Chapter 6 

Rosia widened her eyes and glared at Gwen.

“Don’t laugh, Gwen! And Miss Clemen, you shouldn’t say things like that. It’s dangerous.”

Clemen asked, disappointed,

“Oh… it’s not that? Then what is it?”

“Gwen, what exactly did you tell her?”

“Hehe… I didn’t say anything, Lady Rosia.”

Clemen fell into deep thought, then decided she would check a dictionary when she returned to the village. Meanwhile, Rosia and Gwen continued bickering like close friends.

“Gwen, Rosia. I want to go to the village now. You said I have to write something, right?”

The two exchanged a few whispers, then nodded at Clemen.

“Follow me. This isn’t something we can do here.”

*

What Gwen told her to write was clear.

A confidentiality oath.

Gwen’s judgment had been correct.

Clemen had learned the Grand Duke’s secret, so it was safest for her to sign it.

It was even notarized by a mage despite their poor circumstances, so it had to be reliable.

If we just let her go and she slips up… it would be a disaster.

Rumors spread faster than anything.

If that happened, the people of the territory would become anxious, and the Grand Duke’s engagement would certainly fall apart.

Even without rumors, it might break soon anyway…

After all, the engaged couple hadn’t even met for ten years.

Thinking further led Rosia to even worse concerns.

There was also Nerhi Pruina, a collateral branch member stationed in the capital, who had recently begun showing suspicious movements.

If only I could do something…

The reason she couldn’t act was simple.

She, too, belonged to a collateral branch.

Collateral family members were not allowed to interfere in the Grand Ducal household. In fact, Rosia already holding authority over personnel was technically against the family rules.

When Aunt still had full authority, he didn’t dare move at all…

But now that Zephyrus had come of age and the regency had ended, Nerhi had begun acting openly.

Because the Grand Duchess no longer had real power.

At the very least, I should tell Aunt…

But the Grand Duchess was already in poor health. Rosia couldn’t burden her further.

She also couldn’t tell Zephyrus.

Because she was afraid.

If he believed someone else could take responsibility for Pruina, he might simply leave everything behind and disappear.

Honestly, I should tell them both.

But she couldn’t bring herself to speak.

Even if they knew, there was little they could do.

In the end, everything depended on Zephyrus’s curse—

It had to disappear, or at least improve enough for him to go outside.

That fragile hope was what kept her going.

But she could feel it now.

She was getting tired.

For ten years, she had been working for a cousin she could barely even speak to—

“…What are you doing?”

Rosia looked coldly at Clemen.

Clemen had been lightly tapping the back of her hand… and then grabbed it.

It was an extremely rude action, and Rosia’s already low mood worsened.

“I’m sorry. But you looked very cold.”

“The North is supposed to be cold.”

“Yes. That’s why I can hold your hand like this.”

…What kind of conversation is this?

Rosia frowned and tried to pull her hand away, but—

This woman was stronger than expected.

Rosia had trained her body constantly, yet she couldn’t easily break free.

“Hmm. It’s hard to explain in words. But…”

Clemen looked straight at her.

In her calm golden eyes, Rosia saw herself—

A tired face, hidden behind a confident mask.

“There must be a way to deal with the cold. I’m sure of it. Like me.”

“……”

Rosia quietly looked down at their joined hands.

She couldn’t fully understand what Clemen meant.

It sounded like she was carefully choosing words, but skipping many parts in between.

But one thing was certain.

Clemen’s hand was incredibly warm.

Even with fireplaces burning, the Grand Duke’s castle could never fully block out the cold wind—

Yet right now, it felt warm.

As if the North’s cold meant nothing.

If this isn’t just my imagination… is she… comforting me? Why?

The question was reasonable.

From what Gwen said, they had dragged Clemen here against her will.

And now they were making her sign a contract because they didn’t trust her.

“Do you even know why you’re here? You’re here to sign a confidentiality oath.”

“Yes. It’s a promise to keep secrets. I understand that much.”

“Do you know what happens if you break it?”

“I don’t know, but I just won’t say anything.”

Clemen lifted her chin confidently.

Rosia started to argue, then shook her head.

“You’re taking this too lightly—…never mind. Let go of my hand.”

“Are you warm now?”

That simple question—

For some reason, it stirred something in Rosia.

“Do you think holding hands for a moment can warm me? The blizzard around me is this strong!”

“That’s your heart. But if your body is warm, you can rest for a moment.”

“…I don’t understand what you’re saying. Here, sign this. It’s all written there. Read it or don’t.”

Since Rosia didn’t seem to want to talk further, Clemen lowered her gaze and carefully read the document.

It stated that if she attempted to reveal the Grand Duke’s secret, her tongue would stiffen, and a signal would be sent to Rosia.

“I’ve read it. But… curse? The lord here is cursed?”

Even as she signed, Clemen tilted her head in confusion.

Rosia let out a hollow laugh.

“You experienced it yourself.”

“The ice-making?”

Her expression clearly said: Why is that a curse?

Rosia didn’t even have the energy to laugh anymore.

***

*

Someone with a constitution like her own.

Clemen simply thought of Zephyrus’s freezing ability that way.

If fire could appear, then ice could too.

She assumed he just hadn’t tried to control it because he could live without doing so.

But if it’s a curse… and it doesn’t affect me?

Moreover, when she was with him, her own condition became calmer.

Comfortably so.

“Hmm…”

Clemen crossed her arms and tilted her head.

Rosia tucked the signed oath away and asked flatly,

“What is it?”

“Nothing. This is… thinking. No—research!”

“What are you planning to research?”

“Everything!”

She needed to examine both herself and Zephyrus.

Think, test, compare—

Just like she used to do as a child.

“You’re saying you want to meet His Grace again?”

“I can’t do this without seeing him.”

There was clearly some kind of interaction between them.

“You don’t think surviving this time was just luck?”

“Didn’t Gwen tell you why he brought me into that room?”

“He said something about a fire spirit… but it didn’t sound reliable.”

Gwen hadn’t completely skipped reporting.

He had simply acted first and reported later.

By the time Rosia read his chaotic report, Clemen had already finished meeting Zephyrus.

And the report had been mixed with others, so she read it late.

Something that important should be reported immediately!

What she didn’t know was that Gwen had intentionally delayed it.

In any case, even after reading it—

Rosia didn’t believe even half of it.

Snow melting wherever she walked.

Water evaporating.

A monster collapsing from her touch.

And then calling her a fire spirit?

How was she supposed to believe that?

Rosia’s reasoning was completely logical.

If someone were truly that hot, they wouldn’t even be able to live normally.

And right now, Clemen simply seemed like a person with a slightly warm body temperature.

Thankfully.

She had no idea how much Clemen had struggled to suppress her heat just to reach that level.

Clemen, meanwhile, felt happy.

Rosia saw her as a normal person.

And she had worked so hard for that normalcy.

Of course, the environment of the North helped—

But without her effort, she would never have even made it here.

Her effort and the environment together created this result.

But that can’t interfere with what I need to do.

She had to show Rosia—

That Zephyrus’s curse didn’t affect her.

Why she had lived isolated in the desert.

Why she had been rejected and chased away.

“I’ll just show you a little.”

Clemen slowly released the heat she had been suppressing.

The heat that had been pressed down by the North’s cold began to expand in response to her will.