The End Of Winter

The Empire possessed the largest territory on the continent.

It had turned numerous kingdoms into vassal states and forcibly swallowed lands that had never been settled because of foreign tribes and magical beasts.

At its center stood a terrifyingly powerful Grand Duke and his knight order. Grand Duke Victor Mort.

The people of the continent called him “Walking Death.”

And today, I was going to marry death.

The kingdom where I was born had been a vassal state of the Empire for over a hundred years.

The land at the northern edge of the continent had always been barren and difficult to farm. It was overrun with monsters, and the winters were so long that countless people died.

That was why everyone in the kingdom carried a sword and bandages. Women learned how to stitch leather instead of embroidering, and memorized medicine and pharmacology as though learning ancient songs. When the long winter came, they shared the food sent by the Empire and hunted the monsters drawn to the light.

That was the kind of place where I lived. A place where people had to cut off their own frozen hands and feet to survive.

Then, at the end of one winter, a guest visited the royal palace. He bore a great name utterly unsuited to this country—the Empire’s high noble, Grand Duke Mort. His visit threw not only the capital but even the remote borderland where I lived into turmoil.

Why had the Grand Duke of Death come here? Was he planning to destroy us? Or did he intend to cut off the king’s head and crown himself in his place?

While gossipmongers speculated, I merely sharpened my blade. Whatever his purpose was, I believed it had nothing to do with me. I thought this incident would change nothing about my life.

“Your Majesty.”

But now, I stood before Walking Death.

“Welcome, my lady.”

I awkwardly lifted and lowered my skirt before looking at the king who had summoned me. He was old and appeared feeble, though I had never seen him before. That only made the man seated to his right stand out all the more.

“Walking Death,” Victor Mort.

Contrary to his nickname, he was a beautiful man. His great height, broad shoulders, finely sculpted features, and lightly tanned, healthy complexion appeared even more radiant against the pallor of the kingdom’s palace. He plainly looked weary from the long journey, but the oppressive aura radiating from him nevertheless made it obvious why he was infamous throughout the continent as a knight.

I lowered my head again. No matter how much I thought about it, I could not understand why I had been summoned. I was not a celebrated young lady of high society, merely the daughter of a minor provincial noble. I had scarcely worn a dress like this more than a few times in my life.

The king introduced me from above.

“This young lady is the finest knight in our kingdom.”

What? I suddenly raised my head. If he was looking for knights, did that mean the Grand Duke was recruiting soldiers here?

The Grand Duke silently stared at my bewildered expression. His sharp gaze swept over me from head to toe. Then he asked in an exceedingly sweet voice.

“Do you know how to wield a sword?”

Without understanding what was happening, I gripped the hem of my worn skirt. I had no idea how to describe my swordsmanship to the greatest swordsman on the continent. So I merely said what I knew with certainty.

“I know enough to protect myself.”

His subdued gaze stared straight through me. The Grand Duke’s amber eyes flickered in the torchlight.

He asked.

“What is your name?”

“I am Amarion of Amari, Your Highness.”

“Victor Mort. I have a proposal for you.”

He slowly rose from his seat. His black robe flowed behind his approaching steps like waves. I thought it resembled deep water spreading across the stone floor. He extended his hand toward me.

Death asked.

“Will you marry me? I shall give you the position of the greatest lady in the Empire.”

What?

I felt as though I had been struck over the head.

He had proposed to me.

Grand Duke Mort had proposed to me.

I had countless reasons to refuse.

The winter was not yet over, and there were duties waiting for me when I returned to my territory. I did not even know him.

But the moment he spoke, I had no choice. He was a powerful Imperial noble, while I was merely the daughter of a count from a vassal kingdom. The gulf in status between us was so vast that I could not even refuse his proposal.

Then there was the enormous bride-price he would pay……. With that money, our horrifically barren territory could survive several more winters. Compared to all the lives that money would save, my body was insignificant.

Even if this choice meant walking into the grasp of death. My life had straddled the boundary of death since the moment I was born, so this would not be much different.

I took his hand with my badly chapped one.

“I accept your proposal, Your Highness.”

