episode_0170

The empire’s territory was so vast that even the climates of the extreme north and south differed greatly.

Even in the middle of summer, the weather in the north was like early autumn, so nobles would go on vacation, and on the other hand, even in the middle of winter, the south was so cool that it didn’t snow.

“I never thought the day would come when I would live to see snow… .”

And the people of Somerset, located in the southern part of the empire, who had lived their entire lives, had never seen snow, but had only heard of it in stories.

Looking at the white snow falling from the sky, the people of Yeongji were busy leaving their houses to look around.

“It’s cold! The snow is really cold!”

“Look at this, it’s coming together!”

“How can it snow in our territory?”

Not only children, but even adults were so excited to see the snow for the first time that they tasted it and even threw it together, returning to their childhood.

“I’m glad it went as planned.”

“Thank you for listening to my request, Yustav.”

“Because my beloved disciple begged me so much.”

Xenia slightly squints at Yustav’s words as he watches the snow-covered estate from the mansion.

“There were many people who asked for rain, but this was the first time they asked for snow, so I couldn’t guarantee that it would work out.”

One of the main roles of the wizards was to bring rain to the farmland on summer days.

It was common for the lord of a drought-stricken region to invite a magician to cast a spell to bring rain, and Yustav had done so many times in his youth.

But Rupert’s request to the Somerset estate this time was for snow rather than rain, so a slight modification was required.

A difficult task that requires installing a magic circle that lowers the temperature of the entire territory, in addition to the existing rain-making magic.

Yustav was worried because the cost of making this snow fall was higher than expected.

‘I want to help Rupert with this!’

Because he couldn’t stand to see his disciple Xenia being discouraged by Iolin, who was based on the imperial family, or Amelia, who was based on the Bluewell Duke family.

I decided to release the magic ingredients I had been saving to help with the plan.

of course,

‘I will pay all the expenses.’

Thanks to Rupert’s willingness to provide the materials needed to make the snow, Eustace only had to provide magical assistance.

“Rupert, your sister must be so happy to have a brother like you.”

“I wish that were the case. Well, it would be a shame for not only Ada but also the people of Yeongji to never see the snow again, so I did it anyway.”

“Looking at Rupert, who had paid a considerable amount of money without complaint just because his younger brother wanted it,” said Eustace.

As the two were talking like that, a girl in a red costume was leaving the front gate on a fancy sled outside the window.

Ada, the one who started all this, is seen leaving the mansion.

“Let’s go! Rash!!!”

“Boom!”

Ratush, who had grown to the size of a small calf, ran powerfully down the snow-covered road, leading the sled.

Ada stands proudly on the seat of the sled, despite the fact that it is going at a fairly fast speed.

Behind Ada, there was a cart full of gifts she had prepared for the village children.

‘What, you’re going to give presents to the kids?’

Rupert, who found out later why Ada had been working so hard to save money, was impressed and added toys, including goods made at Somerset Workshop.

“Wow!!! The captain is flying!”

“It’s not the captain! It’s Santa Ada!”

Ada and Rash arrived at the village in an instant.

Running along the snow-covered road, Ratchet looked like he was really Rudolph, so fast that at first glance he looked like he was flying.

All the people of Yeongji who had come out to see the snow witnessed this sight, and could not help but be startled by its mysterious movements.

“Henry, you shouldn’t be getting hit next year!”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Jefferson, you and I should carve a ratchet next year and display it in the vacant lot!”

“I will definitely make it!”

Ada goes around the village and gives gifts to each child.

And the children who received the gifts felt like adventurers who had discovered a treasure.

“Merry Christmas!”

“What is Merry Christmas, Captain?”

“My brother said it was good to do that!”

“Then, Merry Christmas to us too!!”

After delivering gifts to all the children in the village, Ada headed to the church without delay.

“Miss, what brings you here… .”

The people at the church were also there to greet the sudden snowfall.

“Merry Christmas!”

Ada gave all the presents left on the sled to the children and the monk Michael, who was in charge of the church in Somerset Estate.

“Wow! This is candy!”

“There are toys here too!”

“Is this something I saw at the Somerset Goods store?”

The children screamed with excitement at the sight of everything from snacks to all kinds of toys.

“This is what my brother said it was for me!”

“Are you speaking to Master Rupert?”

Mikhail opened the small box Ada had handed him.

And inside it was a necklace with an intricately carved image of the goddess Gaia, though not ornate.

-Thanks to the help of Monk Mikhail, the estate is improving. May the Goddess’s protection always be with you.

“Rupert… .”

