When Jeremy Seybel thought he had resigned himself to his unfortunate fate, it turned out that wasn't the case at all. On the way north, his teeth chattered — either from cold or fear. And once at the place, all doubts finally vanished.
Seeing with his own eyes what he had only heard about before, Jeremy held on with all his might not to collapse from fear.
The northern duchess's residence was called Edelweiss and was a huge territory with a palace made of ice. In size, it was no smaller than the imperial palace. Externally, this place really resembled a living fairy tale.
None of the ice figures that Jeremy saw every year in his city during the New Year holidays could compare to this place. The estate was more like a work of art than a house where people could live.
Graceful ice towers, gates, and decorative ornaments of unimaginable beauty. And all of it was made exclusively of ice. If Jeremy were in a different situation, he would certainly have appreciated all this beauty as if he had entered a museum. But now... This magnificent palace reminded him more of a prison.
Everything around was covered with snow, and even hardy plants wouldn't have had the strength to break through the frozen ground. Despite the fact that Jeremy had put on the warmest cloak he had, he was still shaking from head to toe.
But the low temperature of minus fifty degrees was nothing compared to the terror the guy felt deep inside himself. It was much more chilling than everything else here.
On the fabulously white snow, there was blood everywhere. When Jeremy saw the scarlet liquid soaking into the white flakes, he was almost seized by a gag reflex.
Another guy was carried out of the castle like some kind of carcass. When Jeremy saw how his peer, whom he had seen alive just five minutes ago, had turned into a bloody corpse, he became paler than snow. His lips trembled.
The servants of the ice castle carried the dead man by his arms and legs, and then ruthlessly threw him into a ravine. After death, these barbarians didn't even bother to return the body to the family.
Although... Who needed it here? Be that as it may, this place gathered the outcasts of noble families, whose existence was indifferent to their parents. After they were disposed of, no one would mourn them.
The noble youths lined up before the main gate. They were let in one by one to meet the ice witch. They were not only frozen but also scared to death. Dead silence reigned throughout the line. Occasionally, sobs were heard.
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Jeremy was one of the last in this line of "death row inmates." If it were up to him, he would have run away from here as soon as the opportunity presented itself. But Calcion, his father's loyal servant, stayed here to watch over him.
"Sir...!" Jeremy fearfully clutched his escort's elbow, "You see what's happening here! How can father be so cruel? Does he really want to say goodbye to me?!"
"Young master, you exaggerate too much..." the old man coughed.
"Exaggerate? Really?"
At that moment, another corpse was carried out of the palace. The famous playboy from the Langrange comital family, whose adventures the entire capital had heard about. In the end, the count couldn't stand it and sent his son, who was disgracing the reputation of their family, here.
The young man's face was as beautiful as a flower. He was well-educated and quite talented. One might even think that the unfortunate wasn't so hopeless and had ended up here by mistake. But... Even a beautiful face didn't save him from a terrible fate.
When Jeremy saw this, his legs involuntarily gave way. If even such a handsome guy was killed, what chance did he have? Imagining that in a couple of minutes he would be the corpse on the stretcher, the baron's son couldn't bear it and burst into tears for the whole area.
"Young master, don't be sad. It's not as bad as you think."
"What are you talking about?!"
"You see how His Lordship cares for you? He's arranging a match for you with the princess of the north! Not everyone gets such an opportunity..."
"Of course!" Jeremy laughed hysterically, "Then why was I brought here and not my other brothers? Or am I the only one worthy of such an honor?"
To this, the old man had nothing to say.
However, it was too late to run. Within ten minutes, his turn came. Calcion winked at him approvingly, clenched his hand into a fist, and showed a "fighting gesture." Jeremy wanted to kill him for it.
On trembling legs, Jeremy entered inside. On an ice throne sat a woman of cold beauty. She had snow-white skin and silver hair. It seemed the princess of the Northern Duchy was also made of ice.
Cold blue eyes showed no interest in Jeremy. The indifference reflected in them made the youth tremble even more.
He froze like a statue, not knowing what to do next. One way or another, his life hung by a thread.
In the current situation, Jeremy Seybel had only two options. Try to seduce this ice woman to avoid the death penalty. But even if the guy succeeded, the possible outcome scared him no less! Jeremy didn't want to marry this witch at all.
There was also a second option — to do everything possible to repel the princess. But this almost immediately meant certain death.
No matter how you looked at it, it was a dead end.
And while Jeremy was in despair, biting his lips and diligently trying to find words, he didn't notice that half an hour had passed. All this time, the ice witch just silently looked at him.
For the first time, the viewing lasted so long. Even the servants of the ice castle grew worried, thinking the princess must be furious. After all, this uncouth boor hadn't even deigned to greet her properly!
In order not to irritate the princess further, the servants intended to deal with the baron's son the same way as the others. One of the guards behind Jeremy had already drawn his sword and raised it, when suddenly the girl raised her hand.
This gesture made everyone in the main hall freeze.
Suddenly, the duchess's finger, in a thin satin glove, pointed at the red-haired youth.
"I choose him."
Jeremy Seybel thought he had misheard.