I froze the moment I saw her.

Not because of the cold from the ice she created, but because of the rage boiling inside me, rising like a volcano finally cracking open.

Yukie Iceblood.

Just the sound of that name is enough to ignite hell in my chest.

Dark thoughts swarmed my mind. Should I take my revenge… right now? I could stop time. Beat her senseless. Drag her to some place no one would ever find. Tie her down with [Dragonroot Rope] until she couldn't even twitch a finger. And after that… the real revenge would begin.

My heart pounded out of rhythm. My breathing turned harsh.

But before I drowned myself in that violent fantasy… Yukie closed the car door without sparing even a glance in my direction.

And then… she left.

The tires screeched against cracked asphalt as the car pulled away, swallowed by the mist trailing behind it… disappearing at the corner of the street.

All I could do was stare blankly in the same direction. Even when the car vanished, my eyes stayed fixed on the emptiness it left behind.

"She's the last…" I muttered to myself. I would save Yukie for last—after I destroyed the rest of them one by one.

Before my anger fully settled, a man's voice suddenly came from beside me.

"Hey… you saw her too, right?"

The voice snapped me back to reality. I turned slowly.

A man in scratched-up armor stood next to me. I had seen him fighting earlier, he moved efficiently. Definitely a licensed Hunter.

"That was the Winter Knight's Princess, right?" he said, pointing toward where Yukie disappeared.

"I've only seen her on the news and academy posters. But seeing her in person…" He chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. "Even from a distance, she looks way prettier."

I stared at him for a moment, giving no response. My lips still felt sealed by the last bits of rage.

But the guy didn't seem bothered by my silence.

"You know," he continued, stretching his stiff neck, "she's still in school, but with power like that… Why bother staying at the academy? She could go straight into a top-ranked Hunter position."

His eyes drifted to where the portal had vanished.

"With what she just showed… she could reach SSS Rank like her father." He let out a long sigh. "Man… life's just unfair. I train until my body feels like breaking, yet I've been stuck at Rank C for years."

There was no bitterness in his tone, only surrender and exhaustion.

I listened… without saying a word.

He eventually realized I wasn't responding. He turned… and gave me a friendly smile, completely unbothered.

"You were impressive too back there. You look pretty young, but I've never seen you before. What's your name? Which guild are you from?"

He extended his hand, then as if remembering manners, introduced himself first.

"I'm Red Slash from the Luminex Guild."

I looked at his hand for a moment before shaking it.

"Freyden," I replied briefly.

Then I met his eyes.

"Crimson Dawn."

His smile widened.

But my thoughts were still tangled around a white-haired girl who drove away… carrying the past I had yet to take revenge on.

.

.

.

Meanwhile, inside the sleek black car slicing through the fog… Yukie Iceblood sat silently, her gaze fixed straight ahead without a hint of emotion. The air around her felt colder, as if her presence alone lowered the temperature.

Beside her sat a woman with a completely opposite aura.

Naomi Iceblood's ebony hair fell smoothly down her back, glossy like spilled ink under streetlights. Her downturned brown eyes gave her a soft, sleepy charm—yet there was something dangerously captivating about her.

Her black dress hugged her mature figure perfectly. A deep violet sash wrapped snugly around her waist, emphasizing every curve—especially her chest, full and firm, rising and falling in a slow, hypnotic rhythm whenever she spoke or breathed. A true noblewoman… and very much a seductive milf without even trying.

Naomi turned to her daughter with a warm smile.

"You were wonderful back there, Yukie. Really… that ice spell saved a lot of people."

Her voice was soft, almost playful, and full of pride.

Yukie stayed quiet, tightening her white coat around herself, as if trying to contain the fury still coursing through her veins.

If her mother hadn't forced her to help, she would've done nothing. She would have told the driver to take another route and left the chaos to other Hunters. She didn't care.

Naomi wasn't giving up.

"Your father would be proud," she added, still smiling.

Yukie finally looked up, her eyes sharp and cold as blades.

"He wouldn't care. He never does."

Naomi inhaled slowly, her chest rising a bit more prominently than necessary.

"You're becoming more and more like him," she sighed. "In looks… and in that untouchable personality."

There was longing—mixed with bitterness—in her voice.

"Though you weren't always like this," she tried again with a gentler tone. "You used to be so adorable. You would cling to me every time it thundered… always tugging at my dress whenever you wanted attention."

For a brief second—so brief almost anyone would miss it—Yukie's eyes flickered.

Naomi noticed.

She smiled, sensing a crack in the ice.

"You've always had trouble getting close to others. Other kids were scared of you."

She played with a lock of hair, her tone turning sly. "But there was that boy, right? Adam."

The name dropped into the car and altered the atmosphere.

"He was the only one who didn't run when he saw you. The only one brave enough to approach you and invite you to play," Naomi sighed. "Then you suddenly pulled away from him. It was strange. I still remember how you used to watch him quietly like—"

Yukie's jaw tightened slightly.

"You two are in the same class again now, aren't you?" Naomi continued, leaning in so her curves pressed lightly against the seatbelt. "I wonder what he's like now. He must've grown up, maybe even turned into a handsome young man. You're treating him well… right? Or maybe—"

"Mom." Yukie cut her off—quiet, but with a freezing warning behind it.

Naomi chuckled, unbothered, her chest gently bouncing with the motion.

"What? I'm just curious. A mother is allowed to be curious, no?"

Yukie turned her face toward the window, refusing to say another word.

Naomi only watched her daughter, a small knowing smile on her lips.

In the reflection of the car window, Yukie's silhouette stared back—cold, distant…

Yet beneath that ice, for the first time in a long while... a tiny fracture appeared.

And through that crack… a name slipped silently into her thoughts.

Adam.

The past she froze once upon a time… was finally starting to thaw.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.