Exiled Prince: I'm the Unexpected Extra in the Novel-Chapter 117: The War for the North[5] The Judgment of the Northern Guardian
In the bedroom in the highest tower of Frosthelm Keep, the flow of time had been interrupted once again.
But this time, the reason was not Cassian’s embarrassing situation or the Duchess’s anger. The reason was that single, forbidden name echoing in the room.
"Kaiser..."
The voice of the Mystical Beast Cryomara, sounding more like a seal etched into the mind than a whisper, caused Cassian to lift his head from the floor.
Cassian, who until that moment had been kneeling on the floor like a guilty child examining the patterns of the carpet, changed the instant he heard that name.
His shoulders squared, the expression of embarrassment wiped from his face, replaced by a sharp, knife-like seriousness.
His red eyes locked onto that tiny blue butterfly shining in his hair.
Until now, for the first time in this damned world, someone had referred to Kaiser by his true title.
That Primordial Dragon, scraped from history books, erased from legends, tried to be forgotten as if he never existed... Kaiser.
Cassian’s pupils ignited with the resonance of the Dragon Heart within him.
"Kaiser..." Cassian said, his voice cautious. "Do you know him?"
The butterfly flapped its wings slightly. Even this simple movement was enough to change the air pressure in the room.
A mature, tired, but equally mocking woman’s voice echoed in Cassian’s mind.
"Do I know him? Hah... Who could forget such a fool? That arrogant lizard who sacrificed himself for a handful of mortals when he could have burned the world to ashes..."
Cassian’s heart raced. His purpose in coming here was to form an alliance and save the North.
But now, another priceless opportunity had fallen into his hands: the chance to learn about the source of his power, that mysterious "father figure".
However, Cryomara did not give him the opportunity to ask questions.
The blue butterfly took off from Cassian’s white hair. It glided through the room leaving a trail of sparkling dust and landed beside Cecilia, who was watching what was happening with surprise and fear on the edge of the bed.
The moment it landed, a blinding blue light filled the room.
When the light faded, there was no longer a butterfly on the edge of the bed.
A woman in human form was sitting there. Her appearance was eerily similar to Cecilia’s; the same silvery-blue hair, the same noble visage. However, unlike Cecilia, this woman appeared to be in her early 30s, at the peak of maturity and power.
Her eyes were as deep and cold as a frozen ocean. The icy mist radiating from her skin covered the carpet on the floor with frost.
This was Cryomara’s human form.
Cryomara fixed her cold gaze on Cassian and continued speaking. "Besides," "After all, I am one of those responsible for his death."
Cassian’s eyes widened in horror. His heart was pounding so violently in his chest that it felt like it would tear through his ribs and burst out at any moment. His crimson eyes stabbed into Cryomara with the sharpness of a dagger. His breath became irregular as his hands angrily gripped the carpet beneath him; every breath turned into a painful effort.
The air in the room suddenly grew heavy. The pure and deadly intent rising from Cassian spread in all directions, enveloping everything like a suffocating darkness.
Calm down, boy. These are in the past. Even if you want revenge, you are no match for me right now. You are not even a match for a single finger of mine.
"Brother, don’t fall for her trick, she is trying to provoke you," Nivelle’s voice echoed in Cassian’s mind.
Cassian came to his senses with Nivelle’s voice and took a deep breath, his heart still beating fast in his chest but less so than before.
Cryomara reached out with a gesture full of compassion and stroked Cecilia’s wet hair.
Cecilia trembled at this touch, leaning her head into the woman’s hand as if her mother had returned.
Cryomara’s gaze was soft while on Cecilia; but when she turned her head to look at Cassian, those eyes turned into ice spears.
"Why have you come here, Heir of Kaiser!" Cryomara asked. Her voice was no longer mental, but physically echoing in the room, vibrating the glass.
"I am not naive enough to believe that someone carrying the heart of that stupid dragon came here just for the sake of ’goodness’."
Without breaking his posture on his knees, Cassian tried to repeat the story he had told Cecilia earlier.
"As I said," Cassian said, trying to keep his voice steady. "I came here to help y-"
WHIIZZ!
He couldn’t finish his sentence.
