The festival's warmth had long faded, replaced by the crisp bite of night air and the quiet press of urgency in Lillian's chest. Her boots made barely a sound against the cobblestone as she slipped through the narrow streets, eyes sharp and searching.
Her thoughts raced. Something was wrong. Every instinct screamed it. And Kazuki was nowhere.
She turned a corner—nearly slammed into a man stumbling out of the alley
He reeked of cheap cider and ale, clothes rumpled and eyes glassy, lurching forward with a hiccup and a lazy grin.
"Wha—hello there, pretty—" he slurred with a crooked smile, one hand flopping in an attempt at a wave. "You lost, or just lookin' for company?"
Lillian held back the urge to roll her eyes. "I need you to focus. Did you see anyone come through this alley just now?"
He blinked slowly. "Alley? Hmm… alley…" He turned around dramatically, like just noticing the thing he'd stumbled out of. "Ain't that somethin'?"
She took a breath, jaw tight. "Anyone suspicious. Cloaked figure? Maybe carrying something heavy? Did you see anything like that?"
He squinted at her, then grinned again—this one sly, sloppier. "Maaaaybe I did. Maaaaybe I didn't."
Lillian's eyes narrowed.
The man leaned closer, breath full of fermented fruit. "But… I might remember better if I got a kiss. Just a little one, eh?" He puckered his lips dramatically. "Right here. Payment for services rendered."
There was a long silence.
Then—
The air around Lillian's hand shimmered.
The temperature dropped sharply, frost curling over the stones beneath her feet. The drunk man blinked in confusion, only to yelp as a blade of ice manifested in her grip, translucent and gleaming under the moonlight.
In a blink, she stepped forward. The dagger kissed his throat—cold enough to burn.
His eyes went wide. "Wh-whoa whoa whoa—h-h-hey now! Let's not do anything rash—!"
Lillian's voice was quiet. Deadly calm.
"Did. You. See anyone."
The man hiccuped so hard he nearly fell over, arms raised in surrender. "Y-yep! Yep! I saw 'em, I swear! A bunch of creeps in cloaks! One of 'em was carryin' somethin'—someone! Dark hair, kinda floppy—looked like a passed-out kid or somethin'!"
Lillian's grip didn't waver.
"Where?"
He pointed frantically down the street. "South path! Toward the old mill! That way! That waaaay!"
The dagger vanished into mist as quickly as it had appeared. Lillian stepped back without another word.
The man sagged in relief—then dropped to his knees and started praying to every god he could remember.
Lillian didn't wait.
She was already moving,
The Ice Queen was hunting.
And gods help whoever stood in her way.
***
Kazuki sat on the cold floor of an abandoned warehouse, bound at the wrists but otherwise unharmed. His captors—three cloaked men were currently hunched over a wooden crate, writing something on a worn-out parchment.
He tilted his head. "You're sending a ransom?"
The leader glanced at him, then back to the parchment. "Of course."
"To who?"
"That village of yours," the man smirked. "They'd pay well for their so-called Holy One."
Kazuki sighed in relief. A ransom. That was fine. The village had money. They'd pay, he'd be freed, everyone wins—
Then the man crossed something out and rewrote a line.
Kazuki frowned. "Wait. What did you just write?"
The second bandit snickered. "Oh, we changed our request. We're demanding something much more valuable."
Something cold chill ran down his spine. "...What?"
The leader held up the letter, grinning.
"Hand over the Hydra in exchange for the Holy One."
Kazuki's blood ran cold.
"No," he said immediately. "No, don't do that."
The bandits exchanged looks, clearly misinterpreting his genuine panic as fear for his own life.
"Heh." The second bandit grinned. "What's wrong? Afraid they'll refuse?"
Kazuki internally screamed.
"No. I'm afraid they'll agree."
The bandits laughed, mistaking his horror for desperation.
"Don't worry, Holy One," the leader said, voice laced with amusement. "We're sure the village will do whatever it takes to get you back."
Kazuki didn't bother responding.
His entire soul was focused on one thing.
If they send the Hydra here—
This entire warehouse will be rubble in minutes.
He needed to get out. Now.
Then a distant boom echoed outside.
Everyone froze.
Kazuki's eyes widened. "…Oh no."
The door slammed open with a blast of freezing wind.
Frost crept along the wooden walls as mist curled at Lillian's feet. Her violet eyes burned like embers in the dim torchlight.
The temperature plunged.
The bandits tensed.
Kazuki, still bound and sitting on the floor, let out a long, exhaled. "Ah. She's here."
Lillian stepped inside, voice cold and clear. "I have come to save you, Kazuki."
Silence.
Kazuki's expression deadpanned.
