Harem Overlord: I ALWAYS Finish Quick!

Stopping his tirade, Ryan turned to see... "Mara?"

Ryan stared at the girl, who looked like Mara, a beauty that could turn heads no matter where she stood, with her arms clasped behind her back at the entrance. Her proportions were breathtaking, nice, and plump. Gorgeous blonde hair with a frost blue hue cascaded down a military uniform...

'Mara wouldn't wear a military uniform,' Ryan thought, looking closer.

The frost blue eyes Ryan had stared into the first day of coming into this new world were different. They were colder, much colder.

'This looks like Mara, but it's not,' Ryan thought as he started to get an odd feeling about the whole situation.

"Please follow me inside, Mr. Dire," The Frost General said as she walked through a vast hall toward a room with a long table and ten chairs. The entire place seemed elegant yet relaxed for a meeting between a general and a person who swore to destroy the same empire the general was serving.

Deciding to follow this mysterious person, as he didn't feel any hostility from her so far, Ryan followed behind her until they entered the main chamber, illuminated by countless candles in every corner of the massive room.

'I wonder why she uses candles?' Ryan thought, remembering the energy light sources he had seen around campus.

"Please have a seat." As the Frost General took a chair at the head of the table, she looked over at Ryan with those piercing ice-blue eyes and then spoke. "I'm sure you're wondering who I am, Ryan."

Hearing his actual name, Ryan raised his eyebrow and simply nodded.

"But first, we must take care of those pesky bugs following you."

Abruptly flicking her eyes to look over Ryan's shoulder, the Frost General said, "You're insane master should have taught her mutts better manners."

Raising her hands, the Frost General unleashed an aura so cold, Ryan thought he was in the middle of a blizzard.

Ryan heard two muffled cries followed by a pair of thuds as he turned around to see his previous stalkers on the ground, frozen from the knees up.

"Ruth!" the Frost General yelled, and a second later, a brunette woman with crimson eyes came into view.

"What do you need, Master?" Ruth asked, not so much as glancing at the two screaming icicles.

"Take these two to the dungeon. See what they know."

Ruth swiftly bowed, picked the two frozen ladies, and hauled them away.

Ryan scratched his head as he watched the two women get dragged away. 'I wonder if this is a charade or I can trust her.'

Ryan had been in thought since hearing about Grace's mother's claim that he could trust Emily and Mara's mothers.

"Now that we have privacy," the Frost General said, erecting a sound barrier, "we can get started."

"Get started with what exactly?" Ryan said, breaking out of his thoughts. "You haven't told me who you are."

The Frost General sighed. "You should be more perspective Ryan. I'm Mara's mother."

"Oh..." Ryan gasped in fake surprise. "I-I'm sorry for my rudeness Lady Frost, I-"

Interrupting Ryan before he could continue, she said, "Please call me Ester."

"Ester, I don't understand what you could want from someone like me," Ryan said, doing his best to hold back a smirk.

"Oh really? Let me ask you a question then. Do you perhaps know why my daughter's constitution was healed when even the best healers in the empire couldn't do anything?"

Ryan didn't answer immediately as his eyes grew dark. Praying that the information from Grace's mother was correct, he said, "I do." Correcting himself, he added, "Well, I know the cause, maybe not the exact reason."

Waving her hand for Ryan to continue, Ester took a sip of tea that was sitting on the table.

"It was me. And I can cure you too."

Ester, who had been mid-swallow, suddenly choked and spat out some liquid onto the floor. As she stared at the green stain on the marble tiles, she thought, 'This boy is more trouble than I thought.'

Raising her head, the Frost General was about reprimand Ryan but could only blink as she looked at the handsome man who was only a few feet away.

"I can do much more than cure you," Ryan said with a grin.

The Frost General tried to focus on Ryan's face so she could retort with a scathing comment or something to get rid of him, but his appearance was hard to ignore. He wasn't just pretty... he was stunningly gorgeous! She felt like she wanted to touch his hair.

The way his white skin reflected light seemed unnatural, especially given how young he appeared to be. His sharp cheekbones, high nose bridge, strong jawline, and clear complexion were all well-defined. Ester felt heat start to rise in her chest as she watched those sparkling emerald-green eyes that showed no emotion whatsoever stare into hers.

'I haven't felt this way since...' widening her eyes, the Frost General gulped, realizing that the Frost inside her soul was beginning to melt just from the sheer presence of this man.

'Who is he that even the elements fear him?' the Frost General thought.

Seeing Ryan's smile grow wider at his realization of her inner conflict, she knew she was in trouble.

"Ester," he said.

"Yes?"

"Do you wish to be cured?"

Ester didn't say anything but stared back at the man standing before her. A few moments later, the room filled with the sounds of Ester breathing heavily. The air grew cold as the Frost element started to seep into the air.

Every candle flickered and swayed with the intensity of Ester's aura.

"Did she send you?" Ester said, her icy tone returning.

"I'm pretty sure you're the one who sent for me," Ryan said, seemingly not phased by the intense cold radiating off of Ester.

The Frost General chuckled slightly before saying, "Then swear an oath. Swear that the Grand Empress of the Kheaweth Empire doesn't control you."

Ryan froze, not from the icy atmosphere but from shock. 'I don't know if I can swear that oath.'

Ryan didn't feel controlled, but would the heavens agree?

After thinking a moment, Ryan said, "I don't go around swearing oaths."

It was common practice not to use heavenly oaths, as the heavens themselves didn't like their overuse.

People had been known to be struck by lightning after one too many oaths.

The Frost General seemed to respect his decision, as Ryan wasn't instantly obliterated.

"Then give me a reason to trust you," Ester said. "Prove to me that you're not working for her."

Ryan paused then an evil smile started to form on his face.

His smile kept growing until it stretched to the point that Ester couldn't help but shiver.

"If you want me to prove that I am not working for the Grand Empress and thus with the human empire, I believe I have sufficient proof," as he spoke, Ryan pulled up his heavenly screen and selected his given oaths menu.

Accessing his oath to destroy the human empire within ten years, he selected the option to share and hit 'yes'.