Chapter 322
Frechen continued walking without even looking around.
He walked so confidently, as if it was his own front yard, that Yu-hyun, who was secretly following behind him, was taken aback.
‘No matter how well he knows the geography, what will he do if a Frost Giant is hiding inside the royal palace?’
Such worries crossed his mind, but Yu-hyun shook his head.
‘Considering Frechen’s abilities, Frost Giants aren’t a threat.’
Frost Giants were dangerous only to ordinary Explorers; to warriors like Lean or Frechen, they were not.
Yu-hyun recalled Frechen’s prowess when he fought against Rayon that day.
With just one swing of his axe imbued with grey aura, he could easily bring down even a Frost Giant.
If the number of Frost Giants was too overwhelming, it would be dangerous even for Frechen, but he didn’t think that arrogant emperor would move around considering just that.
Every place he walked was his domain, and the path he walked was his road.
In every action of Frechen, there was a firm belief in himself that was deeply ingrained.
‘But where exactly is he heading?’
When Frechen first arrived at a place presumed to be a large audience chamber, Yu-hyun thought he might be gathering some hidden secret weapon of the royal family.
However, Frechen passed by the audience chamber without a glance.
When he headed to a small, shabby building next to the palace, Yu-hyun’s curiosity reached its peak.
Yu-hyun followed Frechen into the shabby building.
Inside, everything was frozen solid.
Icicles hung from the ceiling, and hard frost covered the walls and furniture. A bluish chill seemed to still be alive inside.
This place was where the servants and maids stayed.
Frechen headed to a door in the most secluded corner of the place.
After lightly touching the door for a moment, Frechen exerted strength with his hand. The frozen hinges broke, and the door fell off. Frechen placed the door aside and walked inside.
Yu-hyun was contemplating whether to follow when he heard a voice from inside.
“Don’t hesitate outside, just come in.”
“…”
Had he been caught?
Feeling guilty, Yu-hyun quietly followed Frechen into the room.
As he had felt from outside, the room was small.
A small bed for one person and minimal furniture were all there was, and even those were frozen solid.
“You’ve been following me since a while ago, haven’t you?”
“If you knew, you could have said something.”
“Well, it’s not like I’m in a position to act openly. I can’t brag about leaving my subordinates behind and coming here alone, can I? You were curious too, right? About why I came to such a place.”
Yu-hyun nodded silently.
Frechen approached a small drawer on one wall. When his rough hand pulled at the top of the drawer, the frost on its surface shattered like glass.
Inside the drawer was a gift box covered with a thin layer of ice. Frechen took out the gift box.
“As I thought, it was here.”
“That is…?”
“The reason I came here.”
When the gift box opened, what came out was a pendant necklace.
No matter how you looked at it, it wasn’t an artifact. There was no energy felt from the necklace.
A plain necklace was the reason he came here?
When Yu-hyun sent a puzzled look, Frechen smirked as if he had expected it.
“Isn’t it funny? No matter how you think about it, it’s hard to believe an emperor would go to such lengths to retrieve such an item.”
“No, that’s…”
“You don’t have to deny it. I know. Yes.”
Frechen’s expression as he looked at the necklace was indescribable.
Somewhere between pitiful and unable to contain joy, and as if tears might flow from his eyes at any moment.
“It might not suit someone like me, but I had to come. I had to confirm it.”
“Who is it? The person who gave you that gift.”
“A very precious person to me.”
Frechen said, opening the pendant of the necklace. Inside was a picture of someone smiling.
The picture had maintained its form despite the long years.
“Rebecca. She was my personal maid when I was the crown prince.”
Frechen closed the pendant and put the necklace around his neck.
“And she was also the woman I loved. We promised to marry.”
“…”
“Heh. You still have that bewildered look in your eyes. I’ve got what I needed, so let’s head back. I’ll tell you the story on the way.”
As Frechen and Yu-hyun left the palace, Frechen began to reveal a past he had never shared with anyone.
Frechen had the blood of the emperor but was almost at the bottom of the succession order.
In reality, he could never become emperor, and more importantly, Frechen was known more for being a notorious scoundrel than by his name.
Frechen had been weak since birth. His mother also died soon after giving birth to him.
Frechen was practically abandoned and neglected from birth. Having grown up without love and attention, it was inevitable that Frechen would become twisted.
So, Frechen behaved recklessly. Even though he was a scoundrel, his royal blood prevented anyone from daring to discipline him, so his misdeeds continued.
His personal maids never lasted more than a week at most.
Frechen didn’t mind. Nobody liked him anyway. If they were going to leave, he preferred they left quickly.
One day, he got a new maid.
Rebecca. That was certainly her name.
Rebecca was different from the other maids. Though she had a plainness as if she had come from a distant rural area, what surprised Frechen more was her audacity.
When other maids would cower and tremble when Frechen got angry or had fits, Rebecca stood her ground.
She even scolded Frechen, looking him straight in the eye.
For Frechen, who had never been challenged, it was a shocking experience. Even though he was low in the succession order, he was still royalty. Yet, Rebecca was not intimidated by that.
Knowing it was an act of defiance against the royal family, she looked him in the eye and told him he couldn’t live like that.
‘Are you not afraid of me?’
‘I am not afraid of you, Frechen.’
‘Why? I could order your head off right now.’
‘That’s the power of the royal family, not your power.’
‘I am of the royal bloodline!’
‘But you are not the royal family itself. Ultimately, even you are just borrowing someone else’s power. If you truly want to claim royal blood, you must first cultivate the dignity befitting a royal.’
