âWhen I was very young, I was in a ritual no one knew about.â
Lily reminisced and whispered, âMy sister Anya was an impressive person. She was diligent in her studies and fair-minded in her dealings. Even at a young age, she expressed her determination to save this country. I, on the other hand, could never utter such words⊠At most, all I hope for is to witness springtime once in my lifetime.â
âI want to know what âthe chirping of birds and the fragrance of flowersâ means, what âbountiful harvestâ is. These words Iâve seen in books, but I donât know their meaning.â
âBut then⊠Sis, she had a big goal. She wanted to marry Grand Duke Ivan. At that time, she was only 14 years old. Thatâs a big deal, isnât it?
âBecause we didnât know when Grand Duke Ivan would find a wife, my sister was anxious. She wanted to impress the Grand Duke, and it was tough to change the situation of the Austere-Winter continent alone. My sister had that talent, but she was too young.â
âMy sister wanted to hold a forbidden ritual. She summoned Silver Sire and sold her âlife after age 30â to trade for 15 years of tripled wisdom. However, her parents could never find out about this ritual, so she had to collect the materials herself. I also helped her to collect them.â
âHowever, due to my clumsiness, I mistakenly took the three-year-old cedar branch into a three-year-old fir branch. I accidentally cut my thumb, too, staining the ritual knife with my blood, resulting in the failure of my sisterâs ritual.â
âMy sister is not a transcender. The price of failure is death. The curse ran rampant and destroyed my sisterâs internal organs⊠I was a little flustered at the time, so I used my sisterâs remaining material to perform the ritual again. Then, I successfully summoned the Silver Sire.â
Speaking of this, Lily showed a wry smile or perhaps a nostalgic smile, âMy sister died not long ago. Silver Sire is indeed a fair deity. I used one-third of my life to save my sister. Then, I used one-third of my lifespan to grant my sister five years of doubled wisdom.â
âFortunately, the two of us held the ritual secretly. Our parents didnât find out about it. However, my lifespan is very short. If I stay at home, maybe⊠No, I will die faster than my parents.â
âI donât want to see them mourn for me. Moreover, according to the book, I want to go to the place where the spring flowers bloom. I want to take a look at the legendary sea of flowers before I dieâŠâ
âIt just happened that I met my friend, Euphe, four years later. She was dissatisfied with the marriage arranged for her by the Melvin familyâ âOld Crowâ Nolan Geraint. He was almost 50 years old, and Euphe was only 16 years old.â
âBesides this matter, Euphie was dissatisfied with the entire Melvin family. She felt they were treated merely as tools for carrying on the bloodline, where every aspect of their lives, even their basic needs, were arranged and controlled as if imprisoned. She was the sole resistor against these traditions, and perhaps it was for this reason that her family decided to marry her off to Noah⊠sending her far away to a place where she couldnât be seen.â
âCount Nolan only hoped to get a child with Melvinâs bloodline. Melvinâs bloodline could give birth to a wizardâs heir⊠He just hoped to have a child with transcendent talent.â
ââRasputinâs blood could do the same thing.â
âSo Euphe and I made an agreement⊠When Euphe got married, I would leave a letter and pretend to run away from home. But in fact, I would marry Noah in Eupheâs shoes. Euphe would use my name and embark on the adventure of the underground world for me.â
Speaking of this, Lily showed a gentle smile, âI was nervous at first. I only wanted to fulfill my little wish and hoped my parents would not be sad for me.â
âThen I found out⊠Nolan was nice to me.â
âAlthough he was the count, he was Noahâs Intelligence Director and the father of two children. However, he was a gentle person.â
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âHe would remember my birthday and take me for a walk in the sea of flowers. When I cried, he would quietly accompany me, patting my back and hugging me.â
âI like Noahâs sea of flowers very much. The silver and purple ones are beautiful. Those are the flowers he took me to see. They are more beautiful than the ones I saw in the book or my dreams.â
âI also like Noah very much. It is a city with spring, summer, and autumn⊠Itâs a place where girls can wear short skirts below the knee. I also hope that Austere-Winter can also bloom in spring one day. I want my sister to see that beautiful, silver-purple sea of flowers too.â
âOf course, itâs just a thought. Itâs impossible to achieve it. My sister will become Grand Duke Ivanâs wife. Then, there is a war between Austere-Winter and Noah.â
If the war can be quelled one day, my sister may serve as the Grand Dukeâs wife and go on a mission to Noah. By then, Iâll have the chance to meet her⊠and hand over this ring to her. If notâŠâ
Lily showed a faint, happy smile that seemed to be shining, âIf I am lucky enough where my sister, my father, and my mother are still around, please tell them that I am happy.â
âAnd⊠Iâm sorry.â
She sat securely in the chair with her hands on her lap. She bowed slightly forward.
âŠI see.
Annan couldnât help but take a deep breath.
He didnât say anything; his gaze simply softened silently.
For some reason, his first instinct was to say thank you to Old Crow.
âThe following segments are the secrets stored in this ring. Please search according to the catalog and record the part you need.â
Lilyâs voice became rigid like a robot.
âFirstly: Three-eyed Crow, One-Eyed Crow, and Noahâs intelligence collection model;
âSecondly: Information on the Noah Kingdomâs counts and other noble families;
âThirdly: The secrets of the ministers of the Noah Kingdom;
âFourthly: Information about false deity, âFaceless Poetâ;
âFifthly: Ritual: Taboo Transaction and the occult knowledge it requiresâŠâ
Further down, there was knowledge about various rituals and information about the curses she collected.
Annan did not filter the information but chose to absorb all the knowledge.
Although a considerable part of this information overlapped with the information he already knewâsuch as the composition of Three-eyed Crow and the relationship between Faceless Poet and the Geraint family. There were still pieces of intelligence that Annan lacked.
The information provided Annan with the ability to help Kafni.
Then, there was little info regarding rituals. At least it wasnât burdensome to the point that Annan could not bear the knowledge. After all, Annanâs soul was in the Silver Rank.
Annan stood there. After quickly absorbing all the knowledge, Lily suddenly said, âIf possible, I hope you will go and see my son after absorbing this knowledge. His name is Don Juan Geraint.â
âThis is the ring that Euphe and I made together. With this ring, he can become Winterâs Hand. I always feel that His Benjamin Benjamin is not that simple. He may not be able to take care of Don Juan until Don Juan reaches adulthood. If Noah is not doing well, I will give him this ring. He has half my blood. After becoming Winterâs Hand, he will be accepted by Grand Duke Ivan.â
âThis is the last protection of a negligent mother.â
âIf something has happened to him, this is a gift for you. Thank you for listening to me so much.â
âI hope you can forget me.â
After Lilyâs last words, her virtual image disappeared before Annan.
The prompt regarding the information about this ring had changed again.
[Lilyâs Love]
[Type: Ring/Talisman (Gold)]
[Description: It used to be Lily Rasputinâs secret ring and its knowledge has been completely extracted.]
[Effect: When equipped, the consumption of Energy Falteration School spells below Silver Rank is halved; when encountering a fatal attack, âRitual: Precise Teleportationâ is automatically triggered.]
[Price: The holder will suffer the âWinterâs Handâ curse.]
[Precise Teleportation: You will be immediately teleported to a pre-determined safe location.]
[Winterâs Hand: You must obey the orders of the âWinter Heartâ holder.]