Book 2: Chapter Ep
With the short autumn season at its end, the Kingdom of Natra was in the dead of winter.
Ninym looked out the window in the hallway, able to make out the mountain range in the distance buried under the snow. In time, even the flatter lands of the urban areas farther away from the mountains would be blanketed under its whiteness.
In fact, her breath was already white as it fogged up the windowpane. She was about to wipe it away with her fingers when someone called out to her.
“Oh, it’s the aide,” said one of the officials, sauntering toward her from the other side of the hallway.
Ninym turned her gaze away from the window.
“Perfect timing. Our emergency supplies for the winter were just delivered. And here are the reports.”
“Ah. Thank you.” She took the reports from the official and scanned them. “…I see. With the visit from the envoys, I was worried how things would turn out when we had to delay our preparations. But this will be just fine.”
“Agreed. We should be able to make it through winter… I guess our only regret is about how the potential marriage between the Imperial Princess and His Highness panned out.” The official sighed. “To think an emergency in the Empire would cause them to shelve it.”
Though a series of unexpected incidents had cropped up, the envoys managed to make a safe trip back to the Empire. Around the same time, news of a revolt in the making had spread across the Empire, triggering turmoil in each territory under its rule. The chaos was ongoing, making it an unsuitable time for the Imperial Princess to talk about marriage. All discussion was to be suspended until the affairs of state were in order. And many subjects in Natra found this terribly disappointing.