Although Shade did not want anyone else accompanying him, Vanessa still insisted that he bring the Night Watchman before allowing him to set out. To make things easier, Ellie and Little Liana, who had already come up the mountain with everyone to play, were temporarily "recruited." Shade and Siris each rode a Little Unicorn, while Claire flew alongside them.
The three traveled from the South Slope of the Snow Mountain to its northern side, eventually landing on a somewhat secluded mudflat.
Valentine Halonin was indeed here—at least, the person before them looked like Valentine Halonin. She was doing nothing, merely standing on the mudflat and gazing out at the sea through the falling snow. From behind, she truly looked like a graceful lady, even carrying a faint air of sorrow as she faced the ocean. But Shade knew perfectly well that this was an effect she had deliberately cultivated.
After landing, the two Little Unicorns displayed intense hostility toward her. These naturally innocent and kind creatures utterly despised the woman.
Yet the woman watching the sea did not leave because of their arrival. Only when Shade jumped down from Ellie's back and approached her together with Claire and Siris did she finally turn away from the sea:
"Unicorns."
She smiled at the two little beasts whom Shade had forbidden from approaching any further:
"They are even more beautiful than I imagined in my girlhood. Your appearance this time is far more polite than when you broke into my home last time. So, would you like to try again? Perhaps this time, you have found the main body."
"I'm here to deliver a letter. Baron Samir asked me to give you one."
As Shade spoke, he tossed the Baron's letter over. Though the wind and snow by the sea were rather