The Frost Flower Knight

Chapter 5

It was said that mastering Frozen would free the person from their cursed appearance. The fact that Yulia’s body had changed could only mean she had become a master. To test it out, Yulia raised her sword and poured her mana into the blade.

Fwoom.

A bluish aura formed around the sword. It was a clear blue Aura Blade.

Crack!

But as soon as the complete Aura Blade was activated, her sword shattered, unable to withstand the pressure. Yulia looked down at what was now only the hilt of her sword with a somber expression. This sword was her favorite that she had always carried with her. Unfortunately, the aura was too much for this blade to handle.

“It’s a shame. This sword has been with me from the beginning.”

But the important thing was that she could now create a full Aura Blade. Being a unique ability of swordmasters, this undoubtedly meant she had ascended to that level.

“Father will be so happy when I return.”

Just imagining the look on everyone’s faces gave her a thrilling sense of joy. She couldn’t wait to see how they would react.

***

Three months had passed since Yulia left on her quest for the pinnacle of Frozen. Duke Rosenthal was drowning in anguish, thinking about his daughter, who hadn’t sent him any news of her well-being whatsoever.

“Surely, nothing has happened to her… right?”

He trusted his daughter’s strength and resilience, but there was always a one-in-a-million chance that something bad could have happened. What if she had run into some unexpected trouble and was unable to send any letters?

Thinking of such worst-case scenarios drove him mad. Yulia was the jewel of the family that his late wife, Margarinne, had left him with. People might point fingers at her unpleasant appearance, but she was the apple of his eye.

“No, I cannot sit around any longer. I must look for her.”

Determined, he decided to leave and find his daughter when Gilbert came barging in.

“Y-Your Grace!”

“What’s the matter, Gilbert? This is very unlike you.”

Gilbert was always calm and composed no matter the urgency of the situation, so for him to burst in like this was highly unusual, indicating that something unprecedented must have happened.

The duke calmly stared at his butler with a stiff face. After taking a deep breath, Gilbert spoke.

“Your Grace, L-Lady Yulia has returned!”

“What? Who has returned?”

After a few more breaths, Gilbert repeated clearly, “Lady Yulia has come back to us, sir.”

The duke jumped up from his seat and ran out of his office. Gilbert quickly followed.

“Yulia!”

But when the duke flung open the door at the main entrance and stepped out of the mansion, he frowned. His daughter was nowhere to be found. Instead, a silver-haired lady stood there.

“Gilbert! What do you mean Yulia has returned? Where is she?!” the duke shouted at him.

The butler pointed at the silver-haired young woman with a trembling hand and said, “Your Grace, sh-she is Lady Yulia.”

“What?”

The duke stared at the woman, wide-eyed with disbelief. She was nothing short of a stunning beauty. Her silver hair flowed down to her waist, shining like the full moon. The well-proportioned features of her face looked picture-perfect, delicately placed on a smooth, snow-white canvas. Her shimmering violet eyes were deeper and more profound than one could see.

How could such a beautiful woman be his daughter? The duke could not believe this.

Gilbert held out his hand and showed him a golden plaque in the shape of a lion.

“The lady had this in her possession.”

The duke looked at it. The golden lion plaque was the emblem passed down to the successor of the House of Rosenthal. He had given this to Yulia when she turned fifteen. It symbolized his recognition of her as the next successor of the family. This was the very plaque he had given Yulia almost three years ago.

The duke looked at the woman again and said, “A-are you really my Yulia?”

“Yes. It’s me, Father,” she replied.

He looked at her sharply for a moment, then he blurted out, “If you truly are my daughter, you will repel my sword.”

He proceeded to swing his sword at her. Yulia smiled and unsheathed a sword from the waist of the knight standing nearby.

“I’ll be borrowing this… Joanne.”

When the woman called her name, the knight, Joanne, looked at her, bewildered.

Clang!

Yulia quickly raised the sword and deftly parried the duke’s attack. It was a smooth motion without any wasted movements. The duke’s eyes shone brightly as he recognized that the woman’s stance as she deflected his attack was what he had seen all the time while sparring with Yulia.

Their swords still pressed against each other as he stared at her without a word. Then, he withdrew his sword and embraced her with great vigor.

“Yulia… It really is you!”

“Yes, Father.”

The duke had sparred with Yulia countless times, so he knew all too well how his daughter wielded her sword and swung it, not to mention the positioning of her feet.

“Father, I’ve become a master,” Yulia said happily.

She undid a few buttons over her chest and activated her mana. The mana core between her collarbones shined with a pure blue light.

Her father gazed at her with teary eyes.

“You’ve really done it, haven’t you? I am so, so proud of you, Yulia. I had faith that you could do it.”

He hugged her more tightly, overcome with joy. Being in her father’s warm embrace after so long, Yulia also was moved to tears.

“Congratulations, my lady,” Gilbert said, also dabbing at his eyes with a handkerchief.

Judy had also heard about Yulia’s return and came running outside, dropping whatever work she was doing. She faltered when she saw her mistress.

“My lady…” she said.

