Hokuou Kizoku to Moukinzuma no Yukiguni Karigurashi

Chapter 27: Aina’s Circumstances

Volume 1 — The Temporary Snow Country Life of the Northern Nobleman and the Raptor Wife

Having been rebuked by Sieg, Emmerich’s eyes were welling up with even more tears. He was kind of pitiful, so I decided to provide information on that person.

“The person Emmerich likes, I think I know her.”

“!?”

After rummaging through my memories, I talked about a girl who came into contact with a foreigner (Emmerich).

“Her name is Aina.”

“A-Aina, chan.”

“She has a strong personality.”

“It’s alright.”

“……”

Emmerich became assertive the moment I started talking about Aina. It was quite heartwarming.

However, to fulfill his love with her, there are mountains of problems to solve.

“How did you come to like Aina?”

It is a touchy topic, but I have to hear it because it’s important. If I don’t hear a satisfactory answer I won’t help.

I also was thinking that I should listen before I decide anything hastily. However, young man Emmerich started speaking without hesitation unlike his behaviour just moments ago.

“——That day, though there were many villagers, only she came into my sight. The reason was that she had a very sad expression.”

Emmerich said that he saw Aina walking through with a despaired expression, so he was worried. He tried talking to her, but he was strongly spurned.

“Even when I went back to my country, she did not leave my head. Then, I realised that I fell in love with her at first sight.”

He also said that wishes to help her in any way.

“Emmerich, you’ve already heard it from Sieg, but as she explained Aina can’t leave the village.”

“……”

“If you can promise that you’ll be taking up permanent residence here, I might be able to help.”

“……”

“Well, it’s not something to be hastily decided on, so take your time.

I also told him that there are other problems.

Even among the villagers, Aina’s family’s hate for foreigners is strong. I told him that there is a possibility for him to be rejected even before he could approach.

“……Thank goodness.”

“Eh?”

“I wasn’t being hated personally.”

What an enthusiastic man.

However, because that’s how Emmerich is, I believe he might be able to save Aina.

I can somewhat imagine what sort of problem she is having, but since I didn’t hear it from her own mouth, I can’t say it here.

“Alright. I’ll try talking to Aina about Emmerich as much as possible during your stay.”

“!”

“Ah, don’t get your hopes up too much though.”

“Don’t say that! Thank you so much, really, how can I ever repay you.”

“No, no.”

Like so, the counselling session for the tormented young man was over.

On his way back, I saw him banging his head into the front door, so I was worried if he could go back safely. However, Sieg said, “He’s always a bit like that,” telling that it was okay to leave him alone.

◇◇◇

Now I acted out my plan to capture Aina.

As I walked through the village, I saw a suspicious figure creeping about. Going from alley to alley with a bow and arrow, it can only look suspicious.

After observing for a while, I took the time no one was around as a chance and approached the girl who left her back undefended.

“Aina, what are you doing?”

“Hii!?”

The girl turned around with a surprised look. After seeing that it was me, her surprise turned into anger.

“W-what! Why are you always suddenly talking to me!? I got surprised!!”

“So~rry”

Apologising evasively, I went straight to the main topic.

“Hey, I want to speak to you about something, can you come to my house?”

“Hm?”

“I want to hear your story, and I want to tell you something.”

“No.”

“Don’t say that.”

“Grandma said to not follow strangers so no way!”

“……”

A stranger……

When she was young, I even hugged with her, and taught how to handle reindeer reins, but a stranger. Onii-chan’s hurt.

However, since I couldn’t back down now, I decided to use my last resort.

“Aina, when you climbed trees a long time ago, you broke Horus-san’s precious tree, right?”

“——Wha!?”

“Also, there was this time when you flipped over Mrs Meyer’s basket full of berries, and even ruined the handles, right?”

“Th-that’s……”

“See, we’re not strangers, are we?”

“……”

I still have more of her weaknesses. Now, what will she do. When I was about to ask that, the bell signalling noon tolled.

“Eh!? Oh no! It’s this time already!?”

“Hm?”

“L-lunch, I have to make lunch!”

“A-Aina, when will you come?”

“As if, idiot lord!”

“……”

Even as she said some cheeky things, she ran away all flustered.

My strategy to take advantage of her childhood mistakes was a grand failure.

The next day.

I proceeded on my second plan to call her over.

I won’t make the same mistake this time.

It was evident that she reply to my call from the incident yesterday.

Again, I spotted Aina who was moving about suspiciously.

Then, someone spoke to her.

That person was someone I arranged.

“Hello, you’re here again, ojou-san.”

“!”

A good-looking red-haired fellow blocked her path.

Aina looked surprised as Sieg smiled.

