#7
Noah had no choice after his tearful farewell with Raymond.
He continued to sniffle on the carriage ride back, and upon arriving home, he had another round of enthusiastic crying in Loren’s arms. Noah’s extended crying only stopped when Elisa handed him a rabbit doll.
As if it were something precious, Noah hugged the light blue rabbit doll made of soft fabric and nuzzled his face against it. The sweet yet fragrant scent from the doll and the soft texture of the slightly worn fabric—as if it had been with him since birth—comforted his melancholy mood.
Still in Loren’s embrace, tightly hugging the rabbit doll, Noah gradually drifted off to sleep.
It didn’t matter that the man he had fallen for at first sight was fourteen years older, or that he called Noah a baby. At least the promise to visit him in Austen remained deeply etched in little Noah’s heart.
* * *
Traveling from Feyrn, the capital, to the Austen region required no effort or strength. Without cars or planes, going by land would take three months. Using sea routes or waterways might take two months, but they had magic.
Noah, who was almost always carried because people couldn’t bear to see him walk on his own, could reach his destination with just two warps. Quite literally, he arrived in Austen while taking a nap.
Noah, dressed in a flowing light pink shirt and dark gray pants, was wrapped in a thick cloak. On his head was placed a hat with animal ears—whether cat, tiger, or bear was unclear.
Every time Noah exhaled, his breath formed misty clouds that shimmered like heat waves.
“Cold.”
Noah mumbled as he rested his head against Lucas’s chest. Though he enjoyed outdoor activities and winter sports, he disliked the cold. Looking around, all he could see was white snow and tall coniferous trees.
“Our Noah, shall we play a bit and then go outside to make a snowman?”
Noah shook his head at Loren’s suggestion as she pulled his hat down further to cover his ears.
What was the difference between inside and outside the castle? That it blocked the cold wind?
Feeling like he had entered a refrigerator, Noah stared at the enormous fireplace.
The blazing logs reminded him of Christmas. While supplies and provisions for several months were being transported through warps for the capital’s employees, Lucas put Noah down on the sofa and left.
Noah sat on the sofa, looking at the fireplace with pouty lips. Though the castle had been prepared for the return of its owners with all fireplaces lit and warm arrangements made, Noah still felt cold.
“Young master, would you like cookies and milk?”
Without even looking at Elisa who offered his favorites, Noah hugged his rabbit doll tightly. Now he needed to find a way to survive in this cold place.
He had completely forgotten about it since his transmigration, being dragged to various balls in the capital. Moreover, having spent quite a long time as a young child in mild Feyrn, the cold felt even more intense.
Austen was definitely cold. And the magnificent Schwein Castle, built grand and massive with enormous stones, was no different from a refrigerator.
Honestly, Noah hadn’t spent much time at Schwein Castle since his transmigration.
How could he have forgotten this cold? He remembered that even in summer, the Austen region’s highest temperature didn’t exceed 5 degrees. And in winter, the average temperature was around -20 degrees.
Since becoming a three-year-old, Noah hadn’t made many plans for the future.
Grow up to be an excellent, prideful, and adorably cute son that his parents would treasure.
Choose his own husband. Though he had already set his sights on Raymond, that could change if someone better appeared.
Find a way to inherit the Austen region, even without marriage.
But none of that mattered now.
How to survive in this cold place—that became the first challenge.
The front side facing the fireplace was scorching hot, but his back was freezing.
Lucas’s choice of a thick cloak and Loren’s natural fur clothing upon entering the Austen region made perfect sense.
“Elisa, we need to raise the temperature in Noah’s room. And prepare warm bath water in front of the fireplace. Since Noah seems to be in a bad mood, it would be good to bathe him in warm water and put him to bed early today.”
When Loren tried to remove the hat Noah was wearing, he quickly raised one hand to grasp the edge of the hat.
Mother doesn’t understand. When it’s cold, you must wear a hat. Do you know how much heat escapes through the head?
“Hmm?”
A small tussle broke out between Loren trying to remove the hat and Noah trying to keep it on.
When Loren, who had been talking with Elisa, looked at him, Noah pulled the hat down to cover his eyes completely.
Perhaps thinking he was playing by covering his eyes with the hat, Loren kept slightly lifting it, and Noah kept pulling it down.
