Chapter 126

"D-Did you sleep well?" said Maximilian.

Riftan had been enjoying his wife's adorable show of affection, which reminded him of a small bird nudging him with its beak, before his brow crinkled slightly. He was still upset with her for leaving before the sun had even risen.

"You should have asked me that in bed," he grumbled.

"I-I didn't want to wake you," she said, shrinking back. "You said you hadn't been sleeping well, and you always… wake before me. I didn't want to disturb your rest."

Riftan narrowed his eyes, studying her worried face. Being treated like a child by a woman who barely reached half his height still felt strange to him.

"Then you should have waited until I was awake," he snapped, purposefully adopting a brusque tone.

"I-I told you I had something important to attend to," she replied, breathing a small sigh. "I left a note this time. Did you not see it?"