Welcome to the North
The cold air rushed in.
Adeline stepped down first.
The moment she stood on the snow, she looked a little different.
Even in the capital, Adeline had been beautiful.
But Adeline standing in the northern snow seemed far more natural.
Like someone who had finally returned to where she truly belonged.
The hem of her black cloak fluttered in the wind.
Her silver-gray hair caught the light of the snow and appeared even whiter.
The knights all bowed their heads at once.
“We greet the Grand Duchess.”
Their voices were low and resonant.
The very air seemed to tremble.
Adeline gave a short nod.
“You’ve worked hard.”
At those three simple words, the knights’ postures grew even firmer.
Watching them, I felt a quiet sense of awe.
Here, Adeline truly looked like the rightful owner of this land.
Adeline turned and held out her hand to me.
“Your Highness.”
“Yeah.”
I took her hand and stepped down from the carriage.
A large crowd stood before the Grand Ducal Residence.
Knights.
Servants.
Maids.
An elderly man who looked like the butler.
And at the very front, one man who stood out above all the rest.
Even from a distance, he was impossible to miss.
He was tall.
Taller than Adeline.
A heavy black fur cloak draped over his broad shoulders.
Dark gray hair.
Deep-set eyes.
A sharp nose.
He was simply standing there, yet the air around him felt pressed down by his presence.
So that’s him.
The Grand Duke of the North.
Adeline’s father.
I instinctively straightened my back a little.
He’s even scarier than Adeline described?
Adeline spoke quietly beside me.
“Your Highness. That man is my father.”
“Yeah.”
“The current Grand Duke Ernhaert. He is the Lord of the North.”
“Yeah.”
“You don’t need to be too nervous.”
Impossible.
The nobles in the Imperial Palace had the kind of terror that smiled while stabbing you in the back.
This man had the kind of terror that looked like he would cut you down from the front.
If you asked which was better…
I hated them both.
The Grand Duke took one step forward.
Just that single movement made everyone around him fall even quieter.
He looked down at me.
“Your Highness, the youngest prince.”
His voice was low.
It sounded like the gates of a castle creaking open on a winter night.
“Welcome to the North.”
I swallowed hard.
I recalled the northern-style greeting Adeline had taught me.
I took a small breath.
Then I scampered forward.
I nearly slipped on the snow but somehow kept my balance.
When I reached the Grand Duke, I spread both arms wide.
And wrapped them around his waist.
For a moment, the whole world seemed to stop.
Everyone stared at me with shocked eyes.
What? Did I do something wrong?
Even the snowflakes seemed to pause mid-air.
The knights’ breathing vanished.
The servants’ eyes widened.
The elderly butler nearly dropped the cane in his hand.
The Grand Duke froze as well.
That huge man stood completely still.
Like a black boulder embedded in the snow.
Still hugging his waist, I tilted my head.
Why are they acting like this?
It’s supposed to be the northern-style greeting.
I turned my head slightly.
There was Adeline.
She stood just behind me.
Lips pressed tightly together.
Eyes lowered just a fraction.
Her shoulders were trembling faintly.
She was holding back laughter.
“…Northern-style greeting.”
I muttered in a small, uncertain voice.
This is strange. Adeline definitely taught me that this was the northern-style greeting.
I thought she wouldn’t lie about something like this.
Could it be…
Did Adeline trick me?
I remained frozen, still hugging the Grand Duke’s waist.
Letting go now would only make it weirder.
But staying like this was also strange.
The Grand Duke still hadn’t moved.
I spoke softly.
“I learned this as the northern-style greeting.”
The Grand Duke’s gaze slowly lowered.
His face was expressionless.
Cold eyes.
A truly terrifying face.
Cold sweat ran down my back.
I tried to pull my arms away.
At that moment, the Grand Duke’s large hand moved slowly.
It settled on my shoulder.
The Grand Duke said,
“……That’s correct.”
“……?”
“This is indeed the northern-style greeting.”
I blinked.
The Grand Duke’s expression remained stern.
A serious face.
Is he really telling the truth?
I caught the faint upward twitch at the corner of his mouth.
Was he pleased that I had learned the proper northern greeting?
With his hand still on my shoulder, he spoke in a gentle voice.
“You must have had a difficult journey. Thank you for coming all this way, Your Highness.”
I looked up at him.
“Is it really?”
The Grand Duke looked down at me.
Those cold eyes curved ever so slightly.
A kind smile.
“Yes.”
He said,
“Why would I ever lie to Your Highness?”
“……”
I looked at the Grand Duke.
Then I looked at Adeline.
Adeline was slowly lowering the hand she had pressed over her mouth.
Her face had been fighting laughter just moments ago, but now it held a strangely betrayed expression.
She stared at the Grand Duke and muttered under her breath,
“You’ve never once made that face for me.”
Still hugging the Grand Duke’s waist, I watched Adeline.
Her lips were pursed, and her eyes had narrowed.
Jealousy?
It looked like Adeline was sulking because her own father had smiled at me.
I slowly pulled away from the Grand Duke.
“Adeline.”
“Yes.”
Her answer was short.
A little cold.
“Are you sulking?”
“I am not.”
“Liar.”
“I am not.”
“Because your dad smiled at me?”
“There is no way I would show my emotions over something so trivial.”
