There were hardly any days when it did not snow in the North.
And today was no exception.
The laughter of the northern children rang out near the village entrance.
“Take this!”
“Hey, that’s cheating!”
The children never seemed to tire of playing day after day.
They packed the freshly fallen snow into balls and hurled them at one another.
Then, in the middle of their game.
“Huh? It’s the Grand Duke!”
One child, whose nose had turned bright red from running around for who knew how long, pointed at Walter approaching in the distance and shouted.
At once, every last one of the other children ran toward him as well.
“Yaaay!”
The Grand Duke of the North. Whenever he came to the village, the children would cling to Walter and eagerly chatter about anything and everything, as though nothing could have been more exciting.
One would say that their mother had made stew that day.
Another would say that they had been scolded after getting caught playing on the mountain behind the village with their neighbor Ruphil.
Most of it was trivial everyday talk or silly stories, but Walter responded to each and every one of them.
“Wow, the stew must’ve been delicious.”
“Yes! Mom said if Dad skips work and loafs around again, she’ll put him in the pot next time!”
Walter flinched for a moment.
Was one family going to fall apart if he stopped the mine development?
But only for a moment.
“My, my. Then shall we pray together for your father’s soul?”
“What does that mean?”
“It’s like a blessing wishing him a peaceful journey.”
“Okay!”
In that smooth(?) manner, Walter made it past the children blocking his path.
And then.
A child who had been staring at Walter asked him a question.
“Your Grace, why are you carrying Big Sis Lenin?”
The little girl tilted her head as she looked at Lenin, who had remained in Walter’s arms the entire time.
The tips of Lenin’s ears reddened as she desperately kept her head turned away.
Then she whispered softly.
“I told you it would be best to put me down soon.”
“I refuse.”
Walter flatly refused.
“She says she wants to stay with me today.”
“No, when did I ever...!”
“It’s okay, Big Sis! I like His Grace too!”
Lenin hurriedly tried to protest, but the children did not seem to care in the slightest.
In fact, the other children nearby gathered around Walter’s legs and spread their arms wide.
“I like you too, Your Grace, so hold me!”
“Me too!”
The children hopped up and down in place.
Walter chuckled and looked down at Lenin in his arms.
“Looks like I don’t have enough arms to hold everyone. What do you want to do?”
“......You’re especially mischievous today.”
“So you don’t like it?”
“.......”
Yet at Walter’s question, Lenin lowered her head and gave a tiny shake of denial.
Honestly, she was such an adorable subordinate.
Walter gently set Lenin down, then gave her head a light pat.
That should settle everything, right?
He whispered into Lenin’s ear.
Then he immediately turned toward the children gathered at his feet and grinned.
“All right! I’ll hold every one of you!”
“Yaaay!!”
The children promptly hung from both of Walter’s arms.
At the sight, a faint smile rose to Lenin’s lips before she even realized it.
Her lord had always been like this.
When he worked through the night, he was solemn and serious without the slightest hint of a smile, yet the moment he came down to the village, he gladly played with the children as though he had never been that way at all.
She could only find it remarkable.
Several years had already passed since he began playing with the village children like this.
The village adults often tried to stop Walter, telling him that he did not need to go out of his way to play with the children, but his answer was always the same.
“It’s fine. What’s so hard about it?”
More than anything, the village children were the future of the North.
At those words, the adults would eventually take a step back.
His love for the North had never changed, then or now.
“Your Grace?”
Before long, a familiar face emerged after hearing the children making a commotion at the entrance.
It was none other than Baldus, the young village chief and the North’s rising worker.
“Goodness, Your Grace! When did you arrive?”
“Not long ago. Just now, I guess?”
With a small grunt, Walter carefully lowered the children hanging from both his arms.
Baldus let out a small sigh as though there was no stopping him and muttered.
“Good grief, I keep telling you that you don’t have to play with them every time you come... And I told you lot not to bother His Grace!”
Baldus glared at the children as he spoke.
But the children still seemed to find everything endlessly amusing.