Yulia greeted Judy with a warm smile. “Judy… I’ve come back as I promised.”

“Oh, my goodness…”

Judy’s jaw dropped open and didn’t close. Her mistress had kept her word that she would break the curse and return, but she had no idea what an astonishing beauty she would come back as.

Yulia’s typical bushy hair was no more. Her long, silver hair fluttered with each and every movement she made, giving the impression of the Milky Way dancing in the night sky. The orc-like features of her face had disappeared. It was now adorable, like a real-life doll. Her large violet eyes, beautifully shaped nose, and bright red lips were all so flawless.

Judy grasped Yulia’s hands, genuinely delighted for her.

“Congratulations… I am so happy for you, my lady.”

“Thank you, Judy.”

“Well now, why don’t we head inside? We must catch up,” the duke said, making Yulia smile broadly.

“Yes, Father.”

In an uplifting mood, she followed her Father into the mansion with all the people she cherished.

That evening, she was congratulated and celebrated by all the people of the mansion. Even the Bluefin Guards, the Rosenthals’ order of knights, heard the news and came to celebrate with her. It was a happy night for everyone at the Rosenthal mansion, celebrating the safe return of Yulia and the birth of another swordmaster.

***

A month had passed since Yulia’s return to the Rosenthal mansion.

After coming back, her daily life picked up where she had left it. She would wake up in the morning and do some light training. After that, she would have lunch and take care of duties pertaining to the duchy with her father, along with some studying. In the evening, she sparred with the knights. Every day, she went through this routine for a month.

Today, as always, she sat down for dinner with the duke after the sparring session.

“So your birthday is coming up soon,” the duke said.

“That’s true,” Yulia replied.

“Tell me if there is anything you wish to have.”

Yulia’s eyes flashed with enthusiasm. “Really?”

“Yes, really.”

Yulia already knew what she wanted to have. She had intended to tell her father about it eventually, but since he was asking first, she figured this was a great opportunity to tell him.

“I want to have Yverre,” she declared.

“Yverre?” he repeated.

“Yes.”

After some thought, the duke nodded and said, “I had intended to let you have it when you officially became a master, but now does seem like a good time.”

“Thank you, Father.”

Yverre was a winter sword belonging to the House of Rosenthal, passed down from generation to generation. It was named so because of the winter magic that was embedded in the blade. The sword was mainly used by the female warriors of the Rosenthal family. The duke had been postponing the bequeathing of the sword to Yulia since he thought she wasn’t ready before. But now, Yulia was directly asking for it to be given to her, and the duke determined that she was now fully capable of controlling the weapon.

“When we finish the meal, let us go to my office,” the duke said.

“Okay, Father.”

After clearing their plates, Yulia followed her father to his office. When they arrived, the duke took a book from one of the shelves. Suddenly, the bookshelf swiveled, and a secret passage that led down to the basement opened.

“I had no idea there was such a place,” Yulia said with a gasp.

However, she was lying. She had already known there was a secret stairwell here, so she pretended not to know and acted surprised.

The duke smiled, delighted. “I was going to show you when you came of age.”

He had also learned of this place when he became an adult. His plan was to tell Yulia when she also turned eighteen, but it was just that the current circumstances happened to move things forward a little.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes, Father.”

As the duke made his way down the steps, his daughter followed. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, there was a long hallway, and at its end was a door made of steel. The duke laid his hand on the door, and it slowly slid open. When they entered, Yulia saw some very rare items on display. These were treasures cherished and kept by the Duchy of Rosenthal since the time of the founding forefathers.

The duke began to explain. “The treasures in this room are items used by the former heads of our house. Once you succeed me as the head, you will be responsible for taking care of this room and everything in it.”

“I see.”

Yulia examined the various kinds of armor on the walls and rare items inside display cabinets. These objects held in them the long history and traditions of the duchy. They were irreplaceable, priceless items.

“Here is what you want,” the duke said.

He brought her a long box with a snowflower inscribed on it. He opened the box to reveal a dazzling, pure white sword.

There it was—Yverre, the sword of winter.

“Why don’t you hold it?” he suggested.

Yulia nodded and picked it up. She felt a cold sensation from the blue jewel embedded in the center of the hilt.

Shing.

As she unsheathed it, a bluish blade was unveiled. She saw her reflection in the blade.

Yverre…

She gazed at the sword as if hypnotized and flowed her mana into it. Fwoom. The sword emitted a soft, bluish aura. The sword fit perfectly in her hand like it had always been hers.

Duke Rosenthal smiled as he watched his daughter holding the beautiful sword.

“It seems Yverre has also waited for you to wield her.”

“It does. It feels like she’s always been mine.”

Yverre was actually a sword that Yulia had kept with her all the time long ago. To see it again after many years was electrifying.

“Are you aware that you must enter the palace on your birthday?” the duke asked.

Yulia put the sword back in its sheath and looked at her father.

“Yes, I know.”

That would be the day of Yulia’s knighting ceremony, where she would be officially made a knight of the Crowne Empire. At the same time, she would have to swear loyalty to the crown prince. Thinking about him made her heart go frigid.