Cecilia saw a man pulling something that looked like a long, narrow boat. That vehicle seemed completely out of place in the current situation and setting.

When the man climbed onto it, Cecilia doubted her eyes. And what happened next left her stunned.

The sled the man had boarded slid effortlessly over the snowy road.

As she stared intently at the scene, Russell spoke.

“It’s a sled. They use them to travel to the outer castle.”

“A sled…”

The man and his sled quickly disappeared from sight.

The sled was narrow, just wide enough for one person to sit on, but it was quite long.

“Do you want to try it?”

Cecilia whipped her head toward Russell. Then, she nodded enthusiastically.

Russell ordered for a sled to be brought.

The inside of the sled was structured with two wooden planks running across it.

He sat on the front plank, and Cecilia, holding onto the maids’ hands for support, carefully climbed on and took a seat on the back plank.

“Hold onto me from behind.”

Cecilia wrapped her arms around his waist.

Russell pulled her hands tighter and said,

“Tighter.”

Cecilia pressed herself completely against his back, hugging his waist.

“I’m starting now. Ready?”

“Mm.”

Russell grabbed the control bar and stepped on the footboard.

The sled needed an initial push from human force to start moving, but once it began sliding over the snow, it gained speed on its own.

Cecilia watched as the snow walls flashed past her.

The actual speed of the sled was likely not that fast, but the sensation of gliding across the snow made it feel much quicker.

When they finally reached the end of the snowy path leading to the outer castle and came to a stop, Cecilia was still holding onto him tightly.

Russell carefully unwrapped her hands from his waist and turned to look at her.

“Are you okay?”

He had expected her to be terrified, but instead, she looked at him with her golden eyes curved in amusement and said,

“This is fun.”

“…Fun?”

“It’s nothing like riding a horse. It doesn’t shake—it just glides… It feels strange but really fun.”

Her golden eyes sparkled.

Seeing her genuinely enjoying herself, Russell was momentarily overwhelmed by emotion.

It was too much to hope for, but… if only she could grow to love this Lagos, just as he did…

Cecilia was caught off guard when he leaned in and kissed her, his lips pressing against her through the thick fur of her face covering.

Of course, she couldn’t feel anything through the material.

“You… do you really like this fur hat that much?”

“Cecilia.”

She waited for him to continue.

But after calling her name, he simply stared at her.

When she grew impatient, she asked,

“What were you going to say—”

“Cecilia.”

“Mm.”

“Can I come to you tonight?”

Cecilia blinked and looked at him.

As she gazed into his violet eyes, her heart pounded.

Slowly, she nodded.

“…Mm.”

 

❖ ❖ ❖

 

“Madam.”

Cecilia, who had been pacing inside her bedroom, flinched at the knock on the door.

“I’ve brought your shaved ice.”

“…Alright.”

She quickly answered and opened the door.

Stepping into the sitting room, she sat in front of the table where the bowl of shaved ice had been placed.

She had already eaten dinner, and it was late at night, but she had asked the maid to bring her shaved ice.

She had been restless since dusk, and she hoped the cold dessert would help calm her nerves.

He had told her he would come tonight—and then promptly disappeared, saying he had urgent matters to attend to, even skipping dinner.

Cecilia had been tense ever since.

She wasn’t even sure if this strange feeling she had was nervousness.

She felt anxious. It felt as if time were dragging too slowly.

And yet, at the same time, she had the urge to run away.

‘The first time was a mistake.’

Her first kiss—her first night—she could technically insist they were mistakes.

But tonight…

Tonight would not be a mistake.

Even as she scooped a spoonful of shaved ice into her mouth, she barely registered the sweetness.

Her thoughts were too scattered to focus on taste.

Knock, knock.

The sound of knocking on the sitting room door made her hand freeze.

Cecilia spoke.

“I’ll get it.”

The maid, who had just started to move, halted.

Cecilia set down her spoon and stood up.

She took a deep breath as she stood in front of the door. Then, she opened it.

The moment she saw him standing there, she couldn’t think of what to say.

Russell took a step forward. One stride closed the distance between them.

His arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her close.

Then, his lips devoured hers.

His kiss was almost an attack.

Cecilia instinctively stepped backward.

But the more she retreated, the more he advanced.

Her body tilted slightly backward.

Without thinking, her arms reached up and wrapped around his neck.