Unable to resist the cuteness, Philome quickly bent down.
As she closed her eyes, the child’s small, warm hand fidgeted over her ear.
“You can open your eyes now.”
As soon as Philome opened her eyes, she asked, “How is it?”
“I can’t tell who the flower is!”
At that, Philome burst into laughter.
She then tapped Kaien on the shoulder.
Kaien understood the cue and immediately bent down. Liazell carefully placed a flower on Kaien’s ear as well.
Seeing that the flower was yellow, Philome started to fiddle with the flower in her own ear.
‘Then this one must be white?’
Philome looked back at Kaien.
The sight of him bending down to match the height of the child while placing a flower by his ear strangely suited him.
The presence of the yellow flower peeking through his naturally tousled silver hair matched his light attire perfectly.
The harmony between the cold-looking, handsome man and the flower was almost like a painting.
“It’s done!”
“Does it look good?”
“Yeah! Uncle looks better than I expected.”
Liazell giggled.
Philome grabbed Liazell’s shoulders and turned her around.
“Liazell, I want one more flower. Can you buy just one more flower that you want?”
“Yeah!”
Liazell quickly ran back to the child selling flowers.
“You look good, Philome.”
“You look good too, Duke.”
“Nothing doesn’t suit me.”
Philome observed Kaien, who was brushing his chin with a serious expression. He looked funny, probably because Liazell had messed up his hair while fiddling with it.
Philome smiled and reached out.
She intended to just tidy his hair, but upon closer inspection, she noticed something was stuck in it. To check, Philome leaned in closer to his face.
“Oh, you have some flower dye in your hair. I wonder if it’ll come out… “
As she rubbed it with her fingers, she suddenly felt a gaze and lowered her head.
They were close enough that their breaths mingled. Kaien’s eyes widened in surprise as Philome approached without warning.
Philome was flustered, realizing just how close they were.
“I—I’m sorry.”
Before Kaien could part his lips, Philome quickly pulled back.
He absentmindedly fiddled with the hair that Philome had been rubbing.
“…It’s okay.”
Then, watching Philome bite her lip, he added,
“You know, Philome.”
“…Yes?”
“I don’t mind what you do to me. Whatever you do, whatever you say. So don’t be too conscious of me.”
Kaien wasn’t upset that Philome pretended not to notice whenever he expressed his feelings. However, it was very disappointing when she would sometimes approach him affectionately, only to pull back while looking at him.
“It’s sad enough to cry.”
“Excuse me?”
Philome instinctively turned her head, then rolled her eyes when she saw his soft, fluffy face.
“Are you going to keep playing around?”
“I’m serious. I almost cried.”
Kaien bent down as if to show her.
Philome hesitated but leaned in closer to examine his eyes. Seizing the moment, Kaien kissed her cheek.
With a soft sound, something gentle touched her cheek and then fell away, causing Philome to gasp.
“Wh-what was that…?”
“Just being cute.”
“Who uses cuteness to get their way!”
“You caught me.”
Kaien shrugged and smiled brightly.
Philome, as if she had been slapped, held her cheek and gaped, speechless at his incredibly cheerful yet shameless smile.
She quickly turned her head, but she couldn’t hide her flushed cheeks.
Kaien rubbed his hot ears.
‘Ah, this is a big deal.’
He hadn’t intended to kiss her, but her adorable face, looking closely at him, was irresistible. The closer he got to Philome, the more delightful yet awkward it became.
If he hadn’t restrained himself, he might have kissed her lips instead of her cheek.
Kaien tried to calm his loudly pounding heart.
At that moment, Liazell came bouncing in between them, excitedly hopping.
“Philome! Uncle! Look at the flower I brought!”
The excited Liazell reached out her hand, oblivious to the awkward atmosphere between the two.
On Liazell’s palm was a unique flower with yellow petals on the inside and white petals on the outside.
“They say sometimes flowers like this bloom. Isn’t it beautiful?”
Philome, forgetting what had just happened, admired softly.
“Wow, it really does! It looks like a combination of the two flowers Liazell brought earlier, right?”
“Great choice!”
Kaien lifted Liazell up high.
“Whoa?”
“Okay, now close your eyes.”
Philome took the flower from Liazell’s hand.
