#7
Raymond and Noah had a tearful farewell, and Noah had no choice in the matter.
On the way back in the carriage, he kept sniffling, and when he arrived home, he cried his heart out in Lauren’s arms. Noah’s prolonged crying continued until Elisa handed him a rabbit plushie.
Hugging the sky-blue rabbit plushie made of soft fabric, Noah rubbed his face against it. The sweet yet refreshing scent of the plushie and the soft, slightly worn texture of the fabric, as if he had had it since birth, comforted his gloomy mood.
Cradled in Lauren’s arms while tightly holding the rabbit plushie, Noah gradually fell asleep.
It didn’t matter that the man he had fallen in love with at first sight was fourteen years older than him. Nor did it matter that he called him a baby. At the very least, the words that he would come to Austin to see him remained deeply embedded in young Noah’s heart.
Traveling from the capital, Feyn, to the Austin region required no physical effort or strain. In a world without cars or airplanes, traveling by land would have taken three months, and by sea or waterways, two months—but they had magic.
With just two warps to reach their destination, and surrounded by people who couldn’t bear to see him walk on his own, Noah was practically carried the entire way, arriving in Austin as if he had taken a nap.
Noah, wearing a flowing pink shirt and dark gray pants, was draped in a thick cloak. On his head was a hat with animal ears—whether cat, tiger, or bear, it was unclear—but it had ears nonetheless.
Every time Noah exhaled, his breath formed puffy clouds that shimmered like heat haze.
“I’m cold.”
Noah mumbled, pressing his head against Lucas’s chest. Though he loved outdoor activities and winter sports, he hated the cold. Everywhere he looked, all he could see was white snow and tall coniferous trees.
“Our Noah, how about playing a bit outside and building a snowman?”
Noah shook his head at Lauren’s words, pulling his hat down even further to cover his ears.
What was the difference between inside and outside the castle? The fact that it blocked the cold wind?
Feeling as if he had stepped into a refrigerator, Noah stared at the enormous fireplace.
Watching the blazing firewood, he was reminded of Christmas. Since servants from the capital and months’ worth of food and supplies were continuously arriving via warp, Lucas set Noah down on the sofa and left.
Sitting on the sofa and staring at the fireplace, Noah pouted. Although the castle had lit all its fireplaces and prepared for warmth in honor of the masters’ return, Noah’s castle felt anything but warm.
“Young master, would you like some cookies and milk?”
Without even looking at Elisa, who was mentioning his favorite things, Noah hugged the rabbit plushie tightly. Now, he had to find a way to survive in this cold place.
Ever since possessing this body, he had been so busy being dragged around to various ballrooms in the capital that he had completely forgotten. Moreover, having lived in the mild climate of Feyn for quite some time in a child’s body, the cold felt even more intense.
Austin was definitely cold. And the grand, massive Schwein Castle, built with enormous stones, was no different from a refrigerator.
Honestly, since possessing this body, Noah had spent very little time in Schwein Castle.
How could he have forgotten this cold? It was summer now, not winter, yet the highest temperature in the Austin region didn’t exceed 5 degrees.
In winter, the average temperature was minus 20 degrees, wasn’t it?
Since becoming a three-year-old, Noah had only a few plans for the future:
Grow up to be an excellent, proud, and unbearably adorable son.
Choose his own husband. He had already set his sights on Raymond, but if someone better came along, that could change.
And even if it wasn’t through marriage, find a way to inherit the Austin region.
But none of that mattered right now.
The first task that came to mind was how to survive in this cold place.
The front side facing the stove was so hot it was blazing, but his back felt chilly.
As soon as they entered the Austin region, Lucas wearing a thick cloak and Lauren dressed in natural fur clothing were obvious choices.
“Elisa, we need to raise the temperature in Noah’s room. Also, prepare warm bathwater in front of the fireplace. Since Noah seems uncomfortable, it would be best to bathe him in warm water and put him to bed early today.”
When Lauren tried to remove the hat Noah was wearing, he quickly raised a hand to hold onto the brim.
This mother doesn’t understand. You have to wear a hat when it’s cold. So much body heat is lost through the head!
“Huh?”
A small tug-of-war ensued between Lauren trying to remove the hat and Noah trying to keep it on.
When Lauren, who had been talking to Elisa, looked at him, Noah pulled the hat down even further, covering his eyes.
