Chapter 12

As soon as Dietrich saw Wilhelm’s hair at dinner, he laughed aloud.

“What is this? What kind of hairstyle are you trying out?”

Even though Reinhard had cut his hair too short to properly style it, she still thought it was okay because Wilhelm’s hair was a bit curly.

She was proud of her handiwork and had a facial expression that seemed to be saying, “look as much as you want before letting go of him.”

“It’s nice to see your forehead now that your hair is shorter,” Dietrich said, flicking Wilhelm’s forehead.

Wilhelm scowled as he rubbed his forehead.

While this was going on, Reinhardt had scooped up some of the potato soup and ate it.

“I expected it to be like this, but I didn’t think the meal would be smaller than I expected,” Dietrich remarked as he also picked up his spoon to being the dinner meal.

“Just eat—this is what a feast in Luden looks like in this season.”

It began to snow little by little in Luden. It’s snowing a little bit now, but Sarah said that in 15 days, there will be a blizzard.

People reinforced the basement and put a layer on the windows. This is because windows that open and close with trees quickly crack during the blizzard season, due to freezing and melting.

“Who do you think is to blame for that?” Dietrich grinned.

“Even the kid in front of you doesn’t complain about the food,” Reinhardt replied, shaking her head.

Wilhelm’s eyes gleamed when he heard he was referred to as the “little boy.”

“It’s not like that.”

Dietrich pounded Wilhelm’s soup bowl near her. On the table were soups made from stir-fried potatoes and flour, cornbreads with pork, and salted vegetables.

Even though it was a meal enough for three people, Dietrich was not happy with the amount.

“As an adult, I just need to eat enough to get my nutrients. But this little boy needs to eat more because he still has to grow.”

“……Ah.”

“Don’t you remember when you were five or six years old and Sir Hu Linke fed you meat to the point where you were sick and tired of it?”

“Yes,” Reinhardt paused and smiled as she remembered. “I had a stomachache because I couldn’t digest meat very well at that age.”

“Even though meat is precious, the meaning of a meal is different when an adult and a child are compared.”

“But meat should be eaten by the family all winter.”

“Hu Linke’s daughter shudders because she barely touched five pigs.” Dietrich clicked his tongue.

“I ate a lot when I was a kid, and that’s enough. Wilhelm can eat the meat I should be eating.”

“It looks like you weren’t kidding.”

“What?”

Wilhelm raised his eyebrows. The boy also didn’t seem to be happy to eat Reinhardt’s portion of meat. It was surprising since he was gluttonous.

Dietrich pushed his share of the meat to Wilhelm, wiped his lips with his thumb, and moved closer to Wilhelm. Wilhelm drew back away from Dietrich and widened his eyes because of the sudden intimacy. Reinhardt still remained at peace.

“It’s been a while since we’ve gone winter hunting.”

“……Hoo.”

“The chief of the guards said he had caught a wild goose, so I asked him and he said he was a hunter. He said that there are reindeer the size of a house in winter around here. I’ll take some off-duty guys out for three days tomorrow, just wanted to let you know.”

“Oh, Dietrich. Please don’t let me hear that you’ve been hit and killed by a caribou.”

Dietrich chuckled as he scooped soup.

“Don’t let me hear you had frozen to death while I was gone.”

“It’s not cold.”

“You should come, too,” Dietrich said to Wilhelm as he ignored Reinhardt’s protest. Wilhelm flinched in astonishment while eating. Reinhardt is also surprised.

“That little boy?”

“Oh, boy. Little boy. Are you really small?”

Dietrich scratched his head and asked Wilhelm. Wilhelm wiped his mouth and shook his head. His eyes were full of complaints. Only Dietrich laughed.

***

As soon as he finished his meal, Dietrich gave a wooden brush to the child and threatened to put him at the front of the reindeer hunt tomorrow if he didn’t brush his teeth.

Wilhelm looked down at the toothbrush made with cornstalk. Although it wasn’t luxurious, it didn’t scratch the gums.

Later, both Reinhardt and Wilhelm stood by the well of the cathedral. Both were thickly dressed in fur because it is cold. Reinhardt rolled her sleeves up to her arms and brushed her teeth with salt. Wilhelm glanced up at her.

“I used to hate brushing my teeth when I was a kid.” Reinhardt rinsed her mouth with freezing water and grinned. “But my father said if I didn’t brush my teeth well, the prince would run away if he saw me.”

“…….”

Oh, who would’ve thought she’d stab the prince in the leg. Reinhardt, who was about to burst into laughter at the irony, suddenly hardened her face and continued her story.

