Under the Oak Tree: Season 1 -3-

by Suji Kim

When Maxi saw his affectionate expression, she was momentarily overwhelmed with the urge to climb onto his lap and shower him with kisses. She wanted to caress the sharp outlines of his masculine face, to sit on his firm lap, and bury her face in his broad chest to breathe in his scent.

Her eyes took on a faraway look as she lay in his arms and stared at the canopy above the bed. It was unbelievable that there was a hunger within her that would not be sated by passion. Why was it that she could not rid herself of this anxiety when he clearly cherished her more than she deserved? The loneliness felt like a stain that refused to be scrubbed off.

Riftan murmured in a low voice, gently sucking her lip. The feel of his stubble grazing her face felt good. “It’s different from what I feel for you.” “What… do you feel… for me?”

“You are the only family I have,” he said with a sigh. She

His voice trembled slightly as if he were choking back emotions. “You will never know how I felt when I saw you unconscious on the ground.”

Close to tears, Maxi looked up at Riftan, begging him to say something. He had been standing as stiffly as a rock. At Maxi’s silent plea, he blinked as if coming to his senses and roughly rubbed his face. A flush crept up his beautifully tanned neck. “Uh… So…” Riftan stammered, shifting his eyes. “You heard her… She’s not lending me to you.”

Feeling a hand grab her arm, Maxi glanced up, her face flushed. Riftan, who still had his hood over his head, looked down at her with smoldering eyes. She shivered when she saw the intense desire etched across his hardened face. Pulling her by the arm, Riftan led her out of the crowd. The princess was too busy enjoying the festivities with the other women and paid no attention to them.

Maxi wriggled her hand, but Riftan tightened his hold like a hound instinctively bearing down on a flapping bird trying to break free from its jaws.

Why is Riftan constantly compared to a hound, lol?😂

“It is us who should be thanking you, my lady. Thank you for saving our comrade’s life.” Maxi’s face flushed at Gabel’s sincere sentiment. Her inner monologue had been nothing but self-deprecation recently, and his words of gratitude felt like a rainfall after a long drought. Taking a sip of the steaming tea, Maxi shyly muttered, “I am glad… th-that I was able to help.”

No, it was not just today. She had learned and accomplished many things in the short time she had been in Anatol. If she gave up on all of that now, she would never be able to overcome her sense of inferiority. She would forever remain an inept failure and prove her father right. Maxi’s eyes glimmered with determination as she walked back to the castle.

Maxi cocked her head. Had he ever been gentle? She could not remember. He would always take the time to make her burn for him, but once he was inside her, he would move like a man who had lost his senses.

In her imagination, she was a noblewoman that knights would risk their lives to protect, and he was a knight who blindly worshipped her and her alone.

“You’d think I’d be used to it by now…” he murmured in a thick voice. Maxi barely managed to open her eyelids and gave him a puzzled look. Riftan suppressed a sigh. “My body burns whenever I touch you, and it seems to grow worse by the day.”

“Sometimes, I want you so much that it hurts,” he muttered in a choked voice as he lowered her onto the bed.

Magic is the blood of the soul.