After leaving the park to Kiana and Cecilia so the mother and daughter could have their time together, Theresa and Shun left as well. Cecilia was an adult, and Shun believed she could handle the rest properly.
The cold wind was biting, and large snowflakes fell like goose feathers, blanketing the entire academy in a layer of pure white silver. In this world of ice and snow, two people were walking slowly. The path beneath their feet was completely covered by thick snow, leaving deep footprints with every step.
The reason Theresa had specifically instructed others not to clear the snow on this path was after careful consideration. She knew very well that the Valkyrie students all had excellent physical conditions, and children their age often had a strong interest in playing in the snow.
At this moment, snow suddenly began to fall from the sky, gently landing on the shoulders and hair of the two. Theresa reached out to catch the falling snowflakes, watching them quickly melt in her palm.
After walking one more intersection, the two would part ways. After all, Ana's house wasn't that close to Theresa's.
"Will the next time we meet be next year?" Theresa slowly stopped walking and stood at the intersection. Her beautiful and deep eyes were quietly fixed on Shun before her. Her gaze seemed to contain a thousand words, yet she didn't know what to say.
What she actually wanted to say was that the next time they met would be at his and Ana's wedding. In truth, if she weren't afraid of others noticing something unusual, she really didn't want to attend. But she had promised Ana a long time ago…
"Mm. Actually, that depends on your frame of reference. I don't believe in any religion, so Christmas isn't New Year for me. I'm not from the Far East, so New Year's Day isn't New Year for me either. Spring Festival is the start of a new year for me."
"Who's talking about that, you walking machine!" Theresa suddenly swung her hands. Her cute and delicate little face instantly puffed up with anger. Immediately after, she turned around without hesitation and strode quickly into the distance, as if trying to leave all her dissatisfaction far behind.
"…How did I offend her recently?" Shun stood in place and thought for a long time. In the end, he decided not to dwell on it and activated the Cosmic Juggernaut to return home.
Time quickly arrived at Christmas. For mainstream society outside of Shenzhou, this was an important holiday. Shun didn't dislike celebrating festivals, so he went along with local customs and peacefully celebrated with his family.
Theresa's earlier words didn't seem to be a joke. After that day, she packed her luggage and returned to Schicksal Headquarters. Unfortunately, the life-sized bitter melon hugging pillow Shun had prepared for her was never given to her.
Snowflakes continued to drift down from the sky, as if from that day onward St. Freya had been enveloped by this pure white snow. Although the snowfall wasn't heavy, it never stopped for a moment. Each snowflake danced lightly like a butterfly, slowly falling from the overcast sky.
At this moment, Shun was carrying a Christmas tree together with his father-in-law Friedrich toward the house. Although this was something that could have been solved with the Cosmic Juggernaut, his father-in-law said he wanted to experience it.
Thus, a scene worthy of "Shun and Kobe combining for 83 points" appeared. Friedrich's shoulders didn't even touch the tree trunk.
"You two have worked hard. Come inside quickly, it's cold outside." Because all the smaller trees had already been bought out earlier, they could only get this oversized one. Although the living room had an eight-meter ceiling height, it still couldn't fit this 15-meter-tall fir.
After Shun forcefully planted it into the ground in the courtyard, he followed the others inside. The moment he entered the house, warm heating surrounded him. Shun walked to the fireplace, stretched out his hands, and warmed his slightly frozen fingers.
Although this level of cold meant nothing to him, the physiological functions of the human body were like this. As a carbon-based lifeform, it was perfectly normal for Shun's hands to get frozen stiff.
"You've worked hard. You could have brought the Christmas tree over very quickly, but you still accompanied Dad in his nonsense." Ana came to Shun's side and handed him a bowl of ginger soup, looking every bit the perfect virtuous wife.
"Father-in-law's personality at his age is quite rare. Accompanying him in his nonsense is at least better than competing with some old-fashioned person over who sits more properly."
Elena and Ana were preparing the Christmas meal in the kitchen. Shun sat on the sofa, listening to Friedrich explain the history of Christmas to him.
"You know? The tradition of Christmas trees comes from Germany. Before the 18th century, it wasn't popular outside the German regions."
"Oh, then how did it become popular worldwide after the 18th century?" As a proper straight man, Shun naturally had to react.
"You know Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband, right?"
"I know. He was German, I think. Could it be him…?" In truth, Shun already knew the whole story.
"That's right. In 1841, he installed a decorated Christmas tree at Windsor Castle. In 1848, a woodcut illustration of the royal Christmas tree appeared in a London magazine. These illustrations were published in America the following year, creating a fashionable impression of Christmas trees in upper-class families. From then on, the custom of Christmas trees spread throughout the entire Catholic world."
"As expected of Father-in-law, your knowledge is truly extensive." Shun clinked glasses with Friedrich. Inside was the ginger cola he had boiled.
"Shun, come help me decorate the Christmas tree outside." Ana passed by the two of them carrying a basket full of various decorations and casually pulled Shun away.
"Coming, coming." The Christmas tree outside was too big. It wasn't easy to decorate while it was standing. Shun, who could step on air and fly into the sky with the Cosmic Juggernaut, naturally became the perfect person for the job.
Snowflakes drifted down endlessly, covering the ground with a layer of pure white fluff. The two of them stepped deep and shallow in the thick snow, making creaking sounds, and slowly walked to the tall tree.
Shun bent down, carefully picked up a colorful ribbon from the basket, turned it over in his hands a few times, then looked up and asked Anna beside him in confusion: "How exactly do you wrap this thing around the tree? I've never done this kind of thing before." As he spoke, he scratched his head, showing a slightly embarrassed smile.
After all, in the past Shun had been a proper young man who would say "I'm from Shenzhou, I don't celebrate foreign festivals" on Valentine's Day and Christmas. So, facing the Christmas tree that needed to be decorated with ribbons, Shun appeared somewhat at a loss.
"Hmm~" The corners of Ana's mouth curved up slightly, revealing a mysterious and charming smile. She said softly, "Darling, I'll teach you. There will be so many things to learn now that we're together. But you'll need enough patience and endurance, okay?" With that, she lightly walked to Shun's side, extended her slender hands, and gently held Shun's somewhat clumsy hands.
"First, we need to wrap the ribbon and the ornaments…"