The Day the First Snow Falls (3)
The first snow had piled up deeply.
Michelle Ruard, the First Princess, smiled with genuine delight at the unexpected gift the winter sky had offered. The first snow that had begun falling yesterday had started as light flurries, but it soon turned into heavy flakes that blanketed the entire royal capital in pure white. Even the ashen sky seemed to glow brightly, reflecting the snow it had unleashed.
Five days had passed since the Magic Tower incident, and the kingdom was savoring the calm that followed the storm.
“Isn’t this first snow rather late this year?”
When Michelle turned her gaze, she found a woman standing there with half her face concealed by a mask. Wearing a gentle smile that put others at ease, Marion nodded.
“Yes. I remember the first snow always falling at the end of November.”
“It’s cold enough to cut to the bone, yet the snow is only now arriving.”
Michelle pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders. Small birds kept landing on the terrace railing before taking flight again. When Michelle suddenly looked up at Marion, she noticed the girl wore nothing but her designated maid uniform despite the biting chill.
“You should take better care of yourself so you don’t catch a cold. I worry when I see you dressed like that.”
“Thank you for your concern, Your Highness.”
Enough time had passed that she could have spoken more comfortably by now. Michelle offered her excessively formal maid a seat.
“Sit. We have time. Keep me company for a while.”
“…It would be an honor.”
Marion set down the teapot and approached hesitantly, taking the seat beside the First Princess. She was grateful for Michelle’s kindness, but she still needed more time to grow accustomed to the palace atmosphere.
“Do I make you that uncomfortable?”
When Michelle asked with a slight curl of her lips, Marion shook her head quickly, looking startled.
“N-not at all, Your Highness. It is simply that this servant is still unfamiliar with things.”
Michelle had realized at some point that Marion was an endlessly entertaining maid to tease. The fact that she had been sent by Count Agon had initially brought only burden and fear, but now Michelle simply regarded her as a cherished attendant.
The political intentions behind the several knights who had arrived with Marion were not something the First Princess needed to consider at present.
“I wonder when you’ll finally grow comfortable. It’s been days since I told you it was all right to relax around me, yet you still look exactly as you did the first day you arrived at this palace.”
“…I apologize, Your Highness.”
Watching Marion’s eyes dart about helplessly was one of the First Princess’s few small pleasures. Fearing that further teasing might actually bring the girl to tears, Michelle relented.
“I’m sorry for keeping up the jokes. But I truly do want you to feel at ease, so you don’t need to be so stiff with me.”
The look in the First Princess’s eyes as she regarded the softly answering Marion resembled that of an older sister watching over a beloved younger sibling. Of course, whether Marion recognized that gaze or not, her face had simply flushed crimson as she murmured, “Yes.”
Michelle turned her head back toward the window and spoke in a weary voice.
“I don’t know what Count Agon asked of you, but right now, it has nothing to do with either of us.”
Count Agon’s goals clearly aligned with her father the King’s. They sought to check the power of the Second Prince—who was monopolizing the succession—and, more precisely, the forces of Count Benning.
But…
The blood-soaked arena was not a place the First Princess wished to enter. Yet at the same time, when she thought of her half-brother who would have to step into that demonic struggle, she realized there was nowhere else she belonged.
If she could share even a portion of the blood Louis would shed, she would gladly join that battlefield of ghosts.
“This servant,” Marion spoke up then.
Since it was the first time she had initiated a conversation, Michelle looked at her with open interest. The usual expression of a shy girl had vanished, replaced by the face of a resolute woman.
“I was not sent by Count Agon.”
“Then?”
Marion’s eyes were fixed on the First Princess, yet they seemed to gaze at something much farther away.
“There was someone I wished to help.”
“Now that is a story I haven’t heard before.”
Michelle, now completely free of her morning lethargy, sat up straight and listened attentively.
“Why reveal this to me now?”
“I am now Your Highness’s person. Though I am but a maid, how could a subject dare hide anything from her liege?”
“I don’t know who taught you to speak like that, but you certainly have a way with words.”
Marion Bourdin. Michelle found her likable, yet she knew almost nothing about her. Why the daughter of Emil Bourdin—an enemy faction—had become her maid, why Count Agon of the east had sent her, and why she was participating in the plan to bring down the Count.
