atop his white lion throne, King Gyo stood tall, his grand robes draping gracefully.
An authoritative smile was etched across the ruler of the Dukedom’s face, though a sharp political calculation was hidden behind his piercing gaze.
He raised his right hand, signaling all the guests to focus their attention.
The echo of his voice bounced off the ice walls of the palace.
”Respected nobles and grand envoys from all corners of the world,” King Gyo spoke in an authoritative tone that shook the room.
”Tonight, on the tenth birthday of our beloved princess, we are not only celebrating the passage of another year, but also welcoming a new page of glory for the Dukedom Kingdom through the sacred bond of engagement!”
From the royal family’s procession, Princess Rebecca stepped forward slowly.
Accompanied by the notes of an ice orchestra that suddenly shifted into a melancholy, cold, and bone-chilling melody, the young girl left the ranks of her family all by herself.
She wore a pristine white mini wedding dress dotted with scattered ice-diamond fragments, gleaming brilliantly under the crystal chandelier’s glow.
However, the splendor of the attire felt like an ice shroud freezing her soul.
At the tender age of exactly ten years old, her beautiful face looked as pale as porcelain, devoid of any warmth of living blood.
There was no flicker of happiness, no shy smile of a human child celebrating her birthday.
Her clear blue eyes now looked completely hollow, staring straight ahead blankly as if every small step she took was not leading toward a magnificent engagement altar, but rather walking slowly toward the gallows of a death sentence.
Finally, those heavy, soul-less footsteps stopped right near the main throne, standing before her father, King Gyo, and the man who was about to snatch away the remainder of her life.
At her side, Julian Vallière stood with an upright posture and a white velvet cloak edged with gold embroidery, radiating a false authority.
On the outside, he looked calm with a thin smile locked onto his lips—the perfect mask of a ruthless, bloodthirsty heir.
Yet, behind that arrogant mask, Julian’s chest churned violently with nausea and gripping terror.
His heart beat wildly not out of ambition, but due to overwhelming coercion.
His fingers, hidden beneath the folds of his cloak, trembled intensely, squeezing each other so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
I don’t care about this rotten grudge…
I don’t care about the throne or glory, Julian screamed inwardly, lamenting the cruel fate trapping his life.
As a soft-hearted young man who deeply detested bloodshed and harbored trauma from the vicious torture inflicted by his father, Duke Archambaud, he was forced to dance on a stage of deception merely to survive and search for his mother’s whereabouts.
Before all the high nobles and external factions watching in thick tension, Julian—with nearly numb hands—grasped the princess’s small, ice-cold hand.
He then placed a silver ring embedded with a blue gemstone onto Rebecca’s ring finger—a soulful bond that officially plunged the young girl’s future into the clutches of the House of Vallière.
As soon as that breathtakingly suffocating sacred procession was finalized, the ice orchestra was forced to play grandly once again.
Crystal glasses clinked, and the nobles began to clap formally, celebrating a party perched above the edge of an abyss.
Time passed amidst the clinking of glasses and the guests’ false smiles.
The tenth birthday celebration unfolded amidst a whirlpool of major factions eyeing one another with predatory instincts.
Behind the palace’s ice splendor, the corners of the room abruptly transformed into a dark diplomatic arena laden with schemes. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
”Ah, Count Beric, your silk robe from the southern continent looks magnificent tonight.”
”But I suppose it’s nothing compared to the luxurious and special goods obtained through the eastern border of Yedikule,”
Praising with a thin, calculated smile, Cassian Crestwood twirled the crystal glass in his hand.
”Considering that all overland routes and cargo checkpoints from the Free Republic of Yedikule are required to pass through the fog valley within our House of Crestwood’s territory, would your alliance be interested in purchasing the exclusive rights to that logistics route?”
Count Beric narrowed his eyes, smiling coldly in response to the eastern gatekeeper’s offer.
”An interesting offer, Young Master Crestwood.
Exploiting dirty coins and illicit trade loopholes from the Free Republic of Yedikule is indeed the fastest way to stockpile wealth.”
”By the way, how is Duke Archambaud’s health?
Today’s alliance certainly secures your financial monopoly even further.”
”His health is in prime condition to ensure no other faction dares to tamper with our tax and customs flow,” interrupted a subordinate baron of the House of Vallière with a sarcastic tone wrapped in cold flattery.
Not far away, noble ladies from the neutral faction whispered behind their silk fans, discussing the downfall of the House of Silver and the potential collapse of King Gyo’s influence if the Vallière faction successfully seized complete control over the eastern border’s wealth flow from Yedikule.
