Chapter Text
“ Lady Maximilian isn’t here.”
‘ What the fuck.’
“ Your wife, the young Lady, is absent at the moment,” the head butler explained. That explained nothing.
“ What?!? Where is she then?!” Riftan demanded. After three years of living in a cold and unforgiving waste land, he returns to get his wife and take her back to Anatol, only for her to not be there?!?
‘ Where the fuck is she, the Capital?!’
“ I’m afraid she’s at Nornui right now. Now please leave, our Duke is worrying himself half to death over her soon return so he will not be taking guests.” The butler shrewdly spat and he turned his back on them and started to walk back to signal the guards to close the gates.
‘ NORNUI?!?’
“ I knew we shouldn’t have gone through all this trouble for her, I warned you that she wouldn’t be here,” Uslin spat with venom. Riftan was about to tell him to shut it but then the loud sound of a carriage pulling in made a few heads turn, including Riftan’s.
The carriage pulled over swiftly and abruptly, and the sound and small footsteps were heard. Not soon after, the door was opened by the mysterious person inside. A small woman with bright red hair with half braided and the bottom half that reached the start of her shoulders. She wore plain clothes, a plain cloak that was brown with a belt around her waist, on the belt were a multitude of pockets and smaller baggies to hold whatever was in there. She wore delicate black gloves. Her boots, which you could barely see from under her coat, were brown as well and were definitely a bit over worn. In her hands, a regular sized suitcase.
The woman in question just stared at the men awkwardly and cluelessly before giving a shy smile and tilting her head a bit.
“ H-hello, I . . . I d-do hope I’m not too late.” The girl walked down the three steps with grace.
That couldn’t be her. This lady had shorter hair while Maximilian had long hair that reached the end of her back, and her clothes looked so basic, unlike the intricate gowns that her father would dress her in. But then again . . . she was as radiantly beautiful as Maximilian. The plain clothes accentuated her beautiful red hair and pale skin, highlighting her freckles, which were a few more than when Riftan had last seen her.
“ Who are you, young lady?” Hebaron asked stupidly even though he already knew the answer.
The lady just spared him a glance with an earnest smile and politely said, “ I’m Maximilian Calypse.” Her voice, as clear as ever. Not gonna lie, that kinda did things to Riftan, never could he picture the scared and timid woman he married to speak with such confidence and conviction in her voice.
“ What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in Nornui?” Uslin, who finally snapped out of his shock, said with suspicion.
The lady just shrunk a little bit under his overbearing gaze, but eventually spoke up, “ I g-graduated early.” She fiddled with her fingers adorably. The carriage behind her started up again, she waved with a small thanks after properly paying him.
“ Well hurry and pack your things,” Riftan was still a little peeved at her, “ we leave today, and pack light,” he said gruffly before adjusting himself on Talon.
“ O-oh!” She perked up a little bit, “ I just have this bag . . . I’m all packed o-otherwise!” She smiled nervously at him. Once taking in all of the look at the other knights she bowed deeply and said apologetically, “ Please forgive m-me for being so late . . . and taking up your time, M-My Lord . . .”
The bow kind of caught Riftan off guard and he froze for a second before dismissing such a formal title. “ No need for the honorifics, just Riftan, please.”
‘ If we’re gonna be married, I don’t want to force her to be so uptight . . . But what if that’s how she was raised?-”
“ Ah, okay! Sorry, I’ll be sure to t-take notes, Riftan!” Her soothing voice cut through his bothersome thoughts.
‘ Also, why does she only have one bag? I honestly thought she would put up more of a fight about her luggage.’
Riftan swiftly made to their carriage and opened the door for her, signaling for her to seat herself. She honestly looked a little surprised, but gladly walked inside the carriage and sat herself down and a small ‘ thank you.’
After Riftan joined her, sitting down in the carriage as well and gesturing for them to take off, it was pretty awkward. Maxi just stared out of her window, there was this sort of . . . anguish in her eyes as she stared at the castle.
‘ Does she hate leaving her home that much? Well why wouldn’t she? I’ll make it up to you, I’ll wrap you in the finest of luxuries. More than your father would ever dared to, more than the King would even try to dress Agnes.’
“ It’s a rather pretty sight . . . I-isn’t it?” She changed her focus to Riftan for a second, then back to the window. Riftan just nodded in response. “ Oh, and if R-Riftan wants me to call you by your name, then please, refer to m-me by Maxi, or Max! Or wha-whatever you’d prefer,” she assured sheepishly.
