Make the North Sea Great Again
"This note was left by the mirror?"
"Yes."
"Security was supposed to be airtight..."
After discovering the note—a declaration of war threatening to take my life—the dungeon raid team went into high alert.
They'd made sure not even a single ant could slip into the palace lord's quarters, yet someone had left this behind. No wonder everyone was shocked.
"It wasn't the maids, was it?"
"If it was, I'd have known about it."
Obviously. The secret delivery service wasn't the maids.
They'd been glued to my side the whole time, and more importantly, there was no way ordinary civilians like them could pull something like this off without me noticing.
So, really, there was only one possibility left.
"Someone must have planted it in advance."
"Which means..."
"There's a high chance of an inside job."
A spy in the Ice Palace.
With the palace lord inauguration right around the corner, the only ones who could enter the lord's quarters were palace insiders. Well, plenty of people came and went even before the ceremony, so pinpointing the culprit would be next to impossible.
Should I loop right now?
I hesitated at the thought.
Looping back to last night and figuring out who entered the quarters might give me a lead.
But I soon scrapped the idea.
There was no guarantee the traitor would act the same way after a loop, and this ability worked best when used after seeing results.
"For now, let's beef up security for the inauguration. The Association and Cheonam Guild will take turns providing escorts."
"What about postponing the ceremony..."
"No can do. It might mess up the dungeon clear conditions."
"To think someone would announce they're killing the lord at the inauguration... what kind of lunatic...?"
Cheonam Guild members, Senior Hyeji, and Agent Juyeong were frantically exchanging opinions.
That was the Association's job in situations like this—offering advice and guiding wise decisions.
...So why wasn't I included in the meeting? I felt a little left out.
"Whoa, they're swarming like a pack of dogs."
"The entire North Sea is gathering, after all."
Time passed, and the hour of the horse arrived—the inauguration ceremony (between 7 and 9 p.m.) was underway.
Seeing the snowfield, which had been empty just yesterday, now packed with people made me feel like some celebrity.
Though, honestly, my status was incomparable to any idol's.
"My lord, it's almost time to prepare."
"Got it. I'll head out soon."
I checked my outfit at the maid's voice from outside the door. Naturally, tonight's star was me.
Every move I made would draw the eyes of everyone gathered here.
So... paying at least some attention to my appearance was just good manners, right?
"Hmm... passable?"
"Even a woman would fall for you."
"Aw, you're just inflating my ego."
"It's true."
Four hours of enduring the maids' primping and Yujin's braiding had left me awkward in the mirror—my first time properly dolled up since becoming a woman.
"A real man wouldn't wear something this frilly..."
"Quit whining and get out there. Everyone's waiting."
"Yeees..."
Fine, duty calls. A quick sigh, then I opened the door and stepped out.
The massive crowd gathered for the inauguration and the towering platform overlooking them all.
As I walked the snowy path toward the platform steps, hundreds of thousands of eyes locked onto me.
"Waaaaah!!!"
"It's the palace lord!!"
The cheers swelled with every step. A casual wave, and the roars exploded. I couldn't help but chuckle.
"A nation-toppling beauty!"
"They say she dominated the selection with overwhelming talent!"
"Ahh, my lord, take me!"
"Be my bride!!"
Who just proposed to me? I memorized that face.
"My lord, let's begin."
"Understood."
The steps ended, and I ascended the dizzyingly high platform where the grand elder awaited.
"We now commence the inauguration of the 33rd North Sea Ice Palace Lord!!"
"Waaaaah!!!!"
His roar, infused with inner power, drew screams from the entire crowd. The deafening cheers made my ears ring and my nerves tingle, but I calmly raised a hand to quiet them.
"The palace lord has words for you all—silence!!"
Now came my first speech as North Sea Ice Palace Lord.
With this being the masses' first glimpse of my face, it was a critically important moment.
"Greetings. I am Baek Sion, honored to become master of the North Sea Ice Palace."
My voice, laced with inner power, spread across the snowfield. From here, I just needed to stick to the script Senior Hyeji wrote.
Well, I'd flubbed it once mid-loop, but no stumbles this time.
"The winds of the North Sea are ever cold, and we have lived within them. In that chill, we learned the law of the unyielding."
My voice echoed through the hushed crowd.