“Would you tell me who it is you wished to help so badly?”
“There is someone who granted me grace. He is also someone I must spend the rest of my life with.”
“Was that ring from the person you speak of?”
“Yes, it is.”
Marion gently stroked the blue ring on her finger. Michelle watched quietly for a moment before beginning to ask the questions she had been holding inside.
“Was it worth turning your back on your family and standing against Count Benning?”
“From the beginning, my family was the enemy of both me and my fiancé. I never considered them family, nor will I ever in the future.”
“Even if that path is stained with blood?”
“Whether it is stained with blood or burning in karmic fire, it does not matter.”
A satisfied smile spread across Michelle’s face. She may be too valuable to keep merely as a maid.
“I hope we have many more chances to talk like this.”
The brief peace was coming to an end. The royal palace would soon have to prepare for another violent upheaval. The First Princess closed her eyes tightly.
There wasn’t much time left until the New Year. The New Year meant the kingdom’s martial tournament. With her eyes closed, the First Princess pondered whether the knights’ upcoming competition would become a festival or yet another battlefield of demons.
“So the errand you mentioned after finishing work today was to see your fiancé.”
At Michelle’s words, Marion returned to her usual self and nodded. Michelle let out a soft laugh at the abrupt change.
“What are you feeling shy about now? In that case, I’ll let you leave especially early today. Make sure you spend as much time as possible with the one you love.”
Marion’s face flushed crimson once more as she bowed her head deeply. The aura the First Princess emanated made refusal impossible. A voice full of embarrassment slipped from Marion’s lips.
“Th-thank you.”
No, I think I’ll keep her as my maid a little longer and continue teasing her.
With that mischievous thought, the First Princess watched Marion.
It was an abrupt encounter.
Having finished her duties earlier than expected, Marion walked briskly with a smile, heading to visit Maxim who still lay in the hospital. The visiting hours had always been too short before, leaving her unable to speak with him to her heart’s content. An irrepressible smile bloomed on Marion’s lips. Today they would be able to talk more. Perhaps if she arrived early, he would be a little surprised?
When the familiar hospital building came into view, Marion quickened her pace. Her small feet left a trail of footprints across the snow. Warm breath escaped in small clouds from between the thick scarf wrapped around her neck.
“Third floor…”
Recalling the floor where Maxim lay, Marion entered the building. The sharp scent of disinfectant washed over her as she practically ran toward the stairs, afraid she might be late. Passing the second floor, she stepped into the corridor on the third.
The inpatient ward was as quiet as ever. Realizing she had been running too noisily, Marion slowed her steps to a careful pace as she walked down the hallway.
“Room 310…”
She reached the door to Maxim’s room. Thanks to consideration from the knight order, he had been given a rather spacious private room. If he were alone, it should have been silent. Yet what Marion heard at the entrance to her fiancé’s hospital room was the sound of a man and woman laughing together.
“Senior, you said something like that…”
“You always interpret things that way when you look at me…”
The clear blue eyes that had been sparkling with anticipation of seeing Maxim lost their light in an instant. When Marion unconsciously drew closer to the door to hear what they were saying, she caught the sound of someone approaching from inside. She clenched her fist and stepped back slightly from the doorway.
“-Well then, I’ll be going now.”
“All right. Be careful on your way. The snow makes the roads slippery, so don’t fall.”
Maxim’s voice carried a hint of laughter. Marion’s eyes grew even darker. Her small white fist, clenched tightly, was as pale as the snow piled outside.
The footsteps drew nearer, closer still, and then—slide! The door opened with a vigorous sound. Marion heard the woman who appeared before her draw in a sharp breath.
Golden hair. Green eyes. Their heights weren’t vastly different, though the other woman was slightly taller. This was their first time facing each other directly, but Marion knew exactly who the woman before her was.
The junior from the knight order whom Maxim had occasionally mentioned. The person he had been determined to rescue. And one of the few who knew that Maxim would soon become Arsene Bern.
“H-hello.”
Christine Watson spoke in a thoroughly flustered voice. It was far too panicked for someone who had simply come for an ordinary hospital visit. Marion did not answer immediately. She simply stared at Christine with eyes that had lost all their light.
