Side Story

Late in the morning, Rizle woke up and pushed away the thick arm of the man holding her tightly. Half-asleep, Heizen frowned and groped around to find his wife. Rizle slipped out of bed, dodging his grasp.

When he couldn’t find her no matter how much he fumbled, Heizen opened his eyes.

“Rizle.”

His voice, husky from sleep, called out, but she didn’t seem to hear him. She casually threw on a robe and walked to the window.

Heizen propped himself up on his elbows, watching her. She stared intently out the window, then suddenly ran back to the bed.

“It’s snowing in Boeur as well.”

“Well, compared to Kabakia, it’s nothing.”

As Rizle nestled back into his arms, Heizen’s frown softened. He kissed her forehead, her cheeks, and her chin, slowly making his way down. He gently nibbled at her neck, careful not to hurt her.

“Heizen, I want to eat venison.”

“Then I’ll go hunting this weekend.”

“Hmm, but what if your lovely wife wants it right now?”

“Right now, I want to eat you, so it’s not possible.”

Heizen pushed Rizle down and climbed on top of her. Thus began another ordinary day in the life of Count and Countess Warkliber.

***

After finishing his morning routine, Heizen began preparing for a hunt. Originally, he hadn’t planned to go hunting that day, but Rizle had woken up craving venison. What else could he do?

“I’ll be back soon.”

Heizen kissed Rizle on the lips. She clung to his arm, trying to stop him from leaving.

“I’ve changed my mind. Since it’s snowing so much, let’s not go hunting.”

“This is nothing compared to the blizzards in Troskan.”

Even so, Rizle shook her head firmly, insisting he stay. She looked up at him with sparkling blue eyes and a slight smile.

“Let’s build a snowman instead.”

“A snowman?”

“I want to make a snowman taller than me. But I don’t think I can do it alone, so I’d like you to help me. Just a little, just a tiny bit.”

Heizen was delighted by the fact that she wanted to spend time with him and readily agreed. After all, venison could always be hunted by the servants.

The two of them went outside and began rolling snow into large balls. However, Rizle seemed a bit distracted. She kept glancing at Heizen instead of focusing on the snow.

Heizen wondered if she had already grown tired of the activity and wanted to go back inside, but she denied it. He then asked if she was cold, but she said she was fine. So why did she look so uneasy? While he pondered this, they managed to finish a large snowman, as tall as Heizen himself.

“Should we make another one?”

Apparently, one snowman wasn’t enough for Rizle. The two of them began rolling snow again. Thinking she wasn’t satisfied with the size of the first one, Heizen tried to make an even bigger snowball. As he was rolling it, Rizle called out to him.

“I think that’s enough.”

“This one is smaller than the first.”

“Th-that’s okay.”

Rizle stammered, looking nervous. Heizen approached her, studying her face. She avoided his gaze, unable to meet his eyes.

She was someone who couldn’t lie or hide things well. Something was definitely up. Heizen furrowed his brow, silently pressing her for an answer.

“Let’s make one more after all!”

Rizle turned her back on him, crouching down to gather snow. Over her shoulder, she glanced at him, gauging his reaction.

“Don’t these snowmen look like a family?”

The big one was the father snowman. The slightly smaller one was the mother snowman.

Rizle’s voice was barely audible, lacking confidence. Seeing Heizen’s lackluster reaction, she quickly held up a tiny snowman she had made.

“And if we add this baby snowman, they really look like a family, don’t they?”

Heizen didn’t particularly agree, but since Rizle said so, he nodded anyway.

Rizle hesitated, her lips moving as if to say something. But the words didn’t come easily. She rarely struggled to speak like this, which made Heizen all the more curious.

“They’re just like us.”

“Is that so?”

Once again, Heizen didn’t fully understand but agreed anyway. Rizle frowned, realizing he hadn’t grasped her meaning.

“Us! They’re just like us. The three of us!”

At the mention of “three,” Heizen’s eyes widened. There were indeed three snowmen. But there were only two real people here—himself and Rizle. The third…

Heizen’s eyes darted around as realization dawned. The reason he couldn’t see the third person was simple—it was still inside her!

Heizen scooped Rizle into his arms, lifting her high. Startled, Rizle held the baby snowman aloft to keep it from being crushed. She couldn’t bring herself to scold him, not when he was crying tears of joy.

“Can I have that snowman?”

“Normally, I wouldn’t give it to anyone, but since it’s for our baby, I’ll make an exception.”

That day, Rizle saw the brightest smile she had ever seen on her husband’s face.

『Side Story of A Proposal That Was Completely News to Me』 Ends