Chapter 696: Frozen Trials 8

In a quiet forest brushed with silver frost, a young child walked happily along a narrow path.

“Hmm~ hm~ nng~”

She hummed to herself, the tune soft and light, almost blending with the whisper of the cold wind between the trees.

Morning sunlight slipped through the branches above, scattering gold across the frozen ground.

Each step she took made a gentle crunch against the thin layer of ice.

She looked up at the sky with a bright smile.

“The weather is good today, Mama! I think we’ll be able to gather more spirit lotuses this time!”

Her voice was full of excitement, pure and hopeful.

Behind her, her mother smiled gently and reached out to pat the young girl’s head.

Soft white hair, almost glowing under the sun, swayed lightly as she moved.

“Yes… I think we’ll be able to gather some more this time.”

Her voice was calm. Warm.

“Hehe, and then you’ll recover faster and get well soon, right? I can’t wait~!”

The young girl stepped forward eagerly, holding a small brown basket in both hands.

It looked a bit too big for her, but she carried it proudly, as if it were something important.

Behind her, the mother’s smile lingered.

It was steady.

Convincing.

But only on the surface.

Cough…!

She quickly turned her head, covering her mouth with her sleeve as a faint cough escaped her. It wasn’t loud.

Not violent.

But it came often enough to remind her that something was wrong.

She straightened her back before her daughter could notice.

A faint chill rested deep within her chest.

Not the cold of the forest.

Not the winter air.

But something colder.

Something that refused to melt.

“Celestine,” she called softly, keeping her voice gentle. “Walk a bit more carefully. There could still be monsters around.”

The young girl stopped and turned around without fear.

Her eyes were bright. Clear.

“Don’t worry, Mama!” she said proudly, puffing out her chest a little. “I am one with ice and the cold! I’ll beat any monster that comes our way!”

She raised a tiny fist as if she had already won.

The mother watched her for a long second.

Then she shook her head gently.

It seemed her daughter had inherited more from her than she wished.

…..

“Hnn…?”

Snow slowly opened her eyes, a dull headache pressing against her temples.

She let out a soft groan as she pushed herself up from the bed beneath her. The sheets were warm. Soft. Too soft.

“What… happened?”

Her voice came out low, still heavy with sleep.

She blinked a few times, trying to steady her vision. The room around her was unfamiliar. Wooden walls. A small window to her right. Pale curtains swaying gently from a breeze she couldn’t feel.

This wasn’t the tavern.

And it definitely wasn’t a frozen domain.

Her heart steadied as awareness slowly returned.

“A different place…”

She glanced down at herself. Different clothes. Lighter fabric. Simpler.

Her head still felt hazy, but she could make out the details clearly enough to know one thing—

She wasn’t where she had fallen asleep.

“Am I in the third trial now?” she muttered quietly.

She tried to recall the last thing she remembered.

The inn.

The festival night.

The fake Riley.

The fake Snow.

The way she stood her ground and refused to let them inside.

She had prepared herself to endure it for at least a month. That was how those trials worked. Patience. Endurance. Watching illusions try to wear her down.

But after that night…

After she denied them and went upstairs to her small room in the tavern…

The moment she lay down—

White light.

It swallowed her vision completely.

Just like every time she cleared a trial.

She exhaled slowly.

So it ended after all.

Her gaze drifted around the room again.

This was clearly not the tavern room she had been using. That one was cramped. Plain. Slightly dusty. This one felt… lived in. Clean. Familiar in a strange way.

She rubbed her forehead lightly.

Whatever the case, she was at least relieved the second trial was over.

Just remembering it made something twist faintly in her chest.

Watching another version of herself and Riley live so casually together… smiling, teasing, planning a night as if it were natural—

It had affected her more than she expected.

She thought she was prepared.

Thought she was above it.

But seeing it play out so easily, so comfortably… it had gnawed at her.

Even knowing it was fake didn’t stop the irritation.

Didn’t stop the quiet jealousy.

She let out a small sigh and swung her legs over the side of the bed.

Cold air brushed against her skin.

“Third trial…” she murmured again.

Her eyes sharpened slightly.

Whatever this one was about—

She needed to stay clear-headed.

First, like the other tests, she needed information.

Snow forced herself to stay calm.

Panicking never helped.

She slowly stood up from the bed and took in the room properly this time.

It was neat.

Clean. Sunlight filtered in gently through a tall window.

The furniture wasn’t cheap either—polished wood, carved details, soft bedding.

This wasn’t some random peasant’s house.

And the moment she stepped down from the bed, something else became clear.

The world felt… bigger.

