A Certain Winter’s Tale Chapter 2.3 - Winterfall

Noah’s grip on the madam’s hand tightened slightly. The madam, her face unable to shake off its worry, tried to open her mouth again.

“No matter how many times you say it…”

But this time, Noah’s clear voice cut in.

“Clara.”

“Yes, my dear.”

“Let me speak to him.”

The sight of the young man naturally comforting the middle-aged woman. It was a rare sight, but it was by no means awkward or unfamiliar. The naturalness of it, as if they had been in such a relationship for a very long time, made Michaelis unable to hide his intrigued gaze.

“My name is Noah. Lord Regent…”

“I am Michaelis Eve, serving as the Emperor’s regent.”

“…Lord Regent Eve, I don’t know what you have heard, but as the madam said, I am not a prostitute who sells my body.”

“Alright. I’ll believe that.”

“…”

“I believe I asked how you feel about starting to sell from now on?”

Noah’s elegant eyebrows arched crookedly. Was it because of Noah’s amethyst-colored eyes that were trembling slightly? It had been a truly long time since Michaelis had met a beauty so breathtakingly lovely. So, with an even deeper smile spread across his face, he whispered words of temptation.

“It won’t be such a bad offer. This is the most underdeveloped Sun Domain among all the domains, and you live on the dirtiest street even there. How many opportunities do you think will come for someone like you to dare serve the Emperor?”

“…I’m not sure if you can call an unwanted offer an opportunity.”

“Haha!”

Thinking he would be as gentle and docile as he looked, Michaelis burst out laughing at Noah, who had no hesitation in expressing his opinion. Noah, who had been secretly worried that his attitude might displease the high and mighty regent even as he expressed a clear refusal, was inwardly relieved at the outburst of laughter.

And so, he was able to object a little more to the man before him who had abruptly made such a strange and absurd proposal.

“As you said, this is a place where people of low status bicker and live. Aren’t there plenty of people who can serve His Majesty, even if it’s not a lowly errand boy like me?”

“But I’m saying I’ll give that precious opportunity to you.”

“I believe I told you that it is not an opportunity for me.”

He has quite a temper. Michaelis, murmuring to himself, tapped his fingers on the desk. Then, as if appraising him, he scanned Noah from head to toe.

The Dominion of the Sun. The back alley of this remote countryside. He had not expected to find such a tantalizing gem in a place like this. Moreover, the young man standing before him was a subject who roughly fit the prophecy. It was not a certainty, but he was undoubtedly a figure too precious to let go of just like this.

Even if he was not the monarch’s partner mentioned in the prophecy, a beauty of this caliber would be enough to satisfy the monarch’s aesthetic sense. His friend was in a rather foul mood due to the pressure from the council of nobles to take an eleventh wife, so it seemed acceptable to provide him with a moment of amusement to lift his spirits.

Finally, Michaelis opened his mouth.

“What is it that you want?”

“…What I want?”

“Yes. I said you were of low birth, but there are few in the central dominion with beauty like yours. If you attend to the monarch in his bed, I will give you a commensurate reward.”

At the explicit phrase ‘attend to him in his bed,’ Noah’s brow naturally furrowed. However, Michaelis continued speaking without dropping his smile.

“An errand boy like you can live surrounded by splendid draperies in the central dominion. If you wish, I can even make this brothel, the Red House, much better than it is now. If you want money or treasure, then, yes… why don’t you name your price?”

For the first time, Noah’s gaze wavered. But for someone shaken by a sudden, absurd temptation, the sigh that escaped from between his luscious, red fruit-like lips was far too deep.

The madam, who had been silently patting Noah’s hand, asked in a weary yet firm voice.

“Just why are you going to such lengths?”

“My reason?”

“Yes. There are women far more beautiful and desirable than a mere errand boy everywhere. If you need someone to attend to a bed, there are plenty of more skilled women. Why on earth have you come all the way to this distant place to choose Noah, a man?”

Michaelis’s smile widened more than ever before.

“Do you know of Daniel Blossom’s prophecy, the one that caused such a stir when the previous monarch passed away?”

Michaelis said to the madam, enunciating each word. A very small question appeared on Noah’s face. He had thought the man did not care much for status, as he had spoken to Noah with surprisingly formal language. But the man’s casual, informal way of speaking to the madam felt dissonant.

And when Noah heard the story of the prophecy that flowed from the man’s lips, he became even more puzzled. A prophecy, all of a sudden? For a pretext explaining why he had come all the way to this dominion and chosen Noah, it was peculiar. In the face of such absurdity, Noah was at a loss for words, so the madam spoke, stammering.

“Th-then the reason you came all the way to this rural backwater is…”

“That’s right. I came to find ‘Spring.’”

Michaelis’s smiling face turned toward Noah.

“To be honest, I didn’t have high hopes. I never thought a gem like you would exist in a backwater like this, where you couldn’t find a trace of sophistication in the governor or the dominion. But I found you, didn’t I? I don’t know how lowly your birth is, but right now, I’m very grateful to the parents who brought you into this world.”

“…”

“I’m trying to make a bet. During the long 100-year winter, everyone has grown weary. It doesn’t matter if you aren’t the ‘Spring’ from the prophecy. Just attend to the monarch at night, put him in a reasonably good mood, and if the weather thaws enough for us to catch our breath, this bet will be a success.”

