Winnie's power to change the climate came from her racial talent rather than any spellcasting effect. To Shade, it looked as though she had merely stood at the edge of the cliff and closed her eyes, while the snow around them gradually grew lighter.
She said it would take a little longer for the climate in the area to change completely. Shade tightened the scarf around his neck—it had been a Year-End Festival gift from Iluna in Year 1853—and took the initiative to speak of the past again.
When he had left on friday night, Shade had only confirmed that Winnie truly was Winnie. There had been many things he had not asked. Now, as he looked at her back, it felt as though time had returned to that night when he spoke with a god by the lake:
"After everything back then ended, did Miss Novare and Miss Coens get married?"
The maid answered softly:
"Yes. It happened in the tenth year after you left. They had been engaged for a long time, but Miss Coens's hunter companions believed she should not marry a Bloodkin, and many troubles arose during that time.
Miss Novare failed to become a clan elder, so she eloped with Miss Coens. They first traveled the world together. After I left the Zalas Society, they lived with me for a time at the northern end of the world. It was not until Miss Novare advanced to the Thirteenth Order and returned to the civilized world with Miss Coens that all the disputes finally settled."
That had been a good ending for them as well.
"Then what happened to Lady Gerd?"
"She returned to the Zalas Society and reached a high rank before becoming an Angel. She sometimes came to the northern end of the world