It was cold.
Rosenta couldn't see well because of the heavy snow that blocked his view.
He cradled the little crow in his arms.
He felt a light warmth.
"Enoch, just a little bit more...….”
Early yesterday, Enoch used his teleportation magic to move them to the north.
Problems followed.
Like Silva, the northern Glaciers was also located in a hidden location where outsiders could not easily access them.
[t/n: Glaciers is the name of the northern territory.]
This meant that they had no choice but to walk around on foot because they didn't know the coordinates.
They had been doing so for two days.
They continuously trekked through the snowstorm.
Not long after waking up, Enoch, tired from using magic in succession, quickly collapsed.
"Huuuu...….”
Enoch was in his arms, breathing raggedly as if he were going to burst.
Stamina was their primary concern.
No matter how much warmth is shared, a weakened body will inevitably be vulnerable to the cold.
"Just a bit more, just hang in there a little longer."
Rosenta murmured quietly to the crow, peeking its head out from his thick clothes.
Then he hugged him tightly.
As if he wanted to share even just a bit more of his warmth.
But it was common to encounter difficulties in unexpected places.
Like now.
"Ugh!"
The snowstorm was getting worse, and he couldn't even open his eyes.
As a result, he kept staggering and ended up stepping in the wrong place resulting in his leg sinking into the snow.
In the end, he fell over.
"Enoch?"
‘Is he trying to support me or is he trying to tell me we’ve done enough?’
The crow, which was gasping as if it were dying, flapped its wings and wrapped around his face for the first time.
"No, it's cold...….”
But he carefully folded Enoch's wings and put him back into his arms.
‘Let's get up now.’
He needed to get up quickly...… Strangely, his body didn't move.
As if he were frozen, he couldn't move, and his eyelids were growing heavier.
"I have to get to Glaciers...….”
‘After firmly preventing the upcoming disaster, we’ll get to see Caligo's enraged expression.’
Rosenta’s thoughts were pleasant.
But apart from that, his body continued to reject his will.
Gradually, his vision became blurred.
"Oh...….”
Through his hazy, foggy vision, phantom-like gray eyes faintly appeared.
***
Rosa’s eyes opened.
At the same time, she raised her upper body with a tremendous recoil.
She was lying in front of a warm fireplace, covered in thick blankets.
She put the blankets aside.
"Enoch is...….”
There were no questions about where this was and who brought them there.
Locating Enoch, that was her most pressing concern.
However, no matter how much she searched, Enoch was nowhere to be found.
Creak, just in time, she heard the rusty wooden door open.
Her head turned on its own.
"Enoch!"
She saw Enoch, wearing a thick coat, shaking off the snow from all over his body.
She immediately rose up and ran into his arms.
Was it because it was so sudden, or was it because she had woken up while he was not there that he was surprised?
She wrapped her arms around Enoch and felt his body tremble.
But that trembling was fleeting.
Soon, Enoch was wrapping his arms around her waist and hugging her tightly.
"You’re going to catch a cold."
He picked her up and put her under the blankets.
Only then did she realize.
"Oh, my body...….”
From her hands to her feet, and the fact that her body was small enough for Enoch to lift easily.
‘Am I smaller?’
To begin with, this was her original form, without any magical tools applied.
" This is the heart of Glaciers, so no magical abilities work here."
She suddenly heard an unfamiliar voice.
Naturally, she was on high alert and looked back toward where the voice was coming from.
At the entrance door, Elef Snow was seen following Enoch into the house.
He shook his snow-white hair and placed the net he had placed on his shoulder on the floor.
Inside, there were small fish that looked freshly caught.
"Do you hate fish?"
"What? Oh, I’m not picky...….”
"That's a relief."
Elef was the same.
He skipped any unnecessary words whenever possible and maintained a cold yet calm attitude.
"Then I have to prepare our meal. I've already explained the basics to this person, so he will explain it to you clearly."
As if he knew what she was thinking, Elef patted Enoch's back.
Then he walked towards the small kitchen behind him.
Rosa was watching Elef’s back with curious eyes when she felt a hand cupping her cheeks.
It was Enoch. He turned her face, so she was facing him.
He smiled as their eyes met.
"Your fever is completely gone."
“……How about you, are you alright?"
"Yes, thanks to you sharing your warmth with me...… I'm fine."
The pale green eyes gradually came closer.
In the past, this behavior would have been unimaginable, and for a moment, she felt dizzy.
She closed her eyes without realizing it.
But nothing happened, and rather, Enoch's laughter crept over her.