"To stand here today, I faced countless trials. In every moment, I chose one path: to overcome."
Some would empathize, others dismiss it as nonsense.
"But from now on, it will be different. No longer will I fight merely for my own victory—I will help you prevail!"
Didn't matter. I could draw out their true hearts anyway.
"Here, today, I swear: As North Sea Ice Palace Lord, I shall be the unbreakable wall amid any storm!"
I raised my voice and stepped forward.
In that instant, as all eyes fixed on me and I on them—
A whistle cut the wind, something grazing my ear.
"Assassination!"
"My lord, get down!!"
Glancing right: an arrow embedded in the ground, blood dripping from my ear.
An assassin had infiltrated the inauguration.
"Locate the enemy!"
"Protect the lord first!"
"Kyaaah!!"
The first arrow was just the opener. A volley soon rained down on me.
Arrows piercing the North Sea's frigid winds.
"You think the North Sea a joke?!"
I bellowed theatrically, inner power surging, drew my sword, and deflected, parried, blocked each one.
After several exchanges, minutes later, the arrow storm ceased.
—Until next time.
Only that distant cry from the snow-capped peaks remained.
"They're heading to the mountains! Prepare!"
"Take the lord to the physician!"
As everyone rushed to shield me, I boldly raised my fist before the crowd and shouted.
"The North Sea bows to no arrows! We triumphed today, and we shall tomorrow!"
Standing firm before the masses despite the brush with death.
In the martial world, this painted me as the bold young hero every aspirant dreamed of—a leader charging at the forefront.
Exactly the elements people ate up.
"...A true palace lord!"
"Guardian of the North Sea!"
"Master of the new snowfields!!"
The entire North Sea praised and exalted me.
Even as I descended the platform and vanished from sight, the cheers persisted.
"Ah, can you hear me? The radio's kinda glitchy."
—Yeah. Loud and clear.
"How was the acting? Felt a bit shaky."
—A little rough around the edges, but it'll do. Innocently so.
"Hey, aim properly next time. You only nicked my ear."
—You think sniping from that range is easy? I pulled it off as a warning shot because it's me.
Truth be told, this was all WWE theater.
Agent Juyeong and I had cooked up this go-stop scam.
If the mystery man planned to assassinate me, why not stage our own show first and throw everything into chaos before he could move? The plan worked perfectly—we derailed the situation and wrapped up the inauguration without giving him an opening.
"Right on plan!"
Capturing the North Sea folk's hearts was a breeze.
The arrows were prepped by Agent Juyeong on the peaks, the voice a recording from a deep-voiced Cheonam Guild member. Plant a few shills in the crowd, and manipulating the naive North Sea masses was child's play.
—The crowd's loving it.
"Heh... the public are fools."
—Keep that up, and karma's gonna bite you.
"Even the U.S. president got elected this way."
—Pretty sure he didn't rig it like you.
Politics always hinges on strategy.
A tale that buzzed among the North Sea people for days.
The new palace lord's shocking debut.
The previous lord was an incompetent shithead who blew 60% of taxes on war prep and got wrecked by Central Plains martial artists weekly. But this one? Different vibes dominated the chatter.
"Man, you should've heard that bold cry!"
"Tch tch... she's still the old lord's daughter. Like father, like daughter."
"No way! She blocked arrows herself in front of the maids to protect them!"
"Whaa... doing that much for her subordinates?"
"Yeah!"
Nation-toppling looks, peerless martial arts despite her youth, charisma that ensnared all.
Nearly everyone in the North Sea sang her praises.
And so, something was inevitably decided...
A nickname—the second name of every martial artist.
Hers was born.
"Sion, word is the people gave you a nickname."
Protecting the North Sea folk, vowing to overcome together—that cry. Deflecting arrows faster than the wind like an ironclad wall, all while boasting peerless beauty. Thus, the title.
"Snow Wall Sword Queen..."
"I know, Senior..."
"So why the funeral face? It's pretty cool."
But the recipient hated it.
To the point of moping around with a gloomy expression all day.
Because...
"Sword Queen sounds like a chicken coop!!"
"...That's seriously why?"
Sword Fairy would've been way cooler.
Seeing her childish junior, Agent Kim Hyeji's mind went blank.