Amidst the city of ice and snow, Claud found himself lost in the surreal beauty of the place. He had never encountered such an odd meteorological phenomenon before, so the dark blue sky that gave off drifting white specks and the cold, fluffy ground was something new to him.
“Ice and snow, huh.” Claud folded his arms. The cold never bothered him anyway, given the sheer amount of mana in his body, but it was something that he’d been doing as a kid when storms broke. “The Frozen Emperor has a lot to do with ice, huh?”
Aurelia Cadenza, the woman who was leading the way, nodded. “It is said that the Frozen Emperor swore to bring an eternal winter to the world when his beloved was killed. How he carried out that threat no one knew, though, but his vast powers and the spreading ice storm was finally halted by the Moons, the Dark and the remaining Coloured Gods after they banded together to defend against the Frozen Emperor.”
“No one dares to stand up against him, though,” Luce added. “It’s one thing to check his spreading influence, but the last time someone tried to invade, the Frozen Emperor nearly robbed the Green Goddess of her divinity and her Aeon Folds.
“They didn’t work together?” Claud asked, taking note of the word ‘Aeon Fold’. It was probably something important, and his status also had a mention of it too. Given the circumstances in which they were mentioned…did the Coloured Gods, the great Dark and the Moons have such a thing each?
More importantly, whatever power that once checked people’s words had been removed entirely. In fact, now that Claud thought about it, his current status no longer had ‘Authority’…
“No, sir. The alliance to check the growing region of ice and snow was the only alliance that managed to actually materialise.” Aurelia’s voice was still as respectful as ever, but unlike the freezing climate, her voice had warmed up slightly. Clearly, his relaxed conversation with Luce had made her more amenable to speaking, and she probably wanted to make a good impression of herself too.
“Why? There’s precedent, right?” Claud asked.
The small group took a left turn, and a huge mansion loomed into view.
“The second time an alliance was suggested to take down the Frozen Emperor, they ended up killing off half their own group on the way there,” said Luce.
Aurelia eyed the little guy. “For someone who’s so scrawny, you know your history well.”
“That’s really all I can do,” Luce replied. “How do I become as strong as the Frozen Emperor? He’s so cool…”
Claud rubbed his nose. He wanted to know that too, especially since the Frozen Emperor couldn’t have debuted that quickly. His previous self’s memories only contained two centuries worth of sitting on a throne, and Claud couldn’t help but feel frustrated at the absolute lack of anything.
Where were the memories of the fights?
At any rate, the timeline seemed to indicate the Claud of this world became the Frozen Emperor not too long after the Trial of Aeons concluded.
The only question was how such a thing happened. Why this was definitely an imagined future, Claud had a hunch that all the events that had happened here so far was very much possible. If given the option and the opportunity, Claud knew that he would have done the same thing if Lily was ever killed, although the ice and snow bit eluded him.
Just what did the him of this world eat to become this strong?
Sighing mentally, he continued to follow Aurelia and her retainers, who were a lot more relaxed now. Luce, too, had dropped his guard for some inexplicable reason, but Claud knew that exporting his ideology here would be the definition of bad timing.
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“Come to think of it,” said Claud, “where exactly is this place anyway? In which part of the old world did the Frozen Emperor set down the Frozen Coffin?”
“Old world…”
“Uh, the Grandis Empire, in terms of old maps,” Claud clarified.
Everyone, including the nameless retainers who were dragging the three imbeciles back, looked at him oddly. After a period of awkward silence, Luce said, “Sir, we actually don’t know either. The Grandis Empire was destroyed long ago, and what we know is oral tradition.”
“Maybe my grandaunt does,” said Aurelia.
“Your grandaunt, huh?” Claud bobbed his head. “I wonder if I’ll get the chance to talk to her or something.”
“Probably.” A hint of pride appeared on her face. “She’s one of the founding members of the Seekers of Life!”
Once again, the Seekers of Life had come up in conversation, and Claud thought about it for a moment. The organisation name was something he really liked; it reflected his ideals and his goals very well. Of course, the him back then already had a new goal, but…
He glanced at his lifespan and felt his lips twitch.
Before he could ask about the Seekers of Life, the small group drew up to the gate of the mansion, where many people were waiting in silence. Unlike Aurelia, however, most of the others were sporting red hair, which only made Claud wonder if she was adopted or something.
The three imbeciles were dragged out and tossed into the compound without any ceremony, before Aurelia turned to Claud and curtsied. “Sir, we have arrived at my family’s humble mansion. What do you want us to do next?”
“Give a good accounting to the boy here and lead me in. I have questions…err, general questions to ask,” said Claud, aware of the implications that might have arisen if he continued to speak bluntly.
Aurelia let out a visible sigh and turned to the gathered people in the courtyard. “Set up a family tribunal and place the three on trial for abusing the innocent. Give the young man his dues, or else.”
Without waiting for their response, which was a set of respectful nods, she beckoned Claud to follow her into the mansion.
“They seem oddly respectful of you,” said Claud.
“It’s the hair, I know. But few people are allowed to have this look in the Cadenza family,” Aurelia replied.
A feeling that he should have caught something rippled in his mind, but Claud couldn’t quite capture the memory that lay just below the surface. After struggling with it for a few seconds, he gave up and said, “Is it a status symbol of sorts?”
“Yes.”
Claud wasn’t dumb enough to talk about how odd this tradition seemed, since people were touchy about things like this. “I see. You must be gifted within your generation.”
“T-thank you for your praise, sir.”
After a while, they arrived at the mansion doors, which slid open to reveal a warm, bright interior. Claud stood at the entrance for a few minutes, and then inexplicably found himself thinking of Moon Mansion for some odd reason. He and Lily hadn’t been back for some time, and the absence of security they had in the little inn was really getting to him.
“Sir?”
Claud jumped. “Sorry. Anyway, who is the most knowledgeable and the most influential people in your family? I would like to speak to them.”
He figured that the fastest way to go about his quest was to enlist the important people here. Besides, in this frozen world, he had the most mana circuits; no one could probably come close to his apparent power.
“Very well, sir.” Aurelia gulped once as her eyes traced his face, and Claud tilted his head.
“Something wrong?” Claud asked.
“N-no, sir. It’s just that I found your features very familiar for some reason,” Aurelia muttered. “Like I’m supposed to know you.”
“Really now?” Claud decided to play dumb a bit. Fortunately, very few people apparently knew what the Frozen Emperor looked like, given the general non-reaction to him so far. “Come on, let’s get going. I really need to get my bearings.”
“Y-yes, of course.”
Departing from the bright and warm reception room, she led him onwards into a twisting maze of opulent corridors and bright lights. Maids and manservants bowed at Aurelia as she passed, prompting her to smile or wave back in reply, and Claud nodded once more.
There was at least one well-educated child in this Cadenza family.
“…I get a feeling I should know you guys too,” Claud murmured. “I don’t get it.”
“Maybe our families are fated or something?” Aurelia replied, before stopping at a room. The door was discreet and lacked many opulent decorations that the other doors had, but the best wine needed no gem-crusted bottle. “Grandaunt? It’s me, Aurelia! I’ve brought someone very strong!”
At the same time, Claud sensed something deep shift within the mansion itself, and a moment later, something seemed to lock on to him. The small quip about bringing someone strong to see someone important in her family died in his throat, and Claud bobbed his head in approval.
It turned out that everyone was still quite cautious after all.
“Coming!”
“That voice…” Claud patted his ears, and as a familiar face entered his vision, he couldn’t help but mutter, “Risti?”
“Aurelia, you’re dismissed,” said the voice. “And as for you…come in.”
Claud looked at her once, and then walked into the room.