The world was painted white in the seas of snow — okay, nevermind with the flowery words. The snow has thickened in the weeks that passed. And everyone in the palace was scrambling to remove the piling snow that was obstructing everyday life.

Some guys even have to climb up the palace roof lest we want to make things unsafe. Fucking snow man, beautiful but it has its downsides. Guess we’re not the same on that part, I’m beautiful in everything, no downsides. Ahem, anyways, it was time for a change of scenery in my sword training.

Therefore, we were here outside, in the snow! Back in the yard that I usually use as my personal training grounds. The fresh, but cold air was a nice thing. Although, the grounds were buried in snow. We’ll have to clean things up.

It was just me and my servants. No Elson. My instructions, actually. He didn’t have to bother himself with me when I’m still practicing to correctly cast Armament Magic. He had taught me what I needed to know already, it was just up to getting used to. There’s really no point in him being here if all he would do was watch me struggle.

Best to spend his time helping the palace clean up.

I have gotten way better in the weeks of practice, mind you. I have gotten better at blending my magic around the sword. Believe me, the process was stressing as fuck. But I still tend to fuck up a little here and there.

Elson said if I could use Armament Magic on a sword while sparring, he would teach me the way of the dagger. That was why it’s the main goal for today! Practice Armament Magic in combat! Without breaking my own sword, of course. Truly a struggle to keep them maintained in times of stress.

How would I fare when it comes to the smaller daggers?

But alas! Let’s set that aside for now.

I noticed my servants shivering in the cold, despite them wearing thick clothes. While I, on the other hand, was doing fine. Temperature’s just right.

“Why outside again?” Rogan asked while clinging to his own coat.

“Because it’s a better view,” I answered.

“It’s freezing out here.”

“It’s not that bad.”

My servants looked at each other, confused. Huh, guess the cold never bothered me, anyway.

“Are you using a spell against feeling cold?” Rogan asked.

“None whatsoever. I guess it’s my coat.”

“Definitely not that.”

“Okay if you’re feeling cold, you can set up fire once the snow is cleared up.”

Vernon stepped forward. “Your highness, it’s going to take a lot of time to clean this place. Why don’t we request help?”

“It’s just snow.”

It wouldn’t take a lot of mana just to melt these. Hmm, looking at the white snow — woah, if I lay in there I’ll camouflaged without the need for any clothes, hehehe. Now that’s a thought.

“I’ll take care of it.”

I held out both hands and cast low powered fireballs, crashing on and melting the snow in an instant. Flamethrower Estelia in the house, bitches! Burn! Steam gradually filled the yard as more snow melted, while some leftover water evaporated every time my fire passed through them.

Once, let’s say, fifty percent of the snow at the center of the yard has been rid of, I stopped. I still have other purposes for the rest of the snow. And I say, it’s pretty important.

“And now it’s damp.” Rogan commented.

“Snow is damp.” I frowned. “Now then, the next phase.” I giggled.

I began gathering some snow and rolled them down. Gradually I made some big snow spheres and laid them on top of each other. I found some sticks and stuck them into the body and head of the snowman. Yes, a snowman!

I couldn’t find some carrot, so we’ll improvise by using some sticks and stones. But despite that, it’s so adorable! I smiled proudly and adorably as I stared at my finished product. Okay, I have to admit, it’s a little horrifying, but it’s cute, nonetheless.

“Are we training or playing, your highness?” Vernon asked.

With furrowed brows, I answered. “Both.”

Leave me alone, okay? I never got to do something like this. Making snowmen, or just enjoying snow overall. People in the organization would look weirdly at me if I did something fun with snow… make fun of me. Worse, they’ll think I’m defective or something.

“Does this serve some sort of purpose?”

“Ugh, all of you, just stay away from me, leave me alone.”

Confusion struck my servants as they looked at each other. Okay, that was kinda surprising coming from me. It just annoyed me, okay?! They don’t understand.

