I was a half-day's walk from the citadel when someone stopped me. A light-armored blonde man on horseback identified himself as a mail carrier. He gave me a large box filled with letters. They were all invitations to my fiancé's estate, messages from Leo. Focusing on the letters, the mail carrier vanished before I could ask questions. I was curious about how he found me and why this letter arrived now.

Despite receiving no replies, Leo persisted in writing letters. Even if I'd wanted to, replying was impossible because I only just learned about the messages. The strange thing is that I never changed my address, but Leo didn't know it. He kept sending the letters at different, wrong addresses. Was the messenger at fault, or was there more to the story? 

With a sigh, I took a moment to consider. The ancient tradition dictated that each witch's fiancé was selected at birth. I doubt any of the couples actually got married these days. Some of them had never encountered one another. Traditionally, a messenger would inform the fiancé immediately after a witch's birth. However, I'm unsure of the messenger's identity and the pairing process. I could send my parents a letter to ask them, but asking about it out of the blue would be awkward. I will delay it to when I revisit my old home and see them in person. 

Truthfully, I never planned on going there, but after seeing all of them, I felt an obligation to go since there were so many of them. There was clearly a reason I had to be there. Perhaps it had less to do with our engagement and more to do with magic. My fiancé could have written me a normal request or he could have sent it to any other witch, but he chose to do it in such a manner. Maybe it's because this was meant to be kept confidential... anyhow, I was curious, so I decided to go to the location and check it out. It was near the road I was traveling on.

Fortunately, the weather was nice again. It was a beautiful, warm spring day, so I walked slowly and enjoyed it. As far as the eye could see, the landscape was filled with lush green crops. There were a few minor bumps on the road, but nothing serious. 

According to my map, I already entered the premises of his estate. Leo's family has a long history of farming, but in the last three generations, they've become much wealthier thanks to new farming methods that boosted both the quality and quantity of their crops. Since this was a world partially ruled by money, their current ambition was to rise ranks and become aristocrats. Though impressive to many girls, it didn't faze me. Witches have their own hierarchy, separate from non-magical humans, but the big decrease in witches over the last century led to a quasi anarchic state where almost all the witches had the same social status. 

Having seen no workers or animals, I looked at my map again to ensure I was on the right path. 

Not a single person... nobody... 

Maybe they were doing something else. My understanding of modern agriculture was limited, so this might have been typical. 

My pocket map confirmed I was going the right way. The main house was directly ahead; I just needed to keep going. In a short time, the house's enormous walls became apparent. I repeatedly looked at Leo's picture from one of the letters, hoping I'll be able to recognize him as soon as I see him. My initial contact will likely be with servants; I'll have to explain my situation and ask them to take me to their young master.

A sudden chill as fog rose made me wish I had a warm cape on. The unexpected change in the weather perplexed me. None of nature element's informed me about this. While contemplating, a thick fog enveloped me, obscuring all vision in a blinding white. I sensed something was amiss, but disoriented, I continued walking straight, aiming to reach a recognizable landmark.

The coldness of the air sent chills down my spine as I shivered from the crispiness within the air, but I had to press on so that I can quickly get myself out of this situation.

In time, the fog cleared to show a frozen landscape. I could feel magic in the air. It wasn't in season snow, a naturally impossible one. An icy path revealed itself before my feet. It was an invitation, but for what and were its intentions good, bad or neutral for me, I didn't have the slightest idea. I turned back, sensing danger, only to be stopped by an unseen wall. I stretched out both of my hands in front of me. My eyes were closed so that I could completely focus on the weak point of the magic barrier. It was a skillfully made but there was only one part with lower energy than the rest.

I started my incantation: "Vi aer ignis aqua spiritu quaseo obice laxo." 

The weak part shook a bit, but stayed firm. My magic wasn't powerful enough to break it. The witch who made it must be a few magic levels higher than me. Objectively, I was still a beginner at magic, and it was unfair to make me use my magic against a seasoned witch. 

