A Certain Winter’s Tale Chapter 2.10 - Winterfall

The man’s mouth curved into a beautiful arc and parted, as if he liked Noah’s question.

“Elia.”

The man’s low, languid voice sent a strange shiver down Noah’s nape for no reason. Noah tried to shake off the strange, inexplicable tremor and rolled the man’s name in his mouth once more.

“Elia?”

“You can call me El.”

“El.”

Following the curve of the man’s lips, his eyes now curved into a gentle smile. It was a smile so white and pure that it made him wonder if this was what an angel sent by the gods would look like. But at the same time, the fact that it also felt somewhat flirtatious tickled Noah’s heart even more.

“All done.”

Finally, the man’s hands pulled away, and his face, which had been so close, moved away. Only then could Noah take a deep breath.

The man turned to Snow, who was sitting motionlessly beside him, and said.

“You should have controlled your strength. I know you didn’t realize how fragile this child would be…”

As if it understood those words, Snow stood up and wagged its tail against Elia’s leg. It seemed to be a gesture of its own kind of embarrassment.

“Apologize to Noah, too.”

Snow was a mischievous and mean wolf to Noah, but perhaps because he was a keeper, it was a gentle puppy in front of Elia. As if it had never been the one to sharply bite Noah’s hand, the pretty-faced dire wolf came under the chair and wagged its tail against Noah’s leg. At the wolf’s endearing apology, Noah couldn’t help but laugh.

“Alright, Snow. I’ll make a special exception and accept your apology.”

“Pretty.”

Hearing Elia say it like a habit, Noah blushed. It was more out of awkwardness than shyness. That word ‘pretty’ seemed to be directed at Snow, but Noah felt shy and ticklish for no reason.

But just then.

“Ouch…!”

Snow once again playfully bit Noah’s hand, hard. Noah, startled, blinked back tears, and the cheeky dire wolf, with a smile on its face, quickly hid behind its keeper’s back.

Seeing that, Elia burst out into bright laughter.

“Don’t just laugh, teach him some manners! Do you have any idea how many times he’s bitten me?”

“Haha, Snow doesn’t normally bite people. It’s because you’re so pretty, Noah.”

“What did you say?”

He was dumbfounded by the claim that it didn’t bite people. That creature Snow had bitten his hand or thigh every time they met! And so what if he was pretty, why bite him!

As Noah’s white face filled with discontent, Elia, El, added.

“Isn’t that so. When you see something pretty, you just want to put it in your mouth.”

“…I don’t do that.”

El tilted his head and then turned his gaze to Jonny as if seeking agreement.

“Th-that’s right! Totally! If it’s pretty, you have to bite it and nom nom nom, chew on it! Yes, yes!”

Noah’s eyebrows arched strangely. But he soon thought that the central territory must have customs that he, a country bumpkin, wouldn’t know. With even Jonny taking his side like that, Noah didn’t really have anything to say against it.

Seeing Noah nod, El, who had been watching him with satisfaction, reached out his large hand and stroked the top of the bandage. As Noah flinched his shoulders slightly, El gave a pretty eye-smile.

“Take good care of the wound. I’ll come again tomorrow.”

“Huh? Tomorrow?”

While Noah was bewildered, El whistled to lead Snow and left the gardener’s hut. Noah, who was staring blankly at his back, asked Jonny, who was finally starting to relax.

“Who is that keeper?”

“He’s, he’s, he’s, he’s a keeper.”

His severe stuttering was suspicious, but Jonny was the only person Noah could ask about Elia.

“Is he someone who lives around here?”

“Th-… um, yes. He lives quite close to the garden.”

“Is that why he said he’d come tomorrow?”

“Yes, perhaps he thinks you’re a gardener like me, Noah?”

“Haha, that makes sense! We were digging in the flower bed together.”

Noah smiled brightly and nodded his head. Since Jonny was looking at him with a slightly worried expression, Noah patted him reassuringly and got up from his seat.

“I should be heading back now, too. Don’t worry, Jonny! I’ll tell Regent Michaelis that Snow bit me. So you won’t get in trouble, Jonny.”

