I Start with a Bad Hand!

Despite all the chaos, everyone had a fairly pleasant holiday. Until the blizzard subsided, we played card games to our heart’s content or rehearsed for the play scheduled for the next semester. Unlike last semester, only Agnes was participating in my play this time, but the other two, drawing from their experience in the previous semester, took on minor roles.

“This script… is impressive.”

Klaus’s words, spoken with a somewhat relieved expression, bothered me a bit.

‘Why is this guy relieved?’

As soon as the blizzard stopped, Logan returned to his estate with a completely devastated face. Several guards from the Marquis’s house followed him, under the pretext of delivering a letter.

From that day on, Irene, looking somewhat lighter, began to hum softly. The same went for the butler, August. Sarah mentioned that he too, looking somewhat relieved, had opened a bottle of wine he had been saving for a long time.

“He always said he wouldn’t open it unless something really good happened. This is surprising.”

Would I see Logan again when we returned to the academy? I had never looked forward to a new semester like this before, but I too felt a sense of relief as I hummed a tune and went to find Agnes, who was already waiting for me downstairs.

‘When I first came, I wondered how I would entertain them for three weeks in Heylem… but now, the departure day is approaching.’

For those from a city where life’s pleasures are readily available, I hoped they would have as good an experience as possible in this place where, unless you actively sought it out, there was nothing to see but the bonfire.

“Wow, I’ve never done anything like this before.”

What I eventually brought out was winter sports. Ice skating, cross-country skiing, and snow sledding were so classic they hardly needed mentioning. At first, the city dwellers flailed as if they were being tortured, unable to control their limbs. Under August’s guidance, they gradually became competent athletes, soon dashing across the ice and snow with sparkling eyes, moving like newborn fawns.

Irene watched their awkward movements with a slightly displeased expression as she continued with her tasks inside the castle. I observed from a distance, warming myself by the fire. Of course, the fawns requested a few times for me to join them.

“Why can’t you skate properly when you live in a place like this?”

“I haven’t been able to skate since I broke my leg.”

But skating and skiing were never my sports to begin with. After gently turning down Agnes, Klaus, with his cheeks flushed, approached me a while later.

“But it would be fun to practice together.”

“I just got my leg fixed; I don’t want to break it again.”

Besides, there was no need to learn now. Once these city folks left, I wouldn’t be going outside the castle anyway, and most importantly, this winter would be my last. Klaus, looking a bit disappointed, returned to the ice.

They enjoyed the sports while I watched. It became a quite natural scene when onlookers began to gather.

“Youth is wonderful.”

“Oh dear! Look at how quickly they get up after falling. This is why you need strong knees.”

The elderly locals murmured as they watched the city folks enjoy winter sports as if there were no tomorrow. However, they too started to subtly showcase their seasoned sports skills.

At first, the elderly locals leisurely skated backward, capturing Agnes’s attention, and eventually, without even looking, they elegantly avoided branches on the ice, drawing Klaus’s admiration. Despite demonstrating skills that would normally go unnoticed, their expressions remained as aloof and indifferent as ever.

‘Is this a senior sports class or what…’

The young ones, with their only advantages being youth and vigor, couldn’t help but be captivated by the veteran skaters of Heylem, who had experience, skill, and composure.

“Your estate people are really something,” Klaus murmured, watching an old man ski with one hand on a pole and the other holding a cup of tea.

Klaus’s shoulders and head were slightly wet with snow from his tumbles. As he approached to dry his clothes by the fire, I made room for him and warmed my hands. Watching the spectacle, I explained the curious show to him.

“They must be happy you guys are here. They don’t usually show off like that.”

“Really?”

At that moment, Agnes interrupted. Her cheeks were flushed red from the cold and the intense activity.

“Then why do they all look so grim?”

“Grim?”

I looked at the elderly locals. They seemed as expressionless as usual, except for the faint curiosity they had towards us.

“Grim? They look a bit happier than usual.”

“Really?”

Agnes asked in confusion.

“Are you saying they’re usually even more expressionless?”

I had never thought about it that way. Taken aback by Agnes pointing out something I hadn’t noticed, I stammered.

“Uh… yeah?”

“When I first saw you, I thought you looked really gloomy. Now I get it.”

“What? What do you mean?”

What does she mean, this girl? Agnes nodded as if she had figured something out and then skated away. I turned to Klaus, who hadn’t left yet, giving him a silent plea to explain Agnes’s statement.

Klaus, looking at Agnes and then back at me, stammered.

“Uh… you weren’t gloomy.”

That sounded like a lie. Seeing his uncertain expression, I broke the typical Heylem demeanor and smiled faintly. Klaus’s expression became even more flustered.

“You don’t have to say that just to be nice.”

“No, really. Um… you were… bright.”

“Bright?”

After a short pause, Klaus awkwardly smiled.

“Well, I should go join them.”

…Klaus really couldn’t lie. Watching him walk away, I thought so.

As the winter sports session ended, the somewhat bedraggled and damp city folks headed back to the shopping district. Suddenly, as she touched a piece of delicate winter fabric, Agnes muttered something out of the blue.