The leader, rallying fast, grabbed him and pressed a knife to his throat. "Not another step, or he dies!"
The air grew with tension, Lillan gaze sharpened.
Kazuki sighed. Then, with a very dry voice, he muttered, "Please save me… from her."
Confusion shattered the tension.
The bandit holding him blinked. "Wait—what?"
Lillian's eye twitched. A visible chill rippled out from her.
Something inside her snapped.
The room froze over in seconds.
Ice spiked through the floor, surging forward in jagged formations.
The bandits barely had time to react before a storm of frost erupted from Lillian's hands.
The leader gasped as his feet froze to the floor, his grip on Kazuki loosening.
The second bandit screamed as ice crawled up his arms, trapping him in place.
The third tried to run—only for a spear of frozen magic to impale the ground in front of him, stopping him cold.
A howling blizzard consumed the room.
When the frost finally settled, the bandits were frozen in place, trapped beneath layers of thick, unrelenting ice.
Kazuki, still perfectly unharmed, stared.
Lillian exhaled, shaking the frost from her fingertips. She turned, gripping Kazuki's wrist far rougher than necessary, and dragged him toward the exit.
"We're leaving."
Kazuki, being forcibly hauled out, waved politely at the frozen bandits.
"Bye! Sorry about all this."
The door slammed shut behind them.
A long silence settled in the warehouse.
As they walked through the empty streets, Lillian's grip on Kazuki's wrist did not loosen. If anything, it tightened.
Kazuki sighed, trying for patience. "Look, I get it, you're mad, but—"
Lillian yanked him forward.
Kazuki stumbled, barely catching himself before he faceplanted onto the cobblestone. "—Okay, ow."
He shot her a sidelong glance. "Is this really necessary?"
Lillian didn't answer. Her violet eyes burned, her jaw tight, her pace relentless.
Kazuki sighed, rubbing his wrist. "Alright, let's be reasonable. You saved me—very dramatic, by the way, full points for the frost entrance—but maybe it's time we both just… cool down?"
No response.
Kazuki narrowed his eyes. "...You're ignoring me."
Still nothing.
Kazuki grinned. Dangerous move.
"Okay, fine. New plan." He abruptly dug his heels into the ground.
Lillian, who was very much still dragging him, barely slowed.
Kazuki leaned back with all his weight. "I REFUSE to be kidnapped a second time tonight!"
Lillian jerked him forward so hard his feet left the ground.
Kazuki let out a small, undignified noise.
"Stop struggling," Lillian muttered.
"I am NOT struggling," Kazuki gasped, dangling slightly. "I am simply asserting my basic human right to WALK ON MY OWN."
She finally stopped. Just long enough to turn and fling him over her shoulder.
Kazuki froze.
"…Wait."
Before he could react, she adjusted him like a sack of grain and kept walking.
Kazuki's brain short-circuited.
"—WAIT, HOLD ON—" He squirmed. "Put me down, I can walk! I HAVE LEGS."
Lillian ignored him.
Kazuki, now flailing upside down, tried a new tactic. "You know, if I were one of those delicate noble heirs, this would be an unspeakable scandal—"
"Good thing you're not."
Kazuki groaned. "This is unfair. You're using brute force because you know I won't fight back."
"Correct."
"Lillian, I swear, if you—"
"Stop talking."
Kazuki crossed his arms (as best as one could while slung over someone's shoulder). "I will NOT be silenced."
Lillian deliberately bounced him.
Kazuki let out another undignified noise.
"…I take it back, I will now be silenced."
Satisfied, Lillian continued striding through the dark streets, her frost-covered boots crunching softly against the cobblestone.
Kazuki let out a long sigh, accepting his fate.
"…At least tell me we're going to get food after this."
Lillian didn't answer.
Kazuki poked her arm. "Lillian."
Silence.
"…Lillian?"
She stopped walking.
Kazuki immediately sensed danger.
Then—a sudden cold breeze.
"…Wait," he muttered, suddenly very aware of the way her grip on him tightened. "You wouldn't."
"I would."
The temperature plummeted.
Kazuki's eyes widened. "LILLIAN, NO—"
With all the force of an unstoppable force of nature, she launched him into a conveniently soft snowbank.
Thud.
A long silence.
Kazuki, now lying half-buried in snow, closed his eyes.
"…I deserved that."
Lillian dusted off her hands, exhaling.
Then, at last—
She smirked.
Kazuki blinked up at her, horrified. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"
She turned on her heel and kept walking.
Kazuki groaned. "I hate this."
He pulled himself out of the snow, brushed off the frost, and resigned himself to his fate.
Then he jogged after her.
"…Still getting food, though, right?"
Lillian sighed.
She did not say no.