A Certain Winter’s Tale Chapter 4.1 - That Winter

The cold and fierce winter gradually withdrew, and the ice, which had seemed so thick and frozen it would never break, began to melt little by little. Mysterious life forms that had been in a long hibernation began to leave their traces in the forests, rivers, and fields. Small and lovely sprouts pushed their heads up one by one above the earth.

Winter Castle in the central territory of Winterfall. That place too was in the middle of preparing for spring.

Gardeners busily moved about inside the castle to plant flowers, whose existence had long been forgotten by everyone. Spring is just around the corner. To welcome the lush and beautiful spring of the Winter Castle, they had to till the soil and sow seeds before it was too late.

The clothing of the palace officials moving in and out of the palace also became lighter. None of the maids in the castle expected that the time for soft silk clothes to be in the spotlight rather than thick fur coats would come this quickly.

However, even while sitting around the lined-up sewing machines and working for a long time, the maids maintained bright faces throughout. As if they never tired, they moved their hands restlessly while chattering away, steadily processing the tasks assigned for the day.

“When the baby is born, how pretty will they be!”

“Oh, don’t even get me started! Since the Lord is so handsome, the baby will surely be like an angel!”

“Hohoho! That’s true, right? The young master from the Lux family was also of beautiful appearance!”

“Will it be a prince or a princess!?”

“I hope it’s a princess. Then I’ll have to make and offer up pretty clothes!”

Their expressions looked extremely excited as if they were walking on a dream.

“By the way, Young Master Aiden has conceived. Why aren’t the two of them holding a wedding?”

The chattering laughter in the room stopped abruptly. Clatter, clatter. Between the sounds of the sewing machines running, the maids wearing the white aprons that symbolized the palace officials of Winter Castle held their breath, mindful of several people dressed in slightly different attire. They were the retainers Aiden Lux had brought to the castle when he entered to become the wife.

The maid who had plunged the surroundings into a chilly silence belatedly realized they were all in the same place and resented her own mouth.

Sure enough, a heavy sigh came from among the maids who came from the Territory of the Sun. And one of the most experienced maids among them said in a clear voice.

“You know how the palace officials of Winter Castle are. The Lord only looks after the welfare of the concubine and treats our young master, who is to be the wife, with coldness.”

“……”

“……”

Among the hesitating maids of Winter Castle, someone answered haltingly.

“Still. After the concubine came, the Lord became gentler. It’s a pity for Young Master Aiden, but if Master Noah hadn’t come to Winter Castle, the Lord’s heart would never have melted.”

It was an undeniable fact. To the world, it was known that spring arrived as soon as Aiden Lux came to the castle, but everyone inside the castle knew well that there was someone else who gave birth to the spring.

Perhaps because of that, the maids from the Sun Castle didn’t answer further and concentrated on their sewing. Since they had gossiped for a bit and taken a break, the other maids in the room also became absorbed in their respective tasks. For a while, only the clatter, clatter of sewing machines floated through the room.

The whispering was heard again from among the maids of the Sun Castle.

‘But, sister. Didn’t they conceive a baby because the two of them shared a bed?’

It was a very small whisper, but those nearby must have heard that innocent question. While those who leaned their ears in held their breath, the maid who had worked the longest among the Sun Castle maids and had looked after Aiden Lux the most closely gave a small smile along with a sigh.

“Of course. On the last night of the Spring Awakening Festival, the Lord visited the young master’s room.”

Several Winter Castle maids who were listening to that story nodded their heads. While keeping Noah settled inside the inner palace, everyone had been inwardly curious about exactly when the Lord, who never stepped anywhere else except when coming out to attend to official business, could have slept with Aiden Lux.

Seeing the Winter Castle maids nodding as if they understood, the mood of the Sun Castle maids loosened up a bit, and before long, they were mixing in conversation and chattering again.

“Since the baby is going to be born, let’s make lots of colorful clothes with pretty silk.”

“Sounds good. Since Young Master Aiden also needs to recover his health, he will need more warm cotton clothes for the time being.”

The hands of the palace officials became busy again. Bright smiles were smeared on each of their faces, as bright as the weather that had turned warm with the touch of spring. And without them knowing, one person who had been standing outside the door turned away from there without a word.

It was Matilda, who had stopped by the sewing room to get more clothes for Noah to wear, as he was very sensitive to the cold. She hurried her steps toward the inner palace with a sigh.

❄️🐺❄️

“When the baby is born, they’ll be pretty, right?”

