Hearing Mia's quick follow-up, the man in white gave a wry smile but soon regained his refined, gentle expression.
"You recognized me?" The man's voice was surprisingly soft and pleasant.
"Yes!" Mia nodded vigorously. "Even though you had your face covered that day, I knew it was you right away because your eyes are so distinctive." She still vividly remembered their first encounter, and she had been secretly hoping to see him again. To meet him so soon filled her with joy.
"Really? A lot of people around here have eyes this color," he said.
"No, it's not like that." Mia shook her head. "I wouldn't mistake them. Your eyes are the most special—I'd recognize them anywhere."
"Oh?" The man raised an eyebrow curiously. "Can you tell me why?"
"Well…" Mia scratched her cheek, troubled. "It's just a feeling. I can't quite explain why…"
"That's okay if you can't put it into words. No need to look so apologetic." Mia's furrowed brow prompted the man to gently reach out to smooth it.
Mia, who had never been treated with such tenderness, widened her eyes in surprise, staring blankly at his warm smile. In that moment, she realized that the fear and hesitation she usually felt around strangers were completely absent in his presence.
All she wanted now was to talk with him, to bask in the gentleness he offered.
As if sensing her emotions, the man gently pulled Mia into his arms, enveloping her completely.
There was no unease, no resistance, no suspicion. Even if this might be a dream, Mia entrusted herself fully to this man she barely knew, because she feared it was a fleeting dream that would vanish upon waking. "This must be a dream, right? Otherwise, everything wouldn't feel so perfect…" In reality, her harsh experiences had numbed her, so even if this was just a beautiful dream, at least she had experienced it.
Her words pierced his heart. He held her tighter, gently nuzzling his face into her soft hair, just as she had once done to him long ago.
His silent tenderness inexplicably stirred Mia's heart, awakening an indescribable sense of familiarity…
"How strange. Have I had this dream before?" Mia murmured to herself, but her words deepened the tenderness in his eyes.
"Your whole body is the color of snow, yet you're so warm and comforting!" Mia said, wrapping her arms around his sturdy waist, sinking deeper into the comfort.
Perhaps she truly felt at ease, as the exhaustion of recent days suddenly overwhelmed her, making her eyelids heavy. But she feared that closing her eyes would make this warmth disappear, so she fought desperately to keep her dry eyes open.
"Would you like to stay with me like this, forever…?" "Mmm…" Whether it was a murmur or a response, Mia's face, now with her eyes closed, bore a contented smile as she sank deeply into a sweet, dark abyss.
Whether her words were an answer or something else, the man in white continued to gaze tenderly at Mia's sleeping face.
At some point, unnoticed, a tall, handsome figure in gray appeared behind the man in white, standing silently for a long time before softly asking, "Leader, is she the one you've been searching for?"
"Yes," the man in white replied, his eyes never leaving the person in his arms.
"So, Leader, your greatest wish has finally come true."
"Yes," the man in white said with a touch of emotion. "I thought after one thousand years, I'd grown used to the feeling of waiting, but I found this wait only made me more impatient."
"…" The man in gray looked at the refined figure before him, sighing inwardly.
Who was the one most deserving of pity? The Leader pitied the hardships and pain Mia had endured for over a decade, but who was there to pity the Leader's one thousand years of searching, loss, waiting, and loneliness…?
The Next Morning
The city gates opened wide. One might have expected the wedding of the eldest son of the Moore family, the northern overlords, to cause a sensation throughout the north. But surprisingly, as the wedding procession entered the city, apart from a few curious onlookers glancing at the bright red carriage, everyone else acted as if the carriages didn't exist.
Perhaps it was because the Moore family always kept a low profile, never making a grand spectacle. Even for the marriage of their eldest son, they maintained their usual understated approach. What truly shocked people, however, was that the person sent to receive the bride wasn't Arthur, the eldest son, but the family's butler!
No one knew why the Moore family had done this, but the obvious slight had already infuriated Miss Anna Ivan. Unable to confront them directly, she sought out the elder who had arranged the marriage proposal, only to be told it was a local custom. With no other choice, Anna reluctantly boarded the carriage arranged by the Moore family, slowly making her way into their estate. After all, this was the distant northern wilderness, far from the southern Ivan family. She was no longer the esteemed Miss Ivan but a woman married far from home, with no one to rely on.
Even so, Anna felt deeply angered and wronged. The servants walking behind the bridal carriage were equally indignant. "I really don't understand how the Moore family can do this! Even if it's a northern custom, so what? Miss Ivan comes from a prominent, wealthy family in the south. How can they disrespect her like this, making her board the carriage so humiliatingly? At the very least, they should follow our southern customs and have the groom come to receive the bride! Sending just a butler to handle it—what is this supposed to mean?"