In the luxurious hotel in the Asian country, the dawn was already hovering like a silent mist when Kael finally ended the call with Victoria.
He stood still for a few moments, staring at the spot where her hologram had faded, as if trying to maintain the warmth of her presence even in her absence.
She took a deep breath, ran her hand through her hair, and murmured, "I almost got seduced by a diplomatic boob trap. What a phase."
He knocked on the wall three times with his knuckles.
His personal assistant, Zhen, appeared almost immediately, already formally dressed, as if he had no time for bed. "Did you call, Your Highness?"
Kael turned, more serious now. "Give me the report on the woman who tried to break into my room. I want everything: where she came from, who paid her, and why she thought this would work."
Zhen nodded with the precision of an automaton and handed over a thin tablet, already with the documents organized.
A hologram projected into the air, with data running in colored columns and codes flashing.
"The case is deeper than we expected, Your Highness."
Kael frowned and crossed his arms, watching the report unfold.
Zhen continued, "Initially, she seemed like just a woman hired by some bored tycoon... but after analyzing the hotel's database and accessing the national transportation network, we discovered she was accompanied by three individuals from the country's business elite."
Kael straightened. "Business elite? This is getting worse."
Zhen changed the graphics to a three-dimensional model of connections. "One of them is Hanzo Jǐn, the second son of the Jǐn family—heirs to one of Asia's largest technology and telecommunications conglomerates."
Kael narrowed his eyes. "I know the Jǐn. I never trusted that old smirk at the Trade Council."
"So... this heir has documented ties to at least four underground groups. Money laundering, corporate data trafficking contracts, and... get this: an organization known as the Silk Chimeras. A group specializing in sexual blackmail and infiltration of political elites."
Kael took a step back, taking a deep breath. "They were trying to sabotage me…or sabotage the alliance between Cryon and this country."
Zhen nodded. "Both, perhaps. The trap was set in a hurry, but with professional hands. They used falsified records, and the woman got through security with sealed high-ranking documents."
"In other words, someone within the government approved it."
"Try."
Kael walked to the window, where the city below glowed with artificial lights. "I want names, documents, and evidence organized. And contact our empire's diplomats. If these people want to play cold war, they'll learn that Cryon also knows how to freeze reputations."
Zhen didn't smile, but his eyes gleamed with murderous efficiency. "I'm already preparing the dossier. And… Your Highness, should I inform Victoria about the involvement of third parties in this personal assassination attempt?"
Kael hesitated.
The image of her in her red pajamas still lingered in his mind.
But he knew she needed to know.
"Yes. But soften it. Just tell her we're investigating, security has been beefed up, and no one is to touch me without her permission."
Zhen almost laughed. "Yes, sir."
Kael returned to the chair, leaning back with a sigh.
Moments later, Kael finally passed out.
He slept like an iceberg—steady, cold, and with much sinking beneath the surface.
But the dawn waited for no mercy.
The presidential bedroom was filled with the golden light of the Asian sunrise.
A soft alarm blared, and the hotel's AI voice, with an exaggerated British accent, called out to him as if narrating a royal documentary:
"Good morning, Your Highness Kael. Today's agenda begins in 47 minutes."
Kael let out a sleepy growl, rolling onto his side as if the bed were one of mortal's greatest pleasures.
But responsibility, as always, won.
He got up and took a quick shower, letting the water run down his defined muscles, which looked sculpted with snow and battle. The hot steam helped ease the tension.
He wore a silver-gray wool suit, with Cryon's glacial insignia subtly embroidered on the chest.
Already prepared, he went down to the ground floor, where a state-of-the-art armored limousine awaited him with the symbols of the Cryon Empire discreetly printed on the doors.
As soon as he entered, the holographic screen on the seat in front lit up.
Zhen had left the news from the polar continent organized like a morning imperial dossier.
Kael crossed his legs, spread his fingers, and began to read as the car glided through the streets of the Asian metropolis:
» Cryon Empire Highlights – Last 24h:
With the onset of polar spring, wildlife reproduction has increased by 63% compared to the last cycle. Conservation sanctuaries are nearing capacity, requiring further logistical investment.
The Glacial Guard intercepted five illegal armed groups responsible for hunting and mutilating polar bears in search of claws and skins sold on the black market.
Kael gritted his teeth. Idiots.
And also, with the imminent retirement of veteran advisors, the imperial test for new advisors began, and chaos ensued.
More than two thousand candidates are competing for seven positions, and, according to the report, the Emperor himself, Kael's father, is facing internal resistance.
"Senior advisers refuse to cut state spending, citing 'tradition and political stability.'" Kael snorted. "Tradition, my pel… blizzard."
He slid his finger across the screen, switching to the economic report.
The empire's budget was beginning to bleed, largely due to obsolete military projects, subsidies to archaic sectors, and advisors who believed that "ancestral honor" was more important than financial pragmatism.
"My dad is going to freak out if one more idiot cites a treaty from the year 2500 as a budget justification."
Zhen commented via internal comm, "The monarchy seems stable, but politics is slowly melting away, Your Highness."
Kael closed his eyes for a second and replied, "Then it's time to freeze the fire before it becomes an avalanche."
The car stopped in front of the building where the meeting with Asian ministers and businessmen was to take place.
Kael adjusted the cuffs of his suit, checked his hair in the reflection of the glass, and took a deep breath.
The meeting room at the top of the skyscraper was silent, almost solemn.
