The chart below was made using the information on the "Intermission: Angel's World" and compares the apparent ages of children and teenagers with the same age they would have on Earth, based on the season of their birth. The red dot is when they would become 18 years old if they lived on Earth.

The novel begins in the Summer season of Helen's 15th birthday year.

Helen was born in midwinter (the harshest winter of the century, see her [Winter Child] title). At the beginning of the novel, she is considered 15 years 1 season old. But if she was born on Earth, her age would be 15 years 5 months.

Marcy was born in early spring, just after the defrosting. She is considered to be 15 years 1 season old, but in Earth years, she is actually 16 years 5 months old. A year older than Helen.

Both Marcus and Julius were born in Fall, like the big majority of people. In Earth Years, they are 15 years 10 months old.

For reference, someone born in summer would be exactly 16 years old when they come of age (15th summer).

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In the world of "Troll Reincarnation", children mortality rates are skyrocketing. People have as many babies as possible, in hopes few of them are able to become adults. Orphanages are a social technology yet to be invented. Nobody has the food and resources to spare on children without parents. Orphans are either adopted by friendly families wanting to acquire cheap labor or a heir at any cost. It might sound cruel to our XXI century values, but the common citizen is always at a risk of starvation. They don't have enough to share. And the government / aristocracy couldn't care less.

Society considers children born in winter to be FATED to become feeble and weak, and they are disfranchised at large. This means that society "invests" their scarce resources on the other children, leaving the "children of winter" (with or without title) as a last choice for apprenticeship and marriage. This bias pushes them further down the social ladder.

They are actually younger (and therefore smaller and physically weaker) than children "of the same age" and by being born in winter, they do not receive much nutrition on critical months of infant development. Winter is a month where people eat less, in fear of not having enough provisions to go through to spring. Breastfeeding mothers can fall under severe malnutrition during winter, and it impacts the amount of milk produced.

Helen's condition is somehow better than most because of her merchant family, that is considerably wealthier than a farmer's for example. But the social stigma remains regardless.

By the way, in the whole kingdom, Helen is the only one children born in that winter that was able to survive.

She IS a special snowflake. ^.^

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Helen's wheat blonde hair is very rare. Almost everyone in the whole world has either Brown, Black or Red hair. I know some lighter shades of brown are considered blonde in our Earth, but not there.

Very old people might have white or platinum hair, but to be honest, most people are grandparents at the age of 36, and almost nobody lives to see or hear their great-grandchildren cry.

People associate the blonde hair with a blessing of the harvest goddess (and that is true in Helen's case - not every blonde person has the title). But not everything is wonderful just because one has blonde hair.