Northern Grand Duke (11)

The road back to Frostguard was unusually quiet. But within that silence was hidden the joy of reunited sisters.

We left the chilling battle behind and gathered around the cozy fireplace in the reception room, drinking tea.

Well, to be precise, only Kiara drank. Kiria… well, how could a skeleton drink tea?

Kiria picked up a teacup. She gracefully tilted the black tea, but, of course, all the liquid flowed down between her ribs.

“Oh, dear…”

“Hehe, unni too…”

“Habits are scary. The motion of drinking tea is still ingrained in my body.”

Kiria looked at her bony hand.

“Hero-nim… but will unni have to live like that forever?”

“Don’t worry. This is a temporary measure. I separated her soul using the Necromancer King’s relic.”

“In that case…”

“Yes. Once you’re used to the skeleton, you can call a magical engineer to attach flesh.”

“That’s a relief, unni!”

“Well… I don’t think this form is so bad?”

Kiria caressed her skeletal jaw.

“When I had flesh, I was always worried about dieting, but now I don’t have to worry about that, right?”

“Unni!”

Kiara puffed out her cheeks.

“I still liked it better when you had flesh. When unni hugged me… it was so warm…”

Kiria hesitated for a moment before embracing her sister. Cold bones patted Kiara’s back.

“I’m sorry for making you worry. I’m glad we can be together from now on.”

“Heueuk… unni…”

Kiara buried her face in the skeleton’s embrace. Tears fell on the cold bones.

“For eight years… I missed you so much…”

“Our Kiara, you’re still a crybaby? Don’t cry now. Your tears might erode the bones, you know?”

“And you say that after spilling tea a while ago…”

The snowstorm continued outside the window. But the reception room was warm.

Even though it was a skeleton made of cold bones, Kiria’s voice was still full of her unni’s warmth.

“Ah, that’s right. I should change my clothes too.”

Kiria rose from her seat. Her pure white dress fluttered gracefully.

“I wonder if the dresses I used to wear are still there?”

“Of course! I’ve kept them all!”

Kiara replied in an excited voice.

“Unni’s closet is just as it was. I’ve been cleaning it every day… just waiting for the day unni would return.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. A skeleton wearing a dress, it seemed like it would be quite an amusing sight.

Kiria turned gracefully. Even though she was made of bones, her aristocratic dignity remained.

“Hero-nim, I apologize for the inconvenience, but I’ll excuse myself for a moment. It takes a while for a lady to choose her clothes. Oh, would you like to peek if you want to? Of course, there’s nothing but bones.”

“Yes… yes?”

The elegant voice and the appearance of the skeleton were so incongruous that I stammered in response.

Kiria and Kiara left the room side by side. A smile could be seen on their faces as they looked at each other.

Frostguard was filled with the sounds of alcohol and laughter for the first time in a long time. A banquet celebrating the subjugation of White Snow was held throughout the city.

“Hero-nim.”

Kiara approached me.

“I don’t know how to repay this grace…”

“Don’t mention it. It’s just something I had to do…”

“No.”

She cut me off firmly.

“You returned unni… to me. This is a grace that cannot be repaid with any treasure.”

Kiara looked at me with sincerity.

“If there’s anything you want… I’ll give you anything, even my everything…”

“That won’t do.”

Sylvia interjected.

“You promised to go to the forest with me one day.”

Kiara’s expression subtly hardened. A cold aura flowed between the two.

“First of all… let’s celebrate the victory.”

I hurriedly changed the atmosphere.

“Kiria-nim has returned now… and Frostguard will be warm now.”

“That’s right.”

Kiara’s expression brightened.

“We can look forward to a warm spring for the first time in a long time.”

The banquet hall became increasingly noisy. The people who had been living under the oppression of the cold were now laughing and talking to their hearts’ content.

At one corner of the festival, Sylvia emptied her glass. She had a heavy expression, unlike usual. She looked around anxiously as if she was worried when I was out of her sight even for a moment.

“Sylvia.”

The tips of her ears were flushed red as if she were drunk.

As I approached, the spirits reacted sensitively. The green light flickered anxiously.

“The spirits are anxious.”

“That’s because they’re wary that Haru will… run away again.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep my promise.”

“Really… really?”

“Yes. I’ve defeated the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon race, and I’ve rescued Kiria-nim, so let’s go to the forest now.”

At those words, her expression brightened. The spirits sparkled as if they were happy too.

“Then let’s go! Right now…”

“Wait a minute.”

I took her hand. Warm body temperature was transmitted.

“We have to attend the celebration until the end. Everyone here was able to laugh thanks to us.”

“Eung…”

Sylvia puffed out her cheeks.

“Okay… but as soon as it’s over…”

Her ears perked up again.

The laughter in the banquet hall continued. The snowstorm was still raging outside the window, but now no one was afraid of the cold.

As I sat down, Sylvia grabbed my hand. She didn’t seem to have any intention of letting go, holding my hand tightly.

