Winter Wolf - Chapter 15. Part 2

Chapter 15. Part 2

Lysithea left the weeping Countess behind and returned to her room alone. As she closed the door to the dark room, she noticed a strange brightness outside the window.

It was snowing—the first snow of the season.

That night, for the first time since leaving the mansion, Lysithea dreamed of him.

He was standing in the middle of a snowy field, a rifle slung across his back, staring intently at something in the distance. Lysithea called out to his back.

“Terrence!”

He didn’t turn around. Lysithea called out again.

“Phantom!”

This time, he tilted his head slightly, as if he was about to look back, but it was barely enough to see his eyes.

Lysithea pushed through the snow, which had piled up to her knees, moving toward him. As she drew closer, the corners of his lips lifted, and he murmured something.

What did he say? She couldn’t hear.

Just as Lysithea paused, panting and trying to catch her breath, a wolf lunged at her from behind, sinking its teeth into her neck.

She woke up with a start.

“Haah… Haah…”

Lysithea sat up, drenched in sweat. She felt a warm, wet sensation between her legs.

Winter had arrived, and her menstrual cycle had returned.

The Countess, overjoyed, immediately summoned the family doctor. After examining her, he delivered his verdict.

“Congratulations, my lady. You are fit to marry.”

A month later, Lysithea Spencer became the fiancée of the Grand Duke of Noxar.

***

The new year was approaching, and as usual, the northern Duchy of Randus was blanketed in heavy snow.

“Tomorrow, we’ll attend the Hopkins’ party. The day after, we’ll go dress shopping. Oh, and there’s more….”

The Countess of Spencer was brimming with excitement now that Lysithea’s engagement to the Grand Duke of Noxar, the second most powerful man in the duchy, was finalized.

The fact that the Grand Duke was about thirty years older than Lysithea, was on his fifth marriage, and already had three sons set to inherit his title didn’t concern the Countess in the least.

“What matters is your attitude, Lysithea. There’s no better match than this. After all, Prince Jade is gone, isn’t he? So, you must settle your heart…”

“I’m fine, Mother. Please stop.”

“…Then get ready for the ball tonight. If you don’t have a suitable mask, tell the maids to look in the storeroom.”

That evening, Lysithea was to attend a masquerade ball hosted by a distant relative of the Spencer family, a marquis. The dress code was “non-aristocratic.”

*…How ridiculous.*

Lysithea sighed the moment she heard the theme. The very idea of setting such a dress code was already an aristocratic act in itself. She couldn’t understand the point of it.

*I have nothing to wear.*

To make matters worse, the outfits the countess had chosen for Lysithea to impersonate a commoner were all overly extravagant. In her brief three months on the run, Lysithea had never seen a commoner wear anything remotely like these clothes.

*Not that it matters what I wear now,* she thought.

*I’m already engaged.*

Ever since her engagement to the Grand Duke, she had been dragged to countless parties and balls, but no man dared approach her anymore. That was always the effect of being engaged to someone powerful.

So, Lysithea casually picked out a simple, undecorated white dress. Her mask was plain white as well, with only a bit of fabric draped over her head to cover her hair.

“You… you’re going dressed like that?”

The Countess frowned in frustration at Lysithea’s overly plain appearance, but there was no time left to change.

“I’ll be off, Mother.”

With a half-hearted farewell, Lysithea entered the carriage. Snow fell outside the window. There were just over two months until their wedding, as the Grand Duke had requested that the ceremony take place in the spring.

Once married, she would become part of the Noxar family and be rooted in the Duchy of Randus. Strangely, the feeling was similar to when she had been engaged to Prince Jade.

*This is how it was supposed to be,* she thought.

*Engagement, marriage, children…*

These were the things she had always taken for granted. At least, until the revolution and until she met him.

*There wouldn’t have been an engagement with him,* Lysithea thought absentmindedly.

*There wouldn’t have been a need for a wedding either. No relatives to invite.*

Thinking back, the lie he had told Gray was true. In less than a month, they had lived as if they were married.

No engagements or weddings, no need for family approval – just the two of them doing what they wanted.

*What would a life like that have been?* she wondered.

Lysithea was lost in thought. She snapped back to reality as the carriage came to a stop.

*If I start thinking about him every winter, it’ll be a problem,* Lysithea mused as she stepped out of the carriage. Snow continued to fall gently around her.

***

As expected, the masquerade ball was nothing but an aristocratic affair.

The hall was filled with extravagant dresses and tailcoats, merely inspired by the designs of commoners’ clothes, but adorned with luxury.

*I knew it would be like this,* she thought, unsurprised.

