Under the Oak Tree - Chapter 156
Chapter 156: Chapter 156
The man’s sinister air made Maxi shrink into herself. When he leaped to his feet and began walking over, Ulyseon tried to get between them. The man managed to evade the squire and grab Maxi’s wrist, yanking her toward him.
“Hmm, she is rather appealing. But nowhere near your princess.”
“Unhand her, Richard Breston!” Ulyseon barked.
He pointed his sword at the man, who did not even bat an eyelid.
“Look here, runt. No one has dared point their sword at me and survived. Should I take this as your death wish?”
“She is Sir Riftan’s wife! If you do not unhand her this instant, it will be you who won’t be spared!”
“Ha! What a show that would be,” said Breston, his eyes flashing as he looked down at Maxi. “I’ve always wanted to see that southern mutt foam at the mouth!”
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Having reached the end of his patience, Ulyseon charged. All at once, the men standing at the back drew their swords and blocked the young squire.
Sensing that the situation was escalating out of hand, Maxi held her breath, her knees wobbling. She was more terrified now than when she had faced monsters.
“You, I heard that you’re of royal Roemian blood. As someone from such a prestigious lineage, don’t you think it’s preposterous that a pagan mongrel from the south is hailed as Rosem Wigrew’s reincarnation?”
Breston reached out to cup her chin. He yanked her face forward and added in a chillingly soft but sarcastic voice, “Wigrew is the hero of the west. It should not be sullied by a peasant with a barbarian mother.”
Maxi’s eyes blazed at the man’s despicable words. How dare this lout mock the greatest and most honorable knight in the realm? Forgetting that she had been trembling with fear just moments ago, Maxi glowered at the man.
Anger surged through her, and she kicked Breston’s shin. Unfortunately, he was wearing gaiters. A sharp pain shot through Maxi’s foot. She hopped up and down in agony as Breston roared with laughter.
“A little delight, aren’t you?”
“Un-Unhand me!”
Maxi struggled to break free, but Breston maintained his grip as easily as if she were a flapping bird.
“Are you angry for the mutt’s sake? You should be ashamed of yourself, miss.”
“S-Stop… c-c-calling my husband a m-mutt!”
Her heightened emotions caused her to stumble over her words more than usual. Humiliation and anger threatened to burst out of her chest.
Looking down at her bright red face, Breston gave her a cruel smile. He leaned closer, his nose nearly touching hers, and said slowly, “Your husband is a mutt. It’s written all over his face. Have you not noticed?”
“Y-Y-You-!”
Her jaw trembled with fury. She had never felt so angry in her life. Wrenching her arm away, Maxi desperately racked her brain for a slight that would make this conceited man’s blood boil just as much.
“You… are j-just… j-jealous of him! Because… y-you know… you don’t hold a candle to him… I-Isn’t that why y-you are slandering him behind his back like a coward? You are the one… w-who should be ashamed!”
The smile vanished from his face. His cold-blooded expression petrified Maxi.
Terrified, Maxi eyed the man’s cruel eyes, broad shoulders, and rough hand which still had an iron grip around her wrist. She trembled in fear at the thought that he might strike her with his fist.
“U-Unhand me… p-please,” she mumbled, her voice barely audible.
“On second thought, I think you’re the perfect wife for that bastard. A stammering fool. Fitting for a lowlife like him.”
The color drained from Maxi’s face. She wanted to lash back, but her tongue felt stuck to the roof of her mouth. Her eyes burned with humiliation and shame. Seeing her bite her lip, Breston clicked his tongue and flung her wrist away like a cat that had grown bored of its prey.
At that moment, Breston whirled just as a loud smack rang out. Maxi screamed. Before she could even grasp what was happening, Breston went flying back like a piece of parchment and barrelled into one of the tents.
Paying no heed to the shouts coming from all around him, Riftan pulled the man up from the fallen tent and punched him again. Having been assaulted twice while defenseless, Breston’s crumpled face looked as incensed as a demon’s.
