The Frozen Dream and the Wrath Witch’s Arrival

It was so cold!

Reyn instinctively pulled his coat tighter. The southern winter had arrived unusually late; it wasn’t the time for such a cold snap. Why was it so frigid?

He raised his head, a bewildered expression on his face, and gazed at the street before him, which was blanketed in thick snow.

‘Where am I? Shouldn’t I be at the Michelle family estate?’

His brows furrowed as memories from before his slumber began to surface.

‘That cup of black tea… Am I dreaming right now?’

He frowned again, then pinched his cheek hard. It hurt.

‘But how could it hurt in a dream?’

His expression grew even more confused. Was this a dream, or was it reality?

Suddenly, someone tugged at the corner of his coat, and a young girl’s humble voice asked, “Kind sir, would you buy a match?”

Reyn turned his head, his gaze falling upon the brown-haired girl before him. She was quite young, appearing no older than thirteen or fourteen. In such bitter cold, she wore only a thin shirt, and her feet, treading in the snow, were frozen a vivid red.

Reyn instinctively frowned, and his change in expression caused the girl to tremble. She quickly retracted the hand that had clutched his coat, lowering her head as she stammered, “I’m sorry! My—my hands are very clean! I didn’t dirty your coat! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to! I’m sorry!”

She explained herself incoherently, repeating over and over that she hadn’t soiled his coat, apologizing repeatedly for a transgression she hadn’t committed.

Reyn watched the girl with an indescribable expression. Her eyes were dull and lifeless, and her body bore numerous marks of abuse. She moved like a living corpse, merely following the motions of a life she’d once lived.

‘Damn it all!’

A sudden, unbidden anger flared within him. With a grim expression, he crouched down and removed the shoes from his feet. Ignoring the girl’s panicked resistance, he gently clasped her ankle.

As he helped her put on the shoes, he muttered, “Honestly… experiencing this kind of wretchedness once is memorable enough. Hey, what’s your name?”

The girl seemed not to hear Reyn’s question, struggling desperately to take off the shoes. “Sir, you mustn’t! Your shoes will get dirty!”

“Huh? Aren’t shoes meant to be worn? And clothes, for that matter, are the same.”

As he spoke, he also took off his own coat, forcibly draping it over the girl. Reyn looked down at the girl, who was still trembling, and said softly, “Hey, you still haven’t answered my question. What’s your name?”

“Kasha… Kasha Hein.”

The girl’s once dull eyes briefly regained a hint of clarity. She looked up at Reyn, who was huddled against the wind and snow, and whispered, “Sir, aren’t you cold?”

“Not cold.”

“But your body is shaking terribly. You’re actually very cold, aren’t you? I—I should give you back your clothes and shoes!”

Reyn stopped the girl just as she was about to take off the coat, looking at her earnestly. “From now on,” he said gently, “they are yours.”

The girl lowered her head, her voice barely a whisper. “But… all I can offer you, sir, is this lowly body.”

Reyn’s eyes widened slowly, his voice seeming to tremble from the wind and snow. “What… are you saying?”

Kasha looked up, bewildered. “But isn’t that how the adult world works?”

Reyn could no longer restrain himself, shouting with all his might, “But you’re only a child!”

Kasha gazed into Reyn’s eyes and said softly, “Children always grow up eventually. Kind sir, if you truly wish to help me, then buy my matches.”

Reyn stood silently in the wind and snow. He carried no cash, but that was hardly an obstacle. If he wished, he possessed the power to save thousands upon thousands of children like Kasha Hein.

However, this might not be the real world.

Though he was reluctant to admit it, Victoria would never allow him to slip from her sight. This was a dream world, one that even the Greed Witch could not easily interfere with.

Reyn, acutely aware of his situation, fell into contemplation. If this was the work of the Heretic lurking within the Michelle family’s territory, then everything ‘It’ did must be in pursuit of humanity that did not belong to ‘It’.

Among the Heretics he had encountered, most were those who resided within individuals. This unknown Heretic, however, clearly did not belong to that category. If not an individual, then ‘It’ must be a collective, like the Voice of the Deceased, the Old Man in the Mountain, or [Utopia].

Yet, the Old Man in the Mountain and [Utopia] already commanded a vast following of believers in reality. Those people genuinely worshipped their power, willing to sacrifice their flesh and souls for ‘Them’.

If this unknown Heretic was similar, then could ‘Its’ believers be the Michelle family? Was imprisoning the children’s consciousness here the Michelle family’s doing? Or perhaps—the humanity ‘It’ sought was these very children?

Reyn gazed at Kasha. Her eyes had once again lost all color as she numbly extended her basket towards him. “Kind sir, please, buy a match.”

How infuriating.

Reyn looked up at the gloomy sky, once again feeling the insignificance of being human. But this was no reason to give up. If this world was created to strip children of their innocence, then his task was to help them rediscover it.

First, he needed to confirm something. He softly chanted a spell, then hurled a fireball that had materialized in his palm towards a house, only for it to be extinguished midway.

Reyn’s brows rose, his gaze flickering. Magic could be used normally, but its impact was minimal. Did it require a specific kind of flame?

Just as Reyn pondered, a searing heat wave suddenly swept from behind him. He instinctively turned, only to see buildings engulfed in flames and a pillar of fire soaring skyward. The scene felt eerily familiar.

“Phew, much warmer now.”

The crisp voice of a young girl drifted from within the pillar of fire. Then, a black-robed girl wearing a phoenix mask stepped out. The moment she raised her head, her eyes met Reyn’s.

‘Young Master?’

Anna quickly noticed Kasha behind Reyn. Upon seeing the coat and shoes on Kasha, which were clearly ill-fitting for her size, Anna’s crimson eyes held a hint of complexity. Her gaze returned to Reyn, who was still thinly dressed. After a soft sigh, the flames she had brought forth spread even more rapidly, threatening to engulf the entire world.

Anna slowly descended before Reyn, a faint sadness in her eyes. She spoke softly, “Good evening, Count. The wind is biting here; please take care of yourself.”

‘Anna?’

Reyn instinctively wondered if his hearing was playing tricks on him. The person before him—her voice, her hair color, even her eye color—was identical to Anna’s.

‘No, it must be a coincidence.’

The fact that Victoria, whom he sponsored, was the Greed Witch was already incredible enough. It couldn’t be that the other girl he sponsored was also a member of the Witch’s Assembly, could it?

Reyn took a deep breath and slowly began, “Greetings, Miss Wrath Witch. I wonder, why would a being as powerful as yourself appear here?”

Anna’s gaze shifted slightly. Reyn addressed her as “Miss Wrath Witch” rather than by her name, implying that the Young Master did not wish to acknowledge her identity here.

Her crimson lips parted. “As you can see, I am here to confront the master of this world. However, even with all the commotion I’ve caused, the opponent has yet to appear. It seems they are quite cautious. Or perhaps, this is merely child’s play to ‘Them’.”

‘Child’s play?’

Reyn looked around with a complex expression. The entire town was ablaze, like a colossal furnace. If even this degree was considered child’s play, then that Heretic must possess an immense disposition.