Edward Frost.
The future Archduke of the Northern terrain of Orion.
That was the title I was born with.
The vast lands of the north, shielded by the Averill mountains, are predominantly covered by snow for most of the year. It was only during summer that the sun came out, freeing the region from the white veil.
While the lands were fertile enough for cultivation, because of the harsh weather pattern, it was impossible to conduct large-scale agriculture that was sufficient to meet the demands of the growing population.
Besides the haunting weather, the duchy struggled from monster infestations that wreaked havoc across the lands.
In order to control the monster population, a subjugation unit led by the then northern head, Archduke Declan Frost, was formed with elite Frost Knights.
Every winter, when the first snow fell, the Frost Knights eradicated the monster population before they could reach the settlements.
It was during the first subjugation event, Archduke Declan Frost discovered what would become a turning point in northern history.
As if to make up for its discrepancies, the terrain was rich in minerals and ores, some being the rarest of all, sought after by the world.
Through generations, the Frosts thrived as their wealth grew at a tremendous rate and so did the northern lands.
The state of living of the general populous increased as a result of continuous development and eventually became self-sufficient in every way.
The Frost duchy became the richest household in Orion, second only to the royal family.
On the other hand, the abundance of natural resources and wealth made it a prying target for greedy people, even by those close within.
Thus, it took a dominant and authoritative stand to rule over the north.
My father, Archduke Clifford Frost, and my mother, Princess Selene Aetius from the Aetius Empire of Nasia, were such people.
They were powerful nobles even in the eyes of foreign nations.
With the Frosts having blood ties to the Orion imperial family and foreign royalty, they were the kind of people not to be trifled with.
And as their only heir, there were a lot of responsibilities on my shoulders.
As the saying goes, 'one cannot reap the benefits of power, without paying the price'.
Even as a child, I was aware of the expectations placed on me.
Around the clock, there were always things to be done, lessons that had to be learned, or people who had to be met.
Unlike the children of my age, I dedicated myself to studies and rigorous training.
Be it swords, magic, or alchemy... there were constantly new things to master.
Wherever I go, I was always surrounded by people of various kinds. Some try to curry favor, some try to please me, while others mock behind my back.
While there was admiration and envy, there was also an equal amount of contempt in their gazes.
My mere existence was a threat to a number of people.
"Your grace, you have to study this..."
"It is time for your sword lessons, your grace..."
"Our empire's history starts from the war against the great evil..."
"Your grace, you have alchemy class now..."
Maids, attendants, horsemen and, even tutors with certified backgrounds. After multiple assassination attempts, even by the people around me, it became hard to trust anyone.
However, despite their best efforts to break me, every hit only made me stronger.
Perhaps it might have been because of that, I always found it simple to identify people who approached me with ulterior motives.
It didn't bother me as much as it should.
I was neither happy nor sad.
This is who I was, and I have fully embraced it.
Or so, I had thought.
As the years went by, I could sense the void in my life.
For as long as I could remember, I have never had a dream.
Every night when I close my eyes and fall asleep, the world beyond consciousness was a never-ending darkness that stretched over the entire world.
Other than the vivid lack of imagination, nothing was out of the ordinary.
Nevertheless, I could feel it.
I could feel the longing.
The longing for a part of me that was missing.
Still, as life went on, so was I.
That was the case, until the disappearance of the Saintess of Kal.
The Church of Kal, a religion of believers worshipping the great god Theodore.
Centuries ago, the Church was first instigated during the reign of Emperor Philip after the departure of Emperor Arthur as a sign of peace and stability.
The Church, which only had a handful of believers steadily started gaining followers through the passing years with its principles being widespread among nobility and commoners alike.
Nearly two hundred years after the foundation of the empire, a civil war broke out in the east after a severe drought decimated more than half of the crops in the region.
Countless lives were lost in the battle and the disastrous famine, while the lands dried without rain.
Right when things were about to take a turn for the worse, a mysterious young woman with an incredible amount of holy power appeared.
Pure as a delicate pearl and beautiful as a fragile rose, she healed the people with her powers without an ounce of discrimination.
That woman was the Saintess of Kal, who brought an end to the drought with her blessings inadvertently ending the war in the process.
As a result of the incredible feat, the primary faith Temple of Eir declined with the rise of the Church of Kal.
The Vatican was established in the eastern borders and the Church was renamed as the Church of Theodore, worshipping Theodore, the god of beauty and prosperity.
