In the luxurious hotel in the Asian country, the early morning already hung like a silent mist when Kael finally ended the call with Victória.
He stood still for a few moments, staring at the spot where her hologram dissolved, as if wanting to keep the warmth of her presence even in absence.
He took a deep breath, ran his hand through his hair, and murmured. "I almost got seduced by a diplomatic trap of breasts. What a phase."
He knocked three times on the wall with his knuckles.
His personal assistant, Zhen, appeared almost immediately, already dressed formally, as if he had no bedtime. "You called, 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, and why she thought it would work."
Zhen nodded with the precision of an automaton and handed over a thin tablet, already with the documents organized.
A hologram projected in the air, with data running in colorful columns and flashing codes.
"The case is deeper than we expected, Your Highness."
Kael frowned and crossed his arms, watching the report unfold.
Zhen continued. "Initially it seemed just a woman hired by some bored magnate... but after analyzing the hotel's database and access to the national transport network, we discovered she came accompanied by three individuals from the country's business elite."
Kael straightened up. "Business elite? This is getting worse."
Zhen switched the graphics to a three-dimensional connection model. "One of them is Hanzo Jǐn, the second son of the Jǐn family — heirs of one of the largest technology and telecommunications conglomerates in Asia."
Kael narrowed his eyes. "I know the Jǐn. I never trusted that smiling old man on the Trade Council."
"Well then... this heir has documented ties with at least four underground groups. Money laundering, corporate data trafficking contracts, and... check this out: an organization known as The Silk Chimeras. A group specialized in sexual blackmail and infiltration of political elites."
Kael took a step back, breathing deeper. "They were trying to sabotage me... or sabotage the alliance between Cryon and this country."
Zhen nodded. "Both, maybe. The trap was made in a hurry, but with professional hands. They used forged records, and the woman passed security with sealed high-level documents."
"In other words, someone inside the government approved it."
"Yes."
Kael walked to the window, where the city below shone with artificial lights. "I want names, documents, and organized proof. And get in touch with our empire's diplomats. If these people want to play cold war, they'll learn Cryon also knows how to freeze reputations."
Zhen didn't smile, but his eyes shone with killer efficiency. "I'm already preparing the dossier. And… Your Highness, should I inform Victória about third-party involvement in this personal attack?"
Kael hesitated.
Her image in her red pajamas still lingered in his mind.
But he knew she needed to know.
"Yes. But soften it. Just say we are investigating, security has been increased, and no one touches me without her authorization."
Zhen almost laughed. "Yes, sir."
Kael returned to the armchair, leaning back with a sigh.
Moments later, Kael finally fell asleep.
He slept like an iceberg — firm, cold, and with a lot sinking beneath the surface.
But dawn showed no mercy.
The presidential suite was filled with the golden light of the Asian sunrise.
A soft alarm sounded, and the hotel AI's voice, with an exaggerated British accent, called him as if narrating a nobility documentary:
"Good morning, Your Highness Kael. Today's agenda starts in 47 minutes."
Kael let out a sleepy growl, rolling to the side as if the bed were one of the greatest mortal pleasures.
But responsibility, as always, won.
He got up, took a quick shower, letting the water run down the defined muscles that seemed sculpted by snow and battle. The hot steam helped relax tensions.
He dressed in a silver-gray wool suit, with the glacial Cryon 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 Cryon Empire's symbols discreetly printed on the doors.
As soon as he got in, the holographic screen in front seat lit up.
Zhen had organized the polar continent news as a morning imperial dossier.
Kael crossed his legs, stretched his fingers, and started reading as the car glided through the streets of the Asian metropolis:
» Cryon Empire Highlights – Last 24h:
With the advance of polar spring, wild animal reproduction increased by 63% compared to the last cycle. Conservation sanctuaries are almost at capacity, requiring more logistical investments.
The Glacial Guard intercepted five illegal armed groups, responsible for hunting and mutilating polar bears in search of claws and furs sold on the black market.
Kael clenched his teeth. Idiots.
And also, with the imminent retirement of veteran councilors, the imperial test for new councilors began, and chaos settled in.
More than two thousand candidates compete for seven vacancies, and according to the report, the Emperor himself, Kael's father, is facing internal resistance.
"Old councilors refuse to cut state spending, claiming 'tradition and political stability.'" Kael snorted. "Tradition my as... blizzard."
He slid his finger on the screen, switching to the economic report.
The empire's budget was beginning to bleed, mostly due to obsolete military projects, subsidies for archaic sectors, and councilors who believed "ancestral honor" was more important than financial pragmatism.
"My father will lose it if another idiot cites a treaty from the year 2500 as budget justification."
Zhen, via internal communicator, commented. "The monarchy seems stable, but politics is slowly melting, Your Highness."
Kael closed his eyes for a second and answered. "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 would take place.
Kael adjusted his suit cuffs, checked his hair in the glass reflection, and took a deep breath.
