knights pursued the retreating trolls. That caused the Baltonian army to get competitive, and they also joined the fray. We practically managed to destroy half of the monster army within a week.”
Still anxious, Maxi gazed up at the princess’s sky-blue eyes. This massive monster army had materialized the last time they had supposedly succeeded in driving all the monsters north.
As if reading her mind, Princess Agnes smiled bitterly. “The mages found the entrance to a maze concealed at the foot of the rock face when they were investigating the landslide. The monsters must have been hiding there.”
“A-At the foot of the rock face?” Maxi asked in shock.
Princess Agnes nodded. “Seeing as even the inhabitants of Eth Lene weren’t aware of it, it must have been made long ago. The monsters were using it as their secret base.”
Maxi shuddered. That meant thousands of monsters had been hiding right beneath their noses.
It is dark under the oil lamp.
The fitting phrase came to Maxi’s mind. Princess Agnes’s beautiful face crumpled as if ruminating on the matter also chilled her.
“They probably hid a portion of their army there before the coalition army recaptured Eth Lene Castle. A total of two thousand monsters were hiding in the maze, waiting for the chance to strike.”
The princess’s lips curled into a rueful smile.
“And we blindly fell into their trap. We clearly underestimated their intelligence.”
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