“So you should brush your teeth clean. Otherwise, the princess won’t kiss you.”

“……do you not like it, Reinhardt?”

When asked by Wilhelm, Reinhardt nodded, “Yes, yes. I hate men who haven’t brushed their teeth.”

Then Wilhelm started brushing his teeth.

Dietrich nagged Reinhardt every time that she treated him like he was six, and not sixteen. But how is she supposed to treat this cute little boy as an adult? Reinhardt leaned her face on the palm of her hand as she looked at Wilhelm.

She had learned a lot about Wilhelm from a mixture of stories that she had heard from various people.

As a young child, Wilhelm had probably been wandering around. By the look of it, he was not good at washing up and rarely communicates with others.

It was no surprise that no one knew what he did on a daily basis.

Wilhelm brushed his teeth as if he was looking forward to it. Reinhardt squatted and watched the boy spit water into the dirt, then smiled brightly and pulled his hand. His wet fingertips were cold, but the palms she held were filled with warmth. The boy’s temperature was slightly higher than hers, which explained how he could survive the cold outside.

Being dragged in by her, Wilhelm blinked his eyes in surprise. Reinhardt stretched out her hand and felt the inside of the boy’s mouth. The boy straightened up in surprise as his soft lips closed around her fingertips. Touching his teeth, she smiled satisfactorily as she felt they were dry and clean.

“Well done.”

The boy looked at her, blushed, and was beyond words.

Reinhardt stood up, grabbed the boy’s hand, and went into the castle. The boy’s ears turned red and couldn’t go back to their original color.

***

Dietrich was sitting by the fire, trimming his bow. The captain of the guard handed him the bow and explained that it was used by his own father.

It was difficult to tie the string to the bow. Dietrich cut it very thin, saying it was a string he had, and pulled out the tanned deerskin and the tail hair of the deer altogether.

He untied the string. The re-twisting process is too much, and Reinhardt dragged Dietrich into the drawing-room. Dietrich’s personality made it obvious that he would be trimming the line alone in a cold room without a fire all night.

Although it was a poor castle, Sarah did not reduce the fire into the drawing-room. As a result, Reinhardt, Dietrich, and Wilhelm gathered in the drawing-room to enjoy the warmth of the fire.

Reinhardt sat Wilhelm in a long chair, leaning against him, telling him a story she knew.

“What Halsey, the goddess of revenge, hated the most was the reindeer of her half-brother Alutica. Alutica was the god of tranquility and abundance and was always interfering with Halsey’s walking by using his reindeer while pulling his cart.

“Halsey knew Alutica’s tricks, but she also couldn’t escape the reindeer. From the horns of the reindeer grew the fruits of the world. Halsey tried the fruit and fell in love with its sweet and seductive flavor. After eating the fruit Halsey would always fall asleep on the reindeer’s back”

“What an interesting story to tell a kid who is going to catch a reindeer,” Dietrich interrupted sarcastically as he continued to work on his bow.

“You’re too noisy. This is the only story I know about reindeer.”

“Okay, okay.”

“Too noisy,” Wilhelm said, imitating Reinhardt. Dietrich glared at him.

“But, may I-.”

“Keep it up, Reinhardt. ”

She then nodded and continued.

“While Halsey is sleeping, the humans are at peace. Alutica would share his wealth by carrying the sleeping Halsey around the continent on the reindeer’s back. And when Halsey woke up after twenty-one nights and days she was extremely angry. But Alutica had already dropped Halsey in her home and fled. That’s how Alutica kept the people at peace.”

Wilhelm is concentrating on her uttered words with his black eyes glistening. Reinhardt concluded the story with a grin.

“So when it’s warm for a while in the winter, everyone thinks Alutica has put Halsey to sleep. But after it’s so warm, there must be a huge blizzard. It’s because of Halsey’s anger.”

Dietrich snorted.

“Do you know that’s not a fairy tale for a child?”

“What are you talking about? This is the same story my father used to tell me when I was a kid.”

“He may not have spoken in consideration of his young daughter’s sentiments, but do you know why spring comes and new life is conceived after it is so cold, Viscountess?”

“……what is it?”

Dietrich grinned and pulled the bowstring. The tight bow was firmly shaped as if it had been disorganized in his hands.

“Anillac, the goddess of spring, was born on Halsey’s belly.”

“What about it?”

“You have no idea what Alutica did to her sleeping sister during the twenty-one night and days.”

Silence prevailed. Reinhardt thought for a moment about what she had heard, and slowly covered Wilhelm’s ears. Dietrich scoffed.

“Too late.”

“Dietrich!”

Reinhardt’s shouts rang out in the cold Luden Castle.