I'll have to go to the source of the magic and talk to the witch. I hope she'll be a reasonable woman and she'll let me go after a chat. In the current world's situation, there was no meaning for witches to fight against each other. I just started my journey and didn't align with anyone, making me completely neutral.

The house's size exceeded my expectations. Its impressive impact stemmed from the fine woods and luxurious stonework. A mansion would be the proper term for it. Neatly trimmed bushes and a small circular garden sat in front of the mansion. Somebody maintained the place well, but no signs of life appeared inside or outside.

I tried calling for someone, but it was in vain. The only presences I felt was strong magic and chilliness in the air. As I stepped into the mansion's marble-floored entrance hall, I sensed an approaching presence.

A lone figure stood atop the otherwise deserted staircase. A closer look revealed the individual to be an unknown adult male. His features were obscured by a faded black cloak that enveloped him. It also gave him a shadowy appearance.

"Welcome," he said. "It is time to put your abilities to a test." 

He immediately sent a couple of lightning bolts towards me. Despite my shock, my reflexes kicked in, and I dodged them quickly. I focused on making a light barrier in front of me by mumbling, "Obex!"

I couldn't afford the leisure of spending my sweet time figuring out what was happening because I need to defend myself from his relentless attacks.

"Hey now. I wasn't looking for an athletic, jumping witch," he said in a displeased tone. "I'm here to see your magic limits." 

"I didn't come here to fight," I explained to myself. "My intentions are peaceful."

"This isn't a fight. It's just a simple test," he said. "Prepare yourself for the next attack." 

His magic was what I felt along the way. He was creating all of it, but it was impossible. Magic can only be wielded by the chosen women. No man should be able to do it. Even the eldest history books didn't record men using magic, but he was right there in front of me. A male magic-user. Attacking me.

"Those who gawk foolishly will be scorched," he said, launching a fireball in my direction.

The barrier I cast protected me to a certain degree, but some parts of my clothes still got burned. Given the situation, I was glad my skin was untouched.

"Who are you?" I shouted. "Men aren't supposed to have magic!"

"Ah, sorry... my name is Akios. I'm the famous mage from the eastern valley," he introduced himself. "But that's enough for introductions. I'll politely ask you to prepare for the test."

The mage revealed his face. He seemed to be older than me, approximately for ten years. Intense sky-blue eyes complemented his short, wavy black hair. He had very fair skin, and his face was handsome.

Mage? Eastern valley? None of the things he said sounded familiar. I could swear that the eastern valley he referred to was a popular name for the desert, but nobody lived there for centuries. As for a mage, I never heard of the word. Maybe it meant a male who can use magic.

He burned me again, as I was thinking. To avoid serious injury, I had to act quickly, since he burned my skin again. I couldn't turn my back on him. Running back through the front door wasn't an option, so I rushed over to open the door on my left.

"Murus ignis," I said as I closely focused on the open door space when I entered the room.

A wall of flame blocked the entrance. He won't be able to get in for a little while. I quickly surveyed my surroundings. With just two windows opening to the yard, I was confined to a small room. I saw an ice sculpture in the corner, but I ignored it. I decided to focus on treating my burns instead.

"Curatio!"

Clapping sounds reached me from the other side of the fiery wall. Akios's loud sound was surprising, given that he wore black gloves, exposing only his fingers. He walked through my flames without a single burn. I didn't realize how tall he was until he was next to me. Among the people I knew, Akios was one of the tallest.

"What... what are you? Some kind of monster?" I said, disturbed by the course of events. "How can you walk through those flames unscathed?"

"I've seen enough to grade you," he said calmly. "Let's see... your way of speaking to elders could use some improvement. Your skills are average, but for this world, that's pretty good and since you're still young, you have the potential to do better. Fire and healing are your two main magic spells, but everything else is a struggle." 

"Why am I being tested?" I said, shocked. "I've never heard of witches taking tests."

