Frostheim (4)
"Ria, so the demon is still talking to you?"
Lilia nodded quietly. Even that small motion was laden with heavy worries.
The combination of the demon seed and demon eyes...
Baekseol had witnessed countless cases over her hundreds of years of life, but this was a first. Scholarly curiosity made her eyes sparkle.
I wonder what kind of result it'll produce. I'm dying to know.
Since Astra had permitted Lilia to tell Baekseol everything, the girl was unlocking her heart for the first time.
"...It scares me sometimes."
Lilia's voice trembled faintly.
"Especially when I'm having a hard time... It keeps talking to me. Like it can solve everything, like it's on my side... Lord Astra just told me to ignore it, but..."
The girl's voice grew smaller and smaller.
"Hmm, shall I help you with that?"
"Pardon?"
Lilia looked up in surprise.
"I'm thinking of silencing that demon so it can't speak to you recklessly."
"Is... is that possible?"
A confident smile spread across Baekseol's lips.
"Of course. I'm a regiment leader in Haven, after all. Handling a mere demon is no trouble."
"Then please. It's still talking to me right now..."
Desperation colored Lilia's voice.
"Relax, close your eyes, and sit still."
Baekseol gently placed her hand on Lilia's chest as the girl shut her eyes.
A chill spread from her fingertips, and she slowly closed her own eyes.
When Baekseol opened them again, she stood in the midst of an endless barren desert.
"Hmm, so this is the demon's mental world?"
Her voice echoed through the void.
The mental realm containing the demon's essence, the source of its power. Any ordinary human would have their mind shattered the instant they set foot here.
The way to fix a demon seed is simple, really. Find and kill the demon in here.
Baekseol spoke casually, but it was nearly impossible in truth.
Even entering a demon's mental world was far beyond human limits.
This wasn't a mere mental space. The demon's will was the law here, its emotions the weather. The world itself was the demon.
Every black-red grain of sand, every dry gust of wind, was part of it. An ordinary soul would be torn apart upon entry.
Astra hasn't dealt with it... probably because he needs the demon seed for something.
A cold smile curved her lips as she grasped Astra's intent.
"Then I'll just seal its mouth without killing it."
Baekseol began to walk slowly. White frost bloomed wherever her feet touched, the black-red sand freezing into glittering crystals in an instant.
Another law was infiltrating the demon's world.
"Hmm, is it hiding in fear? Or testing me?"
Sandstorms raged with every step she took.
Black-red grains sharpened into blades and surged toward her, but they froze into white petals upon nearing Baekseol, scattering harmlessly.
"This isn't how you greet a guest."
Baekseol flicked her hand lightly.
The gesture seemed graceful and effortless, but the result was anything but.
Extreme cold exploded outward from her fingertips.
The endless desert began to freeze over in moments.
"Still not coming out? Then..."
Baekseol raised her hand again.
This time, with enough power to freeze the entire mental world.
"Wait!!!"
A scream like a death cry shook the realm. Unfrozen sands whirled madly, converging in a vortex.
The black-red grains coalesced, condensing into a single form.
The demon had revealed itself.
"You mad... mad bitch! How can you use supernatural abilities in my mental world?!"
Rage mingled with deep fear in the demon's voice.
It had never imagined its domain being eroded so easily.
This was its territory, where its laws reigned absolute.
Yet this woman's power flowed freely, as if those laws didn't exist.
"Mad bitch?"
Baekseol's voice turned icy.
The demon shuddered, gooseflesh rising all over.
Until a moment ago, she'd worn a girl's casual smile, like she was out for a stroll. Now, all warmth had vanished from her face.
"Calling me 'mad bitch' on first meeting... For Ria's sake, you need some education."
Baekseol's eyes gleamed coldly.
With every step she took, the demon's world froze deeper.
"You mad bitch! Stay back!"
The demon resisted desperately.
Unfrozen sands erupted into a massive storm.
Thousands, tens of thousands of grains became spears raining down on Baekseol.
She gazed at the onslaught coldly and whispered.
"Absolute Freeze."
A bizarre wave emanated from Baekseol.
It wasn't mere cold or ice.
It was absolute power halting the flow of time and space itself.
The razor-sharp, spinning sand grains froze mid-motion in the air.
Trapped like insects in transparent crystal.
"Wh... what the..."
The demon's voice quavered.
Its body was stiffening by the second.
"Th... this place... is... my... domain..."
Even speaking was a struggle. Terror twisted its face; its retreating posture locked in place, its existence sealed in eternal stasis.
