บท 27: Chapter 26. The Choice of the Ice Witch
When Jeremy Seibel thought he had come to terms with his unfortunate fate, it turned out that this was not the case at all. On the way north, his teeth were chattering, either from the cold or from fear. And once there, all doubts were finally dispelled.
Having seen with his own eyes what he had only heard about before, Jeremy held on with all his might so as not to collapse from fear.
The residence of the northern Duchess was called Edelweiss and was a huge territory with a palace made of ice. In size, it was not inferior even to the imperial palace. Outwardly, this place really resembled a fairy tale come to life.
None of the ice figures that Jeremy had seen every year in his city during the New Year holidays could compare with this place. The estate looked 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 this was made exclusively of ice. If Jeremy had been in a different situation, he would certainly have appreciated all this beauty, as if he were in a museum. But now... This magnificent palace reminded him more of a prison.
Everything was covered with snow, and even hardy plants would not have the strength to break through the frozen ground. Even though Jeremy was wearing the warmest raincoat he had, he was still shivering from head to toe.
But the low temperature of minus fifty degrees was nothing compared to the horror that the guy felt deep inside himself. It was much more chilling than anything else here.
There was blood everywhere on the fabulously white snow. When Jeremy saw the scarlet liquid soaking the white flakes, he almost had a gag reflex.
Another guy was carried out of the castle like some kind of carcass. When Jeremy saw his peer, whom he had seen alive just five minutes ago, turn into a bloody corpse, he turned paler than snow. His lips trembled.
The servants of the ice castle carried the dead man by his arms and legs, and then mercilessly threw him into a ravine. After all, after death, these barbarians didn't even bother to give the body to the family.
Although... Who needs this here? Be that as it may, the dregs of noble families whose existence was indifferent to their parents gathered in this place. After they get rid of them, no one will miss them.
Noble youths lined up in front of the main gate. They were allowed inside one at a time so that they could meet the ice witch. Not only were they frozen, but they were scared to death. There was a deathly silence throughout the queue. There were occasional sobs.
Jeremy brought up the rear of this line of "suicide bombers" one of the penultimate. If he had his way, he would have run away from here as soon as the opportunity presented itself. But Calcion, his father's faithful servant, stayed here to look after him.
— Sir...! — Jeremy clutched his escort's elbow in fright: — You can see what's going on here! How can a father be so cruel? Does he really want to say goodbye to me?!
— Young master, you are exaggerating too much... — The old man coughed.
— Am I exaggerating? Really?
At that moment, another corpse was carried out of the palace. The famous rake from the count's Langrange family, about whose adventures the whole capital had heard. In the end, the count could not stand it and sent his son, discrediting the reputation of their family, here.
The young man's face was as beautiful as a flower. He was well educated and very talented. One might even think that the unfortunate man is not so hopeless and got here by mistake. But... Even a handsome face did not save him from a terrible fate.
When Jeremy saw this, his legs involuntarily gave way. Even if such a handsome man was killed, what chance could he have? Imagining that in a couple of minutes he himself would become a corpse on a stretcher, the baron's son could not stand it and burst into tears all over the neighborhood.
— Young master, don't be sad. It's not as bad as you think.
— What are you saying?!
— Do you see how His Grace cares about you? He's wooing you for the princess of the north! Not everyone gets this opportunity...
— Of course! — Jeremy laughed hysterically, — Then why did they bring me here and not the other brothers? Or am I the only one worthy of such an honor?
The old man didn't have anything to say to that.
However, it was too late to run. Less than ten minutes later, it was his turn. Kalsion winked at him approvingly, clenched his palm into a fist and demonstrated a "fighting gesture". Jeremy wanted to kill him for it.
On shaky legs, Jeremy went inside. A woman of cold beauty sat on an icy throne. She had snow-white skin and silver hair. It seemed that the princess of the Northern Duchy was also made of ice.
The cold blue eyes showed no interest in Jeremy. The indifference reflected in them made the young man tremble even more.
He froze in his tracks, not knowing what to do next. One way or another, his life hung in the balance.
In the current situation, Jeremy Seibel had only two options left. Try to seduce this icy 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 keep the princess away from herself by all means. But this almost immediately meant certain death.
No matter how you look at it, it was a dead end.
And while Jeremy was in despair, biting his lips and trying hard to find words, he did not notice how half an hour had passed. All this time, the ice witch just stared at him in silence.
It was the first time the viewing had lasted so long. Even the servants of the ice castle became worried, thinking that the princess must be furious. After all, this uncouth brute didn't even deign to greet her properly!
In order not to annoy the princess even more, the servants were going to treat the baron's son the same way as the others. One of the guards behind Jeremy had already drawn his sword and swung it, when suddenly the girl raised her hand.
This gesture made everyone in the main hall freeze.
Suddenly, the duchess's finger in a glove made of thin satin fabric moved to the red-haired young man.
— I choose him.
Jeremy Seibel thought he had misheard.
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