***

Knock knock-

Irena opened the door and came in, trying hard to wake me up.

“Miss, it’s time to eat.”

“Mmm, I don’t want to eat today.”

“You can’t. You didn’t eat yesterday either before going to sleep.”

Something strange seemed to have passed in the flow of context. I opened my eyes slightly and looked up at Irena.

“Hmm, yesterday?”

“It’s morning, Miss. You slept so soundly yesterday that I couldn’t wake you up.”

With a dazed mind, I stared at the light streaming through the curtains for a moment.

“It really is morning. Then I should get up.”

“Yes, Miss. And…”

“I know. Today’s the day we contact the Grand Duke’s residence and get rid of those freeloaders.”

I answered Irena’s hesitation as I struggled to sit up. I approached the window and opened the curtains wide, letting the bright morning sunlight flood into the room.

“Ah, it’s blinding.”

After allowing my eyes to adjust to the light for a while, I opened them to see the whole world covered in white snow.

White snow was pouring down heavily from the sky.

The snow that had piled up on the ground overnight sparkled as it caught the light.

It was a beautiful sight of the passing season, but I could only rub my eyes in shock and fling the window open.

“What is this?”

Slam-

“Eek- Miss, don’t!”

Thud-

Irena, startled by the tremendous cold and snowstorm rushing into the room, quickly approached and closed the window. The vivid coldness reminded me that this situation was not a dream.

“What is this?”

The overnight snow had truly covered the entire world.

So much that the four-season roses beyond the fence were no longer visible.

“…Wasn’t that harsh whatever supposed to be in mid-January?”

But why was the snow in the front yard already piled up as high as my height?

“I heard that the harsh cold came a bit earlier this year.”

“This doesn’t seem like ‘a bit’?”

It had come a full two weeks early.

Irena approached my side and added an explanation.

“I think going down to the village today would be impossible. During the harsh cold period, all the villagers lock their doors and stay inside. Even if we went down, all the shops would be closed.”

“Haha.”

“Fortunately, we bought food supplies in advance. If we had been just one day late, we would have been in big trouble.”

If we had been one day late, we wouldn’t have met two more amnesiac Kalschmitz people.

Would it be better to starve for a month in this province or to not have three amnesiac Kalschmitz people?

I briefly pondered this meaningless comparison.

And came to a conclusion.

“So, you’re saying we have to feed and shelter those people here until the harsh winter ends?”

“…Probably.”

“I see. Well, that’s that.”

I had no thoughts anymore. No, I decided not to think.

Mountains are mountains, water is water.

What can I do about what’s already happened? Let’s just live casually.

I coolly abandoned my emotional brain, my cerebrum. And peace of mind came to me.

Irena looked at me with concern.

It was roughly an expression that said, ‘Oh dear, what should we do with our miss.’

“Irena, let’s go eat.”

“Miss…”

I headed down to the dining room, leaving behind the sound of Irena calling my name wistfully as I reached a state of enlightenment.

“Hello. Good morning.”

As I entered the dining room with a greeting, all eyes focused on me.

Around the table, which was laden with a feast, sat no less than seven people, crowded together.

By the way, these three Kalschmitz people are truly without prejudice. Even if they’ve lost their memories, nobles and knights sitting down to eat with slaves.

“Good morning!!”

“Welcome!!”

The two knights who had nearly been hit by my shovel yesterday flinched as they greeted me.

I was startled by their loud greetings. Even with lost memories, knights are still knights. Such booming voices.

“Ah, yes. Did you sleep well last night?”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

And so the meal began with their energetic voices.

I could feel people, especially Ante and the two knights, stealing glances at me.

Thinking there was no point in making them feel uncomfortable when I’d have to see them for more than a week, I spoke first.

“You know that the period of harsh cold has begun now, right?”

“Yes.”

“Yes, that’s right!”

“I can’t send you back to the village right away, so please stay until the harsh cold ends.”

“Thank you!”

“But you’ll have to help with the mansion’s work. That includes you too, Sir Ante.”

“Of course.”

They each expressed their agreement in turn. I turned my gaze back to the two knights.

“You two who have lost your memories, you really have lost them, right?”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

“You don’t need to be so tense.”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

I sighed softly and gave up on trying to ease their tension. I put down the fork I was holding on the table and continued.

“It seems we’ll have to wait until the harsh cold passes to call a physician. If you have even a slight headache or feel unwell, please let me know. I’ll give you a potion.”

“Yes! Thank you!”

“Yes! Understood!”

After a moment of silence, the two knights hesitated before addressing me.

“We’ve heard the whole story so far.”

“Things have gotten really complicated.”

Lionel, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, smiled and spoke. With a cold expression that only raised the corners of his mouth.

“This is all thanks to Sir Ante, isn’t it?”

“I’m sorry.”

Lionel stabbed Ante with his words, and the unprejudiced vassal of the Grand Duke’s family apologized nervously to Lionel, a slave. Lionel didn’t stop.

“Is an apology all you have to offer? After creating this whole mess.”

“Lionel. That’s enough.”

I mediated Lionel’s risky behavior, which had continued since yesterday.

“I apologize. I spoke out of turn without thinking.”

Lionel apologized with gently narrowed eyes. Not to Ante, but to me.

When I sighed, he sent me an even more charming gaze. Does he have a grudge against nobles? He kept acting Tangerously.

For now, I wasn’t making an issue of it because they were clearly in the wrong. But if he acted like this in front of other nobles, it would be a serious problem. I needed to talk to him separately later.

Come to think of it, Lionel had mentioned being resold by slave traders multiple times. With his looks and charm, why had he been abandoned by noble ladies?

As I rested my chin on my hand and stared at Lionel, he looked back at me and narrowed his eyes even more. Despite smiling so brightly, not even a twitch appeared on his face.

We continued staring at each other for quite some time. I wasn’t thinking much, but somehow, the atmosphere around us grew quiet.

A calm air settled over the dining room. The one who broke our strange atmosphere was Sion.

“Lionel, if you’ve finished eating, let’s go clear the snow. Lady Lora, we’ll be going.”

Somehow, Sion’s expression, though seemingly casual, was strangely stiff. Lionel looked at Sion, shrugged his shoulders, and smiled brightly.

At that moment, Sion’s gaze became uncharacteristically sharp.

Just as he opened his mouth toward Lionel, I asked with confusion:

“It’s still snowing. Why clear the snow now?”

Sion swallowed whatever he was about to say and answered my question.

“…If we don’t clear it bit by bit in advance, the snow might freeze and make it impossible to open the doors.”

“I see.”

“And the roof could collapse too, Lady Lora.”

“And when all that frozen snow melts later, the garden will be ruined.”

What’s with these two?

Sion and Lionel rushed to explain the reasons to me, and a strange current flowed between them.

“That snow could freeze again and make the slopes extremely slippery.”

“And-“

“Yes, I understand. I get it completely. Go out and clear it.”

I cut off their continuing explanations and shook my head, stopping them.

I wanted no part in their quarrel.

“Then we’ll help too!”

“Oh, I’ll join as well.”

At that moment, Ante and the knights, who had been watching us carefully, also volunteered to help clear the snow.