The Saintess became the symbol of the Church and spread its beliefs throughout the continent, increasing its authority equal to that of the imperial family.
While the church was reformed from its roots, the Saintess's title was retained as a sign of the past.
Even though the Vatican was within the territories of Orion, it acted as an autonomous region under the rule of the Holy Pope guarded by the order of Holy Templar Knights.
A few months before the foundation festivals began in the capital Volos, Saintess Oralia set forth on a pilgrimage across Orion for the first time in twenty years.
Departing from the Vatican, she met with the high priests of each territory she visited as per the schedule, escorted by the Holy Templar Knights.
After addressing the high priest of the western territories, she started on her journey to the capital to meet the Emperor.
However, Saintess Oralia never reached her destination.
It was after sunset when an emergency meeting was called to by the imperial palace.
In the underground conference hall beneath the southern palace, the officials present were imperialists and representatives from prominent houses of the empire, who played vital roles in the court.
Ever since the official announcement was made regarding the Saintess's arrival to Volos, there were numerous theories as to the reason behind it.
"The Saintess must've received the word of god. Why else would she bother to go on a pilgrimage this time of the year?"
"Is that what you think? I heard she's visiting every territory even the smallest ones"
"I bet the Vatican is trying to flaunt their influence"
One fact remained the same, both the nobility and the general public were excited about the Saintess, especially since the new pope was ordained only a few months before.
Seated at the further end of the elongated table, I could hear the half curious and half skeptical remarks of the gathered noblemen.
Yet, none of them were prepared for the news they were about to learn.
Once the Emperor entered the hall, the buzzing room quieted down in an instant.
The current reigning head of the Orion Empire, Emperor Schneider Heinrich Orion, might appear as a soft-natured and benevolent ruler at first glance.
In reality, he was a cunning man no different from any other scheming aristocrat when it comes to attaining his goals.
While the golden blonde hair and matching eyes were befitting the symbol of the royal family, his character was anything other than that.
Not that I was any different.
Standing behind the Emperor on either side was Marquis Alexander Herrmann, Commander of the Imperial Knights, and Count Darius Norton, Commander of the Silver Knights.
Their combined presence alone was enough to set the seriousness of the situation at hand.
With a wave of the Emporer's hand, Commander Norton stepped forward and addressed the curious crowd with a stern expression.
And as I had guessed, it was about the Saintess.
To summarize Commander Norton.
Today at 1600 hours, Saintess Oralia and her entourage entered the gates of the palace escorted by the Holy Templer Knights. The palace officials responsible for her accommodations gathered to greet the Saintess and guide her to the quarters before the audience with the Emperor.
However, when the doors opened, the palace officials were greeted with the sight of an empty carriage.
The Templer Knights guarding the carriage and the attendants were as equally clueless as the officials.
Puzzled by the situation, the officials reported to the Silver Knights, who were responsible for palace security, and conducted a search.
Neither was the Saintess's entourage attacked nor were there signs of any malpractice.
Under suspicious circumstances, Saintess Oralia had vanished between the capital gates and the palace.
Long before the news about the Saintess's disappearance reached the palace, the Frost Knights had intercepted a message from an underground syndicate that was spreading throughout the empire at an alarming rate.
Known only as the Serpents, they were composed of a group of illegal mages worshipping Havu, the serpent god of desire.
The mysterious group had been involved in numerous criminal activities including murder, slavery, and human sacrifices that even involved the lives of infants.
From the evidence at hand, they seemed to have played a major role in the Saintess's case.
"Saintess Oralia never reached the capital gates. Her retainers and the Knights that accompanied her have been detained for questioning. But as of now, her whereabouts are... unknown"
When Commander Norton finished his preliminary report, the conference hall erupted with bewildered voices.
"Your majesty! This might be an act of the aristocratic party trying to gain a uppance!"
"The people will riot if they knew the saintess was kidnapped in the capital..."
"The Vatican is already gaining influence among the commoners if we..."
For the Saintess to have been kidnapped, right when the relationship between the crown and the Church was at its worst, it would be catastrophic when the news reaches the outside world for the imperialists.
"Silence!"
The hall fell silent at the Emperor's command.
"We can't let the people find out. Not when the foundation festivals are nearing"
"Your Majesty, the Vatican will not stay put" Interjected, Baron Calhal, the minister of internal affairs.
