Adel was startled by the vibrations felt from the door I was leaning against. Valentin, without even batting an eyelash, seemed to have sensed someone approaching from this side, unlike her.

Adel glanced briefly at Valentin and cautiously opened the door. A freckled maid, careful not to startle, greeted her.

“What’s going on?”

“The tailor has arrived. He’s downstairs; can I send him up now?”

“Oh… the tailor.”

She had completely forgotten. Adel rolled her eyes at Valentin. Fortunately, he seemed to have no intention of questioning her any further. Questioning, she thought. She realized the roles had somehow reversed, feeling a bit flustered. Nevertheless, she opened the door in a flurry.

“Oh, please come up.”

Adel sighed and quickly straightened the crumpled hem of her dress. The only thing she could learn from this conversation was that Valentin was overly sensitive.

Anyway, Grita was slowly recovering. No matter how conservatively estimated, her voice would return within a month. Adel could ask her what she had seen then.

However, a week later, on that day, Grita went missing.

From the day after the sixth winter Sabbath, an unusual heavy snowfall hit the entire region of Vichlevane, including Ansgar. The river froze, and people were busy clearing the snow piled up to their waists.

Even moving around the castle was difficult. Not to mention communication with neighboring territories, the upper floor, which used to be visited once every few days, also ceased to be visited.

Considering the unavoidable circumstances in the northern part, the ‘Victory Banquet’ held in the capital was naturally postponed until spring. The news passed through the eastern district was, to Adel, who was full of worries, a glimmer of hope.

“Valentin still hasn’t perfected the rituals. He needed a little more time.”

Adel stopped in the corridor, looked out the window, and sighed. The courtyard and residential areas where the residents gathered were barely cleared of snow, but everywhere else was still a white snowfield.

Grita went missing the night before the snowstorm hit. If Grita had really left the mansion on her own, there could have been no better time. But just in case…

“Come in.”

Adel shook off her reverie. Holding the ledger close to her chest, she straightened up and received the housekeeper’s greeting with a firm nod.

“Oh, Herman. What’s the matter?”

“As you ordered, I gathered the street beggars at the grand banquet hall. Although there are fewer such people in Ansgar compared to other territories…”

“Yes, go on.”

“At this rate, the food will deplete rapidly. The problem is no one can predict how long we can endure.”

“…”

“The anxiety of the servants is growing like a snowball.”
Herman spat out his frustration, looking at the snow-covered window as if he were fed up.

She unfolded the ledger she held in her arms to check the food section. Bags containing jerky, potatoes, dried grains, and vegetables were still sufficient. The most concerning issue, if there was one, was that the hay to feed the horses and cattle was gradually running out.

“Even if we continue like this, we’ve stored enough food to last for about a month. If we endure a bit longer, it should be fine since early spring is coming. We just need to wait for the snow to melt.”

Herman still wore a disagreeable expression to Adel’s words, but he nodded silently. It was an undeniable fact that early spring would come soon enough.

As Adel carefully examined the ledger, she suddenly asked, as if remembering something.

“What happened to the knights clearing the snow up to the Regenbach Forest?”