“You damned bastard!”
Breston straightened and drew the dagger at his waist. He spat out a mixture of blood and saliva, then charged at Riftan.
Maxi kept screaming, not caring if her throat ripped from the effort. Even so, it was not enough to distract the men from growling at each other like angry beasts.
Breston charged like an enraged bull while brandishing his dagger, which Riftan nimbly dodged. In the blink of an eye, Breston’s dagger was in Riftan’s hand. Maxi could not understand how he had done it.
Riftan easily overpowered Breston and gripped his jaw. Forcing the man’s mouth open, Riftan shoved the dagger into it.
“You’ll probably live longer without your tongue,” Riftan growled savagely as he thrust the dagger deeper.
The man flinched and grew as rigid as though the tip of the blade pricked his Adam’s apple.
Even at a glance, the Baltonian was half a head taller and much heavier than Riftan. Yet, Riftan had managed to subdue him without breaking a sweat.
Staring down at his immobilized opponent, Riftan said grimly, “Out of the goodness of my heart, I will cut out this treacherous tongue so that it no longer entreats its master’s death.”
“Calypse! That’s enough!”
The Baltonian soldiers blocking Ulyseon pointed their swords at Riftan as they bellowed their outrage.
Riftan remained unfazed. He said icily, “Very well. Do you want to see whose blade is faster?”
Up until a few seconds ago, the Baltonian soldiers looked as though they would charge at any moment. They stopped dead at Riftan’s quiet threat, their faces growing red with anger.
“You dare threaten us like a coward? You still call yourself a knight?!”
“Is intimidating a woman a knightly thing to do?”
When Riftan’s gaze landed on Maxi’s blanched face, his eyes blazed like two dark flames.
“You’ve been itching to get on my nerves, Breston, and you’ve finally succeeded. Quite adeptly at that. I’ll grant your wish for blood.”
“You’d better stop now, Calypse! You attacked Sir Richard while he was defenseless. Don’t think we’ll forgive such cowardice!”
“If I were you, I would be more embarrassed that he didn’t see the attack coming until the dagger was in his face,” Riftan sneered coldly. “Not to mention losing his weapon in a fight like a fool.”
Breston’s imperious face was nearly black with rage and humiliation. Maxi did not know what to do as she stood as still as a rock in the stifling tension.
No one moved, and yet the air was charged with the power struggle that was clearly happening. Veins protruded from the vice-commander’s neck, and blood trickled from his gaping mouth.
Riftan tightened his grip until the muscles on his forearm stood stark against his skin.
“You’re more bearable without that smirk on your face,” Riftan growled. “Allow me to help you not be bothered by it again.”
The chilling tension was like a volcano on the brink of eruption. Suddenly, a clear voice cut through.
“That’s enough!”
Everyone except Riftan turned to look behind them. Princess Agnes pushed past the spectators that had gathered around the fight, regal authority rolling off her.
“What do you think you’re doing? Didn’t you say you wouldn’t cause any trouble until all this was over?”
“This man intimidated and insulted my wife,” Riftan said, his voice low and ominous. “He has to pay for what he did.”
“It’s true!” Ulyseon cried out, fervently defending his commander. “These men tried to harass her ladyship. Sir Riftan’s retaliation is just!”
The Baltonian soldiers blocking Ulyseon began yelling curses at him. Princess Agnes rubbed her temples and turned her gaze to Maxi as though to seek her help. Up until then, Maxi had been frozen with fear. She suddenly came to her senses and rushed over to Riftan.
“R-Riftan… I am all right. So… please l-let him go now.”
She was so ashamed of her impediment that her voice was barely a whisper. Despite her plea, Riftan refused to budge.
Looking up at his rage-filled face, Maxi cautiously placed her hand on his forearm. Riftan’s whole body seemed to be rigid with tension. After a moment, he swore under his breath and released the Baltonian.