Pfft.
"I just laughed...… Ah."
The moment she opened her eyes; Enoch's eyes filled her field of vision.
That's how close they were.
In fact, if Enoch moved slightly, their noses would be touching.
"But you were suffering from hypothermia, and you had a high fever until last night."
Enoch's white, thin fingers carefully brushed back her bangs.
And he brought his forehead to hers.
“……You’re fine now. I'm glad."
The tip of her nose was ticklish.
It was because, every time Enoch exhaled as he spoke, it tickled.
Right as she was about to wrinkle her nose, unable to overcome the ticklish feeling, Enoch took a step back.
"Still, continue warming up to be safe."
He continued to tuck the blankets under her shoulders, arms and legs without distinguishing between them.
It was so stuffy that it was uncomfortable.
However, she didn’t even think of shaking it off. She simply pretended to be fine and turned her gaze to blankly stare at the burning fireplace.
She tried hard to recall the question that she had momentarily forgotten because of Enoch.
"That...….”
Then, she barely managed to remember it.
"What does being at the center of Glaciers have to do with my appearance?"
"The reason why it's harder to get out safely than to come in...…. I don't think it's due to a cold wave or a snowstorm."
Enoch raised one hand as if it was easier to show via demonstration than by words.
Then, he roughly pointed somewhere and chanted a magic spell.
"Ignice."
Nothing happened.
It was quiet. She could only hear the clattering in the kitchen.
At first, she thought he was kidding her.
However, Enoch's serious eyes were telling the truth.
"What about magic...….”
She looked at the back of her empty hand, which was without the rings.
Then, as if Enoch was about to confirm it one final time, he rummaged through the drawer and came with one of her rings.
"I took it off because I thought it would be uncomfortable."
Enoch put a ring on her finger.
Then she looked in the mirror across from her.
Her appearance remained the same, without any change.
She quietly said,
“……That's interesting."
"We also call this the 'Land of Truth'."
Elef, who had been cooking the fish that was seemingly caught with Enoch, reappeared.
He set the wooden table in front of the fireplace and put the food on top.
It was not aristocratic behavior at all from a duke who ruled a territory.
"You're so easygoing."
Indifferent gray eyes turned towards Rosa.
The white eyelashes, which looked like snowflakes on his face, moved smoothly.
"Well, that’s true. Though, rather than calling it easygoing, it's funny to even call us aristocrats in the first place."
Rosa was surprised.
There was a lot hidden in the words that Elef has spoken.
It was different from humility.
Feeling that he clearly knew something, she directly asked him,
"Then what are you?"
"Just one of the descendants of a priest who served Snow, the God of Innocence and Truth, but whose name was tarnished."
***
The view of Glaciers from the outside was truly terrifying.
It was so white that it was hard to tell what was a house and what was the ground, and the sky was gloomy even during the day.
But that was probably a given.
It was a place where it snowed all day, so the sky couldn't be clear.
"Be careful as you follow."
Elef took the lead.
At the same time, he did not forget to greet the residents affectionately.
"Hello, Mr. Elef."
"Mr. Elef! When will the outside supplies arrive this time? I'm so tired of eating only smelt every day!"
Those who were covered in animal furs for warmth ran around in the snow comfortably.
Some made holes in the ice and caught smelt, and some children made snowmen and had snowball fights.
They were wary of strangers as they carried out their duties.
"It's nearby, so we'll be there in no time. But the ground is slippery, so please be careful not to fall."
"Yes."
Rosa quickly stopped taking in the sights.
This was not the time to people-watch. It was more important to arrive safely.
She watched her steps, fixing her gaze ahead so that she would no longer be distracted.
There were points where she almost fell, but whenever she did, Enoch supported her.
"Rosa, please be careful...….”
She felt a lot of strength in Enoch's grasp holding her waist.
She raised her head.
Enochs face turned pale, as if he were very surprised.
"Magic doesn't work here, I can't help you if you get hurt."
He bit his lower lip.
As if resenting his limited ability, he nervously swept one side of his hair back and then walked forward a step ahead of her.
However, before long, Enoch paused for a moment and stopped walking.
He turned around and told her.
"Follow my steps. They're not slippery."
“……Yes."
As soon as he heard her answer, Enoch began to quickly move again.
Chasing after Elef, who was way ahead.
Rosa followed the path that Enoch walked.
"It's really not slippery...….”
Somehow, with each step she took, she felt a warm ripple in her heart, a sense that she was no longer lonely.