Chapter 20

A group of young women—probably the palace maids—had divided into teams and were cheering loudly.

Among them was one woman with black hair. She showed incredible skill, catching the snowballs tossed to her by a teammate and hitting the two women on the opposite team with perfect accuracy, alternating between them in a fair rhythm.

The two opponents—a pink-haired girl and a blonde—were so overwhelmed by getting repeatedly hit that they couldn’t even think straight, and the snowballs they threw didn’t even reach the black-haired woman.
It was completely one-sided.

“Y–You dare… strike a member of the royal family… You, Rubellia Duchy!”

Lucas saw Philina and was reminded of that arrogant Callis and the knights of the Duke’s household who had blocked his way with such insolence.

And… the vivid memory of Philina kissing Callis passionately right in front of him.

“Yes, I must help Belita!”

He ran toward Belita and threw himself in front of her, blocking the incoming snowball with his own body.

“Your Highness!”

Belita looked at her older brother with teary, moved eyes, while Philina glared at Lucas with sheer annoyance.

“Your Highness! Move! We’re in the middle of a snowball fight.”

Philina hurled another snowball—this time at Vivian.

Thud!
Lucas once again jumped in and blocked the snowball with his body. His cape flapped in the wind dramatically, completing the heroic scene.

“Your Highness…”
Even Vivian blushed as she looked at Lucas with sparkling admiration.

“Phi. Li. Na! Duchess!!”

Lucas turned sharply, glaring at Philina, and called her name in a voice brimming with suppressed fury.

The sound reverberated so loudly that the birds hiding from the cold under the roof of the princess’ palace corridor all fluttered away in shock.

+++

“What?! Why are you interfering!”

I was irritated. How could a grown man interrupt a game between kids?

My fingers had finally warmed up enough that my aim was getting precise, and Lucas had the nerve to ruin everything.
I decided he would not be forgiven.

I threw two snowballs straight at Belita and Vivian again. Annoyingly, Lucas blocked both.

“Your Highness! Take off your glasses!”

When Lucas shouted my name loudly, I shouted back even louder, loud enough to echo across the entire imperial garden.

Even fighting requires rules. If someone is wearing glasses, you must at least give them one chance to take them off.

I was too absorbed in the snowball fight to care whether Lucas looked like 100% of my ideal type or not.

The feeling of throwing snowballs was much more satisfying.

“Fine. I’ll face you.”

Oh wow. Lucas’s voice sounded like I was some enemy general on a battlefield.

He removed his cape and handed it to his attendant, who looked panicked about holding it properly.

“Duchess of Rubellia. Prepare yourself!”

“Your Highness, don’t blame me later if you lose!”

Backing down now meant losing. I was not the type to go easy just because the opponent was a man.

Lucas removed his glasses, the attendant took them, and at the same moment I threw a snowball and called to Stella.

“Stella, make them bigger!”

“Yes, My Lady! Please win!”

Stella sat right down in the snow, soaking her skirt completely, and spread her arms wide to gather as much snow as possible.

Stella… you’re competitive. I love it.

“My Lady, you must win! Phi-li-na! Jjang!”

Margaret alone was louder than the ten maids cheering for the princess.

‘So dependable! I won’t let you down. I will win this!’

I gripped my snowball and threw it quickly and accurately at Lucas with a perfect change-up throw.

Our snowball fight went on for quite a while.

By now I had mastered the angle, the force of the wrist, and the strength in my arm—my snowballs never missed.
Lucas had little chance of beating me.

Though, to be fair, Lucas’s snowballs hurt. A lot.

“Let’s stop! My hands are freezing!”

Only after Belita, who had been making the snowballs, complained tiredly did we stop the battle.

“Oh no. Her Highness’ hands are frozen solid.”

The princess’ maids rushed over and wrapped Belita’s hands with towels, rubbing them warm.

None of us were wearing gloves, so our hands were bright red from the cold.

We had been throwing snowballs for over an hour while wearing coats, so we were even sweating a little.

It was the first snowball fight of my entire life, past and present, and though it had been fun… I gradually sobered up and began to worry.

‘Surely… they wouldn’t scold us for just playing, right?’

As Margaret blew warm air onto my hands, I glanced at Lucas. He had already put his cape back on and was walking toward me with long, determined strides.

“Duchess. You dared throw snowballs at royalty. Impressive.”

Lucas put on the glasses handed to him by his attendant, trying to press me down using his status.

‘This… needs to be photographed… at least a painting…’

Even in this moment, Lucas’s blond hair and the snowy garden behind him matched so perfectly that I felt guilty for throwing snowballs at such a beautiful face.

“Your Highness. Younger kids were playing. You should’ve just watched instead of joining in without dignity. And look—I’m bruised.”

I scolded him and quickly rolled up my sleeve to show where his snowball hit me, just in case he tried to blame me.

If anything like treason-against-royalty, injury-to-royalty, or royal-assault crimes got involved, it would be a huge mess.

