A Direct Bo-ssam Proposal
"…Aurelia."
"What's wrong?"
"You should know that best, shouldn't you? Starting from sending away the son you cherished so dearly with your own hands, leaving just the two of us alone like this."
"I didn't want any harsh words reaching my son's ears."
"Sure, sure, whatever you say."
Their verbal sparring dragged on. The prickly edge in every word from Adelaide stabbed at my ears like needles. The tea I'd brought to my lips had gone cold before I knew it. No, at this point, it wouldn't be surprising if it had frozen solid. Her emotions must have run high, letting her frost attribute leak out naturally.
Adelaide let out a chilly breath and narrowed her eyes, glaring ahead. There sat Aurelia, blankly staring out the window where pure white snow was falling.
…Anyone could see it—the one who'd upended what should have been an obvious engagement with sheer force of will was sitting there all calm and composed.
"…You look alike."
"What's that out of nowhere?"
"You and… Kael. You're alike."
"Well, of course. Your hair's pure white to begin with, and your son's looks are all inherited from you."
"No, that's not what I mean."
Aurelia shook her head slightly at her words. Then, with a faint smirk, she spoke.
"You're too pure. Like Kael."
"…Are you really Aurelia?"
"It's me. What else would I be?"
"The Aurelia I know… Ah, forget it. Thinking about it just gives me a headache. You've always exceeded my expectations anyway."
Adelaide shook her head with a deep sigh. She was a woman whose actions were so hard to predict—too much to dismiss as mere whims. The only way to explain it was, "That's just Aurelia being Aurelia."
The head of the Elion family, the highest-ranked house in the empire, basking in the greatest acclaim—yet she'd shattered an engagement over a single word from her son. And Adelaide already knew how rough and harsh Aurelia was with her own daughters. Even her own flesh and blood endured training so brutal it drew blood. For her to show this side…
"…So, what now?"
"What do you mean?"
"Kael. If he doesn't end up engaged to our side, the kid hits the marriage market. Son of the Demon King and the Hero. What better kindling for scandal?"
Her voice was laced with genuine concern. No matter how much Aurelia threw a wrench in things, she was still a precious, lifelong friend. And this wasn't the first time she'd pulled something capricious. But more than that, what worried Adelaide was what lay ahead—what would befall Kael.
A child not even ten years old, already tangled in the vile schemes of scheming, filthy nobles. The worry burned fiercer because it was a son, not a daughter—a boy, not a girl.
"I'll protect him. As long as he's always by my side, there won't be any problems."
"Hah? He'll leave eventually, you know? I admit your strength is unmatched. But don't think he'll stay a child forever. No matter how much you try to keep him in your arms, eventually he'll hatch from the egg—"
"…Kael won't grow any further."
"Wha… Hold on."
Adelaide's expression hardened.
"What… did I just hear?"
"He won't grow. That's what I said."
* * *
"Um, could we maybe head to the frost fountain?"
"Of course, that's no problem at all. Please follow me, Kael ra Elion."
I'd slipped out of the office for a bit, following Mom and Lady Adelaide's words. They couldn't wrap up the engagement talk that easily, and from the Northern Duke's face, it didn't seem like things would go smoothly…
—This is grown-up talk. Why don't you step out for a while, dear?
She'd ushered me out with the gentlest touch. Curiosity piqued, I'd wandered the ducal mansion, taking in the sights. All the spaces from the game illustrations spread out before my eyes. The torches lining the corridors, the massive fireplaces dominating every grand room. Given the North's harshness—where survival itself was a battle—they'd placed heat sources in every major area.
I spotted facilities breeding magical beasts in strictly iron-sealed pens, and soldiers training brutally. Whenever eyes turned my way, they'd bow so deeply their heads nearly touched the ground, which felt kinda overwhelming.
Anyway, I was having a pretty decent time exploring my favorite Northern ducal house, the one I'd always wanted to visit.
"This place was built 500 years ago, right?"
"Oh, yes, you know your history. Correct. It was during the Great Cataclysm when the earth's terrain twisted, and concepts like magical beasts and dungeons—now commonplace—emerged."
