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Chapter 32
His imagination had been limited.
Even if he could go outside, he would wrap every inch of skin. That was the extent of his hope.
So he had never needed to worry about how his expression appeared to others.
But everything changed after Clémen arrived.
‘The situation has changed.’
Something he could never have imagined happened.
Even though there was some distance, Rosia had entered his space. They faced each other and shared the same moment.
Since the situation had changed, the grim future he had envisioned would also change.
“What can you see in my expression?”
“Everything. All of it.”
Rosia stood quietly, carefully observing Zephyrus’s face.
Shaky eyes, quivering eyelashes, slightly lowered brows and corners of the mouth.
And more.
Slumped shoulders, uneven breathing. Everything reflected Zephyrus’s emotions.
“Even if you meet the upper echelon master like this, the negotiation will probably go badly.”
“…Am I the one handling it?”
“Then were you just going to show your face and leave?”
Even Zephyrus thought that was strange.
Facing the final decision-maker and refusing to speak, then being sent away… it was a clear sign that something was wrong.
“So, practice?”
“Of course. It’s just the beginning anyway, right?”
Rosia smiled gracefully.
“….”
Zephyrus unconsciously furrowed his brows. In his memory, Rosia had been rough and tomboyish. She wasn’t the kind of person to wear such a feminine, gentle smile.
“What’s with that expression, Your Highness?”
“Me?”
Rosia exhaled through her nose and said she’d let it slide just this once.
“Alright, thank you.”
“…Excuse me? Thank you for letting it slide?”
“For all your efforts until now.”
Rosia patted her arms and stepped back.
“What is this? Why are you doing this?”
“Never mind. So, how should we practice expressions?”
Zephyrus’s expression was odd as he said that. His eyebrows were raised too high, and the corners of his mouth lifted as well.
“First, relax your face. Where’s a mirror? Clémen—Clémen? What are you doing?”
Rosia looked at Clémen and asked. Zephyrus followed her gaze. Clémen was scribbling with a pen on paper.
“Huh? It felt like a historic moment. I wanted to leave a drawing of it. Almost done!”
Clémen said brightly. She might have sounded unusually formal, almost like someone from the empire.
She felt proud of herself for thinking to capture this scene in a drawing.
“Ta-da!”
She turned the finished drawing around, her eyes sparkling.
“Uh, um…”
“A doodle.”
“That’s cruel! It’s a drawing!”
The paper showed the forms of two humans, their genders barely discernible.
That night.
“Eek! Aaaah!”
A maid’s scream echoed through the mansion.
“A- a ghost! That pale thing…!”
The northern nights were cold.
Even colder during the Nightmare of the Snowy Mountains.
But sometimes, people had urgent needs.
The servants’ restroom was shared. The shared bathroom was outside the rooms, in the middle of the corridor.
‘I didn’t even eat much, so why…!’
This time, it was Juli, the maid who claimed to have seen the ghost.
She felt wronged but had no choice but to leave her room.
The mansion’s corridor was dark. Lighting it would cost more than providing firewood to warm the residents’ homes.
So the corridor was only visible where stones called Luminous emitted their own light.
Here and there, faint light in the darkness.
Outside the small corridor windows, snow fell so thickly that visibility was near zero. The wind battering the windows and walls sounded like screams.
‘Scary…’
Suddenly, something passed in front of Juli.
She lifted the portable stove, but there was nothing in the corridor.
At first, she thought she had imagined it.
She had to have imagined it.
Steeling herself, Juli heard the sound of something moving several more times.
She straightened her shoulders and pretended not to notice. Just a little further, and the restroom would be bright.
But—
Swish!
Something brushed against the back of her hand holding the portable stove!
She couldn’t endure it any longer.
The scream she finally let out caused a commotion in the mansion, but she had no choice.
Cowering and trembling, Juli said,
“It’s real! From the upper echelon not coming to this… the real nightmare is starting!”
Rosia and Clémen, who had gathered to hear her story, exchanged glances.
“It could just be the cold. Let’s make sure what’s really happening.”
“Yes! Don’t worry. And if it gets too cold at night, let me know. I’ll come and warm you up.”
Clémen held Juli’s hand. Juli flinched but slowly raised her head. The rare warmth of Clémen’s hand filled her vision.
‘Warmer than the stove.’
Clémen always stayed on the third floor or beside His Highness, while Juli was assigned to clean the second floor. She rarely interacted with Clémen, who even ate with His Highness instead of in the servants’ area.
Her unfamiliar appearance and strange speech were off-putting. People whispered behind her back about some desert fox bewitching His Highness.
‘But these warm hands… they make me feel safe.’
It was truly warm.
Juli, without realizing it, sniffled. Her startled, anxious mind settled, and tears came.
Clémen, concerned, patted the back of her hand.
“I-I’m sorry…”
“Huh? Sorry for what?”
“For keeping my distance until now.”
Watching Juli repeatedly apologize while wiping her tears, Clémen’s golden eyes trembled.
“No! No! I’m more sorry!”
“No, Clémen! You must have felt out of place too! We should have welcomed you warmly!”
At this sincere repentance, Clémen shook her head vigorously.
“I appreciate it, but really, I’m fine. From now on, let’s just get along. So please don’t cry. Please.”
Juli sniffled, looking at Clémen. She was truly a kind person.
Juli hugged Clémen’s arm. Warmth spread, calming her heart.
“Um, Juli?”
“…Asleep.”
“Really?”
Clémen carefully looked at her. A pale, delicate face. Younger than Zephyrus. To scare such a child…
At that moment, Rosia spoke softly, smiling.
“Even so, she was the head of her household. Her widowed mother passed last year, leaving her alone. They intentionally kept her in the mansion.”
“Wow, can she see my expression too?”
Clémen rubbed her own face and asked.
“I’ve been in charge of people since I was young. If I failed, I’d be out.”
“Ah, hahaha.”
They called a knight to safely escort Juli to her room.
Then, back in the corridor.
The knight went one way at a fork.
“So, what will you do now?”
“What do you mean? It’s night. We should sleep, right?”
“I see.”
Rosia nodded, then casually asked,
“So, what are you thinking?”
“Huh?”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know. I’ve noticed for a while that Clémen is… unusual.”
Whoooosh—clatter!
The fierce wind rattled the windows as if they would break.
The next morning.
Clémen came to Zephyrus as usual, brimming with her lively energy.
“Good morning, Master!”
“I heard there was a ghost incident last night.”
“Yes! I calmed her down and put her to bed. I’m starting to feel like one of the locals, right?”
“What are you talking about?”
Zephyrus asked, genuinely puzzled. Clémen hesitated briefly, then smiled and scratched her head.
“Not yet! I need to try harder!”
“No, you’ve already settled in the North. Then you are a northerner.”
“Ah… huh? Ah-ha! Hahaha!”
Clémen covered her face with both hands and laughed. Zephyrus said indifferently,
“Stop with the nonsense and come here.”
He naturally held Clémen’s hands as she approached and placed her on his lap, muttering,
“Maybe it’s because I don’t get shaken by trivial things anymore.”
He meant that she hadn’t been trying to anger him with odd words.
“…Even though you were nervous and made ice yesterday.”
“That was only at the start. After that, we practiced expressions and I was fine, right?”
“Right. Well done.”
Clémen lowered her hands from her face, slightly turned her upper body. Through the half-exposed face and the thick curls that hid the other half, her golden eyes sparkled.
Their eyes met.
Zephyrus stiffened. Clémen, whether knowing or not, straightened herself again and hummed softly.
“Master, you are…”
