“I walked here. I... can I come in? It’s a little cold.”
“Yes? Yes, yes... Oh, come in quickly.”
But even when she heard him again, it was clear he'd walked all the way here. She kept repeating, "Yes?" like a broken person, then came to her senses and led Roderick inside.
As soon as Roderick entered the room, he unpacked the huge backpack he was carrying and began taking out various items from it.
"It's not dinner yet. I brought some light groceries from the mansion. And this is your sleeping bag. It won't be as comfortable as a bed, but it'll do just fine. I'm not sure if there's enough firewood for the stove."
Roderick, muttering and taking out his luggage, jumped up from his seat and headed toward the firewood pile. Thanks to the cold climate and the fact that he always kept a good supply of firewood, he figured he'd have enough for a few days.
And Ophelia, who had been blankly staring at the busy scene, couldn't help but be surprised once again. It must have been hard enough just walking this mountain path, but he had come carrying that heavy bag.
“Ophelia, why are you just standing there staring at me? You must be hungry. Come here and eat.”
At his call, she sat down next to Roderick with an awkward expression.
The soup, contained in a sturdy metal lunchbox, was still warm. The thick metal seemed to have kept it warm.
Roderick, who had been watching Ophelia eating the soup with a proud expression, opened his mouth with an apologetic voice.
"I don't know when the snow will stop, so I guess I'll have to stay here for a while. The snow piled up to my waist while I was here."
He came here with the hope of saving her, but now he has to wait for her rescue.
Still, Ophelia felt like the effort of coming all the way here had been rewarded just by bringing her food to keep her from starving and a sleeping bag to sleep in.
Ophelia, who had been eating quietly while listening to his words, could no longer stand it any longer and put down her lunch box.
“Why are you doing this?”
"Yes?"
Roderick blinked dumbly and asked back, not understanding her sharp question.
“I ask why someone as noble as Your Excellency would take such risks and go to such trouble.”
Of course, the reason he packed his bags and set out without hesitation was that the victim was Ophelia. The thought of her being in danger left him in no mood to reconsider.
Even so, there was no lie in his words. It was clear that he would have made the same choice if it had been anyone other than Ophelia.
And Ophelia could tell, too. Roderick was telling the truth. She wondered if perhaps that was the reason she liked him.
"I don't know if you've heard the rumor, but my parents... died in an avalanche. Maybe that's why I'm more sensitive to disasters related to heavy snow. I know you're a skilled wizard, and so you might not need my help... but I still wanted to protect you."
Roderick couldn't figure out why he was bringing this up. It was something deep in his heart, something he rarely spoke of.
The death of his parents still lingered in his heart, even years later. No matter how calm he tried to appear, the pain wouldn't go away.
“...No, I needed it. I was lonely.”
Ophelia held Roderick's hand tightly. Despite having walked this cold path, Roderick's hand was much warmer than her own, which had been indoors the entire time.
His warmth. That was what she needed more than anything.
“Thank you for being stuck in this blizzard with me.”
She said with a bright smile. Roderick, startled by the sudden physical contact, blushed and stuttered.
“Oh, yeah. That’s good.”
His heart pounding as if it were going to burst out of his ribcage, Roderick avoided her gaze as she stared at him blankly.
"Duke. I think I like you too. You who would throw yourself into this blizzard to save someone in this situation."
Ophelia confessed that she had been hiding out of vanity.
She had been waiting for Roderick to speak first, obsessed with the common notion that it was a blow to a woman's pride to confess first, but if she didn't speak now, her heart would burst.
“...”
“And you like me too. Why don’t you say anything?”
At her confident question, Roderick squeezed his eyes shut. He'd tried to hide it, but it had been discovered. They say love and a sneeze can't be hidden, and isn't that true?
“...I am the Duke of Weishaffen.”
“So? Does that mean I, a non-noble, am not worthy of a partner?”
"How could that be...! No, I have to manage this territory, and as the shield of the Peles Empire, I have to protect its national defense. But Ophelia... don't you have a future in the Tamora Republic?"
He already heard rumors about Ophelia. Rumors that she was a genius wizard, the first of her kind in centuries, and that she might become the youngest member of the Tamora Republic's Magic Council.