Like a beast escaping from a trap, the vice-commander scrambled away and swiped at the blood trickling down his lips. His garnet eyes burned with hatred.
He pushed away his fellow Baltonian soldiers helping him to his feet and shouted like a rabid dog, “Do not dare think you’ll get away with this, Calypse! This calls for a duel! I won’t let you weasel your way out of this!”
“If you wish to annihilate yourself, I gladly accept your challenge.”
Princess Agnes leaped between them. “Duels are prohibited!”
The vice-commander glowered at her, his eyes ablaze. “You’ve seen what he’s done to me! No one can deny me this duel!”
“You crossed the line first! And Sir Riftan retaliated. That makes it even, so this matter is over!”
“It is not!” Breston’s eyes were as wild as a beast’s. “Unless I also shove a dagger down his filthy throat, it never will be!”
Riftan sneered at the man. “You call for something impossible with your petty skills.”
“Both of you, that’s enough!”
Losing her patience, the princess ignited sparks of fire all around them. The two men were forced to back away from each other to evade the flames.
Standing her ground between the two men like a judge, Agnes cried out in a clear voice, “We are at war! I will not tolerate internal strife just because of your foolish pride!”
Despite her thundering rebuke, the two men continued to glare at each other. Surprisingly, it was the vice-commander who broke the suffocating tension by looking away first.
Breston spat bloodied saliva onto the ground, spun on his heels, and walked away through the cluster of tents. The Baltonian soldiers, who had been watching with their swords drawn, followed after him without another word.
Only when it felt as though the crisis had passed did Maxi exhale the breath she was holding. The strength in her legs drained away, and she sank to the ground.
Riftan promptly hoisted her up. Embarrassed, Maxi glanced around at the people surrounding them. The commotion had attracted the camp’s knights, mercenaries, and soldiers alike.
“P-Please, put me down. I can… walk o-on my own.”
“Stay still,” he said tersely.
With that, he strode through the crowd.
Ulyseon trailed after them. “Please forgive me for failing to protect her ladyship, Sir Riftan.”
Riftan simply quickened his pace, not even sparing the squire a glance.
Ulyseon’s shoulders sagged like a puppy kicked by its master. Maxi looked at Riftan reprovingly.
“Y-You mustn’t blame Ulyseon. Those men… came out of nowhere…”
“Don’t-” Riftan’s throat bobbed as though he were swallowing a large lump. “Don’t say anything right now.”
Sensing the tense fury rolling off him, Maxi closed her mouth. The spectators parted to make way for them as if they too perceived his murderous aura.
Riftan took Maxi back to his tent. She had to blink several times for her eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness. After placing her on the cot, Riftan lit the lamp with a flint.
Maxi gulped as she gazed at the outline of his face illuminated in the lamplight. To her horror, her eyes burned with tears once her racing heart began to calm down. She wished he would yell and become angry like he usually did. Seeing him so still, immersed in his thoughts, twisted her stomach in knots.
A stammering fool. She wondered if Riftan was brooding over those words.
Maxi bit her lip. It was a rebuke she had heard countless times from her father. It would be laughable for her to feel upset as if it were something new. But even so, the fact that her flaw had been used to mock her husband broke her heart.
Unable to bear the silence any longer, Maxi said, “I-I’m sorry. You were sh-shamed because of me…”
His head swiveled to her, a look of incredulity across his features. He strode over and knelt before her on one knee.
“Why are you apologizing? That scum only said those things to provoke me. If it weren’t for me, you would not have had to suffer such humiliation from a lowlife son of a bitch like him…”
Riftan gripped her wrist. It was still throbbing from earlier, and Maxi flinched at his touch. His shoulders stiffened.
He rolled up her sleeve, taking in a sharp breath when her wrist was revealed. The dark purple bruise was clearly visible even in the dim light.
“I swear I will kill that man.”
His voice came out in the low growl of an angry beast.
“I am going to formally challenge him to a duel the moment this war is over. I’ll show him the fate of anyone who dares to hurt you.”
