Chapter 78

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A thousand emotions crossed her mind. When she survived and left this place, she had hoped that she would be able to get closer to Alexis.

‘Let’s stop thinking about it.’

She unconsciously remembered her past again. Shaking her head to erase her thoughts, as soon as she opened the cloth to go back into the wagon, Luci, who was in Emily’s arms, lifted his head.

“Mom! What’s that?”

Seeing the snowflakes fluttering in the sky, Luci asked, his eyes twinkling.

“It’s snow.”

“Eye?”

Luci tilted his head and covered his eyes with both hands. Emily burst out laughing.

“Not eyes, snow. This white and cold thing is called snow.”

[T/N: Eyes and snow are both 눈 so Luci mistakes it as ‘eyes’.]

As Emily raised her palm up to the sky and pressed the snow on his cheek, Luci’s eyes widened in amazement.

“You will get used to it, soon.”

Kathleen muttered, rubbing her child’s cheek lightly. If she could find people from her mother’s side in this place where her own roots continued, Luci would be able to grow up without being lonely or ignored, unlike her.

The wagon stopped after moving for a while. The snow was now so thick that it could no longer be called snow, and the wind on her cheeks was quite chilly.

After repeatedly asking to just go with him to another estate, and when Kathleen insisted on staying here, the merchant had no choice but drop them off.

“Here, I’ll give you a map so go find the outpost. I heard it’s an inn where night watchmen stay. You have a child, so don’t overdo it, and if you want to go back, wait here in a month. I’ll be back by then.”

“Thank you. I hope the new delivery contract goes well.”

Kathleen and Emily got off the wagon, putting on the winter clothes they had prepared beforehand.

“Emily, hold Luci.”

Luci was eager to get close to the snow so Kathleen tied the lace of the child’s snowshoes. Wearing round, wide snowshoes increased the surface area and distributed the weight evenly and kept his feet from sinking into the snow.

“How did you know about this, Madam?”

She tied the laces to both Emily and her snowshoes, and she walked around in amazement.

“With his, even if you step on a pile of snow, you won’t sink in all of a sudden.”

“I heard it here when I was young. They were often used in the North. And…….”

Kathleen said as she watched Emily wrestle with Luci as he kept trying to take off his furry hat.

“Now you don’t have to call Luci young master. It’s the same for me.”

“But……….”

“I want to live by my old name, not Walten, Emily.”

At her earnest request, Emily eventually nodded her head.

“Okay. I’ll do that then, Kelly.”

It was a little awkward, but she had a much more friendly tone.

“Let’s go to the outpost now. It will get colder when the sun goes down.”

Kathleen looked at the map the merchant had handed her and estimated the distance. Fortunately, they were not far from the outpost, so it seemed likely that they would arrive before nightfall.

As they entered the middle of the Carmine Mountains while looking at the map.

“Mom! Look at that!”

Luci, dressed in his cotton robe, took Emily’s hand and pointed to a snow-covered branch as they walked. The snowflakes were frozen together like flowers and looked fascinating.

“Those are snowflakes.”

Emily said as she carried the child and brought him closer to get a better look. He must have thought it was very different from the flowers he saw in the garden, but the way he tilted his head was cute and made her laugh. Then, something caught Kathleen’s eyes.

“Wait.”

She stopped them, doubting her eyes.

“Emily, stop for a moment.”

“Why?”

Despite Emily’s question, Kathleen carefully observed the branches. She saw that the snow resting on the branches trembled very slightly.

Her whole body froze.

“There might be an avalanche.”

“What? A-Avalanche?”

“There must have been an earthquake nearby. It would be a disaster if there’s an aftereffect.”

Kathleen quickly looked at the surroundings. Fortunately, the outpost was now a lot closer. Outposts were usually built in a safe place, so it could be safe if they evacuated there.

Kathleen took Luci from Emily.

“Let’s go, Emily. We’re running at full speed.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Emily grabbed her hand and ran. She began to become breathless. They sprinted through the thick snowfield, but after a few steps, she felt a rumbling sound and a heavy vibration coming from below.

Sweat dripped down her back as she remembered the avalanche she had been through before.

“There it is!”

As she ran frantically, she reached the front gate of the outpost. Unlike the road she had been walking on so far, she could see traces of people coming and going. The accumulated snow was not deep, and human footprints and horseshoe marks were visible.

After Emily ran first and made sure that the post’s gate was unlocked, she came in to look inside.

“Someone must have stayed here a few days ago. There are still faint embers in the fireplace.”

“Thank God. Let’s go quickly.”