The office where warm sunlight driven by the energy of spring was streaming in. The Chancellor, Michaelis Eve, who was organizing the stacks of documents processed that day beside the Lord, suddenly stopped his moving hands at the low voice and raised his head.

“……”

“……”

“What are you all looking at like that?”

Looking at the atmosphere, the elder Administrative Official Forest, who had been scanning the financial lists while playing with complex numbers, was also staring at their Lord with a dazed face. Only Elia Winter himself did not feel the weight of the words he had uttered.

In fact, the news of Aiden Lux announcing his pregnancy consisted mostly of rumors spread knowingly or unknowingly. He had not officially informed the Noble Council of that fact, nor had it been proclaimed through a marriage with Elia.

However, rumors among palace officials, having no feet, are as fast as the wind. That news quickly spread throughout the whole castle and spread far and wide outside the country.

Whether it was the Noble Council, the Chancellor, or the Administrative Official, everyone wanted to ask Elia Winter, their Lord himself, what on earth was going on. In any case, pretty flower buds had formed on the snow flower tree, and Aiden Lux was claiming he was pregnant.

However, since the Lord consistently played the role of “I know nothing,” they were in the middle of feeling frustrated because they couldn’t ask openly. Just as the two subjects were unable to easily open their mouths, they were more than a little surprised because they hadn’t expected Elia to bring up that topic first.

With a stunned face as if seeing the return of his deceased maternal grandfather before his eyes, Michaelis met eyes with the elder Administrative Official. That boisterous old man, as if he had been waiting, puckered his mouth while crumpling his expression toward Michaelis.

He shook his head saying he didn’t want to, but Elder Petr Forest bared his teeth with an expression as if shouting, “You there!” Michaelis had no choice but to start the conversation to ask the awkward question to his old friend.

“Th, that’s right, Elia. If they resemble you, it’ll be a very pretty baby. Their mother would, of course, also be pre……tty, right?”

As Michaelis stammered, letting the end of his words trail off endlessly, Elia lifted his gaze from the documents. Reading the chill lingering in his gray eyes, Michaelis swallowed hard. Was it a hasty judgment to decide to voice a secret his friend wanted to hide? Just as regret was about to moisten his eyes, Elia let out a short, mocking laugh.

“You. You’re not harboring any foolish thoughts toward Noah, are you?”

“……”

Michaelis dropped his jaw and shrugged his shoulders toward Petr Forest. It was a gesture meant to convey that he had done all he could. The elderly gentleman who had grown a round mustache cleared his throat with a “hem” and finally opened his mouth.

“Excuse me, Lord. I know well your heart for cherishing your concubine. But is he not a commoner? How can you assume that the concubine is the owner of the flower buds?”

Elia stroked his chin and met Petr’s eyes. Despite being a strict and stiff old man, his green eyes held a kindness toward Elia that had stayed for over a hundred years. As Matilda’s uncle, he was one of the few nobles Elia trusted and relied on.

Elia smiled bashfully and spoke to Michaelis.

“That old book I asked you to find in the Library Palace before. Did you find it, Mika?”

“Huh? Oh……, actually I did bring it today?”

When Elia suddenly changed the topic, Michaelis hesitatingly handed over the book he had brought and placed on the desk. While glancing at Old Man Petr and trying to gauge Elia’s intentions.

Elia busily searched through the pages of the book he received from Mika, turning them here and there.

“Are you looking for something?”

“Maybe.”

Michaelis’s expression turned grumpy. Even though he treated him comfortably, he couldn’t exactly hit him since he was strictly the Lord. After he went to the trouble of finding what he wanted, he felt wronged because he didn’t even get a proper answer and was treated coldly.

The sound of rustling paper rang out and then suddenly stopped. Elia stopped his hand and looked up at Michaelis. Because the smile on his lips was that embarrassing expression he only wore when holding and coaxing that concubine fellow of his, Michaelis approached right in front of Elia with an awkward face and checked the book.

“What on earth is it?”

What Elia had requested to find was the genealogy of the thirteen families, which was older than the genealogy of the twelve families. During the hundred-plus years since the Nobles of Flowers became extinct, most of the booklets had been lost. Therefore, Michaelis still couldn’t forget the thrill of when he finally found that genealogy among the piles of old books in the Library Palace after working diligently for an entire month.

But what on earth did he intend to look for here?

Michaelis soon checked the page Elia had opened and tilted his head.

“The Glory family? You mean the Nobles of Flowers?”