Lysithea wore a bored expression behind her simple white mask. Thankfully, the fabric attached to the mask covered her hair, making it harder for anyone to recognize her.

*I’ll just rest in a corner until this is over,* she thought.

She found a sofa partially hidden behind a large pillar and sat down, trying to blend into the shadows as much as possible. As she settled in, a voice broke the quiet.

“You look bored, my lady.”

It was a voice she could never forget, yet one she hadn’t heard even in her dreams since they parted.

The voice came from just beyond the pillar, from her blind spot. Lysithea froze, unable to lift her head. She silently hoped it was just her imagination.

He was someone who shouldn’t be here.

Yet, as the chandelier’s light poured down, a shadow grew beside her, stretching until it entirely covered the sofa.

The man knelt slightly on one knee before her bowed head.

Slicked-back black hair. A black mask. A formal coat lined with black fur. Everything about him was unmistakably noble. He met her gaze directly as he knelt before her.

Lysithea stared blankly into his brass-colored eyes and said,

“You’re not following the dress code.”

“Really? Is that why everyone was staring at me?” he laughed awkwardly, but Lysithea knew why they were staring.

The black formal attire clung to his body, highlighting his broad shoulders, strong chest, and lean waist. It was more likely that his muscular physique made the clothes look better, not the other way around.

“That outfit suits you well. Especially for someone who isn’t a noble,” she quipped with a hint of sarcasm.

He smiled playfully at her remark.

“Is that it? Drawing a line already just because we haven’t seen each other in a while? Now that you’re engaged, it’s ‘I’m done with you,’ huh?”

“…You sure know a lot. I only got engaged a month ago.”

“I’m good at gathering information. Although it’s been a while since I’ve been in this country, I was a bit late this time.”

“Late? For what?”

“Are you wearing your engagement ring?”

Lysithea hesitated for a moment before slipping off her left glove. She extended her hand, and he gently took it, inspecting the ring that gleamed on her ring finger.

“It looks a bit big for you,” he remarked.

The ring had originally been intended for the Grand Duke’s former fiancée before their engagement was broken off. It wasn’t something Lysithea felt proud of, so she kept silent.

“If I’d known you liked older men, I would’ve come for you in thirty years,” he muttered, unaware of the situation. Lysithea couldn’t help but laugh, exasperated.

“Don’t be ridiculous. You think I’m marrying him because I want to?”

“Ah, I thought as much.”

He smiled broadly as if he had been waiting for her to confirm that.

“This isn’t a marriage you want, is it?”

Lysithea’s heart began to race at his words. Was he plotting something again? Why was this assassin here in the first place?    

She stared into his eyes, cautiously answering, “Whether I want it or not… that doesn’t really—”

Before she could finish, she felt the ring slip off her finger.

“Oh…!”

Startled, she reached for it, but he had already taken the ring.

Lysithea almost stumbled as she tried to grab his hand, but he quickly pulled away, a smug smile on his face as if he’d just won a bet.

“Are you crazy? What do you think you’re doing… where are you going!” she whispered harshly, unable to raise her voice for fear of drawing attention. Despite her protests, he quickly slipped away, disappearing through a door behind a pillar into a hallway.

Shocked and now missing her engagement ring, Lysithea stood frozen for a moment before gritting her teeth and rushing after him.

When she reached the hallway outside the ballroom, it was empty. She stood there, staring down the empty corridor, unsure of where he had gone.

The entrance to the ballroom was brightly lit, but the hallway toward the back door was dark and empty.

Naturally, he must have gone where there were no people. Lysithea scoffed in disbelief and walked briskly into the dim corridor.

*Seriously, why is he acting so childish all of a sudden? Just like the time he challenged me to that ghost wager.*

He had called himself “Phantom,” and now looking back, the whole thing seemed almost comical.

Lysithea couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it all.

As she rounded the corner, lost in her thoughts, it happened.

“Ah…!”

An arm suddenly reached out from a nearby door, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her inside. The door closed behind her with a quick *click* as the lock snapped shut.

Lysithea barely regained her balance, and when she lifted her head, his lips were already pressed against hers.

“Mm, no….”

Lysithea wanted to protest, but he had no intention of stopping for conversation.

His tongue entered her mouth with a hunger that set her entire body on fire. She had almost forgotten how he always began – hot, bold, and full of unbridled desire.

As he kissed her deeply, one hand cupped her chin, and as if just realizing it, he pulled off her mask, letting it fall to the floor. His black mask had disappeared somewhere, unnoticed.

Their tongues intertwined wildly, and his lips pressed against hers so firmly it made them throb. She felt herself becoming wet between her legs, a familiar sensation she couldn’t ignore.