Riftan’s POV (Under the Oak Tree Side Story) - Chapter 28

Chapter 28 – Riftan’s POV

Riftan continued to feel as such even after visiting Drakium to meet the king and returning to Anatol. He gazed out of the window towards the desolate garden, as he frowned with serious thought wavering in his mind. Ruth, who was reporting on the construction progress while Riftan was away for the expedition, noticed his absent-mindedness and carefully asked.

“Did something unpleasant happen at Drakium?” Riftan, whose thoughts were drifting away, raised his head. The wizard sighed, placing a pile of parchment on the table. “The conservative nobles must have started an argument again.”

Riftan didn’t affirm or deny Ruth’s assertive remark and picked up a piece of parchment. However, the words he read didn’t seem to sink into his consciousness, bouncing off his thoughts. He massaged his heated temples and sprang out of his seat to walk out of the office.

His hazy thoughts and burning head gradually cooled down as he strolled down the cold hallways. He took a good look at the old castle that he was granted within the first year of his knighting.mThe castle was left unattended for nearly a hundred years. Despite pouring tons of funds over the past few years, extreme ruins were difficult to get rid of. Riftan subconsciously compared its state to the Croix Castle and smiled bitterly. It felt like having a foolish dream and being immediately snapped back to reality.

He went out of the castle and rode on horseback around the estate and gazed at the neglected state of Anatol. The farmers suffered from poverty caused by goblins who frequently stole their crops. Despite generously paying for the wall construction, their crop yield decreased by the year and their current state did not improve.

How much blood and sweat should be shed to make this land a habitable place?

His rational thoughts were screaming at him that Anatol was nothing more than a money-devouring monster land. In the first place, it was only granted to him by King Ruben so he could be given the title of a vassal knight. He had no single reason to let this land suck his fortune and rescue it. However, Riftan felt extremely bothered by a strange sense of duty ever since he was granted this land.

Seeing the faces of the citizens of Anatol look up at him stung his conscience and weighed heavily in his heart as he thought of how their lives were dependent on his hands. He couldn’t leave them to fend for themselves, so he began to pour his life savings for the construction of walls but even that was far from sufficing.

He returned to the castle with a troubled expression upon seeing the dilapidated huts, old carts dragged over the muddy dirt roads, and ill-dressed citizens. His mood sank further as the half-ruined castle came to sight. He suddenly wondered how Maximillian Croix would react if she saw Calypse Castle. She would probably be surprised that there existed such a squalid place in this world.

A defeated laughter came out of his mouth: she was still someone he couldn’t approach. It was only wise to get rid of thoughts about her as soon as possible. However, he couldn’t escape the dreams that seemed to find him every night. He couldn’t domain himself, who acted like a day-dreaming teenage boy.

“Did you go out to patrol the construction site?”

Ruth, who was writing something down on a piece of parchment in Riftan’s office, asked without raising his head and he simply did not reply. The wizard rubbed his forehead; he had an exhausted expression as he spoke with a sigh.

“As you may have already noticed, the construction has made little progress. Several sub-racial monster attacks happened while Sir Calypse was away on an expedition. Several workers died and supplies of timber for building were lost due to fires. At this rate, we won’t be able to complete the wall’s construction even after a decade.”

“So, in conclusion…?”

Riftan took of his cloak and exhaled greatly. “We lack manpower and the materials to build.”

“The funds are already running low as well.”

Ruth shook his head weakly. “Sir Calypse, it’s like pouring water into a bottomless pit. Even King Ruben doesn’t expect you to take care of this land! Stop wasting your fortune on meaningless things and give up on Anatol.”

Riftan approached the desk without speaking and read through the accounts. It was clear that the meager taxes coming from the citizens of Anatol could not cover the expenses of the construction. He stroked his chin with his rough hands and turned around again.

“I’ll raise the funds. You continue to supervise the construction.”

“It will be in vain. It’s all a waste of fortune!”

Riftan shot him a cold glare. “I decide how to spend my fortune. Don’t overstep your boundaries!”

“But Sir Calypse is my source of income, so how can I not interfere? We’re about to become beggars!”

The wizard raised his hands towards the sky and wailed bitterly. Riftan was about to smack him, but somehow held it in. It was not unreasonable for Ruth to run wild as such, actually it was very difficult to rebuild that land without swiping all the gold Whedon has.

Fuck this, what else can’t you do?

He read the maps laid on one side of the room for a long time and then spat his words out bluntly.

“I’ll go earn the money and bring it. Continue the construction.”

