The snow fell heavily from the overcast sky.
Snowflakes descended one by one, piling up on the world below.
The bare branches of the trees, as if dressing themselves up, collected the snow delicately, and everything around was painted white.
It was quite a picturesque scene. At least, it seemed so to Seo-yul, who sat on the bench, observing the world.
Seo-yul loved the color white.
It was clean and elegant. Even though dirt showed up easily, it was pure because of it.
Most importantly, it was the color of Ihayul.
In fact, if that was the reason, there was enough reason for her to like it.
For that reason, Seo-yul loved the snow. Of course, she disliked the cold.
At that moment, a snowflake brushed past her face and fell right into the hot chocolate she was holding in both hands.
‘......’
It wasn’t dirty. I’d heard that the snow was artificially created, a byproduct of magic. It wasn’t harmful to the body.
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Seo-yul knew this because it wasn’t the first snow. She had seen snow through the window of the mansion back then.
She had learned about snow long before that. She had heard Ariel explain it when the snow had first fallen.
“First snow.”
"[Hmm?]"
Ihayul, who had been sullenly sipping his hot chocolate, tilted his head. Seo-yul, shaking her legs back and forth, mumbled.
“The first snow. I wanted to see it with Dad.”
"[Mia...]"
The pout on Ihayul’s face immediately disappeared. His already small body shrank even more.
Though I knew it was a playful tease, I couldn’t help but find his reaction too cute. Seo-yul giggled.
She lifted Ihayul up with both hands and held him closely in her arms. Though it was a little awkward, he settled into her embrace.
She looked at him face to face and smiled brightly.
“I’m joking. I’m happy we’re watching it together right now.”
"[You shouldn't tease Dad...]"
"Ah? Dad?"
Seo-yul tilted her head, giggling. Ihayul’s facial muscles twitched in response to her blatant curiosity.
“Hmm?”
After watching his amusing reaction, Ihayul sighed and, taking off his gloves, extended both hands to gently cup Seo-yul’s cheeks.
"[If you’re cold, you have to tell me. I can do it next time, or even tomorrow.]"
Seo-yul blinked. The warmth from Ihayul’s hands transferred to her face.
It wasn’t cold.
The palm of his hand, pressed against her cheek, the body heat flowing from it, and the affectionate warmth that gently emanated from it.
Although he tried to hide it, there was a tinge of guilt on his face.
It was an emotion too much for a knight born without proper regard. Furthermore, it was too much for a knight who could not even properly protect.
Seo-yul was rushing to grow up, but once again, she couldn’t reach that goal.
It was inevitable that she’d feel down.
"[Do you want to do something else?]"
As if she could feel the hidden thoughts of Seo-yul, Ihayul gently rubbed her cheek, trying to comfort her.
After a moment of hesitation, Seo-yul hugged Ihayul tightly.
“If I’m the one to bring in the cold, it must be a unique ability. And...”
Trailing off, Seo-yul spread her wings.
She wasn’t worried about being seen due to the spell of perception disorder.
Her colorful wings, blooming through her clothes like a blooming flower, wrapped around Ihayul like a protective shell.
Suddenly, the surrounding area was gently colored with a soft spectrum. In that space, Seo-yul smiled brightly.
“This should make things better, right?”
"[Ah]"
Ihayul blinked in surprise. Seo-yul’s words were eerily similar to the answer he had just given to Elia.
"[Even if I know, I can’t help but worry.]"
The response that followed was similar. Ihayul smiled awkwardly, understanding Elia’s feelings.
At the same time, °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° he wondered if Elia truly saw him as a child, and a strange feeling washed over him.
‘...I suppose it doesn’t matter.’
His thoughts quickly scattered. Being treated like a child? Was that really such a bad thing?
After all, he had been fed milk three times a day as a baby. It was a silly thought.
"Hayul, Seo-yul. Have you been waiting well?"