Every handshake, polite laughter, and false praise in that hall was not a gesture of friendliness, but rather chess pieces moved for the sake of absolute power.
However, that false peace did not last.
BANG!
The sound of shattering window glass broke the hall’s clamor.
A massive five-meter-tall window on the western side shattered into pieces, raining sharp fragments onto the marble floor.
In the middle of the night, a giant shadow leaped and charged in.
It was a new hybrid beast—a terrifying combination of a human and a southern hyena.
Its body was packed with dark grey sinewy muscles, its stiff mane standing on end, its yellow fangs dripping with venomous saliva, and the stench of rotting carrion immediately filled the room.
Ignoring the hysterically screaming nobles, the hyena hybrid’s glowing red eyes locked directly onto a single target in the corner of the room: Duchess Freya.
With a piercing, ear-splitting howl, the creature lunged straight ahead, tearing through the air with venomous claws ready to rip the Duchess apart.
”Mother!” little Aiden squeaked from near Duchess Freya, his small body preparing for Synchronization.
Seeing her younger brother threatened, Elena moved with lightning instinct.
Without a second thought for her own safety, the girl immediately lunged and hugged Aiden tightly, pulling her younger brother into the embrace of her body and shielding him from behind, striving to protect her beloved sibling with her body and soul.
Meanwhile, Duchess Freya showed no panic at all.
In a fraction of a second, an extremely dense silvery mana aura exploded violently from her body, swirling and condensing in the air to form intricate circles until it shaped a magnificently spinning Magic Circle.
A pure ice-layered magic shield instantly expanded firmly to protect the area around her.
Edward and the palace guards were startled by the hyena hybrid’s unnatural speed, instantly preparing to leap forward and provide backup protection.
However, before those lethal claws could touch her Circle 7 Magic Shield, a sturdy shadow dashed out ahead from the ranks of the Silver Family.
In his right hand, a massive war hammer cleaved through the air, radiating an intensely concentrated crimson Spirit energy.
BOOOOM!
The blow of the crimson-aura-wrapped war hammer landed squarely on the hyena hybrid’s chest with full force, triggering a shockwave of wind that whipped the velvet curtains around the hall.
The three-hundred-kilogram creature bounced backward like a meteor, rocketing heavily into three white marble pillars, shattering them to pieces and leaving the beast sprawled out in a pool of black blood.
Yet, the true horror had only just begun.
Disregarding its crushed internal organs, the hyena hybrid slowly rose back to its feet.
There was no cry of pain, no expression of agony the creature moved with a hollow, mechanical motion, as though pain had been completely erased from its nervous system due to high-level alchemy manipulation.
Witnessing the chaos erupting in the middle of the hall, Edward narrowed his sharp eyes.
His military instincts instantly locked onto a single figure standing calmly near the throne—Julian von Vallière, the young man who had been observing the situation with a cold gaze behind his mask of pretense.
Without hesitation, Edward shot forward like lightning using his bare hands—mindful that he attended the official royal banquet without battle gear, yet determined to face Julian in close-quarters combat.
Noticing Edward’s charge, Julian was startled for a fraction of a second, but his physical reflexes moved automatically.
Utilizing his Talent, Tactical Flow, Julian’s eyes scanned every opening, muscle movement, and attack trajectory of Edward with precision.
As Edward launched a lethal direct punch, Julian swayed his body smoothly, reading the wind direction and opponent’s momentum a fraction of a second faster, then delivered a swift counter-attack to his opponent’s blind spot.
A fierce and deadly hand-to-hand combat between high-level tactical mastery and close-quarters combat technique immediately raged amidst the debris of the hall.
On the other side of the hall, the chaos grew increasingly wild.
A hybrid beast shaped like a combination of a human and a tiger suddenly leaped forward with a savage roar, preparing to charge at Sir Raymond, who was still holding his war hammer.
However, before the tiger’s sharp claws could reach Sir Raymond, an arrogant shadow darted ahead with a boiling, scorching aura.
It was Tsar Kosovo—the hot-blooded prince from the Free Republic of Yedikule faction, whose blood had been boiling since earlier upon seeing the chaos in the palace.
With a roar full of fury and waves of surging Red Spirit exploding across his body, Tsar grabbed the tiger hybrid beast’s neck raw in mid-air, then casually hurled it right out the window, piercing the night outside the palace.
CRASH!
Tsar Kosovo followed, leaping out after his prey.
Amidst the expanse of white snow in the palace courtyard, a brutal battle between Tsar’s hot blood and the ferocious tiger hybrid monster officially erupted, shaking the foundations of Gimle Palace from every direction.