Winter's First Chill with a Stranger
The winter at the ducal castle had only just begun.>
“Excuse me, what did you say?”>
“Th-this bed... two people can fit comfortably. The floor is freezing, so if you’re afraid of catching a cold...”>
“...why not come inside and sleep?”>
Karina’s cheeks were flushed even in the moonlight, glowing bright and undeniable.>
Her hand still clutched one edge of the blanket, leaving the space for me empty.>
I swallowed hard and took a step back.>
“...I must decline.”>
“...Why?”>
“I can’t do that to a patient. Your temperature’s still normal, but having a burly man sleeping beside you would make rest impossible.”>
I offered a perfectly reasonable excuse, but Karina slowly sat up from under the blanket and leaned against the headboard.>
“...Liar.”>
A hollow voice drifted out.>
“I’ve lived my entire life... resenting that I was born a woman.”>
“...Lady Karina.”>
“In the men’s world, I’ve had to kill the woman inside me just to survive and be recognized as a knight.”>
Karina clutched the blanket tighter, head bowed.>
“I know it’s shameful to say this, but... I must ask. Veil, my lord... have you never even once felt anything for me as a woman?”>
“What do you mean?”>
“Have you truly never once felt me... as a woman... as a woman you wanted to embrace?”>
A heavy thud echoed inside my chest.>
‘How...’>
Can one truly not feel someone as a woman?>
Every morning I’d glance away from her sweat-damp neck. Just yesterday in the bath, I’d nearly lost my mind staring at her naked form.>
Even my reason for insisting on sleeping on the floor had crumbled away.>
I could no longer lie.>
I let out a long sigh and walked slowly toward the bed, then sat at the very edge.>
“...You seem to have misunderstood everything quite thoroughly.”>
I turned my head and met Karina’s unsteady gaze straight on.>
“What I said about sleeping on the floor has nothing to do with not feeling you as a woman.”>
“......”>
“On the contrary, because I do feel you as a woman, I simply can’t bear to lie beside you. That’s why I insist on the floor. Do you understand?”>
Karina’s eyes widened in shock.>
Her lips parted slightly, breathing growing faster.>
Right then, the suffocating silence between us shattered.>
Softly, her slender yet firm arms wrapped around my waist from behind while I sat at the edge of the bed.>
“...Lady Karina.”>
“Come here.”>
Karina’s scorching cheek pressed against my back.>
Her arms pulled me firmly backward.>
“Come inside... and hold me.”>
“Are you out of your mind?!”>
I tried to turn away in surprise, but Karina dragged me completely into her wide blanket and we lay together beneath it.>
In an instant, I found myself tangled in her soft mattress with Karina, covered by one blanket.>
The air inside was scorching from her body heat, like a furnace.>
Karina buried her face against my chest, panting softly as she whispered.>
“...This is my ruin.”>
“......”>
“All those lewd, wanton thoughts I sketched in my head every night while reading those forbidden books... they’ve finally turned into action. It’s all my fault, my lord. Not yours.”>
Karina lifted her head to look at me.>
“So... don’t leave me alone anymore. I can’t hold back any longer.”>
Before the words even faded, Karina’s hands encircled my neck and pulled me down, her hot lips crashing roughly against mine.>
“Mmm...!”>
The moment our lips met and our tongues tangled, a feverish breath consumed my entire body.>
‘Haah... if I hold back here, I really must be a man.’>
I gave up on reason altogether.>
My rough hands slipped under her thin nightgown, gripping her smooth, firm waist with surprising gentleness.>
“Ahh...!”>
A sweet moan slipped from between Karina’s lips.>
My movements were rough and primal, yet my touch toward her was the gentlest and most tender of my life.>
Beyond the tightly closed door of the narrow third-floor room, the desperate movements of two bodies—capable of melting the brutal northern winter—continued through the night.>
Amid the stifling heat and fierce friction of bodies seeking each other’s warmth, the blanket eventually slipped to the floor and rolled away.>
