Chapter 161
Chapter 161
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 161
Chapter Title: Snow on the Eve of Holy Night
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The snow that falls on Holy Night.
More precisely, the snow that falls the day before Holy Night holds special meaning between lovers.
They say if you spend time with your beloved on the eve of Holy Night when the snow is falling, your relationship will grow closer and you'll receive blessings—something like that.
Strictly speaking, there's no real special significance to it. It's just been given meaning purely for romantic reasons. Still, so many people believe in this superstition and rumor that they all hope for snow on the eve of Holy Night.
"A blizzard..."
Of course, that's only when it falls moderately. A case like this, where it feels like a hole has opened in the sky, doesn't count.
Snow pouring down so thick you can't see the ground in five minutes isn't romance—it's a disaster.
No matter how hard you try to ignore it and get swept up in the sentiment, you can't feel any romance when you see the soldiers and knights scrambling around with shovels to clear the ever-accumulating snow.
"Imperial Princess."
As I dazedly watched the carriage turning whiter by the second, fiddling with the apron of my maid outfit, Sera approached with quick steps, having hiked up the hem of her dress to her calves after talking with the coachman.
"What did the coachman say?"
"He says we can move for now, but in an hour or two, we won't be able to budge."
"No chance it'll stop snowing anytime soon, right?"
"Yes. He thinks it'll snow all morning at least, and it might go on even longer."
"Haa... This is a problem..."
All morning.
That means it'll easily pile up past our knees.
The carriage won't move then, and walking in a dress or skirt will be impossible.
"What will you do now?"
"What do you think we should do, Sera?"
"I think it's best to send a servant or knight to postpone the meeting. We have ongoing dealings with the Howard Young Lord, so delaying this one won't be an issue."
Sera's words were spot on.
It's not an important schedule, so there's no need to push through this awful weather just to meet.
"You're right, but... missing this chance means I don't know when the next one will come, so postponing feels regrettable."
However, the Hume Earldom is busier than anyone at the start of the year.
The family's events and ceremonies are bizarrely clustered at the beginning of the year, leaving them too frantic to handle anything else.
Factoring in all the miscellaneous events in between, they won't have any breathing room until flowers are in full bloom.
The problem is there's no guarantee I can schedule something then either.
If it drags on like that, it's entirely possible to fill a whole year without ever having a proper date like this.
Especially since Mother is watching closely, it's a given that William will get busier and get dragged around the social scene more and more.
Days of leisure are running out.
"But this isn't ordinary snow. An accident could happen on the way, and even if we make it there safely, returning could be a problem."
"We're not even leaving the Imperial Capital. Isn't this a bit overblown?"
"If there's any risk to the Empire's Imperial Princess, of course we have to react sensitively. If even a tiny scratch appears on Your Highness's skin, we'll have massive cracks in our necks."
But the Imperial Princess can't go out alone—that fact was holding me back.
Even disguised in a maid outfit to hide my status, my guards and maids still have to wait nearby.
No matter how much I cut down the numbers, at least four people end up suffering because of me.
"Hmm..."
My personal desires clashed with rational judgment, making my heart beat just a little faster.
Whichever I chose, I'd regret it.
Regret missing the chance.
Or feel guilty for making a selfish choice.
"Let's go to the meeting spot. I'll regret it either way, so I'd rather regret going."
After agonizing, the scale in my heart tipped toward prioritizing my personal desires.
I felt sorry for my attendants, but I didn't want to just cancel today's promise.
This was the first time meeting William for purely personal reasons, not for events or the atelier.
We'd built some rapport so far, but our meetings had always been in official settings, so an invisible wall and distance still lingered in our relationship.
I didn't want to waste this chance to take the first step toward breaking that wall in such a frustrating way.
Meeting might bring some variable, even if just a tiny chance, but not meeting meant it ended at zero.
Even if meeting William now led to nothing and we parted ways, there was a world of difference between 0% and 1%.
"Your Highness, aren't you deciding too emotionally? I understand how you feel, but wouldn't it be better to think more carefully?"
"If you're worried about taking blame for something unexpected, don't be. If I insist on going, Mother won't punish you all."
"Even if we prevent accidents carefully, we might not make it back on time if things go wrong. Tomorrow's Holy Night, and if the schedule gets disrupted..."
"If the Imperial Capital's paralyzed enough that carriages can't move for days, the Holy Night mass won't happen anyway. The church may be stuffy, but they're not so inflexible as to hold mass while leaving people suffering in a blizzard."
"Haa..."
Sera sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead, squinting tiredly as she scanned the surroundings.
"If things get worse along the way, I'll turn the carriage around no matter what Your Highness says."
