Chapter 1063: An Unintentional Masterpiece

"Brother Chipmunk!" Princess Nina announced proudly. "Today, I’m going to try to make the promised snowman. And I’m also going to measure it!"

It would’ve been a powerful declaration had she not been sitting comfortably on Luca’s lap, looking like a small critter preparing to take a nap while adorably taking advantage of his naturally warm body temperature from his fire affinity.

How cute.

Then, with complete seriousness, she stretched her hands out and narrowed her eyes at him like a professional artist studying a masterpiece.

The golden-eyed cadet blinked in surprise.

"What’s wrong?"

The little Princess explained earnestly, "I want to make a snowman that looks like Brother Chipmunk, so I need to remember the details properly before I make the snow!"

"What? Me?"

"Of course!" she said immediately. "Because it has to be the best-looking person! And because I promised earlier! And if I were to make one that my brother would like, then it could only be you!"

The warmer was left speechless.

After that momentary shock, Luca tried arguing that he was definitely not the best-looking person around, but Nina stubbornly refused to agree.

In the eyes of the little girl, there was no way she wasn’t right!

Eventually, he gave up with a helpless smile and ruffled her soft hair.

Victorious, the little Princess happily resumed making snow fall into the bucket before her.

Luca watched the delicate flakes drift downward.

But gradually, his attention wandered.

His gaze shifted toward the other side of the testing grounds, where Xavier was still practicing with Duchess Amelia.

The Duke had offered (practically insisted) to participate earlier, but the Duchess refused vehemently despite his tears.

According to her, she planned to study fire only after getting better control over her ability because she didn’t want to accidentally burn things down.

Yes, she might have tried earlier, but even then, it had only felt acceptable under heavy supervision. That wasn’t something she wanted to burden others with when they also needed time to practice.

In the end, it was Xavier—who not only had access to two abilities but was also skilled enough to create temporary blades without needing essence—who offered to stay behind and assist her instead.

And that was how Luca ended up temporarily separated from his hard-working husband. Still, the golden-eyed wife thought it was a good thing, especially since Xavier seemed to be getting along well with his family.

It was just that, while serving as a living heater, the little fox could not help but think that if the Princess truly wanted the best-looking person as inspiration, then shouldn’t it be his husband instead?

To the lovestruck Luca, Xavier was unquestionably the most handsome person in existence.

His golden eyes even sparkled unconsciously as he stared.

That nose.

That jawline.

Even the way Xavier’s lips moved while speaking looked unfairly attractive.

Don’t even get him started about those eyes.

Actually—everything! As someone who had seen it all, he was convinced that every single thing about his husband was simply handsome!

And so Luca found himself thinking that if anyone deserved to become the inspiration for the perfect snowman—

Or better yet, an ice sculpture—

Then it absolutely had to be his husband.

He sighed dreamily and tilted his head without realizing it.

Then suddenly—

Gasp!

Luca jolted out of his stupor.

At first, he did not know where the sound came from because he’d been terribly out of it.

Then he realized it had come from Nina.

"Nina! What’s wrong?!" Luca immediately panicked and began inspecting her in alarm. He quickly checked her hands, counted her fingers, and looked over her limbs while apologizing for spacing out.

But the little Princess hurriedly shook her head.

"No, Brother Chipmunk, I’m fine! But look!"

Wide-eyed and stunned, she pointed ahead.

Luca, concerned because of her expression, followed her gaze past the bucket she had been using.

And froze.

Standing there was something tall.

Frozen.

Luca blinked slowly before realizing what it was.

An ice sculpture.

But not just any sculpture, either.

Well, it looked almost exactly like Xavier when he created an ice blade earlier. If it spoke or moved even just a little, it could probably be mistaken for him.

"!!!"

The golden-eyed cadet gasped and turned toward the little girl in disbelief.

"Nina! Did you make that?!"

He looked utterly amazed, ready to shower the little girl with immense praise.

But Princess Nina immediately shook her head.

"Oh no! No, Brother!" She practically crossed her arms in a giant X while shaking her head intensely.

"Huh?"

"But you certainly did." She emphasized while looking straight at him.

"?!"

__

In most cases, it would have been difficult to believe that the cadet known for wielding terrifying flames could have anything to do with ice.

Actually, it was even harder to believe that someone with such a questionable sense of aesthetics could create something like that.

Then again...

Maybe it was not entirely impossible since there were no colors involved?

Ahem.

Still, it was equally difficult to believe that a little girl who had only managed to make snow fall into a bucket could somehow produce a life-sized ice sculpture.

One that accurately captured the contours of the muse’s abdominal muscles, no less.

"..."

"..."

Safe to say, it took everyone a moment to react.

A certain Duke had already gone completely ashen.

Meanwhile, one Imperial Prince looked dangerously close to developing a fever.

As for Luca—

The golden-eyed cadet immediately shoved the sculpture into the dungeon inventory and away from prying eyes.

Not because he was embarrassed about making a sculpture of his husband.

No.

It was because he suddenly realized that Xavier, at least the sculpted version, had been topless.

"!"

There was absolutely no way he was leaving that out for everyone to admire!

Unfortunately, just as the Imperial Prince thought the crisis had been resolved and that he could quietly discuss matters with his wife later, the Elders came rushing over.

They immediately demanded to know exactly what Luca had been thinking about when he created the sculpture.

"!!!"

Xavier instantly felt a wave of dread.

Oh hell no.

There was no way he would survive hearing the answer that innocent little being was about to give.

But since Xavier also understood how important the details were, he quickly stepped in with suspicious urgency.

"Is it possible," he began rather loudly, "that, similar to Her Grace, you gained temporary access to the ability because you were in contact with someone currently using it?"

"Huh?"

Surprisingly, the one who reacted was Princess Nina.

"But Big Brother," she said with a pout, "I can’t even make ice crystals yet. I’ve only managed to make snow..."

Now, that was also true, the snow hadn’t really been enough to fill a bucket either.

But the Elders, who seemed to have heard of a similar situation before history knew to call itself that, exchanged looks.

Then Elder Shen spoke.

"Lord Luca," he said carefully, "what about trying to make snow fall?"

"Eh?"

Luca flinched.

Even now, he still was not convinced he had anything to do with the sculpture earlier. More importantly, because he had been spacing out, he genuinely had no idea how he managed to make something like that.

But then he heard Xavier speak.

"Just imagine snowflakes falling," the Prince said calmly. "Enough to cover the ground and form a small mound. Imagine gathering it in your hands and throwing it to start a snowball fight."

The vivid description caught Luca off guard.

And with it came memories.

Snow landing on his nose as a child.

The cold sting against his skin.

The way soft powder compacted in his hands.

Luca followed the description exactly.

He imagined it.

And when he opened his eyes—

The first snowflake drifted down right in front of his nose.

He went slightly cross-eyed, trying to look at it before turning toward everyone in delight.

"Uwaaah!"

"Wow!"

It truly was impressive.

But then—

How come it wasn’t stopping?!