Chapter 5 Part 5: Their Childhood

1. (5)

Glass Lake. It was named because the frozen lake in winter resembled glass. But last winter, the two of them barely met.

Sometimes Rosa was actually sick, and other times Caron was busy. Even when they did meet once, they only had dinner and parted ways.

Caron hadn’t forgotten the clothes Rosa gave him that time and made sure to wear them. As Rosa had boasted, they were quite warm.

As he fastened his coat, he saw Rosa walking ahead, looking around.

“Is this the right way?”

A small path. But it was completely different from when they came in the summer. White snow flowers bloomed on the black branches. The leaves may have fallen, but the flowers had not withered.

Caron was momentarily lost in the scenery.

Thud-

His body reacted before he could even think.

“..What.”

Rosa let out an exasperated laugh. She almost had a big accident when the ground beneath her feet gave way. There were sometimes holes like this in the forest. Perhaps they were traps set by the village hunters in the fall.

“Be careful.”

Caron was holding her arm. Fortunately, only her ankle was buried in the snow.

“Nice.”

Rosa smiled, looking impressed. As far as Caron knew, she was the only noble lady who expressed her gratitude like that.

But then, as a hand reached for his head, Caron slightly raised his head. Soon, a struggling sound could be heard.

“What are you doing.”

Rosa was standing on her tiptoes. Even so, her hand couldn’t reach the top of Caron’s head, and she awkwardly stepped back, looking embarrassed.

“You’re not falling for it anymore.”

Said Caron.

Rosa agreed.

“..I guess not. You used to be so small.”

Caron just let out a dry laugh. Strictly speaking, he was older than Rosa.

“You were tiny too.”

“Well, if you don’t like it, whatever.”

For Rosa, it was a sign of intimacy.

“I can’t exactly put my arm around your shoulders.”

Rosa’s eye level barely reached his chest. That’s how much their height differed. Rosa was a bit shorter than the average girl of her age, while Caron was the opposite.

The two walked together, leaving four footprints behind. As the footprints formed a long line, their destination finally came into view.

“Oh..”

A snowy wonderland unfolded before them. The snow piled on the frozen lake created a pure white snowfield without a speck of dirt.

Suddenly, Rosa spoke.

“..It reminds me of a famous line.”

[After passing through the long border tunnel, they found themselves in a snow country.]

“I’ve never even read that novel..”

It just came to her for some reason. That’s how beautiful the scenery was.

Caron felt that Rosa’s voice, as she murmured that, seemed somehow distant.

Without realizing it, he almost reached out his arm, but then clenched his fist.

Sometimes, he felt this sense of déjà vu. As if the girl standing right in front of him might disappear at any moment.

Fortunately, Rosa quickly regained her energy. As if what he had just seen was a winter illusion.

“Alright. How about we make a snowman?”

“Are we children?”

At that, Rosa shrugged.

“Well. If you’re not a child, then who is?”

As if she wasn’t included in that category, she always had that way of speaking.

“Actually, we are not children. But that doesn’t mean only children can make snowmen. Come on.”

Caron sighed. Nevertheless, he obediently followed Rosa and helped her make a snowman.

In the cold yet warm winter air.

Time flew by.

Leaves sprouted on the trees, turned red. They fell to the ground and turned to dust, and then white snow piled up on them again.

Since ‘he’ was possessed as Rosa Anencia, the harvest festival, which happened at least once a year, had passed about six or seven times.

It was winter again. And that meant one thing.

“This.. is a coming-of-age gift?”

Asked Rosa. Caron slowly nodded his head.

Looking at the red rose in her hand, Rosa let out an awkward laugh.

“..Why did you give me this? It is not necessary between us.”

Actually, she felt a pang of guilt.

‘A coming-of-age gift…?’

Caron was a year older than her. So, of course, his coming-of-age ceremony had already passed.

‘I don’t remember giving him anything…’

That was what made Rosa feel uncomfortable.

‘Can’t we just not give and not receive gifts…?’

That had been her way of thinking even before she was possessed.

She had never dated anyone, so of course, she had never celebrated any anniversaries, and guys didn’t really celebrate each other’s birthdays anyway.

But Caron hadn’t forgotten about her. Giving a red rose to someone who was about to come of age was a tradition, he said.

As always, the two sat side by side on the swing in the backyard of the villa.

Whatever their initial purpose had been, it was long forgotten. Meeting at the villa in the small rural village of Eckshire around this time every month had become as natural as breathing for them.

So, to put it simply, they were childhood friends.

Rosa didn’t have any other friends her age. Except for the one month she spent at the villa, she never left the count’s mansion.

Of course, it was all to avoid the royal family’s attention. To be precise, to avoid marrying the second prince.

‘Because that’s the flow of the original story.’

She hadn’t even made her debut in high society, let alone attended any balls.

Naturally, she had questions about such topics.

“Caron. Have you ever been to a social gathering..?”

Rosa had heard about it from Caron a long time ago.

[The House of Huiswen. I am the second son of that family.]

