Somewhere in the late 230s, I think. Riftan eventually gets into Croyso castle with Rosetta's help and finds Maxi's father beating Maxi. Riftan flips out and beats Maxi's father up so badly that the duke sends a complaint to the emperor and declares war to strip Riftan of his rights and territory. In ch. 255, the princess suggests that Maxi register as a mage with the tower, predating the registration to an earlier time, so that they could say the duke abused a mage (Maxi) of the mage and then the tower can protect her and help resolve the situation. However, doing so would mean that Maxi would have to study at the mage tower for 3 years without being able to leave. Riftan refuses and would rather lose his territory and stay with Maxi, but Maxi knows how much Riftan loved and tried to build up Anatol. So, Maxi agrees against Riftan's objections even when Riftan threatens to never see her again (of course, he regrets the threat after and never really meant it).
Eventually Riftan finds out that Maxi's been abused and flips out and beats Maxi's father up so badly that the duke sends a complaint to the emperor and declares war to strip Riftan of his rights and territory. Riftan and Maxi finally have a heart-to-heart conversation after. He asks her why she never told him that he'd been misunderstanding her and her father's relationship the whole time, that he would've taken her away sooner, never let her return to her father, protected her and loved her more. She tells him that she was afraid that he'd stop loving her if he learned the truth and the illusion shattered.

What happens in the novel after she goes back to her father?