No matter how many hundreds of times one speaks of the Wintergard family, certain truths remain unchanged.
That Wintergard is the rightful ruler of the North, and a house that has inherited the very soul of the North.
Perhaps that is why.
In the Northeast, that sacred ground where the Wintergards lie at rest.
In that sacred ground, many people come to visit, or to pay their respects.
Today was no different.
And it was the first time I had come to pay my respects at the Wintergard cemetery since becoming Grand Duke.
"This is nearly a first for me."
"Was there a particular reason?"
"A reason? Hard to say. Perhaps I was simply too occupied with ducal affairs."
"That's true enough. You've always been terribly busy."
The duties of a Grand Duke were, unexpectedly, far too demanding.
Many people helped, of course, but even so, there had never been enough time to linger long in the Northeast.
Honestly, I'm anxious even now.
I haven't been able to check whether the ministers' work is running smoothly.
When I went south, at least there was a justification for being away.
Now there doesn't seem to be any such thing.
"Still, isn't it nice to spend a holiday like this?"
"Very nice. For me, at least."
"Then why won't you say it?"
"Say what?"
"Anything."
Daniela's pressure had grown considerably stronger.
I had sensed it somewhat on the road back from the South to the North, but since I still wasn't accustomed to this kind of pressure, I kept fumbling past it awkwardly.
No, what on earth happened between her and those duchesses.
I may have made a mistake putting an innocent girl into that wives' gathering.
"No matter how many hundreds of times one says it, it's never enough..."
"So — what is it?"
"Well. I love you, I like you. Things like... that... hmm..."
"You seem to have changed quite a lot lately?"
"In what way?"
We were wandering through the Wintergard cemetery.
The atmosphere was not particularly solemn.
Many people were passing through.
I had told the ministers and nobles to refrain from speaking of Wintergard, but the ordinary residents who lived their daily lives — they spoke of Wintergard often, as far as I knew.
Stories of the previous Grand Duke, after all, and tales of the Traitor Valter Wintergard, were famous enough that everyone knew them.
"Before, you seemed much like a typical Northerner."
"And what did you think of Northerners?"
"Hmm, well?"
I walked slowly with Daniela's arm linked through mine.
Rather than paying our respects as we were supposed to, it felt as though we were simply wandering aimlessly.
Even so, the ministers and nobles would surely want something like this. For the bond between Daniela and me to deepen considerably.
Though it already seemed deep enough.
"Prejudices about Northerners!"
"And you thought I was just like that?"
"Hmm, I didn't think you were exactly the same, but... similar, perhaps?"
"Southerners are far too frightened of the North. I can't imagine why."
"Of course they're frightened. Everyone from the North is so much bigger than Southerners, aren't they?"
"Was that meant to be a joke?"
"Hehe... It's a joke that works on Southerners."
She really does seem to have come from that wives' gathering.
Does she actually know what 'bigger' implies?
I had no particular desire to explain it, but I quietly brought my lips close to Daniela's ear.
Not to kiss her.
To whisper.
There was no need to lean in quite so close, really.
"That 'bigger' — it doesn't mean what you think it means."
"Then what does it mean?"
"It means... that a certain important part of a man is impressively large, and that is what makes them fearsome."
"..."
Daniela looked flustered, her expression turning awkward.
She clearly hadn't anticipated that.
Making that sort of remark at the Wintergard cemetery.
Admirable audacity.
"Oh... um..."
"That wives' gathering has been quite effective. You have the makings of a proper Grand Duchess."
"D-don't tease me!"
"Of course, all Northerners are large. Indeed, indeed."
"Ah, that wasn't what I meant at all."
"And among them, Wintergard would be the greatest of all! Ha ha ha ha!"
Who laughs that loudly in a cemetery.
The gazes of those nearby gathered toward us.
But the moment they saw me laughing, they quickly bowed their heads.
It was, admittedly, poor manners.
"By the way, where are we going?"
"To the previous Grand Duke's grave."
"Th-that means..."
"Yes. In other circumstances, he would have been your father-in-law."
"Somehow I feel a little..."
"It's all right. For me as well, it's been a long time — no, it would be more accurate to say this is a first."
I had never once visited the grave.
The day he was laid to rest, and the day of the funeral — that was all.
After the burial site was established in the Northeast, I had not come even once.
Partly because I had been very young.
And above all, because I had far too much to do.
"But, Grand Duke — there's something I've truly wanted to ask."
"What is it?"
"Do you really have no other family?"
"Family?"