Riftan again nodded his head.
Sensing how tense it was, Maximilian- Maxi, decided to sigh and carry on to a different subject, “ I must apologize for my absence as the Lady of Calypse Castle . . . I-I . . . I wasn’t there in y-your time of need and I was inc-incapable of contacting you during your time in Lexos Mountains s-since I was in Nornui. I’m sorry, I-I’m so sorry that I was-wasn’t there-” She started to choke up and stumble on her words.
At first, Riftan’s skeptical side was prominent, one that he has built over years and years of having only himself to trust, but in a heartbeat, hearing her broken hiccups and whimpers, that man had suddenly dissipated.
Honestly, Riftan couldn’t bring himself to say something like, ‘ It’s alright,’ or, ‘ All is forgiven, all is well,’ because it wasn’t. He was hurt about her just betraying him like that, but, his heart also ached seeing her start to break down like that.
“ So . . . What’s in your bag?” Riftan awkwardly rubbed his neck with his hand and turned his head away.
Her head popped up like a surprised rabbit, and turned to her small case that was at her side. Sensing the change, she just decided to go along with it and rubbed her eyes quickly.
“ Ah, it’s just medical supplies or l-little magic contraptions. I don’t have m-much anyway. Oh, and some plain clothes.” She opened her case to show him and to Riftan’s surprise, she was right. In her case, Max’s clothes were folded neatly in a corner, taking up literally no space and the rest of the room was used for mana stones, metal bands, bags of herbs or medical roots, and a small jug for water.
“ Do nobles not usually have more . . . expensive taste?” Shit, did he let that slip out?
“ Who’s t-to say mana stones aren’t expensive in their own right?” Maxi teased, but behind that veil of sarcasm, genuine apprehension laced her voice and her face with worry.
“Also, I am no noble, Calypse.” The use of his name caught him off guard. She fixed her posture, straightening her back, putting her case away, and lifting her chin upwards. “ I am a wizard.”
Since the carriage had windows and they were open, Riftan could see an exasperated Uslin send a glare her way before . . . fondly (?) . . . rolling his eyes. Before Riftan could stare at Uslin, a silent reminder to back the fuck off, he strut up to the carriage on his horse with a ton of unearned confidence.
“ My dear Lady Maximilian, but what about your precious old father?” Uslin leaned in a bit, obviously trying to test her patience with a voice as sickeningly sweet as honey. “ Aren’t you related to that insolent jerk?”
“ Ricaydo, go back to your-”
“ Ugh!” Max made an exaggerated, offended sound. “ Don’t speak of h-him that way!” At first, Riftan thought that Uslin had offended her, but then she continued, “ It is merely misfortune that he and I are sa-sadly related, and if you’re getting at a f-fatherly figure, then I might as well have Calto sign the adoption papers!” Maxi threw her arms up in the air. Ruth snapped his neck back to stare in disbelief.
“ Same old Croix,” Uslin shook his head despite having a small smile on his face. The blonde man suddenly perked up a bit, “ Oh, how was your stay at Nornui?-”
“ What the hell are you on about? Go back to your station. Now,” Riftan ordered, sending Uslin a bone chilling glare.
He flinched before fixing himself on his horse, bowing his head slightly. “ My apologies for getting so off track, Commander. I shall resume back to my station. Have a comfortable ride, My Lady.” At that, Uslin rode off to his normal position.
Maxi made a face of disappointment, as if losing something familiar.
“ How do you know him?” Riftan prayed that his voice didn’t sound as jealous to her as it did to him.
Max perked up a bit, looking back to Riftan, “ Hm? Oh, Sir Ricaydo? I-it’s a long story . . .” She shook her head with a wistful smile. “ He helped get me into the World T-towers. Along the way, we talked a bit an-and got to know each other.” It kind of pissed him off that one of Riftan’s knights knew more about his own wife than he did.
Wait.
‘ When the hell did he find time for that?’
“ When did this happen?” It was more of a demand than a question. Maxi visibly stiffened, sensing that she may have done something to upset him. Riftan leaned in, narrowing his eyes at her.
“ Well . . . A few weeks before w-we were wed. A-after you left . . . Princess Agnes and the royal kn-knights escorted me to Nornui.”
. . .
“ That bitch .”