244 Chapter 5 A young man in a flowing gray robe marched down the narrow aisle, his usual air of fastidiousness about him. It was Ranulf, the high mage in charge of novice affairs. Paying no heed to the librarian’s disapproving look, the man stomped toward Maxi. “I’m glad I ran into you here. Saves me a trip to your lecture hall.” “I-Is there a problem?” “Do you truly not know?” With his hands on his waist, the high mage gave her an imperious look. Though Maxi could feel the curious glances of the other mages reading by the window, Ranulf seemed disinclined to show any discretion. He pulled out a thick bundle of parchments from his robes and shook it in Maxi’s face. Her vacant, blinking eyes widened when she realized it was the letter she had spent many a sleepless night writing. The high mage rubbed his temple and heaved a sigh. “Have I not told you countless times that novices must keep their letters short and simple because they are inspected prior to being sent? Were two rejections not enough for that to sink in?” “B-But I really did keep it as short as possible this time!” Maxi shrilled, afraid of a third rejection. Novices were only permitted to send communications twice a year, and as the high mage had said, hers had been rejected both times. Aggrieved, Maxi glowered at him. “Y-You told me not to go over ten pages… a-and I complied.” “Complied, did you?” Practically on the verge of tears, the high mage extracted a folded page from the bundle and flattened it. Maxi shrieked and hastily tried to cover the letter’s contents. Ignoring her distress, Ranulf dangled the parchment — about the size of a tablecloth — in front of her eyes. “You call this complying?! These are parchments meant for outlining large magical devices, and you filled them with your tiny writing! My eyes nearly popped out! I endeavored to slog through because I truly did want to allow you a letter this time, but it proved impossible!” Ranulf snarled, pointing to his bloodshot eyes. “Is this some sort of torturous experiment you’re conducting? Last time, you confounded me with a letter as thick as the Holy Scripture, and now this ludicrous—” He seemed to struggle for the right word before bellowing, “Do you have no regard for the person who has to check these?! Do you understand the torture of being forced to read a love letter this long-winded?” “I-I-It is not a love letter! I was m-merely letting my husband know how I was doing! We are only allowed to send letters twice a year… s-so of course I’d have much to say!” The high mage raised his chin and snorted loudly. “You should be glad I rejected them. It would have been disastrous had they been allowed to cross the sea. Believe me, those pathetic letters of yours would have scared your husband away!” Shock drained the color from Maxi’s face. How could he say such a terrible thing when she was out of her mind with worry? Forgetting they were in a public space, she shouted, “You’re wrong! M-My husband… is not a heartless man like you, Master Ranulf!” “Enough. Just rewrite it,” the high mage said through gritted teeth. With that, he pulled out a parchment a single kevette (approximately 30 centimeters) long and waved it at her. “I am giving you one more chance. The letters are going out in two days, so you have until tomorrow to write another. The parchment should be this size…” Trailing off, Ranulf walked over to the librarian’s desk and snatched the old woman’s quill from her hand. He quickly scribbled a sentence on the parchment. “And your writing like this, no smaller. Keep it within five pages.” “B-But it was ten pages last—” “Five. A page more, and I will immediately stamp it as rejected, so keep that in mind as you write.” After driving home his point, Ranulf whirled around and stalked out of the library. Flabbergasted, Maxi stood stone-still as she watched the man leave. Someone cleared their throat behind her. It was the librarian, directing an angry glare at her from behind the desk. “Anyone who raises their voice in here is banned from entering for a week.” Maxi blinked at her. “As those are the rules,” the librarian continued, “you are hereby barred from entering the library for one week, Maximilian. Please remove yourself from the premises at once.” Close to tears, Maxi turned to leave. Despite being in a daze, Maxi was able to successfully complete her debate class. Still miserable, she trudged back to her dorm, fidgeting with the letter she had spent months carefully composing. Whenever the yearning became impossible to bear, she had poured that emotion down on parchment. It was true that her letters ran too long, but a few pages were simply not enough to contain everything she wanted to tell him. I really did try to keep it short this time. Maxi walked into her room with a forlorn expression. Roy sprang up from his curled position on the bed to rub himself against her leg. After feeding the cat, Maxi sat at her desk and morosely gazed down at the bundle of parchment. Suddenly, all her suppressed anxiety and sadness erupted like pus bursting from a wound. If you leave, I’ll no longer wait for you. Maxi bit her lip. All the worries she had pushed to the back of her mind began to plague her. Had he truly meant those words? Had she already lost her place by his side? What if he did not need her anymore? What would she do then? Struggling for breath, she took out a fresh piece of parchment and began to scrawl like a person possessed. Despite having little to write about since accounts of life in Nornui were forbidden, the words kept pouring forth, and she found it impossible to stop. They fell short of fully expressing how much she thought of him, how much she missed her time in Anatol, and how it broke her heart whenever she recalled the day she had left him. How could five pages be enough when not even a thousand could contain her yearning? In the few pages she had been allowed, she made every effort to convey all the emotions in her heart. She barely managed to stop short of begging him not to forget her. Skimming over it after she had finished, Maxi realized she had failed miserably in articulating everything she wanted to say. Her face fell as she stared bleakly down at the yellow parchment. What was the use? Riftan may not even want to receive a letter. Perhaps he had already forgotten all about her. The thought tore at her heart. She covered her face with her hands and desperately tried to hold back her tears. A sigh escaped her lips. It appeared she would never be able to shake the terrible habit of imagining the worst. Despite her utmost efforts to reinvent herself during her time in Nornui, her fundamental nature proved difficult to change. After wearily gazing at the sunset, Maxi dipped her quill in ink. Even if Riftan no longer needed her, she still needed him. All she wanted was one more chance to regain his heart. Collecting herself, she wrote a brief passage on how she was doing and that she was trying her best to return to Anatol. She hesitated before scribbling a final line. I miss you so much I could die. As she stared down at the words, the tears she had kept bottled up came bursting out. Wiping her cheeks, she sealed the letter inside a leather envelope. Roy, startled by her sobs, slinked over to her and rubbed against her skirt. Maxi gathered the cat in her arms and buried her face in his soft fur. “You… miss home too, don’t you?” Roy purred and licked her cheek with his rough tongue. She sniffled. “I miss it too.” A knock at the door interrupted the quiet moment. Jerking her head up, Maxi murmured, “Roy… what did you do this time?” As if escaping her accusatory look, Roy wriggled out of her grip and darted under the bed. She glared after him before walking over to the door. “Wh-Who is it?” “It’s me.” When she swung the door open, she found Anette waiting for her, lantern in hand. Baffled, Maxi said, “What brings you here… at this hour? Anette Godric resided in the Umri tribe’s village and was thus rarely seen in the dorms. “Master Landon sent me. He wants to see you in his office. He says there’s something he wishes to discuss with you regarding the runes you asked him to review.”