Kael stood firm, like the glacial heir he was, even as his watchful eyes danced between every face around the massive holographic crystal table.
There were the Asian country's biggest businessmen, influential ministers, infrastructure advisors, and the vice president of the region's economic bloc.
Men who for years tried to "negotiate" with Cryon but never got anything beyond diplomatic promises cooled by the polar bureaucracy.
Today was different.
Kael represented a direct proposal from the Cryon Empire: "Opening Cryonian companies in the Asian country, with a special focus on infrastructure, bioenergy, and automated production technology."
The initial reaction was absolute silence.
But not out of contempt but out of surprise.
Some there tried this cooperation more than a decade ago.
Others doubted that Cryon, reclusive and inflexible, would ever open itself up to outside industrial partnerships.
Kael looked at everyone with diplomatic coolness, but his words carried an intensity that none of the gentlemen at the table expected.
"If you want to bask in the power of ice, bring real fuel. Solid partnerships. No lobbying, no bribery. Cryon is tired of diplomacy with fake smiles."
One of the ministers swallowed hard.
Company president Tatsuhiko Industrial, who led the energy and construction sectors, responded, "So you'll agree to open factories here? Is that official?"
Kael nodded. "Four factories. Two in existing industrial hubs, two in economic redevelopment regions. Local employment, but Cryon technology and control. And… each factory will have a research facility managed by our Imperial AI."
Another executive, excited, asked, "What does the Empire gain from this?"
Kael smirked. "Stability. Expansion."
Of course, mentally, Kael added. "And what we like most: ecosystem control in areas you're melting down with greed."
Agreements were reached.
Digital stamps exchanged.
Terms accepted.
With the diplomatic signature issued at the end of the meeting, Kael knew: mission accomplished.
Hours later…
Kael left the building with a slight smile of mission accomplished on his face.
He got into the armored limousine and reclined in the back seat, ready to check his cell phone messages and maybe call Victoria.
But fate had other plans.
As the car turned onto a wide but nearly deserted side road, four black armored SUVs appeared from both sides and in front, completely blocking the way.
"What…?" Kael looked up from his phone, his expression hardening.
Armed men jumped out of the vehicles, all dressed in tactical gear, dark masks, and carrying heavy weapons.
One of them shouted something in an Asian language that Kael didn't understand but the intention was clear: Ambush.
The driver shouted, "YOUR HIGHNESS, GET DOWN!"
Bulletproof glass was hit hard. A muffled sound of gunfire echoed like thunder in a deaf chamber.
Kael didn't hesitate. Instinctively, he reached down, pulled the hidden lever on the floor of the car, and activated an energy shield that covered the vehicle's interior for three minutes.
Three minutes to think.
Three minutes to survive.
Kael took out his wrist communicator and activated a top priority diplomatic evacuation request.
"Zhen… this is Kael. I've been ambushed. Location automatically transmitted. Bring reinforcements. And bring me back quickly."
Outside, the invaders circled the car.
One of them was pulling a thermal lance.
They were trying to melt the car's armor shield to force entry.
Kael clenched his fists.
The car's energy shield began to vibrate, the impact sensors reaching critical level.
Outside, the sound of the thermal lance intensified, cutting through the air with a menacing hum.
Kael remained motionless.
Cold. Unperturbed.
A polar prince does not react with despair.
He waits for the right moment to freeze the world.
That's when a new sound spread across the sky: the metallic roar of silent infiltration aircraft.
Cryon unit drones have activated their airstrike mode.
And then... the frozen hell began.
From the top of the neighboring buildings, elite Cryon soldiers descended like shadows: armor, precision weapons, ammunition.
The first shot was not lethal.
It was a warning: an ice grenade bursting between the invaders, freezing two in mid-motion.
The other enemies screamed, retreating, but there was nowhere to run.
The massacre has begun.
Kael stood up inside the car.
The shield lowered with a soft hiss.
He calmly opened the door and walked out as if nothing had happened. "Go on. But leave one alive… just to tell me what it's like to die in fear."
One of Cryon's soldiers gave a tactical gesture and stepped forward.
Precise shots.
Blood splattering on the asphalt.
Muffled screams.
Kael didn't even blink.
That scene was not unusual for someone who grew up on a throne surrounded by politics and war disguised as diplomacy.
In less than three minutes, everyone was dead… except one.
The last invader, wounded, bleeding, and missing a leg, tried to crawl away.
Kael approached, his gaze devoid of any trace of emotion. "You were just a puppet. And now… an inconvenient corpse."
A snap.
One shot.
End of the line.
Hours later, at the Imperial Hotel.
Kael entered the room.
It was calm, clean, as if nothing had happened.
But there was a chilling air around him.
His assistant, already waiting beside a table with documents and a tablet floating in presentation mode, greeted him with a slight wave:
"Your Highness… we've traced the source of funding, recruitment, and logistics. It all leads to one name."
The tablet projected the image in real size.
Hanzo Jǐn.
Kael stared at the image for a few seconds. His eyes shone as if the Arctic itself were judging Hanzo.
"He knew he was poking ice with fire. Now it will melt."
Without changing his tone, he turned to his assistant. "Do what needs to be done. And do it cleanly. No… scandals."
"Yes sir."
The assistant typed on the tablet, sending an encrypted message to the Cryonian infiltrator network in the Asian country.
Codes have been activated.
Protocols executed.
A whisper of death crossing secure networks.
Kael walked over to the glass window that overlooked the illuminated city.
He sighed. A long, tired, cold sigh.