Nanna left the private space in search of her young brother leaving Frost and Maya alone but different from previous times this was not to deepen their affection romantically but to discuss a sensitive topic, Prince Sedrick and his forceful deal.

Nanna and Loki had their homes destroyed, their family ravaged, kidnapped and forced into enslavement due this man’s orders so Frost was adverse to bringing him up when either of them were within earshot.

"Did you listen in on our conversation?" Frost first asked knowing that Maya was of the same mind as himself, not wanting to hurt Nanna or Loki in any way.

"Some but not all, Nanna was quite anxious due to the sudden and rather forceful escort by the ronsos."

"Haaaa I’ll try and make it up to her later." His little angel should never have to worry about anything as long as he still drew breath.

"Basically...." Frost thus explained what happened, keen to hear her opinion.

".....The deal is logical, all sides getting what they want and from Darkness’ demeanour its clear we don’t have much of a choice. With the civil war rising to a crescendo and Icethorne under siege we lack channels which we can procure much needed resources, Prince Sedrick effectively has knife pressed up against our throats, only needing a sufficient reason to start cutting." Maya couldn’t find anything wrong with this arrangement in fact it was surprising that Sedrick offered any benefits at all given their past relationship.

"Do you think his men will try anything?" Whether within his territory or on the road to Icethorne he couldn’t trust the notorious 2nd Prince to not have a hidden agenda.

"...No." Maya pondered for a few seconds before firmly denying such actions. "I think any efforts to do so would be counterproductive to his far reaching goals. This man wants the throne that’s for sure but he’s also painfully aware that he lacks support."

"....The neutral nobles....is he trying to garner their aid through this joint venture?"

"Perhaps but I don’t think that’s all."

"....Avira."

"Yes, I doubt your act of spiriting away his sister to Icethorne escaped his notice."

"Assassination? Capture? Or...."

"Maybe it’s simply an olive branch, an invitation to work together against Randolph, combining their forces as two underdogs." Maya quickly dissuaded Frost from thinking pessimistically. Although Sedrick’s reputation painted him as an unscrupulous villain willing to go to any lengths, interacting with him personally -or rather through a recording- and analysing his recent moves suggested a very different mindset.

Ruthless yes, calculative also yes, willing to get his boots wet most certainly but he also seemed to care deeply about Northrend, determined to protect it from outside influence. Randolph was a lost cause, a relationship that could never be mended given his death filled coup but Avira, her only backing was Duke Runak and a paltry amount of neutral nobles with limited power. Sedrick may not even perceive her as a threat, so an alliance was definitely possible.

"Avira would never work with Randolph, but I know she doesn’t have a high opinion of Sedrick either........haaaaa political intrigue not my favourite topic." Frost felt a headache coming on, trying to guess the whims and hidden intentions of a man like Sedrick was mentally draining and ended up generating more questions than answers.

"Same here, best to leave such things to the people actually involved." Frost, his Dungeon and Niflheim were a foreign territory, this fight was not actually his so why should he worry.

"Leave Douglas to worry about it but treat Sedrick’s forces with a pinch of salt."

"That would be best." A cautious attitude but nothing more.

"Haaaa guess I’ll start reserving dorms for our future guests." More work on his shoulders great. Coming back from the Glacial mountains he wanted to relax and rest his weary body, but more problems just had to keep cropping up.

"I’m going for a bath to wash away the grime want to join me?" Dealing with Sedrick and interacting with Darkness made him feel icky all over as though he’d been defiled or corrupted.

"As long as it’s just a bath and nothing else." Maya gave her lover a coy look, still hurting from the previous night’s engagement.

"....Maybe a little else." Frost replied with a lust filled grin causing Maya to roll her eyes but she didn’t rebuff him when he picked her up like a princess.

An hour later feeling very much refreshed Frost returned to his office in the Lord’s manor, time to make a call.

Ring ring, ring ring

"Hmm Frost is there a problem." Douglas’s voice and slightly blurry face appeared from the communication crystal.

"Not a problem per say but something we need to discuss. Is Ryuu there?"

