Now that both of the Great Spirits were asleep, they had no influence on the area other than the cold and the snow.
“That volcano used to erupt every now and then, so it is a big help that it went dormant,” Lady Opera remarked. Back during the era of the Kingdom of Sacristain, the volcano’s eruptions had caused numerous casualties. The residents of the area must have been grateful to the Great Spirit of Snow for quieting it.
“However, we cannot be complacent just because the volcano will no longer explode.” Whenever the anniversary of the day the Great Spirit of Snow had been rejected came close, the sky would be covered in dark clouds and the area would be battered by blizzards. This would last for about three days, and people were unable to leave their homes during that time.
“In any case, we know when that season is, so we could always just close the area down during that time,” Lady Opera concluded.
“That’s true,” I replied.
The next problem was transportation. Travel from the capital to the region took about three days, as travelers needed to cross mountains to reach the area.
“It would only take a few hours to get there on dragonback. A woman could mount the back of her husband or fiancé to take the trip. Such an unusual method of travel would be quite a change of pace, would it not?” Lady Opera suggested.
Thanks to everyone, we were able to come up with a respectable plan. I decided to consult Van about all the various problems we might encounter with our ideas.
“Everyone, thank you for all your suggestions. I think I’ll be able to give Van a satisfactory report,” I announced.
Lady Opera puffed up her chest, seeming proud of her work. Madeleine shook her head and told me that she didn’t do much to earn my praise. Parfeil was all smiles as she nodded in affirmation. And lastly, my white squirrels were doing a cute dance atop the map on the table—a precious sight to behold.
Our gathering ended there. Lady Opera excused herself, saying that she wanted to take a walk in the garden. Madeleine similarly told me that she would head home early since my brother was arriving for a visit. I told her to enjoy her date.
Once I bade Madeleine farewell, Parfeil served me a cup of hot milk with honey. “Milady, I’m glad that you managed to come up with some ideas,” she said.
“Yes, it really is quite a relief.”
I had almost been ready to concede that there was nothing fun to do in the Dragon Duchy of Éclair, but I had managed to recall an important memory thanks to everyone actively putting forward their ideas.
“I’m looking forward to the hot springs!”
“I’m glad you are, Parfeil, but I’m still not sure if Van will approve of our plan,” I said.
“Of course he will! The Dragon Duke is your greatest ally, milady!”
“I sure hope you’re right.”
To be honest, I still had my doubts. While I knew Van would understand my point of view, this idea had been met with fierce opposition in my previous life. Perhaps it was because people were scared of the danger posed by the Great Spirits slumbering in the land.
Later that night, I waited for Van with bated breath. He arrived earlier than I expected.
“Van, welcome back.”
“Thank you,” he replied.
“You’re early today.”
“Opera told me to hurry up and go home already, so I rushed to finish my work.”
“I see. Good work out there.”
Van leaned forward and turned his cheek toward me. It looked like he was asking for a kiss as a reward for his efforts, so I indulged his request.
“It feels good to have my hard work rewarded with a wonderful prize,” Van said, releasing a pleased sigh.
“Does this really count as a reward?” I asked.
“Of course it does! It just gave me enough energy to work hard tomorrow!”
“All right then.”
Van sat down next to me and put his arm around my shoulders. “Opera told me to come see you as soon as I could. I thought you might have been lonely, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.”
Van was letting his imagination run wild and setting himself up for disappointment—it was adorable. I took his hand that was resting on my shoulder and brought it to my cheek.
“Well, I was getting lonely,” I told him.
Upon hearing this, Van’s expression brightened. “I was starting to think that you were. Let’s spend some quality time together tonight,” he said.
“Thank you for cheering me up, Van.”
We spent some time cuddling each other before Van turned to me with a serious look on his face.
“So, what’s the real reason Opera told me to rush here?” he asked.
“I wanted to talk about the tourism problem. We were talking about it with Lady Opera today.”
I told Van about the possibility of a hot spring in Diamant, and his eyes widened.
“Hot springs! Of course! Mille-Feuille, that’s a wonderful idea!” Van exclaimed.
“Charlotte knew about the hot springs, not me,” I said. “I just suddenly remembered it during our discussion. You should be praising her instead of me.”
Van held my hand. “Just being able to recall her memories at this critical time is worthy of praise,” he said, consoling me.
“Thanks, even though that’s all I did.”
Van became a big proponent of the hot springs plan. He suggested using wyverns as a method of transportation—an idea that I hadn’t thought of earlier.
“I heard from Lady Opera that Diamant is under the supervision of a branch of your family,” I said.
“That’s correct. I’ve mostly corresponded with them through letters before, and I’ve only met the head of the house once or twice. I remember the family visited once when I was a child. My cousin Fenetra is my age, and I recall talking with her.”
Fenetra was apparently a shy girl, and it had taken Van some time to get along with her. He also mentioned in passing that she had been a candidate for his bride.
“That all ended a hundred years ago though, when I got engaged to Charlotte.” Suddenly, Van turned to me and apologized. “I’m sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing?”
“It’s just that I noticed your voice getting lower and lower while I was talking about Fenetra.”
I suddenly became conscious of it once Van pointed it out. Of course, no woman would feel pleasant while her husband talked about a woman he had been close to.
“She might as well be a stranger to me. I don’t have any feelings for her,” Van assured me.
“I know that. You don’t need to defend yourself,” I told him. Despite that, Van still looked at me like a sad, wet puppy who had gotten caught in the rain. I ruffled his hair to cheer him up, and he suddenly burst out laughing like he was being tickled.
“Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha... Phew. We seem to have gotten off track.”
“We sure did.”
I began to bring us back to the topic with a suggestion. “Um, I was thinking of heading to Diamant to start laying out the groundwork for the plans...”
“Sure, go ahead.”
I was shocked that Van gave me permission so quickly.
“What’s wrong?” Van asked. He tilted his head and seemed confused by my reaction.
“It’s just that I thought you would say no,” I confessed.
“I’ll be going there too, of course, so there’s no need to worry about you getting into anything dangerous,” Van said. Apparently, his councillors had suggested that we go on a honeymoon. His work was finally starting to die down, so it was the perfect time for one.
“So, we’ll be going to Diamant, then,” he said.
“I suppose we are. Thank you for accompanying me, Van.”
“Anything for my beloved wife.”
After that, we spent some time happily making small talk. Our pleasant and relaxing evening continued.