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The next day, Edgar and Ariel left the inn where they had stayed for the night and set off to explore the village.

While the general public might think there isn’t much to enjoy here aside from the hot springs, surprisingly, the place had quite a developed food scene.

Especially the street food, which combined traditional dishes from the Carvita Tribe with imperial cooking methods, was cheap and generously portioned, mainly using mountain beasts caught from the north as ingredients.

“This actually tastes pretty good! It’s similar to the food you liked when you came to Ardenum back then,” Edgar said.

“Right? I was thinking the same. Feels somehow nostalgic,” Ariel responded.

Edgar and Ariel each held one of the famous street foods in their hands, casually strolling through the bustling streets filled with sights.

They cautiously speculated that the main ingredient was likely wild boar meat, as they enjoyed the thick, wild-textured meat wrapped in a thin dough that was still warm from being freshly made. With every bite, it gave a strangely warming sensation, perfect for the cold northern region.

“Hey! Stop right there!” yelled a boy’s voice.

“Catch me if you can!” replied a girl tauntingly.

Just as they finished half of their food, they saw a pair of children chasing each other freely across a snow-covered area piled between buildings.

The boy had the Carvita Tribe’s distinctive dusky skin, while the girl chasing him had the clear, fair skin typical of an imperial girl.

“Ugh!” groaned the girl while panting heavily. “Who said I wouldn’t catch you?”

Although the girl ended up winning the chase, the couple realized the boy had intentionally stopped.

While the girl was desperately gasping for breath, the boy looked perfectly fine.

As the two began to bicker, the onlookers and nearby adults only had warm and pleased expressions on their faces. To a third party, it merely looked like a harmless childhood squabble.

“We used to be like that too, didn’t we?” Edgar remarked nostalgically as he placed his arm around Ariel’s shoulder.

Ariel, however, responded quite coolly, “Yeah, but unlike that kid, you never got caught.”

Recalling their childhood chases, Ariel shot a glare at her husband and irritably stuffed the rest of her food into her mouth.

Back then, Edgar was much more of a prankster, rarely getting caught in her mischief or retaliations.

Even now, when she had drastically improved her physical abilities after becoming a great mage, back then, she could barely keep up with Edgar, making their playful battles far from fair.

Ariel would storm off to Helene to complain whenever Edgar played tricks on her, but Helene had a policy of not intervening unless the pranks were dangerous, only patting Ariel on the back without scolding Edgar.

Ariel felt dissatisfaction with that back then, but having come to understand it now, she found herself feeling grateful towards her mother.

“Now that I think about it, I get why Mom didn’t scold you. If she had, you wouldn’t have pulled pranks on me again.”

“You’re probably right,” Edgar replied.

Regardless of how friendly they claimed to be, even the wife of a duke would surely hesitate to face the chastisement of someone like her. Even if he didn’t stop, his parents would’ve lectured him to not bother Ariel.

But such a situation was something Helene, who wanted them to develop a friendship rather than a master-servant relationship, would never allow.

So, she let them be, wishing for their bickering to grow into genuine friendship.

“Hey, Edgar, how about we go up there this time?” Ariel suddenly suggested.

“Up there? Where?”

As Ariel pointed to something while getting lost in memories, Edgar followed her gesture with his gaze.

There stood the white snow-capped mountains behind the village. They weren’t particularly high, but still a comforting barrier against the cold winds that swept through Prutium.

“To the mountain?” Edgar asked.

“Yeah, there’s something I want to see from up there,” she replied.

Although it surprised him, Edgar couldn’t find a reason not to go, especially since it held several meanings for both of them.

Though it wasn’t the neighborhood hill they often climbed together back in Ardenum, it felt nice to make a nostalgic trip up there. He was curious about how different the view would be from up top.

“Let’s go then. Should I grab something warm to drink before we head up?”

“Sounds good.”

Heading toward a nearby shop, he purchased some hot mulled wine to warm themselves while they climbed the mountain.

***

Crunch. Crunch.

Every step they took on the snow-covered mountain path brought a pleasant sound, sending a strange sensation through their spines.

It had been a long time since they walked together through untouched white fields where not a soul had stepped.

Back in Hespania, they rarely saw snow unless they left the city, and they mostly encountered snowfields turned black from people’s footfalls in other regions.

“Quite a height,” Edgar commented as they reached a viewpoint near the summit.

“Yeah, if it weren’t my first time here, I would have warped straight here,” he added.

