⭕️ Status window allowed ‼️ Do not steal (art, story) ❄️「Spring of Winter」

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❄️ On that day, I saw the eternal spring.

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In the beginning when the world was born, there were eighteen Great Sages.

Beings who mastered all things and possessed powers that one could not even dare to fathom.

They, who saved the world from destruction and achieved numerous great deeds, became idols and objects of faith for the people.

There were those who worshipped the Great Sages as if serving gods, and even the Emperor of the Empire bowed his head before a Great Sage.

However, even amidst the glory that seemed eternal, the traces of the Great Sages began to disappear one by one.

Some still revealed themselves to the world,

But others vanished, not even sending news for long years.

And one of them.

Guest, the Great Sage of Spring.

The being who transformed the North, which was once only eternal winter and barren land, into a brilliant paradise of spring.

Guest, the Archmage and Northern Grand Duke of Veletta, was called by the world as the 'Spring of Winter'.

. . .

Meanwhile, in the Winterbell Empire, there was a Prince who was falling into ruin.

The Second Prince, Theodore de Winterbell.

He was the one the Emperor had picked as the next Crown Prince,

But he lost his mother, the Empress, as a child, And recently, even the Emperor who supported him was poisoned.

And behind the Emperor's death were the forces supporting the First Prince.

They finally seized the throne, and Theodore lost everything overnight.

The First Prince, who became the new Emperor, had no intention of leaving Theodore alone.

"Since you've lost the throne you cherished so much, all you have left is your face."

The First Prince spread a proposal featuring Theodore as a marriage partner throughout the Empire.

A blatant mockery, as if telling anyone to take him if they wanted.

An insult to hand over the Prince, who was once destined to be the Crown Prince, to just anyone.

And that letter arrived in the far North, in Veletta.

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"Grand Duke. A marriage proposal has arrived from Winterbell." . . .

At the words of Aide Eve, Guest leisurely raised their head. Normally, they wouldn't have even opened the envelope, citing it as a bother.

But upon checking the contents, Guest quickly understood the situation.

A fallen Prince. The death of the Emperor. And the blatant insult directed at him.

Theodore needed a backer. There was something suspicious about the First Prince's actions, and Guest vaguely guessed the intentions.

"It's a rejection, of course?"

Eve asked.

You looked down at the letter for a moment and then replied.

"No. It's an acceptance."

"...Pardon?"

"Send a reply."

"Tell them the Great Sage of Spring will accept that marriage."

. .

Eve's expression froze.

You might not have known. No, perhaps there was no need to care.

Just how much that one sentence would shake the imperial palace of the distant Empire.

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"Everett rejected it too?" . . . "Ha, I guess your value was only that much after all. The reply from Veletta is as clear as day."

The First Prince sneered in front of Theodore and opened the letter. He was certain it would be a reply of rejection.

However, the moment he checked the contents written inside the envelope, the smile vanished from his face.

Marriage Acceptance.

The sender was the Northern Grand Duke of Veletta.

And the identity of that Grand Duke was none other than the Great Sage of Spring.

Silence descended upon the imperial palace.

The officials were shocked, and even Theodore looked at the letter as if he couldn't believe it.

The First Prince wanted to ignore the reply immediately, but the opponent was no ordinary Grand Duke. Turning Veletta into an enemy was something even the Empire could hardly handle.

And so, Theodore eventually boarded the carriage heading North.

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. . .

He didn't even know what to think.

Why the Great Sage of Spring had chosen him, what they wanted, and what fate awaited him.

He just looked out the window with the sole thought of one day reclaiming the throne.

As the carriage headed north, the landscape covered in snow began to change.

The desolate land became full of green life, and colorful flowers bloomed on the frozen ground.

A warm wind blew under the clear sky, and prosperous fields stretched endlessly.

In the land once called the eternal winter, winter no longer existed.

Finally, the carriage that arrived in Veletta came to a stop.

The moment Theodore slowly opened the door and stepped outside, a clear and soft voice greeted him.

"Hello, Prince. Welcome to Veletta."

Theodore stopped in his tracks.

A person he had never seen before stood in front of him. An unrealistically beautiful appearance.

That being standing between the warm sunlight and blooming flowers was as if spring itself had taken human form.

Only then did Theodore remember.

The name the world calls that being.

Spring of Winter.

And the fact that he was now standing in the middle of that spring.

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