* * *

Yuelina woke up a little earlier than usual. Theo was still asleep beside her.

She raised her upper body and stared blankly out the window. The scenery outside visible through the gap in the curtains was still dim. It was still dawn.

Huh?

But something fluffy was continuously pouring down between the curtains.

Curious, Yuelina got up and gently pulled them open.

The first snow was falling.

She gazed at the snowy scenery with a serene face.

Yuelina was no longer unfamiliar with the sight of falling snow.

She saw the first snow in her first year in the principality, and at that time, she also saw the eternal snow when she went to the Eye of the Storm.

But whenever it snowed, Yuelina had always been alone or in sad situations.

Perhaps that’s why.

Yuelina’s heart sank low. The snowflakes grew larger and fell heavily until she couldn’t see ahead.

The fortunate thing was that it wasn’t as cold as last year.

“Yuna. Are you awake?”

Just then, Theo, who had woken up, embraced her from behind. Yuelina smiled softly.

“It’s snowing.”

“So it is. Unlike last year, it’s not cold, so I didn’t even realize it was winter.”

Theo kissed Yuelina’s cheek. A subtle and warm fragrance emanated from her small body.

Snow is falling.

It was the second winter they welcomed with Yuelina. And it was also the first day they saw the first snow together.

“It looks like it will pile up quite a bit.”

Theo muttered, looking at the snowflakes that were growing ominously large.

Yuelina turned her head to meet Theo’s gaze.

“The people of the principality must have a hard time when it snows, will they be okay?”

Yuelina’s eyes were full of worry. Last year, she didn’t even know what snow was.

Didn’t she say she wished the snow would come quickly?

Now she worried about the snow coming first.

Theo stroked her cheek and chuckled.

“Unlike last year, it’s not cold. So they’ll be fine.”

“That’s a relief then.”

Yuelina sighed in relief and then stared at the snowy scenery outside again.

The pure white snowflakes made the faint dawn light even brighter.

The sun wasn’t visible in the sky yet. It looked quite romantic, as if only the snowflakes were moving in a quietly frozen picture.

“It’s beautiful.”

It was also the first time she appreciated snow this long and peacefully.

Yuelina was immersed in the scenery while leaning against Theo’s body.

On the other hand, Theo flinched when Yuelina leaned her body against him.

Whenever her warm body temperature, her gently flowing hair touched his skin, he wanted to hold her even tighter despite already embracing her.

“Yes. I never knew it could be this beautiful.”

Theo kissed her nape lightly.

“This is the first snow we’re seeing together.”

This time it was her shoulder. The gown Theo had slightly removed fell to the floor with a thud.

“Theo.”

“Yes.”

“I’m cold.”

“Then shall I hold you tighter?”

Theo lightly held Yuelina’s waist and turned her body around.

Momentarily losing her balance, Yuelina placed her hands on Theo’s shoulders.

“I want to look at the snow.”

“Look at me.”

“I see you too often.”

“……You promised to stay with me when the first snow falls.”

Theo buried his face in Yuelina’s nape as if sulking.

As his hot breath touched her, Yuelina blushed.

“That’s because you hate snow……”

“I still hate snow. It’s insufferable.”

“……”

“So don’t leave me alone. You must never leave me alone. Okay?”

Theo pressed his lips against Yuelina’s and pushed her.

“Ah!”

Under Theo’s force, Yuelina’s body pressed against the window. The coldness of the window sill transferred to her body.

Perhaps because of that, Theo’s mouth, entangled with passion, felt even hotter.

“Do you think the snow will pile up?”

Yuelina asked him, struggling to push away Theo’s lips.

“I think so.”

“Then, we can play in the snow, right?”

Yuelina smiled brightly.

Last year, there were so many incidents that she couldn’t play in the snow with Theo, like having snowball fights or sledding.

“Do you want to?”

“Yes. I think it will be fun.”

“Alright.”

Theo lifted her up and headed towards the bed. Yuelina’s eyes widened.

“Ah, no, Theo! What are you…!”

“You said you wanted to.”

“I, I meant playing in the snow…!”

Theo laid Yuelina on the bed and climbed on top of her. Somehow, Theo wasn’t wearing anything on his upper body.

His well-sculpted body, illuminated by the dawn light, revealed its angry presence unabashedly before her.

“Don’t you want to do this?”

Instead of answering, Yuelina kissed Theo’s finger. As her lips parted slowly like a blooming rose, Theo’s body began to heat up intensely.

* * *

Theo summoned Ulysse, Raye, and Khan to the front of the cabin in the hunting ground.

Not knowing the reason, they suddenly arrived and looked at each other, tilting their heads.

Just then, Theo, who had arrived at the cabin first, opened the door and came outside.

“Your Highness. What is the matter?”

Ulysse asked Theo. Theo sighed heavily and ran his hand through his hair.

“A lot of snow has piled up.”

Theo’s expression was serious. In response, Ulysse’s brow also furrowed.

“Yes. But it will melt in a week. Unlike last year, it’s not very cold.”

“Ulysse is right. Even outside the northern border, the weather is similar to here.”

Khan added to Ulysse’s explanation.

Theo’s shadow, Khan, was in charge of training the knights from the defeated country who couldn’t go to the Kingdom of Esolin among the refugees at the northern border.

“So we need to prepare quickly.”

