YWPWYLFDM 37

Chapter 37

As she stepped outside the fortress, the crisp crunch of snow followed every step she took.

It was a rather inconvenient season for sneaking out at night, but aside from that, winter was a truly beautiful time of year.

She had never been sensitive to the cold, and just the sight of snow always lifted her spirits.

Come to think of it, Father once said that the reason I love winter so much is because I carry the blood of the Weisshafen family.

The northern domain of Weisshafen was known for its long winters and heavy snow. Though she had never once set foot in that land, when Aila said she loved winter, Roderick had smiled warmly and told her so.

Back then, not knowing he was her real father, she had mocked him for it. But now, thinking back, his words seemed oddly convincing.

“Have you come, my lady?”

It had been a long time since she last saw Cloud’s face. He still regarded her with that same unreadable, stern gaze.

“You’ve rested for quite some time, so your stamina has surely dropped. For now, focus only on building your strength back up. Since you were born with a sturdy constitution, you should recover quickly.”

Aila nodded at his words and began running across the snow-covered yard.

In the past, she could circle the grounds again and again without tiring, but now, her breath came short in no time.

It was a bitter realization. She needed strength—for her revenge most of all.

Clenching her teeth, Aila ran on, leaving small footprints in the pristine white snow. Without stopping. Without looking back.

“Win, is something troubling you?”

The Emperor of the Pelles Empire, Hyram Tobias Vito Pelles, looked affectionately at his only precious son as he asked.

It was a rare occasion for father and son to enjoy tea together, yet Winfred seemed unable to focus on their conversation, drifting constantly into his own thoughts.

Even so, Winfred didn’t answer the question, lost deep inside his mind.

“Hey, Win. Win? Winfred! Crown Prince!”

“—Huh? Yes? Did you call me, Father?”

Just what could he be thinking so hard about? Only after the Emperor raised his voice and even called him “Crown Prince” did Winfred snap back and respond.

“I asked if something’s bothering you. You and I have both been so busy—do you know how long it’s been since we’ve had time alone like this? Yet you sit there ignoring your father. I can’t help but feel hurt.”

Seeing the mighty Emperor pout with such an unbefitting expression, Winfred couldn’t hold back a small laugh.

How could he not laugh, when the man who ruled an empire was pretending to sulk just to coax a smile out of him?

“Sorry, Father.”

“So? What’s troubling you?”

Hyram leaned in, his eyes urging him to confess.

“Trouble? N-no, nothing at all!”

Winfred’s flustered reply was suspicious. He sounded so desperate to deny it that his voice cracked.

“Really nothing?”

“……Yes. Nothing.”

No matter how many times Hyram pressed, his son stubbornly kept his lips sealed.

“I see… is that so.”

Hyram felt a pang of disappointment. He’d always been proud of how close he and his son were—close enough to boast of it to anyone. In the past, Winfred would have confessed his worries without even being asked. Yet now, even after repeated questions, he refused to share.

Still, there was little the Emperor could do.

Fourteen… it’s that age.

An age for secrets, even from one’s own father. His mind understood, but his heart felt heavy.

Winfred, noticing the change in his father’s mood, squirmed uneasily.

Is he upset with me? What should I do?

Once Hyram sulked, he tended to hold onto it. He would surely run to Mother tonight, complain in detail, and pour out all his grievances.

And then Winfred would be scolded by the Empress for making his father feel neglected.

The Empress, Selene, was frail in body but far from weak in spirit. Both Emperor and Crown Prince were completely at her mercy.

Still, Winfred couldn’t tell him everything.

…I simply can’t figure out where the name “Hailing” came from.

He had combed through the Empire’s noble registry, page after page, yet nowhere could he find a family named “Hailing.”

Perhaps they were foreign nobility? But no—Aila had clearly said she was from the Empire.

He believed her words that they would meet again someday, but he couldn’t just sit idly by until then. He wanted to uncover who Aila really was, who her parents were, and deliver her message faithfully.

Yet asking anyone else felt like defeat.

It was a task Aila had entrusted to him alone—he couldn’t rely on another’s help.

Ah, again…

Just thinking of Aila made his chest tighten painfully. The imperial physicians checked on his health regularly, so it couldn’t be illness.

“Actually… the truth is…”

Trying to soothe his sulking father and also figure out the cause of his strange symptoms, Winfred finally spoke.

“Lately, my chest keeps feeling like it seizes up, sharp and tight, as if someone’s squeezing it. I can’t focus on work, and I’ve lost my appetite.”

At the sudden confession, Hyram’s heart dropped. Could something be wrong with his only precious son’s health?

But he quickly realized that wasn’t the case. He received weekly reports from the palace physicians, and only a few days ago they’d declared Winfred perfectly healthy.

That left only one explanation: lovesickness.

One of Hyram’s eyebrows rose, his expression lighting up with intrigue.

So my boy really is growing up… already old enough to fall in love.

“Tell me… do these symptoms happen when you meet or think of someone in particular?”

“……! How did you know?”

As expected of the Emperor—he saw through everything. Winfred hadn’t mentioned it on purpose, not wanting to bring up Aila, yet somehow his father had guessed.

He hadn’t met her again, but every time he thought of Aila, it happened.

Hyram let out a mischievous hum, grinning like a child as he teased his son.

“What is it, Father? Do you know why this is happening to me?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then tell me!”

But the Emperor only danced around the subject, drawing it out until Winfred scowled in frustration.

Finally, before the boy lost his patience completely, Hyram revealed the answer.

“It’s lovesickness, my son. Whoever it is, you’re in love.”

Winfred was struck speechless.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t realized he held special feelings for Aila—he wasn’t that oblivious. After all, why else would she occupy his thoughts so often?

But what he felt didn’t seem like the “liking someone” that he knew of.

“…Isn’t love supposed to be exhilarating? To make your heart race with excitement and joy? Instead, it feels like my chest is seizing up, aching like someone’s pressing down hard on it.”

He’d never experienced love himself, but his nurse once told him that being in love meant happiness, just being together was enough.

Yet his feelings for Aila were nothing like that. Every time he thought of her, his chest grew so tight it felt like he might cry.

To call that love…

“I thought you were grown, but you’re still a child after all.”

Hyram shook his head, but his face was full of smiles.

Whoever the girl was, the fact that his only son was experiencing his very first love made even his own heart flutter.

“Who is it? Hm? Is she a young lady I know? Or… not a young lady?”

Surely not a young man? If the Crown Prince preferred men, it would complicate the matter of heirs for the imperial line.

But Hyram was prepared to respect whatever love his son chose.

“…I’m going back.”

Really, what went through his father’s head? Drumming on great drums and cymbals all by himself—how could anyone stay serious before him?

Unable to bear it, Winfred leapt from his seat.

“Winfred, Win! …Are you really going? Very well! This father will wait until you’re ready! Whenever you’re prepared to tell me who she is, come to me!”

Hyram called out after his retreating son with a voice full of delight.

From that day on, the Crown Prince sulked and avoided paying his proper respects to the Emperor.

When Selene heard the reason, she scolded Hyram to “stop teasing our son already.” Only after the Emperor apologized repeatedly did Winfred forgive him.

Though annoyed at being teased, Winfred still mulled over his father’s words.

Was this suffocating ache really because he liked Aila?

In the end, he came to his own conclusion:

Yes… I do like Aila.