"Do you have to leave so soon?" A young man groaned while standing at the entrance of a large mansion.

Clothed in thick woolen attire, covering his body from his neck to his toe, there was not an inch of skin visible.

After all, the air here was cold enough to freeze someone to death which prompted him to don thick clothes the moment he reached this place.

The only way one could make out his identity was by looking at his face.

Thick black hair with pure white irises, something deemed uncommon in this great kingdom of Rosenhyde.

Looking at the reddened nose of the young man, it was easy to say that the freezing temperature here was not what he had expected even during summertime.

The young boy at whom those words had been directed, turned around to face his friend.

"You can stay here for as long as you want but I need to make haste." He replied without any intention of changing his mind.

Sevenz Oca, the young man from earlier, sighed after noticing the look of determination on his friend's face.

"If that is what you want. I do not plan on traveling any time soon so I will be grateful for your hospitality." He bowed to express his gratitude.

The host was about to leave the mansion on an urgent mission but the guest was requesting to stay behind shamelessly.

However, this young boy did not find fault with him but only nodded in acceptance of his request.

The men around them shook their heads as they had witnessed the friendship between this odd pair for many days now.

They spoke rude words to each other, shocking the others speechless but they did not have any animosity between them.

This friendship they had been observing for quite a while since the two had arrived together with their entourage.

This entire estate and the fief belonged to their Master, the young prince of the Kingdom, Prince Draco Rosenhyde.

A week ago, Prince Draco and his friend Sevenz Oca had arrived at the Roschester fief on the day that they had informed the Butler of this mansion in advance.

Everything was prepared for the Master, his guest, and the people accompanying them.

For the past week, they had witnessed their cool-headed master engaging in arguments over small matters with this young man from foreign origins.

Watching their Master behave this way for the first time made them realize that he was a boy in his teenages but had been shouldering such heavy responsibilities from a young age.

This reminder made them vow to protect and serve the Master well, who looked after them and gave them a place to stay.

However, their Master's stay at the Roschester fief had come to an abrupt end after he received word from his shadow guards last night.

He had left most of his guards back at the Capital and only traveled with two of his best men to avoid suspicion among the rest of the noble families.

Therefore, when news reached their mansion about the outbreak of a strange disease in the South, the Prince decided to head back to the Capital.

Being a devoted and loving younger brother, he did not wish for his brother, the King, to endure this tough time alone.

He chose to stay by his brother's side, lending him his aid in whatever way that he could.

When the Master's friend learned of this decision, he had rushed over to help change his mind but had failed to do so.

Right now, the Butler of the Roschester mansion stood with his men as they were ready to bid farewell to their Master soon.

"Stay safe!" Sevenz yelled when Prince Draco turned around to depart from this mansion.

The young prince nodded his head without halting in his steps as he entered the carriage prepared for him.

Roschester fief was at the pinnacle of the Kingdom, the northernmost point of the land.

This land faced moderate to severe snowfall throughout the year.

To those who were born here, the snow would not seem so harsh but for the visitors who came up here once in a way, the snow would be cruel enough to make them suffer from frostbite.

This was the reason why Sevenz was covered from head to toe yet he turned red due to the severely frigid air that circulated around them.

Almost every person who had not been born in the hand of Roschester faced the same fate.

However, there was an anomaly to this scenario and that was none other than their current Master.

Though Prince Draco was born in the Capital to King Greggor and Concubine Yuliza and had never set foot inside this fief throughout his childhood years, he was never affected by the snow.

This fief had a saying which many of the citizens here believed strongly.

'Roschester was a kind mother to its children.'

The meaning behind this statement was that the children, its citizens, were born with the ability to withstand the severe cold but the outsiders who appeared here for whatever reason would not be spared.

Technically, Prince Draco should not have been able to withstand this cold temperature as he had been brought up in Amarthea all along.

This had been voiced out by certain minor branch families of Roschester who were vying for the title of Grand Duke which had been left vacant for a long time.

Sadly, those who objected to the Prince taking over the responsibility of the fief were proven wrong after witnessing that the young boy was fine even in this cold place.

Even the King who had visited the fief for the first time with his little brother was not spared.

King Ophire had to struggle to keep himself warm by using his internal energy, lest he shudders and his teeth chatter due to the cold yet the little boy who had accompanied him was just fine.

The land of Roschester had, in this way, proclaimed Prince Draco as one of her own children and did not harm him despite his birth taking place in a different land.

This alone proved that he was worthy of ruling this fief, silencing those who had tried to object to this change in the authority being proposed by the King himself.

Now, that same young boy was inside a carriage that was rushing towards the Capital where his brother, the King, might be in distress over the situation of his Kingdom.

Sevenz had heard about these stories from the Butler and other servants in this mansion.

Therefore, he was more than impressed to hear that his friend was so capable that he was even able to gain the approval and support of the people around him.

However, a sneeze stopped these thoughts as another popped up in his mind.

'I should have kept that one for myself.' Sevenz shuddered when the breeze hit his face and body.

The carriage was already out of sight so the Master of Ocular hurried inside for fear of freezing to his death just by standing out here.

Rubbing his arms, he frowned as he wished that he had the item which he had given to his best friend as a birthday present last year.

The item he was talking about was one among the many presents that he had given to Yvonne St. Claire, his best friend.

The first time they had officially met, he had given her two presents, and the next time he visited her home, he brought more along to win over her disgruntled family members.

However, the main present he had given for her birthday was something invaluable and rare.

He had traveled a long way to find it and felt that this would suit the little girl the best.

A necklace made of gold with a sparkling silver pendant at the center.

This was the gift that Sevenz was now jealous and pouting that he did not possess.

While the necklace seemed ordinary and the pendant looked like shiny glass, there was something special about it that others did not know.

It looks like a cheap trinket but it was rather helpful, proving that looks weren't all that mattered.

The main purpose of that necklace was one he could use right at this moment.

'Cooling properties during the heat and heating properties during the cold.' He recalled the function of the pendant.

The pendant rested on the chest of the wearer and protected them from their surrounding atmosphere.

If Yvonne wore that necklace and her surroundings were too hot then the pendant would engulf her in a cooling aura and vice versa in the cold.

Right now the shivering young man was wishing he still had that pendant that might have saved him from this terrible cold.