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“But your wife looks perfectly fine,” the princess said, narrowing her eyes and turning to Maxi. The gazes of the other men sitting around the council room turned to her at the same time, and she felt a knot in her stomach as everyone’s attention landed on her.

Maxi made an awkward attempt to stand up straight. As the princess had said, she was in perfect health. Her complexion was normal, her cheeks were rosy, and her face had filled out again thanks to the way Riftan had been constantly feeding her. Even so, Riftan’s eyes were full of concern.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness, but my wife still needs rest,” he said firmly. “Moreover, the village is currently teeming with visitors and is not safe. I cannot put my wife in danger when she has yet to fully—”

“My dear Sir Riftan,” the princess cut in. “We are not asking you to send us to a battlefield. We only wish to attend a festival that all the innocent country maidens are said to attend. Do you not know that worrying too much is its own kind of disease?”

Riftan scowled at her. The frightening look never failed to make his knights break out in a cold sweat, but Princess Agnes merely snorted in response.

“Don’t give me that look. If you are so worried, you may accompany us.”

“I don’t have time to waste at such a useless—” Riftan abruptly stopped when he saw Maxi’s face fall with disappointment.

Maxi blinked and quickly rearranged her face into a placid expression. “I-I do not wish to trouble you. I am all—”

She paused. Out of habit, she had been about to tell him that she was all right with not going, but she caught herself when she remembered that he did not like hearing her say so. An awkward silence fell over the room.

The princess crossed her arms and leveled her sharp blue eyes on Riftan with an imperious frown. Even the knights, who had not said a word so far, glared daggers at him.

Hebaron leaned forward with his usual grin. “Come now, Commander. Why not let them attend? It’s just a village festival, after all.”

“He’s right,” added Gabel. “Her ladyship also has the right to freely enjoy the festivities held in Anatol. You will only earn her scorn if you try to keep her cooped up, Commander.”

Riftan shot them a murderous glare. The knights made a show of shrinking back in their chairs and pressed their mouths shut.

Several long moments passed as Riftan remained silent, the disgruntled look on his face growing darker and darker. He finally rose from his seat with a sigh.

“Fine. Have a carriage ready. I’ll accompany you.”

He clicked his tongue as though he were displeased, then turned to study Maxi’s face with narrowed eyes.

“But the moment you start to look tired, we are to return to the castle immediately.”

Maxi nodded, her face flushing with joy. “I-I understand!”

Although she felt bad about taking his time when he was busy, she could not contain her excitement at the fact that they were going on an excursion together.

Riftan was gathering a few items from the council room when Hebaron approached him and cleared his throat.

“Let me accompany you, Commander,” he said with a roguish grin. “It never hurts to have more escorts, you know.”

“Are you sure it is not the village maidens you are going for, Sir Hebaron?” Gabel said, blocking the burly knight’s path. “You must allow me to escort them this time. In the name of the chivalric code, I shall protect the virtue of the excitable maidens of Anatol during the Spring Festival.”

“Look here, you’re no better than—”

“Elliot, you’re coming with us,” Riftan interjected, promptly putting an end to their bickering. “I don’t want these two anywhere near the village. I will not have the women of Anatol knocking on my door with their bastards.”

“Commander!”

Ignoring the knights’ objections, Riftan wrapped his arm around Maxi’s shoulders and walked out of the council room. The princess shrugged and followed after them.

They rode to the village in their most modest carriage to avoid unnecessary attention. Riftan and Sir Elliot were lightly armed and dressed as inconspicuously as possible in hooded robes, while Maxi and the princess wore dark cloaks over their white dresses.

When they reached the village, however, Maxi noticed that many of the women were dressed up for the occasion. The princess swiftly took off her cloak.

“I don’t think we’ll stand out even if we get out of the carriage without our cloaks.”

Riftan scowled. “I still think it would be safer for you to keep them on, Your Highness.”

“We would look more suspicious with them on,” she replied curtly, letting her lustrous golden hair tumble down. “Besides, it would be a pity for us to look so gloomy when everyone else is so spruced up—don’t you agree, Maximilian?”

Maxi hesitated. “I-I . . . do not really . . .”

“Take off your cloak, Maximilian. Don’t be shy. You should never miss an opportunity to show off.”

When the princess grinned and pulled at her clothes, Maxi pretended to be unwilling before meekly removing her stuffy cloak. Riftan, who had been leaning back in his seat with a displeased look on his face the whole ride, watched her as she did so. His lips twitched, but soon his shoulders slumped as if deflated.

“You may do as you please,” he muttered.

“I fully intended to,” the princess quipped.

Maxi fidgeted in her seat as she silently debated whether to put her cloak on again. Noticing this, the princess snatched the garment from her and sat on it.