"My... laws... reign..."
It could say no more. The demon's scream hung unfinished in the air. Mouth half-open, eyes wide in horror—everything stopped.
"Do you get it now?"
Baekseol approached slowly.
In this frozen world, only she moved freely beyond time's grasp.
"Whose protection the child you touched is under."
Baekseol closed her eyes gently. When she opened them, she was back in the guest room's reality.
"Ria."
Baekseol called softly.
The chill was gone, replaced by her warm smile.
"Can you still hear the demon's voice?"
Lilia's eyelids fluttered.
She opened her eyes slowly, cautiously.
Confusion at first, then dawning realization widened them.
Surprise bloomed across her face, turning to disbelief.
"Huh...? Wha...?"
Once, twice, three times... No matter how hard she focused, the horrific whispers were gone.
"It's... it's really gone!"
Lilia's voice shook with joy and shock.
"I can't hear the demon at all!"
It's only temporary, though...
Baekseol thought to herself.
That was the demon's domain. If she could stay in the mental world, she could keep it frozen forever.
But now that she'd left, Absolute Freeze would gradually weaken.
"That's wonderful, Ria."
Hiding her thoughts, Baekseol stroked Lilia's hair with a warm smile.
Then came the sound of measured footsteps.
"Lady Baekseol, Miss Ria."
Elbern approached with a polite bow.
"Lord Astra summons you both."
Baekseol rose gracefully, brushing off her skirt.
"Very well. Perfect timing—I have something to ask Astra myself."
She extended a hand to Lilia.
"Shall we go, Ria? You can walk with peace of mind now."
Knock knock.
A calm, precise knock echoed.
"Lord Astra, I've brought Lady Baekseol and Miss Ria."
Elbern's polite voice came from beyond the door.
I turned from the window and returned to my desk.
"Enter."
The door opened quietly.
Baekseol stepped in first, Lilia following.
Baekseol wore her usual elegant smile, but Lilia...
She looked different. Gone was the anxious, frightened expression; now she seemed at ease, like someone who'd set down a crushing burden after years.
Baekseol must have done something.
That's why I'd allowed Lilia to tell her everything—I'd expected this outcome.
I trusted Baekseol would handle it, and she hadn't disappointed.
I steepled my fingers and looked at her.
"Baekseol, how is Ria's condition?"
A simple question, loaded with meaning: the demon seed's status, what measures she'd taken.
"I've frozen the demon's mental world for now, so she won't hear its voice for a while."
Baekseol answered lightly.
Huh...
She'd frozen the mental world itself?
I knew how absurd that was, and it surprised me inwardly.
But for Baekseol—a Haven regiment leader—it was feasible.
"You didn't call me here just for that, did you?"
Baekseol tilted her head slightly.
"I have a question myself."
"No, I called you for another reason."
I leaned back in my chair.
"Tomorrow, I want to go to your territory, Frostheim."
"Hmm..."
Baekseol's eyes narrowed.
"Why?"
"I can't tell you."
"..."
Her gaze sharpened.
"You want to enter my territory without telling me why? Do you think that makes sense?"
A fair point.
But not from someone who'd infiltrated Cheongam Fortress in disguise.
"That's rich coming from you."
Baekseol fell silent, then shrugged.
"Fair enough. I did hide my identity to come here."
She sighed and continued.
"All right. I'll accompany you. But couldn't you just go without permission anyway?"
True. But my destination was different.
"I need to go to a... special place within your territory."
"Special place? We don't have anythi—"
"Frost Flower Tomb."
Baekseol's words cut off.
The room's temperature seemed to plummet.
Her expression froze; her usual relaxed smile vanished. Cold wariness sharpened her eyes.
"...How do you know about that place?"
Even her voice was frigid.
"That doesn't matter. What matters is I need your permission."
Frost Flower Tomb.
A seemingly ordinary name, but a forbidden site hidden deep in Frostheim territory.
One no one could enter without Baekseol's approval—and few even knew existed.
Even Balderic probably doesn't know.
A secret unknown to Haven's lord.
Baekseol's hidden taboo. Just knowing of it was enough to warrant her caution.
"That's not a place you can just barge into."
"I know."
I met Baekseol's eyes directly.
No evasion, no hesitation. I understood her wariness and doubt, but I wouldn't back down.
"That's why I'm asking formally."
Baekseol bit her lip, deep in thought.
Calculations raced through her mind: how I knew, what I wanted, the consequences of refusal.
Long silence fell. Only faint wind whispered outside.
"...I have a condition."