Chapter 22

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 22

Chapter Title: Summer Yearning

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“Aden?”

He didn’t respond, just as she’d grown used to.

The persistent darkness still unnerved her.

Was this another dream?

“Aden? Are you there?”

“Yes, I’m here.”

Her second call brought a swift reply.

His deep sigh stirred the hot air around her.

Oddly enough, the room felt sweltering.

Much hotter than Viscount Arlen’s estate.

It was like stepping into a windowless room in the peak of midsummer.

“...Biplten, right?”

Aden belatedly realized she was asking about their location.

“Yes. This is Ilrin’s room.”

“But...”

Ilrin fanned herself with her hand.

“It’s... incredibly hot.”

“...Ah.”

The air around her cooled in an instant.

Ilrin blinked.

Was that Aden’s doing?

“I didn’t know the temperature of sunlight. My apologies.”

His words confirmed it.

The softly spoken apology even carried a hint of timidity, uncharacteristic for him.

Ilrin blinked quietly.

Ah, right. The head of the house’s power.

Realizing the situation, Ilrin let out a small laugh.

A dry cough escaped her parched throat.

“It’s fine.”

Ilrin exhaled briefly and closed her eyes.

Whether her eyes were open or shut, the darkness was the same, but it no longer felt frightening.

“You’ve woken from the dream, haven’t you?”

Ilrin asked softly.

It wasn’t a question for someone outside the dream, but she needed confirmation.

“Yes.”

This felt far more real.

Ilrin smiled.

“Has Aden ever been out in the sunlight?”

“Yes.”

The answer came immediately.

Of course, if he had, he wouldn’t have heated the entire mansion trying to replicate its temperature.

“Then have you ever seen a Biplten summer?”

“There are no summers in Biplten, Ilrin.”

Aden’s voice was calm yet clear.

He gripped her hand tightly.

“What about the succession ceremony?”

His response was a beat slower this time.

“Did you see something at the succession ceremony?”

“Yes.”

I’ve seen it until now.

Ilrin took a short breath.

She’d had nightmares too, but the initial scene was undoubtedly from the succession ceremony.

A vibrant summer manor, a coastline where white foam crashed against the shore.

“I saw Biplten’s bright summer.”

How wonderful it would have been if Mobil had been there.

Every time she gazed at that scenery, Ilrin had searched for Mobil.

Something she’d hoped never to see at Viscount Arlen’s estate, but in that landscape, she desperately wished for it.

“There were even cliffs in the distance. Do you know if Biplten has a coastline?”

Wherever it was, it was definitely Biplten.

Ilrin spoke while vividly recalling the clear seaside scene.

Unlike the Viscount Arlen estate nightmare that was already fragmenting, this memory remained sharp.

The scary part was the nightmare, but yes, that was just a dream.

Ilrin squeezed Aden’s hand.

This was reality.

“First I’ve heard of it.”

“There was a vast sea.”

Ilrin spread her free hand wide.

“A long, expansive beach.”

It was an incredibly beautiful sight.

How nice it would be to see it again.

If only we could stand together on that beach with Mobil.

Ilrin felt a deep pang of regret.

“Summer... Could I see it again if we held the succession ceremony once more?”

Aden fell silent for a moment.

She could feel his fingers tapping lightly on the bedframe.

Ilrin quietly attuned her ears to the heartbeat-like rhythm.

“Do you want to see summer?”

Aden finally asked after a long pause.

His voice was somewhat subdued.

Only then did Ilrin realize her mistake.

Asking about summer might have been unwelcome to the Duke of Winter.

“Cold Biplten isn’t so bad.”

It really wasn’t, but it sounded like mere consolation to anyone listening.

Fortunately, Aden let out a small chuckle.

He gently stroked her hand as he whispered.

“My father loved summer too. Or rather, he yearned for it.”

Ilrin tilted her head slightly at his words.

“That’s why he wanted to give summer to my mother.”

‘Father was a man who yearned for summer.’

‘Father was content showing Mother the light of Ello, but that’s not true sunlight.’

Eh...? Familiar words.

Ilrin’s eyes widened.

“Of course, he couldn’t give her a real summer.”

Ilrin’s heart raced.

“If you wish it, I’ll bring summer back to this place.”

It was what Den had said in her precognitive dream.

Beth, the head physician of Delroz, had been enduring some truly grueling days lately.

It wasn’t something one should say in a place where ice never formed, but those few days felt like walking on thin ice.

“You’ve grown much healthier.”

He couldn’t even remember how long he’d waited to say those words.

The Duchess, who had unknowingly drained the life out of the Delroz household, was fortunately healthier than most sun-dwellers.

Once she awoke and began moving, her recovery progressed rapidly.

“Still, you must take care.”

Of what? Are there still issues? Aden’s chilling gaze turned to Beth.

“Be especially careful at night.”

“...”

It was clear he had no intention of heeding that particular advice, no matter what else he might accept.

Aden gestured dismissively.

A signal to leave.

“Really, no. Please? Let her rest a bit.”

Beth spoke more firmly for the sake of his suffering Madam.

But the Duke remained unmoved.

When he wanted her found, he’d searched relentlessly, yet now even uttering the words to leave was too much—another gesture sufficed.

Still, when ordered to leave, a subordinate had no choice but to obey. Such was the sorrow of the lower ranks.

As Beth sighed and exited, Aden let out an even deeper sigh.

