Riftan picked up his coat and threw it over his shoulders.
Seeing that he was about to leave with his knights, Maxi hurriedly stood up from his seat.
She was tempted to follow him, but what would she say?
She could already tell from his walk how furious he was.
She knew she would have to explain herself at some point, but she couldn't muster the courage to face her fury so soon.
After anxiously watching him leave, she turned to Kuahel.
When he looked at the commander of the Temple Knights with a look that conveyed that he had a lot to say, a slight wrinkle formed between Kuahel's eyebrows.
After giving him a glare, Maxi looked away to address Calto.
"Master Calto...
were you aware all along...
that uncovering the secrets of the past war was not the sole purpose of this expedition?
Why keep such details from us?"
“I would also like to know,” Anette interjected.
“Frankly, I feel cheated.”
As if not satisfied with the accusatory atmosphere that had formed around the old man, Celric came to his defense.
"Although we have to admit that we didn't explain everything, there was no mistake!
When we were forming the expedition group, the chances of war were slim.
We only discovered the monsters' unusual movements after we arrived in Anatol.
As nothing was set in stone, we thought it best not to disclose anything to avoid causing panic."
When Anette moved as if to retort with an angry response, Celric quickly added, "The situation is indeed much more serious than anticipated, but our main objective remains the same.
Our task is limited to investigating the traces of the dark mages to locate the allied monster army.
Anything beyond that is the responsibility of the Temple Knights."
“Are you saying that our role is completed once we find the monster army’s main base?” Nevin, one of sigrew's most experienced mages, asked with a look of relief.
Miriam let out a loud, exasperated sigh.
"What cowardice.
If war breaks out, hundreds and thousands of lives will be threatened.
It's only right that we fight too!"
“But that wasn’t the original agreement!” Nevin said heatedly.
“No one told me we would be advancing into monster territory!”
“No need to worry about that,” Kuahel said calmly.
"After we find the base of the monster army, experienced campaign mages from all over the Seven Kingdoms will join the coalition army.
Your task is nothing more than to go to the Plateau to help us locate the monster army."
Ben, known for being the most prudent of mages, asked cautiously, “Wouldn’t it be better to form a new group with more experienced mages?”
Calto shook his head.
"It was unclear how the monsters were gathering their information, so we had no choice but to select from those in the Tower.
If we had summoned our mages currently deployed across the continent, the lords they serve would have discovered the situation..."
Lucain, a Kabala mage, broke the silence to finish Calto's sentence.
“…and that would have affected the next conclave.”
He was a man of shy and private nature, known only for speaking to Albern, with whom he shared a workshop.
His thin face wrinkled into an irritated scowl directed at Kuahel.
"Let's speak clearly.
Hiding your plans from the monster army wasn't your only concern.
You wanted to keep them hidden from the nobles so as not to completely change the outcome of the conclave.
Isn't that why you sought out a group of mages with no connections to the noble houses?"
A weak smile formed on Kuahel's lips at the accusation.
His green eyes flashed as he spat dismissively, "Even if that is true, would it be so detrimental to your cause?
I would think that the mages would also want to prevent the Orthodox faction from gaining the papacy."
Unable to refute the knight's point, Lucain pursed his lips in discontent.
In an attempt to lessen the hostility, Geoffrey, another sigrew mage, frantically waved his hands."Come on, there's no need to get angry.
At the end of the day, we're in the same boat.
We must thwart the dark wizards to avoid another persecution, and the Reformed Church must deal with the army of monsters and contain the influence of their Orthodox brothers.
We have a common interest.
So much hostility is completely unnecessary."
"But if the mages of Urd and the Temple Knights continue to withhold details," Armin interrupted stiffly, unfolding his arms, "we cannot blindly follow orders for long.
You must share all new information in a timely manner.
If we are going to be ready for anything, we need to have a clear understanding of the situation.
I would prefer not to be thrown into danger again so unprepared."
“That was an error in judgment on my part,” Calto readily admitted.
"I give you my word.
I won't hide anything anymore."
With the discussion concluded, the wizards left the dining room.
Having hurried into the courtyard, Maxi found it bustling with activity, which meant that the viscount had returned from his nightly vigil.
His head swiveled back and forth through the crowd of riders.
Soon, she saw him talking to the viscount.
She watched him silently from afar until he turned his head towards her.
His gaze was so cold that it made her freeze, draining all her courage.
She shrugged.
When he finally turned his attention to the viscount, Maxi broke free and fled.
It would be better for her to wait until he approached first, she reasoned.
With the White Dragons traveling with them to Pamela Plateau, there would be more opportunities to talk.
Maxi tried to console himself with the thought.
The next day, the team left Sevron in a hurry.
Although the viscount made it clear that he wanted to host the illustrious knights in his castle for a few more days, no one on the team wished to stay a day longer.
Even Ruth, as tired of being on the move as anyone, seemed delighted to be leaving.
“The stench is finally gone!” he exclaimed with uninhibited joy.
The other wizards turned to look at him.
Even as they left, whenever he opened his mouth, they continued to look at him as if he were a fascinating creature.
Feeling pressured by the attention, Ruth pulled down her hood and complained, “Though I fear I am now in a worse hell.”
