Maxi was awakened from a deep sleep by the kittens' meows.
As she blinked at the bright light coming through the windows, she felt like her head was going to explode.
He groaned and held his temples.
Something was scraping the insides of his stomach, and his head throbbed as if someone had struck him with a hammer.
He had never felt such great discomfort in his life.
Overwhelmed, her face contorted.
Suddenly, a cup of water was placed in front of him.
She slowly turned her head to see Riftan looking at her, a grim expression on his face and three excited kittens hanging from his leg.
“Is my bohemian lady finally awake?”
Maxi stiffened as he remembered the night before.
Riftan placed the cup of water in his hand.
"You looked amazing last night.
I didn't know you liked drinking so much."
He spoke in such a soft voice that Maxi began to feel uneasy.
"I-I d-don't!
Y-Yesterday was the first time I-I drank so much."
His voice wavered.
Looking at her doubtfully, Riftan sat on the edge of the bed and let out a deep sigh.
It looked like he was trying to contain his anger.
Maxi lowered his head.
Holding the cool cup in her hand, she looked at herself in the mirror.
The hair that Ludis had styled so elegantly the night before now looked like a tangle of vines, and her dress was nowhere to be found.
Dressed only in her nightgown, she looked like a beggar.
She slowly lifted the blanket to cover her swollen face.
Riftan's soft voice reached his ears as loud and clear as a roar.
"Let this be my only warning.
If I see you drunk among a group of noisy men again, I will make sure you can't get out of bed for a while."
1
Maxi raised his head in surprise.
It wasn't his threat that surprised her, but the fact that she wasn't afraid.
She had absolute confidence that he would never hurt her.
“Do you know what I would do to you?”
When Riftan saw that his threat failed to scare her, he growled softly.
The hairs on his neck stood up.
Realizing that his anger was genuine, Maxi quickly shook his head.
“W-it will never w-happen again.”
“If I could have what I wanted…”
He looked resentfully at his disheveled appearance, then took a deep, resigned breath.
"I'll have the maids bring you some herbal tea to help with your hangover, so rest here for a while.
I'll save the rest of my words for tonight."
“W-w-where are y-you going?”
“I have business to take care of at the training camp.”
Riftan jumped out of bed, his voice strangely calm.
After removing the kittens from his boots, he placed them on the bed and left the room.
Maxi quickly gathered them into his lap; Their indignant meows were beginning to aggravate his splitting headache.
While she was calming the kittens, Ludis came in with a tray of tea.
“How are you feeling, my lady?”
She felt terrible, but after the show she had put on the night before, she didn't want to be seen suffering from a hangover.
Trying to look as dignified as possible, she took a sip of herbal tea to calm her stomach.
Ludis, however, quickly realized his condition.
"Let me run you a bath, my lady.
A nice hot bath and a bowl of the cook's special egg drop soup should help you feel better."
Maxi nodded, comforted by the thoughtful suggestion.
“Y-yes, w-that would be nice.”
A short time later, a tub of warm water was brought into the room.
Maxi quickly undressed and entered.
She felt refreshed after soaking her body in the steamy water and washing her thick hair with a herbal tonic.
She stayed until the water was warm before leaving to change into a new, clean dress.
Ludis returned with a bowl of soup cooked with barley, potatoes, onions and eggs over a low heat.
After eating enough, Maxi sat by the fireplace with a book.
She was able to read without difficulty as the herbal tea proved to be effective in relieving her headache.
“Should I take the kittens away so they don’t disturb you?” asked Ludis.
Maxi shook her head, reluctant to allow the little creatures to leave the warmth of her room.
"W-n-it won't be n-necessary.
T-They have b-behaved."Ludis smiled.
“O preto é bem dócil, mas os outros dois são pequenos pestinhas arteiros.
Assim que recuperaram um pouco de energia, começaram a correr pela sala.
Vão se tornar ótimos caçadores de ratos quando crescerem.”
Maxi sighed in relief when she saw the tender expression on Ludis's face.
She was worried that Ludis might resent the added responsibility, but the maid seemed delighted with the new members of the household.
"I c-thought of names for them yesterday.
The black one is Roy, the white one is Laura, and the gray one is Ron."
