A Certain Winter’s Tale Chapter 3.3 - Elia Winter

While he was sighing repeatedly, feeling devastated and unsure of what to do, the youngest of the maidservants who had been restless behind him let out a gasp, a sharp intake of breath, and stepped aside.

“Hut, Lord!”

“Lord. Have you come?”

Michaelis turned around and spoke feebly.

“You’ve come, Lord.”

“…….”

Elia silently looked around the empty room. Michaelis, having dismissed the accompanying maidservants with a glance, lowered his voice and spoke.

“I told you to wait in the inner garden for now. Why did you come all the way out here, Elia?”

“Where is Noah?”

“Eh? Well, about that…….”

Should he say he thought the boy ran away? In the nearly 100 years they had been friends, this was the first time Michaelis had seen Elia show this much interest in someone. Would it be right to tell him now that it looked like he’d been dumped?

While he hesitated, Elia, who had been scanning the room and deducing the situation, let out a short sigh.

“Is he not in the rear garden either?”

“I sent people out just in case. I told them to send word immediately if they found him, but seeing as there’s no news……, it seems they haven’t found him yet.”

“…….”

“I thought your hearts were somewhat connected, since you spoke with such confidence. Were you trying to take him by force?”

“…….”

“For it to be that……, I……. Since you told me to prepare the bedchamber in the inner garden where the Snow Flower Tree is, I thought you were both sincere…….”

“Haaa…….”

The Snow Flower Tree of the Winter Family. If nobles share love beneath it, they can conceive a new life. Noah was not a noble, but Mika knew how deeply meaningful that ‘first flower-sleep’ beneath that tree was to Elia. That made him pity his friend even more.

The sigh that seemed to erupt from deep within Elia’s gut was quite wretched. It was a dark sigh, so much so that Michaelis, who had been struggling to lighten the atmosphere, was forced to shut his mouth.

“For now, I’ve ordered a search of the entire castle. He couldn’t have gone far.”

“Forget it. Stop.”

“Uh……?”

Elia turned away with a chilly face.

“Mika. Just leave him be. It seems that because I uncharacteristically harbored something like lust, I was blind to the truth.”

That self-mocking voice Elia spat out shortly. Michaelis couldn’t easily stop him. Elia’s face from a moment ago, smiling brightly and clearly like a fresh young boy who had finally captured a love he’d nurtured in his heart for a long time, suddenly flashed through his mind.

The miserable face of now was so starkly different from that moment that Michaelis had no choice but to let him go without stopping him.

❄️🐺❄️

Before long, the red sunset began to dye the sky as it sank.

“Ha, this is bad. I still haven’t found El…….”

Exhaling white mist from his mouth as he walked along the forest path inside the castle, Noah sighed and tucked in his collar.

Just before dinner yesterday. He had rushed out recklessly and headed for the garden, but Elia didn’t appear.

Thinking he might be caught by someone if he returned to the Secret Palace, he had asked Johnny and stayed the night in the gardener’s hut. Since Elia might come, he decided to impose there a bit longer. Kind-hearted Johnny had readily let Noah stay, saying he was happy to have someone to talk to.

However, as soon as it became the next morning, the garden grew noisy. Palace servants began poking around everywhere, saying they were looking for someone. It seemed that if he stayed in the hut any longer, he would cause trouble for Johnny as well. So Noah had no choice but to leave the hut and begin wandering here and there through the castle’s gardens and forests.

An entire day had passed like that, and before he knew it, the day was drawing to a close.

“Elia…….”

No matter how much he searched, he couldn’t find Elia. He thought he would notice him immediately from afar since he was so tall. As a result of barely scanning from a distance, there were few men that tall, and even if there were, they were soldiers, not palace servants. Even then, they seemed to be searching the surroundings thoroughly as if looking for someone, so he couldn’t get close.

He even looked to see if there was a place where wolves were raised. However, after walking and walking, the only places he managed to find were stables or pens where horses and livestock were raised; there was no place for raising wolves to be seen anywhere.

He had walked continuously for several hours without being able to sit properly. As his feet grew tired, the strength in his stride gradually faded. Noah’s body, having roamed the cold outdoors for a long time, only grew colder.

“Uugh……. Why do I feel so chilly?”

