As Kuahel pulled his chestnut warhorse's head to the side, he let out an irritated snort.
Maxi watched the Temple Knight firmly grip his cranky mound and encourage him to slowly walk towards them.
"The horses are tired.
Let's take a short break."
As soon as the words left his mouth, the mages dismounted their horses.
Maxi got off Rem with pleasure too.
They had spent more time on horseback than on the ground in recent weeks.
She had become quite skilled at riding, although that didn't mean she was any less sore after hours balanced on a galloping animal.
She massaged her throbbing thighs, then untied her bag and saddle from Rem's back.
Ulyseon hurried to attend to her, emitting a disgruntled sigh as he approached.
“You are making it very difficult for me to fulfill my duties as your personal guard, my lady.”
"I'm sure maintaining vigilance at all times is difficult enough.
Let me take care of the trivial tasks myself."
Before the young knight could say anything else, Maxi set aside his backpack and led Rem to a cart.
Ulyseon followed her, muttering under his breath.
They grabbed a bag of feed to feed the horses and then retreated behind the windbreak the riders had erected.
Although the day was freezing, beads of sweat formed on Maxi's forehead as she tended to the horses.
Crossing the arid northern land in the middle of winter, when both grass and water were hard to find, was much more difficult than she had anticipated.
Royald was warming himself by the fire.
He called, "Lama, enough of this.
Come and rest."
When Ulyseon gave him a sharp look, the wizard coughed and said more courteously, "We will leave again after lunch.
You must not exhaust yourself."
It seemed that the mages were still coming to terms with the revelation that their colleague who they had contemptuously called “Lama” was, in fact, a lady of high lineage and wife of the greatest knight on the continent.
After nodding to Royald, Maxi strapped Rem in front of the windbreak and settled in by the fire.
Ulyseon reappeared shortly afterwards bringing their food rations.
“My lady,” he said indignantly.
“Why do these people keep calling you Lama?”
"Because...
of the magical properties I can use.
I'm an earth mage, but I also have a modest affinity for water.
It's considered a rare combination...
hence the harmless pranks."
Although she always hated the name, Maxi tried to appear indifferent so as not to cause an uproar.
She was worried that Ulyseon might start a fight with the mages.
Calming him with a smile, she began to eat the thick stew he had brought.
The feeling of the hot liquid warming his stomach was euphoric.
After the cold weather had frozen their bread, meat, cheese, and butter, making it all impossible to bite into, they had thrown it all into a boiling pot.
Despite the mediocre culinary effort that had been made, the resulting stew was quite tasty.
“Have you seen Riftan?” Maxi asked, chewing on a piece of meat.
“Do you know what he’s doing?”
Whenever the expedition stopped its march, the knights did not rest.
Instead, they began retrieving and lighting torches, erecting windbreaks, searching for much-needed water, and patrolling the area for monsters.
Only after that did they finally sit down to eat.
Worried that Riftan might be saving sustenance, Maxi observed the group of White Dragons.
“The commander is there, but head to head with the Temple Knight.”
When Maxi turned to face Hebaron, the burly knight was chewing on a piece of dried meat.
He pointed into the distance with his thumb.
Maxi narrowed his eyes to see Riftan and Kuahel sitting at opposite ends of a table with a map spread out between them.
Although they were a good distance away, she could tell they were truly engaged in a battle of nerves.
Arriving after Hebaron, Garrow shook his head.
"They're arguing about which route to take.
It's quite scary to watch.
I had no idea they had so much animosity towards each other."“It’s that Temple Knight who’s trying to pick a fight with Sir Riftan”, retorted Ulyseon, defending Riftan.
"I'd bet he's still angry about his defeat all those years ago.
He's a petty man, that guy."
Maxi blushed as she was reminded of the obscenities she had hurled at Riftan, although she knew that Ulyseon had said the word without much thought.
He added darkly, “It’s usually the defeated dog that barks the loudest.”
“Again with the scathing comments,” said Hebaron.
He shoved the remaining dried meat into his mouth and clicked his tongue.
"Take it easy on the man.
It's not like the Holy Sword acts like this for no reason.
It's a clash of personalities, sure, but we all know our commander refuses to listen to anyone if he thinks they're right.
Three times the paladin has been driven insane after the White Dragons broke a deal with some madness."
Hebaron held up three fingers.
“Of course, our commander was right on all three occasions, but as the man in charge of this expedition, the rogue White Dragons can only be a thorn in his side.”
“That proves how petty he is,” Ulyseon said with a cynical growl.
"He dared to question Sir Riftan's judgment.
That's where he went wrong.
He should have simply followed our commander's instructions from the beginning."
Maxi rolled his eyes.
It seemed that Ulyseon's loyalty to his commander had turned into blind obedience while she was away.
He genuinely seemed to believe that there was no greater knight.
Although she fully agreed, she did not think it prudent to display such an opinion when they were destined to cooperate with the Temple Knights for the next few months.
Paladins deserved respect simply because they were representatives of God.
She was about to say this to Ulyseon when Hebaron spoke.
"If we don't do anything, I bet they'll keep going until we leave again.
What do you say about dissuading them, my lady?"
