Chapter 702: Giant Chief.

It was painful.

Dark.

Foul.

And cold.

The young dragon child, trapped in the form of a young girl, had already begun preparing herself for the worst.

Or perhaps… the end.

Her small body trembled as the hooded men surrounded her, their hands rough, their laughter cruel.

The way they touched her carried clear intent—intent she didn’t fully understand, but instinctively feared.

Her mother had warned her many times.

Humans are dangerous.

Do not approach them.

Do not trust them.

Not until you are strong enough to defend yourself.

She had believed those warnings.

Yet she still left the safety of her mountain.

She had been careful… but not careful enough.

Maybe she had let her guard down.

Maybe she had been too curious about the world beyond her nest.

Either way—

This was the result.

So she closed her eyes.

Waiting.

Waiting for whatever horrible thing would come next.

But then—

Something changed.

The wind shifted.

The cold that filled the forest suddenly grew heavier.

At first she thought it was just her fading senses.

But no…

The cold wasn’t disappearing.

It was growing stronger.

When she slowly opened her eyes again, the scene around her had completely changed.

The forest had transformed into a frozen battlefield.

Massive jagged formations of ice erupted from the ground in every direction. Frost covered the trees, the snow, the air itself.

And scattered across the area—

Were dozens of ice spears.

Each spear had pierced through one of the hooded men.

Their bodies were frozen in place, suspended in the air or pinned to the ground, the sharp tips of the spears bursting outward like spiked frost bombs.

Not one of them had escaped.

Not one of them had survived.

Silence filled the forest.

The girl slowly pushed herself up from the snow.

The demonic energy that had been poisoning her body… was fading.

The curse that had restricted her mana had shattered the moment its caster died.

The burning pain inside her veins began to weaken.

Her breathing steadied.

She looked around in confusion, trying to understand what had happened.

Then—

She saw her.

Standing a short distance away.

The one responsible.

“…You… are…”

The dragon girl’s voice came out as little more than a whisper.

The girl standing before her looked human.

Completely human.

White hair.

Calm face.

Young—no older than herself.

And yet…

Something about her presence felt completely different.

The cold surrounding her wasn’t normal.

It wasn’t just magic.

It felt natural.

Like the cold itself recognized her.

Like frost and ice existed simply because she allowed them to.

The young dragon couldn’t understand it.

A human shouldn’t feel like this.

And yet—

Standing before her savior…

She felt the same instinctive pressure dragons felt when standing before something far older… far greater… than themselves.

The cold around her felt… inevitable.

It wasn’t just the chill of winter.

It carried something deeper.

Authority.

Command.

Like the frost itself was answering her call without question.

It was beautiful in a way that made it hard to look away.

And yet—

It was just as deadly.

The young girl slowly turned her head and looked toward the wounded dragon child.

The moment their eyes met—

The dragon girl froze.

Celestine’s eyes were a pale bluish-white, clear like frozen lakes.

Inside them, faint shapes formed in the light.

Snowflakes.

Tiny crystalline reflections that shifted gently with the movement of her gaze.

The young dragon’s mind went blank.

Only one word remained.

Absolute.

The being standing before her felt like that.

Something absolute.

Celestine noticed the confusion in the dragon girl’s expression.

And the fear.

So she slowly stepped forward.

The dragon girl didn’t move.

She just stood there, staring.

’…Did I do too much?’

Celestine wondered.

Looking around, the entire area was covered in ice and shattered bodies.

It wasn’t exactly a comforting scene.

Maybe she had scared the girl with how violently she ended things.

But considering dragons were naturally apathetic toward most other life forms—especially humans—Snow doubted that was the real reason.

Her eyes briefly examined the child.

Small frame.

White horns.

Injuries everywhere.

’She seems about three… maybe five years younger than me.’

Of course, that was only in appearance.

Since she was a polymorphed dragon, her actual age could easily be higher than Celestine’s current thirteen years.

Still.

This was the first time something truly different had happened since she entered this trial.

For three years everything had followed the same quiet routine.

But this—

This felt like a turning point.

And honestly…

She was a little excited.

So, Celestine softened her expression.

A warm, approachable smile appeared on her face—the same kind she had perfected during her years as Princess Snow.

A smile meant to calm people.

To make them feel safe.

“My name is Celestine Novaline,” she said gently. “I’m glad I made it in time before those guys could do something to you.”

