Twelve years later.
Amelia Edemsworth looked at the changing scenery through the carriage's window, but the sights did not ease her anxiety.
She was on her way to the Ancestral Castle Vallhall in the very heart of the Far North, a region of Nordenthele Kingdom that was once thought of as a lost cause.
As the platinum-haired woman with wrinkles of worry marking her eyes and brows far too early leaned back into her seat, she couldn't help but reminisce about the past.
Back then, right after defeating t the defools and deofolized humans that attacked the Royal Academy, Rotsard Vallhall asked her once again to marry her.
And back then…
…she rejected him in public for the second time…
She liked him, and she knew he loved her, yet saying no to him came easy to her.
Back then, despite his explanation, she still believed herself to be a special existence, the chosen one who would protect the world, and she couldn't imagine herself standing side by side with a third-rate villain who fought against his fate, risking the whole world for his own sake.
She expected that the world would start falling into ruin and even tried to blackmail Blanid to return to her role as the fake hero to salvage as much as possible, but her delusions were quickly proven to be false.
Not entirely, as occasional cases of deofolization proved that deofols were still a threat, but nothing even comparable to a large-scale invasion written in the story ever happened.
Just as Rotsard tried to make her understand, humanity was going to be fine.
But she didn't regret her decision, and simply told herself it was still the best course of action.
With that, she focused on supporting the Edemsworth family.
She was too busy to attend a grand wedding, where Rotsard Vallhall took Mira Vultress, Chloe, and Blanid as his wives, and felt no regret, even while looking at the invitation hand-written by her former servant…
She sent a congratulatory gift when she heard that Rotsard and Mira's first child, a boy, was born.
And she sent another one a month later when she learned that Rotsard's and Chloe's child, also a boy, was born, too.
…and nine months later, when she heard that Rotsard and Blanid had a daughter…
Amelia remembered that back then, she even smirked, as if expecting that Blanid's position would fall because of that, and she even made some preparations to take her back if she was chased out.
But as nothing of the sort happened, and a year later she received another hand-written invitation, this time to Rotsard and Blanid's daughter's, Ull, first birthday.
…that's when she realized that Rotsard was nothing like her father…
…
…that's when Amelia realized that this whole time she was assuming that Rotsard would become just like her father…
While graduating early from the Royal Academy and sacrificing the next two years, she saved the Edemsworth house from financial ruin, but didn't receive even a single word of gratitude or praise from her father or anyone besides her younger sister, Bernadette.
She was too worn out, both physically and more so mentally, to even consider attending the grand celebration that the Royal Family threw for Rotsard Vallhall for retaking the Far North.
Back then, Rotsard received the title of the independent Duke and was granted the newly re-established territory to rule over.
…back then, Amelia felt a stinging in her heart for the first time…
If she agreed to marry him, she would be the one to help him in establishing the new territory and watch it grow.
That was also the first time that Amelia thought that Rotsard would surely support and praise her for her efforts, but she quickly pushed those emotions to the far corner of her heart.
She didn't even realize that by that point, Rotsard had more children, too.
A daughter with Mira, a second boy with Chloe, and a pair of twins, a boy and a girl, with Blanid.
Later, she learned that instead of the second wife being the one in charge of finances and governing, Rotsard hired none other than the estranged Vicas Lazalarius, establishing him as his right-hand man…. And that information eased the stinging in her heart.
She didn't want to admit it to herself, but a part of her believed that the spot of Rotsard's official second wife was saved for her.
He loved her more than anyone, after all.
She was quite surprised when she learned that Rotsard asked for an additional reward a year later. A pardon for the banished third princess.
The moment it was granted, he took her as his fourth wife, and considering that only two months later they had a child, it wasn't difficult to figure out that he was sheltering her the entire time she was supposed to be banished.
But no one said a thing, nobles were smart enough not to prod at the gates of hel.
At the same time, the stinging in Amelia's heart returned with more power.
…while three wives were normal, and four wives were still acceptable, although pushing it a little bit, a man having five official wives was basically never seen…
Another hit came from an unexpected place, during the sixth year after the battle at the Royal Academy, and not even maliciously, but that made it worse.
Bernadette, while only a seventh-year in the Royal Academy, through sheer knowledge, skill, and hard work, took the, empty until that point, position of the Royal Magician for herself…!
