I regressed and became the Sword Ice King

The ambient rays of the sun descended upon the King's courtyard as a condescending silence suffused the air.

While the sunlight caused a warmth that enveloped the people gathered, a contrasting cold still lingered in the air, a testament to the duel that concluded.

The greenery around the Sparring ring was dyed blue, and their frozen tips began to melt with the intensity of the sun.

Its contrasting properties caused a warmth that was easily permeated by the cold, serving as a constant reminder of the winner of the duel.

Amidst all this, a man at the age of 21, with blonde hair and sparkling golden eyes like his father, was caught in a situation that he dreaded without realizing it.

"But, your Highness?!" Thylan said, startled by his father's declaration. 'Why me?' He thought, glancing at his younger brother, who seemed to be amused by the situation.

"I do not think such is necessary," He said, turning towards the King, but something caused him to take a step back with a dark mask of fear cascading on his face.

"Are you talking back to me too, Boy?" The king questioned, a hard, cold gaze piercing the eyes of his son.

He had always searched for ways to tame the bastard since Thylan was the most like him in terms of his bad side.

Thylan was susceptible to violence, and a violent King without brains can be easily overthrown.

Thylan was not king material, and this seemed like a good opportunity to put two things he didn't like together.

He turned away from the boy towards Gloria Jun, her expression calm and devoid of any reaction.

"Do you object, Gloria Jun?" He asked, his tone sounding like a stern warning.

Gloria turned towards the King, genuflecting at the same time. "It would be my honor, Your Highness"

The King, satisfied with her response, stood up from his throne, his gaze lingering on Raph.

"You have gone beyond my expectations, Raffaelo Jun. I shall await your service in five years" He then turned and walked away while his sons quickly walked after him, their thoughts occupied.

A moment of silence descended when Nexulus Bon sighed deeply and said. "The trial of the Jun household has ended. You are dismissed". And with that, the silence was broken. Find more chapters on My Virtual Library Empire

The nobles began to walk up to one another, conversing on the series of events or trying to form new connections perhaps.

One of such was a popular noble known as Count Bast of the Tully Town.

He was a handsome man with dark wavy hair and side beards that accentuated his muscular figure that bulged in his noble clothing.

The man walked up towards the Jun siblings that had gathered next to Raph, their thoughts reeling.

Raph was the first to notice, as he sat down on the Arena floor while his sisters surrounded him.

"Congratulations, Patriarch Gloria Jun" Count Bast announced on getting to them, his gaze sharp and fiery as it landed on Gloria.

"Count Bast, it has been a while" Gloria replied as they shook hands.

"Kha Kha Kha, Not at all, Not at all," The man said, his laughter echoing in the air at the same time as they shook hands.

"How has your town been faring with the rise of opening gates?" Gloria asked.

"As usual, my army is powerful, and we employ mercenaries and adventurers now and then, like your sister over there" He turned towards Morganna, who returned his comment with a smile.

"It is nice to see you again, too, Count Bast,"She said as Count Bast slowly turned towards Raph.

"Kha Kha Kha, The star of the day. You killed a level 100 like it was nothing, Young Master Raffaelo". He said as he folded his arms while they stared at each other.

"....Well, what can I say, when you've faced one of them, then the others would be a piece of cake". Raph replied after a moment of silence.

He had been staring at Count Bast since the moment he walked up to them, and something about the Noble nudged him the wrong way.

However, it was an extremely justified reason.

"Kha Kha Kha! This old man doesn't seem to understand what you mean, Young Master Raffaelo" He said, his tone as loud and joyful as his expression. "Anyways, I guess I may have to start referring to you as something else, Lady Gloria"

"...And what is that?" Her curiosity was palpable, but the sarcasm was much more.

"Oh, don't jest too, Lady Gloria. It is not easy for a Great family to get married into the Imperial family; I'll say this is a call for celebration".

'A call for celebration?' The Jun household thought in unison, their distant expressions hinted at how uninterested they were on the topic.

The King's announcement had come as a surprise to many, and especially Raph.

He had expected the King to retaliate in some sort of way, and marrying off one of his sisters was within his scope of thoughts, but he had convinced himself that the King couldn't do it.

