The servants called this place the house of exile. For years, the duke had confined the Croyso women he deemed incompetent to this residence to keep them out of his sight. Maxi descended the chilly stairway and stepped out into the courtyard clogged with fallen leaves. The red ivy twined along the walls glistened white in the sun, and the evergreen bushes rustled in the breeze.
Walking along the flower bed, Maxi vacantly gazed down at the dried-up vegetation. A few birds hopped through it, pecking hopefully at imaginary seeds. Her idle observation was interrupted when she noticed soldiers bustling about the path leading up to the main castle.
It was a baffling sight. Not even a single ant approached the annex around this time. Maxi was wondering if something had happened when one of the guards spotted her and strode over.
“You cannot be outside, my lady,” he said sternly. “The duke commanded that you were to remain in the annex.”
Maxi’s face flushed at the guard’s prison-warden-like attitude. Though they had made it clear that she was prohibited from entering the main castle, had they not allowed her to take strolls in the garden or visit the library until now?
She was rooted to the spot, flustered, when the guard saidauthoritatively, “Why aren’t you returning to your chambers?”
Joana had been uneasily standing at the back until then. At the guard’s tone, she swiftly grabbed Maxi’s elbow. “I will escort her ladyship back to her chambers.”
Like a helpless chick in her nursemaid’s arms, Maxi numbly returned to her room. Joana was beside herself, mumbling that she should never have made such a suggestion.
“How strange. His Grace was never against you taking walks in the garden before….” Closing the door to Maxi’s chambers, Joana cautiously studied her charge’s face. “In any case, at least he has been sending healers to you regularly. I’m sure he is not completely devoid of affection for you. You mustn’t let this upset you too much.”
Maxi could not even bring herself to scoff at the absurd attempt at consolation. The only reason her father sent healers was that his plans would go awry if she were to die before Rosetta’s wedding. Rosetta’s mother had passed in her sickbed before she could bear a son. If Maxi were to meet the same fate, Rosetta’s marriage to the royal family would fall apart no matter the size of her dowry.
Instead of explaining all this to her nursemaid, Maxi gave a halfhearted nod and removed her robe. She handed it to Joana, who folded it and draped it over her forearm. Something fell out of the robe and landed on the floor with a clink as she didso.
“Oh dear, what’s this?” Joana picked up the object.
Maxi turned slowly to see what it was. Her eyes grew wide as soon as they locked on the blackened, dented coin.She had kept it in a secret pocket she had sewn inside the robe to ensure she would never lose it again.
Maxi hastily held out her hand. “G-Give it to me.”
For a moment, Joana blinked and glanced back and forth between the thumbnail-sized coin and Maxi’s face. She then clicked her tongue in bemusement and handed it back to Maxi.
“You did have a habit of collecting pebbles or weeds ever since you were a child. You used to say you would make a crown. But you are a grown woman now, much too old to be collecting junk like this.”
Maxi frowned. “Th-This is not…j-junk.”
“Of course you would say that.” Shaking her head, Joana left the room.
Maxi stared down at the coin. This was irrefutable proof that everything she had felt and experienced after Riftan came into her life was real. Brushing her fingers over the rough surface, she silently prayed,I pray that nothing bad will happen to you…and that only good things will come to you.
Her heart wrenched as she repeated Riftan’s words from when he had given her the coin. Her face crumpled as she pressed it to her lips, and her shoulders shook with the fresh realization of her weakness.
Rosetta had been right. She trusted no one, not even herself. The only thing she was certain of was her ill-fated future.
“M-My lady!”
Maxi hastily wiped at her tears when she heard Joana’s call. The nursemaid came rushing into the room and pointed out the window.
“We have a problem!” Joana cried. “I tried to find out why the guard treated you that way—it’s because the Remdragon Knights are here!”
Maxi stared back at Joana, the words not sinking in right away. Clearly terrified of something, her nursemaid drew the curtains and dragged Maxi over to sit on the bed.
“It seems your husband had sent a request to the duke asking to see you. I’m told that our knights had a difficult time driving him away.”
“Th-They drove him away?” Maxi echoed dumbly. “You mean…R-Riftan came to see me…but Father…s-sent him away?”
“Of course. What choice did he have when your husband might have been here to demand a divorce?” Joana ran her eyes over Maxi’s ashen face and heaved a sigh. “What man would be happy to see his wife in such a condition? His Grace probably had no choice but to turn him away.”
Maxi anxiously glanced around. Had Riftan truly come to seek a divorce? Her nursemaid seemed to believe so. Perhaps everyone at Croyso Castle did as well.
Joana flicked a glance at the door as though Riftan might come bursting in at any moment, then squeezed Maxi’s hands. “Thankfully, it will be Paxias soon. When the weather grows colder, even your husband will be forced to return to his estate in the country, and he won’t be able to leave until the following year. Just hold out till then. Your sister will be married, and your father might be more lenient with you.”
