Max and the Princess grew incredibly nervous at his chilling tone. Riftan leaned over the table and shot them a menacing look.

  Max’s shoulders hunched at his daunting voice, if she was a turtle, she would have already been hiding in her shell. Finally, Princess Agnes confessed with a sigh.

  When it was made clear who the target of his attack was, he straightened his posture and approached the princess with nimble speed.

  Max was startled at his blatant rudeness and tugged at the hem of Riftan’s tobe. He turned his head towards her and looked at her with exasperated eyes, his thick neck visibly convulsed as if he was shedding a thousand curses. Then, as if he had regained that self-control, he took a step back, rubbing his face roughly. After a moment, Riſtan asked in a calmer tone.

  The princess hesitated for a moment before continuing, then in a serious tone she began to speak.

  As soon as the princess finished speaking, Max closed her eyes tightly, but contrary to the expectation that Riftan would impulsively flame in anger, he kept quiet. It was eerily silent.

  She felt her heart clench and she squeezed the hem of her dress even tighter, she did not have the courage to look directly into his eyes. As she lowered her head with a troubled heart, a cold voice rang out like a blow of frost.

  Princess Agnes murmured sarcastically, letting out a long sigh. She continued, carefully speaking to convince him.

  He seemed to be able to kill the princess with just his gaze. Riftan, watching Agnes dangerously with his dark eyes, slowly turned his head towards Max.

  Max swallowed dry saliva and nodded slowly. She pulled away from him, she had no idea what to say. It seemed like a hot lump had caught in her throat. Riftan, who was looking at her silently, not knowing what to do, let out a dispirited laugh.

  Max’s words became vague at the sound of his harsh breath. Riftan grabbed his forehead and began to speak as if he was chewing every word.

  Max trembled with fear and took a step back at the sudden rise of his tone. Riftan’s shoulders trembled, and he gritted his teeth, as if trying to ease his fervent anger. His face heated up, turning red with his temper, then in an instant he stiffened like a stone statue and she could see that his determination got harder than walls. Riftan turned his gaze towards the princess and with a low voice, spat out his words.

  The princess opened her mouth wide as if trying to persuade him, then took a step back, realizing that it was useless to say anything at that moment.

  Riftan said ruthlessly as he grabbed Max and walked towards the door.

  He walked out the door pretending he didn’t hear Max’s embarrassed plea. She looked back as she was dragged away and saw Agnes shake her head, the princess also seemed to have a more perplexed reaction than expected. Max tried to blame him for being so mean, but when she saw his hardened face, she closed her mouth firmly. Riftan gave orders to the knights waiting outside.

  Elliott took turns looking at Max’s and Riftan’s faces and nodded without raising objections.

  As Elliot ran down the hall, Riftan led Max again with longer strides. Uslin, Ruth, and the other knights followed silently, they all adopted a very cautious attitude as if sensing the harsh atmosphere of Riftan. About an hour later, the carriage that she had taken to come here was waiting for them at the castle gate. Max climbed on it and looked across the knights in the ranks. She wondered if it would be alright to leave without even saying goodbye to King Ruben for a moment, but she didn’t dare to get any words out of her mouth. She knew well that Riftan was too angry to maintain proper etiquette.

  Max sat silently in the carriage seat and looked at him. Riftan, who was watching her with a pointed gaze, slammed the door shut. When the castle disappeared from view, the cold tension that had filled her lungs escaped. She let out a tired sigh as she rubbed her temple in pain. His eyes were darker than ever, she was worried that an intense fight would break out at any moment. They set out in a dangerous atmosphere, as if walking on a thin layer of ice. The knights watched their words and Riftan looked like he had chosen to ignore her.

  Max, who tried to speak a couple of times, soon gave up and looked at the passing scenery. She even thought that she would rather live in the carriage just like this. Wouldn’t it be nice if Anatol were at a distance of more than a month of travel? She needed time to calm down and, above all, to delay the moment she had to face Riftan. Whenever they stopped the carriage for a short rest, Max would gaze intently at her husband’s blank face. Even from a distance, she clearly felt that he was furious. She had seen him get angry many times, but it was the first time that he seemed so dangerously furious. Max was overwhelmed in her miserable heart. She hadn’t wanted to leave his side. Tears of sadness welled up in her eyes, she sat wrapping herself with a blanket around the corner of the carriage and sighed.

  Relief over her father abandoning the trial, anxiety about the future, fear of Riftan’s reaction…… complex emotions were tangled in her mind. Even in a very exhausted state, Max couldn’t release the tension for even a moment. She sat in the rocking carriage, stiffening her body like a stone. As a result of traveling for a day and a half like this, she was completely bruised when she reached Anatol.

  Uslin helped her out of the carriage as he asked worriedly. Max unconsciously nodded. Riftan, who was handing over Talon’s reins to the stable keeper, walked over and took her arm from Uslin’s hand.

  Riftan spoke in a sharp tone, then headed towards the great hall. The servants flocked at the entrance to greet the Lord, but Riftan didn’t even pay attention to them. Max took a deep breath, barely keeping up with his rapid pace. Finally, upon entering the warm and cozy bedroom, Riftan released her hand, walked in front of the bed, and began to remove his robe and heavy armor one by one. She felt throughout her body that she was being silently tortured. The sound of firewood burning, the wind shaking the windows, and the sound of armor rustling were short-lived. In the end, Max, who couldn’t overcome her impatience, opened her mouth first.

  Riftan’s hands, which were removing his scabbard-sheathed sword by his waist and placing it on its holder, stiffened. His intense gaze went to her.

  When Riftan approached, Max nervously took a step back. He caught up with her quickly and leaned menacingly toward her.

  Max bit her lip and looked at him.

  Riftan’s cheek muscles tensed and stiffened. He let out a low curse and grabbed her by the shoulder.

  Max looked at him in utter disbelief.

  Riftan’s eyes trembled slightly, then clenched his fists tightly and quickly rebutted.

  Max turned and stepped back as if to shake his hands off her. Seeing his cornered expression, it felt like her heart was breaking.

  She spread her arms in exasperation. Calypse Castle, which she carefully renovated, and the solid walls that surround it, a city that is about to achieve a dazzling revival…… how could he decide to turn his back on all of it? Max let out a desperate cry.

  He took a step forward and grabbed her in a fit, forcing her to see him.

  She clenched her teeth to resist the cry that was about to break out from her throat. She could not understand his blind obsession. Why the hell was this man so tightly tied to her?Max watched his desperate face with trembling eyes. She didn’t want to be separated from him either, she really didn’t want to leave even for a while, but in a corner of her heart she knew it was wrong. It was impossible to ignore everything and turn away from the world. He had many more things to cherish aside from her.

  Max spoke with difficulty, as if she was trying to get a bone out that was stuck in her throat.

  He looked at her with a confused gaze, as if he couldn’t believe what she just said. In one last desperate effort, Max gathered her remaining strength and continued speaking.

  Max stopped speaking at the empty laugh that came out of his lips. Riftan muttered bluntly, looking down at the ground in despair.

  It could be clearly seen that his fingers covering his face were trembling slightly. Max looked at him with a broken heart. However, when he looked up again, his wounded face easily disappeared. He opened his mouth with an expressionless face, as if he were wearing a mask.

  An incomprehensible smile lingered around Riftan’s lips.

  Note –

  : THIS REALLY HURT. If you all have read Riftan’s POV, then your hearts must be breaking too ☹