“Brrr… how can anything live here?” Sion asked, looking down at the frozen, elevated docks where they had landed a moment ago.

“They have vast greenhouses to produce food,” Solren answered calmly as they walked down from the ship.

“It was a hypothetical question…” He murmured back, making Aurora smile a little.

“It is not that bad!” Lia chimed in, skipping after them, enjoying the ice under her feet, sliding a little here and there.

“Their House focuses on controlling ice.” Solren continued, watching his sisters, “So most of them are water mages. In an environment like this, they can adapt fast and turn their natural, flowing water spells into ice-based ones way faster.”

“Maybe we should have brought Koa along.” Aurora signed, but Solren just shook his head.

“No. This is enough.”

After arriving at the end of the docks, a welcoming committee was already waiting for them. All of them were young, beautiful women wearing ice-blue gowns, their light-colored hair tied in a bun, and their crystal-like eyes scanning the group.

“We welcome you to our capital city.” They said in unison, bowing towards Solren, who returned the gesture.

“It is an honor to be here, sisters.”

“Our Queen already received the news,” one of them continued, glancing at Sion for a brief second, “She is getting ready and will welcome you soon. Until then, please follow us into the castle, where the council is already in assembly and ready to receive you.”

Lia wanted to say something, but Solren simply waved a hand, silencing her before she could open her mouth. As the leader of their group, he took it like any other mission. He was in charge, and the rest had to follow in line. Aurora already felt like she was back home, as she was used to it, having served under him for years. Sion was glad that someone who was high-ranking would do the speaking as, realistically, he had little to no say. Or at least, he thought it like that, forgetting he was someone who graduated from the Academy. Lia, on the other hand, felt like pouting, being made silent so decisively… she just wanted to ask what the council was. While walking along, as if reading her mind, Solren just looked down at her pouting face, rubbing her head with a kind smile.

“I’ll tell you later.”

“Hmph…!” She turned her head away but was already placated, enjoying the head rubs very much so.

Unlike her, Sion, on the other hand, was looking nervous, trying to keep his calm to the best of his efforts. He thought he experienced peak fright before his last exam, but this was even worse. His throat was dry, his eyes were darting from left to right, and he couldn’t help but worry about what would happen not to him but to his family if something went wrong. As they were walking, he suddenly felt a hand touch his, and before he could react, Aurora simply interlocked her fingers with his, winking at him, mouthing silent words that he could read from her lips.

“Relax~ Don’t be a buffoon, be like Raufon!”

“Is there a difference?” Sion asked quietly, making Aurora’s smile turn into a grin.

“See? Now you look more relaxed! Worry not; Solren will deal with everything; you can trust him!”

While they were walking, once in a while, their guides looked back, watching Aurora and Sion, but their faces remained indifferent, quickly turning back, walking at a brisk pace. As they walked into the city, all the roads were clean, made out of crystal-like stones as if they were walking on a glassy surface, reflecting their images.

“Ah…” Lia stopped suddenly, looking down, fiddling with her skirt, as she was dressed lightly, not really bothered by the weather.

“What is it?” Solren asked, stopping while their entourage also halted their steps, looking at her questioningly.

“Look…” She pointed at the road, at her own reflection on the other side of the ‘mirror.’ “It shows my panties!” She groaned, trying to hide her blue-striped underwear, making Sion and Aurora chuckle at the same time, watching her reddening face, thinking she was embarrassed. Then her next words baffled even her brother, who was about to encourage her. “If I knew this, I would have borrowed something sexy from Koa! Hauh… now I look like a kid or something!”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“You are just going to turn 14…. You are a kid. Until you are 16, you are no adult. Stop moaning.” Solren answered, knocking on her head with the edge of his palm.

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“Owie! You are like that, Silly Fox! Stop it!”

“Let’s go.” He said with a firm voice, holding his sister’s hand, dragging her along as she was trying to hide her ‘childish’ underwear, looking deeply hurt by the laughing surrounding them.

“This city is stupid… who would build roads like this… whoever designed it was a pervert… an exhibitionist… a big Silly!”

Her incoherent moaning, although not affecting Solren, Aurora, or Sion, made their guides’ faces a shade darker. The city was made by the powers of their ancestor, Kelmina Berison. All the houses, which looked like they were made out of a mix of ice and marble, were erected by her magic. It was Lia’s fault for wearing something… impractical that let her show off her panties. No wonder… the current head of the Amarins was known for being a wild card, marrying someone who couldn’t even read… Of course, none of them dared to mention this loudly, not in the presence of one of her sons. Someone who was known to be a proficient Undead killer, and some rumors said he was way into three-digit kills.

