North x Northwest

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Epilogue

Epilogue 1: Snow Mountain

Weissland.

The northern continental people referred to their land in this way. For them, the Empire was located on the Southern Continent, therefore their continent was the Central Continent.

In Weissland, everything from architecture, attire, culture, and language differed greatly from the Empire. Perhaps due to the influence of snow-topped mountains and glaciers, bright turquoise, sky blue, and turquoise colours were frequently used on building roofs and towers.

It was here that Lil first saw a glacier. In a short time, the sight of icebergs floating like white islands in the sea off Ed’s territory became her norm. Predictably, on her first visit to Weissland, Lil spent the majority of her time sightseeing. She would watch seals and walruses lie on flat ice to bask in the sun, then sail out on a yacht with Ed to step on an iceberg and touch ice sculptures.

The Eichendorff estate was located at the southernmost point of Weissland. While it was thought to have a more gentle environment because it was near a volcano, Lil couldn’t agree. She had to wear fur-lined clothes even in the springtime. Nothing touched her body that wasn’t covered in fur. Her hat, scarf, gloves, and boots were all lined with warm materials.

Ed, on the other hand, managed to get around just fine with only one thick coat. This was true not only for Ed, but for the rest of the Northerners as well. However, Ed appeared to be particularly insensitive to the cold. Even when they climbed the snowy mountain, he’d wear the same clothes, with the exception of an extra layer of lining on his outerwear. Meanwhile, Lil had to climb the mountain while wrapped in fur. It wasn’t that difficult, but climbing the snowy mountain required effort this way.

Except when descending.

They faced a pure white snow field without any traces of life. The cold misty air that had been scorched by the mountains cascaded down like waves.

Lil screamed as she balanced herself on two wooden boards, in length as tall as her, bound on both feet.

“Aaaahhh!”

Her body, which was as tilted as the mountain’s slope, was continuously being pushed downward.

‘These damned planks tied to my boots keep me from maintaining my balance!’

Lil grabbed the wooden pole Ed was holding out in front of her as if it were her lifeline. Ed, too, had boards called skies strapped to both of his feet, but unlike her, he could sit, stand, stop, and move naturally.

Ed looked at Lil and did his best to explain calmly.

“Now, get your left foot back…”

“Why did you have to stick these under my feet?”

“You have to lean forward more.”

“No, that won’t work! Do I really have to do this?”

Her screams echoed through the snowy mountains.

It was amazing to sit on the hillside and watch the frozen Monferrand Strait, the glaciers breaking as they pushed out to sea, and pods of whales out to hunt. However, their way down from that very view was too steep for her; she had only learned how to ski on the village hill, but this one was almost at a right angle.

Despite stiffening her entire body, Lil’s knees still trembled.

“That’s it. I’m walking down!”

Lil, unable to control her temper, shook off Ed’s pole. The pole, which had the purpose of assisting her in navigating the snowfield, flew into the air instead. At the same time, Lil’s body, having lost the much needed support, descended rapidly as the smooth surfaces of the skies slid down the slope in an instant.

“Aaagh!”

Lil helplessly collapsed, unable to overcome the speed of being sucked down by gravity. She fell and rolled several times, but her accelerated body wouldn’t stop easily. It didn’t take long until Ed’s laughter could be heard from far above.

“Hahahahaha!”

Lil rolled like a scroll, her skis already fallen off halfway. Snow clung to her fur coat. She tried to stop her descent, but her body wouldn’t listen… More balls of snow clung to her body as she spun faster and faster, swelling her up like a snowman…

“…Liloa!”

Lil woke up from her vivid dream with a gasp. Her eyes, however, were still rolling, caused by the person who was shaking her violently, calling her to wake up.

“…Liloa!”

Ed’s face popped into view, but it was already too late as she had unconsciously kicked Ed’s side amid her struggles. As soon as his face disappeared from her sight, Lil sat right up in a flash.

“Hmm!”

The first thing that caught her eye was a blazing red bonfire. Looking around, the ice cap was nowhere to be found, and her body was buried under a warm blanket. Lil tossed her wool blanket around to see if there was any snow on her body.

Ed, who lifted his upper body, grabbed his side and groaned.

“…What the hell were you dreaming about?”

Lil slumped her shoulders with a sigh of relief.

“I dreamed about the time I first learned to ski.”

“That’s been a while. And you got the hang of it in just two days. So why were you groaning so much?”

“We were on the top of an unfamiliar mountain. Also, I was wearing a bundle of fur, so I looked almost like a bear, but when I fell and rolled in the snow, the snow began to stick to me more and more, until my body swelled up like a snowball and rolled all the way to the bottom of the mountain…”

“…”

Lil wiped away the cold sweat and pressed down on her pounding chest. She was as serious as she could be, but she sensed Ed wasn’t. His face was contorted as he tried to hold back laughter. Lil pushed his thighs with her toes. Of course, he didn’t move.

“And you were laughing like crazy when you saw me rolling down. Just like now!”

“No way.”

“It’s true, you were absolutely evil.”

“So that wasn’t a nightmare, but just a dream.”

She knew it was only a crazy dream, but Lil glared at Ed for no reason. He, on the other hand, thought her dream was funny and just laughed. Lil grumbled, unable to shake the feeling that she had been wronged for some reason.

“What you do to me daily is reflected even in my dreams.”

“…Me?”

“Because you’re always teasing me.”

Ed suddenly blinked his eyes as innocently as he could.

“When did I do that?”

He grabbed Lil’s waist and pulled her to sit on his legs. When Lil tried to resist, he quickly grabbed her hand and kissed it. The fight in her died when he playfully started looking at her through her fingers. Normally, at a moment like this, she would pinch her cheek to regain a bit of stability, but instead, she pinched his. Soon, as she realised it was just a dream, she took a deep breath.

“Still, it was awful.”

Lil relaxed in Ed’s arms.

When she turned her head, which was resting against the nape of his neck, she looked around the interior of the ice cave they set up camp last night. Since sunrise had already passed, the ice stalactites that fell from the ceiling shone dazzlingly, reflecting the sunlight. Water was already dripping from the thin icicles.

Halfway down the cave, the snowy carpet turned into a completely frozen floor. The ice pillars that rose from the floor and sometimes connected to the ceiling held a blue colour, looking almost turquoise. Gazing deeper into the cave, the blue-green colour became increasingly darker. Lil suddenly thought the cave resembled the maw of a huge shark in a way.

Ed asked her as he had silently hugged her for a while.

“Shall we go for a swim?”

When Lil nodded, Ed began taking off her clothes one by one. She also unbuttoned his shirt and pulled his pants down. They felt like freezing at any moment because they stood naked in the ice-filled cave, but the two quickly wrapped a large towel around their bodies and exited the cave wearing only their boots.

Lil’s eyes narrowed as the sun reflected off the snowflakes.

The mountain wind blew, bringing an even cooler breeze. The cave was located in the middle of a snowy mountain, with a deep blue spring right next to the entrance. Lil was taken aback at first by a spring in the middle of a white snow field, but by now she had grown accustomed to it.

Lil kicked out her boots and threw herself into the blue water.

– Splash! –

As soon as her body hit the surface of the water, heavy warmth enveloped her. The spring water was heated by the nearby volcano. Lil pulled her head out of the water and swept away her wet hair when Ed jumped in. With a spray of water shooting up in all directions and hitting Lil right in the eyes, Lil cried out, rubbing her face.

“You’re too big to jump in here!”

Regardless of Lil’s nagging, Ed whizzed his head. Lil had to again defend herself against the water droplets shooting from his hair.

“Oh, really. Because you’re like this, that’s why I had a dream like that!”

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