Several days had passed since the battle in the eastern frontier of Kuroriku. Rosalba had taken it upon herself to do some training in preparation for the upcoming war.

As she walked down a large corridor which houses several angelic domes, she came across a silver one. Cold air poured out of the partially opened door, encasing part of the hallway in a thick layer of ice.

The princess poked her head into the room and saw Hyosetsu slicing the air repeatedly with his new black sword. He stopped immediately and spun around. Beads of frozen sweat covered his brow.

"Princess?" he said, lowering his sword.

"I see you are hard at work," she said, pushing the door open.

He put a hand on his waist and nodded. "Yeah, it is best to be ready. The enemy could attack when we least expect it."

Rosa glanced at the glaciers covering the stands as well as half of the entire room. "True, but you might've overdone it."

He raised his sword and swung it behind him, shattering the glacier which covered half the football field-sized battlefield. He scoffed. "This is nothing."

Rosalba chuckled nervously. "I see... Uh, if you are not too fatigued, would you mind being my sparring partner?"

He ran a hand through his raven hair, breaking off the ice which had encased parts of it. "You plan on participating?"

The brunette princess puffed up her chest and swung her arms up and down. "Of course, I do! Did you think I was going to sit in this palace, twiddling my fingers while you and the others risk your lives for not only our nation but the entire universe?"

He averted his gaze. "No. It is simply that you have never struck me as much of a fighter."

Rosalba's mouth dropped. "I... Well, how rude! I will be sure to erase that view you have of me."

He took a step forward. "Is that so?" he asked.

The princess blinked. She thought she had seen traces of a smile beginning to form on her cousin's lips.

"What? Are you backing away now? Because if you are then-"

She shook her head, which grew warmer. "Sorry, I was just zoning out."

He slid his hand toward his hip and moved behind her in an instant. "Zone out in battle, and you will be dead before you know it."

Rosa gulped as he tapped the hilt of his sword against the back of her head.

"Train harder, then maybe I will acknowledge you as a warrior rather than just another spoiled princess," Hyosetsu said as he backed away from her. "Anyway, I'm off. Feel free to use the room if you want."

The princess's face flushed bright red. Her hands curled into fists as her cousin walked away. Her blood felt like it was boiling, but the worst thing was that he was right. She had nearly died at the hands of Suzuki. Had it not been for Tetsu and the others, she likely wouldn't be standing where she was or breathing for that matter.

She slapped herself and took a step forward. She gasped as chunks of ice broke off from her arms. Frost had formed on her exposed arms merely from being inside the room for a minute or so.

Maybe I should train my ice powers.

She raised a hand and focused the cold air on her palm. The moisture directly above her palm froze into a baseball-sized clump of ice.

Her lips crested upward into a smile. "Let's see if I can make you into a rose!"

She held out her left hand and formed a knife of ice. She threw it into the air and stabbed the chunk, shattering it into a thousand tiny shards.

She laughed. "Okay, maybe shouldn't have jabbed my knife like that." Her smile gradually vanished. How did my mother use to do this?

Her mother's ice roses were one of the few fuzzy memories she had of her before she died. Sometimes she wondered if it was indeed a memory or just one formed from what she had heard from her older sister.

While to many the rose making seemed like a mere parlor trick, it was one of the best ways to train one's mana control. While Rosalba could shape ice into stuff when forming it out of scratch, it was different doing so with an existing object. Reshaping a pre-existing object was far more difficult. An added layer was added when using this method. One needed to be quick and precise with their mana, which was to extend outward from the tip of the knife and cover the ice completely while balancing it. Not to mention, the user had to have full control of their own physical strength.

The angel residing within Caelio was said to be a master at mana control. He was among the best in history, if not the utmost apart from the Divine Couple and archangels. As such, the wielders of his angel tool were expected to be great at controlling it. If they weren't, they couldn't even hope to be able to wield it.

She sighed. Perhaps, that was why she hadn't been able to transform it into its weapon form yet.

She slapped her ice-covered face and held out her right hand toward the shattered glacier. A basketball-sized chunk of ice flew into her palm, nearly knocking her back.

"Ouch. Got to be more careful with what I am pulling from there," she said, lowering it. She tilted her head. I should probably cut this up first.

An ice knife formed in her right hand. Using her mana-crafted weapon, she rapidly sliced the ice into four evenly sized cubes. "Okay, time to test this out!"

She threw one of the four cubes into the air and raised her knife outward. The outer edge of the cube shattered, forming a spherical ball, but it rolled down her arm and crashed into the ground.

The princess squatted down and nudged the shards. Well, at least I managed to make it circular.

She jumped up. I cannot give up after only two tries! Even if it takes a million attempts, I will make a rose like Momma used to!

***

[An hour later]

The firstborn duke of Kuroyuki no San walked down the hall, refreshed after taking a shower, and having eaten a bowl of rice pudding and a side of matcha ice cream.

He raised his eyebrows as he came across the angelic room he had previously been using. Sounds were coming from within.

Did the princess not leave?

He opened the door slightly and saw a pile of ice surrounding the princess. Some of the objects on the floor looked like misshapen rose petals.

"Let's see if this works," Rosalba said, raising the clump of ice in her hands.

The icy-blue-eyed young man sighed. "Busy talking to yourself again, I see."

The clump of ice shattered on the floor.

"Hey! Don't sneak up on me!" she shouted, glaring at him.

He shrugged. "If you were a real warrior, then you would have noticed I was approaching, or better yet, that I was standing by the door."

Her face reddened once more. "Hmm, I guess you do have a point." She rubbed the top of her head and sighed. "I still got a lot to learn, huh?"

The duke scoffed. "Isn't that the understatement of the century?"

"Hey! You can be nicer!"

"What would being nicer earn me? Or you for that matter?"

