Under the Oak Tree

Chapter 144

Translator – LL

Proofreader – Nymeria

Max couldn’t help but be embarrassed by her friendly behavior. She never thought that the princess would show a favorable attitude toward her, so she was utterly confused. The princess wanted to marry Riftan, didn’t she?

“Is Riftan in the annex with the knights?”

Princess Agnes asked as she went out of the hall. The name of her husband flowed out so naturally from the princess’ mouth that it made Max show a gloomy face.

“H-He might be, Your Grace.”

“I’ll have to ask you to show me around the training center later. I want to look around the castle first, can we go up?”

Max hesitated for a moment, then nodded and guided her to a small, cobbled path surrounded by trees. As they walked along the narrow path for some time, the guards patrolling the outer walls appeared ahead. As soon as the soldiers spotted the princess and Max, they immediately bowed to greet them.

Max explained to them that she was guiding her royal highness around the castle and then they went up the stairs, climbing the wall. Although the days were getting warmer, it was still early spring, in fact Max flinched as the cold wind blew from the mountains. When they finally reached the top, she saw the long skirt of the royal princess fluttering like a flag as she was standing in front of the choir. Agnes stretched out her arms letting the wind blow over her body, enjoying the refreshed feeling.

“It’s a beautiful place.”

Max followed the royal princess and looked over the wall. The wind was blowing violently over the pointed peaks and steep hillsides, where snow had not yet melted. The princess fixed her eyes on the distant mountain and swept away her fluttering hair.

“Since this place has many monsters, I expected a land covered in blood as the entrance to the demon world.”

The princess calmly walked along the wall and turned to Max.

“But the town was bigger than I expected, and It seems that the market is developing too… To be honest, I was surprised”.

“In spring… we expect a lot more merchants to come”.

Max mumbled, trying to remember what she had heard from Rodrigo. The princess stroked her chin with a thoughtful expression and sighed.

“So that’s why Riftan is attached to this place. It must have taken a tremendous amount of effort to enrich this land that has been neglected for decades.”

Max felt her stomach clench. The princess herself spoke as if she knew and understood Riftan well and this made her want to yell at the princess not to pretend to know her husband, but she just bit her lips holding back the urge, surprised by the sudden and violent surge of emotions flowing from her. Her earlobes reddened.

“Ri-Riftan is working from d-dawn until late at night w-without a break… for Anatol.”

“Riftan was like this during the expedition too. No one has ever seen him take a break. He showed no hesitation or weakness. That’s why everyone called him Mahgo, out of amazement and fear.”

“Mah… go?”

“It’s a legendary monster who is said to never sleep or get tired and to have hundred lives.”

A bitter smile spread across her lips.

“It’s a nickname given to him by the holy knights of Osiria, because he continued to act as if he had a hundred lives.”

Even though Max heard about Riftan’s recklessness from Ruth, her chest still tightened sharply. She quickly shrugged her shoulders to shake off the feeling and the princess, who had been watching her with a calm gaze, slowly spoke.

“I was wondering what Mahgo’s wife would be like. Who was the person he was so desperate to get back to, to the point where he would throw himself into the dragon fire without hesitation?”

Speechless, Max dampened her dry lips. Even though the princess wasn’t criticizing her, Max felt like she was being blamed. Max knew well that she didn’t deserve to be the wife of such a brave knight and there was no way Agnes could not have noticed that. Seeing her shabby reflection in those beautiful blue eyes, it only grew more painful, so she turned away from her, even though she thought it was rude.

“T-The wind is cold, Your Grace… Let’s go back inside the castle…”

“… Of course…”

Before coming down the stairs, Princess Agnes looked over the view of Anatol once more. Max looked up at her and walked ahead, as if she were running away. She felt anxious and confused, as if a strong cold wind had begun to blow in her heart.

***

As the sun began to set, servants climbed up the ladder and lit candles on the chandelier, while the maids placed braziers filled with red charcoal throughout the banquet hall and prepared appetizing food to put on the wide table.

Max sat there, alongside Riftan. The royal princess and her attendants sat directly at the opposite side of the table, and the knights filled the rest. When the servants poured fragrant wine in their glasses, Riftan lifted his golden glass and spoke.

“Welcome to the guests who have come a long way.”

The people sitting around the table raised their glasses in unison. The royal princess, sitting across from him, also smiled gracefully, raising high her glass filled with fluttering wine.

“Thank you for welcoming me.”

“It must have been a tiring journey, you must be hungry. Go ahead and eat.”

When an old knight shouted loudly, the princess smiled and raised the glass to her mouth. Taking that as a signal, everyone took their knife and fork and began to eat and drink.

