“Are you sure he’s coming back today?”
“Yes, Your Grace. I asked Zion again and again. No matter what, he is definitely coming back today.”

Melissa answered firmly. Adeline sighed and closed her eyes for a moment.
After listening to the melody coming out of the orgel, Kael became strange.
It wasn’t just that he wasn’t looking for Adeline, but that he continued to leave the castle.
The reason was that he was patrolling the territory, but the timing was not right. She didn’t know when he would encounter a violent snowstorm these days, when the northern winter was nearing its coldest time.
He could lose his life if he encountered a blizzard while he was outside, in the middle of the winter in the north.
Consequently, in times like these, the patrols of the territory were reduced to a minimum. It was one of the first things she learned while studying about the North.
But Kael kept going outside. And even when he returned, he didn’t come to visit Adeline.

“He left the territory for a long time. He must be trying to take a look around before it gets even colder, Your Grace.”
“That’s right. In fact, he couldn’t look around too much.”
“Besides, there have been sightings of the Corrupted on the northern border. One of my childhood friends is part of the garrison in the northern wall, and he told me that the atmosphere at the post is unusual these days. He would need at least ten bodies to be able to take a look at everything.”

Melissa and Isabel subsequently added the reasons. They actively reminded Adeline of Kael’s situation and tried to calm her disturbance.
Their effort was commendable, but unfortunately, it didn’t make Adeline feel better.
In the end, trying to justify it in a positive way was Melissa and Isabel’s idea, not Kael’s. No one knew with what kind of mind Kael was pushing ahead with the patrol, or why.
She thought about meeting Zion or Vero, but since they were stuck to him like they were Kael’s limbs, if she didn’t see Kael, she couldn’t see either of them.
Adeline had no way to resolve this frustration.

‘I thought the wall between us was crumbling. I believed he was starting to give up on pushing me away.’

Adeline fell into thought with a dark expression.

‘It didn’t seem like he would push me away even if I got a little closer…’

She could feel Kael’s heart swaying as time passed.
She felt it when they spent a week together in the East, and she felt it when they kissed in front of the small sea. Even if Adeline could not hide her leaking feelings and approached him even more, it seemed like he would no longer step back.

‘But it wasn’t like that. Not at all.’

However, Kael reversed Adeline’s expectations. Melissa and Isabel insisted strongly that it wasn’t like that, but Kael was definitely pushing Adeline away.

“There’s no reason for you to be anxious, Your Grace. You even saw the glittering snow at the ceremony. The glittering snow that embroidered the blue sky.”

Adeline’s mood was unusual, so Melissa mentioned the gaze she had seen during the ceremony.

“Why did it snow?”
“Isabel probably doesn’t know about this either. Right?”
“Only that it snowed on a sunny day, and it was amazing… If there’s more to the story beyond that, as you say, I don’t know.”

When Isabel was suspicious about the story that she didn’t know, Melissa looked at her and Adeline with a grin.

“There is an ancient legend in the North. Although only a very few people know of it.”
“What is that?”

Melissa threw the bait quite resolutely.

“I’m not sure how real it is or how exaggerated the story is, but when the Inver family settled in the North, they received the blessing of the Snow Goddess.”
“…”
“The first head of the Inver family, in other words, the first grand duke, rescued a person loved by the Snow Goddess. The Snow Goddess loved a human man, and that man saved him.”

Melissa explained the legend in great detail.

“Being so grateful, the Goddess promised to bless the first grand duke.”
“…”
“In the future, if someone with the blood of the Inver family has a lover they love enough to swear eternity, Heaven will bless them and let down jewel-like snow over the blue sky.”
“…”
“This is proof that I, the Goddess of Snow, protect and love your family.”

Adeline’s light green eyes fluttered.

“When I first heard that story, I thought it was nonsense. How could snow fall from the blue sky? It’s ridiculous.”
“…”
“But it wasn’t a lie. I saw the most beautiful snow of my life that day, Your Grace.”

A lover who they love enough to swear eternity.
Those words made Adeline’s heart jump. Now that she had heard Melissa’s words, she could finally understand why Kael was staring at the snow with such an unusually blank face that day.
She vividly remembered feeling puzzled because he seemed out of his mind, which wasn’t characteristic of him.

“I apologize for interrupting, Your Grace. Please forgive my disrespect. The Countess told me to come in at any time and give the news…”
“Is anything the matter?”
“His Grace has just arrived, Your Grace.”

Just in time, Kael returned to the castle after a week.
Adeline jumped out of her seat and ran to Kael.

***

“You mean you’re going to leave right before dawn tomorrow?”
“The movements of the Corrupted are unusual. We have to look into it properly.”
“I know. I understand. But leaving right away is too much.”
“I’m going with the other knights. What’s the problem? I’ll leave you and Vero here too.”
“Do I or the knights have a problem? The problem is Your Grace. If you overdo it in this cold winter, it will be a big problem…”

As Zion was trying to stop Kael in astonishment, Adeline, who had let go of all her dignity and everything and came running, stood there, panting.

“… Adeline.”
“Talk to me for a moment. It’s urgent.”

Adeline came closer to Kael without fully catching her breath. Zion quickly exited and closed the door of the office.

“What’s wrong?”

Kael’s voice was cold. Adeline bit her lips, feeling the noticeable temperature.
After hearing Melissa’s story, it was even more frustrating to see Kael struggling to push Adeline away like this.

“When are you going to give up?”
“…”
“Will you continue to push me away for the rest of your life?”

It was the first time he had heard such an angry voice coming from Adeline.

“That snow. You know what it means, right? That’s why you looked at the sky with such a blank face that day.”

Kael’s eyes shook violently as the meaning of the snow was conveyed.

“And what about that sea? How could you leave me alone after giving me such a gift and conveying such feelings…?”

Eventually, tears flowed down Adeline’s cheeks.

“I love you. I do, very much.”
“…”
“And I know. That you love me that much, too.”

A voice submerged in tears dug through Kael’s heart.
Adeline’s confession, which he had once imagined, was much sweeter than he had anticipated. That was why it hurt more.
The fact that it had to be conveyed with tears in this situation, and that Adeline was crying even when she was talking about love, made Kael feel guilty.

“I love you. I love you very deeply. But why do you keep running away? You just need to let it all go and love me.”
“…”
“I really can’t do it anymore. I can’t pretend that I don’t love you. Trying to hide my feelings because I’m afraid of you running away when I approach you. This is my limit now.”

The day she vowed to hide her feelings from him, pretending not to love him, so as not to be pushed away by him, Adeline didn’t expect the pain to be this great.
However, the ironic situation where Adeline could not love even though she was in love was much more painful and distressing than Adeline had thought.

“What is it that scares you so much? The curse? Is it because of that curse? Are you running away like that because of the curse on your body?”
“…”
“I’m really fine. I don’t care if you have such a deep curse on you. Don’t you think so? If I had the same scars, do you think you would give up on me? You wouldn’t. So why!”

Adeline stopped talking in frustration. Her face was already wet with tears.

“Everything you want to have, everything you love, will die in pain, and you will struggle with that pain until you die. But even that death will not be easily allowed.”

At that moment, Kael recited the curse he had received in a low, sinking voice.

“That is the curse engraved on me.”
“…”
“If my love touches you, if my feelings reach you completely, you will die.”

–