"That's fine. Thanks for going along with my stubbornness."
"I'll definitely get compensated later, so don't forget."
"Of course."
Sera pouted her lips sullenly with a grumpy expression, then trudged back through the snow with quick steps to the knights and coachman.
And just a moment later.
"... What?!"
The coachman and knights' voices filled with dismay spread noisily in all directions.
"......"
A twinge of guilt crept up for making them suffer in this awful weather, but being selfish, I pretended not to hear and looked away.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Thanks to Sera's stern warning that she'd turn back immediately if the weather worsened further, I spent the entire carriage ride anxious.
Fortunately, the weather didn't get any worse on the way.
If anything, the wind died down a bit, slowing the snowfall.
Thanks to that, we arrived at the meeting spot before the snow piled higher than our ankles.
"Hoo..."
I bundled my coat tightly and peered out the carriage window, quickly scanning for anyone else besides us.
"No one's here..."
But from my side of the window, no sign of another carriage or person.
My heart chilled coldly.
No way.
Did that jerk William go home because he liked the snow?
No.
No matter what, that man wouldn't.
If he'd left, he'd at least leave a servant to apologize.
If no one's here despite that, the road must be blocked by snow, or the carriage broke down... something like that happened.
"Sera, see anything from your side?"
"Hmm... There's a carriage parked by the roadside."
"Whose is it?"
"The emblem's covered in snow, so I can't tell the family."
"Let's get out and check."
"I'll go, so Your Highness stay here..."
"No, I'll come too."
I didn't have the mental leeway to leisurely wait in the carriage for Sera's round trip.
"Your Highness, if you're going too... Agh...!"
I jumped out before Sera could even descend, ignoring her voice from behind as I charged toward the visible carriage.
Luckily, the maid outfit came with low-heeled slippers, letting me dash at an incredible speed impossible normally, even on the snowy road, and reach the carriage in seconds.
The first thing I did upon arriving was brush off the snow where the emblem should be.
"Haaa..."
My hand stung like it was being pricked by needles from the cold snow, but I let out a small groan and kept brushing hurriedly.
As my hand passed, the snow fell away inch by inch, revealing what the white crystals had hidden: a familiar emblem.
"William..."
The Hume Earldom's emblem.
William's the only one from the Hume Earldom left in the Imperial Capital, so he was likely inside.
That realization hit me, and I rushed to the carriage door, grabbing the handle and yanking it open without knocking or warning.
"Kyaa...!"
"Wh-who...?!"
"......"
The startled gazes of the people inside turned to me as the door flew open.
"Elizabeth...?"
William recognized me and whispered my name in a trembling voice.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
His lips twitched busily, unsure what to say.
His reaction screamed he thought I wouldn't come.
It stung a little that he didn't believe in me, but a whirlwind of emotions I couldn't easily describe surged knowing he'd waited at the meeting spot anyway.
Did he just wait out of courtesy until the appointed time?
Or did he linger out of lingering attachment, knowing I wouldn't show?
Whatever...
It didn't matter which.
What mattered was that he'd waited.
I put on a soft smile, cast my eyes slightly downward as if apologetic, and opened my mouth.
"Sorry, I was a little late. Did you wait long?"
"...No, I just got here too."
"Really? That's a relief then."
A brief, short greeting.
As soon as it ended, we both clamped our lips shut as if by prior agreement.
"......"
"......"
What should I say?
Something like, the weather's bad but bear with it?
Or, because of the weather, let's postpone?
Or maybe, given the weather, let's find another way?
Whatever option, the hesitating factors kept words from spilling out easily.
"Today's... not great weather."
"Yeah."
"Guess doing anything outside is tough, huh?"
"Yeah..."
The lips barely parted, words squeezed from my chest like reluctant drips—vague, skirting the core.
William seemed to think the same; our conversation wouldn't connect longer.
Unfortunately, our time wasn't endless.
Snow began piling thickly on our shoulders and heads after standing less than five minutes.
Dragging it out more would trap us immobile in the carriage or force us to some dingy inn.
I didn't want such a pitiful situation.
I'd rather always show a perfect, beautiful side.
"Um, Elizabeth."
In the end, William drew his sword first.
Unlike me, still hesitating.
His eyes filled with resolve, he met my gaze squarely with a somewhat stiff, determined expression and spoke.
"Yeah...?"
"With this weather, doing anything outside seems impossible."
"Yeah..."
He's going to suggest postponing, isn't he?
I smiled bitterly, waiting anxiously for his words.
"Then... want to come to my townhouse? It's indoors, so the snow won't matter."
"He...?"
Wh-wh-what...?