"I’m here Frost, ALWAYS here." An exhausted and overworked Ryuu spoke up, frustration clear in his voice. "What do you need?"

’Why do I suddenly feel that I’m about to hammer the final nail in a coffin.’ Ryuu’s weariness prompted feelings of guilt but unfortunately the nail still had to be hammered.

"Can you make this line as secure as possible and isolate the area around you and Douglas?" Sedrick had no problem with him informing Douglas of their arrangement, but Darkness did advise him to ensure tight security if he did.

"....Give me a sec." Ryuu went into serious mode for a minute, casting a couple spells on the communication crystal as well as blocking all sound and light escaping from a 2 metre radius around Douglas and himself. Even if an A-rank spy was here they’d struggle to gleam a single thing.

"Done, connection is secure."

"Frost why all the precautions?" Douglas was a little surprised not that he was against ensuring closed communications but that it was coming from Frost rather than him.

"You’ll understand in a minute. Are you both sitting down?"

"We are now." A tightness formed in their chests as Frost spoke with a serious inclination, somewhat dreading the information that was about to escape past his lips.

"Prince Sedrick Northrend made contact with me a little over an hour ago."

"...What!" The two middle-aged men jumped to their feet, their hearts beating a mile a minute as their minds started naturally formulating possible insidious intentions. Sedrick from their point of view was a very, very dangerous individual, someone who posed substantial threat to the alliance of neutral nobles aiming to support Avira.

Not wanting to waste time on the subject Frost quickly explained what happened, the meeting with Darkness, his supposed intentions and the deal that was forcibly struck between them.

"He wants to support Duke Runak’s war effort?"

"Yes, according to him Icethorne cannot fall otherwise Northrend will suffer from unsalvageable consequences."

"And you believe him?" Douglas was having a much harder time wrapping his head around Sedrick’s reasons, his heart already unable to distinguish the 2nd Prince from his notorious reputation. He was the one backing his treasonous younger brother after all.

"In this particular instance, yes...his motives are solid." Ignoring hidden agendas Frost was confident Sedrick truly wished to help Duke Runak.

"....Ryuu what do you think?" Ever reliant on his right hand man, the territory’s court mage for support Douglas asked with an exacerbated breath.

"...." Ryuu was silent, his mind whirring as he analysed the given data as well as the current political climate.

"It doesn’t matter what we think. Prince Sedrick has already declared his intentions, all we can do is play along and hope there’s no hidden dagger." Refusing Sedrick’s participation would only create unnecessary hostilities and weaken their original purpose which was to aid Duke Runak’s war effort. Their only choice was to play along, just like Frost and hope that Sedrick bore no hidden scheme against them.

"Haaaaa I’m starting to miss the days I couldn’t get out of bed." At least then he didn’t need to worry about the territory and the world at large, ignorantly confined to his bed with his wife caring for him at the side. If not for the constant pain it’d be an ideal retirement once he reached his golden years.

"You better not let Cassandra hear you say that." Frost lightly teased knowing how scary that woman could be when tested.

"Urgh fair point." In that moment Douglas was very thankful for the extra security, his wife would beat his ass and then cry if she heard him talking like that.

"I’ll take care of things on my end, the plan remains the same, just a tad more and larger caravans passing through."

"Got it, I’ll relay the situation to the other nobles and speed up our recruitment....7 days, we’ll try and leave for the Glacial mountains after 7 days."

"Sounds good, talk to you soon, bye Ryuu."

"Goodbye young Frost."

The moment the communication channel was cut Douglas slumped in his seat, his expression appearing haggard as though suddenly aging a few years.

"I’m definitely retiring after this, what’s the point in having kids if you’re not going to hand over the mantle."

"He’s not even twenty years old yet Douglas." Added Ryuu looking even worse than Douglas, the endless paperwork draining his lifespan.

"He’s old enough hmph!"

Leonardo Furano ended up being summoned by his father later that day along with his fiancé Luna. A myriad of duties were then dropped on their shoulders resulting in their fathers visibly growing a few centimetres as their backs unhunched.