Feeling a bit guilty for making her husband work hard on their little getaway, Ariel took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his brow.

It was a shame they couldn’t use the Warp spell to travel directly because it only works for places they had been to once. Maybe she should develop a new spell.

“It’s refreshing to hike after a long time; it makes me nostalgic.”

“True, we used to go hiking quite often back in the day.”

Sheons and the princess, who would sneak away from the watchful eyes of the guards to have adventures in the mountains, had a lot of memories tied to that place.

The mountain wasn’t just a playground; it held memories, and for some people, it was where they first felt the flutter of love in their childhood.

“Thinking back, I genuinely thought I was going to die when we ran into a wild boar on the mountain during that rainy day.”

As Ariel reminisced while taking in the view of the village, Edgar disrupted the mood by recalling a past incident.

Her face turned crimson, not just from the cold. “W-What are you bringing that up now…! You said you wouldn’t hold onto such memories!”

“Oh, did I? My memory isn’t great….”

“Ugh…!”

Seeing him nonchalantly play dumb, Ariel grit her teeth.

He would clearly remember what he said back then; after all, that was just his nature.

What irritated Ariel wasn’t just the fact that he was bringing up old words. It was the intention behind it, pulling it up just to tease her while watching her reaction.

“Okay, I’ll stop. By the way, what made you want to come up the mountain?”

He finally raised the white flag to Ariel’s playful attacks and asked about the reason for their sudden hike.

Compared to him, who lived leisurely like a stream flowing aimlessly, Ariel typically didn’t act without reason. So, she must have her own reasoning for their unusual adventure.

“…Well, if I had to say, I wanted to reflect on my resolve,” she said after a pause.

“Resolve?”

When Edgar tilted his head in confusion at the unexpected word, Ariel gazed out beyond the expansive snow country and village, as if she were looking beyond the horizon and spoke with a mix of emotions in her eyes.

“Do you remember what I said the night before we signed the peace treaty with the Carvita Tribe?”

“Of course, who wouldn’t remember such words?”

He remembered it perfectly without missing a syllable.

She had said she hoped that one day, all the people from the north would live without hating one another and would acknowledge each other’s mistakes.

“Honestly, I thought it was impossible. But as I watch the changing scenery of Hespania and those children I just saw, it dawned on me that it might not be so far-off after all.”

“……”

Ariel’s lips held a smile Edgar had never witnessed before.

In her role as head of the family and ruler of the north, she had this expression and look when she gazed upon the people she governed. Realizing this, Edgar unconsciously found himself comparing her childhood self to her present.

“Thank you, Edgar, for running alongside me in pursuit of someone like me and my dreams.”

Against the backdrop of the brilliant sunlight spilling over the white mountain peaks, her gratitude radiated beauty and sanctity, capturing his gaze instantly.

However, Edgar felt compelled to correct one thing about her words.

“You don’t need to thank me. I didn’t come here just to help with your dreams.”

“…Then?”

“Well, if I had to put it into words, I guess I came here to pursue my dreams too.”

“I see.”

While others might think differently, Edgar had never considered himself particularly altruistic.

It was simply that despite everything, he wanted to chase after her dream and build this world together because, ultimately, their dreams led to the same endpoint.

What mattered most to him, who had never set strict goals or endpoints for life, was simply Ariel.

At first, he wanted desperately to save a girl whose bad ending was predetermined, followed by wanting to support the girl with seemingly unrealistic dreams and continue cheering for her throughout his life, finding himself falling in love.

Only then did he realize that his own happiness and dreams had long been entrusted to her.

Thus, Edgar had never come to help someone else’s dreams. Her dream had become his own.

“So you don’t have to show gratitude. As always, we’ll just keep walking towards our dreams together.”

“Our….”

Muttering to herself, Ariel hugged her husband as she processed that word, realizing the depth of that sentiment.

He told her she didn’t have to express gratefulness, but she was thankful for those very words.

Yet, unable to voice it, she only wished she could convey her appreciation.

For someone, not just anyone, but him, being there for her was something she truly treasured.

Perhaps that was the same sentiment Edgar wanted to convey as well.

“Yeah. I love you, Edgar. Now and forever.”

“I love you too.”

Ariel echoed his words, and as he responded in kind, they kissed and gazed back at the vast expanse of snow-covered land ahead of them.

He wished that one day, another village would appear in that desolate field, and slowly, warmth and comfort would find their way back to this cold northern land.

That had become the life and dream he had obtained through this woman.