If he admitted to spending the night she awoke with her, Beth would probably collapse in front of Ilrin’s door then and there.

‘Is there a secret I shouldn’t know?’

Ilrin’s question last night had been a bit special.

‘No.’

He’d answered without hesitation.

Throughout the long night, he’d pondered what she meant, but Ilrin never explained.

What had she wanted to say?

He thought of the deep summer scent he’d inhaled that night.

“Your Grace, it’s Ijis.”

Lately, the busiest person in the mansion was his adjutant, Ijis.

With him holed up in Ilrin’s room, all major duties had fallen to Ijis.

Unlike Milo, Ijis never shot resentful glances.

Still, after so long as his adjutant, Aden could read those subtle shifts in expression.

That’s why he’d given him a break.

Ijis shouldn’t have had reason to come.

“Come in.”

Ijis entered without fully brushing the snow from his clothes.

“A messenger from the Yester Tribe requests an audience.”

“Is this water temperature alright?”

Ilrin smiled awkwardly.

Beside her stood the Delroz maids in a neat line.

Each held massage tools or creams.

The one with the cream was quickly stopped by Etra.

It wasn’t for sun-dwellers, she said.

“It seemed fine when you used it before...”

The maid protested softly, but Etra wouldn’t budge.

Just in case, only items cleared by the head physician could be used.

The two maids bickered in hushed tones.

“Isn’t this too hot?”

“Sun-dwellers use even warmer water.”

“Out.”

Etra sternly shooed away even those maids amid the disagreement.

Ilrin smiled awkwardly.

“It’s fine.”

The maids dithered, unsure whether to enter or leave.

Etra finally gestured for them to come in, as Madam said it was okay.

They fussed over the water temperature and even used sun-made cloths for the bath.

Until Madam fully recovered, only sun items would be used.

“If it’s uncomfortable, please say so.”

The Delroz maids clearly saw their often-ailing Madam as a gravely fragile lady, even by sun standards.

When she stepped from the bath, soft cloth was laid beneath her feet.

A maid wrapped her arm in a towel to prevent slips and even supported her steps.

Her hair, dulled from prolonged bedrest, received every oil imaginable.

The maids didn’t stop brushing until it shone and swayed beautifully.

The incoming food was no different.

“This is too cold.”

Beth inspected every dish meticulously.

When Ilrin felt burdened, he even murmured his checks from the corridor’s end.

But Ilrin couldn’t miss it.

In the end, she burst into laughter.

“I’m not that ill.”

“Still, we must be cautious with each one.”

“I’m fine...”

As Ilrin kept refusing, Beth clutched not her hand—he couldn’t—but the bedsheet beside it.

“Otherwise, we’ll die, Madam.”

She had no idea how chilling the mansion had been while she slept.

Seeing the physician often, she just thought he was worried.

“Then call if you truly need it.”

The maids, who’d clung like they were glued to her lips, filed out with Beth.

Ilrin was left alone in the now-quiet room, as always.

She gazed silently at the ceiling.

Well-maintained and spotless, no strange shadows marred it.

This place wasn’t scary, even with the door open.

She couldn’t refuse the maids’ overzealous care—not because it was overwhelming, but because it was so unlike Viscount Arlen’s maids.

Wondering if she deserved such attention, yet seeing their desperate eyes pleading ‘don’t refuse or we’ll die,’ she couldn’t say no.

Sorry, but grateful.

What eased her guilt-like feeling was how much they seemed to enjoy it.

“...”

Ilrin lowered her gaze from the ceiling.

‘Father was a man who yearned for summer.’

In the quiet, Den’s voice kept echoing.

‘My father loved summer too. Or rather, he yearned for it.’

Aden’s words as well.

Come to think of it, their names were strikingly similar.

‘Is there a secret I shouldn’t know?’

That was the only thing nagging at her.

Now, she stood right before the answer.

He’d answered without a second thought: no.

Ilrin looked out the window.

A horse entering the mansion came into view.

The rider atop it was familiar.

Even in the fiercer blizzard as April neared, his black hair gleamed under the torchlight.

‘You’re the only one who’d ask the Duke of Winter if he’s cold.’

She recalled the words while staring at his deceptively light attire.

He’d be here soon.

Ilrin trembled like grass in the wind.

Yesterday, she’d gained a sliver of certainty.

It was a puzzle piece she held but hadn’t realized she possessed.

The connection between Den and Aden.

[Looking into the Duke of Biplten’s eyes will freeze you solid.]

It was likely exaggerated rumor.

Regardless of truth, the rumor’s existence mattered.

It made the Duke of Biplten an intimidating figure.

Plenty to check powerful rival houses.

No one would test it by staring him down experimentally.

Not even her.

The problem was the other Delroz knights.

The maids too.

The Duke of Biplten was elusive, appearing and vanishing unpredictably.

Other houses couldn’t track how he moved between the seventh floor or whether he was inside or out.

That was easy—just pass through Delroz territory.

But traversing Delroz territory posed issues.

He wasn’t faceless, nor did he wear masks, so sudden appearances in corridors had to be considered.

What if unknowing maids met his eyes and froze?

Of course, veiling his face with clothing was an option.

But that had limits during succession ceremonies or other mansion events.

“...”

Then the answer was one.

A public face.

Click.

With the sound of the light extinguishing, the room plunged into darkness.