“Aaaah! Run away!”
They burst into giggles once more and scattered.
Walter, Lenin, and Baldus all chuckled and shook their heads at the sight.
The children of the North were as lively as ever today.
“So, what brings you here?”
“Nothing. I was passing nearby and thought of you, so I stopped by. Is that a problem?”
“Hahaha, not at all. Since you’re here, why don’t you stop by our house for a cup of Kolheim Tea?”
Baldus readily invited him, just as he had on the first day of the mine development.
Walter nodded and followed him.
“Unless it would be an imposition.”
“What imposition could there be between us? Just follow me!”
Baldus led them deeper into the village, toward a cozy log cabin.
This was the home of Baldus, the young village chief.
“Honey! Come out for a moment. His Grace is here!!”
At his shout, a door clicked open a moment later, and a neatly dressed woman appeared.
Her clothing was modest, but it could not conceal her beauty.
“Oh my, Your Grace? And Lenin too. Come in.”
Despite the sudden visit, she welcomed the two inside with a benevolent smile.
Walter and Lenin both bowed their heads slightly as they entered.
Then, just as Baldus was about to follow them inside.
“You go chop some firewood.”
—SLAM!
His wife smiled sweetly and mercilessly shut the door.
“......?”
In the blink of an eye, Baldus was left alone on the doorstep, pitifully clutching the doorknob as he called out to her.
“Henzel? Henzel? Wait, just a second... Let me in first....”
But the only answer was cold silence.
The frigid wind of the North swept over his body.
“Cold......”
***
How much time had passed after that?
A fire crackled in the warm interior.
Henzel set the warm Kolheim Tea down on the table and spoke.
“I’m sorry. You came all this way, but this is all I have to offer.”
“It’s fine. Kolheim Tea is more than enough.”
Walter shook his head and lifted the teacup with a small clink.
A fragrant aroma brushed the tip of his nose.
When he took a sip, a pleasantly bitter flavor spread through his mouth.
Yes, this was the taste.
Walter nodded in satisfaction.
It seemed Baldus had not been lying when he said that his wife brewed a remarkable cup of Kolheim Tea.
“Achoo!”
At the same time, Baldus, who had finally taken a seat after chopping firewood outside, sneezed.
Walter lifted his cup and spoke.
“You should have a cup as well.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you.”
Baldus sipped the tea before him and warmed his frozen body.
Walter smiled slightly and asked.
“So, how has the village been lately?”
“Pardon? Lately, you mean?”
Baldus grinned and answered heartily.
“Why, it’s been wonderful!”
“......Has it?”
Walter narrowed his eyes and stared at him, clearly unconvinced by the answer.
But Baldus only tilted his head, looking as though he had no idea what the problem was.
“It’s just as my husband says.”
Henzel answered as she took a seat.
“The village has been full of life lately. It’s quite different from before. I heard that you began developing the mine this time, Your Grace. This season is especially cold, and it’s difficult to do much of anything. But with you personally stepping in to create jobs, everyone seems relieved. We are too.”
Normally, at this time of year, it was difficult even to go outside, let alone venture out to hunt.
Even if they did go out, there was nothing they could do in the first place.
As a result, the entire village would sink into a gloomy silence.
That was what the North usually looked like at this time of year.
But this time was different.
“It was thirty silver a week, correct? It may be nothing to the distinguished people of the royal capital, but you have no idea how much that alone helps people like us.”
Henzel smiled gently.
Thirty silver a week.
It was enough money to give the children warm stew with meat instead of pale, watery gruel.
Enough to keep the stove burning and sleep beneath thick blankets instead of trembling from the cold every night.
More than anything, spring would soon arrive. The weather would ease, if only a little, and everything would improve.
So that much was enough.
To put smiles on the children’s faces and bring warmth to a family.
To endure the North’s long winter before the warm spring arrived.
Thirty silver was enough.
“It is all thanks to you, Your Grace.”
Henzel bowed her head to Walter in gratitude.
When he had first announced that he would develop the mine, the villagers had harbored many worries.
