Duke pointed to a spot in the sky. Niall followed his finger. As the blazing twilight of the sunset faded, and the mountains that swallowed the sun glowed yellow before turning blue again, a faint line of light appeared among the stars. It slowly started to ripple and flutter.
Niall was too stunned to speak. The vivid green light swayed as if blown by the wind. Like curtains fluttering from a divine window, the light shimmered in the sky.
“……”
Niall closed his eyes and then opened them again, captivated by the breathtaking beauty. Yet, the divine curtain still swayed beautifully, rising above the morning star, the Milky Way, and the last traces of the western sun.
“Duke.”
Niall whispered, as if afraid that a louder sound might make the beautiful sight disappear.
“Hmm?”
“Did you do that too, Duke?”
“What?”
Duke laughed out loud. He found Niall, who cautiously looked up at the sky with fearful yet shining eyes, adorable. Niall, seemingly scared, had unconsciously moved closer to Duke, holding onto his sleeve.
“Did I create that?”
“Like the New Year’s festival… didn’t you?”
Just like a child asking about a rainbow, Niall didn’t know what he was seeing. Duke found his innocence so endearing that he pulled Niall into a hug and explained gently.
“No, Niall. That’s the aurora.”
“Aurora?”
“Yes, it’s the divine curtain. The curtains fluttering from God’s window. I didn’t create that. I can’t.”
Niall looked up at the sky with awe. Though he was an atheist, for the first time, his belief wavered in that moment.
How could anyone not believe in God’s existence when seeing that light fluttering like fabric folded by a divine hand?
The light curtain, the aurora, slowly descended, softly reflecting a faint green light on the white snow below. Niall watched the divine folds fluttering for a long time, overwhelmed, unable to think of anything else.
Under the wide-open divine window, a flock of wild ducks flew by. It was a night where divine beauty fluttered quietly over the serene, snowy landscape.
Seeing Niall’s cheeks and ears turn bright red and his eyelashes catch ice particles, Duke pulled him closer. Niall, without realizing it, kept looking at the sky while being led by Duke.
After walking for a while, they reached the ranger’s cabin. When Duke opened the door, the startled ranger, who had been warming himself by the fire, ran over and then knelt upon recognizing Duke.
Duke barely acknowledged the ranger’s greeting, focusing solely on Niall. Though he had wrapped a cloak around him, Niall’s body had turned icy cold from standing in the snow for too long.
As Duke quickly rubbed Niall’s shoulders to warm him up, he suddenly glared at the ranger. The ranger, seeing Duke’s caring gestures, stood with his mouth agape. Duke pulled Niall closer, furrowing his brows fiercely, prompting the ranger to hurriedly grab his coat and leave.
Duke sat Niall in front of the warm stove, wrapping a thick blanket around his shoulders. He even found some hidden liquor, warming it up for Niall. After drinking the hot liquor, Niall finally felt like he could breathe deeply.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Crackling, the small branches in the stove burned. Niall stared blankly at the fire, recalling the beautiful miracle he had just experienced.
Niall thought he was like an ant. If an ant saw the castle of Shirarund, it would think the few bricks in front of it were the whole castle. Similarly, the world Niall knew was just a few bricks, and he could never see the whole world.
Niall wanted to be an ant who had seen the most bricks in the world. He wanted to climb over the stone walls, up the pillars, across the ceiling, to the top of the bell tower, and see how magnificent the castle was and how small the world looked from the highest point.
‘I want to go.’
Niall’s old dream rekindled in his heart. He no longer wavered. He knew what he wanted.
“Duke.”
So Niall decided to tell Duke right at that moment. He would say it himself, not leaving it to anyone else.
“I want to leave as soon as the lease agreement returns.”
“……”
“And if you give me a reward before I leave… I’d like to accept it.”
Duke slowly sat up, staring at Niall. Niall met his gaze calmly.
“Niall, do you want money?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll give you as much as you want. I can give you more than three thousand pounds.”
“More than that?”
“I plan to give you a knighthood. And a fief with the rights to mine the black stone, so you can earn three thousand pounds a year.”
Niall’s mouth fell open. The generous offer sent a shiver down his spine. Duke laughed at his reaction.
“Do you like it?”
“No, but…”
“But?”
“That’s too much…”
“It’s not too much.”
Duke kissed Niall’s hand.
“If you want, I can give you even more.”
“No, even so. That’s too much.”
Though momentarily swayed, Niall reaffirmed his resolve and shook his head. It was an incredibly generous offer, but Niall had something he desired even more.
“Thank you, but I’m fine, Duke.”
“Does the knighthood not satisfy you? Then, shall I make you a lord?”
“No, it’s not that.”
Niall felt embarrassed.
“Why are you being so generous? Making a commoner like me a lord… Other lords will protest.”
“It doesn’t matter. I am their king.”
“I don’t need it.”
“If the black stone mining rights aren’t appealing, I can give you land with silver and gold mines.”
“…Duke.”
“What do you want? I’ll give you anything. If you stay here, I can make you the richest man in the North.”
Duke’s voice quickened, sounding desperate. Niall bit his lower lip lightly and then released it.
“Whatever you give me, I will still leave.”
“……”
“Duke.”
Niall gently lifted Duke’s chin. Duke’s eyes were lowered, unable to meet Niall’s gaze. It was the first time Niall had seen him like this, and it made his heart ache.
“Is it because of me?”
“What do you mean?”
“Because I’m… an Alpha?”
“Duke.”
Niall firmly grasped Duke’s face, bringing their faces closer together. Duke kept his eyebrows lowered.
“I don’t hate Alphas. If I did, I wouldn’t have come to the North to serve in the first place.”
“You took suppressants. Wasn’t it because you had bad experiences with Alphas?”
Niall’s eyes widened. Duke was quick-witted, piecing together his past actions to infer what he hadn’t been told.
“Yes. I did have bad experiences with Alphas.”
Niall admitted it easily, then continued before Duke could misunderstand.
“If you want, I’ll tell you what happened. It’s nothing major. You might not know, but some Alphas can’t get an Omega’s pheromones. And I… well, I’ve met such Alphas before. Alphas who tried to force themselves on me…”
“……”
“So, what I mean is… I’m fine.”
Niall’s hesitant voice grew firm again. He raised his head. Duke was now looking directly into his eyes.
“Does having bad experiences mean I should fear all Alphas? I’m strong, Duke. Do you understand?”
“Niall.”
“I don’t hate you because you’re an Alpha. I’m fine. Really.”
“Niall.”
Duke grasped Niall’s shoulders with a bit more force. Niall swallowed and looked up at him.
“Okay.”
“……”
“So you can stop talking about it.”
Niall twitched his cheek and turned his head, staring at the aurora swaying in the distant sky.
“Again, if I were really scared and hated Alphas, I wouldn’t have come to serve you in the first place.”
“Yeah, I know.”
With Duke acknowledging his strength, Niall regained his composure. He decided to return to the main point.
“Duke, I grew up in a traveling troupe. I roamed my entire life. People call that kind of life cursed, but I loved it. If I stayed in one place for more than a month, I’d get restless. After two months, I’d feel like my chest was going to burst from frustration.”
“……”
“Romana used to say that some people are born with the soul of an animal or a tree instead of a human soul. She said I was born with the soul of a river. She believed I’d wander forever. But when I was fourteen, my real family found me and took me in. And there, I met my mother.”
“Your mother?”
“Yes. A small, thin, and sickly… mother.”