Walking forward, the huge castle, with its dozens of spires and towers, was getting closer and closer, increasing Lia’s frustration as more and more people were watching them. What she didn’t notice was a pair of blue eyes standing on a balcony, also doing the same, fixated straight on her body. Even from multiple hundreds of meters apart, Rinzen could see the reflection on the glacier-like road below them, and she couldn’t help but lift her silver robes, decorated with sparkling snowflakes, and take a second look at her blue-striped panties.

“Is it childish?” She asked herself, unsure, and her eyes were filled with questions.

She didn’t hear them talk, but she didn’t have to. She was the greatest ice mage the Berison family ever groomed. Being only 19 now, she was outshining many old mages and witches with how easily she could manipulate ice. What made her parents abdicate from the leading position and everyone agree to name Rinzen as the next head of House Berison was the fact that the ice fields under them also resonated with her. She could feel the whole city, no matter where she was, and this made her clearly know what they were talking about, even from this distance. This was her absolute domain; she just had to focus on hearing, seeing, and feeling anything that happened here.

“I don’t like dressing formally….” She murmured, fixing the robes as she was much more comfortable in joggers and sweaters… or wearing little to nothing. Fixing herself, she turned around, ready to walk down from her room, to head down to the meeting. She just shifted her focus when her steps stopped as she was now listening to the private talk happening between the Council of Elders and King Fedra XIV.

“We are loyal subordinates of Your Respected House. We have been for countless centuries! The boy was chosen by us a long time ago!”

The king of Fedra said sternly but respectfully, sitting at a round table. In front of him sat six women, all looking to be in their twenties, wearing beautiful blue or silver robes, their white hairs decorated with snowflake-like ornaments. Amongst them was Rinzen’s mother, too, almost a mirror image of her daughter, only less blessed by nature. They looked on calmly, letting him speak, looking at each other before Ayashi, Rinzen’s mother and the previous head of the Hosue, spoke up.

“We realize that, King Fedra.” She said in a cold but respectful tone. “We will see their point, as it must happen, between Houses. You will have the freedom to argue against them as we will back your words; you don’t need to be afraid of the House of Amarin putting pressure on you.”

“Thank you, Your Highness!” He bowed his head with respect. “If I may make a request…”

“Speak.” Ayashi nodded at him to continue. “I have someone else who is waiting to be allowed to attend this meeting; He is the current King of Kayrinev, Kayrinev IX. He is also your humble subordinate and his daughter–”

“We know.” Ayashi interrupted him, “Call him in. Heliett managed to master some of our spells; her spot in the Institute was warranted. The Kayrinev is an ancient supporter of us; his king has the right to attend and raise his complaints to the Amarins.”

“Thank you, Your Highness!” King Fedra bowed his head again, feeling even braver and sure he was going to be backed by the Berisons.

The fact that they let the Kayrinevs it was the perfect indication of that. It was a known tale that decades ago, Ayashi was competing against Parthorn in ice-based spells. They fought numerous times and held many competitions. When Parthorn won, a few years later, they had a rematch, where Ayashi trumped him. Then another year later, it was a rematch where Parthorn won once more…; then came another rematch… and another… and another.

Everyone knew the tale. Through this rivalry, Ayashi developed true and honest feelings for him, even going as far as asking him to marry her… but he refused. Since then, Ayashi broke off most ties to the Amarins, never competing with him again and putting up such a cold front that the glacier their city was sitting on looked like a to be a meadow in comparison. Later on, she chose a husband for herself, birthing Rinzen, and when she revealed her great talent, she was supported with everything the House got to raise someone who could stand up not just against Parthorn but against Reyra Amarin herself.

Now, the leading figures of the Berisons, the leaders of two significant subordinate kingdoms, were all waiting for the arrival of the delegation from the House of Amarin. Even with everything that was going on in the background, the possible threat of an Undead invasion, human feelings could still override everything. When the threat is not imminent, it is often completely ignored.

“Hauh… in here, it reflects even more!” Echoed Lia’s voice from the corridors, who was still fighting to hide the reflection of her panties from the polished, glass-like floor.

“Relax!” said her brother in a straight voice, “You are a kid. Nobody would think weirdly of it. Anyway, whoever looks at it for long enough, I will poke their eyes out. Nobody should dare to harass my sister.”

“It isn’t about harassing me!” Lia countered indignantly, “It is about looking cool!”

“Somehow…” Sion murmured to Aurora, following the two, just about to enter the room where the meeting would take place, “I am much calmer now.”

“Good.” Aurora signed with her hand, “Everything is already settled anyway. Just enjoy the show!”

“I would hope there won’t be any show…” He murmured, not wanting to be the spark that flares up a huge conflict between the two Houses. It would be a tale to tell and a weird honor… but he would avoid it if possible.