“But you are.”
“……”
Adeline closed her mouth.
I glanced at the Grand Duke.
He still looked nearly expressionless, but he couldn’t quite erase the smile lingering at the corners of his lips.
I realized something.
The people in this family weren’t lacking in expressions.
They just had very small ones.
So tiny they were hard to read.
Just as Adeline had said.
People who had to learn to read affection that was buried deep.
The Grand Duke spoke again.
“Your Highness.”
“Yeah?”
“Welcome to the North.”
He slowly bent one knee in a slight bow.
It was the proper courtesy shown to royalty.
The knights and servants behind him all lowered their heads in unison.
Black cloaks sank all at once across the snowy field.
For a moment I didn’t know what to do and looked at Adeline.
When she caught my gaze, she gave a small nod.
As if to say it was all right.
I looked back at the Grand Duke.
“Yeah.”
I smiled.
“Hello, North.”
“Yes. The North will also greet Your Highness.”
“The North will?”
“With wind, with snow, with fire.”
He continued,
“At first, it may be a little rough.”
“Adeline said the same thing. She said the North doesn’t know me yet.”
“She is correct.”
The Grand Duke looked up at me and went on.
“But once the North comes to know Your Highness, it will become gentler than anything else. It will show you without reservation the warmth hidden within its coldness.”
“How can the North come to know me?”
The Grand Duke stroked his chin as if thinking for a moment, then said,
“If Your Highness wishes to know the North, if you take the first step toward it, the North will gladly open its heart. Isn’t that how relationships always work? You must each take one step closer before you can meet.”
I slowly turned his words over in my mind.
Was it wrong to just stand still?
Was it wrong to wait for someone to come to me?
Well, of course there was no one who would come to someone like me.
I would only wither away from exhaustion.
I lifted my head and stared blankly at the sky.
I watched the snow falling from above.
The gently drifting flakes touched my face and melted away with a soft sigh.
How fleeting.
Was there any meaning in worrying about such things?
In the end, if I ran away, all these ties would be severed anyway.
“Let us go inside. The wind is cold.”
The Grand Duke held out his hand to me.
It was a large hand.
Similar to Adeline’s, yet rougher and thicker.
Unlike mine, it was the hand of a real adult.
The hand of someone far more mature than a boy who had only lived in years.
I carefully placed my hand in his.
He wrapped it in his own.
It feels like a father.
The thought came to me unbidden.
I shook my head to chase the feeling away.
The path leading into the Grand Ducal Residence was wide.
Torches burned on both sides of the road paved with black stone.
When the doors of the mansion opened, warm air flowed out.
The scent of a fireplace.
The smell of burning firewood.
The aroma of hot soup.
I paused for a moment at the threshold.
Inside was bright.
Not overly glittering like the Imperial Palace.
There was no gold leaf, no marble, no scent of perfume.
Instead, there were thick carpets, old wooden pillars, swords and banners hanging on the walls, and warm firelight.
Adeline came to stand beside me.
“Your Highness.”
“Yeah.”
“Welcome.”
She said,
“To the North.”
I looked into the doorway.
The place I had once thought might be a new prison.
But now the door stood open.
Inside, there was fire.
And beside me was Adeline.
I slowly nodded.
“Yeah.”
And then I added, very quietly,
“Did you have a good trip? Adeline.”
Even as I said it, I thought it was a strange thing to say.
Why would I say something like that when it was my first time here?
But for some reason, I had wanted to say it.
As if I wished the North would say those words to me.
Welcome.
You’re back.
Words like that.
So I wanted to say them to Adeline too.
Adeline’s face slowly softened.
Gently.
She smiled very quietly.
“Yes.”
She said,
“I have returned.”
“Was the trip to the capital enjoyable?”
For some reason, I felt nervous.
Without realizing it, I stared fixedly at her lips.
“Yes, it was enjoyable.”
Adeline answered with a bright smile.
I simply smiled back at her.
I was happy, yet for some strange reason I felt like I might cry.
My throat tightened a little.
I fiddled with the scarf for no reason.
The scarf Adeline had tied for me.
At its ends, the cold scent of the outside world still lingered faintly.
The Grand Duke watched us for a moment, then smiled ever so faintly.
He released my hand and turned to the servants.
“Prepare His Highness’s room. Keep the hearth lit at all times and make the meals soft and gentle.”
The Grand Duke called in a low voice.
“And Adeline.”
Adeline answered immediately.
“Yes, Father.”
The Grand Duke looked at her for a moment.
Then he said,
“You’ve worked hard.”
The Grand Duke didn’t say anything more.
Just those short words.
“It was a long journey.”
“……”
“You did well to return safely.”
The words were rough.
Stiff and clumsy, far too short to be called affectionate.
But Adeline seemed to understand them perfectly.
Like someone who had spent a very long time learning how to read such words.
The tension in her shoulders eased just a little.
“Yes.”
Adeline bowed her head.
“I have returned.”
The Grand Duke nodded.
I watched the two of them.
I felt like I understood a little of what Adeline had told me.
People who were clumsy at expressing themselves.
The affection buried within those clumsy words.
Like embers hidden inside very small eyes.
But they were definitely there.
I thought it was a little enviable.
And I thought it was a little warm.