I went out to see Father off. 

 “It seems there’s no one proper here. Whether they’re taking after the Grand Duke, or haven’t learned the basics……” 

 “The North has suffered much loss because of Isabelle. Everyone’s too busy, so please be understanding.” 

 “……” 

 Father frowned at those who didn’t come out except for me. It was natural. 

 When he came before, no one knew about my power, but now things were different. 

 If he noticed I had help from some animal friends, Father would immediately suspect my abilities. 

 It would seem strange that I hadn’t manifested any abilities despite having golden eyes like his. 

 “By the way, is it alright to leave the divine beast alone?” 

 “You needn’t worry about that child. It’s bound so it can’t even think of anything else.” 

 “I see. What about the escaped divine beast?” 

 “We’ll find it soon, don’t worry. I didn’t know you were interested in divine beasts.” 

 “Well, it might cause you to keep coming to the North.” 

 It meant I hate seeing you, so don’t come. Since I didn’t know what he might do to Cedric, it would be better if we avoided crossing paths. 

 I smiled slightly at the dragon who was staring at me. 

 ‘You must be having a hard time too. Seems you’re properly bound.’ 

 The dragon narrowed its eyes while exhaling steam. It must have read my true feelings. 

 “Krung.” (Abilities…… no way.) 

 “Father, I’m curious about the divine beast, may I touch it? I’m so excited to meet a divine beast, despite my status.” 

 Father didn’t answer. Taking it as approval, I approached the dragon. 

 ‘Just endure a little longer. It seems Father is trying to move you all somewhere else.’ 

 “……Krung.” (Somewhere else?) 

 I nodded while carefully stroking its face. 

 ‘Yes. Somewhere else. Probably somewhere you can’t escape from. Like the sea, for instance.’ 

 The dragon’s pupils narrowed vertically. Judging by its hot breath, it must be quite agitated. 

 ‘Calm down. You can’t escape as long as you’re bound anyway.’ 

 This would be torture of hope, so this was all I could tell it. I didn’t know how to break the binding. 

 Still, it would be better to know where they would be moved to. 

 ‘I’ll come find you. I promise.’ 

 Seeing the dragon’s sad face, I smiled lightly and said to Father. 

 “The snow seems to have lessened compared to earlier. Strangely……” 

 “Indeed. I hope nothing has happened to Isabelle.” 

 “Surely not. Are you searching in Belodna as well?” 

 “Yes, but somehow she can’t be found.” 

 If my guess is right, Isabelle would be in the North. Though Father doesn’t seem to think she would come here, it was simple if you thought about it. 

 She wanted Cedric, so she would have come to where he was, nothing more to it. 

 “You should leave now.” 

 “I hope you won’t disappoint me anymore.” 

 “Don’t worry, what you want will be at the Imperial Palace.” 

 Father immediately got into the carriage. Only after confirming it disappeared into the snow did I head back into the mansion. 

 ❖ ❖ ❖ 

 Thud, thud. 

 The sound of shoveling didn’t stop. Pure white snow flew through the air with Sir Kaven’s shovel. 

 “Sir Kaven, let me help dig.” 

 “Your Highness. Please go inside. You’ll catch a cold.” 

 “I’m fine. The snow seems to have stopped anyway.” 

 “……Now that you mention it, the snow suddenly stopped.” 

 I nodded. I had sent a hawk during a brief pause in the snowfall, and it seems that hawk finally found Cedric. 

 When the blizzard isn’t strong, visibility would improve that much. Fortunately, it seems the letter was delivered to Isabelle. 

 “His Highness the Grand Duke will be here soon, so we should warm up the mansion with magic stones.” 

 “What?” 

 “My friend is flying over there.” 

 I spoke while looking at the hawk flying toward the mansion. Sir Kaven and the knights looked up at the sky. 

 “Oh! A hawk! It’s Her Highness’s friend!” 

 “A bird! A hawk is coming! Welcome the friend!” 

