Winter snow swirled through the air.
The first snowfall in the southern region came a little late, but it arrived in overwhelming force. Snowflakes poured endlessly from the sky, painting the lead-gray heavens with vast desolation. That hazy sky seemed to reflect the future of the two nations as well—murky and chaotic, with no direction in sight.
The pool in the academy district had frozen beneath a thick layer of ice, while a foot of snow had piled up on its surface and in the nearby flowerbeds. Cold winds blew from the direction of the great Clock Tower, sweeping snow from the roofs of neighboring buildings and casting broad curtains of white across the corridors and open courtyards. In such weather, scarcely any students or teachers could be seen outside.
Winter break had arrived at the Imperial Academy. Aside from the officer cadets, who still had a few days to wait before leaving for the holidays, most of the academy's students had already departed.
A petite, slender figure in a black academy uniform hurried through the first-floor corridor of the dormitory building, her pale gray hair falling behind her. The howling wind outside occasionally passed through the windows and echoed through the building. She would sometimes raise her head to glance outside, but through the crystal glass windows, all she could see was the ceaseless snow and the academy grounds growing ever more desolate beneath it.
This winter... was so cold.
The petite figure barely paused in the corridor. She quickly passed through a door and entered the deeper part of the dormitory area. Here, at last, the cold and empty building showed a trace of human presence—faint voices drifted from several distant rooms, accompanied now and then by brief notes from bagpipes or concertinas. The sounds eased her expression