The promised two hours had passed.

When Yuri returned to the party venue with the coachman, they were met with a rather strange sight upon arriving at the Countess’s estate.

‘Didn’t His Grace say he wouldn’t be attending the party?’

She was sure that was how she remembered it. And yet there he was, standing far too close to Madame.

Fearing that her face might be recognized, Madam was completely concealed behind her mask. His Grace, on the other hand, had his own mask—now thoroughly rumpled—perched on top of his head.

There was something else that struck Yuri as strange, too.

His Grace was known for his adherence to decorum at social gatherings; no matter how stifling the heat, he never removed his outer coat. Yet now, he had taken it off and draped it around the lady’s shoulders, wrapping her tightly as though tucking a blanket up to her neck in winter.

When Yuri saw the lady suddenly lift a hand to cover her neck and noticed how swollen her lips appeared beneath the edge of her mask, she could guess what had led to this situation.

“Did you enjoy the party? We should be heading back now.”

Yuri was a perceptive servant, wise enough to know that sometimes a servant’s greatest virtue was to notice that something was amiss without asking about it.

Without a word, she therefore guided the Grand Duke and Duchess to their carriage and followed them.

From the night of Countess Salome’s party onwards, a subtle change had swept through the grand ducal castle — a peculiar breeze that was difficult to name.

Although spring had not yet arrived, the air felt sweet and fresh, as if flowers were blooming everywhere and a gentle spring breeze had settled over the estate.

The source of that spring breeze was none other than the Grand Duke and Duchess themselves.

“I made a saucer for the teacup you use, Your Grace.”

“It must have taken quite some time. Don’t make things like this anymore.”

“D–do you not like it…?”

When Selina looked on the verge of tears, Calix turned pale and hurried to respond.

“No, of course that’s not it. I’m just saying this because it must have been tiring for you. You’re not fully recovered yet…”

The servants later whispered that they had never seen the Grand Duke so flustered in front of anyone.

After the lady gave him the teacup saucer, he began drinking tea three times a day.

He didn’t use the saucer, though.

Instead, he kept it beside him as though it were a precious ornament, gazing at it each time he drank tea.

An even more noticeable change followed soon after.

“Is it uncomfortable for you to share a room with me?”

It was Calix himself who proposed that he and Selina start sharing a bed.

The maid who delivered the news added that she had moved some of the lady of the house’s belongings into his room that night.

While such an arrangement would have been perfectly normal for nobles, the two of them had lived in separate rooms the entire time despite being married.

This is why everyone was surprised when they suddenly started sharing a bed. And yet, there was something even more astonishing.

“Strange sounds can be heard every night. Heehee.”

Yuri, the maid who attended Selina most closely, covered her mouth with a knowing smile. And those “strange sounds” she spoke of were not limited to the night—they could often be heard in the mornings as well.

“C–Calix. Please stop… ah.”

In fact, that morning, Calix had been teasing Selina, clearly amused by the soft, peculiar sounds escaping from her lips.

When she gently pushed him away and asked him to stop, he lifted his head and looked up at her.

“Don’t you like it?”

His expression stirred something unexpectedly tender, like that of a rain-soaked cat, and she found herself unable to refuse him outright. The moment she hesitated, he seized his chance and leaned towards her once more.

“W–wait. Just a moment—”

She almost fell into his rhythm once more, but this time she managed to regain her composure. This had been happening a lot lately, making it difficult to have any proper conversations.

“Y–you had something you wanted to say, didn’t you?”

She only spoke after she had finally pushed Calix away.

He had been preparing to leave the Grand Ducal Castle for several days. When she asked him about it, he merely said he would tell her soon and evaded the question. Last night, however, he seemed ready to speak, and she was filled with anticipation at the prospect.

But her plan to have a serious conversation came to nothing. He had been far too busy teasing Selina to bring up the subject.

“Please, tell me now.”

She couldn’t allow herself to fall into the same pattern again. Deliberately widening her eyes, Selina spoke as though issuing a warning, unaware that she looked nothing short of adorable to him.

“It’s nothing important.”

“But it’s something I should know, isn’t it?”

With a reluctant expression, Calix finally answered.

“I think I’ll need to be away for about half a month.”