At that moment, Elia, who had briefly stepped away, returned.
Elia, coming from the convenience store, was momentarily startled when she saw the colorful wings surrounding the two. But she smiled softly and adjusted her smartwatch.
A photo was taken. Elia, who reflexively took the shot, nodded in satisfaction and sat down next to them.
“Mm-hmm, thank you for watching over them.”
She gently petted the nearby spirit that had been on guard.
The water spirit, who had been catching snowflakes from the sky, nuzzled against Elia’s touch.
Watching this, Seo-yul opened her mouth.
“Did you come back?”
“Yes, I’m back. Was everything okay?”
“Yes.”
Elia smiled, relieved, and Seo-yul could naturally sense the motherly affection in that smile.
‘......’
Elia, whether naturally or not, cared for Seo-yul kindly, showing warmth toward someone who wasn’t even related to her.
Her kindness was so palpable that even Seo-yul, who had been cautious before, had begun to open her heart.
Did this make him uncomfortable? No, it didn’t. It was, in fact, a warmth that felt pleasant.
But it was still hard to fully accept.
‘She probably used that warmth to charm Dad...’
At the same time, that affection felt oddly guarded.
Seo-yul slyly observed Elia’s appearance.
Her yellow hair was as warm as a field of wheat in harvest, and her round eyes were filled only with warmth.
Her body, even under thick clothing, revealed seductive curves.
Adding to that, there was the faint smell of milk that lingered on Elia... That smell was deeply connected to Ihayul.
"...Aaah."
"[Hmm?]"
"[Aaah!]"
"[Why all of a sudden...]"
Ihayul, feeling disturbed, bit his cheek and gently pinched it in frustration.
Once again, he ended up pouting, not fully understanding the situation.
After getting up from the bench, we took a walk through the snow-covered park.
I carefully observed Seo-yul’s expressions, breathing a sigh of relief inwardly.
‘Thankfully, it seems like her mood has improved.’
It seemed like she had been hiding her feelings by teasing and tormenting me, but I could clearly sense the subdued mood beneath her actions.
‘It’s probably because of the knight position.’
The instinctual nature of being a fairy knight. A knight whose king had fallen and returned in tatters wouldn’t be happy.
‘And even without that, when a daughter sees her father return injured, it’s natural for her to feel this way.’
For that reason, I immediately agreed to go out with her, hoping it would cheer her up.
After spending the whole day walking around, it seemed like Seo-yul’s mood had lightened considerably.
...Though, at times, she would alternate between glaring at Elia and me with a fierce expression, tormenting me, I figured it was a result of the burden of being a parent.
"[Elia, seems like we’re seeing a lot of new faces lately.]"
On the other hand, I was paying attention to other matters.
Though the observational range was narrow, sometimes I noticed a few new people entering the area.
They were individuals not in the accumulated records.
“What do you mean, new faces? Oh, are you talking about the new students?”
Elia tilted her head at my words, then responded with a gasp.
"[New students?]"
"Yeah, although winter break is still a little ways off, there are a few students who are accepted early before the semester officially begins."
The new student assessments for Sioram are done regularly, but sometimes students are accepted through recommendation and arrive ahead of the schedule.
"[That makes sense...]"
I nodded at Elia’s words.
It was a bit of a close call, but I too had entered before the term began.
Some students might be accepted a month or two earlier.
‘By the way, second year, huh...’
I hadn’t paid much attention due to the chaos with the Underlying, but now that I thought about it, I was already a second-year student.
Second year.
A year since I came into this world.
It had already been a year, but also, it had only been a year.
That realization made me feel a little uneasy.
‘...I really made it through a year.’
I had considered dying from the curse before, but now I was still here. I chuckled and rubbed my chest.
‘So, could this wind be coming from the unique ability of the new student?’
I reached out into the air with my empty hand.
As my hand moved, I could feel the subtle uniqueness of the wind within the swirling currents.
