Winter Wolf - Chapter 1. Part 1

Chapter 1. Part 1

The snowstorm made it impossible to see.

Lysithea panted, clutching desperately at her cheap wool coat. The wind cooled her gloves like snake skin, but she wasn’t freezing yet.

“Come on, just a little more…”

She urged the black horse that carried her onward. The horse had been walking silently for hours on the sinking snow.

The horse was tired now. It stopped and whinnied.

“No, please. Move!”

Lysithea whispered desperately. However, the horse did not hear her.

Lysithea gritted her teeth, remembering the broker’s praise for the horse.

She couldn’t trust the brokers anymore. They were irresponsible bastards.

“…Phew.”

Lysithea finally got off, abandoning her unmoving horse and moving forward on her own. She walked, the knee-deep snow feeling heavy and cold against her legs.

Since then, heavy snow has fallen relentlessly. Lysithea fled the capital two months ago and traveled north. Winter is a season of suffering for her, as she is originally from a warmer land.

It didn’t matter at the moment because all seasons were painful.

Lysithea looked back when she started losing feeling in her legs. The black horse had disappeared, gone to wherever it had fled.

Loyalty?

Lysithea pushed forward, snorting in frustration.

***

Lysithea had a unique first impression of the mansion. The three-story mansion stood tall on a snowy field in the middle of nowhere as if it had weathered a snowstorm for a long time.

During heavy snowstorms, all the glass windows of the mansion would open in a single motion, swallowing the wind, and the black curtains would sway in the wind, creating the illusion of movement.

Lysithea gazed at the mansion, ignoring the cold. She noticed an image in the window of a room at the end of the second floor.

“A person…? Oh, yes.”

Lysithea opened the door and stepped inside the mansion. The sound of worn hinges creaking and a few snowflakes falling to the floor was all she could hear.

As the door closed, the wind subsided, but the room was a bit dark and cold. Lysithea dropped her heavy luggage and looked around.

The manor’s interior was grand. The first-floor hall was spacious enough to serve as a small ballroom. The gracefully curved, rusted staircase stretched down the center of the hall.

Lysithea lifted her eyes and imagined a banquet hall brightly lit by chandeliers.

A man stood on the stairs to the second floor.

He appeared relaxed, similar to a gentleman at a ball, but his attire did not match the occasion.

His light brown vest and rolled-up shirt sleeves gave the impression of a simple man, perhaps a dock laborer.

Lysithea’s first impression was that he had overly muscular arms and a strong build.

However, it was not a bad impression.

“Lysithea.”

The man’s voice was low and soft, but it wasn’t her turn to answer yet.

The man descended the stairs and stopped just a few steps away from her. His face perfectly matched his strong, masculine body.

The man had dark eyebrows, straight nostrils, and a manly, angular jawline. Lysithea saw a harmonious combination of features that resembled those of every handsome man she had ever seen.

‘Eyes….’

His eyes were the most impressive feature. Lysithea examined his bright, brass-colored eyes, which stood out against his dark hair.

They were beautiful eyes that appeared to have a hint of gold when held up to the light.

He smiled thinly at her as she stood there, but said nothing. It appeared that he appreciated her cautious attitude.

“Lysithea, Heerenair del Arman?”

When they first met, they agreed to share their full names. Lysithea cautiously revealed her name.

“Terrence Cadas.”

There was a short silence between them. After a moment, the man smiled sheepishly, breaking the tension.

“Yes, that name. You are in the correct location.”

Lysithea breathed a sigh of relief. She could finally see the end of her long journey.

Terrence Cadas.

He helped her, and he was the last broker to do so.

***

Lysithea’s room is located at the west end of the second floor. She saw it when she stood outside.

“They had already tidied up before I got here.”

Lysithea looked at Terrence’s back as he walked ahead of her. He had a muscular body, and his well-proportioned figure was barely visible under his thick, plain shirt.

“Like a stallion.”

That’s when she remembered the runaway horse.

“Why were you walking?”

Terrence said, glancing back at her.

“What?”

“Where is the horse I have given you? You don’t look like you fell off.”

“Oh, I’ll just… leave it.”

“Leave it away.”

“I got stuck in the middle of the snow, and he wouldn’t move. I left it in the snow. I kept walking.”

Terrence nodded in understanding.

“Oh, I see. He probably heard…”

“Heard what…?”

“The wolves.” He smiled.

“He is a smart boy; wolves are roaming around here, and maybe he recognized them.”

Her violet eyes were blinking in surprise. “Wolves…?”

“Wait, I’ve never heard that before. Are you saying I just walked through a wolf den?”

“I wouldn’t call it a den, but there are quite a few around here.”

“So, you’re saying that I almost died today?”

