Six years later.

In the northern mountain range, the ancient White Dragon was said to have once lived.

It was a place where blizzards raged and monsters swarmed all year round, making it impossible for humans to survive.

Yet every year, someone would venture there.

The Duke of the North, Kylance Seyerd.

As always, Kylance arrived before winter to hunt down the monsters, accompanied by a small, elite group of knights.

Swish–

Green blood splattered across the pure white snow. But that was just the beginning.

The figure, cloaked in thick robes, decapitated an orc and then charged swiftly towards the orc horde.

“RAAAH!!”

He shouted as he swung his sword at the charging orcs.

“Ugh!”

“Ugh!”

His sword did not miss, and in an instant the snowfield was littered with orc corpses.

Instinctively frightened by his overwhelming strength, the last orc turned to flee, but its head was quickly severed with a sharp *swish* before Kylance lowered his sword.

Without a word, he looked indifferently at the blood-soaked snow and the scattered corpses, then flicked the thick blood from his blade.

At that moment, the elite knights of the Seyerd family emerged from the forest, fully armed.

The first to arrive, Deryl, saw the fallen bodies and called out to his lord, Kylance, as he removed the hood from his robe.

“Your Majesty.”

“You arrived sooner than I expected.”

Derrl furrowed his brow at Kylance’s calm words.

“Your Majesty, wouldn’t it be better if you came with us from now on? If you continue to face these monster hordes alone, you might get seriously injured again…”

“It was only this one time. The first time I went on a monster hunt with the restraints and I was with you.”

Deryl’s face tightened at the memory of that terrible time when he couldn’t protect his master. But Kylance, sensing his unease, gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

“I do not blame you. I was hurt that day because of my own mistake.”

“…”

“And since I’ve gotten used to the restraints, I haven’t gotten a single scratch. So there’s no need to worry unnecessarily.”

“…Still, you have to be careful. At least until the restraints are off.”

Kylance, noticing the dark look in Deryl’s eyes as he looked at the restraints, slipped his arm under his robe.

Deryl collected himself before asking Kylance.

“Are you going further up?”

“Yes.”

Kylance replied without hesitation, but Deryl hesitated. It had been more than two weeks since they had set out on the monster hunt.

The principle was that the hunt on the snow-covered mountains, with its freezing cold and lurking monsters, should be completed within a week.

After a week, even the strongest knights were exhausted.

But for six years, Kylance had never returned from a week’s hunt. Only when his body had reached its limit did he descend from the mountains.

The time he spent in the mountains had gradually increased, and during that time Kylance always faced the hordes of monsters alone.

“Take the leather and the magic stones and follow slowly.”

It wasn’t that he faced the monsters alone because he was worried about his subordinates – Deryl and the knights were still in top condition.

“…Be careful.”

Although Deryl wanted to ask him to go with him, he could only give the same advice, unable to stop him from going on alone.

Deryl understood why Kylance hunted the monsters so relentlessly on the snow-covered mountains.

In those moments when he was tense on the mountain, he could forget about Lady Blante.

It wasn’t that he was trapped in the north, suffocating from the cold. It was that no matter how much time passed, he couldn’t forget someone, and he pushed himself to the limit to escape that maddening longing.

He did it to get a brief respite from the overwhelming desire.

Kylance smiled bitterly as he watched Deryl retreat.

Perhaps it would be quicker to rid the mountains of these monsters than to forget her.

The longer he stayed on the snow-covered mountains, the deeper his longing for Ariel grew.

Would I ever see you again before I die?

Have you forgotten me completely?

Even though he told himself that she should live happily and forget him, every now and then this heavy feeling would press down on his heart.

And the lingering hope that she hadn’t forgotten him always wished for a miracle.

A miracle of seeing Ariel again, of having a future with her.

But… such a miracle was too far away for him. His longing had never been fulfilled, not even once.

As if to hide his dark gaze, Kylance closed his eyes and tightened his grip. At the same time he felt the bonds on his wrists.

This is my reality.

Kylance opened his eyes and patted Deryl’s shoulder, which had sagged with worry.

“I’ll be careful.”

Just as he was about to turn towards the deep forest of the snow-covered mountains, the communication device in his ear crackled to life.

The moment Kylance activated it, Lowell’s urgent voice from the Duke’s residence echoed in his ear.

“Your Majesty… Your Majesty!”

“Lowell, what’s going on?”

As soon as Kylance stopped at the unusual urgency in Lowell’s voice, a name he desperately longed for reached his ears.

“Marquis Blante has arrived at the Duke’s residence! She’s here to meet His Majesty.”