Why? Well, simply because he has no power over the family household itself, but by pushing the King to pick Gloria as the next Patriarch, things become tricky, and the King retorts by using Gloria.

'Well, it wouldn't matter much. Thylan is a rebel by nature, and at this time, he was caught up in a scandal…..I don't have to worry too much about him….the issue is the King'. Raph thought, while his sisters continued conversing with Count Bast.

The things they said were of great interest, but they were minor issues. The appearance of demonic gates had been increasing steadily, but it wasn't bad enough for the humans not to protect their homes, so Raph couldn't care less about it.

'The King could use Thylan to attempt controlling Gloria if they become wed...hah, for fuck's sake. Why won't this bastard give up on his ambitions'.

For a moment he sighed, inwardly setting his feelings aside as he turned towards Bast, who was joyously laughing with his sisters while conversing.

A complicated expression began to creep on his face as his brows furrowed and his lips curled downwards. His eyes were letting him see things that were meant to be hidden or things that were blind to the typical human eyes, and what he saw at this moment was a thick, murky, red energy that circulated throughout the man's body.

It wasn't just serving as an energy source, but a life source as well.

'This is demonic energy', Raph concluded when Count Bast noticed his gaze and called his name.

Raph still seemed busy with his thoughts, deaf to his surroundings when someone tapped him back to reality.

"Raph?"

Rebecca tapped the boy on his shoulder, worry etched on her expression, while Raph flinched, glancing at the people gathered.

"Hah, I apologize for that moment. The battle should have ended sooner, and I'm thinking of ways I could have better achieved that" he said, scratching the back of his head while Count Bast laughed out loud.

"You're an interesting man, Young Master, Raph. You already made a record for defeating a level 100 in under five minutes, yet you say you could have done it better?" He laughed out some more, while Raph flinched at his words.

He looked up to Morganna. "Five minutes? That fight was five minutes?!"

It was his sister's turn to laugh.

"You didn't know?" Thalia asked, adjusting her glasses.

"Exactly 4 minutes and 30 seconds. The King probably didn't realize it either; it doesn't matter now". Fiona interjected.

Count Bast laughed once again, as he said. "Your bonds are as deep as your abilities; I hope you foster them".

"Of course, Count Bast" Gloria replied, as the man waved at them.

"I will be going now, some of the Patriarchs will approach you, Lady Gloria. I hope you bring us glory as much as your father did". The man halted in his movements as he laughed out loud again. "It's in the name! Glory is in the name, Gloria!"

He screamed out, sounding like a kindergarten student who had just figured out a jigsaw puzzle while attracting the attention of other nobles, who seemed to be doing their best to avoid him.

"...He's a jovial man" Thalia commented with a sigh as he walked away, while they turned towards Raph at the same time.

"So, what now? We let the King take Gloria?" She asked.

"Well, there's nothing that can be done at the moment. The King was already pissed he lost Dugu Jafar" Fiona said with a sigh. "Speaking of which! Was that necromancy, dear brother?!" A hint of curiosity sparkled in her eyes.

Raph chuckled. "not necessarily. It's related though but I'm missing a puzzle"

"True, it did seem like you couldn't move while you cast the ability. Does that mean you need to be stationary?" Morganna asked.

"Well, yes, I'm imbuing mana into the ground to help craft the skeletons after all. It's a long process, but it'll be useful once I master it". Raph replied with a smile, while Morganna helped him up. "Well then, we should plan our leave"

"We'll have to wait for Gloria, though, since nobles and the other Patriarchs may approach us", Rebecca said with a sigh as they came down from the Ring.

All this time, Raph had noticed Gloria's sudden change in expression as she stared at him. He could tell she was curious about something, but she was someone who wouldn't want to intrude with her questions.

"Um….is there something wrong, Gloria?" Raph asked when she stopped walking further, and so did her sisters.

".....why were you really staring at Count Bast?" She asked, her firm tone laced with curiosity.

Raph's eyes slowly bulged, but then he chuckled as he looked away. "Do you think I lied?" He asked.

His sisters remained silent while they watched, as a palpable tension began to brew.

"....Count Bast, he's a devil".