The kingdom’s winter was bitterly cold. The wind blowing through gaps in the windows was enough to freeze the wine inside the rooms. The Grand Duke seemed unwilling to remain in such a place any longer. As soon as the abbreviated wedding vows at the royal palace were concluded, a procession was assembled to depart for the Empire.

The Grand Duke spoke like a man in a hurry.

“Leave behind anything that is not absolutely necessary. I will have it brought later.”

I owned nothing, so I simply boarded the carriage. I had no belongings to bring later, no maid or personal servant, nothing at all. All I possessed was my weary body.

We departed at dawn. The procession leaving the capital was as silent as a funeral. I stared blankly out the window.

I did not even have anyone to bid farewell. Everything had happened so suddenly that my parents could not come, and I knew no one in the capital.

When I leaned against the cold window, tears gathered in my eyes. I had truly thought I did not mind. I had thought I would be satisfied as long as the gold received for me allowed everyone to survive a few more winters. Yet this bridal procession, with me departing in a worn dress, filled me with a terror I had never experienced before.

I heard horses snorting outside and the clatter of the knights’ armor. The Grand Duke, who was in the carriage ahead, gave the signal.

“Depart.”

At his signal, the carriages began to move. And so, I left for the Empire.

The journey should not have been arduous.

The kingdom and the Empire shared a border, so it had never been a particularly long trip. Moreover, the kingdom’s capital was located at its southernmost edge, and even by carriage, it took only a week to reach the Imperial capital.

This carriage was even cozier than any house I had ever stayed in. It was made of wood and constantly moving, yet I could not understand how it remained so warm without even the slightest draft entering.

But throughout the entire journey, I could not speak with anyone. The knights were courteous, but they avoided conversing with me whenever possible, while my new husband, the Grand Duke, remained shut inside another carriage all day, making it difficult to even see his face. Even at the inns where we stopped, I slept alone.

It was good, but strange. I had even prepared myself to spend our first night together at some shabby countryside inn. After all, he had paid a generous bride-price to take me away. Yet he appeared neither in my room nor anywhere else in the inn.

The next morning, while eating breakfast alone, I asked the knights.

“Where did His Highness the Grand Duke sleep?”

The knights answered with plainly troubled expressions.

“He slept in another room.”

But I had not seen him anywhere in the inn.

Suddenly, the rumors about the Grand Duke of Death flashed through my mind. Rumors that he was a vampire, a demon, or some similar kind of monster.

I had spent my entire life surrounded by monsters and had always been certain that such beings did not exist, but I also thought the rumors suited him. Especially when I considered his body, solid as a zelkova tree, his thick shoulders, and the tanned skin typical of a southerner.

Despite my questions, the journey continued smoothly.

On the road to the capital, the party split in two. The knight order returned to the Mort territory, while only a few knights and two carriages continued toward the capital. I could see the Imperial capital beyond the curtained window.

The capital was dazzlingly splendid. Majestic city walls, roads paved with beautiful white stone, and people overflowing with vitality. As a country bumpkin who had visited even my kingdom’s capital only a few times, I stared open-mouthed at everything.

And the Grand Duke’s residence in the capital—well, I had truly never seen such a beautiful house before. Its walls were built from layer upon layer of white marble and carved with exquisite reliefs, while beautiful decorative windows lined the exterior. I was certain that even purchasing half of this mansion would require selling the entire Amari territory.

I stepped down from the carriage and followed the Grand Duke into the mansion.

The mansion’s interior was even more splendid than the royal palace. The soaring ceiling was covered with decorative patterns painstakingly formed from individual tiles, and furniture that looked staggeringly expensive even at a glance stood atop soft carpets.

While I stood there dumbfounded, the butler and servants bowed in greeting.

“Welcome home, Your Highness the Grand Duke, Your Highness the Grand Duchess.”

The title felt completely unfamiliar.

Apparently having already received notice, maids came outside and opened the carriage to retrieve my luggage. I wanted to tell them there was nothing inside, but that I was pleased to meet them. However, the Grand Duke strode into the mansion without saying a word. With no idea what was happening, I had no choice but to follow him.