The Northern Grand Duke’s Hamster

Knock, knock.

Even at the short and clear sound of knocking, Kyle gave no response.

I silently counted to three before stepping into the study. He was sitting on the sofa in the same posture as before, as if lost in deep thought.

The silence that filled the room seemed to embody his solitude. I approached Kyle and finally managed to part my dry lips.

“What are you worrying about so much?”

“……I said I would kill him.”

“Who are you talking about?”

“My brother.”

Brother.

I rolled that word around in my mouth.

Kyle, Belial, and Lorenz had spent their childhood together in the imperial palace. Of course, one couldn’t say they had a good relationship back then, but that was due to the circumstances of the adults. It wasn’t as if those children truly resented or hated each other. Surely, they had once clashed wooden swords and celebrated each other’s birthdays.

And yet, I said I would kill him.

When had he said that? And how much must young Kyle’s heart have crumbled before he uttered those words?

I didn’t know the details, but perhaps that was the reason he had been exiled to the North. After all, Kyle—Jane’s son, the child of a concubine—must have been nothing but a thorn in the side of those in the imperial palace.

I sat down beside Kyle and quietly observed his face. Beneath the heavy shadows cast over him, regret and remorse swirled in a tangled mess.

“At first, I wanted to survive out of sheer defiance. I wanted to prove with my very existence that the world wouldn’t always go the way they wanted. And I wanted to protest. To show them that not every life they wished to erase could simply disappear. So I endured. I survived. I clung on and—no matter what—I survived….”

To him, there was likely no word more loathsome than survival. Because merely breathing wasn’t enough to truly live.

You needed food when it was time to eat, a place to rest when the sun went down. If your body grew cold, you had to put on more clothes, and to make all that possible, you ultimately needed money.

Yes. That was it.

The reason I had been so deeply moved by Kyle in The Heart of Winter. His life, exiled to the North, had mirrored mine.

“…….”

I couldn’t say anything. No words could grasp the depth of sorrow woven into his voice.

But I could at least understand that the time he had endured had been colder, rougher, and lonelier than even the harshest winter in the North.

“……But revenge isn’t everything. It took me a long time to realize that. Even if I took revenge, it wouldn’t bring me peace or happiness. I will never forgive the people of the House of Duke Klein, not even on the day I die. But I also won’t waste my entire life on revenge.”

Kyle was looking at me now. His unwavering red eyes carved deep into my mind.

“……Why?”

The voice I barely managed to squeeze out was pitiful. The end cracked slightly, even to my own ears.

But I had to ask.

Because Kyle’s purpose, as revealed by the system, had been revenge. And even if he had lived solely for that purpose, no one could have blamed him.

“Because I found something to love. Something I wanted to protect.”

His voice was gentle as he spoke those words. His gaze was on me, and though I knew better, I couldn’t help but feel as if he were speaking directly to me.

I rubbed the back of my suddenly warm neck and shifted my body toward the sofa’s armrest.

“Even so, sometimes I wonder… If I abandon my revenge for this, won’t my mother’s death still remain unjust and tragic?”

His voice was calm, unshaken. Yet that only made his words feel all the more sorrowful. I lifted my head abruptly, like someone burned by fire, and instinctively spoke.

“No! She would say you did the right thing….”

But my words never reached their end.

Kyle had leaned in at some point, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me toward him.

I opened and closed my mouth a few times before finally murmuring the rest of my sentence, my lips brushing against the heat of his breath.

“Isn’t that what parents want? For their children to be happy? To survive and think, ‘Ah, I’m glad I was born’….”

I clenched my jaw and fell silent, my face contorting slightly. A faint image surfaced in my mind—the faces of my parents, now so distant that I could no longer recall them clearly.

I couldn’t remember the shape of their eyes and nose, the way they smiled, or the sound of their voices calling my name. I could no longer draw their features in my mind.

But I did know one thing for certain.

They would have wanted me to live happily.

Not to be exploited in my uncle’s house. Not to accept a meaningless death. They would have wanted me to live in a world that was softer, kinder.

A world with someone like Kyle in it.

I reached out and embraced him. And he, in turn, pulled me into a crushing embrace.

“They would say you did something incredible. That you made the right choice. That those who are gone should be carried in your heart, but that you should still laugh more tomorrow than you did today.”