“It’s not because of that…”

Jonny hesitated repeatedly, as if he had more to say. But he shivered as if a chill had run down his spine from something frightening and said weakly.

“Yes, I would be grateful if you said that, Mr. Noah.”

Noah smiled brightly and stroked the hair of Jonny, who only came up to his chest. Until he left the hut, promising to plant the rest of the flowers the next day, Jonny kept a worried expression on his face, but Noah thought it was because he had gotten hurt and returned to the private palace.

❄️🐺❄️

It had already been two full months since Noah entered the winter castle. For Noah, who had been cornered and sold his first time in a daze, and for Elia, who only occasionally showed his face at the Council of Nobles and stayed cooped up in the inner palace, paying no attention to the gift his friend had brought, the days were peaceful and calm.

Only Michaelis, who was watching over them, was going out of his mind.

“Elia! I can’t take it anymore. Let’s take off our ranks and talk.”

“…”

“Are you really going to be like this. I went all the way to that faraway place to find a lovely… that you’d like!”

“I don’t need it, Micha.”

Elia completely ignored Michaelis’s nagging and paced around the dress room in the inner palace. It was so dumbfounding to see the guy, who just lazed around all day except when he was working, act busy. Michaelis, watching him, could only grind his teeth and tremble.

“Micha. If you get angry a lot, you won’t live long.”

“What, you punk? A mere noble, where did you hear something like…”

“Someone told me. That the commoners outside the castle calm angry people down like that.”

Michaelis froze. What on earth had gotten into him, that the frozen, wooden Elia was muttering with even a slight smile? It was a truly strange thing, especially since he hadn’t even presented Noah, whom Michaelis himself had brought, into his arms.

‘Has he completely lost his mind?’

So he couldn’t help but doubt his monarch’s mental state. It could only be explained as him having fallen into depression and now, his mind was starting to wander. Muttering a disloyal thought to himself that he should not dare to have towards his monarch, Michaelis let out a sigh.

“Elia, are you really going to just welcome another new consort like this? Aiden Lux is coming to the castle tomorrow morning!”

“…”

No matter how much he shouted, no reply came back. What is this, it would be more affectionate to talk to a wall. At least an echo would return.

Michaelis grumbled to himself, but stood there, staring endlessly at Elia’s busy back. After some time, when his preparations seemed to be finished, a reply finally came.

“Go back. I’m going for a walk.”

“A walk for what! Elia, are you really going out? Hey!”

These guys must be possessed by the ghost of someone who died because they couldn’t go for a walk. Michaelis fell into a reasonable suspicion as he recalled that recently, everyone he visited seemed to be leaving for a walk.

‘Noah, and now Elia too. Are they all possessed by a ghost or something?’

But the one who could answer that question was no longer there.

Leaving Michaelis’s sigh behind, Elia headed alone to the rear garden where Noah was.

❄️🐺❄️

The entire morning had been tedious and boring. Time passed slowly from the moment he opened his eyes, stopped by the office to quickly handle some work, and left the inner palace. He felt no inspiration even when discussing various matters with the elder administrator Petr Forest, who decided on the main affairs of the empire alongside him. It was just annoying when the regent Michaelis, who handled various major and minor affairs within the imperial palace with him, spouted nonsense.

But the moment he finished his work and left the inner palace, Elia gained vitality. It felt as if he were receiving positive energy from the world and storing it in his heart. His heart began to pound as if he had waited for this day for a very long time, and his whole body was consumed by excitement. His steps quickened, and vigor coursed through his body. His breathing quickened to a perfect pace, and his chest filled with anticipation. The sacred joy of one who has found their reason for being had finally graced his life.

As he passed through the hole in the wall that the mischievous dire wolf had made with Snow, Elia smiled faintly and thought.

‘So I had a heart after all.’

Just then, he arrived at the garden in the backyard of the inner palace. A place stripped bare, having lost its green, fresh leaves and its colorful, soft petals. In a corner, he saw two people talking in low voices.