Riftan slid an arm under her neck and rubbed his cheek against her head.
He seemed to be warming her, thinking she was cold.
Not knowing what to do, Maxi peeked over his shoulder to see if anyone was watching them.
As Riftan had predicted, no one even glanced in their direction, but she didn't have the courage to stay pressed next to him.
“I’m f-fine, so c-could you c-move a-little…”
"Can't you see she's embarrassed?
You really should be more considerate!"
Maxi's head snapped up to see who was speaking.
A thin young man, apparently in his early twenties, stood a few meters away, holding a small flashlight in his hand.
"Mind your own business, Ruth.
Out of here!"
"No need to growl at me like a guard dog!
I have no intention of disturbing your lady."
Maxi's eyes widened in surprise.
The young man spoke with the tone of someone scolding a wild dog, seemingly indifferent to Riftan's intimidating presence.
When his gaze settled on Maxi, she quickly sat down, and Riftan reluctantly followed suit.
"What do you want?"
“The night was cold, so I took the luxury of bringing you something.”
He searched for something in his robe pocket.
When his hand reappeared, there was a small stone glowing faintly in his wrinkled palm.
"A fire stone.
I cast a spell on it to keep it warm, so hold on."
“I-Is this r-really for m-me?”
His unexpected kindness surprised her.
The young man raised an eyebrow.
"Who else?
Those men over there could sleep peacefully naked under a pile of snow."
His tone was mocking, as if he didn't care who might hear him.
"But you are different, my lady.
You are not in good shape, it seems.
I would be the one to suffer if you caught a cold, so consider this a preventative measure."
What he meant was clear – she shouldn't be dead weight.
She took the stone without saying a word.
Just as he had promised, a current of warm air enveloped her.
She looked at the stone in wonder before realizing that she hadn't expressed her gratitude.
“T-Thank you, S-Sir R-Ruth.”
A subtle look passed across the young man's face.
"I'm a wizard, not a knight.
You can just call me Ruth."
With that, he turned around as if to say he had nothing else to attend to and walked across the room to his bed.
She was looking at him blankly when Riftan sat up and pulled her towards him, evidently irritated.
"You must be tired.
Go to sleep now.
We'll leave at dawn tomorrow."
He turned off the flashlight next to the bed.
As if on cue, the knights turned off their lanterns one by one, and darkness descended.
Maxi squirmed uncomfortably in his arms before a wave of intense fatigue overcame her.
She closed her eyes, Riftan's steady heartbeat soothing her like a lullaby.
Moments later, she was fast asleep, all worries about sleeping in a dirty barn forgotten.
When morning arrived, the village was alive with a vitality that had none of the eerie silence of the previous night.
The beauty of Eudychal Forest was visible just behind the row of cottages, and in front of the humble accommodations was an endless field of undulating golden wheat.
Maxi came out of the barn and washed his face with ice-cold water from the stream.
Using wet hands, she combed her long, vine-like locks.
A cool breeze passed over her damp face, raising small goosebumps along her back.
After wiping her face with her dry sleeves, she returned to the barn.
The knights had already finished packing and were gathered in front of the carriage.
“Don’t walk around alone.”
“I-I’m s-sorry.”
Hearing Riftan's stern voice, she rushed to his side.
Riftan frowned in displeasure and lifted her onto his lap into the carriage.
"Monsters are often seen in Eudychal Forest.
Never walk alone."
She gave a start, reminded of the ogres she had seen on the first day of her journey.
“I’ll s-be c-careful.”
"Good.
We have a lot of luggage to load into the carriage, so I'll have to ride a horse from today onwards.
Call if you need me."He closed the door.
Moments later, the carriage began to jolt along the uneven dirt road.
She watched the landscape pass by outside the window.
The wheat fields receded into the distance, and his vision was soon filled by a dense wall of trees.
Rays of sunlight penetrated the canopy of leaves and fell on the winding path like a veil woven with golden threads.
The knights followed in formation at a slow pace through the spilling light.
