"That was a truly massive blunder."
Back in my room, I turned the near-disaster over in my mind again. The nobles and ministers had erupted like a fire catching.
They had scrambled desperately to make the most of the opportunity then and there. Lord de Wintergard had even wept. If James hadn't talked them down from behind, it could have turned into something far worse.
Hexon had gone so far as to try to set a wedding date outright. Only when I told him, in roundabout terms, that a date would be arranged in due course did he finally settle down. The banquet ended without incident — but still. There was work left to do.
I needed to give de Wintergard an appropriate position, arrange for him to communicate directly with Daniela, and inform him that there was now a Grand Duchess.
Unexpectedly, quite a lot remained on the list.
"Are you tired, Grand Duke?"
"Not particularly. Just more to do than I expected."
Everyone had changed into comfortable clothes. The night at Winter Castle had long since grown deep.
Water was heated at once, and the maids bustled about in preparation for the Grand Duke's bath. The one consolation was that they had visibly brightened at the mention of a holiday tomorrow.
Before heading to bathe, I waited in the room with Daniela for the servants to finish their preparations.
I returned to the cluttered desk and sorted through documents again, turning over in my mind the wording for a new one — the order to issue the seal of Daniela von Wintergard.
"By the way, how did you prepare all of that so quickly?"
"The banner's emblem?"
"Yes. How did such a large banner appear like that..."
"People worked hard for it. The emblem was chosen on the spot, but I think it turned out rather well — what do you think?"
Daniela received it warmly. In truth, in the South, women are not granted new emblems. They simply continue using their family's existing crest; no new one is ever bestowed.
I had heard it was partly to emphasize the family's influence, and partly a matter of power distribution — since a marriage is the joining of two houses.
But the North was different. Anyone who married into the nobility could fly an emblem of their own.
"Violets. Purple flowers."
"They were your favorite in the garden."
"They suit you. Violets."
I began writing the text of the order — a seal bearing the violet emblem. Anyone who saw that mark pressed into wax would know at once that it had come from Daniela von Wintergard.
"The seal will arrive soon as well."
"Even a seal..."
I heard Daniela sigh. It was a different kind of sigh from one born of exhaustion — something laced with tension, if anything.
"Are you all right?"
"Y-yes. Of course, Grand Duke."
"Are you worried?"
The second sigh that followed trembled all the way through. I set down my pen mid-sentence and crossed to where Daniela sat at the edge of the bed.
The moment I sat beside her, I felt her trembling. I rested a hand lightly on her shoulder. The tension in her body came through plainly.
"C-can I truly become Grand Duchess?"
"I'm not forcing you. Not even if you choose otherwise."
"Huu..."
There had been no room to notice this trembling in the banquet hall, but the title of Grand Duchess carried real weight. Until not so long ago, she had been ready to give everything up.
Before that, she had been broken off by the Crown Prince at the Academy. There had been a great deal.
"I understand. Grand Duchess."
"If I had just a little time — I think I could adjust."
"Of course you can."
I took Daniela's hand and led her to the desk. The order for the seal was still half-finished.
I pushed that paper aside and brought out a fresh sheet — a well-finished piece of parchment, the kind used for official documents in the North.
"There's something the Grand Duchess needs to do first."
"What is it — oh?"
I seated her in the chair. The chair that until now only the Grand Duke had ever occupied. The ink and pen reserved for the Grand Duke's use alone. And the paper. The task itself was simple.
It didn't matter what the words were.
Long or short — it made no difference.
She had just received a new emblem for her banner. All she needed to do was compose a motto to go with it.
"Your banner's emblem needs a motto."
"I — I have to write it myself?"
"Of course. Do you have something in mind?"
"Hmm, hmm..."
Daniela was thinking it over. Just then, Alfredo knocked. The bath was ready. I left Daniela to it and headed off to bathe, telling her she could take as long as she liked — to think it over slowly, without any rush.
"Will you not be bathing together, my lord?"
"Alfredo. That comes later."
"You are to be wed, after all..."
"Some things are meant to be approached slowly, with time."
"As expected of the Grand Duke."
I sank into the tub and scrubbed myself clean. It felt good to have soap in hand again after so long. The facilities in the South had been rather poor — proper bathing had barely been possible. I'd felt grimy the whole time, so this was very welcome indeed.
When I returned from bathing and came back to the study, Daniela was writing something on the paper. I stood at the doorway and watched her quietly.
"It is time for the Grand Duchess to go as well."
At Alfredo's words, Daniela started to her feet. She said she wasn't finished yet — but I found myself curious. The feeling of someone sneaking a look at another's diary. I examined the paper left alone among the documents.
