The Zapolyarny Palace.
La Signora, Rosalyne, entered the palace alone to seek an audience with the Tsaritsa.
The Ice Palace was as cold as ever.
Even as the Crimson Witch of Flame, one who commanded scorching fire, she still felt the chill seep into her bones.
Perhaps it was just her imagination—but ever since the Prince departed Snezhnaya, the weather seemed even colder than before.
"Your Majesty," Rosalyne said, her tone restrained yet displeased,
"allowing those people at the harbor to spread rumors unchecked is harmful to the Prince's reputation. I request permission to deploy guards and suppress them."
Hearing such slander had infuriated her.
Had it not been for the negative implications of acting openly, she would have already burned the entire crowd to ashes.
"If idle gossip were enough to shake the Prince's reputation…"
the Tsaritsa replied coolly,
"Rosalyne, do you lack confidence in him?"
The temperature in the hall dropped several degrees in an instant.
"This subordinate would never dare," Rosalyne said, lowering her head.
"With the Prince acting personally, he will surely fulfill Your Majesty's wish."
"I summoned you for another matter," the Tsaritsa continued.
"Do you know why the Prince chose Inazuma as his first destination?"
"This subordinate does not."
"He told me… he does not wish to see you fall in Inazuma."
Rosalyne's expression tightened.
"Your Majesty, the Prince has never mentioned such a thing to me."
"Then it seems he foresaw something—or perhaps merely guessed.
Tell me, Rosalyne. What is the current situation in Inazuma?"
"Reporting to Your Majesty: in three days' time, a Duel Before the Throne will take place.
The challenger is a wandering samurai.
The one being challenged is Kujou Sara, general of the Tenryou Commission."
"Three days…"
The Tsaritsa's lips curved faintly.
"That coincides perfectly with the Prince's arrival. It seems we'll be treated to quite the spectacle."
Late the following night, the Empire warship entered Inazuma's waters.
"Watch for thunderstorms," Severin reminded the captain.
"Your Highness, are we truly proceeding straight through?"
The elderly captain, seasoned by decades at sea, hesitated.
"This subordinate advises detouring from the southwest. It's safer."
Severin set down his wineglass—
a bottle of red wine from Dawn Winery, only half-finished.
"The Empire's warship represents the Empire's unyielding will," he said calmly.
"A mere thunderstorm will not stop us. Proceed straight ahead."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
The captain's grip on the helm grew slick with sweat.
Though this was not his first time sailing to Inazuma, he had never encountered a storm so apocalyptic.
Bolts of lightning as thick as tree trunks slammed into the sea again and again.
If the Empire took even one direct hit, the entire ship would be lost.
Yet the Prince remained utterly composed—enough to steady the captain's nerves.
As for the crew and guards… many were already on the brink of terror.
"Wine from Dawn Winery truly has an excellent flavor."
As his words fell, Severin stepped out of the bridge and onto the bow.
"Your Highness! The lightning—be careful!"
The Mirror Maiden cried out anxiously from behind.
Severin smiled and shook his head, signaling that it was fine.
The thunderstorm was an extension of the Raiden Shogun's will.
The more one feared it, the more vicious it became.
Courage was not an empty phrase.
Beneath the heavy night sky, thunderclouds churned across the horizon.
The rampant Electro energy was suffocating.
Severin raised a finger, narrowed his eyes, and murmured:
"Destruction giving rise to rebirth…
That is the true essence of lightning.
Perhaps… this power could be mine to wield as well."
Inside the bridge, the Mirror Maiden and the captain exchanged stunned glances.
Was the Prince… studying the thunderstorm?
When it came to courting danger, he seemed even more extreme than the notoriously unhinged Harbingers.
As dawn broke and pale light spread across the eastern horizon, the Empire warship arrived safely in Inazuma.
Centuries of isolation had made the people of Inazuma extremely wary of foreign vessels.
Upon seeing the imposing Snezhnayan warship, crowds quickly gathered, eager to glimpse the great figure aboard.
Their hopes, however, were destined to be dashed.
At that very moment, Severin—accompanied by the Mirror Maiden—was disembarking quietly from the ship's side aboard a small boat, avoiding both the crowds and Inazuma's watchful eyes.
"Take me to an inn," Severin said, issuing his first order upon landing.
"Your Highness," the Mirror Maiden began instinctively,
"according to diplomatic protocol, we should first proceed to Tenshukaku to submit—"
She stopped mid-sentence under Severin's gaze and quickly corrected herself.
"There is an inn nearby."
Foreign envoys were typically housed and provisioned by the host nation.
Yet the Prince chose an inn instead.
Was this meant as a deliberate snub?
Every step the Prince took had its purpose.
The Mirror Maiden did not dare speculate further.
"You wait outside," Severin said calmly, locking the door behind him.
The next second—
He rushed into the washroom and vomited.
…Yes. Seasickness.
Do I really need to explain that?
No.
At the Grand Narukami Shrine, beneath the Sacred Sakura, the Guuji Yae Miko listened to a spy's report.
"Reporting, Lady Guuji. The Snezhnayan Prince suddenly went to an ordinary inn mid-way.
It is not a Fatui safehouse."
"That Prince of Snezhnaya…" Yae Miko said with a smile,
"how interesting. Continue monitoring him. Report every move."
Severin rested for quite some time before the churning in his stomach finally subsided.
With his current strength, a simple divine barrier would have prevented seasickness entirely.
Yet he deliberately refrained.
In truth, even after three years in Snezhnaya, he still caught the occasional cold.
He allowed it—on purpose.
These ailments, ones only mortals suffered, served as reminders that he was still human.
That he must not forget a mortal's original intent.
From the moment he first obtained divine power through the system, he had understood this clearly.
Not out of masochism—but because he knew:
The power of gods ultimately originated from the Heavenly Principles.
To oppose the Heavenly Principles, one could not rely upon godhood itself.
On this point, Severin and the Tsaritsa were perfectly aligned—
and it was precisely why she spared no cost in collecting the Gnoses.
Thus, in the eyes of most people in Snezhnaya, the Prince often seemed… ordinary.
Only those truly close to him knew the truth.
The divine power Severin wielded was something even the Tsaritsa dared not underestimate.
"Your Highness, are you all right?" the Mirror Maiden asked worriedly as he emerged.
"I'm fine," Severin replied.
"Let's go. We're heading to Tenshukaku."
The door to the adjacent room suddenly swung open.
A wandering samurai stepped out, a cat cradled in his arms, blocking their path.
"You're heading to Tenshukaku as well?" he asked casually.
"If so, why not travel together?"
The Mirror Maiden immediately tensed.
At the samurai's waist hung an Electro Vision, and his presence alone made her heart pound.
This man was dangerous.
"Were you eavesdropping on our conversation?" she demanded.
"I heard voices in the corridor," the samurai replied.
"I thought the Shogunate troops had come for me, so I listened at the door for a bit."
"So you're… a fugitive?"
Instinctively, the Mirror Maiden stepped in front of Severin.
No matter what, she could not allow such a person to approach the Prince.
Not because he posed any real threat—
—but because he would tarnish the Prince's reputation.
The Prince of Snezhnaya traveling alongside a wanted man?
That rumor would spread through Inazuma in an instant.
Yet Severin accepted the proposal without hesitation.
"That works."
A meaningful smile curved his lips.
The Mirror Maiden did not recognize the wandering samurai.
But Severin knew exactly who he was.
The close friend of Kaedehara Kazuha—
the man who once attempted to challenge the Raiden Shogun herself.
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