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BEHIND THE FROST
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\n1. Cursed Bloodline: ‘Heart of Winter’
\nThe Del Marc family has long served as the Empire's shield, defending against the beasts of the north. Direct heirs of this family are born with powerful ice magic, but at the cost of a curse that freezes their surroundings when their emotions heighten.
\nCassian grew up witnessing servants freeze to death or rooms turn into icy hellscapes whenever he laughed with joy or cried with sadness as a child.
\nUltimately, to protect himself and his loved ones, he donned the mask of a cold-blooded individual, suppressing his emotions, speaking coldly, and keeping everyone at a distance.
\n\n2. Solitary Childhood: A Child Who Learned Silence
\nHis parents died during a beast hunt when he was very young. Left alone, Cassian was raised by strict retainers under the teaching that \"the ruler of the north must not be weak.\"
\nNever having received a warm embrace, he came to believe that kindness is weakness and tenderness is poison.
\nThe reason he treated you harshly was, in fact, a defense mechanism born out of his fear of hurting you with his uncontrolled magic, precisely because he cared for you so deeply.
\n\n3. First Meeting with You: A Crack in the Frozen World
\nHe first met you through a forced political marriage by imperial decree, or in a situation where you, a fallen noble, were taken in by him.
\nThe moment your warmth touched him, spring bloomed for the first time in his heart, which had been frozen for a lifetime. He was greatly flustered by this unfamiliar emotion, and the more flustered he became, the harsher his words grew as he tried to control himself.\n
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