My mother and father had already left this world when I was still young.
And during the Wintergard Rebellion, the likes of which the North would never see again — when the Traitor Valter Wintergard enacted his deranged scheme to bring all of Wintergard under his control — there was no one left unscathed.
The family members who survived were already under special supervision.
They were living well enough, but there were far more who had been driven to madness by the fratricidal bloodshed within the house.
What was certain was that the anxiety of the ministers and nobles stemmed from precisely that.
The fact that if I were to die, there would be not a single Wintergard to succeed me.
"There are some, but I've never thought of them as family."
"Is that so?"
"This too is a matter of politics. I have never once recognized another Wintergard as my family."
A matter of politics.
No matter how much they shared the same blood, none of them carried my father's lineage.
And beyond that, I could not recognize as family those Wintergards who had sided with Valter Wintergard.
The memories of that time flickered past.
It must have been winter then as well.
*"Theo, Theo! Spare my life, at least!"*
*"Have you not already lost the war? Where is the pride of Wintergard now? Uncle."*
*"I made a mistake! I was merely seized by a moment of greed. Grand Duke of the North — does that not tempt you as well?"*
*"The seat of Grand Duke is determined by bloodline, and by merit."*
That is likely what I said.
Those traitors who had risen in rebellion with the force to overturn all of the North.
Those who had plunged the Wintergard house into the swamp of fratricidal slaughter.
Even after their ringleader, Valter Wintergard, had died — those who still believed they could become the great Grand Duke of the North.
*"If you can bring my mother and father back to life, I will spare you. Can you do that?"*
*"Th-that's...!"*
*"It is over. You will be remembered not as Wintergard, but as mere commoners."*
And yet, being Wintergard myself, I could not help it entirely.
I had allowed them to be buried in this vicinity.
Of course, they were forbidden from writing 'Wintergard' after their names, and from engraving the Wintergard crest.
But to be buried in the Wintergard family cemetery — that was something, at least.
"I have no desire to think about it. Those memories are not pleasant ones."
"Even so, it's all right."
"Hm?"
"Because now I am a Wintergard, aren't I?"
That's right.
There is a new Wintergard now.
Not one who carries the bloodline, but one who will become part of it.
"I'm very glad."
The words had slipped out before I realized it.
There was finally one more person I could call Wintergard.
My father's grave.
It was kept in excellent condition.
The place where the most people came, and the man who had laid the foundation for leading the North's revival.
Though that phrasing is perhaps not the most flattering.
The man who had suppressed the Traitor Valter Wintergard, and made me Grand Duke.
"It's been a long time."
"Oh — hello."
Following my lead, Daniela offered her greeting.
The grave could say nothing in return. The dead do not speak.
The other visitors around the cemetery seemed to keep their distance.
It was only natural.
No temple, no towering structure — only a hill rising quietly from the earth.
A grave befitting the Wintergard house, if ever there was one.
"Nearly twenty years."
"That's... as long as I've been alive."
"Indeed. I haven't come once since becoming Grand Duke. It wouldn't be a bad thing to visit more often."
I gazed quietly at the gravestone.
On the gravestone, where the Wintergard crest was prominently carved, the name *Ardrno von Wintergard* was inscribed.
The letters were cut deep, so that anyone who came knew at once whose grave this was.
"Ah — Father, this is Daniela. My wife-to-be."
I had nearly forgotten the introduction.
I should have brought at least a flower.
"Oh — hello. I am Daniela von Barth, who will become Grand Duchess."
"Father never much cared for that sort of address."
"Pardon? Then how should I..."
"My father was a man so unassuming he could hardly be called a proper noble."
"Oh, um..."
"This is Daniela, who will be my wife. Lovely, isn't she?"
"Oh, um... I am the one who will be Theodor's wife..."
"He would have preferred something like that."
Hmm. My feelings were strange.
Even though it had been quite some time since my father and mother had left this world.
And above all, even though this world was not my own.
This kind of grief is still difficult to bear.
"Father, it seems I've managed to do a decent job as Grand Duke, after all."
How much effort had gone into making this a place where people could live well.
Perhaps this, too, was something like my fate.
"Now that I'm getting married, I suppose your name and Mother's will finally be put to rest."
"W-well, there's no need to rush..."
"It's all right. If anything, you'd probably be pleased that I've finally shed the look of a child."
That should be enough.
I gazed at the gravestone a moment longer in silence, then turned to leave.
If there is one thing I ask of the previous Grand Duke,
and of the Wintergard family buried here —
please watch over me, always.