Inside a dimly lit room, the soft glow of a fireplace cast flickering shadows across the walls…
The sight of flas burning within an ice-crafted fireplace was truly an unusual one.
The Moonlight Family's mansion had stood for countless years, built in the era of the Great War, preserving the echoes of a ti long past.
Two won sat side by side before the fire.
Ada Starlight's gaze was locked onto the dancing flas, her thoughts seemingly lost in their restless motion. Eventually, she turned to Carn. Now that they were finally alone, they could speak freely.
"Is everything ready?"
Carn remained silent for a mont before giving a slight nod.
"It's done… Frey unknowingly helped make it happen."
"Good."
A brief silence settled between them before Carn spoke again.
"We've already loosed the arrow, but I have to ask… Are you absolutely certain about this? If we're wrong, we'll be responsible for igniting a war between two families."
Ada responded with a faint, almost weary smile.
"Isn't it too late to be asking that now?"
Carn let out a quiet sigh, closing her eyes for a mont.
"Then… whatever happens, happens."
—
-Frey Starlight's Pov-
A full week had passed since my arrival at the Moonlight Family's mansion, and I had to admit…
I was utterly exhausted.
Mornings were spent training with Danzo—probably the best part of my day.
Despite everything, Frost Moonlight remained my official instructor. Ever since our first-day altercation, our training sessions had beco completely silent.
He beat to a pulp without saying a word, but our eyes exchanged more than enough.
Today, however, sothing changed. For the first ti, Frost abandoned using his fists and wielded an ice spear instead.
As expected, my injuries worsened. Bruises had turned into deep wounds, taking far longer to heal.
After training, I spent most of my ti either unconscious or staggering through the Moonlight mansion, forced to complete the side quests imposed by the system.
This was the worst part of my day. I had planned to avoid the Moonlight Family mbers as much as possible, given their deep-seated hostility toward …
But the system had other plans.
From tasks that required to engage with them for a set period to bolder, more audacious missions like flirtation and the like…
None of it improved my reputation. If anything, it made things worse. But I had no choice—I needed as many points as I could get.
Once I was done enduring their scorn and contempt, I trained with Carn at night—the most productive part of my day.
Any remaining ti was dedicated to solo training or ditation.
I slept only four hours a day.
I was already pushing my limits. Anyone else would have collapsed by now… but I was still standing. And as long as my body could endure, I would keep going.
—
"Are you okay?"
I took a few steps back, catching my breath as Danzo also ca to a stop.
"I'm fine. I should be asking you that instead—your punches haven't landed on even once lately."
It was early morning, and we were sparring again. Danzo observed with a serious expression.
"You're stronger than ever, no doubt… but there's sothing off about your movents. As if you're—"
He hesitated, cutting himself off.
"As if I'm what?"
"Never mind. Let's keep going."
We both lunged at each other again. Danzo deflected my sword with the back of his hand, trying to breach my defenses.
Neither of us could gain the upper hand. We had both improved—especially .
"My training thods might seem extre, Danzo, but in the end, you're no different from . No matter how early I try to get here, you're always ahead of ."
Danzo dodged my strike and countered swiftly, forcing back.
"We might seem alike… but we're not. You're fighting too many battles at once."
I hesitated for a mont, considering his words.
"What do you an?"
"You'll understand soon enough."
We continued sparring for another hour before finally stopping.
Both of us leaned against the towering ice wall of the vast training grounds, catching our breath as we observed our surroundings.
From ti to ti, Moonlight Family mbers passed by—many of them around our age.
Danzo scoffed at the familiar sight.
"What is up with this bizarre family? Why the hell are there so many kids?!"
It was a fair question.
"The forr lord of this family, Drogo Moonlight, had countless wives… and he was… quite active. The result is everything you see before you."
Danzo's expression twisted into sothing ridiculous as he imagined a single man fathering so many children. What made it even worse was the fact that most of them were close in age, aning he must have been very active within a short span of ti.
"So basically, he was a sleazy, sex-obsessed bastard. But why are all his children female? Where are the males? I've never seen a single boy call Seris his sister, yet there are hundreds of girls who do… What kind of curse is this?"
I froze at Danzo's question.
"I… don't know."
That was sothing I had no answer for.
The dark secrets of this wretched family weighed heavily on … and the curse wrapped around my heart only made things worse.
I had ignored it for so ti now, too preoccupied with everything else, but the ti had finally co to hunt down the one who had placed this curse upon .
I only had three weeks left.
Every day, I felt as though my body was freezing from the inside out. It was like a cold blade was slowly carving through my heart—an agonizing sensation.
"It's ti."
Danzo's voice pulled from my thoughts as several figures began entering the training grounds, one after another.
Training Would Begin Soon…
Danzo and I stood up. He waved at with a grin as he walked away.
"Good luck with that spoiled brat."
"Thanks… I'll need it."
—
Minutes later, I found myself standing before Frost Moonlight.
Today marked the serious beginning of my search for the one who had cursed . To do that, I needed to keep my body intact—at least to so extent.
That was why I had chosen to play one of my cards against Frost, despite the limited options I had.
My gaze t the arrogant lord of the Moonlight Family. The training had already begun, so I unleashed everything from the start.
"Ascension."
Winning against Frost wasn't my goal.
I wasn't even trying to pressure him.
I simply wanted to walk away from this fight with the least amount of injuries possible.
My eyes narrowed, my expression turning cold and empty.
All unnecessary emotions vanished, and my mind focused solely on calculating the best course of action. It didn't take long before I found it.
Frost was a natural-born warrior. He had trained himself to analyze the battlefield and dissect his opponent's weaknesses, no matter how insignificant they were.
That was why he instantly noticed sothing different about today.
But he didn't hesitate.
A massive ice spear materialized in his hands, and in a single step, he closed the distance between us, thrusting forward with a speed that, by my standards, was overwhelming.
Luckily, he had placed severe restrictions on himself.
That gave just enough ti to track his spear's trajectory with Hawk Eyes and the doubled aura I could harness through Ascension.
Now, all that was left was executing my plan.
Instead of dodging, I lunged straight toward his spear.
The reckless move startled Frost, but it wasn't enough to make him stop—and that was exactly what I had counted on.
The tip of his spear was now re inches away from piercing my stomach—a fatal wound.
A sharp sound rang through the battlefield as the spear struck flesh, followed by the steady dripping of blood onto the ground.
I was sure those who hated were ecstatic, yet none of them spoke a word as Frost's spear ran through.
I clutched his weapon, preventing him from driving it any deeper—any further, and the damage would be beyond what I intended.
Carn had almost intervened at first, but when she saw that I was still in control, she stopped.
"That's enough for today, Frost."
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