“Why were you in D-Dristan?”
“Because of the dispute between the Duchy of Croyso and Southern Dristan.”
Located in the southeastern part of Wedon, the Duchy of Croysus extended into the territory of Dristan.
As such, the eastern region of the duchy was often involved in armed conflicts with Dristan.
The King of Wedon and the central church in Osiriya repeatedly sent knights to mediate, wishing to prevent the conflict from escalating in such a way as to undermine the armistice between the Seven Kingdoms.
Riftan had been one of the mediators.
“S-So that’s why you visited C-Croyso Castle often.”
Maxi tried to piece together the conversations he had heard as a child.
Feeling Riftan's cryptic gaze on her, she looked at him curiously.
"What it was?"
“I was just trying to remember if I visited there that often.”
“Y-You w-visited at least once or twice a month.”
Riftan looked away from the piercing gaze.
It seemed like he didn't remember.
Maxi stole glances at his face, worried that she might have offended him.
Whenever he was lost in thought, Riftan seemed distant, as if he were alone somewhere far away.
Why didn't he share his thoughts with her?
Did he find spending time with her boring?
The simple act of him turning his head to the side made her tense with worry.
Suddenly, she felt something cold drip onto the bridge of her nose.
Startled, she rubbed her nose.
It was a drop of water.
Just moments ago, the sun was shining brightly.
Frowning, she looked up for signs of rain.
When he saw white flakes falling from the silver sky, his eyes widened.
“I suggested coming here because the weather was nice, but it looks like it's going to snow.”
Riftan clicked his tongue.
Maxi turned to him with a perplexed expression.
“I-Is this n-snow?”
“Have you never seen snow?”
“I-I've seen frozen rain, but I've never seen snow so b-white b-before.”
Dazed, she watched the snowflakes flutter like petals in the wind.
Then he extended his hand.
Riftan frowned.
"Sit up straight.
You might fall off your horse."
“I know, d-don’t worry.”
Maxi closed his fingers over the snowflakes that fell into his palm.
The cold snow melted in the blink of an eye, turning into small drops as soon as it touched his skin.
She marveled at how a substance that resembled dandelion tufts could turn into drops of water.
She looked at the hand in awe and then lightly touched Rem, breaking into an exciting gallop.
Rem advanced at an impressive speed, releasing the energy accumulated from weeks inside the stable.
Maxi became more and more euphoric as her thighs moved in time with the horse.
She laughed into the wind like a child.
The light, fluffy snow soon turned heavy and obscured his vision.
She fell into a trance; she had never seen such a beautiful scene before.
She tilted her head back, enjoying the feeling of the cold snow touching her face.
Rays of sunlight broke through the thin clouds, making the snow shine silvery.
The lake, regaining its natural color, rippled peacefully.
Some birds dived onto its dark surface before flying into the forest like arrows.
Maxi watched the scene closely, trying to record the image in his mind.
Then he turned to look at Riftan.
She wanted to thank him for showing her such a lush place, but the words failed to leave her lips when she saw the sharp look on his face.
A chill ran through his body.
Riftan's body was visibly tense.
There was a deep wrinkle on his forehead, and his dark eyes shook violently like an ocean in a storm.
Maxi tightened the reins.
She had no idea why he looked at her that way.
Becoming anxious, she began to back away.
Only then did Riftan open his mouth as if he was going to say something before quickly closing it again.
For a brief moment, Maxi thought he saw a hint of loneliness on his face.
But before I could take a closer look at him, he returned to his usual self and purpose.
“We should get back to the castle before the snow gets heavier.” He turned his horse around, his face impassive.
"The clouds are gathering.
Let's hurry.
Staying in the snow will cool your body quickly."He began to slowly climb the path they had followed earlier, and Maxi hurriedly followed.
An uncomfortable silence fell between them.
Maxi wondered what he had just seen on his face.
Restless, she looked away from his broad back to the calm surface of the lake.
She could see a faint reflection of Riftan's face in the deep blue water.