"How dare I hold you back? Ask you to give up the dazzling future that awaits you and stay by my side."
There were times when he wished he hadn't been a Duke. Or at least had other brothers.
If that were the case, he might have abandoned everything and followed her to the Republic of Tamora.
But now, at just twenty years old, too much was on his shoulders.
He couldn't be that cruel to abandon the people who only looked at him and the knights who relied on him...
"It's a selfish choice. I can't give up my position, but I have to ask Ophelia to make that choice."
“...If I like you? If I like this place enough to give up that ‘dazzling future’ you speak of?”
Well then, what excuse will you make then?
Ophelia looked at Roderick with a straight gaze. She probably didn't mean to criticize him for his cowardice, but it felt that way to Roderick.
I was scared. I'd never felt this scared before, not even when facing wolves several times larger than me.
“Ophelia, I...”
"Who decides what a dazzling future is? I have no desire for high office. I'm not interested in nurturing future generations. I enjoy studying magic, but I believe that it can be done anywhere. For me, a 'dazzling future' is staying by the side of the person I love."
It's been that way since childhood. Everyone expected a bright future for Ophelia, given her innate talent, but she herself wasn't particularly ambitious.
“So tell me, don’t go.”
“...”
Roderick stubbornly kept his mouth shut, and Ophelia glared at him with a fierce glare. While she appreciated this cautious and honest side of him, it also felt a little stifling.
And after a moment, his lips parted cautiously.
“Don’t go, Ophelia. Stay with me.”
It was the word she had been waiting and waiting for for the past few months.
“Yes, Roderick.”
Ophelia smiled happily and covered her lips with Roderick's.
"Why aren't you sending a rescue team right now? Hasn't it already been two days?"
Lester was calming Byron, who was furious and raging with a tired face. It had been two days since Ophelia had been trapped on the mountaintop.
The only silver lining was that Roderick would be by her side.
He left the mansion, promising to light a signal fire upon arrival. When the snowstorm briefly abated in the morning, he checked and found smoke rising from the signal fire near the ruins. This meant he had safely arrived at the site.
Thanks to that, everyone else was not worried. With Ophelia, with her exceptional magical abilities, and Roderick, the Empire's greatest swordsman, by her side, they felt confident that both would be safe.
But only one person, Byron, was unable to bear this situation and was going wild.
It wasn't that he was worried about Ophelia being trapped in a cold and dangerous place.
"There are two strangers in the same room, how can you know what's going to happen? I'm telling you, everyone, get out now!"
He does that because he is concerned that there is another man next to the woman he has chosen, and that they are alone together.
“...His Excellency is a gentleman, so you don’t have to worry.”
Unlike anyone else, Lester swallowed back the words he couldn't bring himself to utter. They say eyes only see what they can see, but he couldn't figure out who he was seeing as a punk like himself.
"That's true. He's boring and old-fashioned. But..."
Byron couldn't hide his anxiety because there was something else clearly in the eyes that were glaring at him as he tried to kiss Ophelia.
“Oh, then, Your Highness the Prince, why don’t you go and see for yourself? On foot, like His Excellency the Duke?”
At that moment, Candice, who had been quietly watching the commotion, chimed in, her ears perked. Her voice was extremely dissatisfied.
“What, what did you say?”
“You don’t have the guts to do that, yet you talk behind his back... Aren’t you ashamed?”
“This little girl is like a servant girl...!”
Byron, enraged by Candice's words, lunged at her as if he were going to hit her. Of course, she had no intention of taking it quietly.
Ophelia seemed to have hesitated to use magic on Byron because of diplomatic issues, but she was simple and thought of avenging her friend's grudge without thinking about the consequences.
But unfortunately, Candice didn't use her magic to give Byron a nice, cool kick in the butt. He stopped himself.
“If I were to touch a skinny girl like that, it would only tarnish my reputation. Huh.”
He said this outwardly, but in reality, there was a plan behind it all. Why was he exiled here? Wasn't it because he swung his fist at a foreign diplomat?
But if he assaults someone who came from abroad here, he will definitely be sent away to a faraway place.
Byron may not have known it, but everyone in the room at that moment was thinking the same thing: did he still have any honor left to be tarnished?
“Bring me some alcohol!”
