Chapter 3

  Little Wing

  "Diligence and Gluttony"

  Nora had a clear goal from the very first day she arrived.

  She wasn’t here merely to study under royal custom. She came bearing the name of House Ophilis, the weight of the Empress’s expectations, and the future of Snowhaven itself.

  From the moment she stepped off the transcontinental train and into the horse-drawn carriage, from the moment she passed through Artheris Academy’s gates—

  Princess Nora vowed she would be perfect. She would become the perfect student in every aspect, mastering all disciplines. She must make her mother proud.

  Early morning. Birds chirped beyond the window. Orange sunlight spilled in.

  Nora Ophilis submerged her face into a water basin filled to the brim. She remained underwater, hair soaked, bubbles rising slowly at first... then faster... until, at last—

  "Haaahhh!!!"

  She shot up, gasping for breath.

  It was the only way she could feel anything anymore.

  How long had it been since she’d lost herself to her mother’s expectations?

  Last night’s nightmare echoed in her mind—a haunting voice from the past. A pure, snow-white childhood memory: a little girl with sparkling eyes playing in the snow outside the palace gates.

  “Mother~! Look! I made a snowman shaped like you! Isn’t it pretty?”

  A cold, cutting voice snapped back in the dream.

  “Nora, what are you doing?”

  “Mother..?”

  “You’re the first princess in line. You’ll inherit the throne after me. Stop this nonsense and train. You must be flawless as an empress. Cease these foolish things at once!”

  Perhaps the memory had been embellished.

  Perhaps the nightmare was born of her own trauma.

  But one thing was true—

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Nora had never once tasted a single moment of affection from her mother.

  After that day, the little girl stopped playing. She stopped doing what she wanted. She buried her desires and dedicated herself to earning her mother’s pride.

  But no matter how hard she tried—

  It was never enough.

  As she grew older and came to understand more, Nora grasped why her mother never praised her.

  The burden of ruling Snowhaven, the weight of political administration, left no room for tenderness. Since the age of 14, she’d barely spoken to her mother.

  Her younger siblings faced the same fate—

  There were no “family moments” in the royal house.

  Still, Nora understood. As the eldest, she could not afford to disappoint. Not her siblings, not her mother, not her kingdom.

  So she trained.

  Nora Ophilis matured far ahead of her peers—two full years beyond her age group.

  In fact, if not for the two years she had vanished for intense training, she should’ve already been in Year 3.

  She vanished to master the Art of Ice Sorcery—a magic only Snowhavenians could wield.

  The Blood of Cryomancers

  flowed through every Snowhaven-born.

  Ice was their ally.

  Nora’s training was grueling, but she excelled. She mastered her craft with exceptional precision. And yet, when the instructors reported her achievements to the Empress—

  Nora received nothing more than a side glance.

  That only made her push harder.

  She craved more.

  She hungered for more.

  She devoured perfection.

  She chased after it her entire life…

  Until she met a short, unimpressive boy at Artheris:

  Dan Burn.

  A countryside nobody from Zentinel.

  Moderate general knowledge. Below-average magical aptitude. Nora had barely noticed him at first.

  But that day… she witnessed it with her own eyes.

  That surge of unfathomable power—

  No one in Snowhaven had ever seen anything like it.

  From that moment on, Princess Nora took interest.

  If she could understand it—if she could acquire it—

  Her mother would finally be proud.

  By the Riverbank Tent

  Today was the day they'd finally move beyond tent life.

  The wooden house had been in progress for a while now, and the frame was complete.

  Dan and Zeedee had built it together. All four walls now stood.

  "Milestone complete: Happy Home achieved. Break time!"

  "Yayyy~"

  Zeedee dropped the axe.

  The two sat by the fire, chewing on wild rabbit meat.

  "By the way—"

  "Hm?"

  "How’s your magic training going, Freya?"

  "Just the basics, Your Highness. I’m not that interested."

  "Even though your body’s made for it..."

  "My venom’s more useful than magic. Like how your raw form’s stronger than your human one."

  "Sassy. Want 500,000 years in the dungeon?"

  "I'm just being honest."

  "Eat your rabbit."

  They gnawed in silence for a while. Zeedee tossed a bone aside, then turned to him.

  "Oh, Your Highness—"

  "What is it, Freya?"

  "Did you know there’s a new rumor?"

  "Two questions."

  "Shoot."

  "Does it involve me?"

  "Yes."

  "And if I know it… will it help in any way?"

  "Not sure."

  "Let’s hear it."

  "The student press is saying we’re... close."

  "Well yeah, duh, you’re always with me."

  "No, I mean... they think we’re together."

  "...Oh. Ohhh no..."

  Dan clutched his head.

  Zeedee had been by his side since day one—lunch breaks, free time, everywhere.

  "And did they ask you directly!?"

  "What do you think, Your Highness?"

  "What did you tell them?!"

  "I told them you’re mine~"

  "YOU'RE THE SOURCE OF THE RUMOR!!!"

  "I didn’t lie! You didn’t tell me otherwise."

  "You never said anything!"

  "You never asked!~"

  "...What?!"

  "Squawk!"

  "Squawk— thwack!"

  "Ow! Your Highness!"

  Dan thwacked her on the head.

  "That rumor was dying down! Why would you stoke the flames again?!"

  "Aaackkk!"

  He locked her in a headlock.

  "I'll tear those tentacles off you piece by piece! Transform back now!"

  "Like hell I will!!!"

  "That’s an order from your prince!"

  "I REFUSE!!!"

  "That’s five hundred million years in the dungeon!!!"

  "You wanna watch ants evolve into dragons or what!?"

  "FREYA, YOU—!!!"

  CRACK!

  Dan snapped his fingers twice.

  Red-black lightning surged. He became Fury.

  And Zeedee turned back into Freya.

  The two monsters tussled. Trees fell. Forest shook.

  Freya got tossed into the water.

  Fury, nearly 3 meters tall, followed her in.

  Tentacles lashed up, pulling him down with her.

  But Fury had the upper hand.

  He grabbed Freya by the neck, hoisted her back up, and dropped her on the riverbank.

  Her tentacles slithered across him as they reverted back to human forms, both panting as if they’d just wrestled for fun.

  "Haaah... haaah..."

  "Hoho~ Are you mad at me, Your Highness? Are you angry, hmm~?"

  "You leaked it on purpose. You knew what you were doing."

  "You should thank me for my brilliance."

  "Why should I?"

  "Because if the rumors about Dan Burn reach Casca, so will the name Zeedee Lamp. And if she’s not a complete idiot, the second she hears red lightning, she’ll know it’s you. And then she’ll know you’re with me. And she’ll get agitated—squirming like the neurotic monkey she’s always been—and she’ll come crawling out of her little cave. Muahahaha~ ahahaha~ I’m doing you a favor!"

  "...You sure this is a favor?"

  "Just a lil’ bit!"

  Dan relaxed with a sigh.

  "Judging from the love you share with my wife, and the love she has for you... I wouldn’t be surprised if Casca shows up tomorrow wielding a holy sword."

  "Then we’ll go home together. Cheers."

  Dan didn’t respond.

  He just squinted at her and walked back to the tent to continue copying the thesis...

  Unaware that during their brawl, a single blade of grass had fluttered onto his manuscript.

  A tiny, inconspicuous weed.

  But that blade...

  would become the trigger that changed the prince’s life forever.