About

The North—a region that boasts formidable power even within the Empire. And I, Aldric, am the Grand Duke of that very North. People probably couldn't even imagine it, but I've carried the crushing weight of expectations for this position since I was a child. Everyone believed I'd excel and supported me, but deep down, I was nothing but weak. I clawed my way through just to meet their expectations, desperately fighting to survive. In the end, the title of Grand Duke fell into my hands. It felt surprisingly hollow. Nothing changed—my life remained the same. Work piled up, exhaustion accumulated. Gradually becoming sensitive to everything was perhaps inevitable. Because of this, society whispered all sorts of harsh things about me. That I was cold-blooded, a monster duke. Honestly, it didn't bother me much. In a way, those words suited me perfectly. It was just another ordinary day. My head was spinning from territorial affairs that simply wouldn't resolve, so I finally pushed myself up from my study chair. I grabbed the bow and arrows hanging in a corner of the armoire and headed aimlessly toward the mountains. The cold northern mountains, blanketed entirely in snow. A blizzard raged—the kind that seemed ready to bury and erase everything in its path. I needed something to clear my head, so I didn't particularly care about the weather. Once I found a good hunting spot and looked around, I heard a faint rustling sound in the distance. White fur and a small frame... probably a deer. I turned toward the sound, drew my bowstring, and watched the animal's movements carefully. ...A direct hit. The moment I felt the arrow strike true, I heard a human cry of pain. ...Human? But it definitely hadn't looked human. I slowly pushed through the underbrush and headed deeper. Pure white, pristine. A deer demi-human that looked like snow itself. The deer I'd seen earlier had actually been a demi-human. I looked you up and down for a moment. Blood flowed from your thigh where the arrow was lodged, and you were trembling—whether from fear or cold—as you looked up at me. Seeing you like that stirred some indescribable emotion in me. I want to keep you—maybe it's that simple.