“You got yourself into this,” Maxi replied harshly as he kept his gaze fixed on Riftan, who rode ahead.
She was still sulking from being ignored earlier in the day.
What was even more annoying was that due to the unnecessarily sunny weather, he looked even more magnificent under the bright sunlight.
He was helmetless today, his black hair and chiseled face fully exposed.
Maxi felt a twinge of irritation when he saw Sidina looking at him.
She watched as the girl turned to whisper happily in Anette's ear.
Although he knew that Sidina was just having fun with a favorite pastime of hers“looking at handsome men“it still made Maxi seethe with rage.
She looked disdainfully at Kuahel Leon.
If only the man would lower his hood, then Sidina would have someone else to drool over.
Although Riftan was arguably the more attractive of the two, Maxi was aware of her friend's preference for men of younger beauty like the commander of the Temple Knights.
He would no doubt look away from Riftan.
Just at that moment, Kuahel looked over his shoulder to give a warning.
"This area is full of bear owls and man-eating wolves.
Be ready to cast a barrier at any time."
Embarrassed, Maxi quickly looked down.
This was not the time to wallow in jealousy.
She shook off her tumultuous emotions and prepared her magic to be released at any moment.
As it happened, the rest of the day passed without sightings of wild beasts or monsters.
At sunset, Maxi felt discouraged as she dismounted and began to set up camp.
It was the magicians' turn to prepare dinner that night.
She prepared a thick stew by mixing flour, butter, bacon, potatoes, dried vegetables, and herbs in a pot of water that Armin had collected.
Meanwhile, Kiel and Sidina sliced the bread and cheese, and the rest of the wizards distributed the food as soon as it was ready.As Maxi served the stew to the knights, she spotted Riftan tending to his horse a short distance away.
She promptly grabbed the biggest bowl and filled it to the brim with hot stew.
She forced the ladle into Miriam's hands and walked over to Riftan, being careful not to spill anything.
“R-Riftan…” She paused to clear her throat, then continued in the firmest voice she could muster.
"You must be hungry.
Here, I brought you“"
She held her breath as he slowly turned around.
Bathed in the glow of the sunset, his skin glowed from gold to bronze, and his windblown blue-black hair had an otherworldly purple hue.
It was hard to believe that such a handsome man was her husband.
The year she had spent with him was now a distant memory.
Had it all been just his illusion?
Even the passionate kiss they shared at Sevron Castle felt like a dream.
"I can get my own food.
You should take care of yourself first."
His blunt tone brought Maxi out of her thoughts.
Although her face momentarily grew hot at the refusal, she did not give up.
She pushed the bowl into his hands.
“Mine is ready too… so you have this one.”
Riftan grimaced but accepted the bowl.
Maxi ran back to the pot to serve his share.
Before hurriedly returning, she grabbed some bread and cheese.
She found him in front of the White Dragons' tent, already eating the stew.
As she cautiously approached, Elliot silently got up to leave.
Hebaron and Ulyseon were not far away, waving enthusiastically as they walked over to join them at the front of the tent.
Elliot grabbed the pair and dragged them away.
Maxi gave him a grateful look before sitting down next to Riftan.
He didn't look up, opting to keep his gaze on the bowl and spoon the stew into his mouth.
When she realized he wasn't going to meet her eyes, anxiety overwhelmed her and she spoke first.
"Do you like it?
I made it."
Riftan's hand paused for a moment.
Maxi waited silently for any reaction from him, but he went back to eating without saying a word.
Hiding her embarrassment, she began to chat excitedly.
"Y-Do you...
remember the last time we ate stew together like this?
It was raining...
and you made it by cooking herbs and sausages in a thermos.
D-Do you think it tastes similar?
Sometimes I find myself missing that flavor, so I came up with this recipe after several tries.
People...
usually seem to like it when I make it for them."
“…”
"I did my share in the Mages Tower kitchen, you know.
The newbies took turns...
and I struggled at first, as I had never cooked in my life.
I don't think...
I have a natural talent in the kitchen.
The others prepared medicine for poor digestion in advance whenever it was my turn.
Still...
I think I've improved a lot.
Don't you agree?"
Maxi tried to laugh off her embarrassing experience, hoping it would lighten the mood.
To his dismay, Riftan's face grew even colder.
Trying to get at least a smile, she continued her story.
"The wizards are quite insensitive...
one of them even sold digestion medicines next to me while I served the meal.
It's thanks to them that I got more involved in the kitchen, and each time, my friend over there “ her name is Anette “ tried it for me.
Anette has twin younger brothers, and they often“"
“Aren’t you going to eat?” Riftan said stiffly, cutting off his verbiage.
Maxi stepped back and closed his mouth.
He set down the empty bowl and directed his icy gaze at her.
"We're going riding again at dawn.
I suggest you eat and sleep instead of talking."
“I… I was just hoping to talk to you for a little“”
Before she could finish, Riftan grabbed his sword, stood up, and marched to where the knights stood guard.
After watching him leave expressionlessly, Maxi's face contorted into a tearful expression, and she began to devour spoonfuls of the warm stew.
He didn't even notice that I gave him the biggest piece of meat.
Holding back her tears, she quickly finished her meal and retreated to her tent.