Chapter 976

After bidding farewell to the four elderly gentlemen, the days grew steadily colder. Winters in Sea City were damp and bone-deep—not a flake of snow in sight, yet the wind cut like invisible knives, slicing through flesh and settling in the marrow. By then, the Wallace family and Frederick had already returned to the capital. Back when Jane was still around, the household always found excuses to gather. But now, with her gone, everyone seemed impossibly busy. The adults barely had a moment to breathe, and even Bryan, Harold, and Mina were constantly on the move. Only Neithan remained idle. When the first snow finally fell in the capital, the tiny figure bundled in a red down jacket became the sole reveler in the courtyard—sledding, building snowmen, and tumbling through the snow with unbridled joy. His crimson scarf and matching hat made him look like a little fortune-bringing doll, a vibrant splash of life amid the endless white. Returning from school, Bryan froze at the sight of that