Conquering His Cold Heart

'The next ruler of the empire will be entering the fray to help defend the empire and the territory of a mere viscount.' Leo greatly respected the crown prince as he was more than just his future liege but a friend.

Despite the large age difference between Leo and Randolph (the crown prince) the two of them could be considered good friends with Randolph taking the role of an elder cousin or brother. When Leo was growing up occasionally Randolph would visit their family and teach him swordsmanship and tell him about life in the capital.

It was a relationship based on tradition wherein a member of the royal family would foster a friendship with a member of the Furano family to ensure loyalty and strengthen foundation of the Northrend empire.

The relationship between the two of them wasn't as developed or as solid as the one between their fathers but none the less it was certainly positive thus Leo felt especially moved by the fact that Randolph himself was coming to help them in their time of need.

The current emperor had three children, two sons and a daughter.  The oldest of his children, crown prince Randolph known as the white wolf of the empire, Sedrick the second prince who was close with the less than savoury elements of the empire and commonly referred to as the empire's spider given his tendency to work in the shadows and finally there was the apple of his eye, the radiance of the empire, his darling daughter Avira.

Traditionally given their ages Leo should have had the close relationship with Avira but Franz (the emperor) immediately vetoed that idea, not willing to have his daughter associate with any guy regardless of how much he personally approved of their character.

This decision which was made so many years ago resulted in a lot of chuckles and inside jokes between Franz, his wife Amelia (the empress), Douglas and Cassandra who in fact agreed with his choice. Partially because they also found Avira to be loveable and worthy of protection but also to avoid possible romantic entanglement between their houses.

Leo was the heir to the Furano Viscounty and was their only child, he couldn't marry into the royal family and Avira couldn't marry into their house either given their noble ranking and the delicate situation in regards to the amount of political power the family was allowed to hold. Thus that left Randolph and Sedrick.

Sedrick had no intention of forming a bond with the Furano family given his already forming political position that saw him side with many families that looked disapprovingly towards the Furanos. Therefore Randolph was the only one left and took on the role with enthusiasm, treating Leo like a much younger brother.

Frost's eyes opened wide as he heard what Leo said.

'An A-rank fighter….interesting.' A smile formed on his lips as he thought about seeing someone even stronger in action. The point about the crown prince coming however made no impact on him. Frost wasn't a citizen of Northrend and cared little about the political powers of the empire. Why should he care about the title of crown prince? Was it more important than being a son of the dark God?

"4 days is neither a long time nor a short time and whether we can withstand the onslaught is entirely dependent on the B-ranks that join the fray." The rindars alone nearly caused the situation to flip on its head with their attack on Douglas. More and stronger monsters were sure to arrive within these 4 days and likely after.

'Actually would just having an A-rank fighter here ensure victory?' Frost asked himself internally not willing to bring down Leo's hope. A single A-rank fighter would certainly be a powerhouse worth multiple B-ranks, but monsters were worth more individually compared to sapients of the same rank.

It wasn't impossible for a peak B-rank or even a few upper B-ranks to be drawn into the war, more than enough firepower to restrict or even take out an A-rank fighter from their side.

'Well hopefully it's more than one and or that contingent of B-ranks are plentiful.' Frost chose to be optimistic about the situation, deciding to deal with what he could which was these four days.

"True but it's something we need to do." Leo turned to look at his father who was groaning and trembling nearby as his wounds slowly recovered through the actions of the frost wolf battalion's top healer.

"My father will likely be out of the fight for the next two days at least, more if my mother ever finds out how perilous the situation really was." He whispered the second half but Frost who heard it couldn't help but imagine Cassandra's fury. He subconsciously nodded his head in agreement.

"Right now we need to reach the next lapse in the waves, once we can rest and reassess the overall situation I'll be able to properly assign you and Kiba your roles in this war, but I'll be honest Frost senpai, we don't have the luxury to not use you for all you've got." Leo turned back to Frost and spoke with a guilty look.

Frost smiled wildly in response. "No problem, Kiba and I are here to fight, the more you can give us the better. I still need to get accustomed to my entry into B-rank while Kiba is in his prime growth phase, the more experience he gains now the greater his future potential will be." Frost knocked his fist against his chest showing his reliability while Kiba chuffed and pumped out his chest.

"Haaaaaaaa really thank you both." Leo sighed and shook his head before smiling.

"For now I'll be in the command centre taking on my father's role while he recovers, why don't you head up to the Northern wall. If the next break isn't coming soon Hamon could surely use you in the vanguard or even as part of the magic corps, has your magic capabilities expanded since we stormed my uncle's mansion?"

Frost scoffed before replying "Yeah I've improved since then, no more two spells under my belt. I'm not at the B-rank level in that regard but I'd have no problem launching 2nd and 3rd circle ice spells if that's where you need me." Frost though not as advanced in terms of his magic compared to his glaive and chakra was still a force to be reckoned with.

"Good we really need someone who can slot into any role. Don't say I didn't warn you Frost senpai. By the time this is over you'll be sleeping for a week straight good luck." Leo chuckled before standing straight and emitting the aura of a noble giving out his orders.

"Understood commander." Frost responded similar to how Findlay to did towards him, with a military salute.

Frost then turned around and hopped on Kiba's back before remembering what he brought in his spatial rings.

"Ahhh before I head off I brought a bunch of things that should help with the war effort and I'm sure the noble Furano family will give me a fair price for them." Frost's smile stretched from ear to ear as he removed a couple spatial rings that were filled with goodies he prepared before he left.

Leo took the spatial rings and quickly inspected their contents causing his eyes to open wide and for him to look at Frost in disbelief.

The two spatial rings were packed to the brim with low level health and mana potions, arrows both iron and steel headed, raw iron ore and monster materials that were cleaned and ready to be utilised in forging.

"I've got another ring filled with high quality monster parts but you're probably not in dire need of those right now." Frost gestured to another spatial ring that contained a portion of the cleaned up materials from the high ranking monsters that died in his dungeon.

These parts would net him a very healthy yield of gold coins but that would likely have to wait till after the stampede was dealt with.

Leo's upper lips twitched, and his jaw was agape as he struggled to process the information.

"…..Thank you Frost senpai, I give you my word that our family will greatly reimburse you for these much needed materials." Eventually Leo clenched his fists around the spatial rings and revealed a determined look in his eyes.

'With these items we'll surely being able to last until the fourth day, Hamon won't be as restricted in his use of volleys and the injured will be able to get back into the fight.' Frost truly was a godsend for their viscounty.

"Charlotte please take these spatial rings to my mother and tell her to make a note of the items so we can reimburse our good friend once this war is over." Leo called to one of the command centre's aids before handing her the two spatial rings.

Leo then turned to Frost once more.

"Anything else you might have forgotten to mention?" He asked with bright eyes and relaxed shoulders, a significant weight seemed to be lifted from his body thanks to Frost's generous gift.