Under The Oak Tree Maximilian Calypse nervously paced around the drawing room She was so tense that she didn’t even recognize that she was biting her nails until the Duke of Cross came inside When she.
Under The Oak Tree She was about to get into the carriage, but a loud voice came from a distance Hebaron raised his head Yulysion and Garrow, in training uniforms, came rushing from the training grounds As the servants quickly moved aside, Yulysion ran straight towards Maximilian “We-we’d like to bid our farewell…” He took a deep breath and then threw a handful of wildflowers at her “We searched all over the mountains… The weather is still cold, so I could only find these little flowers It is a trivial gift, but will you accept it?” Maximilian, blinking distantly, carefully accepted the flowers Only then did Yulysion form a smile on his face The young man, who had grown a lot during the past months, spoke with a serene and chivalrous expression “You must return safely.” “Th…thank you Yulysion must also… take care of his health.” “The lady too, please take care of your health.” Garrow wished her well too After smiling in farewell to everyone, she got on the carriage Twenty knights in charge of the escort, including Hebaron and Uslin, also mounted their horses in unison Hebaron approached the carriage and Uslin took the lead After checking the rows with a sharp eye, he signaled for them to start the journey Then, the bridge to the moat was lowered They crossed the bridge slowly, surrounding the carriage from side to side As they immediately descended the hill and reached the village, people were crowding to the left and right of the road to see the Knights Hebaron, who led his horse silently between them, looked at the carriage window Through the parted curtains, he saw thin shoulders that were dejectedly drooping Her long hair in a single braid seemed a bit heavy over the nape of her slim neck Guilt weighed heavily in his chest, making a corner of his heart feel uncomfortable It was none other than himself who informed her of the commander’s situation and asked her to testify He rubbed his aching temple, remembering Riftan’s burning fury It seemed to him that it would be better to express his rage like he usually did, it looked like it was more precarious that he was keeping all his emotions bottled inside He did not know what she said to persuade the commander, but it was clear that he did not accept it without any consequence Every time he entered the Great Hall, he repeatedly heard the servants worry about the lord and the lady ‘Don’t tell me… that he isn’t even planning to see the lady off…’ He felt regret that he had not forcibly persuaded him, but in front of him, who had grown cold as if he had lost all his emotions, who dared to put the name of Maximilian Calypse in his mouth? After being told that the lady had decided to go to the world tower, the knights acted extremely cautious in front of Riftan Now, no one knew how much she meant to him “The voices singing…” Hebaron, who was lost in his thoughts, turned to the soft voice that was suddenly heard Maximilian Calypse stared out the window blankly Now they were passing through the plaza towards the outskirts of the city, and on the right side of the wide road was a gentle hill where sheep were grazing As she said, Vielle’s melody sounded faintly over the hill “It looks like they’re practicing for the spring festival.” Suddenly, Ruth reached the carriage’s side and spoke “As there are more visitors coming from various places than ever, they seem to be putting more attention to detail for the festival preparations Lots of singing could be heard everyday all over town.” “… I see.” There was a bitter smile around her mouth The woman, looking up at the hill where the blue light of dawn had started to shine with her dim eyes, turned her head again They walked through the gates in heavy silence After a while, the wide road that had been their focus of troublesome work last year, was revealed before their eyes After having traveled for an hour and a half, the scenic view of the sea appeared just below the gentle hill Giant ships from the south were lined up on the wide dock, and several huge, multi-floor buildings towered alongside the harbor They then took the carriage directly there Then Princess Agnes ran among the workers who were busily preparing along the dock carrying cargo “You’re finally here! I thought it was taking you long because she changed her mind, and I was becoming very restless.” Uslin jumped off his horse and bowed his head politely “Sorry to keep you waiting It took us longer than expected to be ready.” “No worries We were also loading our luggage.” Said the princess, pointing to the ship with the flag of the Wheddon royal family parked between ships lined up at sea In front of them, the royal knights and wizards who gathered to escort the princess were waiting “The preparations for departure have just finished You can get on the ship.” Hebaron jumped off his horse and helped Maximilian out of the carriage She looked at the huge ship with her light gray eyes Princess Agnes came up to her side and spoke softly “Only those with permission to enter Nornui