Aden took Ilyin’s hand and led her to another drawing on the wall. This one showed Biflten in the summer, with a shining cloth depicted in the center. On the cloth were the ten sacrifices that were required to bring back the summer. Six of them were familiar to Ilyin and Aden: the Green Mille’s fresh flower, the Shiny Elo’s bracelet, the Red Delrose’s necklace, the Blue North’s cloth, Molly’s long cloth, and the mobile that Ilyin’s mother had passed down to her.
“The mobile…” Ilyin said, recognizing the divine object. It was clear that the altar and the disappearance of the summer in Biflten were connected.
“It seems like the Milton’s leaving and the disappearance of summer have something to do with this altar,” Ilyin said, recalling Bertha’s words about the Miltons being the descendants of those who had avoided disaster.
But what kind of disaster had they been running from? And why had the Miltons taken the mobile from the altar before they left, leading to the loss of sunlight in Biflten? The result of greed and mistrust, the long winter had come.
“So it was the Miltons who brought the long winter to Biflten,” Ilyin said, understanding now. The only way to bring back the summer was to gather all ten divine objects and place them on the altar once again.
As she spoke, the sound of water dripping filled the air. It was a strange sound to hear in the winter region, and Ilyin and Aden both looked up at the wall in surprise.
“It was beautiful,” Ilyin said, looking at the drawing of summer in Biflten.
“I think you would be beautiful in that place,” Aden said quietly. He realized that he wasn’t just longing for the summer, but for Ilyin. He wanted to see her in all seasons, to see the side of her that he didn’t know, the way she looked under the summer light, the way she looked to the people of the warm region.
Aden clenched his fist, determined to bring back the summer and make his wish a reality.
***
The Duke of winter had always been aggressive towards monsters, unlike his predecessors who had tried to negotiate and stay on good terms with them. His attitude was in line with the Delrose’s tendency to never forget a grudge, and so his declaration at the round table meeting to “annihilate anything that’s not human in this territory” didn’t cause much of a stir. People were more focused on his promise to bring back Biflten’s summer, which he had only recently learned was possible.
“There was no odd movement from the Milles,” Aden was told late at night by Idith, his right-hand man. He had been working hard to follow through on his promise to bring back summer, and had secretly left Ilyin’s side to avoid any “persuasion” from her. Thankfully, she was still asleep from their previous journey.
“Instead, Elo is asking for your audience,” Idith said. Aden frowned at the mention of Elo, a house whose senior, Paneda, had disappeared after being kicked out of the mansion without a carriage. Many believed he had been buried in the snow.
“Who from Elo?” Aden asked, thinking of Radon, Elo’s knight, who was known to be taking advantage of Elo’s weakened state. The house’s secret stronghold had been destroyed, but their main members were all hiding elsewhere, leaving only low-ranking knights and commoners to be sacrificed.
“Kad, Elo’s direct line,” Idith replied. Kad de Elo was weak and rarely left Elo’s territory, but he had recently become the new senior of the house after Paneda’s departure. Aden didn’t think he would be very effective.
“He said that since the weather is getting warmer, he’ll visit soon,” Idith said. It was natural for a new senior to visit his master, but Aden couldn’t shake off the sense of unease that he felt.
***
The mobile hanging from the ceiling slowly swayed, despite there being no rough wind. The falling snow gradually covered the ground, and Ilyin felt a sense of unease as she watched it. It was a dream, but it felt like a premonition.
[Are you sure that you saw the Terries in the dream?] a voice in the dream spoke. She saw an orange-scaled monster, a Yester, but it was different from the ones she had seen before. It seemed to hold a higher position, with a green symbol on its forehead, green leather wrapped around its wrist, and earrings on its ears. Ilyin realized that this must be the “heir of Yesters” that Rippo had mentioned, a prince-like figure among the Yesters.
[Of course.] replied another voice. She also saw a being standing beside the Yester, with dark violet eyes that seemed to scan their surroundings. Ilyin tried to hide, but the being, a Milton, didn’t seem to notice her.
