We welcomed the first day of what they called the great snowfall with the grand duchy closed off.

The first day passed quietly, and from the second day, silent heavy snow began to fall, followed by a snowstorm at night.

When I woke up the next morning, the snow had piled up to my waist.

“It really could pile up to a person’s height. The roads have melted, creating waist-high snow walls.”

“Ah, I want to see it too.”

Everything around me was green, so I couldn’t really feel that it was winter.

Love placed apples for Rugi the pig beside me.

When we first received him, they said he was a piglet, but he had grown so much—reaching up to my knees—that he sometimes frightened me.

“Ask His Grace.”

“Do you think he’ll agree?”

“If you earnestly wish for it, he will. After all, you’re the most powerful person in this grand duchy, Miss.”

I just smiled.

The servants would immediately stand at attention and prepare whatever I mentioned, and at the top of that chain was Kaien.

When I muttered to myself in the morning about wanting freshly baked bread from a bakery near the viscount’s residence, that exact bread appeared on the table that evening.

I was amazed when I tried it but then froze.

Because it was exactly the bread from that bakery I had wanted.

I didn’t dare ask if they had really brought it from the capital.

After that, I never made such comments, even in jest.

“Miss, he’s here.”

Just as Love informed me, Kaien entered the spring greenhouse.

There are three greenhouses in the grand duchy. One is the hot spring greenhouse, another is this pleasantly comfortable spring greenhouse where I am now, and the last is the summer greenhouse where swimming is possible.

After confirming my pregnancy through a doctor’s examination, I was moved to a different room.

A smaller first-floor room than my previous bedroom.

Stepping out of the room led directly to the spring greenhouse, and walking a bit further brought you to the hot spring greenhouse.

They had moved me to minimize my movement, reduce the effort of going up and down stairs, and prevent me from feeling confined.

It was a room carefully designed to prevent me from catching a cold due to temperature differences or slipping while walking around.

Kaien sat down beside me and tucked a strand of hair that had fallen forward.

“What were you doing?”

“Feeding Rugi. He’s grown a lot, hasn’t he?”

“Ah, a pig is still a pig.”

Kaien didn’t even glance at Rugi the pig and only looked at me.

‘So, so dazzling.’

Kaien’s beauty ripened more with each passing day.

When he looked at me, his eyes sparkled as he smiled with boundless love, and each time, waves of happiness radiated through my entire body.

Surely the servants and retainers must be accustomed to Kaien’s appearance, yet I often caught them staring at him in a daze as well.

“Did you bring him?”

“Do you really need to hear this now? Aren’t you tired?”

“What would I be tired from? Hurry and bring him.”

After hearing our conversation, Love brought Aaron.

This seemed to be his first time in the greenhouse, as his eyes widened while looking around before spotting Kaien and shrinking his shoulders.

He still feared him.

“C-congratulations, Grand Duchess.”

“Thank you, Aaron. Are you getting along well with the Marker brothers?”

Aaron had become an errand boy and apprentice to the Marker brothers.

After hearing about his constitution, the Marker brothers had eagerly volunteered to help him, and Aaron, not wanting to burden Roland, had chosen them.

“They treat me well but……”

“Yes?”

“Learning is fun. It’s fascinating, and they say knowing magic helps earn good money, so I’m learning, but……”

Aaron hesitated, looking around before whispering so Kaien wouldn’t hear.

“They’re not right in the head.”

“What?”

“They’re adults but they’re strange. They’re immature. They have no sense of responsibility and never put things back in their place after using them. And if I clean up after them, they yell and complain—a six-year-old would understand better than they do. They really need so much looking after.”

He poured out his accumulated complaints as if he’d been waiting for this moment.

Even though “all this time” had only been a few days, he had accumulated quite a lot.

“R-really?”

I only visit the laboratory occasionally.

Aaron, who sticks close to them, would have a different experience.

“Should I switch you to someone else? A doctor or an administrator perhaps?”

“N-no. They’re all the same anyway, so I’ll stay where I am. ……The food is good there.”

“I see, then.”

He still said things that contradicted what he truly felt.

A large man in a black robe pulled down so low his face couldn’t be seen slowly entered and sat some distance away from us.

Aaron tensed up when he saw the man, as I had explained why I’d called him.

Kaien looked at the black-robed man with displeasure but didn’t say anything.

[I am a reclusive mage who has lived for a very long time. Do not attempt to learn my name.]

When the rough voice emerged from the robed man, Aaron flinched and moved closer to me.

I patted his shoulder to calm him down.

‘No one introduces themselves as a “very long-lived reclusive” mage.’

My lips itched to say this, but I held back.

“I-I’m Aaron.”

[Yes.]

Kaien urged the conversation forward.

“You know why the demonic beasts don’t attack?”

[With my ancient wisdom and insight, I recognized it immediately. No one but me could know this. Such beings no longer appear and are extremely rare. Long ago, before Ingmier founded the kingdom, I, the Black—]

“Ah! Snacks!”

I called out urgently.

How much was he planning to reveal!

“Since you can’t eat here, I’ll pack some snacks for you to take when you leave. I think you’ll like the sticky chocolate fudge cake.”

[Yes, you’re indeed a much better Grand Duchess than that ill-mannered and rude Grand Duke.]

When Kaien glared at him, the robed man’s shoulders trembled.

“I apologize for interrupting. So, what kind of being is Aaron?”