Her name was written at the top. Daniela von Barth... she had written, then crossed out the von Barth surname with a rough line.
Beside it, written fresh: Daniela von Wintergard. The letters ran a little loose, but I decided to call it cursive.
Several phrases had been crossed out and rewritten. But one sentence alone had survived.
"That's a fine motto."
Violets bloom in spring. But the North is always cold, and flowers are not easy to come by. Since the furnace was installed, flowers had bloomed more often — yet violets did not grow in the North.
They could be seen in the South. To look at those small, clustered blooms, one had no choice but to bow one's head.
A violet of the North.
*The scent of violets is the path spring walks.*
This would do.
"G-Grand Duke!"
I had been turning the words over in my mind when Daniela returned to the room. She said she hadn't finished yet, but it had already won me over completely.
In the North, winter is a season of hardship. The people of the North had always waited for spring. Spring carried the meaning that the suffering was over.
"This is a wonderful motto, Daniela."
"A-ah, I can still write something better!"
"It suits me perfectly. Spring, of all things —"
Daniela lunged at me, trying to snatch the paper. I held it up above my head, out of her reach, and read the lines aloud one by one.
The other phrases had been good too, but this one in particular had caught me. *The scent of violets is the path spring walks.* Spring was coming.
"How did you know that spring is the happiest season in the North?"
"P-please, just give it back, Grand Duke."
Swipe — swipe — Daniela's hand darted back and forth through the air. But I couldn't give it up. I had already made up my mind — this was the one.
Another fine phrase might yet come along, but nothing so far had moved me the way this one did.
"Really! Grand Duke!"
"Hold on — but why did you write your name wrong?"
"A-ah, I'm still not used to it."
"It's Wintergard now."
I sat back down in the study chair. I handed the paper over, and Daniela stared at the words written on it with piercing focus.
Her eyes moved over each character as if questioning whether it was truly that good. Her golden hair was slightly damp, a few strands clinging to her cheek, not quite in order.
Still, she had made an effort to tidy it. When she had first come to Winter Castle, her hair had been hacked short in a rough, desperate way. Now it looked neat. Back then, the lengths hadn't even matched.
"You're starting to seem like a true Northerner."
"I still have a long way to go, Grand Duke."
"Short hair and all."
She glanced at me, then her gaze returned to the paper. Daniela set it on the study desk and moved toward the bed. In the end, she couldn't overcome what wasn't quite stubbornness but was close enough.
It was decided. A motto to match the violet emblem. The path of a flower waiting for spring.
"Then we'll go with this."
I copied the words onto a fresh sheet of paper. This document would now become an official record. The name Wintergard, which had always stood beside my own — I had never imagined it would be carried by someone else.
I transcribed it onto the new paper. In the sender's line: Daniela von Wintergard, written by proxy — Theodor von Ardrno Ifela Wintergard. I added the names.
Quite a long one.
"Would you come here? Daniela."
"Isn't it finished now?"
Daniela didn't move. She sat on the bed looking for all the world like she was sulking. What was wrong with it — it was a fine motto. I walked over to where she sat.
Come to think of it —
There was something from this morning I hadn't finished. That needed to be settled as well.
"Take a look. Is it all right?"
"Do as you please, Grand Duke!"
"Don't be like that."
I set the paper aside. I moved toward her carefully. My ear was right beside Daniela's lips. When she tried to pull back, I blocked her retreat with my arm.
I wanted to do what I hadn't managed this morning. That was all.
*Some things need to be done...*
"What are you doing?"
"Something that needs doing."
"W-what..."
"You agreed to call me by my name."
Daniela's hand brushed the back of my neck. It was a scene straight out of a pulp novel. To whisper of love, the woman had drawn close.
There was no need to speak of love.
Love is something that seeps in — not something dragged out from the chest and put on display. At least, not in this moment.
"Theodor."
"Mm."
"T-there. That's enough. My space, my space!"
She shoved me — hard. By rights I should have toppled backward onto the bed, but instead I pitched forward off the edge. A loud thud rang out. I grabbed my elbow on purpose and made a show of being in pain, groaning softly and watching Daniela's reaction from the corner of my eye.
"A-are you all right, Grand Duke?"
"Ugh —"
I caught Daniela's arm as it reached down toward me from the bed. Off-balance, she tumbled right in front of me. She ended up on top of me, her lips moving wordlessly. Once more.
"What is happening! Grand Duke, Your Highness!"
The guards burst in without warning. They froze at the sight of us. Even Alfredo appeared to have come running.
"..."
"Get out."
"W-we sincerely apologize! Grand Duke, Your Highness!"
*This is genuinely irritating.*