I regressed and became the Sword Ice King

As Sophie shut the door behind her with a sigh of exasperation, her gaze landed on her Mother, a few feet away on her desk.

And when she turned… a second figure sat opposite her desk.

Immediately, her poise changed and her fingers slipped beneath her dress to pull out her weapon.

A mace with an enchanted chain clasped to a sickle.

"Mother?"

She muttered as her gaze stared wearily at the figure while she took slow footsteps around him.

The figure sat backing her, but her senses had struck into alarm mode the minute she felt his presence.

The danger was evident in the air, and his appearance mattered less when the air told her everything she needed.

"Hah… there you are, Sophie."

Her mother's elegant, gentle voice came to her ears as her ruby eyes shimmered with delight.

She motioned for her daughter to come closer while she rested her back against her chair.

"You've arrived just in time, Dear."

Sophie's guard lessened a bit, but her weariness had never left her.

The figure… The man, whoever he was, wasn't an intruder.

That, she could ascertain with her mother's lax attitude towards him.

But that didn't ease her worry one bit.

In fact, it doubled because anyone who is associated as an ally to her mother wouldn't be someone simple.

'Allies are people with aligned goals…'

Slowly, she made her way to her Mother's side, and in that motion, she came face to face with the visitor.

Her body seemed to suddenly drop by a few degrees, but her composure was evident.

'... this feeling…'

She narrowed her gaze as she took in a good look at the man before her.

'... why is it so familiar?'

Before her sat a man with green hair and eyes with a whitened face. Powder, to be exact and clear signs of foundation patched neatly at the right locations on his face.

It was like looking at a spoiled Noble's wife whose only joy was rotting her natural appearance with cosmetics and artificial products.

But the clear-tale sign of his unkempt beard and masculine countenance on his face suggested otherwise.

He was adorned in a suit of white and black, each filling one side of his body and a large white club connected with a black spade in the front of it.

Observing him once was enough to trigger her warning signs, but nothing about him indicated the cause of it.

Other than that strange feeling she got, there wasn't much to note about him.

'Though, his dressing style is off.'

Her gaze narrowed.

'What does mother want with this weird-looking man?'

Well, that was what she was about to find out.

"Hah, is this the Sugarpie you've been telling me about?"

The man's red lips curled into a wild grin that sent a shiver down Sophie's spine.

And his voice? Frail and high-pitched, almost woman-like, she was completely caught off guard.

She nearly took a step back instinctively.

"Oh yes, she is."

Her Mother, Cressida giggled lightly as she stretched out her hand for Sophie's.

"This is my joy and pride, our Girl of War, Sophia Arcanus."

Sophie blinked repeatedly as she replayed her mother's intro in her head.

'Girl of War?'

"And Sophie, dear, this man here, though strange looking, is actually a really important figure to us."

The man chuckled– no, giggled.

It felt so lady-like that Sophie had to make a mental note of his true gender.

"Strange looking? Oh, Cressida, you jest."

Cresside giggled lightly with her lips curled into a smile and amusement that made her eyes slit in delight.

Sophie's gaze narrowed at the sight.

'I haven't seen her smile like this… genuinely.'

She slowly turned to the man.

'Who is he to make her smile so much?'

"He's actually an Executive of that group… um, what was it again?"

Sophie's chest tightened and her heartbeat began to rise.

'No… no way.'

The strange feeling she had gotten from him when she arrived.

It was beginning to look clear to her, now, but… would she accept it?

'No freaking way!'

"Um, remind me again?"

The man giggled.

"No, Cressida. You'll have to do well to know our name if you want to partner with us."

"Oh, you're such a sourpuss sometimes."

And they giggled together, once more.

Sophie watched in still silence while her body began to work in overdrive.

'What's happening? There's no way…'

She bit down on her lips, her brain launching to the same conclusion as the rest of her… yet… yet… it couldn't happen.

The coincidence…

It was utterly terrifying.

"Hah!" Cressida beamed with a delicate smile.

One that breathed life into the room from her Regal appearance.

She adjusted herself in her seat as she said.

"The Red Peacemakers!"

'Shit.'

The man laughed out.

"You've got it, dear."

Then in a sudden twist, he spun his head to her with that same twisted smile that bamboozled her.

"I'll finish up with your Mother. I'm Jester Clowface, the Sixth of the Executives."

His teeth, white as snow, revealed themselves from his twisted curl in a frightening gesture of friendliness.

"And we'll be working together from today, Lady Sophia. I hope you're just as your mother describes."

"Oh, are you doubting my word, Jester?"

Cresside puffed her cheeks and folded her arms.

"How cruel of you."

"No, it's not like that, Cressida, dear."

The man replied with a gentle smile.

"We've lost a few seats due to the fuss at the Academy. Weakness from this moment on would be intolerable."