And she was praised ceaselessly by their father despite never showing any intention of using her influence to aid their family…!
Ameila took a deep breath, furrowing her brows and biting her lips at that particular memory.
She could recall it so vividly as if it had happened yesterday.
Bernadette offering her a helping hand, asking her to leave that wretched family.
Her rejecting and rebuking Bernadette harshly, claiming that the Edemsworth family is the only place she knows and belongs to…
Bernadette's betrayed expression…
…and the emotions she, Amelia, experienced when she received an invitation for the wedding of Bernadette and… Rotsard Vallhall… a few weeks later.
Apparently, it was a long time coming, too.
Ever since the battle in the Royal Academy, Mira believed Bernadette to be indispensable and used her right as the first wife to recommend her to Rotsard once the younger woman expressed her interest in marriage.
That year also marked the birth of Rotsard and Chloey's third child, a third boy.
Amelia wasn't someone weak mentally, but even she needed to take her mind off some unwelcome thoughts. To do so, she began working on the side on an enterprise all on her own, and experienced quite the success in the field within two years, while Rotsard welcomed into the world Mira's third child, a second son. A second child with Demi-Leigh, a daughter. And a first child, a boy, with Bernadette.
Even though Bernadette cut off all contact with Edemsworths, their father still had the guts to brag about her to their business partners during one of the meetings Amelia organized, all while sending her piercing glances while doing so.
That was when she made a mistake.
Hoping for recognition, she revealed her involvement in the flourishing business.
She indeed received praise for it, and her seemingly overjoyed father encouraged her to involve one of her half-sisters in it, to serve as an example to follow…
…only for her to be scammed out of that very business the following year by the very half-sister she welcomed with open arms.
That marked the beginning of the catastrophic downfall of Amelia's position within the Edensworth family.
The last three years turned into a path of thorns that Amelai didn't want to remember…
And finally, realizing that she was going to be kicked out anyway, Amelia left the Edemsworth family on her own.
Her destination?
With an inkling of hope and a generous amount of delusion… Far North.
The territory of the man she rejected twice.
On her way there, Amelia learned that Rotsard had two more children, a boy and a girl, with Mira. Three more, two boys and a girl, with Chloe. A staggering seven with Blanid…! In her case, it was another set of twins, both boys, a girl, a boy, and then triplets, two girls and a boy. Three more with Demi-Leigh, two girls and a boy. And even with Bernadette, who didn't neglect her work as the Royal Magician, they had two more children, a girl and a boy!
Apparently, the commoners who settled in the Far North after learning of its prosperity, would jokingly say that their lord couldn't keep his cool unless at least one of his wives was pregnant.
Amelia, with her only experience being the Edemsworth family, couldn't imagine how that situation could be anything other than a nest of venomous snakes fighting for power…
…but no matter whether it was from the coachwoman or any of the people she spoke to while stopping for the night, they all claimed that the family of their lord could be used as an example of a happy and harmonious family that even they were envious of…
Finally, after almost a month of travel through the Far North alone, Amelia reached her destination.
As she exited the carriage, she could hardly believe her own eyes.
Once one heard the name Far North, their imagination naturally went to a cold and desolate place, but the reality couldn't be more different.
The climate was completely altered by the magic barrier kept up by Rotsard and his contracted fae, the Grand White Wolf Fae, Cryogenian, making it perfect for both humans and all sort of edible plants of wide variety.
The city growing under the imposing castle was full of hustle and bustle that might not be comparable to the capital of Nordenthele, but certainly didn't lose to other big cities within the rest of the kingdom.
"..."
Amelia, who was left in front of the castle gate, with just a single travel chest worth of baggage, swallowed her saliva.
After taking a good look at the cityscape below, she turned around and faced the guards.
Instead of humans, two thirteen-foot-tall ice puppets holding proportionally large shields and spears were barring the gate that was blocked with yet another barrier.
"M-my name is…"
*whoosh*
The platinum-haired woman spoke up nervously, but before she could introduce herself properly, both guardians stepped aside, and the barrier changed from opaque into translucent, allowing her the passage.
"Th-thank you…"
Amelia nodded at both puppets and muttered, nervously hurrying through, dragging the travel chest behind.
*whoosh*
"...!"
