Our remaining journey went smoothly, except for the weather. A storm slowed us down a bit so we arrived on the 32. of Umes. Originally we had planned to be here a day earlier. At least the delay meant we arrived at midday instead of the evening.

  The city was called Rovik and it was the capital of Frost County. A sturdy wall protected it and I could see guards on top of it. We entered through the main gate. Helena poking her head out of the window was enough to get us inside without any trouble.

  The buildings used a lot of stone and some wood. The roofs were still covered in snow but the road had been cleared. I watched through the window as we approached the castle. It was on a small hill at the back of the city. Was it a city, or more of a town? I was not sure what the official definition was. It was certainly quite a bit smaller than Lupos, or Ronesta.

  We arrived at the castle gate where two guards stopped us.

  “Halt!” One of them shouted.

  They wore metal breastplates over mail and carried halberds. They were better equipped than the city guards. A banner was hanging above the gate. A light blue snowflake on a black background, the crest of House Frost.

  Helena stuck her head out of the carriage.

  “Hello Jim.” She said, while waving.

  “Lady Frost! It’s good to see you again.” He bowed. “Welcome home!”

  Our carriage entered the courtyard and stopped in front of the keep. I could also see the stables and what looked like the barracks. A few soldiers were visible going through some drills.

  “It’s good to be home.” Helena said with a smile, as we left our carriage.

  Chariot jumped down from the roof. The driver started unloading our bags and handed them to Hatsumi.

  Soon the doors opened and servants emerged. They bowed to us, then helped with our luggage. I was still admiring the castle when a man stepped out of the keep. He had white hair, a full white beard and looked like he was in his forties. His body was well trained and muscular. His turquoise eyes were the same as Helena’s.

  “Daddy!” Helena shouted, and approached her father. He opened his arms and they hugged.

  “Helena! You look good. Academy life is agreeing with you. I gather you passed the exams with ease?” He said.

  Helena grinned. “I am a senior mage!”

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  “What? A senior mage? After the first year? You always had a large core but that… That is amazing! We need to celebrate!” He said, then he noticed us. “Oh, I guess I should introduce myself. Hello girls, eh, young ladies, I am Hans Frost, Helena’s father.”

  “Greetings, Count Frost. I am Koyuki.” I introduced myself.

  “You can drop this count stuff. You are Helena’s friends, after all.” He replied with a smile.

  “Hello, I am Cassie Ashburn.”

  “Greetings, I am Skadi.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you! I see you even brought a servant…” His eyes narrowed. “What is going on with her eyes?” His tone immediately changed, and the easy going man was replaced by a hardened soldier. I could see a thin layer of frost on his skin now.

  “This is Hatsumi, my maid! She is a tier three vampire under my control.” I hastily explained.

  “A vampire? I heard you are a gifted necromancer but… a vampire?” Hans sounded uncertain.

  “She is harmless! Eh, I mean she is deadly but on our side!” Helena said.

  I waved for Hatsumi to join us. She approached Hans and curtsied. “My lord. I am Koyuki’s loyal servant.”

  I still felt a bit weird, having Hatsumi as my maid. I still felt a slight urge to shout that we were friends. That she was not just a servant. At least I had gotten used to seeing her in the outfit during our journey.

  While all eyes were on Hatsumi, Chariot joined us as well. On his back were Nyx, Ivy and Yoru. They all shared a box made of frozen blood.

  “What is that…” Hans asked while trying to keep Hatsumi in his sight.

  “Oh, that is Chariot. He is a vampiric undead. The cats are Ivy, also a vampiric undead, Yoru, a draugr and Nyx. Nyx is a tier three. Oh, and I do have Frank over there with my horse.” I introduced them.

  Nyx nodded at Hans, who stared at my cat.

  “You have two tier three undead… a vampire and a skeleton kitty?” His gaze shifted to me and he mostly looked confused at this point.

  “Nyx can grow. She is quite powerful.” I said.

  “She has killed a mage by withering his body with a necrotic breath, it was awesome!” Helena said.

  Now Hans looked at Helena. “Helena, somehow I can’t remember such things from your letters, how is that?”

  “Uh… I did write about a fight during the break. And how we defeated some bandits. And that Koyuki is a necromancer.” She pointed out.

  Hans nodded. “You did say such things, in a few very short sentences. And you wrote something about exploding chickens.”

  “Those are the Iron Beaks! We don’t have any of them with us though.” Cassie added.

  Hans sighed. “I feel like we have a lot to talk about. So, Koyuki, you are a senior mage as well?”

  “Yes sir! I have my permit with me.” I handed him my identification. I hoped the official document would ease his worries.

  He accepted my card and studied it. “I see.” He handed it back. “I apologise for my reaction. We do have a lot of trouble with undead from the mountains. My job is to keep Nethena safe and stop any monsters, including undead, from crossing into Nethena.”

  “Helena told us about that. The border seems dangerous.” I replied.

  “Indeed. The only friendly thing in those mountains are the dwarfs. But their kingdom is just a tiny part of the mountain range. Everything else is monster territory, and they keep wandering into Nethena.” Hans said.

  “My parents import a few things from Thorus. They run a caravan.” Skadi said.

  Hans smiled. “Ah! You must introduce me. We have quite a bit of trade with Thorus. Maybe I have met them at some point.”

  “I wrote them a letter so they know where I am during the break.” Skadi said.

  “Invite them to the castle! They are welcome here.” He proclaimed.

  “Thank you.” Skadi replied, looking happy. Helena had assured us that it would be no problem but it really helped hearing it from the count himself.

  “Um, I am not sure if my mom will try to visit…” Cassie said.

  “Countess Brittany Ashburn, right? I am not that familiar with her but the family of my daughter’s friends is always welcome!” He scratched his beard. “I might have to dress up for a countess though…” Then he shrugged. “Anyway, let’s go inside. It’s much more comfortable!”