‘The wind, huh...’
I had found the untapped tower from the Underlying. The attribute inside was definitely wind.
‘It’s difficult to track right now.’
Unfortunately, I couldn’t widen my range of observation, so tracking it wasn’t possible.
Still, the original energy was so rich and distinct that I’d be able to pinpoint it later.
‘For now, I’m just out here playing with Seo-yul.’
With that thought, I grabbed Seo-yul’s hand tightly.
"Wow, is it finally starting to die down?"
On the top of the front line of the wall that was holding back the Underlying's chaos, Hong Yeon-hwa looked down, sticking out her tongue.
The bottom of the darkened wall was slowly returning to its original color.
The pace was hard to notice, but it was definitely slowing down.
The influence of the Underlying was dissipating.
Hong Yeon-hwa’s expression brightened.
‘Once that’s all in place, I’ll be able to return, right?’
Ihayul had been sent to Sioram’s mansion first. Since I couldn’t send him alone, Elia had gone with him.
Hong Yeon-hwa couldn’t follow.
She glanced behind her, where the purification team was stationed comfortably atop the vast wall.
The representative military force of the Geomhwa family.
She wasn’t sure what Ihayul was doing, but she had brought as many as she could, just in case.
It turned out to be the right decision.
The incident that Golden Spark had caused was far bigger than expected, and the purification team Hong Yeon-hwa led was making a great impact on the battlefield.
"Fortunately, nothing happened while I was gone. I thought you’d cause a mess without me here, Purifier."
"Oh, Madam! What do you mean by such hurtful words! I’ve always been stuck in the family, managing defense, so how could I cause any trouble?"
"Do you know? This year, you’ve caused more incidents than my daughter. Actually, my daughter didn’t cause any trouble at all."
"...That’s a shock."
With the addition of Hong Jin-seon, the head of the Geomhwa family, the forces had doubled.
The Geomhwa family was already the biggest force on the battlefield.
"Ugh."
But for all that, Hong Yeon-hwa had become in a position where she couldn’t act alone.
This was the same for Baek Ah-rin and Lee Ji-yeon.
Baek Ah-rin had brought the Myeonggyo troops, specialized in ice and water, and the Changpa troops.
Lee Ji-yeon had brought a specialized stealth unit for battlefield operations.
As a result, they had become a great help on the battlefield, but they couldn’t just leave Ihayul to fend for himself.
Atla and Riana, although they had the option to leave as private citizens, stayed out of morality.
Of course, if Ihayul had been in danger, they would have rushed to his side.
At that moment, Hong Yeon-hwa's smartwatch beeped. The magical waves were so chaotic that the alarm was delayed and interrupted.
Hong Yeon-hwa tilted her head and checked the alarm.
‘What is this?’
The alarms were more numerous than expected. It was a group chat notification.
[Group Chat (6)]
▶Elia: (Ihayul sipping his hot chocolate) - Photo
▶Elia: (Ihayul crouching and rolling a snowball) - Photo
▶Elia: (Ihayul feeding a snowball to a water spirit) - Photo
▶Elia: (Ihayul adjusting his crooked hat) - Photo
▶Elia: (Ihayul playing with a baby unicorn) - Video
▶Elia: (Ihayul running away from Seo-yul’s snowball, heading for Elia) - Video
...
▶Elia: Hayul is having fun and resting.
▶Elia: Everyone, please! Come back safe and sound!
Hong Yeon-hwa’s mouth dropped open in disbelief.
Warm emotions filled her, and she suddenly wanted to run over, play, and shower Ihayul with affection.
...Jealousy. Why now, of all times, when he’s with Elia? And those pictures are so limited!
"Ugh."
Hong Yeon-hwa clicked her tongue and shot a glare at the base of the wall.
"Too slow."
Even after looking again, the progress of the space being reclaimed was incredibly slow.
Hong Yeon-hwa’s face scrunched up.