The best angler in the village, Sieglinde was deployed for the success of the plan.

“——Can we talk a bit? At my house.”

“……Y-yes!!”

I could not accept the results a bit, but the plan to capture Aina succeeded.

I should have asked Sieg from the beginning, or so I thought at this successful fishing expedition.

When Aina was guided to the count’s mansion, she looked surprised. I think she did not know that Sieg was my wife. I couldn’t tell her that it was because she was not interacting much with others.

I was wondering if it would be better for Aina and Sieg to be only on their own, but Aina said, “Stay here if you want?” so I gladly sat with her.

Across from Sieg, Aina sat, and I sat next to her.

“Why are you sitting next to me!”

“Because I want to see my wife’s face.”

“What the heck!? I didn’t want to hear that!!”

And in this state where there was not a shred of tension, we started talking.

First, about Emmerich.

I speculated that he definitely was going to move here. When I asked Sieg about that, she said the same thing, so I proceeded to talk about that.

“We’re here to talk about a man that likes you.”

“No way!”

“No, it’s true.”

Because of things like her house, her personality among many other problems, there were no brave men who said that they want to marry with Aina.

In this village, talks of marriage are exchanged when a woman turns sixteen. Aina, even after her sixteenth birthday, did not get any news of that.

“Aina, do you remember the blond-haired blue-eyed foreigner that spoke to you?”

“Eh? The foreigner that was with the lord some time ago?”

“Yeah.”

“……Could it be him?”

“Well, yes.”

“No!”

She turned him down so fast that it was almost refreshing. It’s good thing Emmerich isn’t here.

“Aina, we’re not talking about marriage yet.”

“I don’t like foreigners!”

“Aina, Sieglinde is a foreigner too?”

“!”

Aina gasped and apologised to Sieg in a soft voice.

“This is the first time we’re having a proper conversation, isn’t it?”

“……Yes.”

The two introduced themselves. Aina did join up Sieglinde-ism, but it seems that she never went there.

“I wanted to thank you. About that day…… Thank you. If it weren’t for Sieglinde-san passing by, that day —— I might have died.”

“……Aa, that was a coincidence, but I’m glad I was able to help.”

As I thought, the person Sieglinde helped was Aina.

Sieg asked the question that was on our minds.

“But, why were you so deep inside the forest?”

“……”

People who don’t know how to use guns aren’t supposed to go into the deeper parts of the forest. Even still, Aina was just holding a bow and arrows as she wandered deep in the forest.

“Can you tell me the reason?”

“……”

“I promise that I won’t tell anyone.”

After repeatedly opening and closing her mouth for a while, she started talking.

About the burden she was feeling on her tiny back.

“……Five years ago, dad died so there aren’t any men in the prime of their life in my house.”

Aina’s grandfather is the best hunter in the village, he is not that young.

Her grandmother, reputed as the strongest xenophobe, has got ill recently.

Her mother too is listless after she lost her husband.

She was being pessimistic about the future.

“If grandpa is gone, we’ll be in big trouble!! So until that day, we need to save up more money——!!

“……”

“……”

It costs money to buy the raw materials for traditional crafts. However, hunting brings in money without investing much money.

Thus, Aina was going out to the forest to hunt every day.

“……However, I couldn’t catch anything so far. Grandpa didn’t teach me anything.”

“So that’s how it was.”

“I thought the arrow would hit if the target was bigger. I did reflect on my short-sighted actions.”

“Aina……”

I thought it was a reckless thing she did, but I had no right to denounce her.

Also, that problem could be solved once she found a marriage partner.

“Aina, about that foreigner, he’s a gentle and sincere man called Emmerich. He’s also good at hunting. Can’t you try considering him?”

“……”

“He’s one the people I trust in. Please think of him in a positive light.”

“……”

“Please.”

“Al,right. I’ll keep him in a corner of my mind.”

Like so, the fulfilment of Emmerich’s love came closer.

After the talk was over and the tense atmosphere loosened, Sieg cautiously spoke to Aina.

“By the way,”

“What is it?”

“Well, I think Aina-jou is grabbing onto my husband’s hair from a while ago.”

“Eh? Ah, No!”

“……”

“……”

Aina, while talking, was playing around with my hair.

Since I knew she was doing it unconsciously, and since she was focused on talking, I did not point it out.

Since there are many ornaments made out of horsetail on the table, she probably thought it was that.

Because the sugar for coffee was in front of Aina, I leaned in for a moment, and when I was going back to my seat my hair was grabbed.

Realising that she was holding onto someone else’s hair, Aina flung my braided hair away as if she was touching something dirty.

Really, that’s too cruel.

The talk ended up finishing with this topic.

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