Ludis frowned in concentration and pronounced each name, then smiled.
“Vou avisar os criados.
Todos eles gostaram dessas coisinhas preciosas.
O cozinheiro tem grandes esperanças para eles.
Ele até preparou petiscos para que cresçam mais rápido e comecem a caçar ratos na cozinha.”
Ludis pointed to a wooden bowl on the floor.
Maxi watched adoringly as the kittens stuck their noses into the milk and fish porridge, and then turned his attention back to the book.
It was the last of those Ruth had given him.
Embora tivesse feito pouco progresso em cultivar afinidade com mana, a leitura lhe deu uma melhor compreensão do conceito e dos princípios da magia.
She took a fresh piece of parchment from a leather bag and opened the last chapter of the book.
Just as she was about to start reading, Laura, who had fallen asleep after her hearty meal, got out of the basket and started scratching at the hem of her dress.
Maxi olhou para baixo para o gatinho com carinho e coçou suas costas, mas os miados altos do gato logo a distraíram a ponto de as palavras na página não fazerem mais sentido.
Agitatedly, she looked at the kitten.
Ludis quickly picked up Laura and put her in the basket, but the unfortunate girl continued to meow.
“Shall I take them out, my lady?”
"N-No, I was about to go to the library.
C-Could you watch them f-for a little while?"
"Leave it to me.
They'll calm down after drinking some milk."
Ludis caressed the kitten tenderly before heating milk in a pan over the fire.
After slipping a robe over her dress, Maxi left the room with her book.
She walked through the cold hallways until she reached the library.
She was greeted by Ruth, who looked on with a sarcastic smile from her usual spot.
“Did you grow more while you slept?”
Maxi looked confused before blushing as she remembered her drunken behavior.
“Shaming a lady in addition to bringing up her mistakes is very rude.”
“I don’t know any lady who could drink half a barrel alone.”
Maxi looked at him suspiciously.
"Y-You're lying.
I couldn't have drunk that much."
“E isso é só contando a cerveja.
Se incluirmos o vinho… mas como você está perfeitamente bem esta manhã, suponho que você tenha talento natural para isso.
Sir Hebaron não parava de elogiá-la.”
“I-I had a f-terrible headache when I woke up this morning.”
“But you look perfectly fine.”
“B-Because I drank herbal tea!”
As a noblewoman, she could think of nothing more embarrassing than being labeled a drunkard.
To her relief, Ruth shrugged and sat down at the table, apparently uninterested in provoking her further.
“We have plenty of opportunities to see how well you can handle alcohol.”
"H-How dare you!
I w-won't drink like that from now on."
"If you say so.
You're here to study, aren't you?
Please sit down.
How far have you read?"
She gave him a resentful look before sitting down dejectedly.
“I only have this book left, although I can't say I understood t-everything I read…”
"You've progressed quickly.
I'll try to explain the parts you found difficult as simply as possible."
Maxi took rolls of parchment from her bag and handed them to Ruth, who scanned the pages and smiled.
"I see you've been studying hard.
I'm glad to see you're so determined."
“I wrote down the things I c-couldn’t understand,” Maxi muttered, embarrassed by the rare compliment.
Ruth cleared her throat and adopted a serious expression once again.
"Then let me explain.
Please pay attention."
Maxi hurriedly took out a quill, a bottle of ink, and a piece of parchment from his bag.
Ruth smiled as she waited.
Once she was ready, he began his explanation.
Maxi listened intently, taking notes on every word.
Ruth's monotonous voice and the sound of her quill scratching parchment echoed throughout the library for the next few hours.As the lesson continued into the afternoon, Maxi asked a maid for a light meal.
They moved the table closer to the brazier and continued their lesson while eating bread and soup.
Maxi took small bites of the piece of bread he held in one hand, while the other was busy taking notes.
From time to time, Ruth would begin to ramble excitedly about complex concepts, but would always explain them again in simpler terms when she asked.
He was surprisingly patient; Even when she couldn't understand concepts right away, he didn't get exasperated or berate her.
Encouraged, Maxi asked questions freely.
“This reminds me of my time in the Wizards' Tower,” Ruth muttered suddenly, a nostalgic expression on her face.
🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
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