“Uhn!”
Incessantly licking her lips and pushing her against the door, Lionel whispered.
“I don’t want to sleep alone tonight. I need your warmth.”
Riv’s eyes glazed over from his repeated affection.
Instead of pushing him away, she pulled Lionel into the bedroom.
“Lionel, your clothes smell.”
“I couldn’t change because I came down in a hurry.”
“Then change into new clothes. I prepared some.”
“You did?”
“I made them based on other clothes of yours. Check if they fit.”
“I will.”
Lionel gladly entered Riv’s bedroom, as if enchanted.
The winter wind rattled the windows, but they didn’t feel the cold.
The next morning, Riv hurriedly packed her things and looked at herself in the mirror.
Her face, which had been depressed, was revitalized due to the excitement.
“Lionel is here.”
It was a dream-like moment. It felt unreal.
Riv stroked her short hair.
It was a bit awkward, but it wasn’t that bad.
Since she was slim, even though her gown was simple, it still looked elegant.
“Pretty.”
Riv murmured to herself.
She reached out to the mirror.
The texture of the mirror was cold and bitter like the winter outside.
“It’ll be fine because you’re with him.”
Riv let go of the anxiety within her.
It would be okay, even if her predetermined fate came true.
Her life was no longer a tragedy.
Riv finished packing her things and went downstairs.
Lionel was waiting for her beside the carriage.
He was dressed in the winter clothes Riv had made.
“Lionel.”
Lionel turned his head and looked at her.
Even if there were hundreds of people, Riv was confident that she would recognize him at once. He stood out in her eyes.
“Are you leaving right away?”
Moldova asked, sadly. Lionel responded.
“Anna and Aiden need an extra hour or two to pack.”
“Are we taking Chewy too?”
Lionel remembered the black dog.
“I heard Aiden had become attached to it and said that he was going to bring it. How bothersome.”
Lionel said it was annoying, but it didn’t really seem to matter.
Riv realized that they had a little more time at the villa.
“Lionel, can we go for a walk while we wait?”
“Wear a hat and a coat, and then we can.”
“Ah!”
Riv realized that she had left her shawl, overcoat and hat in her room. She packed in a hurry, so she accidentally left the things she often wore in her room.
“I’m going to the bedroom. I’ll also look around and see if I left anything else.”
“Check carefully and come down.”
Unlike yesterday, Lionel seemed quite relaxed.
Riv left him behind and headed for the bedroom.
She heard snippets of a conversation between Michelle and Lionel as she walked away.
“By the way, my Lord, that’s an outfit I’ve never seen before.”
“My wife made it for me.”
Michelle chuckled at Lionel’s bragging tone.
Riv quickly arrived at their bedroom and grabbed her hat and coat. She didn’t forget her shawl either.
As she looked around her room for the last time, she noticed the wooden chest containing her magic tools.
‘I almost forgot.’
They were Riv’s precious treasures that she had collected and stored for half a year. She packed the box as well.
“Let’s go.”
Riv made sure that nothing was left behind and stepped out of the room without any regrets.
Riv took her last walk around the villa with Lionel.
He quietly followed her. Riv looked back at him.
Lionel’s face was a little pale.
“It’s cold.”
“Not as cold as the North.”
“The wind is sharp here too.”
Lionel clicked his tongue as he looked into the wilderness.
The wilderness was barren and cold. The road was not frozen, but the warmth of plants could no longer be felt.
Everything felt frozen.
“You said you took a walk here every day?”
“Yes.”
Riv circled the villa alongside Lionel.
They didn’t have much time, so all they did was wander.
“Riv, you’re very attached to this place, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry you have to leave.”
The normally vibrant grass lay flat and dull against the dirt as a strong wind blew through the trees.
Riv linked arms with Lionel. Their shadow looked like a loving couple.
He was the man she saved. She saved him for the Sentinos, and she saved him for herself.
Riv was delighted to feel Lionel’s warmth again.
“I heard that there were witches and wizards here.”
“Even if there were, it’s a thing of the past.”
Lionel looked down over the distant village.
“I came here with my mother when I was very young. It doesn’t seem like much has changed since then.”
“Is that so?”
