As Noah lay nestled in the arms of his mother, Lilith, while the women cooed over him and Alicia, his thoughts wandered back to what he remembered about Alicia Asvold from the novel Sword Saint's Legacy. The details were vivid, and he knew that these were not mere fragments of fiction anymore. This was the life he now lived.
Alicia Asvold, the sole heiress of the prestigious Asvold Duchy. She was a figure destined for greatness, but also for unimaginable suffering. Born to Duke Ethan Asvold, the Flame Emperor, and Duchess Elena Asvold, the Ice Phoenix, Alicia had inherited the terrifying powers of both her parents. As a child of both fire and ice, she was regarded as the greatest genius of her generation. People whispered about her potential in reverence, even daring to compare her to the very first Emperor of Desmond Empire, who established the Desmond Empire.
In the story, Alicia was a prodigy whose abilities could rival even the protagonist. Under her mother Elena's guidance, she became a master of ice magic, while her father, Ethan, ensured she was well-versed in fire magic as well. With endless resources at her disposal, and the finest tutors in all of Elysiom, Alicia was destined to be a force to be reckoned with. Her potential was unmatched, a fact that made her both a marvel and a threat to those who envied her power.
But Alicia's brilliance came at a steep cost.
Noah furrowed his little brow in thought, recalling the sharp contrast between Alicia's childhood and what she would later become. Though she was born into wealth and privilege, Alicia's life was anything but easy. From a young age, she was subjected to constant assassination attempts. Her unrivaled talent made her a target of jealousy and fear—her mere existence threatened the balance of power in the kingdom, even shaking the confidence of the royal family. She was like a caged bird, always under the watchful eyes of guards, confined for her own safety.
Despite this, Alicia's early years were marked by happiness. Noah remembered a conversation from the novel between Ethan Asvold and the protagonist, where Ethan revealed that his daughter had once been a lively, cheerful child. Alicia had loved to play, her laughter filling the halls of the mansion. She had been curious about the world and unafraid to explore it, until everything changed.
Noah sighed internally, as much as a baby could. The catalyst for Alicia's transformation was not her talent, nor the pressure from her enemies, but a tragedy that would rip her world apart.
Her mother's death.
Elena Asvold, the graceful Ice Phoenix, was admired across the kingdom for both her beauty and her unmatched skill in ice magic. She was a figure of legend, much like her husband, Ethan. Together, they were seen as an unstoppable force. But even legends fall.
Noah shuddered slightly, recalling the scene from the novel when Alicia's life took a dark turn. Elena had fallen ill, a mysterious and sudden sickness that even the kingdom's greatest healers could not cure. While Elena's illness worsened, the Asvold Duchy remained in a fragile state. It was clear to all that someone was orchestrating this from the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. And strike they did.
One night, when Duke Ethan was summoned to the palace under suspicious circumstances, leaving the mansion unprotected, a group of elite assassins descended upon the Asvold estate. Over twenty master-level assassins and three grandmasters killed their way through the guards and headed straight for Alicia's quarters, intent on ending the threat she posed once and for all.
But they hadn't counted on Elena.
Despite being bedridden and weakened by illness, Elena had fought with a fury that would become the stuff of legend. She single-handedly held off the assassins, her ice magic cutting through them like a storm. It was a battle of life and death, and though Elena emerged victorious, she paid the ultimate price. The strain of the battle, combined with her illness, was too much for her body to bear. She collapsed, dying in Alicia's small arms.
Noah's heart clenched as he remembered the scene from the novel. That was the last day Alicia ever cried. She had only been ten years old, too young to fully understand the weight of what had happened, but old enough to feel the crushing loss. From that moment on, Alicia's personality changed completely. Gone was the cheerful child, replaced by a cold, ruthless young woman whose only goal in life was revenge.
"A tragedy of unimaginable proportions," Noah thought as he glanced at the baby Alicia lying beside him. She looked so innocent, with her small hands and gentle features. It was hard to reconcile the image of this sweet child with the vicious Ice Witch she would later become.
In the years that followed Elena's death, Alicia dedicated herself to hunting down the people responsible. She became a merciless avenger, wiping out entire organizations of assassins with cold, calculated precision. Her methods were brutal—torture, public executions, and the use of her ice magic to freeze her enemies from the inside out. Even though she was as proficient as her father in fire magic but she used her mother's magic, ice magic to exact revenge on them. This earned her the title of ice witch.
Her merciless actions earned her the infamous title Ice Witch, a disgraceful nickname for a noble whose mother was revered as the Ice Phoenix, a symbol of nobility and grace. But she didn't care. The only thing that mattered to her was fulfilling her vow to avenge Elena's death, no matter the cost.
Noah remembered how indifferent Alicia was to everything and everyone. The relationship between her and the protagonist had always been ambiguous—there was no romantic connection, no deep friendship, and no matter how hard the protagonist tried to reach her, Alicia was unyielding. She remained a tragic, untouchable figure throughout the story.
"But now that I'm here, I won't let that happen," Noah thought with resolve. "How can I watch this innocent girl grow into that cold monster? How can I stand by and let the beautiful woman who is cradling me in her arms—Elena Asvold—meet such a cruel fate?"
He looked up at his mother, who was cooing gently to him as Alicia's mother, Elena, stood by her side. Their families were close, and with that connection, Noah felt a growing sense of responsibility. He would not allow this family to fall apart as it did in the novel. He couldn't bear to see Alicia become the Ice Witch and lose herself to hatred.
"I have fifteen years until the plot begins," Noah calculated. "That's plenty of time to prepare, to change things—starting with saving Elena's life."
Noah had the advantage of knowledge, and he intended to use it.