He stormed off in anger and headed to his room.
“Yes? Yes, yes... Oh, come in quickly.”
But even when she heard him again, it was clear he'd walked all the way here. She kept repeating, "Yes?" like a broken person, then came to her senses and led Roderick inside.
As soon as Roderick entered the room, he unpacked the huge backpack he was carrying and began taking out various items from it.
"It's not dinner yet. I brought some light groceries from the mansion. And this is your sleeping bag. It won't be as comfortable as a bed, but it'll do just fine. I'm not sure if there's enough firewood for the stove."
Roderick, muttering and taking out his luggage, jumped up from his seat and headed toward the firewood pile. Thanks to the cold climate and the fact that he always kept a good supply of firewood, he figured he'd have enough for a few days.
And Ophelia, who had been blankly staring at the busy scene, couldn't help but be surprised once again. It must have been hard enough just walking this mountain path, but he had come carrying that heavy bag.
“Ophelia, why are you just standing there staring at me? You must be hungry. Come here and eat.”
At his call, she sat down next to Roderick with an awkward expression.
The soup, contained in a sturdy metal lunchbox, was still warm. The thick metal seemed to have kept it warm.
Roderick, who had been watching Ophelia eating the soup with a proud expression, opened his mouth with an apologetic voice.
"I don't know when the snow will stop, so I guess I'll have to stay here for a while. The snow piled up to my waist while I was here."
He came here with the hope of saving her, but now he has to wait for her rescue.
Still, Ophelia felt like the effort of coming all the way here had been rewarded just by bringing her food to keep her from starving and a sleeping bag to sleep in.
Ophelia, who had been eating quietly while listening to his words, could no longer stand it any longer and put down her lunch box.
“Why are you doing this?”
"Yes?"
Roderick blinked dumbly and asked back, not understanding her sharp question.
“I ask why someone as noble as Your Excellency would take such risks and go to such trouble.”
“...Well. I heard you were trapped alone in this cold place—how could I just stand by? ...Anyone else would have come to rescue you, of course.”
Even so, there was no lie in his words. It was clear that he would have made the same choice if it had been anyone other than Ophelia.
And Ophelia could tell, too. Roderick was telling the truth. She wondered if perhaps that was the reason she liked him.
"I don't know if you've heard the rumor, but my parents... died in an avalanche. Maybe that's why I'm more sensitive to disasters related to heavy snow. I know you're a skilled wizard, and so you might not need my help... but I still wanted to protect you."
Roderick couldn't figure out why he was bringing this up. It was something deep in his heart, something he rarely spoke of.
The death of his parents still lingered in his heart, even years later. No matter how calm he tried to appear, the pain wouldn't go away.
“...No, I needed it. I was lonely.”
Ophelia held Roderick's hand tightly. Despite having walked this cold path, Roderick's hand was much warmer than her own, which had been indoors the entire time.
His warmth. That was what she needed more than anything.
“Thank you for being stuck in this blizzard with me.”
She said with a bright smile. Roderick, startled by the sudden physical contact, blushed and stuttered.
“Oh, yeah. That’s good.”
His heart pounding as if it were going to burst out of his ribcage, Roderick avoided her gaze as she stared at him blankly.
"Duke. I think I like you too. You who would throw yourself into this blizzard to save someone in this situation."
Ophelia confessed that she had been hiding out of vanity.
She had been waiting for Roderick to speak first, obsessed with the common notion that it was a blow to a woman's pride to confess first, but if she didn't speak now, her heart would burst.
“...”
“And you like me too. Why don’t you say anything?”
At her confident question, Roderick squeezed his eyes shut. He'd tried to hide it, but it had been discovered. They say love and a sneeze can't be hidden, and isn't that true?
“...I am the Duke of Weishaffen.”
“So? Does that mean I, a non-noble, am not worthy of a partner?”
"How could that be...! No, I have to manage this territory, and as the shield of the Peles Empire, I have to protect its national defense. But Ophelia... don't you have a future in the Tamora Republic?"
He already heard rumors about Ophelia. Rumors that she was a genius wizard, the first of her kind in centuries, and that she might become the youngest member of the Tamora Republic's Magic Council.
"How dare I hold you back? Ask you to give up the dazzling future that awaits you and stay by my side."