“I-I’m not a courtesan who receives customers…”

“That’s something you can just learn as you go. You might even come to enjoy it once you get good at it. As someone who has served the emperor for the past 100 years, I’ve never seen a beauty who would please the monarch as much as you, so I’m quite excited right now.”

“…”

“What do you say? Your face and body are much too precious to rot away in a dump like this countryside. Don’t you want to turn your life around?”

Noah bit his lips nervously. Michaelis, who was staring at the lips being crushed between his teeth, clicked his tongue, tsk, and rose from his seat to approach him. Then he unhesitatingly reached out and touched his lips.

Noah reflexively slapped his hand away sharply. Slap! A rather loud sound of friction echoed through the room. Worried that Noah had struck a high-ranking person, the madam’s eyes went wide, and she pulled him close. At this gesture, like a mother protecting her child, the interest in Michaelis’s ultramarine eyes deepened.

“It is a body that will serve the emperor. It shouldn’t be damaged.”

Noah’s clear, pearl-like cheeks flushed bright red. He was used to being treated like a courtesan, and it was not that he felt bad being compared to the women who had lived their lives alongside him.

However, the attitude of appraising and haggling, as if purchasing a well-crafted ornament, wounded Noah’s sense of shame. Noah, who had usually endured even low-quality sexual harassment with a smile, finally spat out with a cold expression.

“You crazy bastard.”

“Oh-ho?”

“I’d rather sell my body to a beggar living and begging in this town! The people in this town, at least, know how to respect each other’s lives!”

Michaelis burst into an amused laugh. The madam, with a worried look, pulled Noah back and called out for Mrs. Mel, who would be outside the room. Mrs. Mel, who had become a mother figure in a different sense from Madam Clara by managing the household, appeared with an urgent expression and led Noah out of the room.

“You will end up in the emperor’s arms.”

Michaelis’s tone, which had held a sliver of politeness, had now become a hard tone carrying a warning. Madam Clara hurriedly conveyed an apology on Noah’s behalf.

However, Michaelis did not even spare the madam a glance. He was staring at Noah, who was being led away by Mrs. Mel, fuming.

His gaze was clear and unwavering, as if he were casting a spell to ensure his words would come true.

And, just as he had said, a week later, Noah came to the room where Michaelis was staying of his own accord and begged to be allowed to sell himself.

❄️🐺❄️

In truth, the crisis that had befallen Noah’s chastity did not come from a completely unexpected place. Those who coveted his chastity sometimes lurked around him.

However, the timing was not just bad, it was very bad. No, perhaps one could say that Michaelis’s appearance was timely, as in exchange for that chastity, which many people deemed vulgar, Noah was able to protect his comfortable home.

That’s right. All because of that thing called ‘chastity’… or perhaps, all thanks to it…

“Are you planning to just stand by and watch the Red House be destroyed, all to protect that precious ass of yours?”

“…”

Noah was speechless, as what was happening before his eyes was so absurd.

It had been a full year since the new governor dispatched from the central region had come to the Dominion of the Sun. Whether he had come after hearing rumors about Noah or had discovered him on the street, that governor had ceaselessly demanded that Noah sleep with him. Each time, he would boast as if the Red House’s ability to run its business here was all thanks to him, even though the Red House had only ever sold smiles and companionship, and had never committed any illegal acts.

“Governor, we have told you time and again that Noah is not a boy who receives customers. To think you would shut down the Red House on the pretext that he won’t receive customers! You can’t do that.”

“The old madam of the vulgar Red House seems to think the governor sent by the emperor of the central dominion is such an unreasonable person. What are you all doing? Hurry and drag that old fox out. A good flogging should make her confess all her wrongdoings!”

At the nod from the governor, whose face was filled with a vile smile, the guardsmen lined up in the room approached the madam. They looked ready to roughly grab the slender, middle-aged woman and drag her away.

Unable to bear it any longer, Noah stepped forward.

“No, Madam!”

The governor’s eyes turned menacing toward Noah, who stood protectively in front of Clara. It was as if he had been waiting for him to move. With a smile that grew even deeper, he strode forward.

Fortunately, the guardsmen did not approach Noah and Clara any further. Noah simply stood up to the governor, his back straight and his entire body tense. The closer he got, the tighter Clara’s grip on Noah’s clothes became, but Noah absolutely did not back down.

Finally, the governor, who had come to a stop before him, abruptly raised his hand and roughly seized Noah’s chin.

“Ugh!”

He had tried not to even let out a groan, but the pain was hard to bear. When Noah grunted and winced, the governor laughed loudly as if delighted and lifted his chin high. Dragged along by that merciless grip, Noah squeezed his eyes shut.

“You dare distribute drugs in the territory I govern?”

“Hah! That’s ridiculous. As I said, the Red House doesn’t get involved in such dirty business…!”

“Are you saying the middleman is giving false testimony right now?”

“How would I know that! That’s something you, the governor, should investigate thoroughly…!”

“And I’m telling you that’s what the investigation concluded!”

Madam Clara was extremely worried about Noah, who was saying everything he had to say without showing any signs of being intimidated in front of the governor. Noah, who had barely aged since she had known him as a child and had maintained his youth, had a maturity that belied his appearance; he was not easily frightened and had no barriers when it came to socializing with people.