Ilyin felt safe with Aden, a warmth she couldn't explain.
This was ironic, considering how Aden was the literal embodiment of winter.
When she let out a deep sigh – one that was quite expected – and closed her eyes, a tear escaped her eyes and turned to ice as it fell to the floor.
Ilyin slowly let go of the fear that had been consuming her since she first saw the Viscountess and smiled.
A genuine smile.
They arrived at the Biflten mansion just as the sun was starting to rise.
The four families gathered to welcome them, everyone in the mansion was surprised to see the group entering with the sun slowly rising.
This was because it was the coldest time of the year.
The Delrose maids quickly ran to the group with blankets shouting a series of “Oh my God!” and “lady”.
Ilyin was covered by four blankets after she got off the horse and before long, the maids covered everyone with blankets to combat the cold.
The snow had covered everything.
There was still some residue, although Aden had controlled the snowstorm and the temperature with his power, even after the long and difficult journey Aden didn't seem tired at all.
The atmosphere was eerily quiet, except for the various whispers that occasionally broke the silence.
You could hear a person whispering, “Grand Master of Delrose?” and others curiously expressing, “Didn’t Delrose’s master come along?”
When they started the journey, the families saw their master and grandmaster leave for the warm regions with the Duchess, but now they were surprised to see Aden return alone.
These whispers made the unbearable cold worse, but the people of Delrose warmed the atmosphere with admiration and respect in their eyes as they looked at Aden, the Duke of Winter: The Master.
Aden brushed the snow stains off his shoulder and torso and in his deep, clear voice he ordered, “Take the madam to her room immediately.”
In the presence of other families, he was Den, Grand Master of Delrose.
Ilyin tried to shake their hands to stop them and ask them to tend to Aden's wound, but she realized that his hands were buried under the blankets.
She opened her mouth to warn everyone about the injury on Aden's arm, but seeing the presence of other families dissuaded her from that idea.
“Grandmaster!” exclaimed every knight nearby and as they bowed to Aden.
All of Delrose's knights were treating him as the grandmaster of Delrose, as they had learned.
Aden was already used to the grand gestures performed for him as the Grandmaster, but today with Ilyin in front of him, his cheeks tinged pink with a hint of embarrassment.
When he looked at her he could almost hear her thinking about her injury, her eyebrows furrowed in worry, he gave her a small smile and placed his finger on his lips.
Seeing that Ilyin gave a small nod and looked away.
Satisfied, Aden turned his eyes to the door, where he found an angry Doctor Ves advancing towards him.
It was only when he stopped in front of Aden that his gaze became visible.
Delrose's doctor, Ves, continued to shoot daggers with his eyes, as he could not call Aden Your Grace as he usually did in the presence of the other family members.
***
Ilyin would be lying if he said it wasn't cold.
She thought she could adapt to the cold, but for someone who had lived in the hot region for the past twenty years, it was something that was easier said than done.
The Delrose maids busied themselves making sure Ilyin stayed warm.
The fact that Ilyin had come down with a slight fever scared them and they hurriedly ran around trying to get everything right.
In the midst of the confusion, Etra made sure everything was being done correctly.
There was not a particle of fatigue on his face.
The room was filled with the voices of the maids trying to prepare a bath for Ilyin.
“Is the water too hot?”
"Bring a little colder water!
This is too hot!"
The maids' plan was to slowly warm Ilyin's body, as his body was now a little too cold for their liking.
As soon as Ilyin saw Etra, the first words that came out were:
“Etra, is Den okay?”
“He’ll be fine,” Etra replied with a small smile.
It bothered Ilyin that Etra had responded with 'it'll be fine' instead of 'it's fine', it was as if she wasn't completely sure that Aden was fine.
Ilyin, dissatisfied with Etra's answer, said with a heavy sigh:
“There might be poison in the arrow, so can you ask them to look carefully?”
Aden had a high tolerance for poisons.
There was no poison produced in the winter region that affected Aden of Biflten.
Etra didn't bother explaining this to Ilyin.
Instead, she assured Ilyin that she would deliver the message.
"You need to rest.
Your fever is rising," Etra said with her hand on Ilyin's forehead.