Just before dawn, when the world was still quiet, a lazy peace and the lingering afterglow of passion filled the room.>
I brushed sweat-damp bangs from my forehead, burying my face against my broad chest as I slowly stroked Karina’s soft back while she nestled in my arms.>
Listening to her steady breathing, a strange fullness filled my chest.>
‘I crossed the line after all.’>
But I felt no regret.>
On the contrary, the fact that I held her in my arms was almost too overwhelming to believe.>
Then, inside my embrace, Karina quietly spoke.>
“...Lord Veil.”>
“Yes. Are you awake?”>
Karina leaned her cheek against my chest and whispered.>
“Last night... please don’t think of it as love.”>
“......What?”>
My brows furrowed at the sudden line she drew.>
“It was merely a momentary lapse of my weak will and burning passion. I... am not the kind of person who can give you anything properly.”>
A sense of resignation colored Karina’s voice.>
“I’m merely the sword instructor hired by the ducal family. You are a hero praised as the Grand Duke’s brother. If you so desire, you could marry someone far more noble and beautiful than me.”>
Karina brought up the engagement story she had blurted out in a fit of passion and began to cut herself down once more.>
“So please forget last night. Go your own way, and perhaps you’ll find a better match in the future...”>
Just as Karina tried to activate her defensive wall and push me away.>
I tightly embraced her waist, flipping her fully on top of me.>
And gripping the back of her neck, I kissed her deeply while her eyes widened in panic.>
“Mmm...!”>
The deep, breathless kiss continued.>
Not giving her even a moment to pull away, I eventually parted my lips slightly, smiled, and said.>
“Stop making those strange sounds.”>
“Veil... my lord...”>
“It’s already too late to push me away with such insincere words.”>
I tapped the tip of her nose with my finger and added teasingly.>
“The one who was scratching my back with those nails last night and clinging so tightly... who was it? The one who kept me from letting go even while it was excruciatingly painful. And now you want to pretend it never happened?”>
“Th-that’s why Veil... I’m too embarrassed...”>
“Ah, the impudent one! You’re the one who forced me to confess with such dirty questions yesterday, so I can’t help it! Aaaah! Please forgive me! I was crying and begging like a spoiled child—have you forgotten already?”>
Karina’s face turned bright red from her neck all the way up at my shameless teasing.>
“Y-you scoundrel...! Y-you had to drag that out of my mouth...”>
Overwhelmed by embarrassment, Karina finally relaxed as she met my gentle, unwavering eyes.>
She rested her forehead lightly against my chest and let out a tiny, trembling sob.>
“......You really...”>
Karina’s arms wrapped tightly around my waist.>
And then she whispered.>
“You’re filling all the gaps in me.”>
She conveyed a small, sincere feeling.>
I remained silent and lightly kissed her forehead.>
Then I pulled her even more deeply into my embrace, holding her tight.>
The blue dawn light streaming through the window gently warmed the two bodies that had become one.>
The news of the instructor’s recovery after several days of absence continued to weigh heavily on Veronica’s heart.>
When she saw Karina and Veil returning together and healed, Veronica felt a strange sense of exclusion.>
‘They’ve grown... closer.’>
Veronica bit her lip.>
The two could read each other’s intentions just from their eyes, just like a mother and father.>
Veronica felt she had no place to insert herself.>
‘No... my birthday is coming soon...’>
Although it pained her, Veronica took a deep breath and steadied herself.>
Her birthday was approaching.>
Instead of acting childish, she needed to act more mature—as an adult lady—and claim her place.>
The castle was bustling today.>
It was to welcome her father, the Grand Duke Gareth, who had returned from the capital.>
Veronica stood at the entrance, gently smoothing her dress hem.>
Standing beside her mother, she inwardly imagined her parents warmly reuniting after a long time and felt excited.>