Michael, who is caring for orphans at the church, is following Rupert’s wishes to ensure that there are no homeless children in Somerset Estate.

It was a gift Rupert had prepared for Mikhail, and he held the necklace carefully and looked at the children and Ada who were playing with their eyes filled with joy.

Although it was snowing suddenly, Mikhail felt very warm for some reason.

***

“This would have been a huge problem if it weren’t for Jenny’s help.”

“No, all I did was ask the Master for help… .”

Xenia was rather embarrassed by Rupert’s thanks.

Her specialty magic is fire magic.

This time, Rupert’s request to bring snow to the entire estate was beyond her ability.

If it was a request to burn down the den of demons, I would certainly do it.

That’s why Xenia, who had no choice but to borrow the strength of her teacher, Yustav, felt regretful that she couldn’t help herself.

‘I was able to show you something cool this time….’

Of course, there was a new golem being prepared, but it was a shame to miss this opportunity.

“Would you like to take a walk?”

“Yes, of course.”

But apart from the regrets, I was lucky to be able to spend time alone with Rupert like this.

Thanks to Eustace’s clever departure, the two of them were left alone, so Rupert suggested they take a walk, and they walked around the garden of Somerset Manor.

Ppop.

Every time I stepped on the snow that had piled up, I could hear the sound of the snow crunching quietly.

“The family members were also very excited because it was their first time seeing snow.”

“The empire seems really big. The town I lived in had a lot of snow.”

In the garden, not only Rupert and Xenia, but also the maids and the workshop staff were running around like children, looking at the falling snow.

“Is that so? Then, do you like snow?”

“… No. Actually, I don’t really like winter.”

“May I ask why?”

Xenia hesitated for a moment at Rupert’s question.

It was because it had to do with his unfortunate past, which he did not want others, especially Rupert, to know.

but,

“I lost my parents when I was young and grew up in my uncle’s house.”

Now that Xenia had decided to accept herself as she was, she decided to tell Rupert her full story.

“So I took on all the housework, and it was okay in the summer, but as winter approached, doing the laundry became really hard.”

It was to warm her cold hands in the middle of winter by the stream that Xenia first learned to use fire magic.

Xenia sometimes wanted to cut off her hand because of the pain it felt like being pricked by needles when she put her hand in the cold stream.

That’s why she hated winter.

Because her bed was located on the side of the window farthest from the fireplace, where the cold wind came in.

If it snowed, she had to work in the cold wind while her uncle’s children played happily.

“Is this story too trivial?”

“… No.”

Xenia was slightly worried that Rupert, a noble young man, might dislike her if he found out about her circumstances.

I thought it might be too tacky of a story for a prince like Rupert.

But Rupert’s expression never showed any sign of disgust at Xenia’s story.

Rupert’s expression seemed rather sympathetic.

Seeing that, Xenia let out a sigh of relief.

“Xenia, would you like to come this way?”

“Yes.”

Rupert, who had been thinking silently for a moment, soon led Xenia to the back of the mansion.

And there, standing there, was a tree as huge as a mansion.

“This tree was planted by our ancestors when they first came to the estate.”

“It’s very big.”

“Right? In spring, flowers bloom and it’s so beautiful.”

Xenia looked at the large tree and imagined when spring came.

As I thought it would be romantic to be alone with Rupert under a tree full of beautiful flowers, I was sad that it was winter.

“I’m not a wizard like Xenia, but I’ll try to show off my skills.”

“Yes?”

“Please close your eyes for a moment.”

Not knowing what he was going to do, Xenia closed her eyes and waited for a moment as Rupert had said.

“Don’t be surprised if you hear something bursting.”

“Yes.”

pop!

As soon as Xenia answered, the sound of something exploding was heard.

“Now open your eyes.”

Following Rupert’s instructions to open her eyes, Xenia slowly began to open her closed ones.

“This is….”

“Isn’t it just like spring?”

Xenia was unable to respond to Rupert’s words.

An unbelievable sight unfolded before her eyes.

A fantastical landscape of pink-tinted snow falling from the sky unfolded before her eyes.

“It looks like flowers are blooming on the tree… .”

“Even though you hate winter and snow, if you still have good memories, won’t things get better someday?”

The pink snow fluttering in the sky was piled high on the trees, looking like cherry blossoms.

Xenia just stared at the sight for a moment, then answered Rupert.

“I think winter would be nice with you.”

Xenia gave Rupert a quick kiss on the cheek and quickly left.

Now, when winter came, she felt like she could recall today’s memories rather than the unhappy memories of the past.