It was evident that he was worried about the backlash they would receive from the people with the Church of Theodore being the state religion followed by the majority of the population.
"We don't know how the Vatican would respond now that the newly elected pope has yet to make a public appearance"
At the end of the long discussion, the imperial court unanimously decided to cover up the incident under a false disguise and at the same time lead a secret investigation.
For the rest of the world, the official story was that the Saintess had gone into 'seclusion' at the Church within the walls of the imperial palace after she received a sudden spiritual message from Theodore to pray for the welfare of the Empire.
Since it was a type of prayer that urges the devotee to isolate themselves until the end of their prayer period. It would be the perfect mask until they find an alternative solution.
An hour after the emergency meeting in the Emperor's private office, as the future Archduke of Frost and a leading imperialist, I was given the unofficial order to locate and safely bring back the Saintess.
The only people aware of the secret investigations were the Commanders of the Imperial Knights and Silver Knights along with the Emperor's personal secretaries Viscountess Marrow and Baron Green.
As the involvement of the Imperial Knights could raise suspicions among the aristocratic party, it required someone qualified to run covert investigations without the influence of the palace.
Given that it was crucial to maintain confidentiality, the crown prince and the rest of the royals were kept in the dark.
Whereas to me, finding the Saintess was a pretext.
Just when I was looking for an excuse to perform pest control, the opportunity fell right into my hands.
"You can rest assured, Your majesty"
The corners of my lips curved, thinking about the exciting days up ahead.
"Aside from that..." Viscountess Marrow coughed to reduce the tension in the air and moved on to the next pressing problem.
"The Ashfords have filed a case against the Moores in conjunction with the slave trade. They have witnesses and testimonies of the perpetrators"
"Ashfords?" It's been years since I last heard that name" The Emperor fell into thought.
"Commander Hermann" The Emperor called out as he signed the pre-typed order passed to him by Viscountess Marrow.
"Yes, Your majesty"
The ever obedient Hermann stepped forward and received the order in his hands.
"Take the imperial knights to the Ashford county and interrogate the criminals. We have enough problems as it is. There no need to antagonize the Ashfords too"
"I shall leave immediately" Herrmann bowed before stepping back.
"Didn't the Ashfords have a son?" Baron Green commented, remembering the names of the arresting officials submitted with the case file.
It had caught his attention since one of the officials present had the same last name as the county.
"It was the daughter" Answered Commander Norton, after taking a glance at the Baron.
"They have a daughter? That's the first time I'm hearing about it" Baron Green was taken aback by the sudden revelation.
Being the secretary of the Emperor of a nation, it was basic knowledge to be aware of the family structure of every noble present in the empire. Hence it was surprising for him to learn about the existence of a noble child he was oblivious to.
'How much of a country noble were they to have missed my radar?' conveyed the look on Baron Green's face.
"How could that be? How old is this child?"
"Haha... Looks like the old eagle got what she wanted"
Under the Emperor's amused laughter, Baron Green's confused grumbling was unheard.
While they continued to engage in small talk in an effort to relieve stress, I excused myself and exited the palace.
On the way to the estate, the only thing on my mind was the behavior of the Holy Templer Knights and the attendants. Their memories of the time interval between the capital border and the palace were completely morphed.
Memory manipulation is high-grade magic that can be accomplished by only a handful of mages.
"An illegal mage who can use memory manipulation hmm..."
Instead of returning to the main residence, I headed towards the underground cellar attached to the annex that was heavily guarded in all directions.
"The prisoner is awake, Your grace"
Ezra Sawyer, the second-in-command of an elite squad of Frost Knights under my direct command, the Dark Wolfs, emerged from the last cell.
Confined in the center of the room with his limbs bound by magic dampening restraints was one of the members of the Serpents captured earlier that day.
"Grrrrr!Grrr!"
The Serpent mage was growling like a feral animal that was struggling to attack its captors.
"Release his bounds" At my order, the guards undid the restraints on the prisoner's body without any hesitation.
"He is refusing to co-operate and is unwilling to talk, Your grace. We might need to use alternative measures" Ezra added, having interrogated the Serpent mage to no avail.
It was to be expected from an illegal group of mages. Although the Knights have stopped him from killing himself, there were still ways in which he could attack others.
The prisoner now free of his bounds lunged towards me with all his might, while the Knights stood still without moving an inch.
He might be unwilling to talk now. But...
"Not for long" I said calmly, catching the prisoner by the neck.
And so the hunt began.