Cressida's expression beamed.

"Oh… I heard about that. The third and seventh seats.

Such a terrible loss in manpower."

Jester frowned slightly as he glanced to the side.

"It was expected of Mila as she was overconfident, but Nicho's had come as a shock to even the Lord."

Cressida shook her head slightly.

"I understand the Lord's decision to cause havoc. Those fools must learn to pay the price."

Jester nodded in agreement.

"Luckily, that bastard son of the Juns was taken out. He was becoming too much of a hindrance… one that surpassed even his father."

And the conversation continued.

All this while, Sophie had been revolving in circles in her head, and her brain had tuned out their voices.

Leaving only the sound of her thoughts to echo within it.

'Do they not know?'

The feeling that had crept up her skin made sense now that she knew who he was.

It wasn't just a feeling but a clash of energies… an aftermath from her last encounter with that same form of it.

It was Miasma.

Somehow, in some way, she had understood and felt that energy… and the offness that came with it.

And how she had learned to tell it apart.

Well, that was information privy to her, and she was aware of it.

It had crossed her mind once or twice since she arrived, if the cause of the death of Mila Jack was known to the public eyes… and even to the Red Peacemakers.

A make-believe group of four girls…

'Does he not know who killed them?'

But other than Kira Merlin and Phestus Greenhorn, the others who may have been aware of it were either dead or soon to be.

At this point, her heart rate began to decrease.

'Panicking won't solve the situation… well, nothing will to be honest.'

She finally looked up to find the man, Jester's gaze still on her while he conversed with her mother.

Their talk continued along the lines of the events that had occurred in the Academy.

The lives lost and the mission failed to accomplish.

The consequences of their failures and the Red Peacemakers' plans of overturning that loss.

The World had continued as if two Executives had not been lost because no one understood the essence of these beings.

If they had, then the King would have long taken them seriously and hunted for them.

And hopefully… find them.

But that never happened.

None of it did, and none would because for years until now, the Red Peacemakers had worked in the dark.

Sophie could decipher a few noteworthy exchanges between them, and with that, she pieced together the current situation.

'Raph is dead?'

It had never occurred to her.

Not since her return.

She had been too busy recuperating from over-expending her mana and using the Undead Summons that outside news had somehow… skipped her.

Her gaze eased as the weight of that realisation crept into her body.

'Raph… is dead.'

"Lady Sophia?"

Her eyes flicked to life as she snapped from her thoughts.

Waking to find both of the two prominent staring at her.

She blinked rapidly before coughing out slightly and shaking her head.

"I apologise for the discourtesy, Sir Jester."

The man arched a brow for a second, then dissolved his curiosity into a welcoming smile.

"How polite of you. It's normal to venture off into our own thoughts when we have things to think about."

Cresside smiled from ear to ear while she watched.

"I noticed you seemed taken aback… I hope our people didn't hurt you while you were at the Academy."

He began with a tone that bordered on cautiousness and curiosity.

Sophie shook her head.

"I was careful, and just like my mother said, I can fight well."

Jester narrowed his gaze while he held hers for a bit longer.

Observing. Probing. Searching for some meaning behind her eyes.

Something Sophie wouldn't even be aware of.

But–

"I told you, didn't I, Jester? My daughter is different.

She even survived a meeting with said executives."

Jester chuckled.

"As much as I would like to refute that… I can't." He said with a smile. "Though, I am curious about one thing."

His voice grew stern at the end of his statement, and Sophie had caught on to it.

She sighed slowly as she looked him straight in the eyes.

"Are you curious about their death?"

Jester's gaze snapped with satisfaction.

He didn't need to reply in words for Sophie to get the message.

Slowly, she shook her head.

"What I know is limited to what you know."

She replied.

The man narrowed his gaze.

"Is it?"

She nodded.

"Yes. I didn't involve myself in the affairs of the Academy.

It never interested me. I simply helped some students and left the rest in their hands… if they had somehow… defeated and killed the Executives…"

She bowed her head slowly.

"Then I am deeply sorry."

Silence filled the room at the end of her statement as all eyes were on her.

The sound of a clock on one side of the wall echoed and the magic lamps fluttered in a tranquil dance.

Jester coughed out slowly after what seemed like eternity and tapped his fingers on the desk.

"Rest assured, Lady Sophia.

Their death is their own burden to bear in the Afterlife."

His smile returned as his gaze locked onto Cressida's.

"Shall we get to business?"

The lilac-haired woman beamed with approval.

"Yes, we shall."

Sophie stood straight and glanced at them with curiosity.

'Wasn't this the reason, though?'

She wondered, but oh, was she wrong.

"Alright then." Cressida began. "You had me at capture the Family Heads."

Sophie's eyes flared open. 'What?'

Cressida's smile widened without a single beat to its elegance.

"How do we achieve this goal?"