The archduke was persistent in his persuasion, but Max’s decision was firm as she shook her head.

  The man opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out when he saw the sheer determination on Max’s face. He sighed and resigned himself to her stubbornness.

  For Riftan’s sake, the Archduke left without further arguing. But just like the nobleman said, the temple could not be concerned for the ladies in the monastery. The number of maids who attended her sharply reduced from three to one, and that one servant only came to bring clean water to wash in the morning and collect laundry in the evening. Everything else would have to be accomplished by themselves.

  She was not the only one who experienced that and some of the ladies who gathered in the temple complained about the situation. Max would have empathized with their complaint if she didn’t experience an expedition firsthand. Throughout her journey to Livadon, she also had a difficult time taking care of herself without her usual privileges, but now, she easily adapted to change.

  Every morning, Max cleaned her own room, made her bed, dressed, and groomed herself, then went to the chapel to pray. At times when fresh laundry didn’t come back as scheduled, she would wash her own underwear and socks. This was the first time in her life that she had to do laundry, but she didn’t hate it. Rather, it was comforting for her to have something to do to get through the day, rather than just staying in her room all day, eating, praying, and sleeping. If she kept up with such a monotonous schedule, she would surely be consumed with all kinds of worries and anxieties. She desperately needed something to keep her occupied.

  Max would also visit Rem in the stables as often as possible to brush her mane. With the attention she’d paid to fix it, Rem’s stiff white mane became a gleaming silver.

  Idcilla called her when Max was at the stables one day, grooming Rem as usual. Max turned to see her, Alyssa, and three other noble ladies occasionally exchanging greetings with her in the prayer room or hallways. They were wearing clothes for going out. She looked at them questioningly, and Alyssa spoke with a soft, ornate smile on her lips.

  Max was surprised by the sudden invitation.

  Alyssa cautiously added with a polite smile.

  Max replied, and tried to flutter the horse and stable smell out of her clothing a bit, but Idcilla walked over to her and hugged her despite the pungent smell.

  Alyssa frowned at her cousin’s blunt wordings but meekly agreed.

  The girl proudly showed Max the plump leather bag she had. Judging by its shape, inside were probably several bracelets and necklaces. She tried to think if she had brought any items of value to contribute, but had packed as lightly as possible so she wouldn’t drag it during the expedition. It was unlikely that she had something valuable to donate. Feeling embarrassed, Max stammered her words.

  Max expressed her pride in the praise Riftan received.

  Going out with those ladies would be a hundred times better than sitting alone in her room. After discussing the details, Max returned to her room and hurriedly changed into clean clothes. Then, she went through her belongings for anything worth selling. The dagger Riftan gave her might fetch a good price, but the thought of parting with it never crossed her mind, the same with the shekel that he left in her care. Digging through her things, Max found the small hand mirror she brought. She heard that mirrors are quite expensive so this should be of help.

  Max put the small hand mirror in her pocket and headed out. In front of the temple courtyard, three carriages and six guards waited. She walked towards it and immediately saw Idcilla, who was already in one of the carriages, beckoning her to come.

  As soon as Max sat beside her, the carriage began to roll. Looking out the windows, Max marveled at Levan’s exotic buildings. In the summer sunlight, the gray-white buildings gleamed like precious ivory, and the bay trees lining the streets were a rich, lush green. The view was incredibly peaceful, in contrast to the tremendous tragedy that was happening just outside the city walls.

  Just as Max was plunging into this strange foreign land, Alyssa snapped her out of her thoughts.

  Max quickly pulled the mirror hand out of her pocket and held it out. Alyssa appeared embarrassed and waved her hand.

  Seeing Max’s firm expression, she gave up and took the mirror, stashing it inside the pouch. The carriages passed through the city square and stopped in front of a huge building.They sold the donations and bought a fair amount of food, clean clothes, and lamp oils. With the considerable amount of donations they received, they still had 30 dirhams left after filling all three carriages. They decided to donate the remaining funds to the monastery, before boarding the carriage again.

  After about ten more minutes, Idcilla pointed to a building.

  Max followed her hand and saw a wooden two-story building that appeared to look like it was built a hundred years ago.

  Max frowned at the sight. The old, dilapidated building looked like it was going to collapse at any moment. The wooden planks, that were bricked up together to make the ceiling, creaked every time the wind blew, and a long line of homeless people in ragged clothes filled the entrance.

  The guards immediately closed the carriage door on sight.

  Alyssa nodded with a grim face as Max stared out the window at the faces of the homeless and hopeless. Most of them were young women carrying their child on their backs. She wondered if those women were living a hard life from losing their husbands in the war. As she continued to stare between their grief-stricken faces, Max felt her stomach twist.

  Although she didn’t want to think of it, Max couldn’t push away the thoughts of what it would be like if she loses Riftan. She wouldn’t end up like them. Instead, she would be dragged back to Croix Castle and would receive horrendous treatment ‘til the day she died.

  Max chewed on her lips. There was also a possibility that she will be forced to remarry by her father’s wishes. Either option would put her in a terrible state. Even if the heavens smiled upon her and her father allowed her to live the rest of her life in a monastery, she would long for Riftan for the rest of her life.

  Max touched the coin in her pocket and traced her fingers on the rough copper surface. The emotions churning on her chest seemed to calm down a bit.

  After about five minutes, the soldiers who went into the asylum returned to the carriages and opened the door for them.

  The priests looked at the carriages full of supplies and smiled widely at them.

  One of the priests sighed, confessing the sad truth.

  Alyssa turned to look at them, like she wasn’t sure she wanted to. But before anyone could say anything, Idcilla bravely stepped forward.

  She took the initiative and entered with the priests and the remaining ladies of Livadon followed reluctantly. Max also followed carefully. The asylum appeared more like a barn than a sanctuary: the line of wooden tables were dense with clearly malnourished children, drinking bland-looking clear soup. There were even children sitting on the floor gnawing on stale bread. In the battered beds made of carelessly nailed planks of wood, elderly people were laying down, shifting uncomfortably. Finally, on the other side, women in dirty and torn clothes were sitting on the floors covered in dirty blankets, nursing their babies.

  Contrary to Alyssa’s expectations, none of the people inside didn’t even look at them, despite their charitable donations. The loss and grief that plagued these people were so tremendous, so much so that they could not pay any interest in the world around them. Even Idcilla, who briskly entered the ruined building, had a bewildered expression on her face. They couldn’t even bear to see what was on the second floor, before they finally left.

  Alyssa was the first to speak with a deep sigh.

  The priest took her by the hand and begged her fervently. Thereafter, Max and the other noble ladies of Livadon frequented the old asylum and brought in generous donations. Sometimes they even handed out food and clothing to the orphans.

  Some of the other ladies were reluctant and showed disgust at having to be in the shabby building and around the filthy-dressed refugees, orphans, and widows, but most of them helped. Max also came along every time the ladies visited the asylum.

  Note:

  – The author never fails to amaze me. She even goes into details such as this and shows us the reality of how war could devastate people.