A Winter Without Much Snow
The story I rewrite once more. Perhaps because it had rained so much that summer, this winter brought far less snow than I expected. Or to be precise, the amount of snow that fell wasn’t all that different from the previous year, but the amount that actually stuck to the ground was noticeably smaller.
“Haa, as soon as the sun comes out it melts right away again.”
That very morning, while I was studying, the fine snow had been falling quite steadily outside the window. Yet by the time we went for lunch it had stopped as if it had never been there, and after the meal the little that had piled up melted completely under the bright sunlight. René let out a long sigh, releasing the faint hope she had been holding onto.
After finishing the cleaning, she looked through the spotless glass window and saw that the only white snow remaining lay in the shadows of trees where sunlight barely reached. René grumbled that this winter was disappointing in every way.
“Isn’t this enough to still count as winter?”
Unlike her, I thought it wasn’t so bad that snow fell moderately without creating too many annoying chores. I offered that opinion, only to meet her steady gaze and promptly close my mouth.
Instead of going outside to scrape together the scarce snow and play, the two of us sisters spent the afternoon in the study reading books we had brought, with a droopy Alraune sprawled beside us.
“Whew, it’s a relief that this winter isn’t as harsh as the summer was difficult.”
After that, Father went around checking even the remote villages to make sure the territory’s residents wouldn’t suffer through a difficult winter, Mother’s longtime maid retired after getting married, and many other things kept us busy. The days flew by, and before we knew it, the year had changed.
Once the new year arrived, our family began preparing to attend Arlan and Aran’s academy graduation ceremony.
“They say quite a few beasts have been spotted in the southern forest lately. Keep an eye out with the possibility of monster migrations in mind.”
“Yes, Marquis.”
While Father meticulously went over every detail to ensure no major problems would arise in the territory during our absence and delegated tasks to trustworthy people, we sisters went with Mother to a clothing shop to have new formal outfits made that would fit our rapidly growing bodies.
“René, how about something with a bit more decoration this time?”
“That’s right. There will be many young ladies from other families at the academy graduation ceremony. This one is far too plain.”
“As you say, it is plain without any decorations, but I prefer this one. It’s calm and not overly flashy.”
René was quickly swept away by the shop owner and Mother’s sweet words and immediately picked out a dress covered in enormous ribbons and layers of frills. But no matter how I thought about it, I simply couldn’t wear something like that, so I held my ground citing personal taste.
“It’s clothes we’re having made after so long… Sigh, if that’s what you want, I suppose there’s no helping it.”
“Thank you for understanding, Mother.”
“That’s not understanding, it’s giving up, René.”
In the end, Mother raised the white flag. She told the owner to make the dress exactly as I requested, then turned her full attention to René, the genuine little girl who loved dressing up.
“Lady René, as expected, something that matches your sister’s…”
“No.”
The owner had been subtly trying to persuade me as I watched the scene, but when I cut her off with a firm refusal, she finally gave up on any other ideas. She took my measurements, then sketched a design based on my requests.
“How about this?”
“Hmm, I’d like it if you removed all those decorations.”
“Ah, but those are the focal points…”
I trimmed away the unnecessary parts from the proud sketch she showed me, then asked for interior pockets and extra insulation for warmth. The price came out a little high, but Mother paid the deposit without hesitation.
In my previous life I could just order whatever I wanted online without even going to a store.
After we finished our business and stepped outside the shop, I found myself missing that convenience as I automatically followed Mother down the street.
Mother headed for the largest general store in the district. The owner recognized us immediately by the color of our sisters’ hair and rushed out to greet us with a bright smile.
“What brings you all the way here…”
“We came because I’d like to prepare some gifts.”
When the owner cautiously asked the reason for our visit, Mother raised her hand and requested one fishing rod—no, two. She asked for sturdy ones that would last a long time, along with tools simple enough to fix minor problems. The owner blinked, then broke into a wide smile and assured her he would take care of everything.
“Then I’ll trust you with it.”
“Yes. I will prepare them without fail so you are never disappointed.”
After receiving the deposit and bowing deeply, the owner promptly handed a hair accessory to René, who had been staring intently at the display inside the store.
“This is a small gift from me.”
He gave me one as well, calling them little presents. We thanked him properly with a polite bow. Mother watched with a pleased expression and, once we were back in the carriage heading to the mansion, praised us for always maintaining proper etiquette like we had today.
“Then today’s snacks…”
“That’s a separate matter, René.”
René had tried to sneakily increase her snack portion while Mother was in a good mood, but failed. She fiddled with the hair accessory she had unexpectedly received during the outing and comforted herself with it.