Then, without hesitation, she stepped closer and gently took one of the dragon girl’s hands.

Her touch was warm despite the cold mana surrounding her.

“Are you okay now?”

She looked over the girl’s injuries carefully.

“…No. It looks like you’re still hurt.”

The dragon girl opened her mouth slightly.

“…I—”

But Celestine spoke again before she could finish.

“Since it’s getting a bit late, why don’t we get out of here first before we do the formalities?” she said lightly.

A small laugh escaped her.

“Hehe… my mother is actually quite the expert healer.”

She gently tugged the girl’s hand.

“Let’s go.”

For some reason…

The young dragon found herself unable to refuse.

She just nodded.

Again.

And again.

….

Left behind by the Frost Dragon, Anica, after revealing such an absurd demand—no, maybe request—for him to ignore her presence entirely…

Riley couldn’t help but sigh.

Even now, he could still feel Anica quietly and stealthily following him as he continued exploring the Ice Castle.

Of course, being watched… or even stalked… wasn’t exactly new for Riley, so he was used to it by now.

But still—

’Why is she doing it from different angles…?’

Sometimes she hid behind him.

Sometimes she moved to his side.

And sometimes—

Above him.

Since she seemed to be using some kind of high-level stealth magic, she wasn’t actually visible to Riley.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t sense her.

Her presence was faint, but it was still there.

A subtle disturbance in the air.

A tiny shift in mana.

Enough for him to know exactly where she was most of the time.

Of course, he was curious about why Anica had suddenly made such a strange request.

But every time he tried to ask her, or even tried to get a proper explanation out of her—

Anica would immediately start begging him not to ask.

Not to question it.

So in the end…

This was the current situation.

Riley simply chose to tolerate it.

The Ice Castle itself was truly enormous.

Its interior was layered with hundreds—no, probably thousands—of interwoven celestial enchantments.

The magic embedded into the structure expanded the internal space far beyond what the outside suggested.

But that wasn’t all.

Inside the castle were several expanded domains.

In particular, four large mansions connected directly to the castle itself.

Each one belonged to one of the Frost Queen’s generals.

Right now, Riley had already entered and visited almost every public facility within the castle.

Training grounds.

Libraries.

Courtyards.

Hallways.

Even most of the normal rooms scattered across the castle.

At this point, there were barely any places left for him to explore.

Except for four.

The private domains belonging to the generals.

Since the private domains of the generals were probably sensitive places for them, Riley hadn’t gone through any of them.

Even when he found entrances that clearly led toward those mansions, he simply ignored them and moved on.

It wasn’t that he lacked curiosity.

He just didn’t see any reason to intrude into places that were clearly meant to be private.

But now…

Things were a little different.

The Frost Queen herself had already given him permission to explore the castle as he pleased.

If he wanted to, he could probably enter those domains using her authority without anyone stopping him.

Still, Riley remained undecided.

He walked slowly through the quiet hall, lost in thought as he considered whether it was worth it or not.

And then—

Thud…!

A heavy sound echoed behind him.

Step…

Step…

Each slow step made the icy floor tremble slightly.

Riley stopped and turned around.

What he saw behind him was a massive figure.

A Frost Giant.

The giant slowly knelt down on one knee, lowering his head in a respectful bow.

“I greet my queen’s esteemed guest.”

His voice was deep and heavy, like stones grinding against each other.

“My name is Otar, son of Rato… second hand of our great chieftain. I greet the human before me with respect.”

Riley raised an eyebrow slightly.

So, the right-hand man of the chieftain himself had come personally.

That was unexpected.

Riley folded his arms casually and looked up at the giant.

“So,” he said calmly, “to what pleasure do I owe you coming here personally?”

The frost giant remained kneeling.

“The chieftain humbly calls for your attention,” Otar said. “He has invited you personally to our mansion.”

“Our great chieftain would greatly appreciate the esteemed guest’s presence.”

“…Is that so.”

Riley muttered quietly.

For some reason…

This felt familiar.

First the Frost Queen.

Now the Frost Giant chieftain.

Both inviting him personally.

A strange sense of déjà vu crept into his mind.

And honestly…

He already had a feeling he probably wouldn’t learn anything useful from this meeting either.

Riley let out a small sigh and shook his head, pushing the thought aside.

Then he looked back at the frost giant.

“Alright.”

His answer came easily.

“I’ll go see your chief.”

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