Hokuou Kizoku to Moukinzuma no Yukiguni Karigurashi Chapter 78

After spending more than half a year in my homeland, I safely delivered my child. The recuperation was also over, so all that was left to move back to the village. However, something unexpected happened.

“What do you mean by going home, isn’t it okay to stay a bit more.”
“No, my body is alright now, so I want to return as soon as possible.”
“But still,”

The person pestering me is father. While holding his grandson in his arms, he was insisting that I stay here a bit more.

“Hey, Ritzhard-kun!”
“Eh!? A, u, u~n.”

To father who was desperately pleading, Ritzhard made a troubled expression. I wonder if he thought of attacking my husband if I didn’t give in. What a wily father. I was astounded.

“Father, can you stop hara.s.sing Ritzhard?”
“What are you talking about. I’m not hara.s.sing him.”

Apparently, father couldn’t see Ritz looking down and fidgeting.

“To begin with,”
“W-What is it? What kind of daughter are you, to look down at your parent from above!”

I stood up and looked down upon father. That was all I did, yet he embraced Arno tightly to protect him. It was almost as if I was the villain here, that I ended up snorting.

“Father, when I was being married off, you saw me off with a smile, yet when you part with RItz and Arno, you’re trying your best to dissuade us.”
“U!”
“Are you thinking that your son-in-law and your grandson are cuter than your own daughter?”
“Uu!”

Frankly, father dotes on Ritz too much. He likes Arno as well.
Ritz gladly helped out with the ranch, and thanks to his kind and honest personality he got along well with father.
Arno also followed father well, maybe because he took after Ritz.
Babies in this phase are quite shy and dislike people other than their parents hugging them, sometimes even crying, but Arno behaves well with anyone. He even giggles when he is cradled. Even father can’t bear the cuteness of my son.

“Sieg, calm down. Father-in-law, you too.”

Ritz held my hand and sat down near me.

“Father-in-law, I do feel sorry that I am leaving arbitrarily when we have been in your care for so long.”
“N-No, that’s,”
“You can come visit us again to pay with Arno and Sieg. Father in law, you are welcome any time.”
“U, un, alright……”

In the end, father conceded from Ritz’s words.

After convincing father was over, I breathed out a sigh of relief.

“Sieg, it’s nice that father-in-law is understanding.”
“Aa, indeed.”

I laughed as I patted my son.
Being cradled by Ritz, Arno was laughing as well.

“He’s enjoying seeing Sieg…… Haa, our child really is cute~”

While smiling, Ritz cradled Arno even more.

“Really, it’s as you say.”

Both my husband and my son are cute. Just from watching the two of them, I felt healed.

I gently stroked Arno’s soft white hair, then I caressed the fringe of Ritz’s hair as well.

“I-It feels like even I’m getting pampered.”
“You’re not wrong about that.”
“As I thought?”
“Do you dislike it?”
“N~o, rather it’s even cuter. Right, Arno?”

He said such a thing, so to the snow fairy in front of me I presented him a kiss filled with love.

I didn’t think there would be this much trouble over us returning home.
However, we still had people we had to persuade.

“—So, this time, we have to inform Edelgard and Adeltraud.”
“Wa-Waaoh!”

My nieces were following Ritz well. They definitely will cry.
A few days, I asked my brother to tell them that we will be returning home. However, he just came up to me and said, “I couldn’t do it because it would be too sad.”

“How should we explain this to them.”
“Hmm. Saying farewell is hard.”

If possible, we did not want to have a sad farewell. However, we didn’t know what we should do.

“Ah, right.”
“Do you have an idea?”
“An idea, well, I’m thinking of telling them the day after tomorrow on the picnic.”
“Right. It is better to tell them quicker.”

We quickly decided the plan: going out to buy the necessary goods for the picnic tomorrow, and cooking in the morning the day after.

The next day, Ritz and I went to the shopping district to buy goods. As for Arno, we asked mother to take care of him.

“Are these okay for ingredients?”
“Aa, that’s the stuff.”

I checked if what I picked were the same things written on a piece of paper, then left the luggage to the servants.

“Now, we should buy gifts for Edelgard and Adeltraud.”
“Right.”

Ritz and I decided that we should give them something when we parted.

“It’s hard, I don’t know what girls like.”
“It is difficult.”
“What did Sieg want when you were a little girl?”
“……Model guns.”
“A, okay.”

What I used to want probably won’t make the sisters happy.
Dolls, stuffed toys, toy houses……, father-in-law are buying those, so I don’t think they will be that happy.

“How about books?”
“Ah, that might be a good……”
“Sieg, is there something wrong?”

My gaze rested on the creature at the store window.
White fluffy fur, big round eyes, and a kind-looking face that seemed to smile when our gazes met.

“Ritzhard!”
“Yes?”

I pointed to the creature at the window for my husband to see.

