Chapter 31: The Snow Princess’s Declaration

For a fleeting moment, Alice felt her gaze lock with the girl’s.

This was a girl of breathtaking natural beauty. Her long, silver-white hair cascaded like a waterfall, so smooth it seemed to merge with her silver circlet. Her skin, as fair as ice and snow, showed no hint of pallor or sickness; instead, a healthy, rosy hue tinted her complexion and lips.

Her face was virtually flawless. If there was any imperfection, it lay solely in her expression.

The girl’s countenance was as rigid as winter ice, completely devoid of warmth.

Alice’s first instinct was to avert her gaze. The girl’s eyes held a chilling, murderous intent, sharp enough to pierce her through.

Suddenly, Queen Isola waved her hand before the mirror. The image within was veiled by a thin mist, yet it remained discernible.

Concurrently, on the girl’s side, the other magic mirror was completely obscured by fog, rendering it impossible to see anything.

As the creator of the magic mirror, Queen Isola possessed a degree of control over its projections. She had now blocked the scrying image on the other mirror, allowing only blurred sounds to pass through.

“Are you afraid, denying me sight?” the girl spoke, her tone equally frigid. “Are you accomplices of the witch Samira? Let us speak. I am the princess of the Winter Kingdom.”

Queen Isola exchanged a glance with the Duchess before speaking. “The Snow Princess of Winter?”

“My title is known even to witches. I am honored,” the girl replied, her voice still utterly flat.

Alice had also heard tales of the Snow Princess of the Winter Kingdom. In popular rumor, this princess was a famously icy beauty. It was said that several royals and nobles from the Holy Alliance, including even the Empire’s Second Prince, had proposed to her.

However, not a single suitor had succeeded in placing an engagement ring on her finger. This was because the princess was simply too cold and aloof, treating everyone with the same frigid demeanor. Some even claimed the Snow Princess had never smiled since birth.

Alice now somewhat understood these rumors. A single glance was enough to comprehend that the Snow Princess indeed felt as cold as a block of ice, like an emotionless doll.

“You are quite renowned, after all,” Queen Isola responded. “So, Princess Snow, what have you done with Samira?”

“Killed her,” the Snow Princess answered nonchalantly. “She was a witch who poisoned the king, intending to usurp the country. Naturally, I could not let her live.”

These words astonished all three present. The King of the Winter Kingdom… had he truly passed away?

“She poisoned the king? That’s strange,” the Duchess immediately questioned upon hearing this. “She had only recently become queen. The king should still have been useful to her. Killing him so early, who would she rely on to control the country? You? If anything, the king’s death benefits you the most. I heard the Winter Kingdom has only one heir, the eldest princess.”

She, like Samira, was a spy who seized power by enchanting rulers. There were some matters she understood far more profoundly than others.

Unlike Duke Liddell’s domain, the Winter Kingdom was an independent, large nation with numerous factions. It would be nearly impossible to approach the center of power and establish stable allies within a year. In the short term, Samira could only manipulate the country by charming the king as much as possible.

With the king’s death, she, as queen, would lose her means of influencing the nation. Even Queen Isola, who had been in contact with Samira through the magic mirror, had not detected any upheaval in the Winter Kingdom.

In such a short time, the king was suddenly ‘poisoned,’ Samira was immediately exposed, and then executed by the Snow Princess. And the Snow Princess, having executed her stepmother, simply guarded this magic mirror, waiting for them to appear.

The Duchess had every reason to believe that this series of events was inextricably linked to the cold, young woman in the mirror.

“If you suspect I killed my own father, you are welcome to come to this palace and accuse me face-to-face,” the Snow Princess replied calmly.

“So we can walk into your trap as a group, making it easier for you to execute us all?” the Duchess sneered.

“Whether you walk into my trap or not, I will find you and execute you,” the Snow Princess’s tone was as flat as if discussing dinner. “I will become the Queen of Winter. Any threat to this country, I will not tolerate!”

“Is that why you kept the magic mirror, just to tell us this?” Queen Isola asked.

“Precisely,” the Snow Princess replied. She couldn’t see Queen Isola, yet Queen Isola felt as if she were being looked directly at.

“What a sharp-edged princess you are. It seems the throne of the Winter Kingdom will soon be occupied by a lioness,” Queen Isola remarked.

“Compared to you, I still have much to learn,” the Snow Princess responded with unexpected humility this time. “Your Majesty Isola of Starry Night.”

“You know me? Did Samira confess to you?” Queen Isola wasn’t overly surprised.

As a wilderness witch, Samira had merely collaborated with the Starry Night Kingdom, pursuing her own ambition to seize power in the Winter Kingdom. She held no loyalty to them whatsoever, so it wouldn’t be surprising if she revealed everything.

“She said nothing, but it was not difficult to deduce who supported her from behind,” the Snow Princess replied indifferently. “It’s truly remarkable that you escaped the Imperial army. Samira said you are the strongest witch, and your reputation is well-deserved. Frankly, I admire you. It seems this country has gained a dangerous enemy.”

“I had no intention of becoming your enemy; at most, I merely wished to use you,” Queen Isola calmly responded. “Now that Samira is dead, I no longer even have the opportunity to use you—though I imagine you won’t listen to that, will you?”

“Indeed. Whether you are our enemy is for us to decide, regardless of what you think,” the Snow Princess retorted.

With that, the Snow Princess drew a rapier. Alice was astonished to find the sword translucent and emanating a faint chill—it was crafted from ice.

The distance to the mirror was far beyond the ice sword’s reach.

However, with a flick of her wrist, the ice sword blurred. Several sharp ice shards instantly formed along its trajectory, flying out like arrows from a bow, shattering the magic mirror.

The three watched as the image in the mirror was instantly covered in cracks, then crumbled into fragments.

“One day, I will surpass you,” the Snow Princess’s voice echoed from within the fragments. “If the Empire cannot deal with you, then I will kill you!”

The Snow Princess’s figure vanished from the mirror. In its place were the reflections of the three women, and the magic mirror, as if drained of power, became an ordinary looking glass.