After doing some research, she found that it wasn’t a very distant family. The lord’s reputation wasn’t bad either, so Rosa had her doubts.

After all, Caron’s body at the time clearly showed signs of abuse. But Caron himself said he was fine, and he actually seemed to be getting better every time they met, so there wasn’t much Rosa could do.

“I have.”

Caron replied.

At that, Rosa’s eyes sparkled.

“Oh, what’s it like..?”

After all, fantasy and high society went hand in hand. Rosa was curious about how extravagant the noble’s parties would be.

But Caron was surprisingly blunt.

“Not my thing.”

A place where hypocrisy and flattery ran rampant under the glittering golden chandeliers. That was his simple definition of a social gathering.

“Really.”

At that unexpected answer, Rosa tilted her head.

“Why? I think you’d be quite popular.”

Of course. If she had to define Caron’s looks in one sentence.

‘The kind of face that would make many women cry.’

That’s exactly what she would say.

Jet-black hair, vividly shining red eyes. He had a bit of a cold vibe, but that might actually be a factor in his popularity.

He was the bad boy type, and from a guy’s perspective, he probably looked like a jerk. But he didn’t have that playboy vibe either.

“..That’s a shame.”

Rosa just clicked her tongue. She had been hoping for some interesting stories, but it was a fruitless endeavor.

“I know. You should try to soften your expression.”

Caron retorted to her tsk-tsking.

“What’s it to you?”

“Because that’s what girls like.”

A moment of silence.

“But why red roses..? As a coming-of-age gift.”

Was she just saying it without thinking? Caron took in Rosa’s profile as she looked at the red rose in her hand.

Her beauty had matured even more recently. Her sunset-tinged silver hair shone with a soft honey-gold hue. Her ruby-like eyes were so captivating that sometimes even he, who was used to them, was mesmerized.

After hesitating for a moment, Caron spoke.

“..Rosa.”

“What?”

“Do you think so too?”

A sudden question.

“Think what?”

“Never mind.”

Of course, he was asking about his own expression. He was going to ask if Rosa also liked that kind of soft expression, but. Suddenly, he felt self-conscious and changed the subject.

“What is it..?”

Rosa pressed. Caron quickly changed the subject.

“Rosa. What’s your reason for not paying much attention to social gatherings?”

He knew. He knew that Rosa had never attended any social gatherings. And he was secretly glad about it.

‘If you went to social gatherings…’

You would be the center of attention for many men. The charming girl, Rosa Anencia. With her undeniable beauty and value, any guy with eyes would be drawn to her.

Caron frowned at that thought. He didn’t like that image very much.

It didn’t matter, because right now, he was the only one by Rosa’s side.

“..Hmm.”

Rosa had a vague smile on her face.

Her habit when she was reluctant to say something. Caron was satisfied with the trivial fact that he was the only one who knew that about her.

“..I told you before, right? That there’s something I absolutely have to avoid.”

Finally, Rosa spoke.

She hadn’t had her debutante, and she hadn’t attended any of the numerous social gatherings.

Solely because she didn’t want to marry the second prince, following the original story’s plot, Rosa was avoiding even the slightest chance of that happening.

Of course, Caron didn’t know any of this.

‘What is this thing you have to avoid.’

Those words rose to his throat and then went back down.

Rosa hadn’t told him what it was last time either. But there was a line that should be drawn even between friends, and Caron didn’t rashly cross that line.

“Um.. So.”

Rosa’s 고민 dragged on.

‘Should I tell Caron..?’

But it was also a burden.

Suddenly saying that she was avoiding marriage with the second prince, that she didn’t want to marry a man.

‘Suddenly bringing that up…’

It just felt weird. In the end, Rosa chose to let it go again.

“Don’t worry. It won’t be long now. I’ll tell you next time we meet.”

“..Alright.”

Anyone else would have kept prying. But Caron just frowned and nodded.

“Thank you.”

Saying that, Rosa remembered.

She had heard the news a while ago. That the second prince had successfully subjugated the barbarians in the north.

If she remembered correctly, there would be a grand victory celebration in the capital in a month. It was a celebration of the second prince’s return, and also where his sudden marriage would be announced.

That marriage was between her, Rosa Anencia, and the second prince. It happened before the original story officially began, but it was a significant event in the male lead’s past, so she remembered it.

‘But the chances of that happening are low now…’

Rosa secretly held onto that hopeful observation.

Because she had been trying to stay out of everyone’s sight for so long. She had really done everything she could.

‘If things go wrong, I’ll just enter the convent as a nun.’

Why, there was that fortuitous event.

It wasn’t like a woman couldn’t live alone in this world, and there were endless possibilities depending on the path she chose.

She had also prepared well in terms of finances, enough to start a decent-sized merchant company if she wanted to.

The problem of persuading her family or protecting herself. She could think about those deeper concerns when the time came.

Thinking about it made her feel relieved.

With a bright smile, Rosa asked Caron.

“By the way, shall we go on a trip soon?”

“A trip..?”

Caron’s body stiffened slightly.