Frostheim (6)
"I never imagined you'd leave so soon..."
Elbern murmured softly as he gazed at the departing carriage.
A faint loneliness seeped through the perfect butler's mask he usually wore.
He had expected Astra to leave someday, but not this very morning.
A castle without its captain would feel empty no matter how perfectly it was managed.
"Indeed, I hope Lord Astra returns soon."
Rynel spoke as if reading Elbern's mind.
Even the massive defense captain's shoulders sagged slightly, unlike his usual posture.
"Isn't that right, Scarlet?"
Scarlet didn't respond to Rynel's words. She simply stared endlessly at the horizon where the carriage had vanished.
The dawn breeze tousled her red hair, but she stood motionless like a statue.
Seeing her like that, Rynel let out a hollow chuckle.
"If you felt that way, you should've asked to go with him. Did you?"
"...I wanted to."
Scarlet replied softly.
Gone was the sharp, resilient combat captain; only a knight missing her lord remained.
"But that would've been my selfishness. The captain has more important matters, and I must fulfill my role here."
She finally turned her gaze.
Something like morning dew—or perhaps something else—glistened at the corner of her eye.
"All we have to do is protect this place perfectly until the captain returns. So he can focus on his journey without worry."
Scarlet gripped the hilt of her sword tightly.
Rynel nodded, his heavy armor clanking.
"We must make sure that when the captain returns, he thinks, 'I was right to trust them.'"
Elbern regained his characteristic gentle smile.
"Now, let's return to our posts. We have mountains of work."
The three looked one last time in the direction the carriage had gone.
The morning sun had fully risen, bathing the castle in golden light.
At that moment, Leina, who had been watching the whole scene, cautiously spoke up.
"But isn't our lord's meeting tomorrow?"
"..."
A moment of silence fell.
"...Come to think of it, yes, tomorrow."
Elbern cleared his throat and straightened his posture.
"I'll handle it. Surely the captain didn't leave today because he forgot."
Rynel hurriedly defended.
"Right, this must be one of the captain's calculated moves."
Scarlet continued with a serious expression.
"It's a warning to the lords: 'You've been rude, so I have no intention of seeing your faces.'"
"Oh, that could be interpreted that way."
Elbern nodded in admiration.
"His sudden absence might make them even more uneasy. Wondering, 'What could have made him leave?'"
"Hahaha! As expected of the captain!"
Rynel laughed heartily, clenching his fist.
"Warning all the lords with silence instead of force! When they arrive here, they'll be trembling. 'Where did he go? Why?' They'll imagine all sorts of things."
Rynel's voice brimmed with satisfaction.
"I can already picture the lords gathered in the meeting hall tomorrow, staring anxiously at the captain's empty seat!"
Leina swallowed a sigh inwardly as she watched the three executives eagerly glorifying Astra's actions.
'No matter how you look at it, he just forgot.'
But she didn't voice that thought.
If she dared say 'The captain made a mistake' among these fanatics, she'd face hellish torture called 'special mental fortitude training' from dawn the next day.
'Yeah, I'll play dumb too. Believing it was some profound plan is better for my mental health.'
Leina quietly nodded, putting on an agreeable expression.
"Haha, as expected of the captain."
'They really took a liking to her...'
I smiled faintly as I watched Baekseol and Lilia playing happily inside the carriage.
Baekseol was treating Lilia like a little sister.
"Here, if you do it like this..."
White snowflakes gathered around Baekseol's hand like dancing sprites, forming a small snow rabbit.
Lilia's eyes sparkled.
"Wow! It's a bunny!"
"Hehe, I'll show you something even more fun next."
Baekseol wiggled her finger, and the snow rabbit began hopping around the carriage playfully.
Lilia giggled and reached out to catch it, but the rabbit teasingly dodged.
"Got it!"
When Lilia finally caught the snow rabbit, it scattered into glittering snowdust.
"Huh? It disappeared..."
"Don't worry. I'll make another one."
Baekseol then created a small snowman, snowflowers, and even a miniature ice castle, delighting Lilia.
In this moment, Lilia seemed to have returned to the time before her brother's death.
'This must be her true self.'
I watched the scene before slowly closing my eyes. The carriage's steady rocking and their laughter lulled me like a lullaby.
It was a peaceful time.
How much time passed?
I opened my eyes as I felt the carriage slowing. The scenery outside the window had completely changed from when we departed.
"Whoa... It's snowing so much!"
Lilia pressed her face to the window in awe.
Huge snowflakes fell endlessly, dancing on the wind. The whole world was blanketed in pure white, the outlines of distant buildings barely visible.
"We've finally arrived."
Baekseol murmured softly, looking out the window.
We had arrived.
