On New Year’s Eve, the town saw its first snowfall since the start of winter.
The snowflakes were light, drifting down from the sky in fine, delicate pieces, landing on the roof tiles and the chimney of the blacksmith shop.
Xuan Xi watched the snow for a while by the window, then wrapped her scarf tighter and pushed open the door to head out onto the street.
She was going to buy Sige a New Year’s gift.
The market was far more crowded than usual, with stalls selling New Year goods packed side by side, their tables laden with gleaming golden ornaments and all kinds of sweets and treats she couldn’t name, cramming the entire street full to bursting.
Xuan Xi squeezed through the crowd and finally spotted a silver hairpin at a small stall.
Etched on the hairpin was a delicate plum blossom, beautiful, shimmering with a silvery-white light.
It reminded her of SigrdrÃfa’s hair, which was the same color, beautiful and silky and smooth.
She paid, tucked the hairpin into a small cloth pouch, and kept it close to her.
When she reached the street corner, she stopped again, because there was a shop selling Eastern accessories.
In the window display lay a dark cyan silk scarf, its color matching her own hair.
Xuan Xi stood in front of the window for a long while, imagining what Sige would look like wearing that scarf—silvery-white hair paired with a dark cyan scarf.
The picture in her mind was truly lovely.
She paid again, folded the scarf carefully, put it in her pocket, and quickened her pace on the way back.
When she pushed open the door, the forge fire inside the blacksmith shop was burning strong, its glow filling the whole room with warmth.
She heard voices—not just Hellas’s.
Another voice, low and even, was pleasant to listen to, and it sounded familiar.
Xuan Xi stepped into the inner room and froze, because she knew that person.
SigrdrÃfa sat on a wooden chair by the fire, her silvery-white hair loose and unbound.
Today she wore a light gray long coat with a sliver of white sweater peeking out at the collar, and a deep blue scarf wrapped around her neck.
In her hands, she held a teacup—the very one Xuan Xi usually used.
She sat there talking with Hellas, her voice soft, but every word clear and distinct.
Her eyes reflected the warm glow of the fire.
Hellas sat across from her, also holding a teacup.
His expression was far gentler than usual, missing the silent, hard edge he carried while working at the forge.
There was even a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
Xuan Xi stood at the doorway, unmelted snowflakes still clinging to her scarf, her hand gripping the little cloth pouch with the silver hairpin.
Hellas noticed her first and waved her over, “You’re back?”
SigrdrÃfa turned too, and their eyes met.
She looked at Xuan Xi, and the corners of her eyes curved slightly—the trace of a smile.
“Happy New Year, Xuan Xi,” she said.
Xuan Xi took off her scarf and hung it on the hook by the door, then walked over and sat down beside her.
The wooden chair was a little low, so when she sat, their knees bumped together.
“Why are you here?” Xuan Xi’s voice came out more excited than she’d expected.
“I told you I’d come find you when I had the time.” SigrdrÃfa took a sip from her teacup, a note of delight in her tone.
“My parents went off on a honeymoon. No one’s home.”
Xuan Xi blinked and asked, “A honeymoon? For the New Year?”
“Yeah. They go out every New Year, it’s just that this time they didn’t bring me along.”
SigrdrÃfa’s gaze drifted back to the fire, flames dancing in her pupils.
“Mother told me that the New Year should be spent with someone you like. So I came.”
Xuan Xi looked at her profile.
This Sige was completely different from the cold, unapproachable lady of the Academy.
This Sige was especially easy to be around.
Hellas stood up, set his teacup on the table, and dusted off his apron.
“I’ll start on dinner. You two take your time.”
He glanced at Xuan Xi, and in his gray-brown eyes was an expression hard to define—something like relief, or perhaps something else.
Without saying more, he turned and went into the kitchen.
Before long, the sounds of a spatula scraping against a pan and the rush of water from the faucet drifted out of the kitchen, along with Hellas humming a tune.
Xuan Xi had never heard Hellas hum before.
He was terribly off-key, but he hummed with pure joy.
“What did you talk about with my dad?” Xuan Xi asked in a hushed voice, fishing for information.
“That you train very hard at the Academy, that your grades are excellent, and that you’re popular there.”
SigrdrÃfa’s tone was calm.
“That you’ve made friends, and that your Water Spells are getting more and more polished.”
Xuan Xi opened her mouth, “That’s all?”
“Also that you don’t take care of yourself, that you’re picky with food, and that you don’t say anything even when you’re hurt.” Sige had a hint of mischief in her voice as she said it.
Xuan Xi buried her face in her hands and shook her head helplessly.
“How could you tell him all that?”
SigrdrÃfa didn’t answer.
Instead, she reached out and brushed the strand of hair hanging by Xuan Xi’s cheek behind her ear.
Her fingertips were cool, tracing lightly across Xuan Xi’s face before coming to rest at her chin.
“And I told him you’re very pretty. This lady likes you a lot.”
Xuan Xi lowered her hands and stared wide-eyed at SigrdrÃfa.
She couldn’t tell whether Sige was joking or being serious, because Sige rarely joked.
Before Xuan Xi could sort it out, dinner was ready.
Tonight’s meal was especially lavish: roast beef, mashed potatoes, creamy mushroom soup, vegetable salad, and an entire loaf of freshly baked bread.
Hellas had wiped down the new solid-wood table until it gleamed, laid out the knives and forks neatly, and set out the wine glasses.
He even brought out the three small white porcelain cups that had been stored in the cabinet—reportedly ones he used to drink with friends in his youth, tucked away for years.
This was their first time being used today.
Hellas poured a cup for each of the two girls, then one for himself.
He raised his glass, his gray-brown eyes resting on the two young people across from him.
“Happy New Year!”
“Happy New Year!” Xuan Xi raised her glass.
“Happy New Year!” SigrdrÃfa raised hers as well, her movements gentle, as if afraid of shattering the thin porcelain.
Three cups clinked together with a crisp ring.
Xuan Xi downed hers in one go.
SigrdrÃfa took a small sip, smacked her lips, then finished the rest.
Hellas didn’t usually talk much at the dinner table.
He generally only said “eat more” and “this tastes good.”
But today he said a lot.
Halfway through the meal, he looked at SigrdrÃfa with a solemn air in his eyes, as if there was something he needed to entrust.
“Xuan Xi was a very good child when she was little. Never cried, never fussed. She just didn’t like to talk. Fortunately, she met you all at the Academy, and only then did she start talking more.”
Hearing this, Xuan Xi hid her face behind a piece of bread, using it to cover her bashful expression.
“And she’s been a picky eater since she was young. She won’t touch vegetables.”
Hellas continued, “When she was small, I’d mix the leaves into her rice, and she’d still pick them out one by one.”
SigrdrÃfa glanced at Xuan Xi, a proud light in her eyes.
“I’ll make sure she eats them from now on, Uncle,” she said.
Xuan Xi put the bread down and said, “I can eat vegetables now, actually.”
“In that case, here.” SigrdrÃfa forked a piece of broccoli and placed it on her plate.
Xuan Xi ate it without hesitation.
Hellas watched the scene, smiled, picked up his glass, and took another drink.
The look of relief in his eyes deepened.
After dinner, Hellas volunteered to clean up the dishes and told Xuan Xi and Sige to head upstairs and rest.
He said he needed to stay a bit longer in the shop, because the fire couldn’t be allowed to die and some iron blanks needed to be worked while still hot.
But Xuan Xi knew he was making an excuse.
Every night he used to stay late in the shop, the real reason being that he was afraid of disturbing her sleep.
But tonight, the excuse was especially transparent, because the fire had already been banked long before dark.