Riftan furrowed his brows. The princess slipped on an innocent expression and paid no mind to his piercing glare. Elliot kept his gaze out the window as if he wished to stay out of their battle of nerves. Caught in the middle, Maxi nervously pretended to straighten her skirt as she stole anxious glances back and forth at them.

She breathed a deep sigh of relief when the carriage finally came to a stop. The tension inside was suffocating.

“I see that the festival is held quite far from the village square,” Princess Agnes murmured as she stepped out of the carriage with Elliot’s assistance.

Elliot nodded with a polite smile. “The square is not big enough for all the booths. Not to mention, there is no better place to enjoy spring than the green fields.”

Filled with curiosity, Maxi looked around with wide eyes as she climbed out of the carriage after the princess. Tents of various colors stood at fixed intervals all over the glistening green field. The place bustled with vendors hawking their wares, card players crowding around tables, and attendees enjoying food and drinks at the stalls.

Fascinated, Maxi was busy taking it all in when Riftan pulled her to his side and tossed the coachman a coin. “Go get yourself a drink.”

The old coachman took off his hat and bowed in gratitude, then went to park the carriage in the allotted area. Many vendors had evidently brought their goods on baggage wagons, for the space behind the tents was packed with them.

“There seem to be more visitors this year,” Elliot remarked as he glanced around at the crowd.

The princess beamed. “It must be because of the reputation of the Remdragon Knights. I’m sure more travelers have grown curious about the land protected by the greatest knightly order in the known world.”

She spoke proudly, as if talking about her own achievement. Maxi listened to their conversation with only half an ear as she took in the lively scene before them.

There were more people here than when she had previously visited the market with the princess. The field was crowded with wayworn travelers, singing bards, frolicking young maidens, and women selling food and drink. Now and again, Maxi also spotted patrolling sentries.

“Maximilian, over there.”

Overwhelmed by the buzz of the festival, Maxi had been standing in a daze when the princess began pulling her by the arm. Still a little disoriented, Maxi scampered behind the princess until they reached a tent where young women were selling floral wreaths next to a stage decorated with colorful banners.

“Everyone was wearing one, so I knew someone would be selling them.” The princess grinned and purchased two wreaths, placing one on her head and the other on Maxi’s.

Bewildered, Maxi ran her hand over the wreath. Although she did not like how the small stems sticking out of the wreath tangled in her bushy curls, she did not think it would be appropriate for her to reject such a gesture of goodwill. She awkwardly smiled at the princess in thanks.

Princess Agnes twirled around with a contented look on her face. “Dressed like this, I really do feel like I’ve become a dryad. Don’t you agree?”

“It truly . . . becomes you, Your Highness.”

“You look lovely as well, Maximilian,” the princess said happily, grabbing Maxi’s hand once more. “Now, shall we go over to that tent over there for a game of car—”

“Your Highness. You cannot just wander about.”

Riftan, who had been closely following them, abruptly blocked the princess’s path. He pulled Maxi to his side again and clenched his jaw.

“My wife is not someone you can drag along like a maidservant,” he said through gritted teeth. “You should raise a dog if you want something to yank around!”

“Heavens, what a mean thing to say.” The princess pursed her lips, appearing offended.

Maxi blanched. Had the princess not told her that the royal family had doubts about Riftan’s loyalty? The fear that the princess might speak ill of Riftan to the king because he had offended her was enough to make Maxi’s blood run cold.

“R-Riftan!” she cried. “How could you be so r-rude to Her Highness!”

“Hear, hear!” Princess Agnes crowed. “What insolence indeed!”

Maxi became visibly paler at the princess’s response.

“Y-You mustn’t . . . speak like that to a lady,” she went on, trying to muster a stern voice. “You are a knight. P-Please show some gallantry.”

“Well said!”

Riftan had been looking down at Maxi with a flustered expression. At the princess’s heckling, however, his face shifted into a murderous glare that made Maxi’s heart drop. Unperturbed, Princess Agnes simply gave Riftan a smug smile and pulled at Maxi’s hand once more.

“We’re here to have some fun,” she said lightly. “Let us ignore this boorish spoilsport and enjoy the festival to our hearts’ content. You, sir, may stand around while we take our time perusing the stalls.”

Maxi threw Riftan a worried glance and tried to look unwilling as she trailed behind the princess. The truth was that she also wished to enjoy the festival freely. Besides that, she did not think the princess’s assertive behavior was necessarily a bad thing.

Unlike Maxi, who was always hesitant and indecisive, Princess Agnes seemed to have no qualms about satisfying her curiosity the moment it was piqued. Whenever she spotted something fascinating, she would grab Maxi’s hand and rush to it, and she eagerly participated in all the different games.

The princess’s enthusiasm was infectious. Maxi began to enjoy the festival in earnest, and she found that even her persistent anxiety was dissolving in the lively atmosphere.

Excerpted from Under the Oak Tree (The Novel): Volume 2 by Suji Kim. 2020-2025, Suji Kim. All Rights Reserved.