I ignored them and began making another snowman.

This was going to take a while, but let us enjoy the process!

Amidst my work, all three of my servants suddenly began gathering and making balls of snow themselves. W-What are they doing? I didn’t command them to do anything. I could only stare as they step by step formed a snowman.

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“Don’t you need some help, princess?” Rogan asked with a casual grin.

I gave them a small smile. “Do whatever you want.”

With their help, everything proceeded much faster than when I was alone. At least they didn’t just watch and judge me in the middle of all this. More and more snowmen filled the yard, all varying in quality. Must be the materials we used. We didn’t have any carrots or buttons to use.

But this was fine, these snowmen won’t live for long, anyway. But hey, they’re adorable in their own way. I’m glad they helped me with this. It was a fun moment. I thought I was going to do it all alone. It’s fun when there’s someone you can do something with.

“Good job, everyone!” I said. “We made plenty of Mr. Snowman!”

“What is Mr. Snowman going to do now?” Rogan asked.

I patted one Mr. Snowman on the head. “I’m afraid they will be sacrifices for the greater good.”

“Uh, what?”

“They are going to help me with my combat training.”

Snowmen made for an easier and softer target! Plus they’re cute and fun to make. Snowmen were precious, you could only make them during one season. Nothing could get rarer than that. And nothing else could be better to kill. Right, Mr. Snowman? Now, to destroy you!

“Oh, poor Mr. Snowman,” Rogan remarked.

Don’t pity Mr. Snowman!

Their purpose and fate has been sealed the moment they were born. Yes, to help things get better. For me. I’m sure Mr. Snowman wouldn’t mind if it's for pretty ol’ me.

~Don’t cry snowman, not in front of me~.

“Bring, bring me my sword.” I asked Rogan with a sad expression, showing my feeling for what was to come.

I received the sword and urged my servants to step back. I have prepared for combat today, didn’t even wear a dress underneath this coat. I held out the sword with both hands, this one’s blunt as there’s no hazard here whatsoever. That’s bullshit of course, magic was a hazard itself. Also, I wasn’t given a sharp sword yet, poor me.

I poured mana into the sword. Now I have more precise control, lesser mana going into the blade. However, with the amount of mana I have, little means more than the blade could handle, and I let the excess power waste into the air.

The blade faintly glowed crimson, as the excess mana dissipated. I slowly swayed the sword side to side. And it did not break! Alright! Things were going well. I stepped closer to a Mr. Snowman.

Sorry Mr. Snowman, but you’re gonna die. May you become one with the snow once more.

Titling the blade to the side, I swung sideways, cutting Mr. Snowman’s head off. With the excess mana emanating, snow scattered all around — Mr. Snowman’s guts. I smirked the moment my blade got through the snow smoothly. Armament Magic was a wonder, making your weapon more powerful.

However, my joy was short-lived, as after cutting down Mr. Snowman, the blade shattered.

“Ah!”

Fuck!

Mr. Snowman took instant vengeance! That little shit.

But hey, at least I managed to destroy one. I threw away the broken sword and asked for another.

I targeted another snowman and cast Armament Magic. This time I wasn’t going melee, but going for that range swing thing. My sword glowed, and I swung down in the air. The arc of light shot forward and struck a Mr. Snowman, cutting him in half.

But given that the target was just mere snow, the arc kept going. It crashed against a tree, cutting it down, but one tree was not enough to stop it. It cleaved through two more trees before it dried up.

“Oops.”

Oooh, mama’s gonna be angry. I glanced at Vernon clutching his head, aghast out of his life. Mera was just standing there in shock. Rogan… was just chuckling.

I bring destruction in my wake… kidding! Looks like I just underestimated how much mana was in that.

“T-Trees grow back, so there is nothing to worry about. Let’s keep practicing. Trial and error reach perfection.”

