Under the Oak Tree - Chapter 246

Chapter 246

“Don’t take too long.” Hebaron shrugged his bulky shoulders, turned around and went back.

After finishing feeding Talon an apple, Riftan went to the front of the water trough and brusquely washed his hands.

“You should return to the room first.”

He wiped the water from his hands and picked up the robe that he had casually hung on the fence of the stables. Max stroked Rem’s neck and shot Riftan an anxious look.

“Is there… some problem that came up?”

“The informant who was sent to verify the duke’s movements has just returned.” Riftan looked at her darkened face, sighed a little, and draped a cloak over her shoulder. “It’s not a big deal, so don’t worry, just rest in the room. Don’t wander off anywhere else.”

Then, he ruffled Max’s bangs and kissed her forehead. She tried to smile for him. After confirming that she had entered the castle, Riftan headed straight for the training grounds. Max returned to the room and looked out the window incessantly.

Under the gray hazy sky, the bare trees shook their bare branches like blackened bones. The silver sun occasionally cast pale rays of light behind the hazy clouds, but it wasn’t enough to bring life to the desolate garden where the chilly breeze blew. She wondered if her overt anxiety made her feel like the cold landscape was hinting at future ordeals. Max sighed, dragged a chair in front of the fireplace, and sat down. Roy, who was following her, climbed nimbly over her knees and purred alluringly. She was slightly relieved by his relaxed and calm appearance, stroking his soft back to ease her nervousness.

Riftan returned to the room when the night had fallen. Max took his cape and looked at him, waiting for him to tell her what went on in the conference room. However, Riftan walked in front of the fire without saying anything, took off his boots, and washed his hands with lukewarm water. When she grabbed a towel and handed it to him, he barely turned his head towards her.

“Did you have dinner?”

“A l-little while ago. How about you, Riftan…? Do you want me to tell them to prepare something to eat?”

“No, I also had dinner in the conference room.”

He washed his face and rubbed his face with a towel. Max looked him in the eye and asked, unable to overcome her impatience.

“A-about my father… have you discovered what he is scheming?”

Riftan’s eyebrows slightly pulled together. Then, he shook his head after a bit of pause.

“The only thing I have discovered is that your father is in frequent contact with his vassals.”

Max narrowed her eyes. They couldn’t have discussed this for so long with so little information. If Hebaron had searched for him in a hurry, they must have found something important. She put on a disappointed expression, but kept her mouth shut tight. Riftan sighed as if he had noticed that she was suspicious.

“Whatever Duke Croix does, it’s my job to handle it. You don’t have to worry about him anymore.”

“Ho-how could I do that? That person… is my father. What happened is because of me…”

“He is a son of a b*tch who whips his own daughter, what kind of father he is.”

He threw the towel on the shelf and spat his words out roughly. Max’s shoulders flinched at his sudden outrage.

“What I’m saying is… This problem concerns me too… I meant I have a responsibility over it. I also have the right to know… what is going on.”

“I told you over and over again, you are not responsible for this.” Riftan abruptly intercepted her words. “I am the one who beat him up, that’s the reason why he’s scheming in retaliation. That’s all. This is a problem between me and that man.”

“But it’s because of m-me… that you beat him up!” Max’s voice also increased due to his stubborn attitude. “How… could I-I have… n-nothing to do with this matter? I’m the one who was there! If it wasn’t for me, Riftan wouldn’t have done that… And the pressure that fa-father’s putting on Anatol…”

“Fine. Let’s say it’s your fault. What the hell are you going to do?” Riftan went ahead of her and asked her furiously.

Max’s face turned red. Like he said, there was nothing she could do, but she didn’t want to admit it, so she responded with a grunt.

“We don’t know for ce-certain. Maybe there’s something I c-can do…”

“There is nothing you can do. Even if there is, I will never seek your help.”

The cold words drew the blood from her face. Max looked at him with shocked eyes and then took a step back. She turned around and tried to run out of the room, but Riftan quickly grabbed her arm and embraced her. Max struggled and hit his shoulders with her fists. Without blinking, Riftan wrapped one hand around her back and gave her a fierce kiss. Max clenched her jaws tight and tried to pull away from him, but he clutched her hair and pulled her back to him. Riftan frowned and slightly bit her lips. Might reflexively opened her mouth from the stinging pain of his bite and his hot, pulsating tongue entered her mouth.