The floor looked farther away than it should. The desk near the wall felt taller. Even the mirror across the room seemed oddly large.

She frowned slightly and walked toward it.

Each step felt lighter. Smaller.

When she reached the mirror and looked up—

She froze.

“A child…?”

The reflection staring back at her was not the body she was used to.

White hair fell softly past her shoulders, smooth and pure like fresh snow.

Her eyes weren’t the frosty white she once had in her divine state, but a gentler, clearer shade—still bright, still striking.

Her features were delicate. Too delicate.

She looked no older than eight or nine.

A beautiful child.

If not for the youth in her face, she would’ve easily rivaled her original appearance. The elegance was still there, just… smaller.

She was wearing a white dress, simple but clearly expensive. The fabric was fine. The stitching careful. There was a quiet nobility to the way it fit her.

Whoever this “Child” was, she wasn’t ordinary.

Snow studied her own small hands.

So, the trial involved this child.

Another life? Another identity?

Was this like the second trial—something symbolic she had to understand?

Or was this something she had to live through?

She didn’t know yet.

She opened her palms slowly and tried to gather mana.

If nothing else, she needed to know what kind of power she had access to—

“Celestine!”

The door beside her room burst open.

“Hm?”

Before she could react, someone rushed in and grabbed her small hands firmly.

“I told you you’re forbidden from using your mana! Look at what happened to you yesterday!”

Snow looked up.

A middle-aged woman stood before her.

Their faces were similar—the same eyes, the same shape of nose—but the woman had soft hazelnut hair instead of white.

Her expression was full of worry.

Real worry.

She immediately began checking Snow over, brushing her hair aside, touching her forehead gently as if making sure she wasn’t feverish.

“It looks like you’re fine for now…” the woman murmured, letting out a relieved breath. “But please don’t do that again.”

She pulled Snow—Celestine—into a light embrace.

“I know I should be happy you’re awake, but… I’m sorry, dear. Mother is just worried about you.”

Mother.

The word settled strangely in Snow’s chest.

Warm arms wrapped around her small body.

Gentle hands stroking her hair.

A soft scent of something familiar and comforting.

It was… warm.

Snow stiffened slightly without meaning to.

She didn’t know how to respond.

In her own childhood, she had never truly experienced this kind of affection.

The love of a mother.

…

“My heir is now proceeding smoothly in the third trial. You can be at ease, honored guest.”

The Frost Queen’s voice echoed lightly across the frozen hall.

But Riley didn’t look at ease.

If anything, he looked more confused.

“Did you just let her pass the second trial?” he asked directly.

“I believe I already confirmed that,” she replied without looking at him.

“But she didn’t give the answer you were looking for, right?”

The Frost Queen finally shifted her gaze toward him. There was no irritation in her expression. Only calm.

“No,” she admitted. “She did not.”

“Then why—”

“It is my trial,” she cut in smoothly. “I may rearrange it as I please.”

She stood from her throne slowly, frost trailing faintly at her feet as she walked a few steps forward.

“Her answer lacked alignment with the concept I originally designed. However…” she paused, eyes narrowing slightly in thought, “the emotions she displayed were not lacking.”

Riley stayed silent.

“There was a resolve in her that I could not ignore,” the Frost Queen continued. “It did not waver. Not once.”

Her voice softened—not warmer, but deeper.

“It was strange. When she looked at that illusion… her eyes resembled someone who had loved for hundreds of years.”

Riley’s brows furrowed slightly.

“Or perhaps,”

he continued quietly,

“someone who had endured watching love bloom from the sidelines. Someone who had tasted jealousy, sacrifice, devotion, hatred… and still chose love.”

The Frost Queen glanced at him faintly.

“The emotions she poured into my trial were real. Raw. Unfiltered.”

She gave a small nod.

“That is something I can acknowledge.”

Riley didn’t know what to say.

He didn’t fully understand what Snow had done inside that trial.

He could imagine it involved him—most of her trials somehow circled back to him in one way or another.

But to leave such an impression on the Frost Queen…

That wasn’t simple.

Still, if the Frost Queen accepted it, Riley wouldn’t push further.

He trusted Snow.

And he trusted that whatever she chose, she chose it with conviction.

If the third trial was proceeding smoothly, then that meant the fourth, fifth, and sixth trials could potentially be bypassed.

Unless, of course, the Frost Queen decided to change her mind.

Riley glanced at her briefly.

Her expression was neutral. Thoughtful. But not conflicted.

He doubted she would go back on her word now.

“The third trial…” he murmured quietly to himself.

And for the first time since this began—

A faint worry settled in his chest.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep