"Please wake up, sir Frost, it's morning already," the maid said as she pulled apart the curtains
"Ah... Okay," Frost sleepily responded
"Knights will arrive shortly to escort you before Her Majesty."
With a curt nod, the maid left the chamber, leaving Frost sitting on the bed, still recovering from the shock of his situation. He stood up, walked over to the mirror with a basin, looked at his disheveled face before splashing some water on it. Then he looked out the window, gathering his thoughts.
"It's been two days since the 'wedding'... although the days went by like a blur... At least I was ordered to rest a few days by my 'wife'..."
He admired the view of the city and the snowy mountains from his room in the castle, before taking a heavy breath, and sitting by his desk, writing in his journal.
"Alright, no time to waste, I need to write down everything I know." He said out loud to himself. "Because of that weird light and noises, I somehow ended up in the world of 'Hero overturns the world', the frankly mediocre novel that I enjoyed reading, and I somehow am the husband of one of the major villains, the cold Nothern Empress, who in the pursuit of the protagonist commted many atrocities."
He leaned back in his chair, sighed heavily, and continued writing
"Yet, surprisingly, Arianne does not seem like a crazy tyrant; people love her, and while she is cold, she seems actually kind. The Northallen Empire also seems very peaceful, unlike in the novel, where it was a place of despair and suffering... Other than that, I know I'm in the capital city of the Empire, Northrone, in the north-eastern corner of the Empire itself. The Empire is on the northern part of the Garnathera continent, known as the central continent. It is also the northernmost human country, one of the closest in proximity to the demon nation, separated by the vast mountain range... Although I don't remember its name..."
"While the Empire is the only human country in the north, other species also reside here. According to the novel, there are silver elves, ice giants, dwarves somewhere in the mountains, and the secretive and isolated tribes, but it never specifies where... I should ask the maids for the world map next time since a lot of information in the novel was vague, like the location of various kingdoms, the other continents, and other species... All I know is that I am trapped in this world, at least for now... And without the usual cheat system..."
With a sigh, Frost stopped writing and tried something he had done extensively over the past two days
"Status!" he shouted with an outstretched hand
But nothing happened, just like in the past few days. Resigned, he lazily stood up before hearing a knock on the door. Moving to put on his clothes, he heard a soft voice from the outside.
"Ehem... Sir Frost, on orders from her Majesty, I have come here to escort you before her.... so.... could you... Um.... come out already... please?" the soft and gentle voice said anxiously from behind the door.
"In a moment," he responded as he put on his new clothes.
They looked similar to the ones he wore on the 'wedding' day. A similar dark blue militaristic coat with silver bindings and seams, not as long and not covering his front, leaving his black elegant pants, decorated with silver chains, black boots, and a dark blue cape, with silver fur and the nation's emblem on the back, which he wore over one shoulder. With his outfit ready, he opened the door and saw his escort.
"I'm ready," Frost said to her
"O-ok, then, once again, on the orders of her Majesty, I am to escort you before her. My name is Elisa, the youngest member 10 Spears of Nothallen Empire, and your temporary bodyguard."
Frost looked at the saluting girl before him, noticing how she was smaller than him. She had auburn hair tied in a ponytail, chestnut eyes, and a youthful face. Her uniform, while similar to Frost's, was less regal, blue with a white underside and similarly white seams. Her cape was split on the back and had no fur endings. On her chest, she wore a similar nation's emblem medal, but additionally, it had a silver spear attached. While she still saluted, with her gloved hands, Frost took a look at the weapon on her back, which was a large black and bronze battle lance.
"One of the spears?" Frost asked curiously, holding his chin and looking at her weapon.
"Oh, um.... Ah, the thing is..." Elisa got flustered by the question, seemingly broken from her daze.
"The title is just semantics, we are all experts in various weapons. Also, forgive the little girl here, she is very new." A new, more mature female voice answered, appearing from the side.