“I-I?”
Maxi hesitated.
Although Riftan no longer blatantly ignored her, he still did not show the same affection for her as before.
He responded when she spoke to him, but still kept her at a distance.
This was somehow more painful.
Was he still mad at her?
Or had his affection for her diminished?
She was sinking into these heavy thoughts when Hebaron spoke in a persuasive tone.
"I'm sure the commander will listen to you, my lady.
If you don't hurry, he might miss his chance to eat."
Hebaron's final words made Maxi stand up, and she ran to where Miriam was handing out rations.
She ordered another bowl of stew and watched the wizard fill one for her without saying a word.
After looking at it for a moment, she pushed the bowl back.
“Please add more meat and vegetables.”
Looking irritated, Miriam poured more into the bowl.
Maxi carried the stew to where Riftan was facing Kuahel, arms crossed.
His brow furrowed as he saw her approach.
Why does he always frown like that whenever he sees me?
“I heard you hadn’t eaten… so I brought you food.”
"I'm fine.
You stay with her.
We're still talking," Riftan replied sharply before turning his attention to Kuahel.
Maxi followed his gaze, looking at the Temple Knight, before stubbornly placing the bowl in front of Riftan.
"Y-You can resume your conversation later.
I've already eaten, so go ahead and eat too.
You've been up since dawn and leaving on an empty stomach.
You must be hungry."
“I said I’m fine…”
“If you don't want it, then give it to me,” Kuahel cut in.
Surprised, Maxi looked at the Temple Knight, who was looking provocatively at Riftan.
His eyes turned to her, and his tone was strangely polite when he spoke.
“Would everything be okay?”
She nodded, unable to deny it.
Just when he was about to reluctantly hand over the bowl, Riftan grabbed his arm.
“I changed my mind,” he growled.
“I’ll eat.”
Embarrassed, Maxi looked at Kuahel and returned the bowl to Riftan.
She silently berated herself for not bringing two servings with her.
The Temple Knight seemed indifferent to the stew as he stood up.
“Since you need to eat, let’s end this fruitful conversation here.”
“We still don’t agree on“”"My answer remains the same.
I have no intention of changing course.
If you cannot accept this, you and your men are free to pursue any route you wish.
I must say, for someone who was an unwanted addition, you certainly have a lot of demands."
“You damn“”
Riftan suppressed his irritation and looked at Maxi, the corners of his mouth still twitching with suppressed obscenities.
After silently looking at him, Kuahel left to join his knights.
Maxi watched Riftan staring at the Temple Knight commander.
As soon as he felt her eyes on him, he let go of his arm as if he had been burned.
He took the bowl and headed towards the White Dragons.
An eager explanation escaped her as she followed him.
"I apologize...
for interrupting...
while you were having an important conversation.
Sir Hebaron informed me that you had not eaten, so I“"
"It's okay.
We weren't discussing anything important."
After giving Hebaron a sharp look, Riftan dragged a bucket in front of a fire to sit down.
Maxi quickly brought another one and sat down next to him.
"Do you want me to get you a beer?
T-They're also baking bread and bacon there.
Would you like some of that too?"
“That’s enough.”
“But… you usually eat more than that.”
"I get tired more easily if I eat too much.
It's best to eat in moderation while we're on the move."
"OK I understand."
An awkward silence passed between them, and Riftan kept his gaze fixed on the bowl as he ate.
It was almost always like this when she didn't start the conversation first.
Maxi looked down at the floor to hide his disappointment.
She scraped the snow with her boot, then looked at him again.
In that short moment, a strand of hair had slipped into her eyes.
After a brief hesitation, Maxi reached out and brushed her hair away.
Riftan backed away from her, surprised.
It was as if she had threatened him with a knife.
Stunned by his overreaction, she sat and watched as he combed his hair back with a stony expression.
He continued to eat without saying anything else.
It was clear he was trying to finish the stew as quickly as possible so he could leave.
“Hm… I think I'll go there, so take your time,” she said, keeping her voice cheerful to hide the pain.
Not far away, Hebaron watched the couple.
For some reason, the knight burst into laughter when Maxi stood up.
She scowled at him before addressing Rem.
Riftan's ambiguous treatment towards her continued even after that day.
Although he didn't seem to be purposely avoiding her anymore, he still kept his distance.
Maxi's patience was slowly running out.
She followed him and tried to oblige him whenever she could, but despite her efforts to close the gap between them, her face only grew more stern.
She couldn't understand why.
If she had the courage, she would have asked him directly.
However, given that she was too scared of his answer, she couldn't say it out loud.
She tried hard to be more pleasant while secretly hoping her treatment would improve naturally over time.
Once, she even summoned the courage to offer to cure him.
He didn't respond with words, just a look that said, no
be ridiculous
.
His face flushed immediately.
She knew he didn't need healing or restorative magic, but she couldn't stop making excuses to touch him.
Riftan hadn't even touched her pinky since their kiss, and he never allowed himself to get closer to her than necessary.
The tables had turned, and now she was the one burning with passion.
She was so desperate to touch him that she even began to harbor an evil hope that he would suffer a minor injury.