 At the knights’ shouts pointing out the bird as my friend, everyone scrambled to prepare for Cedric’s arrival. 

 “Quick, tell the butler! His Highness the Grand Duke is coming!” 

 “Shouldn’t we go out to meet him?” 

 The knights exchanged excited conversations. I went inside to get a warm coat. 

 Though I didn’t show it, I was anxious. We’d been apart for almost four days after all. 

 I hoped he wasn’t with Isabelle, but seeing how the snow stopped and the hawk found Cedric, it seemed they were together. 

 ‘It’s okay. There’s nothing to worry about.’ 

 Even if I was uneasy, it wasn’t unfounded. But there shouldn’t be any problems. Only Zeno being with them worried me. 

 ‘What if they noticed it was a divine beast?’ 

 If she discovers what my ability is, she might tell Father. In this situation, I needed to make her my ally. 

 That would be the most ideal solution. 

 Soon I could see Isabelle on Zeno’s back and Cedric standing beside them. 

 I ran straight to him. 

 “Your Highness! You’ll fall!” 

 Alita called urgently from behind, but I didn’t stop. 

 Though I was out of breath, I kept running. Seeing his blurry face grew clearer as I got closer, it felt real. 

 Cedric soon stood before me. Black hair contrasting with the white snow, and still dazzlingly cold blue eyes. 

 Nothing had changed. It was only four days, yet why did it feel like we’d been apart for so long? 

 Perhaps it was because of the thought that he might have been with Isabelle. 

 Knowing the original story, I was anxious. I didn’t know how things might change, for what reason or situation. 

 Cedric’s eyes widened at our meeting gaze. 

 He reached out and grabbed my arm. 

 “Your Gra……” 

 As I fell into his embrace when he pulled me in, I blinked. 

 “Wife, I’m back.” 

 Hearing those casually spoken words, my anxious heart melted like snow. 

 We stared at each other, quickly checking each other’s bodies with our eyes. Fortunately, there didn’t seem to be any injuries. 

 “Wooooooof.” (Master, please get this heavy woman off first.) 

 At Zeno’s cry, I tilted my head slightly and saw Isabelle sitting on his back. 

 I felt somewhat satisfied seeing her visibly gaunt face. How many people had suffered because of her alone. 

 “So you came too.” 

 “Yes, I received your letter, sister. Did Father really agree to cancel the marriage?” 

 “Yes. It’s hard to believe, but it’s true.” 

 “It better not be a lie. That would cause trouble for His Highness.” 

 I nodded. The knights came running to welcome Cedric. 

 “Your Highness! Are you alright?!” 

 “That witch…! Ah, never mind.” 

 The knights seemed quite flustered, probably not expecting Cedric to be with Isabelle. 

 I took Cedric’s hand and said,

 “First, we need to warm you up. You’re as cold as ice.” 

 “Kiiing, kiing. Kiiiiiing.” (Master, warm me up too. You don’t know how much that crazy guy made me run through the snow.) 

 As soon as Isabelle got off his back, Zeno came straight to me and rubbed his face against me. I gently pushed Zeno away with my knee. 

 ‘What are you doing acting friendly here? They’ll think it’s strange enough as it is.’ 

 “Wooooooo!” (They can’t take me to the Imperial Palace anyway. The princess’s heart has turned away from the Emperor.) 

 That made sense. Her father’s betrayal. I wonder what expression she’ll make when she learns the reason he tried to send her to the old king was for the sailing ships. 

 If she learns that she was needed to confine divine beasts, even if she had thought about taking Zeno to the Emperor, that thought would completely disappear. 

 “Come in for now. You must not be feeling well either.” 

 “……What are you thinking? Why are you helping me?” 

 “If you need a reason, I’ll tell you. That way you won’t bother His Highness and me.” 

 “……That’s so like you, sister.” 

 Isabelle followed the butler who guided her into the mansion first.