Chapter 10 : Ice Queen

“Damn it, this brat’s got some tough bones!” One man spat, raising his foot to kick Schiller’s body again.
“Alright, don’t actually kill him. The employer said he wanted him alive,” another voice chimed in, with a hint of impatience. “Go see where that woman ran off to; she’s the main target!”

“Run? How far could she run?” The third voice sneered. “This forest is empty even of ghosts at night. Let’s tie this kid up first…”

At the edge of the forest, Sheryl was desperately covering her mouth.

She had not been unaware of Schiller’s rumors. Schiller von Eisenhardt was said to be an unrivaled lecher, who, relying on his family’s power, ran rampant, using any means necessary to get his hands on beautiful women. And after he got them, he would quickly grow bored and discard them.

Her personal encounter with Schiller had confirmed this; he had even ‘schemed’ in private to conquer her…

When the kidnapping occurred, her first thought was: ‘This is another one of Schiller’s despicable tricks.’

However, when she trembled from fear, he had thrown himself over her, shielding her from all harm.

And then, at that moment, he could have easily abandoned her, but he still risked his life to save her.

The girl’s way of thinking was quietly undergoing a transformation.

Her icy fortress quietly cracked, forming a fissure.

He seemed somewhat different from the rumors; he was reliable, and… also very gentle.

And a little timid.

‘He did that to her in the carriage…’

The sensation from that time replayed in the girl’s mind.

“It was, it was all him forcing a kiss on me! I wasn’t proactive in the slightest!”

“But, perhaps there was a tiny flutter of… excitement.” Her tongue subconsciously licked her lips.

That pervert, that scoundrel, that Schiller who always angered her, was now, for her sake, foolishly rushing towards death.

Sheryl was, at this moment, absolutely certain: Schiller had absolutely nothing to do with this kidnapping!

She saw the three men rapidly closing in on Schiller, their gleaming swords reflecting cold light under the moonlight.

“No… don’t…” She whimpered soundlessly, her body trembling violently due to another, stronger emotion.

Schiller’s “final order” was controlling her, making it difficult for her feet to move.

‘Run? Leave him? Watch him be killed like this?’

‘Schiller will die’—this outcome pierced her mind like a thorn, controlling all her thoughts.

No, this couldn’t happen. This, absolutely not.

But it was too late.

She saw the man with a sadistic smile plunge his sword into Schiller’s thigh. Schiller’s movements came to an abrupt halt, like a marionette with cut strings.

‘Unforgivable… Absolutely unforgivable.’

The string in Sheryl’s mind, named “reason,” completely snapped.

Schiller was dead.

In its place was—fury, an icy fury, and hatred, a hatred capable of destroying the world.

Azure magic erupted from her, and an intensely cold aura swept forth.

“Un! For! GIV! ABLE!”

That clear voice pierced through the night sky, exuding a chilling coldness.

Sheryl emerged from the shadows, her ice-blue eyes devoid of any warmth, only the killing intent that could freeze all things, fixed firmly on the three kidnappers.

“You certainly made us search for a while, but since you’ve come willingly, why don’t the three of us enjoy ourselves?” The man chuckled vulgarly.

Sheryl’s gaze, as if looking at three filthy maggots, swept past them and landed on the curled, blood-stained figure.

Then, her eyes filled with rage.

“How dare you…” Her voice was like an icy abyss, so cold it lacked any warmth.

A wrenching pain twisted in her chest.

“Oh, oh, miss, so angry seeing your boyfriend get beaten? Don’t rush, we’ll make you scream even more later…”

The three men let out lewd laughter.

Facing an unarmed girl, they relaxed their guard.

“Let. Him. Go!”

Sheryl continued to approach, step by step.

“Hey, Big Bro, do you feel… a bit cold?” One of the men hugged his arms.

“Huh? You didn’t wet your pants from fear, did you?” He was mocked by the other two.

However, the two others quickly sensed that something was wrong.

As Sheryl drew closer, the surrounding temperature steadily dropped.

Finally, the man couldn’t suppress the strange feeling in his heart.

“Hey, hey, this brat, something’s wrong!” Although he couldn’t see the terrifying magic swirling around Sheryl, he felt fear based on intuition.

“I’ll say it one last time, let him go.” Sheryl’s expressionless tone seemed to deepen their fear.

“You damn b*tch!”

One kidnapper finally lost his patience, clenching his right fist and swinging it hard towards Sheryl’s face.

Sheryl’s eyes were cold, without the slightest hint of fear. She didn’t even dodge, merely tilting her head slightly, letting the heavy fist graze her temple, leaving a trail of blood.

‘Is this the pain Schiller endured? No, it’s far from enough!’

Sheryl’s mind was now completely enveloped in hatred.

She would make them pay, and even her cowardly self deserved punishment.

The intense pain only made the fire in her eyes burn more fiercely. Using the momentum of his charge, her right foot precisely kicked the inside of his knee. The kidnapper cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground.