“Am I really cursed, which is why demonic beasts don’t attack me?”

Aaron clasped his small hands together and asked desperately.

[From a human perspective, demonic beasts are ominous and dangerous creatures. From that pig’s perspective, you humans who sl*ughter pigs are such beings. Anyway, from a god’s viewpoint, all are the same—just living beings, nothing more.]

“Then, then what am I?”

[You’re a spirit mage.]

“A spirit mage?”

[A being closest to and most harmonious with nature.]

I had heard about this at the academy.

Someone who commands fairy-like beings.

As if reading my thoughts, the robed man continued his explanation.

[Humans think they command spirits, but reaching that level requires greater power and effort. In your case, you’re a seed—a seed with potential.]

“So am I something like a mage?”

[From a human perspective, in that you can do things ordinary people cannot, yes, you’re similar to a mage.]

“If I become such a person, will people stop bullying me?”

[Even if you become such a person, those who want to bully you will still do so.]

“Can I be helpful to people?”

That was an unexpected question.

Despite being persecuted and discriminated against, with many bad memories, he wanted to help people.

[You can help people even without such power.]

The robed man continued to speak in general terms, but it seemed to comfort Aaron, whose eyes welled up with tears.

“Th-thank you.”

[I haven’t done anything for you.]

“You told me I’m not…cursed. Thank you.”

The robed man fell silent.

“Continue learning from the Marker brothers, Aaron.”

“Yes, thank you, Grand Duchess.”

“You’re thanking me too?”

“I heard that you were the one who first suggested rescuing me.”

That was something only Kaien should have known.

Kaien simply smiled.

“You gave me a chance, Grand Duchess. I’ll try hard not to disappoint you.”

Without realizing it, I spoke formally. I began treating Aaron not as a child, but as an adult, as a person in his own right.

“Live for yourself, not for me. That’s enough.”

“Thank you.”

Aaron bowed deeply and left the greenhouse, leaving just me, Kaien, and the robed man.

The man solemnly demanded,

[Now, bring me that chocolate fudge cake for this great mage.]

“You already ate some during the day.”

[No matter how much I eat, I still want more.]

“Helbaitz, can I take this off now? I’m dying of heat.”

Ransel removed the black robe. His face was flushed red, likely from the heat in the greenhouse.

“Did we really need to go this far? The Grand Duchess could have told Aaron later.”

“If we had done that, Aaron would have thought it was adult sympathy and wouldn’t have believed it.”

[Humans are complicated.]

When Helbaitz first offered to explain, I didn’t listen, so he got upset and ended up putting on this performance.

“Is Ivy a spirit mage too?”

“But animals don’t follow Aaron?”

[It’s a difference in power. If that small human had been in the cave of the storehouse, he wouldn’t have been able to make all the demonic beasts kneel like you did.]

After hearing the explanation, one corner of Kaien’s lips curled up in a mocking smile.

“You said you didn’t know before, but now you claim to know?”

[Because another person appeared. In Ivy’s case, the scope was so vast it was confusing, but seeing Aaron made it clear.]

“So do I need to learn how to become a spirit mage now?”

“Is there such a method? Isn’t this something that only exists in documents?”

[I’ve only seen one since Ingmier’s founding. That was in the early days of the kingdom, so they probably don’t exist anymore. If they do—]

Helbaitz’s eyes, which had been teasing Rugi the pig with an apple, turned toward me.

[Ivy and that child would be the only ones in this grand duchy.]

Two rare spirit mages in one grand duchy.

What kind of ripples would it create if this were announced?

Would people desire them for their rarity, or would they drive them away as ominous because they couldn’t possess such abilities themselves?

“I would hide the spirit mage qualities even if I had them. Just look at Aaron’s case.”

“That’s right. People fear what is different from themselves.”

Kaien, who had been lost in thought, examined me.

‘I’m fine. You’ll protect me.’

My smile seemed sufficient, as Kaien’s eyes crinkled in response.

Suddenly, Ransel asked,

“But what can a spirit mage do?”

[If they learn to handle their power well, they can command beings influenced by that power.]

“……Demonic beasts?”

“Huh?”

“Command demonic beasts?”

I can command demonic beasts?

Squeal!

[Ouch! How dare you bite me!]

Annoyed by Helbaitz’s teasing, Rugi the pig bit his leg. As Helbaitz flapped his wings and hit him, Rugi ran away to another part of the greenhouse.

[This insolent pig! How dare a mere livestock bite this magnificent body!]

“H-Helbaitz! Is your leg, is your leg alright?”

In an instant, the quiet greenhouse became chaotic.

While I watched them in surprise, Kaien slipped his arm under my knees and picked me up.

“Let’s go to the quiet bedroom. This isn’t a good environment for you. Whether it’s pigs or birds.”

Didn’t we just hear something incredible?

That with effort, I could become a spirit mage capable of controlling demonic beasts.

But to Kaien, I was more important than any truth, and he kissed my cheek as if nothing had happened.

He was happy just being together.

His lips, which touched my cheek, slowly moved down along the corner of my mouth and settled on my lips.

Swept up in the sweetness, I wrapped my arms around his neck.

What else will happen in the future?

Whatever choices I make, nothing could be more significant than my choice to pick the villain.

My ex-boyfriend was a villain, but now he’s my husband who loves me more than anyone else in the world.