As soon as Winter was able to enter the temple, he left the children in the care of three of the five guards who had come with him.
"Take them all to the hospital. If anyone starts a fight, beat them up. I'll take responsibility."
Then, the three former Kaisles players simultaneously showed a puzzled expression.
"There are three of us going around, so who would bother us?"
"If you go around alone, no one will openly pick a fight with you, right? What if you act like a fox behind my back?"
Winter grumbled in annoyance at the three people's words.
"Who knows what these abnormally closed-minded people are up to? Anyway, before we go to the hospital, let's fill the bellies of the kids at the market."
"Yes. I'll make you eat until you burst. Oh, and while you're at it, should we check out a bar? How about having a drink to commemorate your visit to Alika?"
"That's right. We've come to a place where we're not strangers."
"Don't be a jerk. I'm a stranger here too."
When Winter lost his temper, the guards flinched and shut their mouths. Violet saw this and approached them and asked affectionately.
"Are all three of these people players from your favorite team?"
"Yes."
Violet looked at the three of them with a curious expression and then asked curiously.
"By the way, I heard that you lost often when we went to the stadium together two years ago. How were your results this year?"
"Why all of a sudden?"
Winter asked, flustered as if he had been hit once. Violet, surrounded by the gazes of four large men, clasped her hands and answered with a determined look in her eyes.
"I like it. I wanted to take an interest in it. How are your grades this year?"
"... It's being rebuilt."
"Yes?"
Then, the other players next to him chimed in with bitter expressions.
"That's right. We're rebuilding."
"I'll do better next year..."
Then as if they wanted to avoid the situation, they took the children and disappeared to the hospital. Violet asked with a puzzled look on her face.
"Why is their expression like that?"
Winter answered her ignorant question.
"There are only two things in the world that I can never control: our team's performance and you."
"Were their grades that bad?"
"Would you mind not talking so loudly because it hurts? I even negotiated with the players myself, and these damned kids. Wait, I was paying salaries to guys who retired from those teams? What did they do right! When I go back, they'll all be fired!"
When the topic of sports came up, Winter's already rough speech became even rougher and he started swearing. Violet smiled slightly and said affectionately.
"But don't I move relatively according to your will?"
"You are not under my control. I am under your control. It's the opposite."
Winter replied with a sigh and headed into the temple.
Of the five shamans who ruled Alika, four did not recognize mixed-bloods as members of their clan, like Panus, but one man, a young man named Norther who had recently become a shaman, disagreed.
The liberal young man, Norther, whose long silver hair was tied up in a golden rope, guided the couple. He took the lead and continued his explanation of the 'Eternal Flame' contained in a huge stone tray.
"As you know, the Kanik clan is already oppressed. And yet, they insist on pure blood. They don't plan on resolving the issue of children being born between mixed blood, and those without Kanik blood, but instead, preach that it is a curse."
"We'll go around saying that if we have a child, the curse will be lifted."
As Winter spoke, Norther nodded and sighed.
"It is impossible to survive this way."
"Then why don't you kick out those four unlucky old men and eat the head yourself?"
"What an unlucky old man, please speak up a bit... Anyway, it's still difficult because there won't be a vacancy for the Shaman until one of them passes away."
"I don't think it'll matter if you deal with at least one. Sacrifice them for the greater good."
Norther sighed deeply at Winter's extreme suggestion. He looked at Violet as if he wanted her to stop him, but she was not the type to hesitate to talk things out, and she was unusually uninvolved in their conversation.
As she came across the shivering children, five-year-old Winter passed by.
The day her husband was shot by Carlson Rowe, Violet blamed everyone who had let him grow up like this. And the shamans here in Alika had a huge impact on Winter's abandonment.
Soon the three arrived in front of a red-carpeted door.
"This is where the God of Fire is worshipped. If you enter here, the God of Fire will answer your questions."
After Norther said that, he opened the door, but it was completely dark inside. Winter got angry and shouted at Norther.
"How can I let my wife into a place like that!"
"This is a safe place where the God of Fire watches over you!"
"Shut up, you should do something like this criminal!"
"Everyone else is just going in, so why are you doing this to me... Ah, there are even scary guards standing guard outside! And you even brought a gun to the temple! How ridiculous do you think the God of Fire is!"
"Then you think I'll trust you guys and just come in! You're talking like the God of fire, it's not just ridiculous, it's pathetic!"
Since coming to Alika, Winter's personality has gotten even worse and he's acting like he's going to go find the other four shamans and beat them up, so Violet finally starts to calm him down.
"Don't be scared. We'll go in together."
"What kind of temple are you making like this!"
"If we turn on another light, won't it be difficult to recognize the God of Fire when he comes?"
Winter, who had been running wild like an excited horse, soon regained his composure, either because he felt Violet's words were reasonable or because his wife was simply trying to calm him down. Then, he pushed Norther away, took Violet's hand, and went inside.