After that, we checked everything several times until all preparations were complete. Our family then climbed into the carriage bound for the academy—or more precisely, the empire’s second most prosperous city where the academy was located.
“Maybe I should have brought Alraune along…”
As I marveled at the unfamiliar scenery unfolding beyond the carriage window during the journey to the academy, I expressed my regret over leaving Alraune behind at the mansion.
René scooted closer when she saw me sighing over not being able to show her the view. She told me there was no need to feel so bad, because even if we had brought her, Alraune would probably have been completely limp and unable to enjoy it properly.
“That’s… yeah, she probably would have.”
I had started to say that surely wouldn’t be the case, but then remembered how, on the day we left the mansion, Alraune had only waved her hand a few times before immediately slipping back into the warm interior. I changed my words.
Following the well-maintained roads toward the academy, we encountered sleet that cost us two extra days, but otherwise arrived on schedule without any particular incidents or trouble.
To be exact, it was a city that had grown prosperous around the academy and the surrounding villages, but we were too exhausted from the long journey to bother with such details and simply let it pass.
“I apologize for taking up your time, Marquis Lorelei.”
“Not at all. It’s only natural.”
After confirming our identities and entering the city, we observed the tightened security prepared for nobles who had come from not only the empire but other countries as well for the academy graduation. Then we headed to Mother’s family home—what would be my maternal grandparents’ house.
“Mother, have you been well all this time?”
“Hehe, I’ve been spending peaceful days as always.”
Whether because they had received word in advance or had simply been waiting for us, Grandmother—with her warm and gentle face—came out to greet us the moment our carriage entered the grounds. She smiled at René and me as we stepped down and greeted her properly.
“We greet Marquis Lorelei and the Marchioness.”
“Eddie, are you giving me the cold shoulder because it’s been so long?”
“How could I possibly commit such an insolent act…”
My uncle, who appeared a beat later and bore a strong resemblance to Mother, exchanged greetings with Father in a friendly, teasing manner as if they shared a personal bond, then welcomed us warmly.
“You must be quite tired from the long journey, so let’s continue our conversation inside.”
“Yes. Then… please show René and Rene to their rooms.”
“Understood, Count.”
At Grandmother’s words, we quickly entered the mansion. Once we reached the rooms we had been guided to, we flopped onto the sofa as if on cue and let out long sighs.
After lying there for quite a while, we got up, changed into suitable clothes, and joined the adults in the drawing room. We munched on the cookies prepared to have with tea.
“Mmm…”
As expected of a prosperous city, the cookies were vastly different from what we ate at home. Both their appearance and taste were exceptionally good. René and I kept eating them with blissful expressions until we heard Mother clear her throat and quickly composed ourselves.
“Anna, you’re being too hard on the children for simply eating sweets.”
“But…”
Grandmother gave Mother a wry smile and brought up the time when Mother was little and had secretly carried an entire jar full of cookies to her room to eat. She defended us by saying that compared to eating an entire large jar of cookies by herself in two days, our behavior was positively adorable. Mother’s face turned red like a girl our age and she fell silent.
“Hehe, they’re delicious.”
“When we go back, let’s tell Mother… I mean Father, and buy a bunch to take home.”
“Oh, that’s a great idea.”
Thanks to Grandmother taking our side, we got to enjoy all kinds of cookies. We made a firm promise to buy a huge amount of sweets to bring back when we returned to the mansion.
And as the sun began to set, Arlan and Aran hurried over to the mansion—probably after being informed by Grandmother or Uncle.
“You should have let us know in advance if you were coming.”
“Haha, Aran, what are you saying when you’re the one who hasn’t contacted home even once?”
“W-well, at least I didn’t get held back like Brother.”
Aran had expressed his disappointment with a smiling face, claiming to be surprised, but quickly threw Arlan under the bus when Father spoke with a laugh. The two brothers glared at each other, and I chuckled, thinking they were still such kids, before shifting my attention to the academy uniforms they were wearing.
Not bad at all.
The real thing looked much better than the illustrations I had seen in the original work. I thought they were decent enough to wear casually, but then realized a beat later that the girls’ uniform I would be wearing at the academy was not the same.
“Ah.”
Because it was an academy story, the female students’ uniforms had rather short skirts. The moment that depressing realization crossed my mind, Arlan, who had been fidgeting as if he had something to say, spoke words that probably none of us here had expected.
“Um… Father.”
“Yes? If you have something to say, speak freely.”
“At the academy… there is a woman I wish to form a marital bond with. In other words, I want to get married.”
The moment he spoke those words with a serious face, everyone in the room stopped what they were doing as if they had all made a pact. The entire space fell completely silent.