When Shade woke from his long sleep and opened his eyes to see the somewhat familiar ceiling, the time had already gone from Wednesday night to seven o'clock on Thursday evening.
After twenty hours of deep sleep, he felt quite refreshed. The bed beneath him was exceptionally soft, the soft quilt was purple, and the light gauze hanging from the golden bedposts told Shade that this was not his home. He wore silk pajamas he had never seen before, the room emitted a soothing fragrance, and the temperature was especially pleasant.
"Miss Galina's manor?"
"Meow~"
The familiar meow made Shade turn to the side. Little Mia, curled into a catball beside the pillow, was staring at him with wide eyes. The cat pressed her furry face close and affectionately rubbed against Shade's cheek. When Shade sat up in bed, she jumped onto his stomach again.
Pulling aside the bed curtains, Shade stroked the cat and turned to look out the window. At seven in the evening, the Sun had already completely set. To his surprise, heavy snow was drifting outside. With Dark Vision, he saw that the vast fields beyond the manor had already been dyed silver white, and even snow had piled up outside the windowsill.
"It snowed again?"
The fluttering snow signaled winter's full arrival. Shade stared blankly at it, feeling as though he had slept through an entire season.
"Are you awake?"
The door opened a crack, and a young brown-haired maid cautiously poked her head in. After receiving Shade's affirmative answer, she lit the room's gas lamp, then lifted her skirt and hurried away to tell the manor's owner the good news.
That maid just now was Wendy Marcus. Sixteen years old, she became a Ring Arcanist this spring and is now at the first ring.