“But…”

“This is my land and my castle. I won’t throw it away.” Riftan sighed coldly and picked up the cloak he had taken off. “Just wait and see. This place will appear a dozen time worth of the funds I will pour into it.”

“That will take you at least a hundred years.”

The wizard snorted pessimistically. Riftan glared at him once and returned to his room. He was not certain when a royal decree would be issued again. He had to finance the construction as much as he could until then.

As soon as dawn broke the next day, Riftan left Anatol with twelve faithful men. The means of earning wealth for warriors were not many. Some of the ways to gather wealth was to pillage from private residences or wage war to steal the property of other lords. However, if they committed such atrocities, they would be branded as enemies to the Peace Agreement of the Seven Kingdoms.

The other option, that was more viable, was to subjugate dragon subspecies. Selling mana stones, scales, and bones of half-dragons, wyverns, and basilisks would help them survive for at least a year.

Riftan immediately embarked on the second approach. That option was also an excellent opportunity for his subordinates to gain practical experience. They roamed the western region of Whedon for several months, subduing half-dragons and even sub-racial monsters for a price paid by other lords. At one point in time, he competed in another swordsmanship competition near the western borders with an aim of winning the prize money.

There were a lot of people who criticized him for demeaning his knightly title, but he didn’t give a single damn. In any case, he was nothing but a pretentious knight to the eyes of the nobles. Given that, what was the use of restricting his actions just so he wouldn’t offend them?

Riftan swept all gold from the southwest, performing all sorts of dirty work that nobles couldn’t do to save their faces and prestige. Ruth was elated with Riftan’s activities.

“At this rate, you will be the richest man in the south!”

Riftan gazed down at him with astonishment. The wizard sat at his desk and opened a chest filled with gold coins, drenching in pure ecstasy.

“Did you discover a tomb of a hundred basilisks? How did you manage to find such a trove of treasures?” The wizard asked with twinkling eyes and Riftan merely shrugged.

“I found those in an ancient ruin. I was fortunate.”

“Anyway, the smell of gold is amazing!”

Ruth giggled, weighing the gold coins one by one on a scale. After he finished recording them in the accounts, the servants placed the gold back into the chest and carried it into a vault. As Riftan watched keenly, Ruth suddenly murmured in wonder.

“Was it an ancient queen’s tomb that Lord Calypse had discovered? Aside from the gold coins, the rest were women’s jewelry.”

Riftan flinched slightly. Ruth narrowed his eyes as he inspected the extravagant crown bejeweled with emeralds, rubies, topaz, and diamonds. Next to him was a pile of bracelets, diamond necklaces, rings, silver headdresses, and golden jewelry boxes. All of them were women’s jewelry. Ruth inspected them for a long time, weighing their worth in his mind and grumbled.

“It’s possible to sell these jewels in exchange for gold. It’s rare for someone regal to visit Anatol…”

“I have no intention of selling it. Place it in the vault along with the gold.”

Riftan picked a plum from the tray lying on the table and declared idly. Ruth retorted and arched an eyebrow.

“They will be of better use if we exchange them into coins. Aside from the enormous amount it costs to build the walls, do you have any idea how much it takes just to feed the guards and the servants? It’s better to swap these for currencies, just in case.”

“We have enough currency to cover the cost of operating in the estate. Precious stone and metals are said to grow more valuable over time. If you’re in that much of a hurry, then go ahead and sell it yourself.”

The wizard looked at him with an unconvinced expression, but ignored him and lowered his head again, concentrating on counting the gold coins, presumably thinking that it was too cumbersome to persuade him.

Riftan sighed discreetly in relief and gently picked up the crown. He did find some of them from the ancient ruins, but if the wizard found out that most of the jewelry were new purchases of his, he would get a series of nagging until his eardrums were pierced.

It shouldn’t matter how I spend my own wealth.

He muttered inwardly, making excuses to invisible criticisms. He couldn’t figure out what had gotten into him that made him buy such useless things. Riftan stared down at the crown and placed it back in the box.

A few weeks later, a message arrived from the royal household. As the drought in Dristan intensified, hordes of bandits began to pillage again in the eastern border. Riftan was ordered to participate again in a war, less than half a year after he left Croix.

Note – FL: I remember Maxi being suspicious of where Riftan got all those jewels. Turns out Riftan unconsciously (or consciously) bought them for her T^T AHHH MY HEART

Nymeria: Excuse me, but hardworking Riftan is hot Riftan. Am I getting old being attracted to working, responsible men? lmaoo