The soldiers promptly offered the newcomers seats and wine, and the group huddled close to the brazier to thaw their freezing bodies. Meanwhile, the area around them bustled with activity as the tents went up for the night.
Maxi’s shoulders eased. With the windbreak in place, it was no longer unbearably cold. Clutching her cold cup, she stole glances at Riftan between sips of wine. He sat in silence, staring into the fire with his elbow resting on his lap.
She was debating whether to talk to him when Princess Agnes, who had been discussing something with the Wedonian knights, pulled her chair next to his and began whispering in his ear. Whatever it was clearly gained his attention, for Riftan cocked his head toward the princess. Fiddling with her cup, she repeated Ruth’s words in her head.
You are only tormenting yourself. You are only tormenting yourself.
They had to be discussing official matters. If she were to display disapproval now, she would only be painting herself as narrow-minded. You are only tormenting yourself.
As she was desperately trying to maintain her silence, Sejuleu Aren finished conferring with his men and addressed the person sitting across from him.
“Has the scout party returned?”
The noisy tent stilled for a moment.
“They only sent back a message,” Kuahel replied dryly. He continued as he rinsed his hands in a basin brought to him by a young cleric, “Since we will be passing through the ravine tomorrow, they have decided to camp near the entrance to keep watch.”
Riftan cut short his conversation with Princess Agnes and searched Kuahel’s face. “Do you think word has reached the monster city?”
The cleric proffered a towel to Kuahel, who wiped his hands on it as he replied with his usual indifference, “It never hurts to be cautious. We currently have no inkling of how the monsters are getting information about the Western Continent. Though the Council has locked down cities all across the land to weed out spies, it is still possible that enemy informants have managed to slip away.”
“I’d wager that they have,” Sejuleu remarked, raising his cup to his lips. “I doubt that secured gates or heightened inspections would be able to contain the spies’ movements. After all, these bastards managed to create ghouls across the Seven Kingdoms while avoiding detection. I’ve been trying to track them down for months with nothing to show for it. They must have a way to deceive humans…”
“How do you suppose the dark mages managed to operate in our cities so covertly?” Riftan asked, his eyes fixed on Kuahel.
The answer came from the others, each putting forth hypotheses ranging from fake identities, hypnosis, and elaborate concealment spells that could dupe even clerics. Soon, a heated exchange filled the tent.
Maxi glanced at Celtic and Anton. The two kept their lips tightly sealed as they watched the commanding officers. They seemed to be considering how much they should share with these people.
Gnawing her lip, Maxi thought of the dark mages’ lineage. Most of those banished to the north were an offshoot of the silver-haired, blue-eyed Serbel clan. Though many Serbels in Nornui lacked these distinctive features after years of intermarriage, the exiled mages would not have had the same chance to dilute their blood. This information could help narrow down the hunt for the spies.
Still, she understood why the mages of Urd were reluctant to disclose anything of the sort. It could put the Mage Tower in a difficult position. Moreover, she did not think people with such conspicuous features could mingle unnoticed among the general population anyway. If the dark mages were wandering the Seven Kingdoms in disguise, there was no point in revealing something that would only be detrimental to the Mage Tower and the Reformed Church.
While Maxi was absorbed in silent deliberation, Kuahel said grimly, “It would be prudent to set our strategy with the assumption that the monsters are aware of our movements. 1 have already marked all the areas they could use as points of ambush, and 1 would like you all to take note.”
He motioned to an aide standing behind him, who moved the brazier aside, dragged a table in its place, and spread a map over it. While the knights of each kingdom pored over the map, soldiers entered the tent with supper.
Maxi ate her ration of thick lamb stew cooked with garlic, onion, and nutmeg alongside thinly sliced and toasted wheat bread spread with butter. All she had eaten during the day’s ride was dried cod and jerky as hard as tree bark, so the warm food filling her stomach seemed to dissipate her fatigue.
“The report on the topography around the city is rather lacking,” commented the commander of the Arexian army, stroking his bushy beard.
Maxi recalled the burly man’s name as Adolf. He carefully studied the map before giving Kuahel a questioning look.
“The route is mapped out, but it lacks information on the surrounding areas. There could easily be more ambush points in the uncharted terrain.”
“We had neither the men nor the resources to conduct a thorough reconnaissance,” Kuahel replied flatly. “As for the unmapped areas, we can simply send scouts ahead.”
“That may be so, but shouldn’t you have—”
“What did you expect?” Riftan cut in irritably. “We are headed into no man’s land. You should be grateful we were able to acquire even this much information.”
“D-Do you… also think there is something strange going on between them?” she asked after a while. “This is not the first time I’ve seen them whispering to each other.”
“I would not know,” he muttered woodenly. “But I do think they are standing inappropriately close.”
“R-Right,” Maxi agreed heatedly. “Y-You think so too. They are standing needlessly close.”
Again, Kuahel only offered silence.
“W-What do you think they’re discussing… to warrant that? As a cleric, d-don’t you think you should reprimand them for such inappropriate behavior?”
“If inappropriate behavior is the concern…” the paladin trailed off.
Only then did Maxi turn her head to look at him. Mortification washed over her as she met his clear, green eyes looking down at her from an uncomfortably close distance. She hastily released her grip.
Her cheeks burned as reason returned to her. She mumbled an apology, her voice growing smaller and smaller by the end.
“P-Please forgive me. I was—”
“What are you two doing here?”
An icy voice sounded above their heads. Maxi flinched and looked up. Having stealthily approached them, Riftan regarded them with a chilling gaze.
Maxi’s face fell in despair. How could she possibly wave off her gross breach of decency? She was desperately racking her head for an excuse when Riftan spoke, his voice ominously gentle.
“Am 1 not owed an explanation?”
“W-Well… You see…” Maxi stammered, rolling her eyes up to think.
A second later, she stiffened when she noticed Princess Agnes standing behind him, looking over at them with curiosity.
“And what about you and the princess? W-What were you doing all the way out here?”
She observed their reactions through narrowed eyes. Though Riftan did not let anything show, the princess looked dismayed.
“I had something to discuss with Sir Riftan in private,” Agnes explained awkwardly, scratching her head.
Maxi’s lips pulled into a thin line before saying coldly, “We… also had something to discuss in private.”
“What could you possibly have to discuss?” Riftan snapped.
Flustered, Maxi looked to Kuahel for help.
The paladin sighed. “1 needed her to confirm something about the basilisk farm.”
“Why would that require you to speak to her in a place like this?!”
“That is none of your concern,” the Temple Knight replied flatly, straightening himself. “She is not a mage under your command, so 1 do not see why I would require your permission to speak to her.”
Riftan stiffened, his eyes flaring into a murderous look. Kuahel calmly turned his back to him to face Maxi.
“Shall we take our discussion elsewhere?” he said politely.
Maxi, who had been anxiously looking back and forth between the two men, promptly shot to her feet. At that moment, her main concern was extricating herself from this embarrassing situation. She rushed after Kuahel as if fleeing the scene of a crime, away from Riftan and the princess…