Immediately after the door was opened, a freezing gust of wind blew in. Van, who had disembarked ahead of us, spread his arms wide, signaling that he would cover me with his coat. I jumped straight into his chest. His coat was warm and comfortable.
“Is this warm enough for you?” Van asked.
“Yes, very much so.”
“That’s good. Let’s hurry up and get inside.”
“Indeed.”
A meal had already been prepared for us inside the vacation home. There, I was able to have foods I usually didn’t eat back home.
Lady Opera announced that she would be taking a long nap to refresh herself. She never missed her daily naps.
From here on, we would be heading into the deep snowfields. We had to change into our winter wear. I had picked out matching thick leggings and fluffy undergarments from my wardrobe, and my dress was made of warm velvet. Fur coats had also been provided for us, but we were only going to wear them once we reached Diamant.
Parfeil, Madeleine, Lady Opera, and the knights all returned to the carriage early. They hung up their fur coats on the walls for warmth.
Then Lady Opera declared that we would practice using our fake names. Madeleine and Parfeil seemed hesitant to participate, so I had to break the ice.
“Aura, how was your nap earlier?”
“I was completely unable to sleep,” she replied.
“Oh, why is that? I thought you never missed your daily naps.”
“That is true, but I have been so excited about this trip that I could not sleep at all!” Lady Opera said. She had been in a good mood the whole day and was all smiles. This was her first trip in a long time—and her first one with family or outside the capital—so I couldn’t blame her for being this elated.
“Millefie, Nene, Bunny, are you all well rested?”
I held back a giggle upon hearing “Bunny.” Normally, Lady Opera referred to Parfeil as a “little bunny,” but hearing her address Parfeil as “Bunny” had a completely different ring to it. Even Madeleine and Parfeil were trying to hold back their laughter as they nodded in affirmation.
“Hm? Is something the matter?”
“O-Oh, Aura, it’s nothing. It’s just that you’re quite set on that ‘Bunny’ name,” I replied.
“But I already call her that all the time.”
“You’re right, but...”
Parfeil was the first to let her giggles out. I started snorting as well, and Madeleine had to cover her mouth. She was surely giggling too. Eventually, even Lady Opera couldn’t stop herself from laughing.
“I am trying to be serious here, but you are all being quite rude!”
“S-Sorry, sorry!”
Van joined in on the conversation just as the talk about our fake names was winding down. “You all seem to be enjoying yourselves. Are you all having fun bad-mouthing me or something?”
“Not at all! We were just practicing calling each other by our fake names,” I replied. I then warned Van not to call me “Mille-Feuille” during our trip.
“I’m not going to get that wrong,” he insisted.
“You can never be too sure.” I had picked “Millefie” since it was already my nickname, and it would make it easier to follow up if Van ever slipped up. “Also, I’m a lowly maid right now, so don’t hang so close to me.”
“Oh, um... I’ll be careful.”
It would be awful if unwanted rumors were to spread, like people saying the Dragon Duke had a concubine disguised as a maid during his inspection of the northern lands. We had to be vigilant.
“It’s almost time to leave,” Van said.
The sun set early in this region and it would get dark soon. We needed to hurry, as the chances of monsters attacking us were higher while flying in the dark.
Lady Opera seemed to notice Madeleine tilting her head in wonder at that, so she asked Van a question in her stead. “Brother, why do monsters appear more often at night? Are they nocturnal?”
“No, that’s not it,” Van answered. While certain animals and phantasmal beasts did become more active at night, that wasn’t quite the case for monsters. “You’re aware that the moon is a major source of mana and that its mana flows to the land through moonlight, right?”
“Of course.”
“Monsters gain vitality from mana too, so they aren’t as active unless the moon is present.”
When monsters suffered from mana depletion, they attacked people. They did it for survival, since the body also contains a large amount of mana.
“That’s why monster encounters are more frequent at night. Do you all understand now why we have to move quickly?”
Lady Opera nodded with a grim expression on her face. She seemed to have been spooked by the talk of monsters and leaned closer to the female knight. While we flew out into the night, she fell asleep.
We finally arrived at Diamant an hour later. We landed just as the sun was slipping below the horizon. Outside, the ground was covered with a blanket of silver and white.
“Wow, it’s a field of white all the way to the mansion! It’s like I walked straight into a fairy tale,” I marveled.
“Those white stones were made by reworking perlite mined near the volcano,” Van explained. The volcano was what we’d call a rare mont blanc—a white mountain. Rocks mined there tended to have a pearlescent sheen.
“I had no idea that Diamant had something this rare...”
Van then warned me that taking perlite from this area was forbidden so as not to invite the wrath of the Great Spirit of Snow.
“I’m so glad you told me before I took anything.”
I’d been considering making the future spa’s reception floor out of perlite as a selling point to visitors, so it was a disappointment to hear that it wouldn’t be allowed.
“Even if you can’t take the perlite, I can give you as many real pearls as you’d like.”
I pretended not to hear what Van had just said. I felt like he would actually keep his word.
“Looks like our escorts have arrived,” Van said.
I put on my fur coat and went outside. The doors opened with great force, and a blast of cold wind greeted me. The freezing temperature made my exposed skin sting. I should have prepared some earmuffs and gloves as well. My ears felt like they were about to freeze solid. My skin was tensing up, and it felt like it was burning.
Out of desperation, I immediately clung to Parfeil as she was leaving the carriage. Parfeil, being a beastkin, had a naturally high body temperature, and her warmth was a small comfort in this severe environment. Parfeil held me in return, and now even my heart felt warm and comfortable.
Beside me, Van looked completely shocked. “Millefie, why are you embracing Bunny when your husband is right here? Are you cheating on me?” he asked in a demanding tone.
This was quite unexpected. Does hugging Parfeil count as cheating to him? And how come he remembers my fake name but not the fact that I’m here as his attendant?
“Lord Dragon Duke, is there a problem with the maid?” Lady Opera asked. Van seemed to be caught off guard by her question. Lady Opera continued by whispering into his ear. “Brother, you must control yourself. Please understand that she is just acting in the interest of her own survival. Our entire plan will be all for naught if we are exposed because of your overprotectiveness.”
“Y-Yes, you’re right. I will be more careful.”
Van loudly cleared his throat and headed toward our escorts—about thirty Diamant locals. None of the escorts were wearing thick fur coats like we were all wearing. Perhaps it was a sign that they were all used to the freezing cold.
The man who seemed to be spearheading the escorts walked forward. He was Marquis de Noisette, the head of his house.
Van went ahead and greeted the marquis. “I apologize for my sudden visit.”
“Please, you need not apologize! Lord Dragon Duke, all of Diamant welcomes you.”
Next, an elegant young lady with blue eyes and gray hair greeted Van. Despite the weather, she was wearing a formal dress. “Lord Vacherin, it has been a while.”
She must’ve been Lady Fenetra, the former Dragon Duchess consort candidate whom I had heard about. Her personality seemed to be the exact opposite of mine, with the extraordinary beauty to match. She appeared to be similar in age to Madeleine and me, but a dragonkin’s age did not necessarily match their appearance. I had heard that she was the same age as Van too.
Marquis de Noisette moved to introduce her. “Lord Dragon Duke, this is Fenetra, my daughter.”
“Lord Vacherin, it is my utmost pleasure to see you again.”
“Right.”
Van’s reply was curt, but Fenetra maintained her smile. She must have undergone training to become the Dragon Duchess consort since she was young. She then turned her gaze to me and her brows slanted, as if she had just seen something pitiful and pathetic.