“Strangely enough… when you say it, I think that might really be true.”

I couldn’t tell if he meant it, but somehow, his words felt like a comfort to me.

I let out a breath, half laughter, and patted him a few times. Then, belatedly, I tried to pull away.

Honestly, I’d been feeling suffocated for a while now. Just how strong was he?

“……Hey.”

But no matter how much I tried to move back, my waist remained firmly locked in his arms.

Kyle had no intention of letting me go. Or rather, he had no intention of dropping the facade of perfection in his eyes, and I let out a quiet sigh as I looked at him. Well, I still had some time left before Reload anyway.

“If you don’t want to let go, at least keep answering my questions. Was your revenge meant to be a rebellion?”

“Yeah. My mother was supposed to be Serena. But the current Serena—Duke Klein’s people—framed her and had her unjustly exiled. She wandered through the cold back alleys, raising me on her own. From then until she died, and until I was taken into the imperial palace.”

“……You never had any desire for the throne? I mean, you do have a legitimate claim to it.”

“I’d be lying if I said I never thought about it. But not anymore. That damned throne? They can fight over it among themselves for all I care.”

Kyle spoke indifferently, then quietly added,

“This is my home.”

I didn’t need him to say it. It was obvious how much he cared for this land and its people. Even as an outsider who had only been here a short time, I could see it clearly.

It had been the same in The Heart of Winter. Even in a land of nothing but sheer cliffs and endless snow, the people here had been happier than those in the imperial capital.

……Then why?

Why did the original story lead to treason?

If things continued like this, Kyle would give up on rebellion. He would simply want to live in peace with his people.

Was this another trap laid by Belial or Lorenz? It was already exhausting dealing with just one of them, but with both involved, there was no clear solution. Either way, I’d figure something out by keeping an eye on them. I wouldn’t be running into them anytime soon, anyway.

After organizing my thoughts, I looked up at Kyle. Then I placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a light pat.

“Then let’s expand this home of yours a bit more. Right now, Blake Territory relies on you way too much.”

“……I can’t exactly deny that.”

“Trade is rare, and supplies are barely trickling in. Honestly, I have no idea how this place has grown as much as it has. Though I suppose that’s all thanks to you, isn’t it?”

“……Hmph.”

“I mean, this land is already harsh and difficult to live in, but it’s also too isolated. If you’re ever away for a long time, this place could be in danger.”

“That’s true.”

Kyle was listening seriously to my words. And at some point, I had started gesturing passionately while still sitting in his arms.

“It won’t happen overnight, but you should slowly start opening up. Politically, you shouldn’t remain isolated. The same goes for the economy.”

That meant allies. He needed allies.

Kyle was talented but incredibly stubborn. While he had strong bonds with the people of the North, those connections were limited to just that—the North.

I’ve never seen him maintain good relations with nobles outside his territory.

That kind of approach made him vulnerable.

Fortunately, Kyle nodded. He didn’t interrupt me, simply waiting for me to continue.

“And you need to find out who attacked Prince Belial. Whoever they are, they aren’t your allies. You can’t afford to blindly join hands with someone only to be stabbed in the back later.”

“They say ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend.’”

“That’s not always true.”

“Do you have a suspect?”

“……Who knows. That’s confidential monster studies.”

At last, I slipped out of his embrace.

Kyle still looked skeptical, but I had grown immune to his scrutiny by now.

“You’re suspiciously evasive.”

“I thought you agreed to let it slide.”

I checked the system window—five minutes left. Time to start preparing to leave.

I glanced at Kyle once, then at the hamster house, and finally, I added one last piece of advice.

“You have to look into this.”

“I will.”

“Good. Then I’ll—”

“Where do you disappear to every time? I never see you anywhere in the castle.”

“Don’t try to find out. You’ll get hurt.”

With nothing better to say, I deflected again.

At this point, Kyle honestly amazed me.

I had no clear identity, had never properly explained anything to him, and yet he kept me close.

Was it just trust in his people?

Or was it because… he really was starting to care?

“……What are you thinking?”

I quickly shook my head and hurried out of the room.

All that time spent running in a hamster wheel finally paid off. At least my legs were faster now than when I was alive.