“…What? Half a month?”

For something he dismissed as ‘nothing important’, it was far too significant. Since they arrived in Thalia, they had sometimes avoided each other, but had never been apart before. Flustered, Selina asked him.

“Is something bad happening? If you’re leaving to deal with some dangerous matter, then—”

“Perhaps you could say it’s something bad on a national level.”

A national matter?

Hearing Calix use that word left her completely stunned. If the situation was that serious, why had he only mentioned it now?

“Is there anything I can help with? If there’s something I can do, I’ll do anything.”

“Unfortunately, there’s nothing you can help with.”

Calix pulled Selina into his arms and gently smoothed her hair.

“It’s more like an annual event in Thalia.”

“What? B–but you just said it was a national problem…”

“That’s right.”

He curved his eyes and smiled brightly.

“Because I won’t be able to see you due to Thalia’s annual event, doesn’t that make it a national problem?”

She felt as though she had been tricked again. Whenever she spoke to him, she always ended up being led around by the nose. Today, however, that feeling was particularly intense.

“Th–then… please be careful and come back safely!”

She pushed Calix away slightly and pouted. He watched her, chuckling softly, as he finally explained the real reason he had to leave.

“It’s because of the Day of the North Wind.”

“The Day of the North Wind…?”

It was the first time she had ever heard of it. Just the name conjured up images of the bitter cold of midwinter. Yet the weather was anything but cold; it was warm, almost oppressively so. Although it was only the start of late summer, the sun was burning fiercely.

A festival called the Day of the North Wind seemed out of place.

“In Thalia, there’s a myth commemorating the foolish gods who once shared a paltry love.”

And then, Calix began to tell her the story of the Day of the North Wind.

【Long, long ago—】

In Thalia, the supreme deity who protected the land was the sun god Dies. Endowed with immense power, he made it difficult for anyone to threaten Thalia.

Then one god became jealous of him: Frigus, the god of winter.

To kill Dies, Frigus chose to use his daughter, the moon goddess Yana. Blessed with breathtaking beauty, Yana seduced the sun god and the two soon became deeply entangled. As Dies’s lover, Yana eventually discovered his weakness.

At the end of summer, the sun would fall into a deep slumber, greatly weakening its power. Yana revealed this secret to Frigus, who struck under the cover of night, slashing Dies’s throat.

Yet even with his throat cut, Dies did not die. Bleeding, he fled, and for fifteen days, red rain fell upon the world.

When those fifteen days had passed, Dies returned and beheaded Frigus. As for Yana, Dies’s former lover, Dies imprisoned her in an underground dungeon, condemning her to a life without ever seeing the sun again.

Unable to forget the lover who had tried to kill him, Dies spent those same fifteen days wandering near the underground prison where Yana was held.

With the Sun God absent from his throne, Thalia was plunged into a merciless cold for fifteen days.

“A foolish god. Unable to kill the lover who betrayed him, he ended up failing to protect what he truly should have.”

But to Selina, the story he told was more than just a myth.

Perhaps this was because she found herself in a similar position to Yana, the Moon Goddess who had been the Sun God’s lover. Selina did not know why Yana had agreed to Frigus’s request, but she ultimately betrayed Dies by revealing his weakness to her father.

‘…I would never do that.’

Selina bit down hard on her lip.

Even if her story had been the same as Yana’s and she were to die from a lack of an antidote someday, she would never reveal Calix’s weakness. In fact, she almost felt grateful that she did not yet know what it was.

“Once Thalia’s summer ends, fifteen days of severe cold will begin. During that time, monsters will swarm the borders. They grow especially powerful then, so I have to go myself.”

“That’s why you’ll be leaving.”

“Yes. That’s right.”

He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.

“I might miss you enough to die while I’m gone.”

“D–don’t say things like that!”

At the word die, Selina’s face drained of color.

Knock, knock, knock!

An urgent pounding came at their door.

“It’s Lily, Your Grace.”

It was rare for Lady Lily to visit so early in the morning. Just as they were about to let her in, puzzled—

“M–Marquis Bryson Ilios Axel from the Empire, along with Commander Waldemar, have arrived.”

The news that followed was like a bolt of lightning shattering their peaceful morning.