“Does it… bother you so much to see another woman winking at me?” teased Riftan.
Ignoring Maxi's furious glare, he approached her from behind.
He rested his chin on her shoulder and continued with a smug smile, "I didn't know my wife was so possessive.
I'll have to take care of myself from now on."
"T-The princess was hitting on a married man!
I-I couldn't stand her shameless behavior!"
Riftan's smile only grew at her weak excuse.
Maxi glared at him sharply, eyes flashing like an enraged feline, and tried to break free.
Instead of letting her go, Riftan picked her up and sat her on the bed.
He placed her on his lap and whispered sweet words while distributing light kisses on her sullen cheeks.
“You are charming even when you are angry.”
Maxi did her best to maintain her furious expression, but realized she wouldn't be able to resist his gentle attack for long.
Sliding his hand beneath her robe, Riftan gently caressed her abdomen through the thin dress.
Feeling her anger melt like butter, Maxi grumbled somewhat resentfully, “I’m starting to think… you’re a huge scoundrel.”
“Your charming antics make me so,” he replied with a smile.
When his hand came up to gently caress her breast, Maxi shrugged slightly, even as he discreetly tugged on her wrist to elicit a more intense caress.
The joke instantly disappeared from Riftan's face.
He tilted her head back and crushed his lips to hers.
As his tongue found its way into her mouth, he gently tugged on her taut nipple.
Maxi let out a deep moan.
Just like that, a tingling heat ignited in his stomach.
Wanting more, she guided his hand to the juncture of her thighs.
Riftan responded with a growl and stroked her hungrily through her thin clothing.
She opened her legs slightly, waiting for him to caress other more sensitive areas.
Suddenly, he felt his hand withdraw abruptly.
Maxi looked at him with confusion.
His face was visibly tight with frustration from holding back, but he tried to put on an awkward smile.
"I should wash up first.
I didn't have time because of the princess."
With that, he released her from his lap, got up from the bed and walked to the wooden bathtub.
After looking vaguely at his back, Maxi said in a dark voice, “Were you with her the whole time?”
Riftan, who was in the process of taking off his robe, looked at her over his shoulder.
“Don't tell me you really doubt me,” he said with a slight frown on his forehead.
"O-Of course not!
It's just… that woman seems to have lingering feelings for you… so I can't help but worry about what you two might have discussed."
Riftan looked at her in silence for a moment before letting out a small sigh.
“The princess only negotiated with me in the name of King Thorben.”
Maxi's head snapped up at the unexpected response.
What did the King of Dristan have to negotiate with Riftan?
Sensing his curiosity, Riftan calmly explained, "As you know, the Armistice of the Seven Kingdoms is currently threatened.
The Church of Osiriya, which has served as a pillar of the armistice, is deeply divided, and the current pope has failed to unite the two warring factions.
Those against the armistice have taken advantage of the division within the church to unite and strengthen their cause.
To stop their efforts, we must also gather more supporters of the peace agreement."
“S-So… does this mean you managed to convince Dristan to join our side?”
“I haven’t received a definitive answer yet, but I managed to convince them to adopt a neutral stance.”
Maxi looked at her husband in amazement.
Because of its territorial disputes with Wedon, Dristan was the most unhappy kingdom with the armistice.
It got to the point where the royal family secretly supported marauders who plundered Wedon's eastern territories, despite the peace agreement prohibiting kingdoms from invading each other.
How had Riftan managed to persuade such people?
As if reading his mind, Riftan sighed and continued his explanation.
"The only reason Dristan wants to wage war is to reclaim the lands they have ruled for centuries.
However, if they could reclaim those lands without bloodshed, they would no longer have a reason to oppose the armistice."Maxi stared at her husband in horror.
"Y-You promised them our eastern territories?
But making such promises without royal approval is treason!"
"You know I would never do such a thing.
These are terms to which King Reuben has already consented." Riftan shook his head in disbelief at her reaction.
