“If I waste time like this, I can never solve this problem. Instead of being the fastest to clear this floor, I might be the slowest to do it.”

The screeching of the Spirits only intensified before they were so loud that it was getting dangerous. Even after closing his ears with his hands, Azekiel couldn’t avoid the noise.

He decided to leave this place for now as it was impossible to think of anything in this noise. He needed silence to think. However, before Azekiel could turn around, the noises stopped. It was as if everyone went silent at the same time. It was so quiet that Azekiel could even hear his own heartbeat.

The silence was soon broken by someone’s footsteps. The footsteps appeared to be getting closer with each passing second.

Azekiel didn’t understand why, but the surroundings also started getting colder with each passing second. It was as if the closer these footsteps got, the colder this place became.

The footsteps only stopped after getting within a few feet of Azekiel.

Azekiel felt a cold touch on his right hand as if someone held it. It appeared to be a small hand that belonged to a kid. It was just so small.

“Who are you?” Azekiel inquired.

There was no response.

Whoever held Azekiel’s hands seemed to be pulling him somewhere. Azekiel stopped resisting and went with it.

Azekiel had a feeling that it was certainly one of the spirits he was supposed to help. If the Spirit was taking him with him, that meant it needed something. All he needed was to go with him and to find out what it needed to finish the trial.

The spirit made Azekiel walk for over thirty minutes in the darkness before stopping.

Azekiel still couldn’t see anything other than darkness here.

The Spirit released Azekiel’s hands. Azekiel could still feel the cold though.

“How can I help you?” Azekiel directly asked. “What do you need from me?”

There was no answer to his question. All he received in response was a scary silence.

“Hmm? What’s this smell?”

As Azekiel wondered how he could find out what the spirit needed, he started noticing a strange smell.

That smell became more intense with each passing second. It was a really sweet smell as if he was standing in a field of flowers. However, he soon realized that the smell wasn’t good for him as he started feeling sleepy.

“You-” Before he could even react, his head started spinning. Even though he stood in complete darkness, he felt as if the world around him was spinning. His legs also became weak.

Azekiel dropped to the ground as his eyes closed. No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t keep his eyes open.

****

“Take this kid and never return!”

After a long time, Azekiel came to his senses as he heard a powerful shout!

He opened his eyes, only to find the entire world blurry. He couldn’t see anything temporarily. His body still felt cold, but this cold was different. It was a more natural cold, unlike the frightening cold of before. It was as if he was actually lying on the snow.

Soon, his blurry vision became clear. He noticed that he was right. He was actually on snow. The entire ground was covered in snow, just like the roofs of the houses in his surroundings.

“Where am I?” Confused, he pushed his body up. He was still in his old clothes. The only difference was his surroundings. He was sure he wasn’t inside the Tower anymore. Or was it all an illusion? That thought was also floating in the back of his head.

“Hehehe, Don’t worry, My Lord. I will take the young prince to a place where he would never be heard from again.”

“Good. Because if he ever returns, it’ll be your head that will be on the Sword of Queen-mother! You’ll keep getting money every month for his needs.”

“Of course. I will be careful. Still, I don’t understand one thing, my Lord. If Queen Mother really hates the kid so much, why doesn’t she have him killed? Why send him far away from the Empire?”

“You won’t understand. Just do as you’re told and don’t ask too many questions. You understand?”

Two people stood at the entrance of a beautiful snow-white castle, engaging in a conversation. A carriage stood nearby. Through the Carriage’s window, a young boy appeared to be gazing at the castle.

His eyes appeared to have some incomprehensible emotions that were hard to describe. It was as if he didn’t want to leave this place, but at the same time, he also seemed like he didn’t want to show any emotions.

The young boy had beautiful white hair, akin to the snow that was falling from the sky. His silver pupils seemed nothing like Azekiel ever saw before.

He didn’t know why but he felt as if he had met the kid before. It was just a feeling that he had which he didn’t know why.

He shifted his focus on the two men that were talking. One of the two appeared to be an ordinary trader who had a bag tied to his waist, which was filled with coins.

The other person looked like he was at a really high position in the Empire. He was dressed in the Royal Attire. A black cloak was covering his back.

The man had a sheath on his back which was carrying a heavy sword.

“Alright then. I will take the Prince with me and make sure he lives his life far away from this place.”

The trader walked back to his carriage. He pushed open the door and stepped inside the carriage.

Azekiel watched the carriage leave as he stayed behind, still unable to decipher where he actually was. He was sure this wasn’t a part of any trial. Then what was it? Just what was this place?

“It all happened after that spirit took me to that place. Just what did it want?”

As Azekiel stood lost in thoughts, trying to understand what the Spirit wanted from him, he noticed a hooded figure approach the General.

“Is it done?” The General asked the hooded figure.

“It’s done. As soon as the carriage leaves the Empire, it’ll be attacked by the Bandits. Everyone will die, including the young prince.”

“Heh, good. The Queen hates the young prince. Everyone knows that. Unfortunately, she can’t kill the Prince as that would make commoners feel bad and revolt since he’s the only son from the first wife of His Majesty.”

“That’s why she sent him to a place where he would stay away from the Royal Politics, making him distant. Poor woman, she doesn’t even know that I gave her the suggestion to do it exactly because I want this revolt!”

“As soon as the Prince dies, even if it’s made to look like the work of bandits, everyone will believe the Queen Mother was behind it! The revolt is inevitable! The opportunity that Duke had been waiting for will come! The queen will be thrown out and killed for this crime! Her downfall has just begun! The Royal Family will be history!”