The door closed, and the two were trapped in complete darkness. It was a darkness that would have made them lose all sense if they hadn't been holding hands tightly.
"Winter."
"Are you scared? Should we go out?"
"No, but it's just so strange. Here, fire really, really feels precious."
"Oh, how does our Princess find the good in a situation like this?"
Winter grumbled and laughed, then hugged his wife gently. At that moment, the two realized that their bodies had switched.
"Oh my, your body has changed."
"It feels strange to hear such noble language in my own voice."
"Really? I find it funny when my voice gets so rough. Oh, it's back."
It was while the two were talking that they felt the hand they were holding disappear and they looked for each other urgently.
"What, what? Did you let go?"
"No. You didn't put it there?"
The two walked in confusion toward the direction where they could hear each other's voices, but strangely, the voices only grew farther away. And at some point, the two were sucked into a darkness that made them forget their own existence.
***
Winter, who woke up early in the morning, strangely felt that his sleep was unsettled. The bed in the Rockround Capital Hotel was the best in the country, no less than any other. Nevertheless, it was strange that the morning felt so uncomfortable.
The wind blew in through the slightly open window, brushing the curtains and ruffling.
"Like a dog."
Winter grumbled and sat up, but the door opened.
"Sir, are you awake?"
"Uh. Bring me some coffee."
"Yes."
Hayel confirmed that Winter was awake and immediately ordered coffee and brought him a suit. He said worriedly.
"And please, please wear a tie today. It's a formal occasion."
"Shut up, I'll take care of it."
Winter got nervous and quickly changed his clothes on the spot. Then, Hayel poured a lot of sugar into the coffee the maid brought him and Winter drank it all in one go.
Winter, who had finished preparing, couldn't concentrate well even though Hayel was talking nonsense next to him about Loweul raising the price of coffee beans per gram by 30 rounds.
He felt like he was missing something. Surely there was something more important than that he was forgetting.
As Winter was rubbing the back of his neck, Hayel suddenly shouted.
"Sir! Are you listening to me? Are you hungover again?"
"Cancel the meeting."
"Yes, yes? No!"
"Cancel it. Next time we meet, tell them I'll go to Baidelin."
Winter spoke nervously and he racked his brain trying to figure out what he had forgotten.
What the heck? What have I forgotten?
As he thought about that, he inadvertently recalled the face of his wife that he had seen on the day he returned to the capital. As usual, she was so Princess-like that she was barefoot. Strangely, she looked like a Princess from head to toe, but only her feet were bare.
".. She does all sorts of things."
It had been bothering him since he left home, and it was starting to bother him again right before this important meeting.
The Princess was a really tight-fisted person, to the point of making him want to curse. Even though she had lost all her wealth, she always dressed up neatly. She didn't buy jewelry or anything, perhaps because she thought the situation was bad, but she used what she already had wisely and made good use of it. But the thing is, she was barefoot.
Winter was walking around the room absentmindedly, then suddenly lost his temper and started swearing. Then he said to Hayel.
"Go to the South."
"Yes, yes? What are you talking about, all of a sudden?"
"I just don't feel well."
"Even if that's true, what about other plans!"
"Tell the deputy representatives to do it."
Then, without further explanation, he just left the room. Hayel cried out from behind him, but Winter ignored him and headed straight to the train station.
Luckily, there was a train right away, and he arrived in the south after a full seven hours. Because he left early in the morning, it was just past lunchtime when he got home.
As soon as Winter entered the house, he immediately noticed the maid and asked her.
"Where is my wife?"
When Winter asked about his wife's whereabouts for the first time since their marriage, the head maid answered with a puzzled look.
"Young Madam? I don't think she's awake yet."
"What? Are you kidding me?"
"Sorry, sorry! She didn't wake up!"
"What time is it now... Oh, shit."
Winter felt his energy drain away for a moment, feeling sorry for himself for running from the capital to check on the Princess who had been loafing around until the afternoon.
Winter was about to curse, but he thought it was a shame to come all this way, so he thought he should just tell her to go to sleep and leave.
So he went straight up the stairs. He didn't go to his wife's room often, so he just found out that her room was a bit far from the main house.
"I guess it's a matter of taste. Maybe she likes being far away from me. How could I know what the Princess is thinking?"
Winter knocked on his wife's door, muttering to himself.
"Hey."
But there was no answer from inside, and no matter how many more knocks there were, there was no answer.
This was quite polite to his personality. Winter eventually slammed the door open and went inside.
"Have you had any drinks? Why are you not answering..."
Winter stood still.
Violet was lying upright, looking at the ceiling, while empty pill bottles and liquor bottles were scattered on the floor.
"Princess. Hey."
Winter approached his wife, calling her name, but there was no answer. Winter's pace became a little faster. He walked quickly and shook Violet.
"Violet. Open your eyes, Violet Blooming."
She didn't wake up, she didn't breathe, she didn't feel any warmth.
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