Aspara of House Bel had lived her whole life in a wealthy, warm country of the south.

Caught in the power struggles within her house, she is shipped off to the north in a marriage abroad — engineered by her second elder brother, who wanted her checked and out of the way.

Her husband-to-be is Gus, castle lord of Fang Castle in the harsh northern country.

In a year struck by an especially cruel winter and a failed harvest, Gus had been racking his brain over how to secure provisions when the second son of House Bel made him an offer: take Aspara’s hand in marriage, and a dowry would come with her. Gus felt a pang of guilt toward the bride being thrust into an unwanted marriage — but he had no choice. He agreed.

And so, under these circumstances, Aspara arrives in the north — without so much as a proper interpreter at her side, and finds herself struggling to so much as speak with her husband.

“—–, —– ——-.”

“I am Aspara of House Bel. Unfortunately, we have no custom of teaching the barbarian tongue, so I’m afraid I cannot understand your greeting.”

“——, — ——.”

“Our interpreter committed a crime of disloyalty and could not accompany us this far. Well, I’m not terribly dim, so if we live together long enough, one of us — you or I — is bound to pick up the other’s language.”

“—-, —– ——-.”

“I was told the family’s dowry was sent separately in advance. We’ll take a few things out of that luggage over there and make do. Jack, won’t you interpret for me?”

“He, uh… says welcome, my lady.”

“So this is how they welcome people in the north. Ah — don’t translate that part literally. Just tell them it’s cold, so let’s head inside.”

“Um… ‘— — –.'”

The escort knight Jack delivered the message with a sheepish grin plastered across his face. To Aspara’s relief, the crowd, which had been murmuring amongst themselves, began moving toward the castle under the castle lord’s lead.

It was much later that Jack would learn what he had actually said in the northern tongue was not “Please let us go inside” but “Please let us go back.”

Latest Release