The Ice Queen's Passage
“Make way, human.”
“H-Hurk! Understood…!”
This was the northernmost edge of the empire, where the Reinhardt Grand Duchy stood as an iron wall guarding the coldest and most treacherous border.
For hundreds of years, they had been a clan of iron blood who had never once permitted retreat. Their soldiers were bound by pride as deep as their reputation, and they pledged greater loyalty to their own liege than to the incompetent imperial family.
Yet now, these proud northern soldiers were entranced by a single command from an unknown woman, ready to throw open the gates.
“Come to your senses! The gate you guard is the final bastion upon which the lives of our families and people depend!”
A senior guard with slightly more experience than the others shouted desperately, his face pale. At his urgent words, the gate that had begun to open halted for a moment.
“Oh my. The discipline has improved quite a bit since I last visited. But trust me—I truly wish only to pass through without causing any harm. A beauty like myself would never harm others so carelessly, would she?”
As the mysterious woman curved her lips into a seductive smile, the soldiers’ cheeks lifted in unison.
Creaaak—
In the end, the dozens of tons of iron gates that had been firmly shut opened in vain.
The captain of the guard, who had been patrolling the inner castle, could not hide his shock. In his seventy years of guarding this fortress, the gates had never opened so suddenly. Who on earth could make the northern gatekeepers yield so obediently? Surely no imperial family member had come from the capital?
…No. That was impossible. Those greenhouse flowers would never set foot in such a cold and harsh place.
There was only one conclusion: an intruder. And one with terrifying skill, capable of enchanting the proud gatekeepers in an instant!
Having made his judgment, the captain immediately gathered his troops and rushed toward the main gate—unaware that this was the worst possible move, one that would dig his own grave.
When he arrived, the captain felt relief upon seeing that the gatekeepers were still alive, yet he was deeply confused. Their condition appeared far too normal.
“Halt! To enter this castle, you must present your identification and wait quietly until the lord grants permission!”
His sharp command was enough to snap even the enchanted soldiers back to their senses. Yet despite the deadly aura, the beautiful woman holding a shining mirror merely smiled elegantly.
“Why would I need permission to pass through this decrepit old castle? I am merely trying to continue on my way, and this castle stands in my path. If anything, I am the one being inconvenienced.”
The woman let out a leisurely snort even while facing countless soldiers. Veins bulged on the captain’s forehead.
“How dare you! This is the iron-blooded fortress protected by the honorable Reinhardt Grand Duchy! I do not know who you are, but in the past hundreds of years, we have never once allowed entry to an unknown individual—”
Before he could finish, the woman took a single graceful step inside the gates.
“Oh dear. It seems I have accidentally ‘entered’ just now~?”
“……”
Her attitude was clearly trampling upon and mocking the grand duchy’s pride. Fury rising to his head, the captain drew his sword and gave the order.
“Cut down that witch who has invaded this castle at once!”
“Oh my. Did you hear that, dears? Won’t you clean up the trash that just invaded this castle?”
The moment the woman’s low yet captivating voice rang out—
Thud. Thud—
Dozens of cold blades pierced the captain’s back. As he collapsed, coughing up blood, the last thing he saw were the faces of his comrades—men with whom he had shared life and death for over a decade.
‘Why…?’
But their eyes no longer held the pride of soldiers. Only fools intoxicated by an unknown beauty remained.
Thus, leading the very soldiers who had moments ago blocked her path, she strode leisurely into the lord’s office.
Ian had been dealing with overdue paperwork in the lord’s office, as usual.
Then, before his eyes appeared a woman of striking beauty who reeked of death, accompanied by countless elite soldiers of his own.
“Oh my. So you are the current Northern Duke. Hmm, your face is… barely passing.”
“……”
Ian sat calmly in his office chair, observing the bizarre scene. He had learned from his father, the previous duke, that in times of crisis, emotion was a luxury. But being emotionless was different from failing to assess the situation. Especially in such an emergency, he needed to remain even colder.
Ian spoke heavily.
“Are you here to seize this castle?”
The woman let out a short laugh at his question.
“Of course not. Why would I want this gloomy, dark castle? I was simply passing through~”
“…The captain of the guard is nowhere to be seen. Has he already died?”
“Oh my? Naturally. I never leave alive anyone arrogant enough to try to mar my noble beauty.”
Ian replied without so much as blinking.
