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Chapter 16
Afterward, the members of the royal palace gathered together to write reports and discuss the schedule for the next day, and before long, the sun had set.
The northern region was quiet, with little to do.
Because of that, the palace members on their business trip all headed back to their accommodations early.
Dana and Edwin were no exception.
“Senior, I noticed there’s a thick blanket in my room. Shall I bring it to you?”
“Are you worried I’ll be cold? I’m fine.”
“If you get bored, feel free to come find me anytime.”
“Am I a child?”
Dana snickered.
Edwin felt a pang of disappointment at Dana’s casual response.
It seemed like he was the only one who wanted to spend time together desperately.
“Get some rest, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Dana waved her hand and slipped into her room.
Edwin watched her door for a moment before heading downstairs.
Passing through the empty lobby and opening the door to the accommodations, he saw the dark sky.
In the north, where the days were short, it grew dim quickly.
Edwin headed toward the knight order’s accommodations.
He knew that by this time, training would have ended and everyone would be lounging around.
“Captain, you’re here?”
Harriet, the night watch for the day, greeted him with wide eyes.
When Edwin silently gestured toward the accommodations, he quickly guided him inside.
Inside, the knights had gathered in small groups, playing card games or chatting.
Bang!
Once again, the door burst open without warning.
Perhaps because of the earlier incident at the dining hall, the knights quickly stood up.
“Captain!”
“Please, no more talk about games…!”
Edwin spoke in front of the noisy group.
“Well done.”
“…….”
“Keep pretending not to notice from now on.”
“……Yes, sir!”
Edwin slowly walked through the room, observing the accommodations.
He then approached Max.
“Next week, food supplies are coming from the capital, right?”
“Yes!”
“Send someone to treat Merida then.”
“Really, sir?”
Max’s eyes lit up.
After that, Edwin casually asked questions of his subordinates, checking if anything had been lacking in his absence.
For a while, the knights even came to him for advice.
“The bread on someone else’s tray looks bigger.”
“Then grab your bread with both hands. It’ll grow bigger.”
“As expected of you, Captain!”
Finally, Dante, the vice-captain, approached.
“We need to go catch Fraken at dawn tomorrow… could you come with us?”
At this, the other subordinates shouted,
“Yes! We can’t do it without you, Captain!”
Fraken was an advanced monster.
He was enormous and violent, and even seasoned knights could barely handle him.
Edwin answered indifferently.
“What a bother. It’s not hard, is it?”
“It is…”
“Just step on Fraken’s face and stab the core on his forehead.”
“No, even stepping on his face is impossible!”
Useless lot, Edwin clicked his tongue.
“What time are we leaving?”
Cheers erupted at his affirmative answer.
Regardless, Edwin glanced at his watch and prepared to leave the accommodations.
The knights yawned and headed to their rooms.
“It’s cold; I’m not seeing him off.”
“You never did anyway.”
As Edwin left the accommodations, Harriet asked,
“Are you dating the lady you were with earlier?”
“Does it look like that to you?”
Edwin’s tone sounded genuinely amused.
“It seemed like you were truly smiling, Captain.”
“I’m always sincere.”
Seems so… artificial.
Harriet swallowed her words and returned to her post.
At that moment, a snowflake fell on Edwin’s shoulder.
It looked like it would snow tonight.
Meanwhile, Dana felt a chill the moment she entered her room after showering.
“What’s this? It was warm just a moment ago…”
She checked the magical temperature control device on the wall.
No matter how many times she pressed the buttons, there was no response.
She checked repeatedly, but it remained unresponsive.
Outside the window, snowflakes swirled in the wind.
It somehow felt even colder.
“……”
Dana lowered her gaze bitterly.
The dim sky and snowstorm brought memories from the past.
Her parents, the count and countess, had indulged in extravagance for as long as she could remember.
And the mountain of debt had grown like snow.
One day, young Dana and her family fled in the dead of night to escape their creditors.
The villa, lent by a distant relative, was shabby and cold.
Jamie frowned at the cobwebs on the ceiling.
“How are we supposed to live in a place like this!”
“Poor child, just bear with it a little. I’m sorry, my son.”
The countess comforted her son and then spoke coldly to Dana.
“Go sleep downstairs.”
Dana obeyed and tried to sleep in a storage-like space.
In the middle of the night, she shivered uncontrollably from the cold.
On tiptoe, she checked the magical temperature control device—it was broken, just as she feared.
The chill extended through the hallway; it seemed the entire villa’s system was out.
Hugging herself, she went upstairs.
There, she saw…
“Jamie, come here. Mom will hold you.”
“Are you cold, my son?”
The family huddled by the fireplace, leaning on one another.
Everyone except Dana was wrapped in a thick blanket, worrying about each other, sharing warmth.
“……”
Dana realized there was no place for her to join them.
The young girl silently returned to the basement.
She sat on the floor, hugging her legs.
The earlier scene replayed in her mind:
The warm fireplace, the cozy family.
Dana pressed her small lips together and whispered to herself.
“Dana, are you cold?”
I’m fine. She comforted herself.
Even now, she didn’t know if she meant she was fine physically or emotionally.
Recalling the past, Dana gave a self-deprecating laugh.
What good is remembering old times?
She was now an adult, responsible for herself.
First, she needed to get dressed and find the accommodations manager.
Her wet hair made the chill feel worse than before.
She closed her bathrobe and took clothes from her bag.
Then came a knock.
Knock, knock—
A strangely unsettling knock.
Dana said nothing. Another knock came.
“……Who is it?”
“Senior, it’s me.”
Dana swallowed hard.
Blinking, she stared blankly.
“I came because I was worried.”
Dana slowly approached the door and turned the handle.
The moment the door opened felt as if time had slowed.
Gradually, Edwin appeared.
Blond hair, red eyes, even his labored breathing…
He draped the thick blanket he was holding over her.
The soft fabric quickly covered her shoulders.
“……You’re trembling.”
He said this with a rare stern expression.
She had been shivering from the cold without realizing it.
“I heard from the manager in the lobby that some rooms’ temperature controls were broken.”
Dana looked up at him.
His concerned gaze was entirely focused on her.
His hands tucked the blanket securely around her, as if to shield her from the cold wind.
It felt strange.
Like new buds sprouting on a tree frozen all winter.
Like petals drifting onto a calm lake.
A warm feeling blossomed in her chest.
Edwin, noticing her gaze, quickly relaxed his expression and smiled gently.
“Were you very cold?”
“……”
Memories from her childhood resurfaced—those occasional pangs of loneliness that would poke her unexpectedly.
Edwin carefully cupped her cheek in his hand.
Then, in a gentle voice, he spoke to her.
“You’re okay now.”
At the word “okay,”
Dana felt like crying.
