Chapter 372: Falling Snow
The pocket watch Evelia gave to Armand so many years ago had already become blurry in her memory. Still, she tried hard to dig through those memories, as if they had been thrown into a recycling bin, searching for what that pocket watch she once gave him looked like.
But unfortunately, Evelia had long abandoned her past. Under the command of the Second Prince, those “useless fragments” in her mind had already been forgotten. Even if she wanted to search now, she couldn’t find anything useful.
This troubled Evelia a little.
On her way to the clock shop, with Rachel by her side as a reference, she kept worrying about this. She could no longer give Armand another pocket watch exactly like the one from before.
The carriage swayed gently, with only the quiet sound of the wheels turning.
Outside, the streets were full of people coming and going. But with the windows in between, she couldn’t hear what they were saying.
Everywhere was lively, and the festive decorations made the whole place look full of celebration.
Like a curious child, Evelia gazed out the window, wanting to take in everything she saw.
Meanwhile, Rachel, who on the outside looked like a child, seemed much calmer.
She was also looking outside, but she didn’t show the same outward excitement as Evelia. After all, Rachel was an old being who had lived through countless New Years.
Because of her need for all kinds of alchemy materials, she had traveled to many places, learning about different regions, customs, and celebrations. So, no matter what kind of festival she saw in the royal capital, Rachel was never too surprised, since she had seen almost everything before.
But when she first saw such things long ago, she had been just like Evelia. That’s why she didn’t look at Evelia with strange eyes for being so curious about the New Year.
She only felt a little guilty inside, because she herself had once been part of the reason Evelia was like this.
Evelia kept looking out the carriage window. She wanted to know so much more.
She wondered if the celebration was always this lively every year. She wondered how the date of the New Year was decided, and why the day of crossing into the new year wasn’t considered New Year itself. She wondered, if not delayed by that damned ball, what else she could have done when New Year arrived.
But the only one beside her was Rachel, who looked no older than a little girl.
Of course, Evelia didn’t throw these questions at her. She felt there was no point, she probably wouldn’t get any answers anyway.
Becoming an assassin of the House of Nightingales had cost Evelia many things. Even now, she was still clumsy, like a newborn, trying to understand this world, and often causing silly mistakes.
Her little errors and wrong choices always made people think she was a bit “silly.” But in truth, it was only because she didn’t know, and didn’t understand.
She didn’t know what the right thing to do was, so in her ignorance she often chose the wrong way.
She wasn’t stupid. She had just never learned these ordinary things that others thought were normal.
“New Year… will it snow again?”
Evelia stared blankly at the snow-white scenery around her. The sunlight reflecting off the whiteness felt almost overwhelming, as if it wanted to steal her vision.
The snow was beautiful. Whether it hung on the trees or covered the rooftops, it was all beautiful.
Evelia had never really studied snowflakes closely, but she had heard about their beauty. She didn’t have the habit of admiring snow. For her, back when she worked as an assassin, snow was sometimes just a natural cover during boring missions.
She would hide in the icy world, and even if the falling snow soaked through her, she had to keep her focus sharp so she wouldn’t reveal any weakness.
But sometimes, she couldn’t help but look at the snow, the endless white. Against it, her own crimson figure from the past had always seemed too striking.
For others, snow was a symbol of New Year, a natural decoration. But for Evelia, though snow was pretty, it also brought trouble.
In the past, she found snow troublesome. Even now, she still thought the same.
She knew Armand’s health wasn’t good, and the thing he feared most was cold air. That’s why she always worried if the snow would affect him.
“Snow… maybe it will fall during New Year.”
Snow and New Year matched each other best. In fact, without snow, the New Year celebration wouldn’t feel complete.
For the nobles with nothing better to do, admiring the snowy scenery during the New Year’s party while waiting for midnight was a refined pastime. But Evelia only cared about whether Armand could handle a few days of wind and snow.
“…If that’s the case, then I’ll just make sure Mr. Armand wears more layers of clothing.”
Other people might care about appearances and choose slim, fashionable clothes, but Armand didn’t need to.
First, because he never really cared about appearances. He didn’t even see the ball as a gathering to socialize with friends. To him, it was more like a banquet filled with hidden danger, where every smile could have another meaning. Unlike at the last ballroom, he wouldn’t waste any thought on how he looked.
Second, because Armand’s face didn’t need any decoration at all. Even if he went outside wearing a sack, with his handsome looks, people would probably think it was the latest trend.
“Mm…”
Rachel muttered to herself, recalling some weather news she had overheard recently. Then she suddenly realized something.
Judging from the current temperature, by New Year’s Day the snow should have melted away. That would make it easier for her to gather materials from the back garden. But if it really snowed heavily that day, it would be a disaster on top of her troubles.
Sigh… let’s just hope the weather will be kind.
With that thought, Rachel leaned her head against the carriage window, a little emotional herself.
She could only hope that day wouldn’t bring a heavy snowfall.