Fun

I feel like Maxi should be given the opportunity to grow BUT at a different time. Don't get me wrong, she has to learn at some point but it could have been on a shorter adventure, maybe with someone who could directly show her (like the mage dude). This is a big journey through dangerous environments, no one can both show her how to do her job and ensure her safety comes first when they need to watch their own backs and they don't know magic. Riftan doesn't have the time or capacity to lead the expedition, ensure the safety of all his soldiers, and both teach and protect Maxi. It would be different if Maxi was just a friend or love interest, because then Riftan would have less of a duty to protect her directly, but she's his spouse, he has a direct duty to protect her but he can't juggle everything, especially with an un-experienced Maxi.

Ultimately, Maxi should be given opportunities to grow that are appropriate for her level, so she can have the space to make non-lethal mistakes. That would also soothe Riftan's fears. Riftan is a jerk for closing himself off, but you gotta remember that he thinks that Maxi didn't want to marry him and that she herself refused to move to his land because she was fully provided for at her family home (not true but he doesnt know that yet). He believes she is a pampered young lady who knows no suffering, so he's under the impression that his worth is correlated with how much he can protect and provide for Maxi. If she has to go out into the battlefield, he thinks he's failing. If she gets hurt, he's failing. He's distancing himself because he knows he would go wild and that would only put her in more danger. Again, he is being a jerk, but it is true that Maxi should have had more level-appropriate journeys first.

It's not that serious ultimately because it's fiction, but just something I wanted to point out lol (〜￣△￣)〜