Max hated herself for melting to him in an instant. He rolled his tongue against her unmoving tongue and sucked on it, swept through the roof of her mouth then to the insides of her cheeks. A strange shiver ran down the back of her ears and her limbs went limp. Max looked at him breathlessly.

“Th-this time… I hate you s-so much… Riftan.”

“Don’t say it that way.” He murmured wildly and kissed her cheeks and wet eyes. “I never depend on anyone else to solve problems for me, especially not you.”

His words dug into her chest like a dagger. Max looked at him with a hurt look. “Then… I’m-I’m not going to depend on Riftan either. In the future, I won’t let you take care of anything that has to do with me.”

At the end of the threatening words, Riftan’s face abruptly hardened. “Don’t be silly. You are my wife, it is my duty to take care of you and protect you!”

“Riftan… can freely go about my problems… but I-I can’t do that for you?”

“Yes.”

At his response that didn’t even buckle, Max quickly lost her words. He looked at her straight in the eyes and muttered in a low voice.

“I will solve all your problems and mine. I cannot tolerate you trying to solve it again.”

“Such thing…”

Before she could even argue he pressed his lips against hers again. Max raised her hand over his shoulders to push him away, but even when she tried, he was pulling her madly against his chest. Whenever his soft tongue pushed into her mouth and then out, her head turned hazy, and when his hand swept across her body, dizzying heat rose from inside her stomach. She took a deep breath and dug her nails on his shoulders.

When Riftan lowered her dress, he lightly caressed her exposed shoulders, making a pleasurable sensation spread down from the nape of her neck to her spine. Max trembled with excitement, his palms gently wrapped around her hardened nubs, lightly flicking and arousing her sensitive areas with his gentle caresses. In an instance, all her rebellion melted like butter under the midsummer heat. She was even a little afraid about how he could handle her so easily.

Max turned to release herself from his arms. However, he simply suppressed her movements, pulling her dress down to her waist and gently sucked the tip of her breast into his mouth. She could not bear it, wrapped her arms around his head and threw back her head. She couldn’t believe that she could feel this deep pleasure despite being angry to the tip of her head.

Aggravating the situation, she pushed her hands into his clothes as well and instantly something flared in Riftan’s eyes. As if to encourage him, she thrusted her tongue into his mouth and he let out a soft moan as he laid her down on bed. In the blink of an eye, Max was lying naked and Riftan was pouring kisses all over her body. His hair that was black as a crow’s feathers sent a sweet ticklish feeling against her bright red skin. She breathed laboriously and wrapped her legs around his waist. Riftan muttered out profanity and pulled his pants down in an instance, sheathing his whole manhood into her.

Max writhed like a snake. In the warm air, the scent of their body fluids and the smell of sweat mingled. He went inside her deeper and did not cease kissing her. She drank every breath he breathed, and he sucked in every breath she exhaled. Max could even feel their lips tremble as they moaned in pleasure. She could vividly feel even the slightest tremble from his body as if it was hers, but it felt like his true feelings were something she couldn’t reach, like they were hidden somewhere.

Max moaned wildly and scratched his forearm. Riftan’s black eyes flared like a forest fire. He pushed her to the limit, but was not satisfied and moved with more vigor. Max jerked up and down, her entire body tensing like a bowstring that seemed to be released at any moment. Soon, she felt him release inside of her. When the storm-like heat escaped from their endearing bodies, a strange sense of emptiness entered her heart.

Max was cold and laid weakly on the sheets. He hugged her tightly as if he couldn’t bear the cold silence that surrounded them.

“Don’t even think that this is any of your fault. That man is the evil one who hurt you, you are just a victim. I do not regret having crushed that man, if I had known from the beginning what was going on, I would have done it sooner. If I had been lucky, I could have killed him.” He caressed her damp body vigorously and trailed his nose against her nape. “That’s why there’s nothing you’re responsible for.”

Max turned her head and looked at him with dull eyes. She felt sad to see a man who stubbornly said that she was not responsible for anything and did not have to do anything. Whenever there was a problem, he just tried to keep her away from it. This person doesn’t even want to share the slightest burden with her. No, rather, she may be the one who was putting heavy loads on his shoulders.