“Pardon?”

“Because we promised to play in the snow before it melts.”

Theo still had a serious face.

Raye frowned at his incomprehensible answer.

“What does playing in the snow have to do with calling us?”

“We’re starting snow play now.”

“……?”

Theo spoke solemnly with his hands behind his back.

“To be precise, we’re learning how to play in the snow.”

“……Who is?”

“I am.”

The reason Theo had summoned them was because he had never played in the snow before.

He had never had a snowball fight, gone sledding, or even made a snowman.

But Yuelina was full of expectations about playing in the snow.

He couldn’t let others steal the precious time he could spend alone with Yuelina by saying he didn’t know how to do it.

So Theo decided to learn snow play in advance. He planned to master it skillfully to make Yuelina happy.

“You’re learning how to play in the snow? You just do it.”

Raye asked with a dumbfounded face.

“Between Yuelina and me, at least one of us should know.”

“No, that’s what Maelyn or……”

“We’ll be alone.”

Theo answered firmly. Raye clicked her tongue.

To think he would even try to learn how to play in the snow to have a secret and sweet time with his wife.

But his effort was admirable, so she couldn’t grumble anymore.

“Yes! Then let’s start playing in the snow!”

Theo had already made up his mind. Ulysse knew well that there was no way in the world to dissuade his lord once he had decided.

So he had to finish the snow play quickly and go deal with the backlog of work.

Ulysse began to pack the snow enthusiastically.

“Shall we start with a snowball fight first?”

Ulysse held up a round packed snowball and raised his arm high towards Theo.

But he flinched and turned his head at Theo’s cold gaze.

This is really troublesome!

Next to him was Khan, who showed expertise in swordsmanship and stealth, and on the other side was Raye, who had received a knighthood through sheer grit and toughness.

Ulysse made a tearful face.

* * *

Yuelina wore a thick coat and headed to the cabin.

The field covered in pure white snow sparkled like jewels in the sunlight. It was a breathtakingly beautiful scenery.

Yuelina walked through the snow towards the cabin where Theo was standing.

After spotting Yuelina, Theo strode towards her.

He immediately knelt down and brushed off the snow that had gotten on the hem of her dress.

“Weren’t you cold?”

“It’s rather warm, you know?”

“That’s a relief.”

“What should we do first? A snowball fight? No! Shall we go sledding?”

Theo looked at Yuelina, who was chirping like a crow-tit with an excited face.

Her fair cheeks had reddened a bit from the wind, making his wife look even more adorable today.

So he couldn’t do snowball fights or sledding.

Theo recalled the snow play of his subordinates from the morning.

Ulysse ended up with a nosebleed during the snowball fight. It was because Raye, who had been hit by Ulysse’s snowball, got enraged and threw snow continuously at close range.

Moreover, the snow Khan threw was like a rock.

He packed the snow so large that whenever the snowball hit a tree or the ground, it made a loud thud.

Sledding wasn’t much different.

Ulysse, Raye, and Khan used sacks as sleds and repeatedly climbed up and slid down a low hill.

Bored with the slow speed, they climbed higher hills, and to slide down faster, they even cut the sacks and took off their clothes to reduce friction as much as possible.

In the end, Khan couldn’t handle the speed and hit a tree, passing out. Ulysse hurriedly carried him on his back and ran to the mansion.

Snowball fights lead to nosebleeds, and sledding leads to fainting.

Theo couldn’t let Yuelina engage in such dangerous activities.

“Let’s make a snowman.”

Theo decided to make a snowman with Yuelina based on Raye’s advice.

Unaware of the morning’s accidents, Yuelina nodded brightly with an innocent face.

“That sounds good too!”

Theo and Yuelina put on gloves and began to pack and roll the snow around the cabin.

Yuelina enjoyed watching the round snowball grow larger as she rolled it.

Before she knew it, the snowball had grown as big as her head. Yuelina, who had been focused on rolling the snowball, stood up and looked around.

“Theo—! I’ve already made it this big……”

Yuelina couldn’t continue her words. While Yuelina was rolling a snowball the size of her head, Theo was already rolling a snowball larger than Yuelina’s body.

Theo indifferently looked at the small snowball Yuelina was holding, about the size of a small ball.

“……That will be the head.”

“Yes. And what you made will be the body.”

The snowman they made had a head that was too small and a body that was too large.

Theo and Yuelina looked at each other and burst into laughter.

Then Theo took out a blue button and a pink button from his pocket and made the snowman’s eyes.

Yuelina made the nose with a carrot she had brought and the lips with twigs.

“It looks quite like a snowman.”

“The eyes are blue and pink?”

“Because it’s our snowman. I thought it would be nice to have our characteristics.”

Yuelina took off her gloves and held Theo’s hand.

“What shall we name it?”

“You name snowmen too?”

At Theo’s words, Yuelina lowered her gaze.

“No, our child.”

“……What did you say?”

“The name of our child who will be born in winter…… what should we name it?”

Theo hugged Yuelina tightly. She felt the tip of her nose tingle for no reason.

“Really, really? Do we really have a child, we have a child?”

“Yes. I confirmed it this morning. It’s still a bit early to decide on a name……”

“Aster for a boy. Florence for a girl.”

Yuelina smiled sweetly at Theo’s unhesitating answer.

It was a winter that was no longer insufferable or hated.