Max mechanically put the bread in her mouth and scanned the people on the long table. The royal knights were joking with the Remdragon Knights and their acquaintances, while the royal princess was exchanging stories with the knights too.

Max was surprised by the princess’s behavior: she didn’t seem to care about the etiquette a lady should follow. Right in that moment, Princess Agnes laughed out loud and hit the shoulder of the gentleman sitting next to her, her voice booming and attracting everyone’s attention, but she wasn’t showing any signs of intimidation even among men who were much larger than her, and surprisingly the knights were delighted by her unrefined demeanor.

“I want to look around Anatol tomorrow. Can you show me around?”

The royal princess, who was talking to the knight sitting next to her, suddenly looked at Riftan with dazzling eyes. He wet his mouth with wine and answered heartlessly.

“Uslin will guide you.”

“Hey, brusque lord, don’t even try to treat me so lightly. I traveled to the ends of the earth to see you.”

“I’ve never asked you to do it.”

The knights frowned at his rude reply and Max stared at the princess’s expression with a nervous look. No matter how famous the knight was in the whole continent, it couldn’t be tolerated to be so rude to the royal family. However, instead of getting angry and yelling at him, Agnes burst into laughter as if she had heard an interesting story.

“Your personality is still the same.”

Then the princess smiled strangely and turned to Max.

“Then, will Lady Calypse guide me through the estate?”

Riftan, who was cutting a thick piece of lamb with his knife, stopped and looked at the princess. Max felt uncomfortable when the topic of the conversation was suddenly redirected to her and blinked blankly. Regardless of the reaction her words had caused, Princess Agnes continued softly.

“I want to get to know you better.”

“Your Highness.”

Riftan put down his knife loudly so that everyone could hear a crackling sound and spit out a chillingly soft voice.

“If you don’t mind getting up early in the morning, I’ll show you around.”

“Oh my God, I didn’t think I would receive such special treatment from the Lord himself. “

The princess replied sarcastically despite Riftan’s cold demeanor, showing any signs of intimidation. The scene seemed like a quarrel between a loving couple, so Max’s face hardened. Just imagining Riftan and the princess have a cozy tour of the estate made her jealousy grow and she opened her mouth impulsively.

“I-I’ll show you around, Your Grace.”

Riftan turned his head towards her in surprise and she did her best to sound calm.

“Riftan… y-you’re busy, so may I s-show her around…”

“What are you talking about, you yourself came here only last fall.”

Riftan’s direct reply made her cheeks redden.

“W-Well, I’ve been to the market… and outside t-the city with Ruth…”

“Outside…?”

Riftan interrupted her with a surprised tone. Max looked up and saw a dangerous glint in his eyes. Come to think of it, she had never told him that she had gone down to the area affected by the monster attack while he was away from the castle. Max carefully examined the faces of the knights sitting around the table. Sir Karon, who was sitting at the end, shook his head fiercely, as telling her not to talk about it. She swallowed dry saliva. She had only done natural things as the wife of the Lord, but Riftan might not see it that way. Max hurriedly changed the topic of the conversation, recalling his anger for not telling him in advance that she was learning magic.

“W-well, what I want to say is… I-I know Anatol well enough, so I can s-show her highness a-around…”

“Stop it. I can’t let you wander outside the castle defenselessly.”

“Oh, my God, I’m good”.

Princess Agnes skillfully intervened in the conversation and Riftan looked at her annoyed.

“Your Highness is capable of protecting herself, but my wife is different. She’s never been outside of Croix Castle in her entire life!”

“H-hey, if it’s o-only within the territory, I-I can do it too!”

Max glared at him in a fit of rage. Her pride was deeply hurt because he was openly treating her as an incompetent child in front of the royal princess. She could feel her cheeks burning, but she continued to protest fiercely.

“A-and I didn’t spend m-my whole life at Croix Castle. T-there was the trip from the Duchy t-to Anatol.”

“Lord, what are you worried about when the guards are escorting them?”

Hebaron crept out to take her side.

“If you are still worried, I will accompany them.”

Riftan’s face grew increasingly grim and Max’s heart sank at his expression, afraid he would yell at her, but she didn’t want to back down. Indeed, she wanted to prevent the two of them from being alone together at any cost.

“Riftan… You didn’t even have enough time to sleep because you’ve been busy… Leave it to me… Let me attend to my guests...”

Riftan’s face was slightly confused by her rare stubbornness but after a long silence, not without hesitation, he eventually raised the white flag.

“Okay, I’ll leave it to you.”

Note – That’s it, it’s time to found a fanclub for Sir Karon and Sir Hebaron, apply in the comments! Agnes is still a bit difficult to decipher for you guys, right? Also, Riftan’s behavior will have a clear explanation this week, so everyone stay tuned!