"Well, I would get along better with you. Remember, honey attracts flies better than vinegar."

He chuckled. "Comparing yourself to a fly now, are you?"

She grumbled. "You know what I meant!"

He sighed. "Come now, don't get so flustered, child."

The princess turned away. "You might be my cousin, but that doesn't mean that you are safe from going to the dungeon. Remember that."

Hyosetsu nodded to himself. "See what I meant earlier, spoiled. Perhaps you should learn to properly defend yourself verbally without resorting to childish tirades."

"Hmph, like you haven't resorted to them at one point or another yourself! I heard you practically threw one when you lost your ability to use your other angel tools!"

"You would too if all the hard work you had put into building up your angel weapons' was suddenly erased in a few seconds, or at least I was led to believe it was. Luckily, that wasn't that case." He unsheathed Baldo and stared at its black blade with strange symbols running along its side. "Though, this sword is still different than the ones I'm accustomed to using."

"Really? Based on what I have seen, it's almost as if you were using that sword your entire life."

He sighed. "Maybe to novices like you."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You really are pushing the limits of my patience here."

He laughed dryly. "Should I apologize, Your Majesty?"

Rosalba crossed her arms and grinned. "If you're willing, then go on ahead."

He snickered. "You sound a lot like your sister there."

"Serrano said the same thing when I saw him at his school. Though, it doesn't bother me. My big sister is awesome, after all!" She smiled slightly. "I wish I were more like her in other aspects..."

The noble sighed. "You're yourself. Wishing to be like another doesn't really get you anywhere."

She tilted her head left and right. "Hmm, true. But, I do wish I had more of her fortitude."

He stepped closer to her and flicked her on the forehead.

"Ouch! Why did you do that?"

"To test what your fortitude is. Seems it's still as frail as drywall."

"I don't even know what that is, but it sounds like an insult," she said, rubbing her forehead.

He snickered. "Oh, it's fragile. As fragile as your ice." He flicked the ice sword on the floor, shattering it. "See."

"Hey! I was using that to cut your ice!"

"My ice? Surprised something that weak could cut through it."

"Well, it did! If my ice is frail, then so is yours!" she said, grinning as she poked him on the chest.

His face reddened slightly as he squatted to pick up a piece of the shattered knife.

"Hmph, like that's the case," he said as he curled his long, slender fingers around one of the larger shards of ice. "Then again, I did shatter it prior. So it likely grew flail."

Rosalba laughed dryly. "Making excuses, I see! Didn't think you were that kind of guy."

He ran a hand through his raven hair as he stood to his full height. "Still trying to make me mad, aren't you? Well, it won't work." He formed a cube of ice and handed it over to her. "Here, use this."

The junior princess held out her hand and formed another knife of ice. "I'll show you what I can do!"

The noble backed away slowly. "Well, no pressure. I do not have high expectations, to begin with."

She puffed her cheeks and glared at him. "I think the one trying to get the other mad here is you, not me!"

He leered at her. "So, are you going to do it or not?"

Rosalba turned her back to him. "I will do it if you promise to keep quiet this time. This requires focus."

Hyosetsu backed away into a corner of the room and watched as the princess threw the block of ice that he had given her. She gasped as the knife shattered upon contact with the cube.

The duke lowered his head, trying to cover up a snicker. "What did I say?"

Rosalba held her head forward and formed another knife. "I am not giving up until I get it right!"

I need to get stronger. Then maybe, one day, I can transform Caelio into its weapon form and use it in the service of the kingdom.

Hyosetsu sighed and made his way toward her. "In that case, allow me to give you some tips."

She spun around on her heels and smiled. "Really?"

He nodded. "Yes, but only because I don't want you to waste all of your time on this trick you're attempting."

Rosalba turned away. "You might think it is just a trick, but it is not."

He put his hands on his hips. "Oh? Then what is it that you are trying to make?"

"An ice rose! Like my mom used to make..." She lowered her eyes. "I heard it is a great training method for mana control."

Hyosetsu raised an eyebrow. "Mana control?"

The princess nodded. "I am unable to transform Caelio into its weapon form, so I need to make it up in another way. I have my body, but I have learned it has its limits if reaching the enemy proves hazardous. So, I figured that I should work on my mana attacks. That way, I'll be able to fight at both close-range and long-range."

The duke smiled a bit. "Sounds like you used your brain."

"I might be a pampered princess, but I am not stupid." She stared at the block of ice and formed another knife. "Well, back to step one."

As she was about to throw the cube, a hand wrapped itself around her arm. "Wait. Before you try again, strengthen your knife and surround its edges with shapeless mana. Contract said mana into a sharp razor-edge, but be sure that it remains energy. Don't turn it into a solid object."

Rosalba nodded and did as Hyosetsu suggested before she threw the cube into the air. As soon as the ice touched the tip of her knife, she channeled her mana across its surface. She moved the knife as fast and as delicately as she could. At select spots, the mana turned into small knives that carved up the ice until it landed on her left hand.

The princess's face beamed as she saw she had managed to carve it into a rose.

"I did it!" she said as she dropped the knife and ran over to hug Hyosetsu. "Thank you so much!"

"I didn't do anything. You did all the work," he said as he looked away. "Also, you shouldn't be too proud. Your ice rose is messy."

Rosa let go of him and smiled at the sight of the rose's jagged petals.

"I know, but still!" She held out the rose toward him. "Here, you can have it!"

Hyosetsu closed his eyes and took it. "I don't want it, but I'll hold on to it for you. That way, you can compare it to your future roses."

The princess laughed as she squatted down to picked up the knife. "Good idea!" She glanced back at him and saw him smiling at the rose she had given him.

Seems he likes it. I better continue working. One of these days, I'll make one even he can't deny the beauty of!

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter :). Thoughts? **