His nose was running, and his fingertips and toes became so cold they lost sensation. Noah, shivering with hunched shoulders, flopped down onto a garden bench he had finally found in a corner.

While taking a brief rest and sniffing, his eyes grew hot. It was so, so cold that it was difficult to even move anymore. But more than that, the fact that the person he was searching for so anxiously was not before his eyes was sorrowful.

The paths where people traveled held at least some warmth, but if he went there, he would be caught. Then he would be dragged before the Lord immediately and have his body taken by force.

Noah had been someone who was satisfied with his life in his own way even if it wasn’t plentiful. But this time, he lamented his own lot.

However, he could not have any more time for lamentation.

“Not on this side either?”

“Ha, I already searched this whole area, but he wasn’t here!”

“Where on earth did he go! They said he’s a concubine who has to enter the sleeping quarters immediately since today happens to be a propitious day…….”

It felt as if the blood completely drained from his frozen hands and feet. Someone had begun searching the shelter he had just found. Noah left the bench he had finally found in the corner of the forest path and hid himself in the bushes.

The sound of buzzing commotion and the footsteps of many people echoed. He squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath. The surroundings were slowly turning dark. Several swaying lights looked like they were shining ominously as if searching for him.

He was cold, hungry, and his whole body ached as if he had been beaten. Tears fell and he felt wretched.

El. He missed Elia. The memory of that warm and fragrant embrace lingered in Noah’s heart the whole time, making him even more heartbroken.

And then. A rustling sound from right behind him flowed into Noah’s ears.

“……!”

To make matters worse, it was a sign of a person.

In front, the lights searching the forest path were gradually drawing closer. From behind, a presence was also slowly approaching. He squeezed his eyes shut. His mind went blank. It was most difficult to pull himself together so as not to fall into a panic. He bit his lip hard as if tears were about to pour out.

Crackle! The sound was heard right nearby. The form of the person who would grab him by the scruff of his neck finally appeared.

He thought another pursuer had caught him. As a faint white object gradually approached, the strength left his legs. And the moment he identified the large, white opponent that was drawing closer.

“Hut……! Uwaa…… ha, haha! It was Snow?”

Only then did Noah finally catch the breath that had almost stopped for a moment. The strength left his entire body, and he collapsed forward onto the ground. Although it was the cold, snow-covered ground, his legs, which had just given out, refused to listen more than the cold did.

Snow walked slowly toward Noah. Aside from the sound coming from the bushes he had pushed through, almost no footsteps were heard.

Snow, having approached Noah, stood curled as if surrounding Noah’s body and stared intently at him. Noah was sitting on the ground so Snow’s head was higher, but the kind wolf lowered his head slightly and met Noah’s eyes.

Coincidentally, the sound of commotion passed right by them. Seeing Noah squeeze his eyes shut and his hands tremble, Snow poked Noah’s shoulder with his snout.

“…….”

“…….”

When he opened his eyes again, the calm and steady blue eyes were staring at Noah unchangingly. Curiously, as he faced those clear eyes, his tension began to ease bit by bit.

Poke, poke.

Snow tapped Noah’s shoulder with the tip of his nose, not enough to hurt.

‘What? Why are you doing that, Snow?’

‘…….’

‘Arm? To lift my arm?’

Who on earth did he take after? As soon as Noah lifted his arm as if possessed, the clever wolf pushed his head under it. He shook his head as if closing his eyes slightly and feeling the touch. A handful of soft, fluffy fur came into Noah’s hand.

‘Haha, it’s soft.’

Naturally, following Snow’s head, he stroked the mane with both hands. This fur-covered creature even had a body temperature higher than a human’s, making him feel toasty warm. With the soft, warm bundle of fur beside him, his tension finally eased.

Noah soon gave a beaming smile. Then, as if finally satisfied, Snow embraced Noah tightly.

As they were sharing warmth like that, the presence of people soon vanished and the surroundings became quiet. And before he knew it, the day had fully turned to night.

“Thank you, Snow. You really are warm.”

Having shivered in the cold all day, he had encountered warm energy for the first time. Not only was the tension released, but as his body, which had been frozen from the cold, melted a little, fatigue rushed in all at once. Noah, who tried hard to suppress a yawn, stroked Snow’s chin and asked.

“Oh, right. Snow! By any chance…… do you know where El, where El is?”