Maxi anxiously searched the dense undergrowth for any malevolent monsters that might jump out to ambush them.
But their worries were in vain, and the journey continued peacefully.
Before long, she collapsed into her seat, exhausted by the strain of nerves rattled in the shaking carriage.
Their vigilance, after all, would not protect them.
After a long while, the carriage stopped.
The door opened, and Maxi saw Riftan standing there.
“Let’s rest here.”
Relieved, she jumped out of the carriage.
She felt a tingling sensation in her stiff legs as the blood began to flow again.
Stifling a moan, she awkwardly leaned forward to massage her legs.
Seeing this, Riftan spread his cloak on a flat rock so that she could sit and began massaging her cramped legs.
Embarrassed, she looked around.
The knights who had been watering the horses now looked at her in disbelief.
She blushed and pushed him away.
“R-Riftan, I’m s-fine…”
“Is this a habit of yours?”
“P-P-Pardon me?”
His hands were just above the hem of her skirt, massaging her calves lightly.
“Every time you open your mouth, you say everything is fine.”
She watched as his strong, muscular hands gently squeezed her legs.
She couldn't think of a suitable response and instead just wanted to ask why he was being so kind to her.
The butterflies in her stomach were pleasant, but they also gave her the uncomfortable feeling of wearing clothes that were a little too tight.
“I-I'm really g-fine now…”
Only when he was free of him did Riftan stand up.
She pretended to smooth out the folds of her skirt.
"Get some rest.
I'll get you something to eat."
Shortly afterwards, Riftan returned silently with bread and cured meat.
The bread was so dry and hard that Maxi was only able to swallow it after soaking it in water.
After finishing her meal, she took leave of him to relieve herself in the bushes.
The monotonous journey began again.
Inside the unstable carriage, Maxi spent time counting the trees that passed by the window.
The further they went, the denser the forest became, so that the sun could barely penetrate the dense canopy of trees.
When it got so dark that it became impossible to continue the journey, the horses stopped.
Maxi was only allowed to disembark after the knights patrolled the area to ensure that no monsters or wild animals were lurking.
She held the handle of her lantern and approached Riftan, who was setting up a small tent near the carriage.
The other knights were setting up their tents around a fire.
Riftan hammered a stake into the ground to secure his tent and then turned to face her.
"The forests are thick with fog before dawn.
We need these tents to protect us from the ice."
Maxi looked at the waist-high triangular tent and then bent down to look inside.
It looked like it could barely fit one person.
“Isn’t it t-too narrow for t-two p-people?”
She tilted her head curiously, and Riftan stopped hammering.
He turned to her with an embarrassed look.
"I'm going to sleep here alone.
You're going to sleep in the carriage."
Maxi's face turned red.
Embarrassedly realizing that she shouldn't have assumed they would sleep together, she quickly thought of an excuse.
“W-We’ve been sleeping together, so I t-thought…”
"Don't talk.
I could barely contain myself last night."
He let out a deep sigh, and she hung her head with a hurt expression on her face.
Seeing this, he muttered a curse and began to lead her away by the hand.
She tried to follow him as best she could on her shaky legs.
They weren't far from the camp, but it was already alarmingly dark.
The haunting cries of night birds mingled with the rustling of leaves in the wind.
As Maxi clutched Riftan's hand in fear, he pushed her against the thick trunk of a tree and kissed her voraciously.She let out an audible sigh.
A soft tongue wrapped passionately around his own.
She flinched at the sensation, but his movement only made him cup her face and kiss her deeper.
His soft hair brushed your forehead as his large hands gently caressed your neck and cheeks.
He tilted his head to taste the roof of her mouth and explore the inside of her cheeks.
A drop of saliva slipped between her lips and ran down her chin.
Following her trail with his tongue, he whispered, “I want to stay up all night like this.”
He guided her hand down his body.
She felt his hardness pulsing beneath her palm and jumped.
She tried to pull her hand away, but his grip on her arm was too firm.
“Do you have any idea how excruciating it is for me to keep my hands off you in this state?”