However, Mia still couldn't quite grasp it. Jenny's words suddenly stirred up some memories in her. "Full of wonders? Like when I first arrived in the Northern Desert a few days ago—the sky was clear and sunny, yet it suddenly started snowing?"
Tina finally snapped out of her daze, lifting her head in surprise and exchanging a puzzled glance with Jenny, who looked equally baffled.
"Miss Mia, the cold season up north does come a bit earlier than in the south, but ever since that first wave of chill passed through, it hasn't snowed here again," said Tina, who was quicker on the draw than Jenny.
"How could that be? When I got to Moore Manor, the snow hadn't even melted yet—" Wait, ever since arriving at Moore Manor, she'd had this odd feeling at home. At first, she couldn't put her finger on it, but now it clicked: she hadn't seen a single trace of snow anywhere in Moore Manor.
"But none of us saw any snow at all," Tina said, her brows furrowed in confusion.
"Did you miss the snow because you were holed up in Moore Manor the whole time and never went outside?"
"We've stayed in Moore Manor the whole time and haven't gone out," Jenny replied calmly. They never left the manor because it had practically everything they needed, and besides, they didn't want to deal with the people outside.
"But even then, Miss Mia, the Northern Desert isn't so vast that it snows on the east side while the west stays clear. Are you sure you didn't mix it up?"
"No, I wasn't the only one who saw the snow that day. And like I said, before I even got here, the snow hadn't fully melted." Mia felt more bewildered than Jenny or the others right now. "And that day—" She had also run into something downright strange: she found herself chasing a pure white-furred fox without knowing why, and in the end, she inexplicably passed out.
But when she asked Dick about it afterward, he swore he hadn't seen a thing. He only remembered charging ahead for no reason before face-planting into the snow and blacking out.
Had she been hallucinating, seeing things that weren't there? But no, she felt it so vividly—it had really happened. What on earth was going on...?
"And what, Miss Mia?" Jenny pressed, noticing Mia's vague words.
"And... a few days after that day, I met Arthur." Mia held back from mentioning that baffling incident that still haunted her thoughts. She paused for a moment before going on: "When I met Arthur, the snow hadn't melted yet!"
She knew she'd never forget the sight of encountering Arthur that day. He was sitting on a rock in the snow, playing a long flute, his white hair—alive with a vitality all its own—billowing in the wind, beautiful enough to take your breath away...
Back then, she had even revered Arthur as a god!
Those captivating blue eyes, deep as abysses, could ensnare anyone with just a glance. Though she'd thought it was all a dream the moment she laid eyes on him that day, she was still utterly captivated by him in that dream.
"Leader?" Jenny and Tina exchanged another involuntary glance.
"If it's the leader, then nothing seems strange at all," Jenny murmured to herself.
"What?" Mia, just pulling herself back from her daydream, hadn't caught what she said.
"Nothing. I was just saying, the leader's so busy every day—how could he possibly have time to run off outside?" Jenny changed the subject, because there were some things only the leader could explain to her.
"Is Arthur that busy?" Lately, she'd been seeing him every day, and he'd even taken her on tours of the manor, wandering around everywhere! She'd always assumed Arthur had plenty of free time, just like Mr. Ivan—though the family had so many businesses to manage, he left them all to the young masters and the stewards. Unless it was something truly major, Mr. Ivan never got involved. That left him with ample time to stroll around with the other ladies.
"Of course! The leader has to manage all the livelihoods in the entire Moore Manor!" Sometimes he'd be so swamped he couldn't rest for days or even nights on end. The northern businesses alone already kept him run ragged, and now with plans to expand southward, he was busier than ever. Once Tina finished, she shot a glance at Jenny and saw no sign of interruption, letting out a quiet sigh of relief—this time, she'd finally managed to get her whole thought out.
"Is Arthur really that busy? But these past few days, he's come to the Snow Residence almost every day—" to keep her company, "and didn't he show up really early this morning?"
"Miss Mia, the leader doesn't exactly 'come' to the Snow Residence every day—he actually lives there, which is why he's around every day. The reason he appears before you bright and early isn't just to keep his promise; it's also because the leader wants to see you. He truly cares about you a great deal—you're very important to him." Jenny's words left Mia momentarily stunned; she had no idea Arthur actually lived in the Snow Residence. "Then where in the Snow Residence does he stay?"
"The study."
"The study?" Mia blinked in surprise again. "Doesn't the Snow Residence have any other rooms?"
"No. Aside from the one room you're sleeping in—which is the bedroom—everything else in the Snow Residence is either the study or the living room. It's the private quarters of the Moore family leader; it's never used to host guests, so there are no guest rooms. Miss Mia, the room you're using was originally where the leader slept. Now that it's yours, he's had no choice but to bunk down in the study."
"Then why did he give the room to me?" She truly hadn't realized that Arthur had been sleeping in the study all these past few days—in this freezing weather, how on earth could he stand it?
"Miss Mia, like I told you earlier: the leader cares about you—even more than you care about yourself. All he thinks about is whether you're eating well and staying comfortable; everything else seems unimportant to him."
Hearing Jenny's words, Mia fell deep into thought. She didn't notice the profound, meaningful gaze Jenny fixed on her...