can come So, from here on, the Royal Knights will escort Maximilian Of course, I will go with you I will stay on the island for about a month I decided to help Maximilian adjust to her new life in the World Tower.” A sign of relief passed over Max’s face It was then that Hebaron realized how uncomfortable it was going to be for her to go to a strange place “If you will th-that… I greatly appreciate it.” “Don’t worry too much The World Tower is the safest and most exciting place for a wizard than anywhere else in the world You’ll get used to it quickly.” The princess spoke cheerfully and nodded at the workers As they loaded the luggage they had from the wagon, she said goodbye to the Knights “Thank you… for e-everything Everyone, take care and be healthy.” “I wish the lady good health too Have a safe journey.” Hebaron said shyly and scratched his cheek, and the other Knights greeted her one by one Uslin, who was watching silently, finally opened his mouth “I apologize… for everything.” At the sudden apology, Max appeared confused Uslin slowly lowered his head “I wanted to apologize for being rude all this time.” “It’s a-alright I… didn’t take it to heart.” She was startled and waved her hand Uslin spoke with a bitter smile “Please come back as soon as possible Our commander needs his wife.” Suddenly, the smile disappeared from her face and he thought she might burst into tears, but unexpectedly a calm voice came from her “Please take good care of… Riftan Don’t let him anything too reckless… Please watch over him.” “Don’t worry about Sir Calypse I’ll be by his side, scolding him diligently.” Ruth, who wore a robe to the tip of his nose, suddenly intervened in the conversation He appeared uncomfortable in the presence of the royal wizards, but he still walked over to her and tossed something “It is the most expensive mana stone I have Please keep it It might be of use.” “T-thank you In the meantime I owe you… a lot for everything.” “Thank you for acknowledging it.” The stricken wizard hesitated for a moment, scratching the back of his head awkwardly He sighed deeply and spoke as if coughing the words out “Please, take good care and come back.” “Don’t worry I’ll take care… and come back.” She straightened her posture and suddenly, it came to his mind the first time he saw her Shoulders that hunched anxiously, pale and terrified face, and vivid fragile eyes that seemed to be about to break at any moment He wondered if she really was the same fragile woman who was standing in front of him now She smiled and looked up, climbing up the boat The intense sunlight shone brightly against her red hair When he thought of the girl who gave him healing magic, and that he would no longer be able to see her wandering for a while, a corner of his heart felt empty He stretched his head over the railing and waved at the woman waving one hand Before long, the ship began to move slowly away from the dock They stood still until the boat got smaller and her figure became invisible At that moment, suddenly, a loud sound of horseshoes clattering against the ground came from behind his back They placed their hands on the handle of their swords and turned at once The man jumped over the dock at once, and someone ran at a terrifying speed Hebaron, realizing it was a Riftan, grabbed him without thinking Riftan shook his arm and tried to jump into the sea like a madman The knights who had been rigid with faces of horror rushed towards him at once Riftan rioted like a chained beast “Let go of me!” “Damn, are you crazy?!” “I said let go of me!” He fought violently He was so strong that they couldn’t handle it despite four people holding him back Hebaron cursed and threw him against the ground “Stop it! What are you going to now? Even if you’re the commander, you can’t chase her!” Riftan pounded his chest harshly and gasped breathlessly His eyes trembled violently as he watched the ship get smaller and smaller, his appearance completely disheveled Hebaron held his breath As if a dam had collapsed, his body fell forward helplessly He heard a weak voice speaking “…It was a lie.” Drops of water fell to the ground Hebaron, still restraining him, blinked blindly Riftan seemed unaware that he was even crying He muttered with a grief-stricken expression “That I won’t wait for her… It was a lie.” Looking at his shoulder trembling relentlessly, no one dared to open their mouths The sound of the calm waves echoed softly over their heads Riftan gazed at the rough sea with yearning eyes, then his face slowly distorted The ship gradually faded beyond the hazy horizon ~ End of Book ~ ... clutched her clothes to her chest, unable to lift them further down Then the man put one knee on the bed and pulled the hem of her skirt in one motion “N-now, wait a second…!” The hem of the dress... remarks that the guests had mumbled on the day of the wedding day The low-ranking knight, Riftan, had to be dragged out of the ceremony as he could not disobey the order of the Duke The anger and... her father’s convenience In the punctuating silence, Max took off her ornaments one by one and placed them down beside the bed Only the sound of the fire cackling could be heard through the room