Of course, Lucas had hit me with a snowball, but the bruise hadn’t appeared yet.

“I see. I must’ve thrown too hard…”

Lucas stared intensely at my perfectly normal arm as if a huge bruise was already there.

“Y-Yes… exactly.”

I didn’t hate the attention, so I let him fuss over it.
If there’s no bruise tomorrow, I’ll just make one.

“Wait. I’ll get you a medicine that works well on bruises.”

He immediately ordered his attendant to bring out a rare medicinal balm supposedly for exclusive royal use.

Score! Free treasure!

+++

The head maid of the ducal mansion had a great dream:
To raise the baby of the duke and duchess. A chubby, precious, adorable baby.

When she had first started working at the mansion, Callis had been a baby—but not… exactly cute.
But now, with the arrival of Philina, someone truly adorable had come to this house.

‘A child who looks like My Lady… how cute would that be?’

Thinking of that baby, she decided she could not let the first snowfall pass quietly.

The first of anything is important.
First snow, first love, first kiss, first anything must not be wasted.

“Is everything ready?”

In the kitchen, she exchanged a meaningful glance with the head chef. The burly middle-aged chef lifted a frying pan and showed her the grilled eel inside.

“Yes. Everything is prepared only with foods that boost stamina. Eating them will warm the body instantly! Look here—one full plate of penis fish grilled perfectly!”

“Pe… that… yes. Good work.”

Penis fish—called “geu-guh-si-gi” in the Eastern Continent—apparently had similarly embarrassing names here in the Western Continent too.

The maid hesitated at the chef’s blunt wording, but regained her composure. At least he had cleaned and cooked it so it no longer looked like its original shape.

“The alcohol must be that one.”

“Yes. Everything is ready.”

After ensuring the kitchen preparations were complete, the head maid walked elegantly toward Callis’s office.

+++

Callis was, as usual, seated at his desk reviewing the ledgers of the ducal merchant guild.

His tie hung loosely around his neck, and his rolled-up sleeves revealed defined lines of muscle even though he was only holding papers.

The head maid smiled faintly at the sight of his physique under the perfectly fitted white shirt.

Men with strong builds never seemed to feel the cold—Callis and his knights walked around in just shirts and trousers even in the dead of winter.

She quickly erased her smile and stepped closer.

“My Lord, the Duchess will return soon. And… the first snow has begun outside.”

Callis set the papers down and checked the clock on the wall.

“I see.”

It was almost 6 p.m. Lately Philina had been busy all day with meetings and activities.

‘So she’s just playing around spending money.’

For some reason, her busy schedule made him feel a little… lonely.

“Fine. I’ll go greet her by the carriage.”

When he rose from his seat, the head maid took out a black rectangular case from her pocket and set it on the desk.

“These are glasses. I chose a design that suits you. The Duchess… apparently likes men who wear glasses.”

The head maid had coaxed the information out of Margaret earlier.
In short, she had prepared thoroughly for today.

Callis silently opened the case and put on the glasses. The thin gold frames softened his cold expression.

The maid instructed an attendant to help him put on a black jacket and a cloak. Callis didn’t complain once.

“All done, My Lord.”

“Let’s go.”

Seeing her broadening smile, he feigned indifference and walked out.

“Perfect timing. The carriage is arriving, My Lord.”

The butler opened the front door, and as Callis stepped onto the stairs, Philina’s carriage approached the entrance.

The crest of the Rubellia Duchy shone brightly on the door.

+++

“Oh! Callis!”

I expected a servant or butler to open the carriage door as usual, but it was Callis who opened it and extended his hand.

“You must’ve had a long day. Come in quickly—it’s cold.”

I thought he had been working inside the mansion, but he was wearing a black uniform, a cloak, and even a pair of gold-rimmed glasses I had never seen before.

The way he left two buttons undone on his shirt and loosened his tie gave him a slightly decadent aura.

‘Margaret told him everything. My ideal type.’

Wow. It’s hard to pull off “intellectual” and “decadent” at the same time. No way he did this himself.

‘This is the head maid’s handiwork.’

I knew immediately, but the effort was cute, so I pretended not to notice.

“You’re wearing glasses. They look good.”

“Let’s go inside.”

Even my small comment made him smile a little. I took his arm and walked into the mansion with him.

1 Hour Later

After returning to my room, I washed up, had dinner with Callis—he ate mostly meat, I ate mostly vegetables—and drank warm chamomile tea.

All that remained was to brush my teeth and go to bed.

“Here is the after-dinner drink. It’s good for this cold weather.”

The head maid brought in a tall, unfamiliar glass bottle and poured a bright red liquor into two cocktail glasses. She smiled even more brightly than usual as she left the room.

“Callis, let’s have a glass. The color is pretty.”

“Alright.”

I clinked my glass against his with a soft clink and lifted it—

But then suddenly remembered what this drink was…