*

That night, I was organizing my next plans before going to bed.

Knock knock-

“…Come in.”

A late-night visitor was always unsettling. This time too, an ominous premonition flashed through my mind.

The door opened and Kiria entered. A skeleton wearing a black dress….

“It’s not polite to intrude at this late hour, but…”

Kiria continued in a sweet voice.

“I must repay my benefactor, right?”

“No, you don’t need to worry about that.”

“Hehe… there’s an old tradition in the North.”

She took another step closer. The moonlight illuminated the skeleton’s silhouette.

“Repaying one’s benefactor with one’s body…”

Kiria gracefully reached out to untie the dress straps, but stopped.

“Oh my… this is a bit awkward. I don’t have… any flesh right now, do I? It might be a little hard like this?”

At that moment, the window was violently thrown open. Green spirits swirled like a tornado.

“How dare you, you skeleton!”

“Wait a minute! It’s a misunderstanding!”

I hurriedly stopped Sylvia. But Sylvia’s spirits had already flown towards Kiria.

“Oh my, how violent…”

Kiria dodged the spirits with a relaxed posture.

The door opened again. This time it was Kiara.

“Unni? Hero-nim?!”

In the midst of the chaotic situation, Kiria opened her mouth.

“Hehe… I’m fine with three people? Would my sister like to join too?”

“Unni! Are you out of your mind?!”

Kiara’s face turned bright red.

“Oh, Kiara. Can’t unni even make a joke?”

Kiria burst into elegant laughter. It was so bewitching that it was hard to believe it was the laughter of a skeleton.

“I was just playing a little prank on my benefactor. What can I do with a body that’s just bones?”

“Even so, this kind of prank…”

Sylvia still glared at Kiria with sharp eyes. The spirits flickered dangerously.

“Sylvia, calm down. It was just a joke…”

I barely managed to appease Sylvia. But she still had a sulky expression.

“Still… we can’t let our guard down.”

Kiria smiled gracefully. The moonlight illuminated the skeleton’s pure white bones.

“Hehe… an elf’s jealousy… I like how noisy it is.”

“Jealousy! I’m just… just worried…”

The tips of Sylvia’s ears turned bright red. The spirits flickered as if they were embarrassed too.

“Well, shall we all go back and sleep now?”

“I don’t want to.”

Sylvia grabbed my arm even tighter. The spirits hovered anxiously.

Kiria was still smiling gracefully.

“The night is still long, you know?”

“Unni!”

Kiara’s scream echoed.

I could only sigh at this commotion.

*

Spring was in the air in the gardens of Frostguard. The icy cold wind had now become a gentle breeze, caressing the trees. The knife-like cold had disappeared, and the land of eternal winter was now tinged with a subtle spring atmosphere.

“It’s already been a fortnight since Hero-nim left.”

Kiara said, looking at the sky. A longing look appeared in her blue eyes.

“If it weren’t for Haru-nim… this place would still be an ice hell.”

After the tyranny of White Snow ended, the North changed rapidly. The suffocating cold disappeared, and life began to sprout even in the frozen earth.

“Thanks to him, a lot has changed.”

Kiria gracefully raised her teacup. But black tea dripped between the skeleton’s jaws.

“Oh my…”

“Unni, again…”

Kiara suppressed a laugh and handed her a handkerchief. Precious black tea soaked the table.

“Hero-nim would have smiled and overlooked this kind of mistake, right? It was fun to tease him.”

“Yes… Hero-nim was always kind.”

Kiara’s heart kept fluttering as she thought of her departed benefactor.

“My little sister seems to have taken a liking to Hero-nim? Is it first love?”

“Unni!”

Kiara’s face turned red. Her blue eyes trembled anxiously.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to hide it.”

Kiria patted her sister’s shoulder. It was the touch of cold bones, but a warm heart was conveyed.

“Actually… I like that person too.”

“Yes?”

Kiara’s eyes widened.

“His dignity as a hero, his charm as a human being… and he saved our sisters, didn’t he?”

Kiria’s voice was mixed with playfulness.

“So, I’ve discovered something interesting.”

She raised her hand. A cold aura swirled.

“White Snow’s power… I think I can give it to you.”

“But that’s…”

Kiara’s eyes trembled. The Frost Sword trembled.

“Then… can I become stronger?”

“Of course. Enough to freeze… no, protect Hero-nim.”

At that moment, a cold wind blew. The chill surrounding Kiara’s body grew stronger.

“Eueugh…”

Her hair turned white. Her blue eyes shone coldly like ice.

“This is…”

“The true power of Frostguard. Now you’ve become the Queen of Winter.”

Kiara raised her hand. A cold aura burst out like an explosion.

“Because he’s our benefactor… we must repay him.”

The flowers in the garden froze one by one. But strangely, they didn’t wither.

Like flowers trapped in the beauty of eternal winter, now Haru too, from her grasp, forever…

The sisters’ laughter echoed eerily.