Selena Midwinter.
Her life was born from a split, and before she realized her destiny as 【Snow White】, she realized the beauty of 【Snow White】 even earlier.
There was nothing to be ashamed of; Selena was infatuated with her own beauty, utterly entranced by it.
Selena never resented her cursed fate, for she felt that possessing such beauty was, in itself, a kind of taboo.
Such was the fate of a fragile beauty.
Thus, the naturally exquisite girl established an "aesthetic principle" that she would practice to the very end—as long as her beauty was sufficiently brilliant, it was enough, even if her life reached its conclusion.
In the girl's "aesthetic principle," she could be confident, proud, and even appropriately mocking or self-deprecating, as these were manifestations of "virtue."
But she would not allow herself to show any "ugly" emotions, not even in death!
Jealousy was ugly, fear was ugly, and mindless rage was the same.
But now, she felt an uncontrollable surge of anger, her silver teeth clenching as she spoke: "Lola... if your intention was to provoke me, then you have succeeded."
She addressed her directly by name, stripped of all respect.
There was no helping it; Lola's actions made it difficult for Selena to feel any respect for her; at least until they re-established a common understanding, they were irreconcilable enemies.
The princess of Midwinter rose from the sofa and walked toward the villa's exit, her face, as cold and flawless as ice and snow, tilted slightly upward: "Titans, gather all frost-walkers and mobilize everything. Go and reclaim Faust!"
The titan's core followed Selena's pace and said, "Your Highness, do you intend to enter the 【Neural Link Pod】 to pilot a mecha? We do not recommend this. Not everyone possesses the aptitude to be a titan pilot; Prince Faust happened to have path experience as a 【martial saint】."
"Aside from that, a typical 【warrior】 cannot properly control our bodies. Let alone someone like you, who has never had combat experience."
Selena raised her hand and let out a light laugh. "Who told you I was going to pilot a mecha? That is what my knight should do, and only my knight can do it, but I can bring you victory all the same!"
"I have only just figured out my ability these past few days. It is the perfect time to test it in actual combat."
"By your will."
Nothing more needed to be said. The frost-walkers, having recognized Selena's status as princess, were not disloyal; as long as there was no conflict with their base code, they would execute any command.
At the same time the frost-walkers began their general mobilization, at the coalition camp besieging the 【Mountain Father】.
Dathrohan was preparing for his routine sortie when he heard news from Arcturus that made his brow twitch wildly.
"Prince Faust was taken away by your queen?"
The prime minister of Midwinter nodded. "Indeed. Thus, you will no longer be hindered by Faust. This time, our two armies will join forces to break through the frost-walker fortress."
The grail knight frowned. "Since your queen has the ability to infiltrate the enemy base, why did she not take your kingdom's princess? Why kidnap a prince from another country?"
A good question! I would like to know as well!
Arcturus guessed that Her Majesty the Queen had seen a handsome young lad and couldn't restrain herself, needing to take him back for her own satisfaction.
But such a reason could never be told to an outsider.
The prime minister could only say expressionlessly, "Her Majesty has her own profound reasons for doing so. From here on, there is only the princess inside the fortress. A resistance of that level shouldn't pose much pressure for you, Excellency. Do you have any objections?"
Of course he had objections!
The task given by the Azure Maiden was to sweep the ancient ruins, destroy all profane creations, and capture Faust to bring back to her; she had not mentioned the princess of Midwinter at all.
Consequently, Dathrohan did not care about Snow White or anyone else; his mind was entirely focused on the single goal of completing the lady's task. Now that you have kidnapped my target, what am I supposed to do?
"...Fine. We shall destroy the profane creations first. As for the prince of Qingxi, I will speak with your queen afterward."
The grail knight shook his head. Since it had already happened, he couldn't run off to question the Queen of Midwinter now; he could only focus on destroying the frost-walkers first.
He turned and manifested his 【Knight-God Stance】, leading his troops toward the frost-walker fortress.
Behind the grail knight order was the army of the Midwinter Kingdom, marking the first large-scale mobilization of the royal forces.
Both armies were highly confident. Without a titan pilot to turn the tide, they truly did not know how the frost-walkers could withstand them. But just as the coalition expected a siege battle, the brass gates of the 【Mountain Father】 opened completely, and every alchemical creation poured out from within—thousands of frost-walkers marching forward alongside seven titans.
Dathrohan uttered a sound of surprise upon seeing this and said, "Hmph, they are taking the initiative to attack? It looks like they have come out in full force."
This was not surprising. Having lost their titan pilot, staying inside the 【Mountain Father】 would be no different from waiting for death; it was better to try and break through in one go.
The princess of Midwinter had chosen a decent strategy. Unfortunately... she had misjudged her own strength.
Though he had been stalled one-on-one by Faust, it truly wasn't Dathrohan's fault. The grail knight had worked very hard, but the titans of the Golden Age were absolutely not weaker than a Knight-God in terms of raw power.
And that repetitive, annoying move of his brought its own set of surprises!
Furthermore, for some reason, whenever he fought Faust, Dathrohan always felt his state was wrong, as if he had been hexed, lacking his usual composure and calm.
Without Faust, Dathrohan had the confidence to sweep through thousands of troops alone!
The grail knight took the lead. Through the super-vision of his Knight-God, he saw that graceful figure standing upon the palm of a titan.
That was the 【Snow White】 of the Midwinter Kingdom? She truly possessed a beauty that could shock the world.
Unfortunately, this heart has already been taken by the Azure Maiden; no other woman can move me to joy or sorrow!
Dathrohan gave a cold snort, preparing to step forward and capture Selena first to end the battle efficiently.
He had delayed for too long; the lady was growing impatient.
Facing the aggressively advancing grail knight, Snow White remained calm and composed. She tilted her beautiful face, using a spell to blow a bone flute as accompaniment with one hand while placing the other over her chest.
Then, she began to sing.
The moment she opened her mouth, a humming sound was the first to resonate in the ears of the listeners.
The grail knight's figure came to a halt on the spot.
Illusions appeared before Dathrohan's eyes. He saw his childhood; at that time, he had playfully run out of the royal palace only to lose his way in the outskirts of the forest.
Just as he was sobbing alone and helpless in the dark night, the lake before him shimmered with light, and the gentle voice of an older sister drifted over: "Sweet child, have you lost your way home?"
"Hehe, come. I will lead you out, but do not tell anyone. Let this be our little secret."
"You want to see me again? We will not meet again. Unless, in the future, you can become my grail knight."
From that moment on, Dathrohan had fallen hopelessly in love with the Azure Maiden, and spent decades of his life fulfilling her wish to become her grail knight.
He was certain he would keep that memory preserved in the depths of his heart, etched into his very soul.
However, the lady's beautiful and charming face gradually blurred in his memory, replaced by an exquisitely delicate face, a peerless countenance that seemed meticulously carved by the Creator.
No, no, no! This is not the lady! Get out! Get out of my memories!
How could I forget?! How could I possibly forget?!
The Knight-God Dathrohan piloted began to swing its weapon wildly, appearing like a madman. This hero with a will of steel was actually shedding tears of blood at this moment!
Just as Dathrohan fell completely into extreme fear and confusion, a Great Titan stepped forward, knocking the Knight-God to the ground with a heavy hammer strike.
Boom!
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