Chapter 31

Edith slowly opened her eyes. The sunlight that had lingered only by the window had now crept deep into the room. The drowsiness drained from her like a receding tide, leaving her fully awake.

It was then that she realized how unnervingly quiet the house was.

“…Leon?”

Edith’s hand gently brushed the side of the bed. The coldness lingering there seemed to confirm the long absence of the child who should have been beside her.

Stretching her slender body, Edith rose to her feet. Up until that moment, she had felt relatively calm. Perhaps he had gone to the bathroom, or was playing in the next room.

“Leon?”

“….”

“Leon!”

“….”

“Leon, where are you? Leon?”

As she opened door after door, discovering that he wasn’t anywhere, Edith’s voice grew anxious.

She hurried down to the first floor, almost running.

“Leon!! Leon!! Where are you? Leon!”

Living room, dining room, bathroom, study—

Leon was nowhere to be found on the entire first floor. Her mind began to go blank. Her head spun constantly as the scenery changed with each step. Then, her eyes fell upon the front door.

No…

A sense of unease washed over her as she opened the door. And finally, amidst the completely white world outside, she found Leon. The child was patting a round, snowball-sized lump of snow, bundled up like his own little body.

‘He’s in danger!’

The worry that had gripped her surged into anger. Narrowed in focus like a racehorse, she only then noticed another presence a short distance away.

As if a lie, her racing halted abruptly. Her heart, on the other hand, thudded violently. The sudden gust of wind, and the snowstorm it carried, made the moment feel even more unreal.

‘No, maybe I’m still dreaming.’

Perhaps that was why she was seeing something she had only ever imagined in dreams.

Edith stared straight ahead for a long moment.

A man, unusually tall and solidly built, with hair as black as Leon’s, was gently patting the snowball. Judging by its size—slightly smaller than the child himself—he must be shaping it into a snowman’s head. The child giggled, seeing it nearly complete in the man’s hands.

So this is what it feels like to be overwhelmed with emotion. Feeling her chest tighten painfully, Edith began to walk forward again. Crunch. The ticklish sound of snowflakes fell into the air like the snowfall itself. Her vision blurred and cleared repeatedly. Then, the man lifted his head. Their eyes met suddenly.

“Mom!”

Leon, too, noticed her presence and ran toward her. The child hugged her legs tightly, having frozen in place until then.

Edith exchanged glances with the man. Sunlight fractured over the snow like starlight, yet their eyes were oblivious to the sparkling world around them, focused solely on one another. As if they were each other’s entire world.

“…How…”

You, here, with Leon…

With each broken thought, the man drew closer. Edith watched him blankly as he came within reach, and then spoke slowly, her voice impossibly thin, almost whispering.

“…Max.”

That was when his jet-black eyes turned cold. Initially, they had been the same warmth, but now they had chilled as if all at once.

Edith’s dream began to crumble.

A fleeting memory brushed her mind. She squeezed her eyes shut, wishing it weren’t real, but even as she opened them, the man’s gaze had grown icily sharp.

“How should I prove it this time?”

Ah, it’s you. The same, yet different.

The bitter reality replaced the shattered dream. Her heart, once again plunging, ached deeply. Seeing the man who looked exactly like Maximilian together with Leon struck her profoundly.

She wiped away the tears she had belatedly realized were there and lowered her head as calmly as she could. In her mind, it looked plausible enough, though she couldn’t be certain it appeared natural to him.

“Leon. How could you go out alone? I was worried.”

Despite her soft reproach, the child spoke only what he wanted.

“I’m making a snowman with him.”

“….”

“We finished the body, now just the head’s left.”

Edith’s head lifted slightly. Unable to meet his eyes again, she allowed her gaze to linger on his reddened, cold hands.

You, here, with Leon…

Even realizing who he was, the same question surfaced. It was strange enough that Max was dead, but even stranger that this man was here. Edith could not tell whether his feelings toward her were kind or malicious.

“Leon.”

“Hmm?”

“Go back inside the house.”

“Why? I’m making a snowman… okay.”

Leon pouted, then obediently nodded to the man. Her expression had been too stern to resist.

Once they were alone, Edith lifted her head. The man was still looking out over the snow.

“Who are you?”

“….”

“This isn’t a coincidence. Why do you keep coming after me?”

“Indeed.”

His response to such a natural question was anything but natural. His once-cold eyes now looked almost furious.

Suddenly, the sound of crushing snow echoed. His large frame approached. Edith looked up at him with subtle embarrassment. His hand came closer. Reflexively, she tried to pull away, but froze mid-motion. Their eyes met.

A cold hand cupped her cheek. His thumb brushed against her lips, smudging them slightly. The icy touch stirred a heated memory, making her shiver. The man smiled.

“No matter what, you’ll….”

…just look for your husband.

The words nearly escaped her, but Zeckart swallowed them quietly. He still didn’t understand why he felt so irritated watching another woman call someone else’s name. It was a normal situation that provoked unnatural emotions.

The soft warmth that had rested in her palm slipped away at that moment. Stepping back, she faced him fully. Even atop the sparkling snow like a white galaxy, her golden eyes shone with unusual brightness. Zeckart quickly recognized that the gleam was caution.

“Answer me. Who exactly are you?”

“….”

“Hey.”

“Zeckart.”

In response to her prompt, Zeckart spoke the name he usually used as a fully-prepared alias. There was no special reason; he was simply caught up in the atmosphere, swept by a strange emotion, driven by an unexplainable impulse.

With a quiet sigh, his black eyes disappeared behind his eyelids briefly. When he opened them again, Edith had taken a small step back.

“I’m asking about your true identity, not your name.”

“….”

“How did you get here? Not just this time, but the previous times in Berg and Hasmal… why did you save me?”

To kill Perel Monty—the thought naturally crossed Zeckart’s mind, but he dismissed it with a wry smile.

Yes, he had come here, met her in Berg and Hasmal, but that alone didn’t count as saving her.

When he remained silent, a tense quiet settled between them. The stillness was finally broken by Leon, who had quietly returned.

“Mom!”

The child ran across the snow to hug her legs.

“Mom, I’m hungry.”

Though making a snowman would understandably make him hungry, Edith ignored him, prioritizing hearing the man’s answer. Leon tugged at her sleeve insistently.

“I’m hungry! Let’s finish the snowman quickly and eat!”

“Leon, wait. Mom’s talking right now—”

“Me too.”

The voice was not Leon’s. Edith looked up in surprise. She saw the man placing a smaller snowball atop the larger one.

“I’m hungry too.”

Just as she was about to snap at him, he continued.

“When you were sleeping without knowing, I had quite a time dealing with your son.”

“….”

“And after what happened before, isn’t a single meal the least I deserve?”

Her slightly parted lips closed instinctively.