A fresh layer of snow had blanketed the rooftops overnight.
The midday sun shone on the snow, making the whole town seem lazy and drowsy.
However, something unusual was happening in front of the largest house in town.
A man wearing a Dark Green Silk Scarf was waving half a dead branch he'd picked up, gesturing at several Wild Dogs curled up in the distance to bask in the sun. He shouted, "Stay away from me! You damned Hellhounds! You want to ruin my wedding? No chance!"
A few bruises still lingered on his face, but his eyes and brows brimmed with a happiness that was almost blissful.
Passersby glanced at him. Some pointed, while others covered their mouths and snickered.
"Hey! Look at that lunatic!"
"There he goes again. What a poor soul. He used to seem like such a tough guy. How'd he suddenly go crazy?"
Jared paid no attention to the comments and laughter around him.
In his eyes, all that pointing and whispering was just envy and jealousy over his impending marriage to Serina.
After all, who could turn down a noblewoman who was powerful, beautiful, and deeply in love with him?
"Hey! You over there! The girl selling flowers!"
His eyes suddenly lit up, and he strode over to a little girl carrying a basket of flowers. She shrank back in fright.
Jared fumbled around in his clothes for a while, then pulled out a slightly bent copper nail and slapped it into the girl's basket with a grand flourish. "I'll take this red one! Serina used to love red. I'm going to put it in her hair myself."
The little girl looked at him timidly, then at the copper nail. In the end, she handed him the flower and ran off as fast as