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Is it me again?
Annan was speechless for a moment.
He hoped he had written a diary or something for his first playthrough.
Who the hell keeps a diary?
Annan?

Obviously not.
Annan was aware that he didn’t have this habit.
As a result, Annan didn’t know what the “Annan” once did.
Those were things that didn’t make sense, but it was something that Annan would do.
Annan was a little uncertain about Vasika’s attitude toward him alone.
It didn’t seem like it was just animosity, either. The familiarity and closeness between them were genuine.
However, if they were once friends, the deliberate sense of distance and Vasika’s smiling attitude gave a subtle feeling to Annan.
Being in the Austere-Winter, Annan was already confused after considering how familiar Faceless Poet was with him when he was in Noah.
Annan even suspected that he had already gotten into trouble when traveling around the world.
“Do you have any idea?”
Since Vasika’s attitude was intricate, Annan didn’t ask further about the ritual of the [Beauty of Imbalance].
Instead, he turned to look at the three “assassins” who had passed out and asked Vasika, “So, it’s these three people, huh?“
“This senseless yet seemingly desperate assassination is undoubtedly the work of the Northern Alliance.”
“Northern Alliance?”
“The Alliance of Six Northern Provinces.”
Vasika explained, “In other words, the six northernmost provinces of Austere-Winter.”
“The Great Barriers in all regions are gradually shrinking. Initially, we thought it was due to the decline in upright deities’ power. However, based on the latest curse studies two months ago, we can now confirm that the power of the mist is growing stronger again.
“Oh, the Gray Mists has become stronger?” Annan was a little surprised.
Annan quickly reacted and understood everything, “Is the result of this research made public?”
“Austere-Winter doesn’t have the extra research power to do this kind of research. The news comes from the Papal Kingdom’s research, and we can’t suppress the news. The scholars know it, and nobles know it too.”
Catwoman chuckled, raising the corners of her mouth as if mocking something.
The light in the room was already dim. From Annan’s point of view, Vasika seemed to have half of her face sunk in shadow.
During the Ice-shredders War, those local nobles contributed secretly but didn’t dare to be so blatant about it.
The Old Grandmother seemed to be waking up, after all.
When humans were groggy and half-awake, they would often linger in bed for a while; but for a deity who was also a dragon, the duration of this drowsy period could vary, and no one could guarantee how long it would be.
It could be years, but it could be minutes.
If new information prevented them from holding back any longer, they could strike Annan during this period.
The purpose these local nobles wanted to achieve was simple. It was so simple that Annan guessed their goal when he saw the assassins.
They wanted the young and capable Annan dead. Only Dmitri, who was incompetent, not a transcender, and sterile, was left to inherit Austere-Winter Dukedom. Dmitri didn’t have the capability or the energy to deal with so many people.
In this way, Maria was the only offspring of the Austere-Winter family left behind.
Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original.
The bloodline wouldn’t be completely cut off as long as Maria didn’t die. As the future pope of the Old Grandmother, Dmitri could not convert to the Cup-holding Lady for the ‘Child in the Cup’ ritual.
Maria was the Daughter of the Storm. She could be sacrificed at anytime. Therefore, she could not succeed as Grand Duke. This would leave hidden dangers to the dukedom.
The person marrying Maria would give birth to a male offspring of the Austere-Winter lineage. That child would inherit the position of Grand Duke in the future.
This was also why Ivan was not in a hurry to let Annan go home while he was living abroad. On the one hand, it was the trust in Annan. On the other hand, Annan was not necessarily safer than in a foreign country after returning home.
After all, Annan was underage. If Ivan could still handle official duties, he could not immediately succeed in the position of Grand Duke.
As long as Annan returned home, he should immediately succeed to the throne. Even if he couldn’t immediately take over the various authorities of the Grand Duke, he should immediately get the protection of the Winter’s Hand.
After all, the Winter’s Hand was a secret service responsible only for the Grand Duke.
Even the first heir to the Grand Duke had no right to mobilize them. The situation was beyond the tradition and rules. Before Grand Duke handed over the three-color scepter to Annan, the person Winter’s Hand must obey and protect was still Ivan.
In this way, the Winter’s Hand could covertly go against Annan’s wishes or work against him.
Even if Annan was willing to trust them, Ivan could not.
After all, there was the precedent for the Winter Insurgent.
Ivan wanted to remain vigilant.
Winter’s Hand wasn’t an army of golems that were guaranteed not to betray.
They were an extension of the cursed power of “Winter Heart”. Their allegiance was only to the Grand Duke or the “Winter Heart” who held the three-color scepter, not to the Austere-Winter Dukedom.
This was why the Winter Insurgent was able to betray the Austere-Winter Dukedom.
Even if their actions harmed the dukedom’s interests, they did not harm the Grand Duke. Thus, there was no negative feedback from the curse.
However, they escaped too quickly. Ivan didn’t manage to give the order. Otherwise, Ivan could have them confess their conspiracy on the spot or even make them commit suicide.
The Winter’s Hand could not disobey the orders of the wielded of the three-color scepter, could not perform “harmful actions” against them, and could not lie to them.
Even if the Winter Insurgent advanced to Gold Rank, this curse would always remain in his soul and could never be eradicated.
However, if it weren’t for the Grand Duke

The only duty they had to fulfill was the “order” that Ivan gave them. If they had ill intentions, they could easily bypass the rules.
Thus, the succession to the Grand Duke was important.
Without the protection of the Winter’s Hand, how much chance did the underage Annan stand to protect himself?
This idea probably led to the local nobles dispatching assassins, intending to kill Annan directly before he succeeded to the throne.
A Silver Rank Destruction Wizard who could sacrifice his life was a formidable killer.
It was a pity that the local nobles’ intelligence was far behind.
They thought Annan was the ritualist from half a year ago.
Brother, isn’t your information a bit too outdated?
I‘m almost at Gold Rank. Do you guys think I’m a rookie who can’t even reach the Bronze Rank?