“You are lucky; you did not.”

Terrence’s brassy eyes sparkled mischievously.

“You’re lucky to be alive now, and you were fortunate to be alive two months ago.”

Lysithea protested in disbelief.

“Do not joke with people’s lives. I am desperate. Today, I walked across the snowfield alone. Two months ago, I escaped from the capital.”

“Yeah, it’s all part of living, and you are doing well in handling the challenges of life.”

Lysithea clenched her teeth as he finished his sentence with a flourish.

The group of asylum brokers is unbelievable. They are like wolves.

This guy has the worst attitude of all the brokers she has ever met. He is already acting arrogant, even before she has paid him. She is concerned about what he might do once he receives his payment.

“Okay, this way.”

The room on the west end was smaller than she had expected. It had a small fireplace, a bed, a dresser, and a small table.

Lysithea was standing in the doorway, hesitating.

“Is this an inn room? Do you have a bigger room available?”

“All bedrooms are the same size. If you are not satisfied with the size, you can sleep on the couch in the party hall over there.”

“No thanks.”

Reluctantly entering the room, Lysithea walked over to the window where Terrence had been standing when she first arrived and drew the curtains. Lysithea entered the room and drew the heavy velvet curtains that sagged over the white window.

“Do you prefer it dark?” he asked.

“Being seen doesn’t do me any good since I’m on the run,” she replied.

“I understand,” he said.

Terrence placed his gym bag on the table and approached her. Despite her grip on the curtains, he casually walked up behind her and pulled them back.

“I will keep it open for a little while.”

The light flooded in, causing Lysithea to squint.

His arm was suddenly around her shoulders, and she froze. She could feel his body heat through their thick clothing.

“Why…why do you want to keep it open?”

“Because if I keep it closed, I won’t know where my enemies are.”

“But if you get caught doing that…”

“You can’t escape from here anyway.”

Lysithea looked up at him, surprised. Her violet eyes held a hint of suspicion.

“What do you mean, I can’t run away?”

“Literally.”

He looked down with a strangely kind gaze. Lysithea felt a chill, wanting to demand an explanation. He circled her, holding onto the curtains, and his arms felt like a prison.

“I heard a funny story three days ago.”

Terrence said, slowly lowering his arms.

“This story will be long, so let’s start by unpacking. We can talk later.”

“If it’s important, let’s do it now.”

“I’ll see you at dinner.”

He pulled away from her. Lysithea stared at his broad back. Then he turned and walked away.

His footsteps became quieter as he walked down the hallway.

“What the….”

Lysithea was furious with all those brokers. He did not just provide her with empty assurances that everything would be fine; he’d left her with so much to worry about.

She returned to the table and raised her hand to unpack her things. She was startled.

When he came up behind her, she gripped the curtain so hard that her palm was streaked with red.

“…Ha.”

Lysithea laughed. She felt like she had been completely fooled.

***

The dining room is located on the east side of the stairs on the first floor.

Lysithea entered the dining room and sat alone at the long table. The kitchen was emitting light and sound. It was connected to the dining room by a small extension. Terrence cooked.

‘I hope the food is good.’

Two months on the run had affected her refined taste buds. Bird meat and fish are interchangeable, regardless of the specific type, such as herring, trout, lark, or quail. Salt was the only seasoning used to flavor the meat.

Additionally, the brokers in charge of her meals were consistently bad. The contract was a matter of survival, and Lysithea had no complaints about it.

Terrence was putting food on the table in the kitchen beyond the spare room. The clattering sounds could be heard.

She remains hopeful.

Lysithea stared at the empty table. She steeled herself. His footsteps abruptly stopped as he came closer, and he stood motionless for a moment.

Lysithea turned around and locked eyes with him. He stood there silently, carrying a tray full of plates.

“What is it?”

“Oh, you scared me.”

Terrence shook his head. He acted as if it were not a big deal. Then he stumbled back to the table.

“What are you scared of?”

Lysithea looked under her feet for mice. When she looked up from the dusty floor, Terrence said, “I see it now, and it feels more real.”

“Now I can see that you are a noblewoman.”

He looked at her pink hair for a moment.

She kept it covered, wrapped tightly, and pressed into her hat. She brushed back her long curls, which fell to her waist, for the first time in a long time.

Everyone in the kingdom’s social circles knew her name. Lysithea Heirenair del Armand was the youngest daughter of the Marquis of Armand. She was a red-haired beauty, more beautiful than rubies and roses.

“I am a noblewoman, and that is the problem.”

Lysithea muttered sarcastically. She quickly gained fame in social circles, and soon the common people began to talk about her. Unfortunately, the nickname she had been so proud of became a burden as it was turned into a mockery.