"Impressive. Must've fended off tons of beast attacks over the years."
"Haha, you think so? That's all thanks to our ancestors' wisdom. The unforgiving terrain let us withstand the filthy beasts' assaults and gain the upper hand in power struggles."
Come to think of it, in the original game, the North was the region with the deepest hatred for magical beasts. Even now, with peace treaties in place, that hadn't changed. The North was stubbornly set in its ways, and its head was just that kind of person. The lord there only joined your party after 20+ visits to meet the 'condition'—what can you do?
'Now that I think about it, I haven't seen a single beast among the servants here.'
What a consistent place. That's why I loved it—their steadfast single-mindedness and overwhelming might.
"…Hey, I've got a question."
"Ask away. I'll answer as best I can."
"What happens if I get engaged to the Northern ducal house?"
"Ah~ Come to think of it, you're about to be engaged, Young Master Kael, so it's no exaggeration to call you one of us Edelbais already."
The butler guiding me clapped and grinned widely. My breath caught at how he spoke as if I'd already accepted. I didn't want to live in this rigid, heavy space where even breathing felt scary, no matter how much I loved it in the game. Reality's a whole different story.
"At eight years old, Young Master Kael won't face harsh demands. You'll likely be engaged to the third miss."
"Wh-what's her name?"
"Pardon?! Y-you don't know…? Ah, that makes sense. With your illness, you wouldn't hear much outside news. It's Lady Prelia von Edelbais."
Prelia von Edelbais… Ah, I'd heard that name before. Something about hoping my illness would heal fully, in a letter. Even for a noble lady, her fountain-pen script was so neat and elegant—it stuck with me.
"She's six years your senior. In noble society, that's considered a small gap. Sometimes marriages happen with twenty years or more."
"…When you put it that way… it's not that bad…"
"Exactly! And though she's the youngest, she's remarkably mature and ladylike beyond her peers. She'd pair perfectly with you, Young Master Kael."
"Uh, uh-huh…"
…Saying it with such conviction just makes it more intimidating! I bit my lip hard. A sigh nearly escaped, but the lich taught me you have to be careful even with sighs in a ducal house! I held it in. I'm a man of my word. Good job, me.
I kept walking under the butler's guidance. The mansion was so vast my legs started aching. Still, out of personal fondness, I pushed through, glancing around. Portraits of past Edelbais lords, a kitchen bustling with famous chefs. It felt like something was drawing me here, tilting my head curiously, but I followed anyway. From the butler's view, I was already family—no issue there.
"…Could I go outside, maybe?"
"Ah, that's tricky. As you've felt coming here, the outer environment is quite harsh. Even heavily geared, outings require the lord's permission."
"Then what about a greenhouse? There must be one managed by magic."
"Oh, how did you know? You seem quite familiar with the ducal house."
The butler nodded, impressed.
"The greenhouse is accessible without special permission, so that's fine."
"Then let's head there!"
The one area in the Northern ducal house connected to the outside. In the game, I'd always visit after big injuries—for potions and those beautiful illustrations.
I followed the butler to the greenhouse. A massive magic stone loomed, radiating heat. In the lore, it was a gem extracted from the heart of a Flame Dragon, close aide to the first Demon King. There was even a hidden quest for it.
Lost in memories for a moment, I stepped inside.
"…You'll have to go in alone from here."
The butler bowed and stopped. Servants and nobles are clearly treated differently. Blinking a few times, I slowly ventured deeper.
Warmth enveloped me. A space unimaginable in the North. I wandered the fragrant, flower-scented interior, circling repeatedly.
…The suffocating atmosphere from before had vanished like a lie.
'Wandering like this… it's nice.'
I looked around over and over. I'd been in that oppressive space moments ago, crossed the cold, rugged Northern terrain to get here. It was tough, but worth it—
Fwip!
Suddenly, arms scooped me up.
"Whoa! Finally found you!"
"Eeng…?"
I dropped my head at the sudden voice.
"W-wow… You're even cuter in person! Y'know, I'm the Northern ducal house's daughter—can I just bo-ssam you and take you away?"
…What the heck is this?