Christine, facing that gaze, broke into a cold sweat. Just as Marion had recognized her at once, Christine also recognized Marion immediately. Maxim’s mysterious fiancée who wore a mask. And the scene that rose in Christine’s mind right after was the impulsive embrace and kiss amid falling snow.
Could there be a moment when the words of all times fit better?
Christine swallowed dryly as she looked into Marion’s blue eyes, which seemed submerged in shadow. At the very least, she had a strong premonition that this person must not learn what had happened an hour ago.
“Hello.”
A cold voice flowed from Marion’s lips. The chill in that voice slid down Christine’s spine like a well-honed blade. Goosebumps rose across Christine’s back. According to what Maxim had told her, Marion was supposed to be a shy and quiet young lady—but where in this demeanor was the shy young lady? She was quiet, at least.
“What brings you to Maxim’s hospital room?”
At Marion’s question, Christine forced a stiff smile. Stay calm. Natural.
“I came for a hospital visit. I was wondering how he was doing.”
Marion’s gaze shifted past Christine. She could see Maxim looking toward the doorway. He appeared fine, though his hands trembled slightly as if frozen in place. Marion’s voice grew even colder. Though they were indoors, it felt chillier than the winter wind outside.
“This is our first time meeting like this.”
Realizing their first meeting had occurred under the worst possible circumstances, Christine nodded with a creak of her neck.
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Christine Watson, Maxim’s junior.”
A handshake was unnecessary for their first meeting. Marion nodded and offered her own greeting.
“It’s a pleasure. I am Marion Bourdin, Maxim’s fiancée.”
When Marion emphasized the word fiancée, Christine nodded with an even more troubled expression. A path stained with blood? Marion instinctively sensed that the battlefield where she belonged was not limited to one place. On the other hand, Christine had completely lost her will to fight and could only endure Marion’s piercing gaze. She didn’t even dare turn to Maxim for help. She knew that any such mistake would only make the situation worse.
“Have you been taking good care of him?”
“O-of course.”
Deciding that staying any longer served no purpose, Christine moved to step over the threshold and leave quickly. But Marion shifted her body ever so slightly, blocking her path. Marion tilted her head slightly as she looked into Christine’s eyes.
“I’ll be counting on you in the future as well.”
Marion smiled at Christine. It was a smile where only the corners of her mouth rose, while her eyes held the complete opposite light. Facing that smile, Christine answered in a voice that sounded close to tears.
“Y-yes… I’ll be counting on you too…”
Only then did Marion let Christine go. Maxim, who had been watching his junior disappear without looking back, instinctively realized it was now his turn. He sat up awkwardly.
“You’re… early.”
You pathetic fool. Was that all you could think to say?
Maxim felt like tearing his own tongue to shreds. But when he saw Marion’s expression as she approached, bearing an incredibly pure smile, he shook his head vigorously to regain his senses.
“I missed you.”
Marion approached with a smile. Unlike usual, Maxim could not return it with a bright, welcoming grin. Marion’s smile was warmer, brighter, and far more terrifying than usual.
“Yeah… me too.”
While crushing guilt flooded through him, Marion sat down on the chair beside the bed. She looked at Maxim with her usual expression, then suddenly sniffed as if catching some scent, inhaling the lingering fragrance in the air.
“What’s wrong?”
“Just a moment.”
Thump. Maxim felt the light weight of Marion’s body settle over him. He felt her black hair and the soft press of her face against his chest. Sniff. Sniff. As if smelling the air, Marion seemed to be taking in his scent. Maxim could feel her breath against him. Sniff. Sniff.
Unable to stop her or stroke her head, Maxim simply watched as Marion continued her search-like behavior.
“Maxim.”
Marion, who had buried her face in his chest, lifted her head as she called his name. Whatever scent she had caught, her expression was not blank. Her cheeks were slightly puffed, the face of a fiancée expressing discontent. Through the slightly disheveled mask, her blue eyes sparkled in the hospital room’s light.
“Can I stay like this for just a little while?”
With those words, Marion buried her face again. Unable to find words to respond, Maxim could only wear a bitter smile and move his hand to gently stroke her silky black hair as she seemed to request.