“Marquis Blante… has arrived?”

Kylance repeated the words slowly, wondering if he was losing his mind.

But Lowell’s excited voice broke the silence, echoing loudly in his ear.

“Yes, Your Majesty! She’s waiting to bring you the Emperor’s message.”

It wasn’t a hallucination – it was real.

It didn’t matter if it was the Emperor’s message or anything else. What mattered was that she was there.

He had thought he would never see her again.

“I’m going back to the castle.”

Clutching his trembling hands, Kylance began to ride towards the Duke’s residence, not the snow-covered mountains, at such a speed that the cold wind froze his cheeks.

* * *

“The winter of the north freezes everything, but there is one place that never freezes.”

“The glass greenhouse my mother built. It’s always warm in there, as if the sun never sets, just like you.”

“Before I met you, this was the only place I had to rest. Maybe that’s why when I go up north, the first place I want to show you is this greenhouse. I’m sure you’ll like it.”

“My dream is to see the sunlight there with you.”

Ariel opened the door to the glass greenhouse, recalling long-forgotten memories.

As soon as she did, a warm breeze greeted her, as if it had been waiting for her.

“Really… this place hasn’t frozen.”

Ariel walked slowly along the rose garden path. Eventually she stopped in front of the central fountain of the greenhouse.

Clear water flowed from the fountain, and a beautiful statue of a woman stood in the middle.

Ariel knew who the woman was.

Letia Seyerd, Kylance’s mother.

Duke Seyerd had personally created the statue to accompany the glass greenhouse as a gift for the Duchess.

As she gazed at the statue with clear eyes, free from old emotions, the sound of a creaking door broke the silence.

Without turning her head, Ariel spoke

“The Emperor has decided to pass the throne to the Crown Prince. And he gave me this key. He said it’s the key to unlock the restraints.”

Ariel looked down at the key in her hand and continued speaking softly.

“The Emperor also gave me authority over the restraints. He told me to do what I wanted, for ten years or twenty, as long as it was what I thought was right.”

Ariel smiled softly as she remembered the Emperor’s calm face.

“Actually, His Majesty knew all along. He knew that I… couldn’t forget Kylance. That I was waiting for the chance to meet him again.”

The sound of footsteps approaching her grew louder.

“That’s why he gave me the key, pretending to be helpless. But it only made me wonder if it was right, if we could really be happy together.”

“……”

“Then I suddenly remembered this place. When I heard about it… I really wanted to see it.

Finally the footsteps stopped behind her.

“So I came here with the ridiculous excuse that I only wanted to visit the greenhouse and not Kylance. But… it’s even warmer and more beautiful than I expected, so now I can’t deny it anymore.”

At that moment, an unforgettable voice called out to her.

“…Ariel.”

Ariel’s green eyes trembled slightly as she thought it was Lowell. But soon she grabbed the key in her hand and slowly turned around.

And then she met his dark eyes.

He let out a soft, breathless sound and approached her with slow, deliberate steps.

“Truly, it is you… isn’t it?”

With each word, spoken with difficulty, as if his throat were tight, he reached out a hand to her.

His cold hand touched her cheek.

In an instant, memories of their reunion six years ago flooded back. Kylance had looked at her with the same desperate, longing gaze.

He hadn’t changed. He still loved her.

But… she had changed since that day. Ariel didn’t push him away. Instead, she slowly took the hand that touched her cheek.

Kylance’s eyes flickered with an expression of disbelief, as if he couldn’t believe this moment was real.

Ariel looked at him with unwavering eyes. She could no longer deny it.

“You were right.”

Ariel released the restraints around his wrist.

Clang – the sound of cold metal hitting the ground echoed through the greenhouse. Ariel wrapped her hands gently around his wounded wrists as she spoke.

“I like it here. I don’t want to leave.”

“…!”

“Then answer me, Kylance. Can we be happy here?”

Tears finally fell from Kylance’s reddened eyes.

Slowly, Kylance pulled Ariel into his embrace, finally expressing the feelings he had suppressed for so long, the emotions he had desperately wanted to share.

“I will never make you cry again. I will dedicate the rest of my life… to living for you.”

He would never lose his miracle, Ariel, again.

“Ariel… I love you.”

The pounding of his heart, as if it might burst, was fully conveyed to Ariel.

She felt his shoulder grow damp as she slowly placed her hand on his back.

“I… love you too.”

At that moment the two of them, surrounded by the only warmth in the northern lands that never froze, took a cautious step towards each other.

The wounds of the past, the pain, would never be erased.

They knew that the past could still haunt them in the years to come. But they would face it together.

To be happy.

***The End***