“It’s a place so remote that rarely anyone visits. It’s nice to hide in, but I don’t come here often.”
“Really? Still, I like this place.”
Riv looked around the land where life and power resided. Everything was asleep. If she left now, she would have a hard time coming back.
“Goodbye.”
Riv whispered a faint farewell to the land.
“But, Lionel, what happened to Princess Marianne?”
Lionel sighed.
“Did you hear that Marianne had an accident and her engagement was broken?
Lionel stared intently at Riv.
“Riv, isn’t it difficult hearing about Princess Marianne?”
“I’ve forgotten about her.”
Riv no longer dreamed of Marianne.
“Can she still interfere with our lives?”
“No.”
“Then it doesn’t matter.”
All Riv wanted to do was spend her precious remaining time with Lionel. There was no room for Marianne to intervene.
Lionel extended his hand towards her.
“Let’s go home, Riv.”
“Home.”
Those words sounded so sweet.
Riv firmly grabbed Lionel’s hand.
And thus, they returned to the Royal Capital.
***
Marianne stared at the old man whom her parents said was going to be her husband.
“W-Why?”
He was an old man with wrinkled skin and gray hair, much older than her father.
He was a prince who had been excommunicated from the Royal Family. He had long been removed from the line of succession.
Marianne’s father embraced the man.
“I am glad that you have agreed to marry my daughter, Grand Duke of Shantel.”
“Thank you for giving me your precious daughter as my wife.”
Shantel smiled widely at Marianne. Even his smile was disgusting.
“Oh, Dad, I can’t do this. I can’t do this, I can’t!”
Not long ago, she was going to be the Crown Princess of a foreign country.
It fell apart because of her pregnancy. Even so, how could her groom become an old man overnight?
“I can’t do this!”
“Shut up! Marianne, what are you saying to your husband!”
Her father, who should have been her greatest ally, gave her a contemptuous look and scolded her.
“If you had taken good care of yourself, this wouldn’t have happened! No one was willing to pay for you except Grand Duke Shantel.”
“Father!”
“Everyone thinks that the Royal Family should be the one paying for someone to take a dirty Princess like you as their wife!”
The reason Grand Duke Shantel was chosen as Marianne’s husband was because he paid a large sum of money.
A bride price.
“Your Highness, don’t worry. I will tame Marianne well.”
“Please…”
“Everything will be fine.”
Grand Duke Shantel hugged Marianne tightly.
His hands were old and wrinkled. He smelled unpleasant, almost disgusting.
For Marianne, it was utterly humiliating.
“Princess Marianne is cute and pretty, but she’s spoiled.”
“…..”
“Princess Marianne, please marry me.”
The Royal Family applauded in unison.
They got married right away in a small church connected to the palace.
Marianne was terrified. Grand Duke Shantel was rumored to be a pervert with a fondness for children.
“No, I hate this!”
Marianne protested, but no one listened to her.
***
The return of the Duke and Duchess to the Royal Capital was carried out very quietly.
One evening, when no one was watching, the servants of the Duke’s household rejoiced over the return of their master and his wife.
They ran out and escorted their carriage.
“Duke, Madame, are you really back?”
“It’s been such a long time since you left!”
The Duke and his wife had returned, half a year after the Royal Family had framed them for treason.
It was summer when they left, and it was winter when they returned.
Riv got out of the carriage and immediately shivered from the cold that pierced her body.
Even the servants who greeted them seemed chilled by the night’s cold.
“It’s really cold.”
Riv’s breath came out in puffs of smoke.
“You’ll get used to it.”
For Riv, who was adjusted to the warm winters of the south, the Royal Capital was terribly cold.
Claudel and a few other maids welcomed Riv and hugged her excitedly, while the butler wiped away tears.
“We’re back.”
When Riv saw them, she realized that she was finally back home.
The butler, Karl, seemed to have suffered a lot. He looked like he had aged a few years in the 6 months they were gone.
“We can exchange greetings later, but first, let’s go inside.”
They entered the warm house. Aiden and Anna followed closely behind them.
They came back to the Royal Capital in a hurry, so Riv was tired and needed a rest.
But suddenly, Lionel picked up Riv.
“Lionel?”
Riv froze as he began to climb the stairs.
***