“I will not hold you responsible for the captain’s death. I will also overlook your trespass into this castle. So… could you simply pass through quietly?”
At his unconventional choice, the woman’s eyes sparkled even brighter as she looked at him.
“Oh my! You may look cold and heartless on the outside, but you truly care for and love your people! To think you would let someone as dangerous as me into the empire!!”
A crack appeared in Ian’s expressionless mask. She had struck his true intentions with terrifying accuracy.
Indeed, he had been taught by his father to devote his life to the empire. Yet Ian had no intention of sacrificing his own people for citizens he had never even seen. When they risked their lives defending the country in this cold and barren land, those in the warm capital mocked them as barbaric northerners while throwing lavish parties.
He could not sacrifice himself and his people for them. Especially not against an opponent who might not even be stopped by such a sacrifice.
“Hehe. I quite like that choice. The last little duke tried to challenge me and nearly died. Of course, his looks were to my taste, so I spared him.”
Ian flinched inwardly at her words. In the past hundred years, nothing had happened to the Reinhardt family—except for one incident.
‘Ah.’
Suddenly, he recalled the diary stored deep within the family vault. A single entry written there—an event so humiliating that it had been thoroughly censored from every history book in existence.
Ian began to recall what he had read back then.
(The Holy Empire, obsessed with conquest, wished to prove its greatness. They appointed me, the grand duke, as the vanguard to conquer the north. However, the knight order sent from the capital was incompetent and arrogant. Ignoring my advice to wear fur, they stubbornly insisted on metal armor and froze in the cold, unable to take a single step. Thus, the first expedition ended before it even began.
The second expedition set out properly equipped with fur. But the moment we departed for the north, we were ambushed by tribal people we had never seen before. They transformed into wolves without using any special power, and their presence was more than enough to sow discord among us before we could even become acquainted. We were forced into a shameful retreat without ever fighting properly.
Perhaps it was because we had wounded the empire’s pride after their string of victories. On the third expedition, the capital provided numerous holy relics and troops comparable to an army. Perhaps due to the overwhelming difference in numbers, the tribesmen could not even approach us. We advanced endlessly. Intoxicated by our power, we pressed forward without hesitation until we discovered a massive ice palace in the middle of the snowy plains.
Just as we were about to use it as a base—
A beautiful woman with blue skin, unlike any human, appeared. The moment we charged at her, calling her a heretic after she introduced herself as the Ice Princess more beautiful than the gods—
I lost consciousness.
……And when I opened my eyes, I was lying in the snow outside the Ice Kingdom.
The gap in power was overwhelming. The only thing I remember is the single phrase she left behind.
[You’re rather handsome, aren’t you? You pass, little one.]
From that day on, I lived my entire life trembling in fear, never even glancing beyond the castle walls.
To my descendants who read this diary, remember this: never show interest in the snowy plains outside the castle. And pray that the terrifyingly beautiful Ice Princess never comes to this castle.)
Ian looked at her, cold sweat running down his back.
“……A-Are you the Ice Princess?”
Perhaps pleased by the title of princess, color rose to Baekseol’s cheeks.
“Oh my, you even have an excellent eye. But now you should call me queen.”
‘……She must be much older than my grandmother.’
Ian momentarily tried to guess Baekseol’s age. But he was wise—he did not voice a single word of his speculation.
If he had… perhaps he would have ended up just like that shining mirror.
His entire body frozen, shattered into pieces.
In a good mood, Baekseol began to offer kind advice.
“Shall I tell your family once more? As long as you do not provoke me first, I will never kill. But if you try to stop me even once more, everyone living in this castle… will come to wish for death instead.”
With a satisfied smile, she vanished in an instant, mirror in hand.
The moment she disappeared, the soldiers who had been lying on the floor all regained their senses at once.
“Hurk?! W-Why are we sprawled in the lord’s office?!”
“What on earth just happened? I think I just saw an incredibly radiant angel……”
“Good grief, you fool. What angel would descend upon this barren northern countryside?”
“My lord! Please explain the situation. What happened while we were unconscious?!”
Hearing the noisy clamor, Ian roughly wiped his face.
“……Nothing happened. Stop talking nonsense and return to your posts at once.”
He could only pity the unjustly slain captain of the guard. To think he had provoked a witch even the empire dared not touch.
One could practically call it natural causes.