The moment she passed it, the barrier at the gate turned opaque with a soft sound that still gave the woman quite the scare.
The inner courtyard was a cross between a garden and a recreational area that brought peace to those who visited.
That said, no one came to greet Amelia, and the courtyard seemed empty with the exception of two people who weren't even paying attention to her at first.
A silver-haired woman with golden eyes, who must have been close to eight-feet-tall, was sitting on one of the benches under the shade of a peach tree, smiling softly while absentmindedly caressing her clearly very pregnant stomach.
And an average-height, ashen-haired man, approaching his twenties, with amber eyes, happily telling the silver-haired woman some kind of story while being very animated about it.
Both were fancily dressed in a manner that left no room to doubt their social status as nobility, and despite their good mood and smiles, they had this aura that made them hard to approach by Amelia, who should be used to it all.
…but, just trying to sneak by would be considered very rude… After all, Amelia might have left the Edemsworth family, but she wasn't officially kicked out, so she was a proper noble.
"G-good morning…"
So, after leaving her baggage by the side of the wall where no one would trip over it accidentally, Amelia approached the pair, curtsying nervously as she greeted them.
"...?"
"..."
The man stopped talking and tilted his head with curiosity at the sight of Amelia, while the pregnant woman frowned and openly glared at her. Her distaste at the sight of the platinum-haired visitor was very clear and made Amelia even more nervous.
"M-my name is A…"
"Miss Edemsworth…! What brings you…?"
"You actually have the guts to show your face now, after all those years? You sure are shameless, Amelia."
As she attempted to introduce herself, she was interrupted. First, by the man who appeared friendly towards her and just surprised, but then even he was cut off by the clearly disgusted woman staring daggers at the confused Amelia.
Both of them obviously knew her.
"What is it? After all those years of overconfidence and superiority complex, you decided to lower yourself and come visit your unworthy acquaintances? Because we're obviously not worthy of your friendship!"
"...!?"
The pregnant lady scoffed, causing Amelia to take a step back, taken aback by the amount of venom and anger that was poured at her through those words.
"Sister Saria, should I take her away?"
"S-Saria…!?"
The man stepped in front of the pregnant woman and kneeled down, grabbing her hand and asking with a worried look on his face, but the name he called her caused Amelia to gasp.
"Tsk! She didn't even recognize me!"
"Sister Saria…"
The woman who turned out to be none other than Saria Vallhall, clicked her tongue furiously, prompting the kneeling man to speak up a bit louder.
"...sorry…I know I shouldn't get agitated like that… just that… She completely ignored Little B, no matter how hard she tried to contact her! I thought that's because Little B is only her half-sister, but she never even wrote a letter to Bernie either! And that bitch just waltzes her way in here as if those twelve years never happened, and correct me if I'm wrong, but she was neither invited nor did she inform a single soul about her arrival! Ugh! My blood just starts boiling when I look at her!"
Saria straightened her back only to breathe out and relax, speaking apologetically towards the ashen-haired man, only for her tone to turn sharp when she glared back at the anxious Amelia.
"I-in the first place, wh-what are you doing here, S-Saria…? A-and why did you get so tall…?"
"...?"
Not wanting to stay quiet, but too stunted by the mental abuse from her family, Amelia asked, nervously changing the subject.
"First of all, any member of the Vallhall family would experience growth when either Rotsard or Cryogenian would be sharing their space. Second of all, what? Am I supposed to ask for your permission to come over and visit my husband if I start missing him?"
"H-husband…?"
Saria scoffed again, straightening her back and squinting her eyes, ready for full-blown confrontation, but Amelia backed off and mumbled while looking over at the ashen-haired man.
"...did… did you miss me addressing her as my sister or has the situation at the Edemsworth house got so much worse than what sister Blanid and sister Bernadette were aware of…?"
The insinuation certainly disturbed the ashen-haired young man, and he moved his arms around as if trying to physically piece the story together.
"N-no..! I…! I… got so surprised by how Saria changed that I forgot you called her that…"
Amelia flinched and hurriedly shook her head, hastily correcting the misunderstanding.
"..."
"...?"
Alas, she stopped talking and instead focused on Saria's pregnant belly, and her expression turned miserable, prompting an exchange of confused and slightly suspicious glances between the other two.
"Am I disturbing something…?"
"!?"