"After the duke's death, the dukedom will pass to you, the crown princess, or the royal grandson.
If there is a dispute over the inheritance, the eastern nobles will have to choose sides.
And once they start fighting among themselves, Dristan will use the opportunity to invade our kingdom.
If the lands are going to be ravaged by war anyway, it's best to use them now as bargaining chips to get what we want."
“B-But if you consider the immense profit these lands yield…”
"The taxes paid by the duchy may be astronomical, but the cost of protecting it is not much different.
King Reuben has already sent a message to King Thorben that he is willing to negotiate over the eastern territories, and Lienna Thorben has been sent here with her brother's response."
Maxi blinked without reaction at the revelation.
She had noticed the king's frequent summons to Riftan after his arrival at Balbourne, but never imagined their discussions were about that.
Feeling foolish, she muttered, “I thought… you were just negotiating with her about supplies.”
"That's what we wanted everyone to think.
Secret agreements between two kingdoms are best kept private, after all."
Rubbing the back of his neck with a wet hand, Riftan rested his head wearily against the bathtub.
Seeing him so exhausted made Maxi feel a pang of guilt.
While she was seething with petty jealousy, he was doing his best to avoid a war.
She lowered her head in shame before getting up from the bed to silently walk behind him.
Taking the soap from the shelf, he said with determination, “Let me help you bathe.”
Riftan's eyes opened.
He looked at her before giving her a worried smile.
"I think I can do it.
You should go to bed early."
“But I want to.”
Maxi quickly lathered up the soap and started washing his hair.
At first he tried to avoid it, but soon he leaned back in resignation.
After carefully rinsing his velvet hair, she gently massaged his broad shoulders and muscular nape.
A contented sigh escaped his lips.
Maxi watched him with a satisfied smile, then leaned over to kiss him on the cheek.
Riftan looked at her with feverish eyes and gently tugged on her arm.
"Come."
“I… I already bathed.”
“So what?”
Maxi feigned reluctance, but soon undressed and got into the bathtub.
He pulled her on top of him and drew her into a tender kiss.
Maxi smiled, twirling her silky hair around her finger.
A sweet pleasure soon took over.
The next day, the coalition army departed the city with forty baggage wagons loaded with supplies.
The Dristan Royal Court had generously prepared abundant provisions in advance.
They now had enough food to sustain three thousand soldiers for half a month.
Furthermore, Dristan had also provided an additional five hundred troops.
Even so, Maxi found it difficult to rejoice in all of this, as the person in charge of leading Dristan's cavalry was none other than Princess Lienna.
She shot a murderous look at the woman who seemed practically glued to Riftan.
Although his detached manner towards her was embarrassingly obvious to any observer, Princess Lienna remained impassive and continued to come up with all sorts of excuses to stay close to him.
Maxi couldn't believe the woman's audacity.
She aggressively stirred her porridge, the spoon banging against the bowl.
If only she could jump at her and give her a stern warning to stay away from her husband.
But he didn't want to frustrate Riftan's efforts with his petty jealousy.
Dristan's support was necessary to maintain the armistice.
Therefore, I had no choice but to tolerate the annoying princess until I could finally return to Anatol after this tiring campaign.
Maxi desperately tried to contain his anger as he mechanically shoveled the porridge into his mouth.
Ruth, who was watching her sideways, burst out in exasperation, "Can't you do something about your eyes?
They remind me of a dead fish.
I'm starting to get scared."
“Mind your own business.”She paid no attention to the sorcerer.
In another group, the princess laughed as she playfully slapped Riftan's forearm.
Maxi's expression must have been truly frightening, as the knights who approached with the rations quickly changed course upon seeing her.
It was no use.
He could no longer pretend to be indifferent, his dignity be damned.
Gripping the spoon hard enough to break it, Maxi swallowed the rest of the warm porridge.
Then, she quickly got up and marched towards Riftan.
“Shouldn’t we be leaving soon?”