Before Cassian could even understand what happened, he felt a sharp, burning pain on his cheek.
A second later, a razor-sharp dagger made of pure ice, which had grazed Cassian’s head, embedded itself in the stone wall behind him. The dagger hit the wall so hard that it created cracks in the stone.
A thin, straight cut opened from Cassian’s left cheek, right next to his ear, down to his chin. Warm blood began to trickle down his cold skin.
"Don’t try to play games with me, boy!" Cryomara thundered. Her voice fell upon them like an avalanche. "I am as old as these mountains. I was here before empires were founded, and I will be here when they fall. I have witnessed thousands of times more lies, betrayals, and intrigues than you could see in your short life."
"You cannot manipulate me with your foolish, fancy political tricks!"
She narrowed her eyes, the air temperature in the room dropped below zero.
"Tell me the truth. Or I will freeze that tongue of yours and shatter it."
Cassian didn’t bring his hand to his cheek. He let the blood flow. However, within seconds, the power of his "Peerless Regeneration" ability kicked in.
The deep cut on his cheek healed rapidly like a zipper closing. The bleeding stopped, disappearing without even leaving a scar. Even the redness of the slap Cecilia had just given him and the previous wound on his forehead were wiped away.
Cassian lifted his head. He was no longer acting. That fake embarrassment in his eyes was gone, replaced by the crimson glint of the God Slayer who brought Nerath to its knees.
"Do you want the truth?" Cassian said, his voice no longer humble.
He fixed his eyes on the dull eyes of the Guardian of the North, Cryomara.
"I want Mordret’s Sword."
The room plunged into silence for a moment. This name had a heavier impact in this room than a curse.
Cecilia Frosthelm leaped from the bed like a spring without even giving Cryomara a chance to answer.
"YOU CANNOT HAVE IT!"
That mask of composure full of cracks that the Duchess had tried to maintain until that moment was completely shattered.
Her eyes shone with pure, uncontrolled anger. Her hands were clenched into fists at her sides, her nails digging into her palms. Her face had turned crimson with rage.
She marched on Cassian.
"You..." Cecilia said, her voice trembling. "You are the same! You are all the same! The Empire, the Holy Church, the other lords... Even the Obsidian Dawn! You are all after that damned sword!"
Cecilia stood in front of Cassian, pointing her finger at him.
"That so-called help you offered... Those letters, those promises... They were all just a trap, weren’t they? A game to enter the castle, gain my trust, and steal that sword!"
Tears began to stream from her eyes, but this time she was crying from anger, not grief.
"My family’s murder... My father, my mother being slaughtered on that bloody night... The North coming to this state, my people being decimated... It all happened because of that sword! That thing my family sacrificed themselves to protect, sealed with their blood... you cannot just come and take it from me! I won’t allow it!"
Cassian responded to Cecilia’s emotional outburst with equal harshness.
"That sword..." Cassian said, raising his voice. "Never belonged to your family! And its owner was neither your father nor you. That sword belongs to me!"
"Belongs to you?" Cecilia laughed hysterically. "Who are you? Who do you think you are? That sword has been kept in the North for hundreds of years! It cannot belong to a child like you."
"As long as the sword is here, the North is already falling!" Cassian shouted. "Don’t you see? That sword doesn’t protect you, it makes you a target board! Your family was crushed under a burden they couldn’t carry, and now you are making the same mistake!"
"SHUT UP!" Cecilia raised her hand, dozens of ice spears formed in the air, all locked onto Cassian.
"BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP!"
Cryomara’s voice cut between them like an avalanche. The sound wave she created shattered Cecilia’s ice spears in the air and pushed Cassian backward.
The storm in the room subsided.
Cecilia, shoulders slumping, turned to the woman behind her, her guardian, with trembling lips. "But... Cryomara... He wants that sword..." Her voice was like a small, scared girl.
Cryomara reached out affectionately and pinched Cecilia’s cheek, as if wiping away those tear tracks.
"It’s okay, my little butterfly," Cryomara said, her voice now soft as silk.
"No one... absolutely no one can take anything without your permission while I am here. I won’t allow it. That sword is yours." While saying her last words, she directed her piercing icy gaze at Cassian.
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