The silence didn't last long, yet it wasn't broken by either of the trio, but rather by a fourth person who arrived at the scene.
A dark-red-haired man in the early thirties, carrying a bright-red-haired child who appeared to be trying to shyly hide from the stranger.
The stranger being Amelia, of course.
"Arty noticed someone bothering you from the library, so she came to get me… You did great sweetie~"
The red-haired man said towards the other three and then said to the child in his arms, kissing her forehead, before approaching Saria and stopping right behind her.
"...~"
"...~"
He then reached out and gently caressed Saria's face, and she leaned her head against him, as both started giving off the atmosphere that could only be described as an aura of a happily married couple.
"Oh…! S-so you're not Rotsard's wife…!?"
"..."
…and the fluffy atmosphere disappeared like a burst balloon at Saria's next outrageous claim.
The red-haired man seemed merely amused at the comment, clearly feeling very secure, but Saria's expression darkened.
"I don't know what new delusions you are concocting in that overinflated head of yours again, but to have the sheer audacity to suggest me being in a relationship with someone else, even Big Brother Rotsard, right in front of my husband and daughter, is a step too far, don't you think!?"
"...! Ah! S-sorry…! I didn't mean anything by it…!"
Saria said angrily, yet still holding back quite a bit because of her young daughter's presence, causing Amelia to back off and cower yet again.
"I… I just assumed… a-anyway, I'm very sorry!"
She apologized again, bowing her head as easily as if it was second nature to her already.
"That said…"
"...?"
While Amelia kept apologizing, the ashen-haired man glanced over at the red-haired one, getting the questioning look from Saria…
"Indeed… His Lordship did mention something that might have something to do with this situation.
"Pfft… His Lordship? Since when do you call…? Ooohhh… official business. Sorry, sorry~!"
The red-haired man nodded, furrowing his brows while looking at Amelia, and accidentally causing his wife to snort in amusement, only to hurriedly pull herself together with a realisation.
"Hmhm~"
The man gently caressed her face again and chuckled, but then focused back on Amelia again.
"Wh-what could Lord Vallhall possibly want with me…?"
"...~"
Amelia ended up asking shyly, but still without completely raising her head, so she missed the glint of cold triumph in the eyes of the red-haired man.
"Uh-oh…"
Saria didn't, though, and since she knew her husband the best, she breathed out and looked away, already preparing for whatever could come next.
"...~"
Even the ashen-haired man who appeared to be at least well-acquainted with the red-haired one enough to pick up on his peculiar cues merely smirked and took a step back.
"I can't tell anything for certain as His Lordship hasn't let me in on the details yet… But he did mention that the woman who will become his sixth wife is expected to arrive today. One that could lose her head easily, so he asked to be as nice as possible to her."
"!"
The red-haired man revealed, watching with amusement as Amelia's eyes widen and her face brights up with a slight blush.
That was such amazing news for the platinum-haired woman…!
Could it be?
If Rotsard's power was as vast as the rumors said, it wouldn't be hard to believe that he noticed her entering his territory and prepared accordingly.
He must have kept loving her through all these years!
It just made sense, after all, back then, when she rejected him publicly the second time, he did look so dispirited.
If he held on to the belief that the third time would be the charm, then…!
Without anyone saying anything or even making even the slightest gesture of encouragement, Amelia began filling the gaps herself and building herself up all on her own until she almost returned to the confidence levels she had back in her Academy days.
...so she didn't pay the slightest bit of attention to the most meaningful part, the one about losing the head, which was the most important clue...
And then, as if waiting for the zenith of her positive emotions, he entered the garden.
Even those who had their backs turned realized his presence, as each step of this almost mythical, towering figure was stirring up thousands of crystalized ice mana particles that would sparkle in the warm sunlight…
Only that, when his feet would touch the moment, for a fraction of a second, much quicker than anyone could blink, the entire garden would end up cowered in a deep layer of snow that would disperse within the same moment…!
A sight so fast that the cold couldn't even be registered by the human senses.
A scene so difficult to come to accept, that it was much easier to believe it to be just a trick or an illusion spell.
The patriarch of the Vallhall family. Master of the Grand White Wolf Fae. The liberator and benefactor of the Far North. The existence that breaches the borders separating a human, a fae, and a deofol...!
The one true ruler of ice!
Rotsard Vallhall.