His voice was truly calm, as if nothing was wrong. Since his expression and tone didn’t match, Snow could only look puzzled. A moment later, Elios burst into refreshing laughter at the sight of Snow waddling like a duck from wearing too many layers of clothing, and only then did she set aside her worries a bit. It had been Elios’s instruction for her to wear as many layers as possible.

Elios exchanged a few words with the innkeeper at the counter before heading to the stable. Snow could see a fine horse tethered there. When Elios stroked the horse, it snorted contentedly, releasing a light breath.

After leading the horse out of the stable, Elios checked Snow’s clothing carefully. Winter is not a good season for horseback riding.

He pulled down the sleeves of Snow’s clothes to completely cover her hands. He tied the strings of her white cape with its fur pom-poms so tightly that she felt slightly short of breath. Not only that, but he pulled the hood attached to the cape so low that she could barely see in front of her. Still not satisfied, he spent a long time checking various things before finally taking off his own cape and draping it over her shoulders.

Elios seemed determined to completely seal off any part of Snow’s bare skin that might be exposed to the air. Snow ended up looking like a small, furry yeti from legends.

“Snow. As I mentioned earlier, we’re going to Oblivion today.”

“Oblivion… I understand.”

Snow murmured after Elios, then quickly comprehended. It seemed Elios had chosen the location well. The establishment of Oblivion was one of several policies that the current emperor, Elios’s father, had implemented immediately upon ascending the throne. It was also a policy that received enthusiastic acclaim from the people.

Oblivion was essentially like a free clinic. Nobles were required to establish at least one Oblivion in their territories, and in larger domains, it was common to have two or three.

At Oblivion, newly qualified doctors who needed to gain experience would provide free medical care to those who couldn’t afford it. As a result, people who could afford to pay doctor’s fees didn’t bother using Oblivion.

There were four Oblivions established in the capital, one in each cardinal direction. The southern Oblivion was less than a ten-minute horseback ride from the temple, but it was a bit too far to walk in this winter weather.

“Snow, excuse me for a moment.”

Elios gently lifted Snow’s small body. Despite expecting it, Snow was startled and tightly wrapped her arms around his neck. The back of the horse was much higher than she had imagined. As Snow became frightened, the flow of the wind around her immediately changed.

Placed gently on the horse, Snow lay flat, hugging the horse’s neck tightly just as she had done with Elios. Snow closed her eyes, not daring to look down.

‘What if the horse suddenly starts moving and leaves El behind?’

Snow tried to shake off the ominous thought. Elios’s voice reached her through the faint wind swirling around her.

“This is my friend, Snow. She’s riding a horse for the first time. Don’t let her fall. Understand?”

The horse lightly shook its mane. Snow was startled and tightened her arms. The horse then became quiet, as if it had sensed her mood. Snow carefully opened her eyes. She could see Elios’s face.

“Snow, calm down and put your feet in the stirrups.”

“…Stirrups?”

“The footrests. That will give you a more stable position.”

Snow followed Elios’s instructions and felt around for the footrests with her feet. Soon, something like a loop caught her toes. Having her feet resting on something definitely made her feel more stable. Snow slightly opened her eyes and raised her upper body from its prone position. She gripped the handle attached to the front of the saddle as if it were a lifeline.

Following Elios’s instructions, Snow gradually adjusted her posture. As a result, after a few minutes, she was able to sit on the saddle in a fairly decent position. However, it was still too much to ask her to let go of the handle. Elios watched with delight as Snow took deep breaths to calm her pounding heart.

“Well done. For your first time riding, that’s excellent.”

Elios mounted the horse with practiced skill. He held the reins with one hand and with the other, he grasped the handle where Snow’s hands were resting. When their hands touched, Snow flinched. Elios noticed her movement but pretended not to.

Unlike Snow’s hands hidden in her sleeves, Elios’s hands were exposed to the winter wind and had turned red. Since he had even given her his cape, Snow was worried about him. Unaware of Snow’s concern, Elios asked her in a slightly flushed voice:

“Is it okay if we start?”

“Yes.”

Elios lightly kicked the horse’s belly. The horse began to move forward slowly. As the horse gradually increased its speed, the intensity of the wind scraping against their bodies grew stronger. Despite wearing layer upon layer of clothing, she felt the cold. When she tilted her head slightly to the left, she could see El with his face slightly extended beyond her shoulder, staring ahead with a rigid expression. He seemed to be feeling the cold as well.

“El. Aren’t you cold?”

Snow spoke softly, but Elios didn’t seem to hear her over the humming wind sound like a hummingbird’s wings.

In truth, Elios’s rigid expression was due more to his tension from being so close to Snow than to the cold, but Snow had no way of knowing that.

Oblivion was located not far from the Great Temple by horseback. As soon as they arrived, Elios quickly dismounted as if burned and then helped Snow down.

Snow immediately untied and removed Elios’s cape, wrapping it back around him. Seeing Snow standing on tiptoe and clumsily draping the cape around him due to their height difference, Elios’s heart raced again, and he simply closed his eyes. He felt somewhat pathetic, but there was nothing he could do about it.

The size of Oblivion was not as large as Snow had imagined. From the outside, it looked like a medium-sized temple. In fact, a small statue of the goddess Amir, modeled after the large one at Estrea, stood in front of the building, making it look like it could easily be used as a temple without seeming out of place.

“Can we just go in like this?”

Snow asked worriedly.

“It’s fine. Oblivion is always bustling with families visiting the sick. Even if we go in and stir things up a bit, no one will notice.”

Elios said. In truth, he was worried about something else.

“Snow. What you’re going to see today will be more intense than what you saw last time. There will be people dying, and people with terrible injuries that might be shocking for someone who has grown up in the temple. Can you keep your emotions in check?”

After staring at the serious-looking El for a moment, Snow soon smiled gently.

“You’ll be by my side the whole time, won’t you?”

Elios was about to close his eyes again but remembered that Snow was watching him intently, so he just smiled instead. Even if he was beside her, it wasn’t as if he could share her emotional burden like a luggage bag. Why could she say that everything would be fine just because he was by her side?

In any case, it didn’t matter. To Elios, this moment felt as precious as holding a handful of small jewels. Since time cannot be stopped, sparkling moments constantly flowed through his fingers. He didn’t want to waste even a moment of the time he had with her. Elios led Snow straight to Oblivion.