It was shocking. Even more surprising was that the person saying this was his personal maid.
Hearing those words, Frechen was furious, but meeting Rebecca’s unwavering gaze made him feel insignificant.
‘Then, what should I do? How can someone like me, who is unloved by anyone, do anything?’
‘Polish yourself. It is something only you can prove.’
‘Do you think I can do it?’
‘No one knows until you try.’
Rebecca’s words, though blunt, echoed deep in Frechen’s heart.
After that day, Frechen changed.
The impatient person who used to get annoyed at the slightest provocation began to develop patience. He started training to shed his cursedly weak body. He put effort into his behavior to avoid criticism.
It was a tedious and grueling process. He wanted to quit and go back to his old ways. But every time, Rebecca encouraged and supported him.
No one had ever sincerely cared for him before.
His father, the emperor, had no interest in him, and his mother had died long ago. His siblings ignored or despised him.
Just one person.
Rebecca was different.
Whenever he thought of her unwavering eyes that saw him as he was, Frechen gritted his teeth and persevered.
He wanted to meet her expectations, but more than that, he didn’t want to remain weak for the rest of his life.
As time passed, Frechen changed. His once thin body gained flesh and muscle, and his physique grew.
Frechen excelled in swordsmanship. He sparred with the palace knights and defeated them, gaining fame throughout the empire. He developed patience and learned to conceal his true feelings, and he learned how to command people.
Frechen eventually garnered the loyalty of the palace knights and formed his own order.
‘Congratulations, Prince Frechen. Or should I call you the Commander of the Grey Wolf Knights now?’
‘Rebecca. It’s all thanks to you.’
‘It’s because of your efforts, Prince Frechen.’
‘I couldn’t have come this far without you. Rebecca. Please stay by my side.’
Frechen proposed to Rebecca.
It was a blunt and unromantic proposal, but it was sincere.
He knew he could never become emperor, nor did he want to. He didn’t care if Rebecca was a lowly maid. His only concern was whether she would refuse.
Frechen, sweating and extremely nervous, couldn’t manage his expressions as he anxiously awaited Rebecca’s answer.
Rebecca smiled gently at his appearance.
‘Yes.’
‘Yaaaay!!’
The moment she agreed, Frechen hugged Rebecca and shouted in joy.
He needed nothing else. As long as he could be with Rebecca, nothing else mattered.
To Frechen, Rebecca was his entire world. She was the one who had given him honest advice, who believed in him and supported him.
Frechen vowed to spend the rest of his life making her happy.
Then, just a few days before their promised wedding.
The Curse of the Frozen Land struck.
“It was really a damn thing.”
To Frechen, who had only been thinking about their future together, it was a bolt from the blue.
Frechen still remembered that day.
The black clouds gathering from the northern sky and
the bone-chilling cold.
It happened on the day he was returning after leading his knights to subdue monsters in the south. Frechen was stunned as he watched the palace freeze over in an instant.
‘Rebecca!’
‘Prince Frechen! No! It’s dangerous!’
‘Let go of me! Rebecca is inside!’
Frechen tried to enter the palace, but the Grey Wolf Knights desperately held him back.
Frechen was their idol and the one they had chosen to follow.
They couldn’t let Frechen enter that icy hell.
People fleeing from the palace were freezing solid on the spot, consumed by the cold.
Not knowing what it was, they couldn’t let him approach.
‘Ah.’
Even as his subordinates forcibly dragged him away, Frechen’s gaze remained fixed on the palace.
Then, he saw someone running out through the open entrance.
It was her. Rebecca was running out, panting, with someone on her back.
‘Rebecca.’
Even in this situation, you’re trying to save someone?
But the curse chasing her from behind was not something a mere maid could escape.
Rebecca bit her lip as she saw the curse approaching her from behind.
In that moment, it was by sheer coincidence that she spotted Frechen being dragged away by his subordinates.
‘Ah.’
Seeing Frechen’s anguished face as he looked at her with teary eyes, Rebecca smiled.
‘Thank goodness.’
Frechen could clearly hear her say those words. At the same time, the Curse of the Frozen Land engulfed her.
Frechen screamed and struggled to save Rebecca, but a powerful blow to the back of his head knocked him out.
When he woke up again.
Only the Grey Wolf Knights were by his side.
The empire had fallen, the palace was frozen, and the survivors had fled south.
Rebecca was not there.
“This necklace was a wedding gift from Rebecca to me. She said a lowly maid like her had nothing to give a royal like me, but still, it was better than nothing.”
Frechen touched the necklace hanging around his neck.
Even after all these years, it felt like it still held her warmth.
“That’s so like her. For this necklace, I’ve wandered outside for 32 years.”
Treasures hidden in the royal palace, secret magical weapons.
Reviving the honor of the past royal family.
Those thoughts never crossed Frechen’s mind from the start.
“I gave up hope that she was alive, but I thought there must be some trace of her left. Yes. I came looking for this.”
For the past 32 years.
The reason he led his subordinates through the harsh northern lands and circled the giant ice cliffs was always the same.
“Frechen. You went through all this just to find that necklace…”
No matter what others suspected or criticized.
Calling him a hollow emperor, a worthless person, a remnant of the empire opposing Lean.
Despite all those comments, he endured for this.
“Just for this? No, no.”
Frechen shook his head and said softly but firmly.
“This is everything to me.”
—
**New Elements and Characters:**
– **레베카 (Rebecca) = She/Her**