Think. Think.
Though he enjoyed outdoor sports and was a master of sledding, skiing, and snowboarding, that was when he had a warm place to return to.
It felt good to play outside until his cheeks were frozen stiff and then return to a warm lodge. He missed the feeling of soaking in hot spring water and then drinking beer under a thick blanket on a heated floor.
Hot springs.
Hot, hot.
Noah let go of the hat he had been pulling down, turned his body around, and descended from the sofa feet first. Then, to block the cold rising from the stone floor, he ran across the thickly laid carpet toward the window.
Noah climbed onto the small sofa under the window, but didn’t stop there. He climbed up to the windowsill and pressed himself against the window to look outside. White mist formed and disappeared on the glass with each of Noah’s labored breaths.
This is truly an ice kingdom.
They said it had been warm for the past few days, so there was no snow visible inside the castle grounds except in shaded areas where people rarely went. But the distant mountains were all white with perpetual snow.
But Noah’s small head turned rapidly, searching for something other than the scenery.
Seeing it with his small body made him newly realize how large Schwein Castle was.
He could see employees busily moving outside and knights training at the distant training ground. The northern region, adjacent to mountain ranges, was full of fierce beasts. To prevent these beasts from coming down to the villages in search of food and to control their population, regular extermination missions were conducted, so knights were always stationed in the castle.
Soon it would be summer, and as they did every year, they would take advantage of the briefly warmer weather to hunt these beasts. So now was the peak time for training.
No, no.
That’s not important right now. Noah stood on the windowsill, trying to see more of the outside.
If his memory was correct, there was something like a small hot spring inside the castle grounds.
The reason people could live in this cold region at all was because of geysers.
It would be an enormous task to heat water every time it was needed, but most populated areas had geysers. And the castle had hot springs that were always filled with hot water year-round.
Why didn’t I think of that?
“The window area is cold.”
Noah’s face broke into a broad smile as he recalled that following the path beside the knights’ training ground would lead to the hot springs. Access was strictly controlled because the castle used it for its water supply.
As Elisa approached and picked him up, Noah quickly wrapped his arms around her neck and hugged her tightly.
“Elisa.”
“Yes, young master.”
“Make me warm.”
“I’m warm just having you, young master.”
“No, no… warm.”
And from that day, Noah’s hardships began.
The adventures of three-year-old Noah.
The history of a struggle more difficult and challenging than crossing mountains and rivers had begun.
“My goodness, where was he hiding this time?”
“First floor kitchen, in the potato basket.”
“Oh my, hiding in places just like our young master. He loves hide and seek too much.”
“It’s such a relief he doesn’t go outside the castle walls. He’s more like an Alpha than an Omega.”
“He disappears in an instant if we take our eyes off him, even for a moment to touch the snow.”
“That’s why the Duchess always has him dressed in colorful, bright clothes. Otherwise, he’d be hard to find.”
Noah, stacking blocks in front of the fireplace, listened carefully to the employees’ whispers. It wasn’t a big deal—he just wanted to visit the hot springs. He just wanted to know how hot it was and somehow use it to stay warm.
But everything in this massive castle was like a trap for Noah.
First, the doors were a problem—he couldn’t open them by himself unless someone left them slightly ajar.
The castle was built as sturdily as the Imperial Palace for insulation and to prevent external intrusion. If he got out the door, he would have to walk down a long corridor.
The next obstacle was the stairs.
Most of the time, he would be caught while trying to crawl down these stairs backward, picked up by someone. When employees saw him crawling down the stairs, they would speak to him kindly and pick him up. Then they would take him back to his room, retracing the path he had painstakingly traveled.
If he managed to descend the stairs without being caught, he had to be even more careful.
While the second and third floors were family living spaces, the first floor was practically open to everyone. It had the kitchen, dining room, reception rooms for visitors, and was frequently traversed by knights.
Even if he luckily made it there, he would be apprehended in front of the stairs and returned to his starting point.
The farthest he had recently gone was the kitchen. The kitchen had a back door he planned to use. Little did he know he would end up hiding in a potato basket when he suddenly sensed someone approaching.
Noah needed to find a more efficient way to explore.
Lost in thought, the blocks he had been stacking had reached his height, and Noah stood up, holding one block in his hand.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