No matter how prepared they were dressed, they were still snowed on for a while. The biggest problem was that when the snow starts to melt indoors, the clothes would get wet and their body temperature would drop. However, if there was fire, they could stay longer.

The door to the outpost was quite far. The windows of the cabin were repaired with no cracks to keep the harsh wind out, and there were old but clean sleeping bags.

“Even the outposts in the mountains seem to be well maintained here in the North. I have heard that defense at the borders was important, but I didn’t know they could be this meticulous.”

“Perhaps His Majesty sent a vassal to take action when he ascended to the throne.”

Count Winston only wanted to do what could provide him concrete evidence of his work. The Carmine Mountains were a key point of defense as a ridge that prevented the invasion of the few remaining Northern people, but it did not belong to the Winston Estate. Therefore, whatever happened in the mountains was not in his jurisdiction. Winston would just kill those who had passed the Carmine Mountains and crossed over to his estate. He probably didn’t even know there was an outpost here.

‘Then there is little chance of meeting someone who knows me.’

Thinking about it that way, she felt a little more at ease.

“Come on, young master… No, Luci. You have to behave here.”

Emily placed Luci down and hurriedly approached the fireplace, trying to reignite the fire that was about to go out. Kathleen also checked out what was in the cabin and organized the emergency food they brought and prepared to stay there.

It wasn’t long before the fire grew and burned. She hung their wet clothes in front to dry them, and huddled in front to warm up.

“Mom, I’m thirsty.”

Luci murmured as his body warmed up. Kathleen remembered that there was a wooden cup in the cupboard and brought it with her. Emily said with a perplexed face.

“We didn’t bring any water, so what should we do? There’s a blizzard outside, and there’s no way there’s a pond. If I had known, I would have gotten a bottle from the merchant before we separated.

“It’s okay. Just wait.”

Kathleen placed her hand on the cup, and in an instant, her ice filled it. She definitely felt like she could handle her ice more easily than when she was at Meyer. Emily opened her eyes wide in surprise.

“Oh my God, what is this? Did Kelly really make it?”

“Yes. I couldn’t use this ability in the Grand Duke’s residence, but not anymore.”

Kathleen placed the cup in front of the fire and waited for her ice to melt as she told Emily what happened. It was then that Emily found out why she had left Alexis again, and she was dumbfounded.

“I didn’t know that such a thing had happened. I thought he meant it……”

Emily helped Luci drink the water that had melted from ice and murmured.

“Besides, even Priest Joseph… Luci would be better off without his biological father.”

“….Yes. Ah, the fire seems to be getting weaker. I’ll find firewood.”

Kathleen noticed that the fire was dying and stood up. There wasn’t much firewood inside, so she thought it would be better to get some in advance.

“Let’s go together.”

“No. Watch Luci inside. I’ll gather some branches and come back soon.”

When she put her robe back on and stepped outside into the blizzard, she felt no sign of the earthquake. She did not know whether it had passed weakly or if it couldn’t be felt from the outpost because the ground was stable, either way, it was fortunate.

Birch trees were densely growing at the entrance to the surrounding forest along the road. Kathleen picked up a branch that had fallen to the ground, and pressed her hood down as it was about to slip off due to the strong wind.

By the time her ears were freezing, she was able to gather quite a lot of branches. But she never knew when the weather would get worse again, and thinking of Luci, it would be better to keep the fire on, so it might be more beneficial to stock up on more firewood.

‘There was a forest behind the outpost.’

When she came back and arrived at the front yard of the outpost with the intention of coming out again after bringing the firewood she had gathered, she felt a slight vibration on the ground. 

She looked around, wondering if it was an avalanche, but the branches were not shaking. When she felt it again, the vibration seemed to come from the surface rather than from the ground.

The sound of metal hitting the hard frozen ground with strong force, ascending, and then descending again at regular intervals.

‘…The sound of horseshoes.’

It wasn’t just one or two.

Fear swept all over her body. Horses climbing the mountain range usually carried loads, so they did not run this fast.

Neigh, neigh.

She heard a horse stop and neigh behind her. Then someone got off the horse.

“Kathleen.”

The branches she was holding in her arms fell and scattered in the white snow, but Kathleen didn’t even think of bending her body to pick it up.

She wanted to deny it, but the voice calling her name belonged to someone she knew better than anyone.

She slowly turned behind her. Alexis Walten, in plain clothes, without a cloak, stood in the snow.

The blood-stained golden eyes gazed upon her, and a soft voice came out.

“Let’s go back.”