“It’s similar.”
“To what?”
“Ritz is similar to the dog.”
“I see~ So we’ll give them this?”
“A-Aa.”

I was a bit curious, or rather quite curious so I decided to enter the store and listen to the shopkeeper.

“This one’s called Samoyed. A dog breed born in a cold country of Central Europe.”

Samoyeds are good supporting animals in living in snowy countries. It can herd livestock, pull sleds and listens to orders well.

“However, it does not have aggressive hunting instincts, and has a gentle personality. It’s kind so it is also loved as a pet to play with.”
“I see.”

The face that looks like it’s smiling is apparently called ‘the Samoyed smile’.
The more I looked at it, the more I thought that it was similar to Ritzhard.

“Ritz, let’s buy this dog.”
“Are you planning on taking this back home?”
“No, this will be a gift for Edelgard and Adeltraud.”

Though it might not make for a guard dog, it might make for a good friend. I can leave the training to father.

“Is that okay?”
“Yes. It’s a good idea.”

Thus, we had new family.

The day of the picnic.
Ritz, the sisters, and I woke up early to make boxed lunches.
Today, my parents as well as my brother and his wife are coming as well. We’re just going to a field of flowers nearby, but somehow it became a large occasion.

We enlisted the help of servants for making lunch. Thanks to everyone’s cooperation, we were somehow able to finish everything.

When the position of the sun was high, the group proceeded to the forest.

“My, look, Aunt Sieglinde, there are pretty flowers.”
“Indeed.”
“Oneesama, what are these called?”
“……Meadowsweet.”
“Or so.”

Adeltraud handed over flowers that fit Ritz who was like fluffy snow very well. Having received them, Ritz buried his nose in the flowers, saying, “What a lovely smell. They smell like almonds~,” in a carefree manner.

When we walked a little further, we arrived at a field of flowers in full bloom. There we chased each other around, playing around, then we decided to have lunch.

The lunch my nieces made received a positive response. My parents and my brother and his wife also enjoyed them. Seeing that, the sisters smiled brightly.

After lunch, we made wreaths out of flowers. After seeing mother and sister-in-law making them, Ritzhard also tried making some. I ended up laughing at how he failed to read the mood and made better ones than everyone else. The face that father made when he received the ones made by my nieces also induced laughter.

The pleasant time pa.s.sed quickly.

Ritzhard told the young sisters that he had something to tell them.

“The two of you, can I have some of your time.”
“My, Uncle Ritzhard.”
“……”
“Truth be told, we have to return to our country.”
“Pardon?”
“……”

From hearing Ritzhard’s words, Edelgard hid her face while Adeltraud made a dejected expression.
We were spending a pleasant time just up until now. I felt sorry.

“W-WHy?”
“……”
“The two of you, I am really sorry. We have to return to our country.”
“No, no!”

Adeltraud hugged me with teary eyes. Every time she asked us to not go, I felt a pain in my chest.

“Th-there still are many things we have to do, we have to play, no, no.”

At these times, I don’t know what to say. I wanted to hug Edelgard as well, who is standing alone a little distance away, but I couldn’t move.

What should I do, I was thinking, when I was startled by a calm voice.

“……Can’t, Adeltraud.”

Edelgard gently patted Adeltraud and spoke to her.

“B-But I’ll miss him.”
“……Take a look at Uncle Ritzhard.”
“Pardon?”
“Doesn’t he look pale?”
“H-How come?”

Edelgard whispered softly that other people won’t here.

“……Summer.”
“Summer?”
“……He’s receiving sunlight, so.”
“Pardon?”
“……We know that uncle is not a normal person.”

At Edelgard’s words, Adeltraud looks like she realised something.

Come to think of it, the young sisters believe that Ritzhard is the snow fairy.

“……If the sunlight is too strong, uncle will melt away. The snow fairy can’t endure the summer heat here. Are you okay with uncle disappearing?”
“N-No!”
“………Then we shouldn’t stop him.”

Adeltraud wipes her tears away and split from me.

“Uncle, are you okay!?”
“U, un, I’m alright.”
“You have to return to your country quickly!”
“Right.”

Ritzhard hugged the amiable sisters and thanked them.

“Father-in-law, mother-in-law, thank you for taking care of us.”
“A, aa, stay healthy, Ritzhard-kun, Arno, Sieglinde.”

Even the dog saw us off.
Moreover, the name given is ‘Ritz’. I’m sure they’ll cherish him like they loved Ritzhard.

“Sieg, support Ritzhard-san well.”
“Aa, I got it.”

In this stay, I could even show my child to my parents. From this scenery that I could not imagine when I was an army, I felt somewhat embarra.s.sed.

“Arno-chan, I’ll be going over next time.”
“……With the doggy Ritz-chan.”

It was nice that we could say goodbye with smiles.

It was a relief that we could part without any regrets.

Thus, we returned.
Our life in the snow country will soon resume.

Additional Chapters finished.