“Watch out! This woman’s not right!” The two remaining thugs finally reacted from their shock. They drew their swords and surrounded Sheryl from left and right.

Her body slightly sank, assuming a standard fighting stance, her eyes sharp, locking onto the two approaching enemies.

“Haha, the farce is over!”

The men lunged at her from both sides.

In an instant, she dodged the sword attack from the right, seized his wrist, twisted it sharply, and then used the man’s body as a shield to block the other man’s view, kicking him violently away.

“Don’t move!” The fallen man held a sword against Schiller’s neck.

Seeing that he couldn’t defeat the girl, he decided to win by means of a threat.

However, he seemed to have chosen the wrong opponent for this tactic.

“!” Sheryl’s pupils flickered with a moment of hesitation, but were quickly filled with rage.

“You…” She looked at the blood-stained sword, at Schiller’s closed eyes and pale face. The piercing pain in her chest almost suffocated her.

The next second, her ice-blue pupils were filled with pure fury. “You would even insult a corpse!!!”

She trembled and shouted:

“I will return this suffering, doubled!”

Azure magic was now leaking out with three times the intensity as before. Her gaze, like a grim reaper’s stare, locked onto the man.

Visibly, frost instantly covered the kidnapper’s right arm, rapidly spreading upward. In the blink of an eye, the entire arm, along with the sword in his hand, from shoulder to fingertip, was completely frozen.

Immediately thereafter—

It shattered into ice shards floating in the air.

“Ah, ah, ah!” The man let out an inarticulate shriek, rolling on the ground.

Sheryl slowly turned her head, looking at the two remaining kidnappers who were terrified and at a loss.

“Do you… have families? Do you have lovers? Do you have even one person you care about?”

“Don’t let me find them…”

“No, I will find them.”

“I will use a method a hundred times more brutal than this… to send them to join you.”

Her voice was low and cold, showing no emotional fluctuation whatsoever.

“Eek! A witch, a witch!” The two men, not caring that their companion was still writhing, abandoned him and fled.

Sheryl kicked the disarmed kidnapper in the abdomen. The immense force knocked him unconscious.

“Run, I’ll find you no matter where you go…” Her cold voice echoed there.

She had more important matters now.

She ran to Schiller, carefully embracing his blood-stained body tightly. At this moment, she gently stroked Schiller’s hair, her eyes tender:

“I’m sorry, I was too foolish… Not only did I misunderstand you, but I also treated you like a pervert…” Her words were broken, but full of emotion.

“But you were so cool. Whether bravely shielding me or leading me to escape, you were clearly weak, couldn’t even use a sword, but you weren’t afraid.” Grief overwhelmed Sheryl; she felt a large gash open in her heart.

She gazed at Schiller with sorrowful eyes, then tears streamed down her face like a broken dam.

Sheryl had never experienced such… sadness before; she couldn’t even explain this strange feeling herself.

It was as if she had just received something beautiful, only to lose it in an instant.

“Waaah, I, if only I had known earlier, if only I had met you sooner, if only I had gathered my courage earlier!”

She looked with hatred at the unconscious kidnapper.

Then, she looked at Schiller’s closed eyes, and his lips.

Thump-thump! Thump-thump!

Sheryl’s heart pounded, every cell in her body was agitated, and a crazy thought took over her mind.

Even if he was already…

But so what?

“Good night, Schiller,” she whispered, slowly lowering her head and pressing her lips against his cold ones.

As if tasting the most precious nectar on earth, she shyly closed her eyes, pried open his teeth, and greedily tried to breathe her essence into Schiller’s mouth, as if absorbing his entire being.

Greedily breathing in the air, feeling his entire presence.

…

…

Schiller felt like he was suffocating.

He opened his eyes and found himself being passionately kissed by a pervert.

No, rather, a monstrous pervert. Sheryl had even pried open his mouth and stuck her tongue inside.

Schiller, in front of her, was like a greenhorn recruit.

‘Private Schiller, codename Crossdresser, report!’

“No! Am I dead already?!” After all, anything was possible in a dream.

However, the lingering tear stains on Sheryl’s face and the sweet sensation between their lips dispelled his thought.

“Waaah, my first kiss…”

He had forgotten the fact that he had forcefully kissed Sheryl yesterday.

‘Why am I being hugged and passionately kissed by Sheryl?!’ His heart was in turmoil, unable to calm down for a long time.

Just then, he inadvertently saw the favorability meter above Sheryl’s head.

Beside three blooming silver-white roses, a panel had appeared for the first time.

[Sheryl Hohenzollern]

Title: Duke’s Daughter, Witch

Personality: Tsundere (50%)

Level: Mid-Tier, Lower

Swordsmanship: Hohenzollern-style Swordsmanship – Advanced

Magic: ???

Mana: SSS

Knowledge: Basically no common sense

Favorite food: Taste of home

Instinct: Violence, Schiller’s commands (20%)

Important People: Father, Mother

Person she likes: Schiller

“Uh, what?”

Schiller’s eyes widened, and he froze in place.