They wondered whether the Grand Duke might be pushing himself too hard.
But a day passed, then a week.
Then a month.
And every time her husband returned after finishing his work, his face was filled with a smile.
Though the labor was somewhat exhausting, he said that having a paying job at this time of year was already a blessing.
Her husband had said it with a hearty smile.
—It’s all thanks to His Grace!
And so the atmosphere of the village began to change.
At this time of year, windows that had always been sealed tightly shut began to open.
The sound of children playing could be heard at the village entrance.
The men who had once lowered their heads, bitter at themselves for being unable to do anything during this season, now squared their shoulders and headed for the mine from early morning.
The women of the North, who had once worried about how they would survive each day, now went to the market with relaxed smiles.
“It is all thanks to you, Your Grace.”
Henzel repeated herself as she looked at Walter.
The undisputed master of the North who had inherited the Heart of Winter.
And the man who cherished the North more than anyone.
Because he was here, the North could remain peaceful today.
Because he was here, the North could continue moving forward today.
That was why the people of the North—
“Everyone loves you, Your Grace.”
Henzel smiled and clasped her hands together.
Then she covered her mouth and laughed softly.
“My little girl is already making a fuss, saying she’ll marry you when she grows up.”
“W-What? Not me?”
Baldus sprang to his feet, looking utterly shocked.
Henzel tilted her head.
“Oh my, didn’t you know? She hasn’t said she wants to marry you even once since she turned four.”
“Th-That can’t be....”
Baldus sank back into his seat with a thud, clutching his head and shaking it as though such a thing could not possibly be true.
—I’m going to marry Daddy when I grow up!
The words of his beloved daughter Lena—so precious that he felt she would not hurt even if he put her in his eye—still rang vividly in his ears.
Could this truly be reality?
Baldus forced out a hollow laugh and looked at Walter.
“This is all...thanks to you, Your Grace!”
His face was clearly smiling, so why was his fist clenched so tightly?
It felt quite different from when he had said the same words a moment ago.
Walter finished the rest of his Kolheim Tea with a smirk.
“Thank you for saying so.”
Walter thanked them for the tea as he slowly rose from his seat.
“You’re leaving already? You may stay longer.”
“Of course... You may stay...longer.”
Relax your face, bastard.
You look like you might take a swing at me.
Walter smiled at Baldus, who spoke through clenched teeth.
“No. This is enough.”
Just as Henzel had said, the North was changing.
Slowly, but surely, it was changing.
That was enough. For now, that much was exactly enough.
‘Because the North will change even more from now on.’
He would make sure of it.
With that thought, Walter turned away and bid them farewell.
With a rustle, he slipped on his black fur coat and stepped outside.
***
There were hardly any days when it did not snow in the North.
And so, as always.
White snow was falling outside.
But the North had changed.
The streets were marked with people’s footprints, and the laughter of children rang out from the village entrance.
Walter loved this North.
He loved the North his father had left behind, and the North where he had been born and raised.
“Lenin, we’re returning to Gray Castle.”
“Yes, understood.”
Lenin bowed her head and began to follow behind him.
Or rather, she was just about to.
A group of knights approached from the village outskirts in the distance.
“Your Grace, those men are......!”
An order of knights clad in silver armor crossed the white snowfield with soft, crunching steps.
More than anything, dried blood and frigid crusts of ice clung all over their armor.
They were the North’s only order of knights, soldiers who followed the will of the one who had inherited the Heart of Winter.
—CLANK....
The black-armored knight at the head of the order stopped before Walter.
Then he knelt before him and removed his helmet.
The knight was none other than an elderly man with white hair.
He bowed his head and greeted Walter.
“I, Knight Von Bayern, greet the Lord of the North.”
His snow-white hair and the deep wrinkles around his eyes spoke of the ravages of time.
Yet the resolute light in his eyes did not waver in the slightest.
His name was Von Bayern.
He had completed a long monster subjugation campaign lasting several months.
At long last, the Knight Commander had returned to the North.