A violet dress.
The dress, embroidered throughout with purple lace patterns like violets, fit Daniela perfectly.
Some alterations had been made, but it was clear that skilled craftsmen had put considerable effort into achieving this level of quality.
James had let it slip that he had taken great pains with it.
"James. See to it that you continue to treat Daniela well."
Why had he said that, he wondered.
James had appealed, time and again, that he would gladly die to prove his loyalty.
He added that if he could lay down his life for the Grand Duke's house, there could be no greater honor.
Theodor gave a nod. Typical of a noble house of the North. Excessive loyalty was their defining trait.
"I'm looking forward to it."
"To what, Your Grace?"
"Hm? What?"
James asked again.
Theodor hadn't noticed, but it seemed he had spoken those words without realizing it.
Alfredo gave a nod.
James exchanged a glance with Alfredo, then nodded as well. Both of them broke into warm, satisfied smiles.
"That is precisely why you are the Grand Duke, Your Grace."
"What do you mean by that, James de Wintergard?"
"They say a wolf loves only one woman and takes but a single mate. And now, at last, Your Grace, who carries the blood of the wolf..."
So that was what they meant.
Theodor waved a hand and shooed James away.
Alfredo received the same treatment.
The ministers and nobles had been saying similar things for a while now.
Hexon had said something along those lines as well. Maddening. The Grand Duke's dignity was slipping.
Well. It would be fine, probably.
Several days passed.
There was so much to be done that Daniela had no time left for reading the popular novels she had loved so dearly.
Theodor helped her from the side, but there was still much she didn't know, and she often had to seek the assistance of various ministers.
He hadn't realized it, but many of the things he had assumed were his own duties turned out to be matters the Grand Duchess was expected to handle.
In particular, Alfredo informed him that the management of Winter Castle itself was decided by the mistress of the castle. That, he hadn't known.
The morning of the day the banquet was to be held.
It was the day the maids and servants of Winter Castle were newly hired — the first order issued in the Grand Duchess's name. Banquet preparations the moment they were hired.
"Hah, I'm nervous somehow."
"Are you?"
"Well, it is the first banquet held in my name."
"You don't need to worry. Nothing will go wrong."
Daniela sat at the edge of the bed, sighing repeatedly.
A banquet held in the Grand Duchess's name.
The first occasion the Grand Duchess had gathered noble ladies and ministers together.
It would be a first in every sense.
Not once since Theodor had inherited the title of Grand Duke had anyone been assembled in the Grand Duchess's name.
So the anticipation was considerable.
The area around Winter Castle was alive with noise.
Alongside the excitement of those hoping to catch a glimpse of the occasion, there were merchants eyeing the opportunity as well.
There had been far too many banquets of late.
And then there was the new banner hanging from Winter Castle.
Only the wolf-crest banner had hung there before, but now, suddenly, the Violet Banner had appeared beneath it.
Most people in the North already held great expectations for the Grand Duchess.
The hope flickered in their hearts — that at last, even the wolf had found his mate.
"How do I look today?"
In the middle of working in the study, Daniela had disappeared and then reappeared.
The violet dress.
It was nothing like the black garments or white dresses he had seen on her until now.
It didn't look so different from the dresses he had seen in the South, but the color of violets was breathtaking.
More beautiful even than the flowers he had seen at the Barth estate.
"You're beautiful."
"Is that... all?"
"Mm. You're truly beautiful."
Daniela turned away with a pout.
That was all he had to say — what else could he do? No other response came to him.
He simply wanted to keep looking at her.
Theodor rose from his seat. The documents weren't what mattered right now. They could wait until tomorrow.
"I'm not much for words, I'm afraid."
He stood and walked toward her.
The violet dazzled his eyes.
He had thought the light was coming from the dress itself, but it was only the sunlight streaming in through the window, catching the fabric.
Her hair, not yet grown very long, golden strands hovering just short of her shoulders.
He gently brushed Daniela's hair back.
Had he gotten too close?
He could feel her flinch.
As he tucked her hair behind her ear, it came into view.
It felt as though he were seeing it for the first time. With each passing moment, it was growing redder.
"Beautiful. Truly."
"....."
She turned her head this way and that.
She flinched, but made no move to pull away from his hand.
She only grew more flustered each time she felt his touch.
Theodor stood still and looked at her.
An inexplicable silence settled between them. There was something he wanted to hear.