In the white world of heavy snow—Frostheim.
But the carriage didn't enter the territory. It continued along the massive walls. The sound of wheels rolling over snow came rhythmically.
"Aren't we going inside?"
Baekseol smiled gently at Lilia's question.
"Where I live isn't in the territory—it's up there, on the mountain."
Following where Baekseol pointed, I looked up. A massive mountain loomed, half-hidden in clouds.
Its peak was engulfed in thick snowstorm, but faint blue flashes created a mystical aura.
"The mountain peak overlooking the entire territory... That's where my castle is."
The carriage began climbing the steep mountain path. As altitude increased, the blizzard grew fiercer, turning the world outside into pure white.
A normal blizzard and steep path would make it impossible for a carriage, but strangely, the snow hardened into a path as we passed, and the storm parted around us.
The snow under the wheels solidified like ice, preventing slips, and the snowfall seemed to avoid the carriage—or even gently push from behind.
As if invisible hands were guiding us to the summit.
"It feels like the snow is helping us!"
Lilia said, peering out in wonder.
Baekseol smiled faintly.
Her blue eyes glowed dimly.
"The snow here... remembers me."
As she spoke, the snowflakes outside sparkled and swirled like a dance, as if welcoming their long-returned master.
The entire snow mountain celebrated Baekseol's return, aiding their journey.
How much longer? The carriage broke through the thick blizzard and reached its destination.
The sight before us was breathtakingly beautiful.
A massive castle of pure ice emerged between the clouds.
Its transparent walls refracted sunlight into rainbows, and spires pierced sharply toward the sky.
"Whoa..."
Lilia gaped in awe.
Baekseol stepped out, spreading her arms wide.
Her long silver hair and tails fluttered in the wind.
"Welcome. To the most beautiful territory in Bai Ling Regiment—Frostheim's Ice Castle."
"So, have you found out?"
A white-haired elder seated at the head spoke in a low, dignified voice that resonated through the audience chamber with weighty authority.
"Yes, Your Majesty. The man was definitely in the Empire's Prison 3."
A man in pitch-black robes knelt on one knee, bowing deeply.
"To think a figure worthy of Haven's captaincy was in my prison."
"Your Majesty, we suspect Haven deliberately infiltrated him. He entered shortly before the assault and escaped as the sole survivor."
The one on the throne was Cassius, ruler of Lunaria Empire—a superpower on par with Haven. He picked up a document from the armrest with a cautious expression.
The paper showed Jin Gang Regiment Captain Astra in prisoner garb.
But there was something odd.
The personal registry that every prisoner filled out upon intake was blank.
"Why is the personal registry empty?"
The emperor's voice turned icy.
"Even a spy should have a false identity listed. A portrait but no identity means..."
Cassius paused, fixing a sharp gaze on the kneeling man.
"This isn't a failure on the shadows' part, is it?"
Cold sweat beaded on the forehead of the man in black robes at the emperor's chilling question.
"Absolutely not, Your Majesty. Our Shadow Division meticulously records every inmate's details. This portrait was indeed from our archives, but..."
He bowed even deeper and continued.
"Strangely, we couldn't find who took the photo or made the record. As if it never existed from the start..."
"Hmm..."
The emperor sank into deep thought. A mystery even Earl Oz, controller of the empire's shadows, couldn't unravel.
"Does that mean Haven planned everything from the beginning..."
"I apologize, Your Majesty. We should have noticed sooner..."
Earl Oz bowed in penitence.
"There must be no such mistakes next time, Earl Oz. Understood?"
The emperor's voice carried a warning.
"Yes, Your Majesty. No such errors will occur again."
Oz bowed deeply.
"And..."
Cassius rose from the throne and commanded with majestic authority.
"Advance the Great Continental Assembly."
"The Great Continental Assembly, Your Majesty?"
Oz looked up in surprise.
The Great Continental Assembly was the highest authority meeting where all continental rulers gathered.
"The pretext... congratulations on Haven's new captain, discussion of our research institute assault, and..."
The emperor's golden eyes gleamed coldly.
"Mediation of kingdom disputes."
"...Which kingdoms' dispute, Your Majesty?"
Oz had already guessed the emperor's intent but asked cautiously.
"There are two minor kingdoms right near our border, aren't there? Beltria and Carmen, was it."
A cold smile spread across the emperor's lips.
The plan was to incite war for a pretext to convene the assembly and drag Haven's new captain into the official stage.
"It shall be done as Your Majesty wills. Within a week, those two kingdoms will be at each other's throats."
"Good. Withdraw."
After Oz vanished like a shadow, Cassius sat alone on the throne and muttered.
"Haven's new captain... I'll confirm what kind of man he is myself."