Realizing what they were about to do, Liazell tightly shut her eyes. Philome placed the flower in Liazell’s ear.
Seeing Liazell with her eyes tightly closed was so cute that Philome pressed her cheek against Liazell’s.
At that action, Liazell’s eyes flew open.
Philome smiled at the child’s round eyes.
“It suits you so well, Liazell.”
“What about me, Philome?”
When Kaien closed his eyes and leaned in, Philome pressed her finger against his forehead, pushing it back in place.
Kaien clicked his tongue in disappointment and set Liazell down.
Liazell grabbed both Philome’s and Kaien’s hands with her little hands. Her cheeks were flushed red.
“I want to eat something else too!”
“Sure, let’s eat everything.”
“But we have to have dinner, so we shouldn’t snack too much, Liazell.”
“On days like this, it’s okay to indulge a little.”
“That’s right, you silly uncle. You didn’t know that?”
“This is the first time I’ve been called silly in 27 years, Liazell.”
Philome and Liazell lightly ignored Kaien’s words.
Liazell burst into a fit of giggles, and seeing her, smiles spread across Philome and Kaien’s faces as well.
As they chatted and walked warmly together, the three of them looked like a happy family.
*☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
The North.
As winter approached, the cold in the north, which already experienced heavy snowfall year-round, intensified significantly.
A middle-aged man, larger than most knights, faced the biting wind wrapped in thick fur.
“Lord Theodore.”
At the call of his subordinate, Theodore turned his head.
His violet eyes sparkled vividly.
Despite being middle-aged, Theodore was quite handsome. His sharp gaze and the long scar across his face exuded considerable charisma.
“What is it?”
“Lady Natasha has asked for your prompt return.”
The moment Natasha’s name was mentioned, Theodore’s expression instantly softened.
“My wife?”
“Yes.”
It wasn’t strange to see the famously cold and aloof former Duke of Wintbell smile brightly at the mere mention of his wife’s name.
“Then we should hurry.”
Even as he said that, Theodore’s gaze kept drifting beyond the snowy plains.
His subordinate wondered if there was something out there and peeked in the direction Theodore was looking, but all he could see was the thick blanket of white snow, with nothing else visible.
However, the subordinate knew well what lay beneath that snowfield. Therefore, he didn’t urge Theodore to move on.
“Would you like to do a bit more reconnaissance before we go?”
Since coming to the north a few years ago, Theodore had never missed a single day of reconnaissance. No matter what, he patrolled the snowfield twice a day.
“No. We’ve already done enough reconnaissance.”
Theodore pulled the reins, turning the horse’s head.
The subordinate quickly stepped back as the large horse snorted. The horses of the north had adapted their bodies to survive in the harsh environment.
Thanks to increased muscle mass and size, their flesh had become too tough to be used as meat, and their skin was thick and resilient. The horse’s body, twice the size of an ordinary horse, was still something he hadn’t gotten used to.
As Theodore headed toward the castle, he turned to look at the snowfield.
From the moment he woke up this morning, he had felt uneasy. Trusting his instincts, Theodore had patrolled the snowfield more thoroughly and meticulously, but he hadn’t discovered anything new.
It looked just the same as it had yesterday, a few days ago, and even years ago.
Determined not to let his guard down for the next few days, Theodore urged his horse to go faster. Just as the castle came into faint view in the distance, Theodore sensed that something was amiss.
He heard a scream.
“Kay!”
“Yes!”
At Theodore’s call, his subordinate Kay immediately turned the horse’s head toward the source of the noise.
Not long ago, a new breed of wolf had been discovered. Its teeth had grown thicker and larger, its body had become slimmer and more agile, and its jaws had expanded, increasing its destructive power.
Two villagers had already been killed by the wolves, and although they had devised countermeasures, wolves still frequently ventured close to the castle.
“Help me!!”
Along with the desperate scream, the sound of flesh being torn apart reached their ears.
Kay and Theodore stopped in their tracks.
Next to a person who had lost consciousness lay a corpse, already torn in two and growing cold. Beyond the blizzard, a large figure was writhing.
That thing seemed so engrossed in devouring the corpse that it hadn’t noticed the two of them.
And then, at that moment.
Kieeek.
With a chilling cry, the creature turned its body, and its eyes glinted coldly.
Red pupils.
It was a monster.
thanks for the chapter