Chapter 174

Jake paused for a moment, but then gave a smile as he glanced back and forth through the gloves that were almost tight on his hands.

“A little small.”

“Oh sorry. I never thought of the size.”

“It’s okay. It’s small, so I think it’s warmer.”

Then Jake looked at his two flattened hands.

What was he thinking?

“Mir, what about your hand?”

“What? Oh, Jay, return it when your hands are warm.”

“Ummm…….”

Even at my words, Jake’s words trailed as if something was not quite right.

Then he clapped his hands in the thick knitted gloves.

“Yes, I can do this!”

“What…… ?”

“Mir gave me gloves, so I’m giving Mir warmth.”

Sharing the warmth?

At first I didn’t immediately understand what the meaning was.

But right away, I recognized Jake’s intentions by the feel of the soft yarn gently wrapping my hands.

‘Did you mean to hold hands?’

Seriously, Jake. Whew, I can’t live.

But somehow I didn’t hate it, so I just quietly accepted it, and didn’t remove the hand that Jake had held.

So we held hands and stayed for a while.

By the time we arrived at the Northern Duke’s mansion, our hands were already warm.

* * *

After teleporting, it took about an hour to arrive here.

It was Duke Tuitte’s castle.

Apparently, the road was all snow, frozen ground, and ice, so we couldn’t run fast and it seemed like we were late.

“Wow, here it is!”

We got off the carriage with a little groan.

Unlike looking out from the inside, when I came out, it was a truly unfamiliar and strange sight.

‘When it’s this cold, I definitely understand why people leave.’

I don’t think I can last long either.

Maya, who had been here for over a year, looked amazing.

‘Well, I’ll have to find a way to help Maya quickly.’

I nodded my head to myself, stepping on the piled-up snow, taking one step at a time.

Maybe it’s because I’m too dressed, so my steps are wobbly, and I look like a penguin from behind, but I couldn’t help it.

‘It’s so warm. The foresight of my parents and nanny is the best.’

There is an old saying that if you listen to an adult, you can get good things even while you are sleeping.

Of course, that’s not always true, but it seems to be quite true in this case.

After a while, we followed the butler and attendants to the interior of the Duke’s residence.

On the way in, I looked around.

Near the castle, there was a piece of land that appeared to have been abandoned while trying to build something.

I also saw a place where it must have been cultivated land, but the crops that had been planted had all dried up and became like a handful of straw.

And a place that looked like a huge ice rink caught my eye.

At first I wondered what it was, but soon realized that it was the river Maya had been talking about before.

‘Wow, it’s really barren out here…….’

* * *

Fortunately, the inside of the castle was warm.

No, to be precise, it’s probably thanks to the large number of fireplaces in the parlor.

“It’s been a long time since we had guests. Even though they are precious close friends of our Young Duke, even though it is a cold castle, we will take care of you with all our heart, so I hope you have a comfortable stay.”

The chief handmaid and the butler of the Duke’s Castle welcomed us warmly.

It’s been a long time since they had outside guests.

After a while we were assigned our own rooms.

According to Maya, there were empty rooms scattered around the castle, so he gave us the largest and best room among them.

‘Truly, it looks really spacious and cozy!’

Although the outside of the window was white with thick frost and snow, the gray bedding, canopy, and curtains made me feel cozy just looking at it.

While looking around the room for a while, someone suddenly knocked on the door.

‘Yes? Who is it? A maid?’

I replied that they could come in, and at the same time the door opened.

However, the identity of the visitor was different than expected.

“…… Young Duke Maya?”

Maya poked his head in a slightly shy manner.

Perhaps it was because he had returned home, his face looked a little relaxed.

“Yes, it’s me. Is the room okay? Do you like it?”

“Yes, it’s great. The bed is also soft.”

“Really? Thank god…….”

Maya sounded relieved at my answer.

Then he mumbled in a slightly timid tone.

“I was really worried. I don’t know if it was with the former duchy, but now it’s a really barren place. I think it might be disappointing.”

“No way! Far from disappointing, I was surprised to see such a beautiful sight for the first time.”

“…… Really?”

Maya looked at me with tearful eyes.

I nodded my head vigorously a few times.

“Of course!”

“Thank you very much, Emir.”

Maya smiled brightly.

Then he spoke as if he had remembered something.

“Ah, come to think of it, I came here because I had something to tell you.”