Aden took Ilyin’s hand and led her to another drawing on the wall. This one showed Biflten in the summer, with a shining cloth depicted in the center. On the cloth were the ten sacrifices that were required to bring back the summer. Six of them were familiar to Ilyin and Aden: the Green Mille’s fresh flower, the Shiny Elo’s bracelet, the Red Delrose’s necklace, the Blue North’s cloth, Molly’s long cloth, and the mobile that Ilyin’s mother had passed down to her.
“The mobile…” Ilyin said, recognizing the divine object. It was clear that the altar and the disappearance of the summer in Biflten were connected.
“It seems like the Milton’s leaving and the disappearance of summer have something to do with this altar,” Ilyin said, recalling Bertha’s words about the Miltons being the descendants of those who had avoided disaster.
But what kind of disaster had they been running from? And why had the Miltons taken the mobile from the altar before they left, leading to the loss of sunlight in Biflten? The result of greed and mistrust, the long winter had come.
“So it was the Miltons who brought the long winter to Biflten,” Ilyin said, understanding now. The only way to bring back the summer was to gather all ten divine objects and place them on the altar once again.
As she spoke, the sound of water dripping filled the air. It was a strange sound to hear in the winter region, and Ilyin and Aden both looked up at the wall in surprise.
“It was beautiful,” Ilyin said, looking at the drawing of summer in Biflten.
“I think you would be beautiful in that place,” Aden said quietly. He realized that he wasn’t just longing for the summer, but for Ilyin. He wanted to see her in all seasons, to see the side of her that he didn’t know, the way she looked under the summer light, the way she looked to the people of the warm region.
Aden clenched his fist, determined to bring back the summer and make his wish a reality.
***
The Duke of winter had always been aggressive towards monsters, unlike his predecessors who had tried to negotiate and stay on good terms with them. His attitude was in line with the Delrose’s tendency to never forget a grudge, and so his declaration at the round table meeting to “annihilate anything that’s not human in this territory” didn’t cause much of a stir. People were more focused on his promise to bring back Biflten’s summer, which he had only recently learned was possible.
“There was no odd movement from the Milles,” Aden was told late at night by Idith, his right-hand man. He had been working hard to follow through on his promise to bring back summer, and had secretly left Ilyin’s side to avoid any “persuasion” from her. Thankfully, she was still asleep from their previous journey.
“Instead, Elo is asking for your audience,” Idith said. Aden frowned at the mention of Elo, a house whose senior, Paneda, had disappeared after being kicked out of the mansion without a carriage. Many believed he had been buried in the snow.
“Who from Elo?” Aden asked, thinking of Radon, Elo’s knight, who was known to be taking advantage of Elo’s weakened state. The house’s secret stronghold had been destroyed, but their main members were all hiding elsewhere, leaving only low-ranking knights and commoners to be sacrificed.
“Kad, Elo’s direct line,” Idith replied. Kad de Elo was weak and rarely left Elo’s territory, but he had recently become the new senior of the house after Paneda’s departure. Aden didn’t think he would be very effective.
“He said that since the weather is getting warmer, he’ll visit soon,” Idith said. It was natural for a new senior to visit his master, but Aden couldn’t shake off the sense of unease that he felt.
***
The mobile hanging from the ceiling slowly swayed, despite there being no rough wind. The falling snow gradually covered the ground, and Ilyin felt a sense of unease as she watched it. It was a dream, but it felt like a premonition.
[Are you sure that you saw the Terries in the dream?] a voice in the dream spoke. She saw an orange-scaled monster, a Yester, but it was different from the ones she had seen before. It seemed to hold a higher position, with a green symbol on its forehead, green leather wrapped around its wrist, and earrings on its ears. Ilyin realized that this must be the “heir of Yesters” that Rippo had mentioned, a prince-like figure among the Yesters.
[Of course.] replied another voice. She also saw a being standing beside the Yester, with dark violet eyes that seemed to scan their surroundings. Ilyin tried to hide, but the being, a Milton, didn’t seem to notice her.