“Every estate really has its own charm.”

Klaus lowered himself to match Agnes’s height.

“Huh?”

“The people here call real zombies ‘zombie-allies’.”

“What? Really?”

“They also dig up potatoes with shovels. I saw shovels stuck in the fields and thought it was odd, but they said they leave them there to dig up potatoes in the spring.”

Agnes, still looking incredulous, shared more of Heylem’s traditions with Klaus, who turned to me with an innocent expression.

“But I believed it back then too.”

“…Huh?”

“You didn’t seem like someone who would lie.”

Klaus’s sincere comment was the kind that would have been easier to handle if it had been an accusation of deceit. Agnes looked at him with a puzzled expression.

“But Dietrich.”

“Yeah?”

“Where are the people you said play music with their teeth?”

Damn it. How far did my lies go? That question sent a chill down my spine, rivaling the external cold of Heylem. I cleared my throat and looked down.

“Well, they don’t do that anymore.”

“What?”

Klaus looked disappointed, like a fan learning their favorite band had suddenly broken up.

“They had to stop because… all their teeth fell out.”

“W-What?”

“See that person over there?”

I pointed to an old estate resident who smiled and waved. Klaus’s gaze followed my gesture, landing on the man’s toothless grin.

“He lost his last front tooth. If it had been a molar, he might have been able to play a bit longer…”

Now, the tradition of Heylem had vanished with his front tooth. As I spoke solemnly, I saw Klaus clasp his hands in silent respect. Agnes still looked at us as if we were speaking nonsense.

Dressed in winter gear and slippery shoes, the two explored our estate energetically. They slipped and crashed on the unpaved icy surfaces, inadvertently causing minor damage everywhere they went.

“Oh dear, they’re wrecking our estate!”

The young visitors were enthusiastically demolishing the remnants of an older era. The only person smiling at this sight was the lone carpenter of Heylem, seeing potential business.

Thus, a day of simultaneous creation, destruction, and economic stimulation in Heylem drew to a close.

***

‘With so many people, the firewood runs out quickly.’

I sighed, seeing my breath fog up the air. I put on thin leather gloves. Besides my coat, they were my only winter wear. Chopping wood would warm me up, making hats and scarves unnecessary. After drinking a cup of tea to warm myself, I finally mustered the courage to head out into the pre-dawn twilight.

The firewood I had stacked before winter was slowly dwindling. Fortunately, if I estimated correctly, there should be enough to last until the city folks left…

‘Better than running out,’ I thought as I lightly stretched and was just about to pick up the axe.

“Are you preparing the firewood yourself?” 

Even though the dawn was breaking, the person in the robe’s face remained hidden. However, I lowered my hand, which was lifting the axe, and looked at the person slowly approaching from behind the pile of snow-covered logs. 

Eyes the color of clear water gleamed transparently even in the darkness. Despite their clarity, a part of my chest felt murky.

“Young Duke…”

Cedric continued to sneer without responding to my call.

“As the daughter of a Baron’s house, your parents allow you to handle such menial tasks?”

No matter how deteriorated the city was, I didn’t think they were that short of manpower. My chest tightened. I didn’t avoid his confrontational gaze and matched his tone.

“…Why are you here again?”

“It would be better if you spoke with a bit more respect.”

Cedric, who claimed he was patrolling the estate, hadn’t been seen since one morning. I had thought he had gone back to the capital for good due to the lack of word, but here he was, looking down at me and the woodpiles with indifferent eyes. Unlike before when he had come with Evan, this time, he had several knights in tow.

Cedric gestured for the knights to step back. I turned my gaze towards the castle gate. Several carriages, sturdy and luxurious in appearance but without the Duke’s crest, were lined up.

‘Judging by the preparations, it looks like they’ll be leaving soon… Why did he come back?’

As I gave a perfunctory bow and was about to walk away with a sour feeling, he spoke again.

“I heard there was an incident involving Lady Horatius.”

His voice was flat, like someone reciting the evening menu. Even though his fiancée was involved in such an incident, did he really need to speak so nonchalantly? Mixed with a bit of defiance, I straightened my body and looked him directly in the eyes.

“…Yes.”

“Inviting the Marquis’s daughter with such lax security. As always, your understanding of your position is immature.”

No wonder Elexion never withdraws their troops from Heylem after all these years. His words carried a hint of scorn.

‘What do you expect… should the old folks guard the estate with pitchforks?’

Cedric’s gaze shifted to my ankle as he observed my displeased expression. A quiet tut echoed through the wood yard. That was the limit of my patience.

“So, what brings you to me at this early hour…”

In response, Cedric firmly planted the axe he had been holding into the stump. With a sharp sound, it went exactly into the spot I had previously placed it.

Cedric, who had rapidly criticized me, the Baron and Baroness Degoph, and Heylem, gave no answer to my question. When he finally moved, carrying out an inscrutable action, and ultimately revealed the reason for his visit,

“…What are you talking about?”

His words pierced through the dawn, completely unexpected.

“…What are you saying?”