The sort of thing one might find in a popular novel, but —
"There's something I want to hear."
"What is it?"
"I'm not sure, exactly. I don't quite know myself."
In a moment like this, there ought to be something that came naturally, he thought.
Or perhaps he simply wanted to hear it.
He couldn't say precisely what the feeling was.
"Grand Duke."
"Yes?"
"Your face has gone quite red."
Daniela's words landed like a blow.
A laugh escaped him before he could stop it.
Right. It was still a little early, he told himself. But the words were growing clearer within him, little by little.
Words he had never once thought of since becoming Grand Duke. Words that would one day, certainly, come from Daniela's lips.
"The same goes for you. Daniela."
"I— is that so? Oh, my..."
She laughed, a little awkwardly.
The banquet hall was always loud.
But when they entered, everyone fell silent.
Because today's guest of honor was not Theodor but Daniela, the people were waiting not for his words, but for the Grand Duchess's first.
It had not been long since the Grand Duchess was first introduced, but in truth, no one had ever heard her voice.
"Grand Duchess, if you would say a few words."
At Alfredo's prompt, Daniela cleared her throat.
She was strong enough to have endured that humiliation in the South — but a setting like this would have been entirely new to her.
"Everyone,"
Daniela gripped his arm tightly.
He didn't know how things might appear in the South.
The North and South had little to do with each other to begin with, and anyone who carelessly brought up rumors about Daniela would find themselves in serious trouble.
"I come from the South."
A subtle ripple passed through the crowd.
She came from the South? There was curiosity, and a murmur stirred at the implication that she was of Imperial origin.
"The South where I lived was warmer than the North. Flowers bloomed in abundance, and people lived in comfortable surroundings."
The exact opposite climate from the North.
Before the Central Furnace and other such installations had been put in place, the North had not been a place fit for human habitation.
But now it was different.
The land was fertile, and far fewer people were dying of cold or starvation.
"Yet the hearts of the people were colder than a northern winter, frozen solid. I lived in a warm place, but in truth, I think I was living inside a frozen winter."
Had she prepared these words?
Theodor glanced at Daniela.
There was a sharpness in her eyes.
It was proof that not a single falsehood was mixed in.
The people, too, were feeling Daniela's sincerity.
"Since coming to the North, I have met many people. Alfredo, who always helps me at Winter Castle. Sir James de Wintergard, who comes whenever I ask."
The gazes fixed on Daniela shifted.
James immediately dropped to one knee. He appeared to be weeping.
"And all of you who have come here today, and the people who live in the North. I believe it is thanks to the people of the North gathered here that spring has found its way into my heart. And so,"
The emblem on Daniela's banner, and the meaning written within it.
The scent of violets is the path spring walks. Spring was walking this way.
"I wish to say thank you to the people of the North, who have brought me spring. And, Grand Duke."
Every gaze in the room turned to him.
Being the object of so many eyes at once was a peculiar sensation.
It was different from the stares he received when commanding an army, presiding over a council, or delivering the opening words at a banquet.
A smile was forming on his face without his knowing it.
It was not the smile of someone mocking another, nor the smile of someone who found something genuinely funny.
It was a smile he found difficult to name with certainty.
"There is something I very much want to say to the Grand Duke."
Daniela tugged at his arm. Not enough to pull him off balance.
She simply caught his sleeve and drew him toward her a few times.
Theodor leaned in close to Daniela.
The silence of the crowd was almost a poison.
Everyone would hear. He couldn't very well ask them not to listen.
That was precisely why her words were precious.
"I love you."
Was this enough?
His face was growing redder by the moment.
Had anyone heard those words?
At the very least, the people standing nearest to them seemed to have caught it.
James and Alfredo had certainly heard. Somehow, tears had appeared in both their eyes.
"Thank you."
It came out before he could stop it.
Not to escape her words.
Just as Daniela had spoken in earnest, he had done nothing more than speak in earnest as well.
Thank you. For coming to the North.
"Ahem. Well then — as this is a banquet hosted by Daniela von Wintergard, I hope everyone enjoys themselves. So then. Mm. Yes. Right."
Perhaps a trace of flustered surprise had shown through. His words trailed off awkwardly, and the moment they did, music began to fill the hall.
Theodor resolved to remember her eyes.
The moment those blue eyes had shone with a luminous, brilliant light.