Thinking he was playing a game by covering his eyes with the hat, Lauren kept gently lifting it, and Noah kept pulling it down.
Think. Think.
Even if he enjoyed outdoor sports and was a master at sledding, skiing, and snowboarding, that was only when there was a warm place to return to.
He loved the feeling of playing outside until his cheeks were frozen stiff and then returning to a warm lodge. He missed soaking in hot spring water, playing around, then covering himself with a thick blanket on the sizzling floor and drinking beer.
Hot springs.
Warmth.
Noah let go of the hat he had been pulling down, turned his body around, and slid off the sofa, heading toward the floor. Then, to block as much of the cold rising from the stone floor as possible, he ran across the thickly laid carpet toward the window.
Climbing onto the small sofa under the window, Noah didn’t stop there—he climbed onto the windowsill, pressed close to the window, and looked outside. Every time Noah breathed heavily, white steam formed and disappeared on the window.
This truly is an ice kingdom.
Although it had been warm for the past few days, and no snow was visible inside the castle except in the shaded areas where people rarely went, the distant mountains were entirely white with perpetual snow.
But Noah’s little brain whirred as he searched for something else in the scenery.
Seeing it from his small body, he realized anew just how massive Schwein Castle was.
He could see servants busily moving outside and knights training in the distant training grounds. The northern region adjacent to the mountain range was full of wild beasts. To prevent these beasts from descending into the village in search of food and to control their population, knights were always on standby in the castle for regular hunts.
Since summer was approaching, they would soon take advantage of the briefly milder weather to hunt the beasts, as they did every year. So now was the time they were fervently training.
No, no.
That wasn’t important right now. Noah stood on the windowsill, trying to see as much of the outside as possible.
If his memory was correct, there was something like a small hot spring inside the castle.
The reason people could live in this cold region was because of the intermittent springs.
Heating water every time would be a huge task, but most populated areas had intermittent springs. And the castle had a hot spring with perpetually hot water year-round.
Why hadn’t he thought of that?
“The window area is cold.”
There was a hot spring along the path next to the knights’ training grounds. Remembering that it was strictly controlled for the castle’s water supply, a broad smile spread across Noah’s face.
When Elisa approached and picked him up, Noah quickly wrapped his arms around her neck and hugged her tightly.
“Elisa.”
“Yes, young master.”
“Make it warm.”
“Just having you here warms me, young master.”
“No, no… warm.”
And from that day on, Noah’s ordeal began.
The adventures of three-year-old Noah.
A history of struggle, more difficult and arduous than crossing mountains and rivers, had truly begun.
“Oh my, so where is he this time?”
“The potato basket in the first-floor kitchen.”
“How does he always manage to hide in places like that? He loves hide-and-seek so much it’s becoming a problem.”
“It’s a relief he doesn’t go outside the castle walls. He acts more like an Alpha than an Omega.”
“If he even steps outside to touch the snow, he disappears in an instant.”
“That’s why the Duchess always dresses him in colorful, flashy clothes. Otherwise, he’d be too hard to find.”
Noah stacked blocks neatly in front of the fireplace, eavesdropping on the servants’ whispers. It wasn’t a big deal—he just wanted to visit that hot spring. He wanted to somehow use its warmth to stay warm.
But everything in this enormous castle was like a trap to Noah.
First, the doors were a problem—unless someone left them even slightly open, there was no way he could open them on his own.
Built to rival the imperial palace in sturdiness for insulation and protection against external intrusion, leaving through a door meant first navigating long corridors.
The next obstacle was the stairs.
Most often, he was caught while crawling down the stairs. The servants would kindly talk to him and carry him when they saw him crawling down. Then they would take him back to his room, undoing all his hard work.
Even if he managed to get down the stairs undetected, he had to be even more careful.
While the second and third floors were the family’s living spaces, the first floor was almost like a public area. It had the kitchen, dining room, reception areas for visitors, and places where knights frequently came and went.
Even if he luckily made it there, he would be caught at the stairs and returned to his starting point.
The farthest he had recently reached was the kitchen. He had planned to use the back door there. Who would have thought he’d end up hiding in a potato basket when he suddenly sensed someone approaching?
Noah needed to find a more efficient way to explore.
Lost in thought, the blocks he had been stacking neatly had grown as tall as he was. Noah picked up one block and stood up.