‘Today will be different. When Father returns, everything will be like before.’>
But the carriage door opened, and a strange woman stepped out behind the Grand Duke.>
‘In Mother’s place...?’>
“This is Helena. She’s a maid brought by Gawain this time. I thought she’d be useful in our estate since she has deep knowledge of pharmacy.”>
While the Grand Duke spoke indifferently, Veronica watched her mother’s expression carefully.>
Mother’s smile had frozen upon seeing Father.>
‘Mother...’>
Veil and Karina standing nearby were also visibly tense.>
“Father...”>
Veronica tried to speak softly, but the Grand Duke had already turned and was heading inside with Helena.>
The atmosphere felt strangely cold.>
The welcoming scene meant for warmth was precarious.>
‘This is strange... different from when the scarred uncle arrived...’>
Veronica was hesitating about how to respond when Veil and Karina, as if having planned it, stepped close on either side of her.>
They gently shielded Veronica from the adults’ complicated and ugly situation, blocking her view.>
Veil whispered softly.>
“Miss, the weather is quite chilly today. Let’s go inside.”>
Karina also wrapped an arm around Veronica’s shoulder.>
They were acting as a shield so Veronica wouldn’t get involved in the adults’ affairs.>
“Miss.”>
Karina added in a very small voice.>
“Veil and I will figure out what happened. You wait in the room for a while. It’s the eve of your birthday, so don’t worry about anything unnecessary.”>
Veronica nodded, but her feet refused to move.>
‘My birthday. The day everyone is gathering for me. Why do I feel uneasy?’>
The ominous guests before her birthday, and Mother secretly hiding her despair while watching everything with Father... the cold chill had already swallowed Veronica’s excitement.>
Veil and Karina exchanged glances.>
Their eyes reflected both concern for Veronica and curiosity about the Grand Duke’s inexplicable behavior.>
“Someone from Gawain...”>
“We need to dig into his intentions.”>
Veronica watched the Grand Duke’s retreating back and the strange woman following behind him, and finally understood.>
Today was her birthday, but its importance had vanished completely.>
She could only pray that the adults’ cold winter would pass peacefully in this anxious castle.>
‘This is strange. Mother isn’t even looking at that woman. Why is she walking so casually?’>
The Grand Duke seemed unaware or deliberately ignoring it as he led Helena toward the center of the ducal residence.>
Helena naturally followed beside him as if she knew every inch of the castle.>
“I’ll give you a vacant room on the fifth floor. Stay there for now.”>
‘Fifth floor?’>
Veronica’s eyes widened.>
The fifth floor was a sacred area reserved only for the Grand Duke’s family and bloodline.>
Allowing a stranger to stay there...>
Her mother’s face had gone pale for a moment before hardening coldly.>
The Grand Duke either hadn’t noticed or truly didn’t know, for he simply smiled at Helena.>
At that moment, Karina, who had been right behind Veronica, gripped Veil’s sleeve tightly.>
“Lord Veil.”>
Karina whispered into his ear, pressing her lips close.>
“I... can’t follow anymore.”>
Karina’s eyes moved toward Veronica and Rebecca.>
“Lord Veil, please protect the people most precious to me—even more important than my life.”>
Veil nodded silently, feeling the determination in Karina’s voice.>
Words were useless in this situation.>
Veil’s eyes were just as dark as Karina’s.>
He briefly held her hand and began ascending the stairs after Veronica and Rebecca.>
‘I must protect them. No matter what happens.’>
Veil’s steps felt heavier than ever.>
The air grew colder as they climbed toward the fifth floor.>
Veil’s long shadow fell behind Veronica.>
‘No matter who Gawain sent... as long as I live, the peace of this castle will not break.’>
At the end of the stairs leading to the fifth floor, Veronica looked back.>
Feeling an inexplicable unease, she hugged her stuffed rabbit even tighter.>
The winter of this ducal castle with its strange guest had only just begun.