And so I did practice and practice for the duration of the day. The range attacks have the lesser risk of being shattered, but they still break. For the actual physical swinging, the more I struck down Mr. Snowman, the better I actually got.

Progress starts from the blade breaking in just two snowmen to four. Once I run out of snowmen though, we have to make another batch. You could imagine the gore and the amount of Mr. Snowman corpse that littered the yard.

What a horrifying scene indeed. I truly am a murderer of snowmen kind.

Anyways, I grew frustrated with all the failings, and all the destruction I caused all around. Yeah, did I forget to mention that? Just like the trees, the same thing happened here and there. I wrecked the nearby s-shed….

And now, the final round for today!

With a mana filled sword, I swung down on a snowman, slicing it in half. Sword didn’t break. I cut down another one again, and the next I fired an arc of light. Multiple snowmen died so easily. And my blade was still whole.

Before I knew it, there was no target left. I lowered my stance and glanced at my sword. It was whole. My smile beamed.

I did it!

It didn’t break!

“Congratulations, princess!”

I heard the cheers of my servants, clapping their hands in celebration. I gave them a triumphant smile and stabbed my sword into the ground. The battle has been won!

***

After I passed the practice session, I plopped onto the plain snow, my back laying on the cold, and I stared up at the white sky. Once I proved to Elson I could fight with Armament Magic, I could finally proceed to his dagger technique. Hehehehehe.

In my excitement, I moved my legs and arms around. I formed a snow angel.

“Princess, what’s up?”

“Hm? Nothing. I just like the sensation of snow.”

“Oh… I’m just gonna stand.”

“You do that.”

You’re missing out on the snow pillow, Rogan. A shame.

“Vernon, what’s the news on the merchants?”

I sent Rogan to check up on the merchants I have under my command. Not my father, nor Eleden. I didn’t get into the details yet because I want to focus on my training, no distractions in the mind. But now everything ended up well, time to switch up to business.

“Your brother has been indeed supervising them.”

“Really? Supervising? That’s concerning.”

“Do you doubt the crown prince? Your brother?”

I stopped moving and paused. “... Not doubt… Just worried about what he might do. What’s he been making them do?”

“Nothing much. For now, helping them in whatever they need.”

“Oh, good.”

“However, Gresnel mentioned that they might be collaborating with merchants from another nation.”

I abruptly got up. “What? Are we in such a pinch that we need that?”

“Apparently not. It was more like helping each other.”

“What, what does that mean?”

“It’s uncertain.”

“We can reach our goal just enough, why would we want to involve outsiders?”

There was no response but silence.

Dammit.

“Did you tell the merchants to report to me any major decisions and not carry it out until I say so?”

“Yes, they are willing, we only need to think of how to do it before we can proceed. But is this alright?”

“What?”

“They might realize there’s a split in power happening.”

“But who are they willing to follow?”

“You, they fear you more than your brother.”

“Good. Keep a close look on things.”

“What will we do if they do something against your wishes?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when it comes. I want to know more about this collaboration. If we can do it ourselves anyway, there’s no point risking ourselves with outsiders.”

What the hell are they trying to do here? If I want to collaborate with outsiders, I could have done it a long time ago. There’s just no point now.

The most important thing here was subtlety. And getting others involved was not exactly subtle. The kingdom’s survivability hangs on the merchants’ actions. The empire has crippled us plenty enough. War is a long one, too draining. Also medieval warfare sucks, I tell you. More tedious.

“Why don’t you just confront his highness?” Rogan asked.

“Big brother Eleden? No… If I can, I don’t want to get in his way too much.”

He’s a sensitive one. I had more power than him recently, he loves me but, not really a good look. There’s always bitterness hidden beneath. I don’t want him to hate me…

“Let’s keep a watch on things for now.”

“Understood, princess. But I suggest we keep my exit from the palace in moderation. They might begin to wonder what I’m doing.”

“Yes.”

Now I’m just tired.