"Come on, Big Sis Sonia, don't be like that. I just got nervous, I could have answered Sir Frost's question myself. And don't call me little girl, I'm 19, I'm not a kid." The girl retorted, annoyed
"You're still a kid to me," Sonia told her while ruffling her hair
Frost took a look at the newly arrived woman. She wore the same uniform as Elisa, but she was taller than her with a more mature body. She had medium-length violet hair, styled in a bob cut covering her right eye. Her left eye, turquoise in color, had a small mole underneath it, which combined with her alluring smile to make her face playfully seductive. On her sides, she had ornate swords attached. After playing a bit with Elisa, she turned to Frost.
"Well, as you heard, my name is Sonia, the 4th seat of the 10 Spears of Northallen Empire. I have been assigned to assist this little bean, Elisa, in her duties," she said with a smile
But Frost noticed her staring at him.
"Is there something on my face? You seem quite focused on it..."
"Ah, don't worry, I just heard maids mention that you are quite good-looking, for a man randomly picked up by her Majesty. Maybe that's why Elisa here was so distracted when talking to you."
"W-what, no way, that's not the case. I was just nervous because it was my first assignment since becoming a spear, and Sir Frost is an important VIP," She retorted, blushing, embarrassed.
"So you are saying that Sir Frost is not handsome?"
"W-well"
Before the conversation could escalate into an awkward territory, Frost interjected
"Can we just go to the Empress? Let's stop this teasing and get going."
"Yes! Let's go," Elisa happily said
"Aww, ok then, since Sir Frost said so," Sonia added
With that, they started walking through the hallways in awkward silence. Frost looked through the windows at the courtyard below, where maids and other workers hurried around. He took note of the branching pathways of the courtyard, wanting to explore this new place. He took in the blissful atmosphere as they passed through the hallways, occasionally greeting passing maids. Soon enough, they arrived before the large ornate door, where Frost noticed his companions grow anxious. Elisa knocked on the door, and almost immediately a voice sounded from behind the door.
"Enter," the cold, harsh voice said
So they did, as the doors slowly opened, Frost and the two women entered the throne room. The large room was made from azure stones, lighted only by torches and blue fire columns. In the far back, through the large window, there was a view of a waterfall and of the edge of the cliff on which the throne room itself stood. Of course, the most standout feature of the room was the throne itself, a large boulder-like structure, made of opalescent dark blue stone, with almost fluorescent light blue cracks. In the middle of it was a chair construct, made of ornate silver and gold, with comfortable blue-lined cushions.
On there sat the Empress. She wore a dress almost identical to the one Frost saw her in before, but slightly shorter. Her cape was much different, light blue, and thin to the point of being see-through, with its end shaped in a diamond snow pattern. Surprisingly, the only other person in the room was the Empress's personal guard. A woman of equal beauty to the Empress, to the point that an uneducated person would say they are related on account of their similar hair. But while Arianna had silver hair, her guard had snow white hair, accented by her deep amber colored eyes. She also had a similarly soft, beautiful face, but more expressive. Her uniform, though, was more similar to the one Frost wore, dark blue with silver seams, and white pants alongside crimson boots.
The group approached the throne, where on the thin carpet, Elisa and Sonia knelt, while Frost remained upright, confused about what to do next.
"Kneel down, you fool!" the guard shouted, making Frost start kneeling
"There is no need for that," the Empress emotionlessly started. "After all, you are my 'husband'..."
Although her last word had a weird vibe, it made Frost relax more.
"But my lady?!" The guard protested
"Selene!" but Arianne shut her down coldly, making Selene growl at Frost
"First of all, I want to officially welcome you to the Empire, sir Frost." Arianne started while turning towards Frost, with the same expressionless face. "I hope you rested enough and I hope you will find living here pleasant."
"Well, it's all good, I'm just..."
"Moving on..."
"She didn't even let me finish," Frost thought while smiling awkwardly
"I wanted to apologize for the precarious situation I put you in, namely, this marriage. I want to explain to you why I chose you, what rules I set, and explain in large the position you will have in my Empire," she said while staring at Frost
"What?"