The dark sight chilled his heart.
It can't be...
He was the strongest and most daring knight.
It was absurd that she felt sorry for him.
As he quickly tried to push such thoughts from his mind, a gust of wind from the east swept his dark hair back, stinging his eyes.
Maxi squinted his eyes and turned in the direction the wind had blown.
In the distance, snow enveloped the mountains in a white mist.
And so Pasias
1
continued.
The snow that had started to fall in the late afternoon lasted until the evening, covering everything with a thick white layer.
Ludis exclaimed that it had been almost ten years since Anatol had seen such heavy snowfall.
Although the sight left Maxi in awe, Riftan was not overly pleased.
The next morning he left the castle with his knights to inspect the land for damage.
The servants worked hard to clear the snow.
They meticulously swept the steps, covered the firewood and horse fodder to keep them dry, and removed snow from the gardens to keep the ground from freezing.
The sentries, too, were busy sweeping their patrol routes all morning.
Maxi took a walk in the garden to admire the snow.
Noticing that the servants' faces were red from the cold, she asked Rodrigo to provide extra firewood for them before returning to her room.
She considered going to the library, but after her disheartening attempts the day before, she couldn't muster the motivation to read.
Instead, she placed a rug in front of the fireplace and played with the kittens.
With the dedicated care they received from the servants, the creatures gained weight and rolled around energetically.
Maxi picked up the fussy kittens one by one and placed them on her lap to tickle their bellies.
Laura and Ron grumbled and quickly escaped, but Roy, the black kitten, was purring and squirming in their lap.
Maxi laughed at the charming scene.
“Should I heat up some milk, ma’am?” asked Ludis, who had been stoking the fire.
Maxi smiled and nodded.
Ludis placed a kettle of milk on the fireplace.
As the pleasant smell of milk spread throughout the room, the kittens slowly approached Maxi and climbed up her skirt.
Even Laura, who normally ignored whoever called her, snuck up on her.
Maxi burst into laughter.
“D-Didn’t they eat some a-a little while ago?”
“They had a bowl of fish porridge, but their appetite has no limits.”
Ludis shook her head before cooling the goat's milk until it was lukewarm and pouring it into the kittens' bowl.
The little creatures dipped their noses into the bowl, wetting their whiskers, and began to lap up the milk.
Soon, their bowl was empty.
Maxi poured them some of their share of milk after making sure it had cooled enough.
She looked on lovingly as the kittens devoured the milk once again, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere of the room.
There was a knock on the door, followed by the voice of a maid.
“Forgive me for interrupting, my lady.”
"What is it?"
"The wizard is here to see you.
Should I let him in?"
Maxi's face fell.
Had Ruth come because she hadn't been to the library?
Or was there some kind of accident?
She tensed as she stood up.
When he opened the door, he was met with the sight of Ruth yawning, looking as disheveled as ever.
Her shoulders relaxed in relief when she saw how relaxed he looked.
No misfortune seemed to have occurred, it seemed.
“W-What is it, R-Ruth?”
“Oh, good morning, my lady.”
It was almost late afternoon, but Maxi didn't correct him.
Ruth yawned again and did a good stretch before speaking again.
"I just thought of a good training method.
Would you like to go out with me?"
“A-A good t-training method…?”
Maxi's eyes widened.
Ruth nodded vigorously with an innocent, childish expression on her face.
Despite her disappointment the day before, Maxi felt a glimmer of hope emerge in her chest.
She quickly put on a robe.
“T-Tell me about this method.”"I will accumulate mana for you.
You are not able to collect it yourself, but you have an impressive ability to absorb it, so I am practically certain that this method will work."
Maxi was anxious.
She couldn't understand how he could possibly infuse her with mana.
She remembered Riftan's warning about Ruth involving others in dangerous experiments.
She looked at him doubtfully.
“I-Is it safe?”
"Of course!
It's completely safe, I assure you."
Pasias/Paxias is winter for them
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