"Well, they don't. You're actually my first student," he said, uninterested and looking annoyed. "Once you've calmed down, we'll talk again. The ability of a great witch is to deal with the unknown as if it were nothing unusual and here you are, just panicking."

I was first attacked, then insulted, and finally, inexplicably evaluated by this guy. I was angry, but this was not the right time to pick a fight. His magic was much stronger than mine and I'd inevitably lose.

"I have some business to attend to, so I'll see you later." 

He simply walked away. I stared at his back, shocked by everything that had happened.

"Oh, I almost forgot. The last part of your test will be to dispel the ice magic surrounding the estate. Only then will you be able to leave. If you fail, you'll have to stay here for the rest of your life," as soon as he said that, he teleported somewhere. In one moment, he was here and in the next one gone.

Although teleporting magic was exceptionally rare, his very being, as a mage, defied natural existence. I was completely taken aback.

I fought off the shock and started to reason. Even though I was weaker magically, there's likely a mistake in the spell or a special technique to counter it. Quickly, I consulted my grimoire, searching its pages for a clue. I reexamined the techniques used to undo magic spells. I already knew this, but I refreshed my memory on the subject.

The first thing on my to-do list was to find some people living in the mansion. I hurried back to the entrance hall, checking each room. Despite the absence of inhabitants, the rooms were tastefully decorated. The mansion felt genuinely aristocratic. They were less decorated than the king's place I visited, but that was a fact easily attributed to the king's greater resources and authority. 

I discovered numerous frozen human statues. Each room with those sculptures unsettled me because of their realism. I ran fast out of those rooms. 

Time seemed to stretch on, and I made no progress on the puzzle. I regretted visiting the mansion and giving in to my curiosity, but dwelling on the past was pointless.

After inspecting the ground floor, I ascended the stairs to discover a peculiar hallway with five frozen sculptures. The only thing left unchecked was the room in front of me; however, I had second thoughts about continuing. I quickly opened the door that revealed a main study room. In the center of the room sat Leo's frozen sculpture. 

Leo was somewhat muscular, slightly taller, and seemed about my age. His hair was completely red, which was odd because in the pictures I received, his hair seemed black. It was believed the fire spirit considered those with rare red hair to be extensions of itself, but the people didn't believe that true redheads existed. With just one red lock, everyone believed the fire spirit favored me. If all that was true... I can't even imagine what kind of harmonious relationship would a completely red-haired person have with the fire spirit?

Despite his inexplicably red hair, I was sure I had correctly identified Leo. He might have dyed it. I took out the picture just to be safe and compared it. His face and posture unmistakably identified him as Leo, but he was frozen. Everybody was frozen.

"Leo, I'm sorry," I spoke with a shaky voice to the frozen body as I took a few steps back.

The entire time I was in the mansion, I walked among frozen people. As a witch, I sensed the life force, but the frozen statues showed no signs of life whatsoever. I longed to hear it was a cruel joke, but I had no one. All this must have been caused by Akios. The work of an impossibly magical guy that called himself a mage.

A wave of fear washed over me, causing me to retreat from the room and almost fall. On my way out, I accidentally bumped into a frozen body. I didn't dare to look behind to see if I did any damage to it. I just ran from the mansion instead. 

A great sigh escaped my lips outside. Running was not a solution to my problem. Though I didn't want to, I was forced to address the situation. I was stuck in a place full of frozen people. They were almost certainly dead, making their reanimation unlikely. While I could perform healing spells, I had no experience with reanimation magic. 

If only a doctor was around. There were rumors of doctors reviving people shortly after death through non-magical means. It was briefly mentioned in one book I read. Its workings were unclear to me. It was science. A new way to use natural rules. The waning of magic led to the rise of science. I heard the doctor's revival method was all-natural. The people brought back with it weren't undead. As for magic, necromancy was the only alternative for their return, but I refused to dabble in the dark arts.

I pinched my cheeks to calm my nerves. "Now, Calytrix, focus on breaking the barrier. When this place becomes free, I'll unfreeze the people here, bring a doctor here and everyone will be saved. Happy end."