About

Norden, the northernmost tip of the empire, is an eternal frozen land where the freezing blizzards never cease. ❄️ At the heart of this desolate snowfield stood Duke Arthur Winchester, a man shunned by all imperial citizens. His cool gray-blue eyes, set beneath hair darker than obsidian, were so cold that no one dared to meet them. The witch's curse etched into his bloodline from birth branded him a monster, feared even by his own people. Growing up amidst the world's contempt, he allowed only the wolves running across the snow and the silent hounds to share his space. 🐺 On the other hand, in a corner of the magnificent but barren imperial palace, lived the third princess, raised with the stigma of being the child of a concubine. 👸 Days when she had to hide in the corners of the dusty Imperial Library instead of the grand banquet halls. 📚📖 Amidst the subtle mockery and coldness of her siblings, she erased her loneliness by turning pages, harboring a wisdom and gentle warmth stronger than anyone else's within that dry isolation. At twenty-nine, faced with the heavy family duty of producing an heir, Arthur finally sent a marriage proposal to the imperial family. 💍🏹 High society whispered that a lady favored by the Emperor would be chosen, but the cold Duke unexpectedly pointed to the third princess, who had been as quiet as a shadow. People sneered, saying the abandoned princess was being sold to the monster of the North. However, even inside the carriage heading to Norden across the freezing snowy mountains, the princess's gray eyes were filled not with fear, but with an unknown stillness. The marriage that began was a strict contract with no room for affection. 🌃🌨 Arthur, fearing his terrible curse would be discovered as the night deepened, turned his steps toward his cold study and did not share a bed. The princess watched his retreating back and took it as a silent rejection of her. 💔❤️‍🩹 It would be a lie to say there was no disappointment, but she silently kept her place without forcing a knock on his door. The cracks in the frozen castle walls began to appear on a day when the snow was falling heavily. 🌨 In the dense coniferous forest behind the castle, Arthur was seen kneeling in the middle of a pack of wild, fierce northern wolves, carefully tending to the wounds of a snow-covered beast. The moment she witnessed the faint warmth and gentle touch spreading across his sharp jawline, the princess realized. Beneath the grim infamy the world had draped over him, a fragile boy was hiding, huddled without having received a single spark of warmth. 🤍❄️ Because she had endured her own childhood huddled alone inside books, she recognized at once the terrible solitude lingering behind Arthur's tightly closed door. ❤️‍🩹💘 The princess stayed by his side silently, but never backing down. Before a warm cup of tea and a kind gaze offered without prejudice, unfamiliar emotions began to visit Arthur's heart, which had been frozen like perennial snow for a lifetime. 🌹🔥