Extra's Path: The Eternal Frost Monarch

Noah looked at her with a small smile. "What? Nothing to say now?"

Ophelia let out a quiet breath.

"Haah." She crossed her arms. "I suppose you’re not as stupid as everyone says." Her voice was calm, almost indifferent. "Yes. It’s true. I did it because I wanted to break our engagement. I had no desire to marry you. But my father wouldn’t listen to me no matter what I said. So when the opportunity came, I took it."

She said it the way someone admits to something they never considered wrong in the first place.

Noah wasn’t angry. Not really.

The old Noah had genuinely loved her — or perhaps just been obsessed with her. Either way, that version of him was gone.

He looked at her now, properly, and tried to understand what that person had seen. She was beautiful, no question. But it wasn’t as though there were no other beautiful women in the world. Arisha and Lyria, for example, were far more striking than her in every sense.

He shook the thought off and spoke.

"Good. At least you admitted it." His voice was even. "So don’t ever speak badly about me again. I already paid the price for what I tried to do to you. And you got exactly what you wanted out of it."

Ophelia’s expression sharpened immediately.

"Tch. You think I’m going to be civil with you now?" She took a step forward. "It doesn’t matter what my reasons were. The fact remains that you tried to assault me. That desire was in you. That tells me everything I need to know about what kind of person you are." Her eyes were hard. "You expect me to just act like nothing happened? Don’t be delusional, Noah. What’s done is done. It can’t be taken back."

Noah held her gaze with a flat expression.

’Fine. I understand. There’s no point in this conversation. She’s not going to change.’

He stood up from the debris and walked toward her, stopping close enough to speak clearly.

"Listen." His voice was quiet but firm. "If that’s how it’s going to be, then let’s just agree to act like strangers. I don’t want to see you clicking your tongue every time you look at me. I don’t want that expression on your face like I’m something disgusting every time I’m nearby." He held her gaze. "In return, I won’t say a single word to you. Not one."

Ophelia let out a short, sharp laugh. "You think I can just walk past your face like nothing happened? Looking at you is unpleasant enough on its own."

Something cold settled in Noah’s eyes.

"That’s enough," he said quietly. "I won’t forget this. You’ll pay for it."

Ophelia blinked once, and then her expression cracked into genuine amusement.

"Pfft— hahaha!" She laughed openly. "You’re going to make me pay for it? Really? What exactly are you going to do? You’re weak, Noah. You can’t do anything to me."

"Just wait," he said, his voice completely steady. "You’ll regret this."

"Sure!" She spread her hands lightly, her smile sharp and unbothered. "Go ahead. Try whatever you want. I’m not afraid of you. Not even a little."

She glanced down at her smartwatch, and her expression returned to neutral.

"Our shift is up. I’m going back." She turned without another word and walked away.

"Go then!" Noah called after her, his voice rising slightly. "I won’t be going back... not while you’re there."

She lifted one hand and waved it lazily without turning around.

"Do whatever you want."

Noah watched her go. His eyes were cold. He turned and walked in the opposite direction, away from the base, disappearing into the darker stretch of the road.

Up on the roof of a nearby building, one of the other students had been watching the whole thing from above. He couldn’t make out the words, the distance was too great for that. He had only caught the tail end of it, the moment Noah’s voice had risen. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

He rested his chin on his hand with a look of mild disappointment.

"That was an entertaining show," he muttered to himself. "Would have been a lot more entertaining if I could have heard what they were actually saying."

He stared down at the empty road for a moment longer, then looked away.

---

The next morning.

Noah returned to the base just as the early light was beginning to come through.

"Yawn~"

He stretched his arms above his head as he walked through the entrance of the building, rolling his neck slowly. The hotel’s ground floor was wide and open, and the area where food had been set up was already occupied by a handful of students sitting at various tables, eating quietly.

Some of them glanced at him as he walked in.

Then came the murmuring.

-"Did you hear about last night? Noah and Ophelia had a massive argument."

-"I heard. He apparently walked off on his own afterward."

-"I mean, who set those two together for guard duty? Anyone with a brain could have seen that coming."

-"They already had a run-in on the very first day in the hallway too."

The whispers moved between tables, low but not particularly hidden. Noah caught fragments of it without trying.

He said nothing. He found an empty table, sat down, and looked out through the cracked glass wall of the hotel.

Outside, the morning sky was a deep orange pressing through breaks in the smoky grey clouds, throwing uneven light across the ruins. Parts of the destroyed city caught the glow while the rest stayed in cold shadow.

Ophelia, at least, was not in the room. Small mercy.

Then he heard footsteps.

Someone had come through the entrance and stopped just inside the doorway. A brief pause, hesitation — and then quiet, deliberate steps moving toward him.

A figure appeared beside the table across from him and sat down carefully, setting a cup of tea on the surface between them.

It was Mary.

Her short black hair was neat and clean. The round glasses sat in their usual place. Her expression carried a small, genuine look of concern as she looked at him.

"Noah..." she said softly. "Are you okay?"

Something in Noah’s chest settled.

A smile formed on his face without him really deciding to make one.

"Honestly?" he said. "I wasn’t okay. I was in a pretty bad mood." He paused, then added, "But seeing your face and hearing that worried voice of yours already made me feel a lot better. So thank you, Mary."

Mary’s cheeks went faintly pink. She looked down at her cup of tea and shook her head quickly.

"It’s not like that," she said, her voice a little flustered. "I was just wondering if you were alright or not. That’s all." She glanced up briefly. "And don’t call me cute."

Noah let out a quiet chuckle. "Alright. I won’t."

Mary studied him for a moment, then nodded toward the table. "Are you going to get some tea or coffee?"

Noah shook his head lightly. "Not in the mood." He leaned back in his chair. "Besides, seeing you has already refreshed me. Don’t need it now."

Mary’s expression shifted immediately into a pout.

There he went again. Saying things like that with a completely straight face just to get a reaction out of her. She opened her mouth, then closed it, pressing her lips together. She said nothing and took a quiet sip of her tea, looking away from him.

Noah was still smiling.

Just then footsteps came from the entrance again. Someone walked in with purpose, scanning the room briefly before their eyes settled on Noah and moved directly toward him.

It was Damien.

He pulled out the chair beside Noah and sat down, resting his arms on the table. His expression was open and genuinely concerned.

"Hey." He looked at Noah directly. "You okay? I heard what happened last night." He leaned forward slightly. "Don’t let it get to you. I know you’re not the same person you used to be."

Noah glanced at him sideways.

Then a small smile crossed his face. "I would have felt a lot better hearing that from a cute girl like Mary." He tilted his head in her direction. "But still I am glad to hear that even if it came from you. Thank you, Damien. I mean it."

Mary pressed her lips together and gritted her teeth quietly behind her cup of tea.

He was doing it again. She kept her expression composed since Damien was right there, but the look she gave Noah over the rim of her cup said everything clearly.

Noah noticed. His smile didn’t move.

Damien turned to Mary with a warm expression and greeted her. Mary returned it with a polite smile of her own, and the three of them settled into easy conversation, the kind that fills a quiet morning without demanding too much from anyone.

Then Damien’s smartwatch beeped.

He glanced at it and accepted the call immediately, pressing it close to his ear.

A voice came through, clipped and alert. It was someone from the Recon unit.

"Commander. Reporting from the north side. I’ve spotted three students from Class B-1 heading in our direction."