Alice Snow

As Alice walked into another room, she instantly covered her face with both of her hands.

'What am I doing! This is unlike me. No, it is not my fault, that guy is the one being so casual and open, calling me cute for no reason.' Just thinking about it made Alice's heart beat wildly.

'Although he is quite handsome, I can't just act like that infront of him. But... No one has ever called me those things. Him saying that makes my heart flutter.' Alice had a slight smile on her red face as she thought.

In her entire life, she has never recieved any compliments from anyone especially a male.

When she was just 6 years old, her entire village was slaughtered by a rogue Infuser. She was kidnapped and sold into slavery.

As a slave, Alice did not receive any nice treatment, one meal a day made her extremely weak and malnourished.

The slaves were not given any rights, they were forced to beg, forced to clean places under strict watch. Only when a customer would arrive to buy a slave would they finally be set free from the horrible life.

However, this new life was be a nightmare even worse than the previous one.

Slaves sold to rich nobles were abused in all sorts of ways, taken advantage of and treated worse than dogs.

Not many slaves would live to see the light of the next year after being purchased. Their lives were in the hands of their masters, with their fates and destinies stolen.

A few slaves that got sold into construction sites or mines were a little luckier than that. They would atleast get to keep their dignity however their lives would be in constant danger.

Their work conditions were extremely horrible. They were forced to work in dangerous places without any safety.

It was right to say, all slaves regardless of who they worked for, had lives not anyone would consider living.

Alice was similarly just a slave, she worked for days and nights with only minimum food given to her for survival.

It was until, Stephen showed up in the market. Alice was 8 years old at this time.

Stephen purchased Alice and obtained all rights regarding her life.

Alice knew that her life was about to go downhill, however contrary to her expectations. Stephen did not abuse her, he did not beat her up, rather he fed her 4 times a day.

Stephen was a gentle man when it came to such things. His heart was kind, he did his best to help the poor malnourished girl regain her physical strength.

Just when Alice thought she was saved...

Stephen showed his true colours. Just in a couple of months, Stephen started to impart all his knowledge about Infusers to Alice.

He told her everything about them and his grand plan of stealing the 'book of secrets'. He wanted Alice to help him complete the task, this was his real goal.

He promised to let Alice go when the plan succeeds.

With no other choice, Alice could only comply.

After planing for 5 years with Alice, Stephen finally succeeded in his meticulous plan of stealing the 'book of secrets'.

However, even after Stephen got the book, he did not allow Alice to leave. He asked her to wait until he gained some techniques from the book.

For months, Alice and Stephen were chased by the Mandated knights of government, all they could do was run.

Stephen had engaged in combat many times, he was injured and his progress with the book came to a temporary halt.

This further prolonged Alice's freedom. However, due to her status as a slave, she could not voice out any complaints, nor could she ask to stay away from the constant danger Stephen put her in. She had to follow her master even against her will.

Things however changed for better or worse, in a fierce confrontation with another Grand commander, Stephen was severely injured. Even though he killed off his opponent, he himself couldn't survive for long.

In his dying moments, he handed the 'book of secrets' to Alice and asked her to seal it away. He gave her money and asked her to wait until his successor arrives, only then would she be free.

Alice again could only accept the order and did what she had been asked to do.

She moved to the city of Brucen, there she quickly sealed off the 'book of secrets' in the underground ruins.

With no precise location to follow, the mandated knights had to give up their pursuit of the book.

Alice patiently waited for Stephen's successor to arrive. To finally part with the responsibility on her shoulders and be free once and for all.

However, when the successor did arrive, he turned out to be far different from what Alice imagined him to be.

He was not a greedy man, nor a cold person that just wanted to kill. No, first time in her life, Alice had met someone with a kind heart and a noble thought process.

She presumed that due to him being from Earth, he was different from people inside the marble. The way he talked, the things he said, gave a person the idea that he was a humanitarian.

Alice who in her entire life had just been looked down upon and treated like dirt finally met someone who complimented her and saw her for who she was and not a slave.

Then, he called her beautiful and cute, these worlds made Alice's cold heart feel a thingle.

Just like her last name 'snow', she melted from the warmth Adger made her feel.

It was a magical experience she could not describe in words. It was unlike anything she had felt before.

Perhaps it was just a warmth she felt because Adger was the first person aside from her parents who actually recognised her beauty.

Or it was something else entirely, something much deeper and much more significant than Alice originally presumed...