The meeting room at the top of the skyscraper was silent, almost solemn.
Kael kept a firm posture, like the glacial heir he was, even with attentive eyes dancing among every face around the huge holographic crystal table.
There were the country's great businessmen, influential ministers, infrastructure councilors, and the region's economic bloc vice president.
Men who for years tried to "negotiate" with Cryon but never got anything beyond diplomatic promises cooled by polar bureaucracy.
Today was different.
Kael represented a direct proposal from the Cryon Empire: "Opening of Cryonian companies in the Asian country, with special focus on infrastructure, bioenergy, and automated production technology."
The initial reaction was absolute silence.
But not out of contempt but surprise.
Some there tried this cooperation more than a decade ago.
Others doubted that Cryon, reclusive and inflexible, would ever open for external industrial partnerships.
Kael looked at everyone with diplomatic coldness, but his words carried an intensity none of the gentlemen at the table expected.
"If you want to warm up with the power of ice, bring real fuel. Solid partnerships. No lobbies, no bribes. Cryon is tired of diplomacy with fake smiles."
One of the ministers swallowed dry.
The president of Tatsuhiko Industrial, who led the energy and construction sectors, responded. "So you will accept to open factories here? Is this official?"
Kael nodded. "Four factories. Two in already existing industrial poles, two in economic requalification regions. Local employment, but technology and control from Cryon. And… each factory will have a research extension managed by our imperial AI."
Another executive, excited, asked. "What does the Empire gain with this?"
Kael smiled sideways. "Stability. Expansion."
Of course, mentally, Kael added. "And what we like most: ecosystem control in zones you are melting with greed."
Agreements were made.
Digital seals 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 messages on his cell phone and maybe call Victória.
But fate had other plans.
When the car turned onto a wide but almost deserted side street, four black armored SUVs appeared from both sides and ahead, completely blocking the way.
"What...?" Kael raised his eyes from the phone, his expression hardening.
Armed men jumped out of the vehicles, all wearing tactical clothes, dark masks, and heavy weapons.
One shouted something in an Asian language that Kael didn't understand but the intent was clear: Ambush.
The driver shouted. "YOUR HIGHNESS, DUCK!"
Bulletproof glass was hit hard. A muffled sound of gunfire echoed like thunder in a soundproof chamber.
Kael did not hesitate. Instinctively he ducked, pulled the hidden lever on the car floor, and activated an energy shield that covered the vehicle's interior cabin for 3 minutes.
Three minutes to think.
Three minutes to survive.
Kael grabbed his wrist communicator and activated a diplomatic evacuation request with maximum priority.
"Zhen… this is Kael. I was ambushed. Location transmitted automatically. Bring reinforcements. And bring them fast."
Outside, the invaders circled the car.
One pulled a thermal lance.
They were trying to melt the armored shield of the car to force entry.
Kael clenched his fists.
The car's energy shield started to vibrate, impact sensors reaching critical level.
Outside, the sound of the thermal lance intensified, cutting the air with a threatening buzz.
Kael remained still.
Cold. Unperturbed.
A polar prince does not react with despair.
He waits for the right moment to freeze the world.
It was then a new sound spread through the sky: the metallic roar of silent infiltration aircraft.
Cryon unit drones activated their aerial attack mode.
And then... the frozen hell began.
From the top of nearby buildings, Cryon elite soldiers descended like shadows: armor, precision weapons, ammunition.
The first shot was not lethal.
It was a warning: an ice grenade exploding among the invaders, freezing two in mid-motion.
The other enemies screamed, retreating, but there was nowhere to run.
The massacre began.
Kael stood inside the car.
The shield lowered with a soft hiss.
He opened the door calmly and stepped out as if nothing was happening. "Continue. But leave one alive… just to tell me how it feels to die scared."
One Cryon soldier gave a tactical gesture and advanced.
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, injured, bleeding and missing a leg, tried to crawl.
Kael approached, his gaze without any trace of emotion. "You were just a puppet. And now… an inconvenient corpse."
A click.
A 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 chilly air around him.
His assistant, already waiting beside a table with documents and a tablet floating in presentation mode, greeted him with a slight nod:
"Your Highness… we tracked the origin of funding, recruitment, and logistics. Everything leads to one name."
The tablet projected the image in full size.
Hanzo Jǐn.
Kael observed the image for a few seconds. His eyes shone as if the Arctic itself judged Hanzo.
"He knew he was poking ice with fire. Now he will melt."
Without changing tone, he turned to the assistant. "Do what must be done. And make it clean. No… scandals."
"Yes, sir."
The assistant typed on the tablet, sending an encrypted message to the network of Cryonian infiltrators in the Asian country.
Codes were activated.
Protocols executed.
A whisper of death crossing secure networks.
Kael walked to the glass window showing the lit city.
He sighed. A long, tired, and cold sigh.