There were times when he wished he hadn't been a Duke. Or at least had other brothers.
If that were the case, he might have abandoned everything and followed her to the Republic of Tamora.
But now, at just twenty years old, too much was on his shoulders.
He couldn't be that cruel to abandon the people who only looked at him and the knights who relied on him...
"It's a selfish choice. I can't give up my position, but I have to ask Ophelia to make that choice."
“...If I like you? If I like this place enough to give up that ‘dazzling future’ you speak of?”
Well then, what excuse will you make then?
Ophelia looked at Roderick with a straight gaze. She probably didn't mean to criticize him for his cowardice, but it felt that way to Roderick.
I was scared. I'd never felt this scared before, not even when facing wolves several times larger than me.
“Ophelia, I...”
"Who decides what a dazzling future is? I have no desire for high office. I'm not interested in nurturing future generations. I enjoy studying magic, but I believe that it can be done anywhere. For me, a 'dazzling future' is staying by the side of the person I love."
It's been that way since childhood. Everyone expected a bright future for Ophelia, given her innate talent, but she herself wasn't particularly ambitious.
“So tell me, don’t go.”
“...”
Roderick stubbornly kept his mouth shut, and Ophelia glared at him with a fierce glare. While she appreciated this cautious and honest side of him, it also felt a little stifling.
And after a moment, his lips parted cautiously.
“Don’t go, Ophelia. Stay with me.”
It was the word she had been waiting and waiting for for the past few months.
“Yes, Roderick.”
Ophelia smiled happily and covered her lips with Roderick's.
***
"Why aren't you sending a rescue team right now? Hasn't it already been two days?"
“It is still snowing, Your Highness. Once the snow eases a little, I will send people out. Please do not worry too much.”
The only silver lining was that Roderick would be by her side.
He left the mansion, promising to light a signal fire upon arrival. When the snowstorm briefly abated in the morning, he checked and found smoke rising from the signal fire near the ruins. This meant he had safely arrived at the site.
Thanks to that, everyone else was not worried. With Ophelia, with her exceptional magical abilities, and Roderick, the Empire's greatest swordsman, by her side, they felt confident that both would be safe.
But only one person, Byron, was unable to bear this situation and was going wild.
It wasn't that he was worried about Ophelia being trapped in a cold and dangerous place.
"There are two strangers in the same room, how can you know what's going to happen? I'm telling you, everyone, get out now!"
He does that because he is concerned that there is another man next to the woman he has chosen, and that they are alone together.
“...His Excellency is a gentleman, so you don’t have to worry.”
Unlike anyone else, Lester swallowed back the words he couldn't bring himself to utter. They say eyes only see what they can see, but he couldn't figure out who he was seeing as a punk like himself.
"That's true. He's boring and old-fashioned. But..."
Byron couldn't hide his anxiety because there was something else clearly in the eyes that were glaring at him as he tried to kiss Ophelia.
“Oh, then, Your Highness the Prince, why don’t you go and see for yourself? On foot, like His Excellency the Duke?”
At that moment, Candice, who had been quietly watching the commotion, chimed in, her ears perked. Her voice was extremely dissatisfied.
“What, what did you say?”
“You don’t have the guts to do that, yet you talk behind his back... Aren’t you ashamed?”
“This little girl is like a servant girl...!”
Byron, enraged by Candice's words, lunged at her as if he were going to hit her. Of course, she had no intention of taking it quietly.
Ophelia seemed to have hesitated to use magic on Byron because of diplomatic issues, but she was simple and thought of avenging her friend's grudge without thinking about the consequences.
But unfortunately, Candice didn't use her magic to give Byron a nice, cool kick in the butt. He stopped himself.
“If I were to touch a skinny girl like that, it would only tarnish my reputation. Huh.”
He said this outwardly, but in reality, there was a plan behind it all. Why was he exiled here? Wasn't it because he swung his fist at a foreign diplomat?
But if he assaults someone who came from abroad here, he will definitely be sent away to a faraway place.
Byron may not have known it, but everyone in the room at that moment was thinking the same thing: did he still have any honor left to be tarnished?
“Bring me some alcohol!”
He stormed off in anger and headed to his room.
Previous Next
Comments
Post a Comment