“Victor.”
“I’m here.”
“You first give this letter to Igor in the St. Alexis Province. Then, head to Melvin’s house and ask them for a copy of Professor Wolf’s detailed information.”
“Got it.” Standing behind Ivan Austere-Winter, the middle-aged man with frost hair and gray eyes nodded. He took a thick letter from Grand Duke Ivan.
He did not hesitate, nor did he salute and leave.
He left the Grand Duke’s Residence without looking back.
A cold ring could be vaguely seen on his right thumb.
Ivan Austere-Winter sighed and stood up slowly. Then, he held the scepter and walked to the window.
Looking at the back of Victor leaving, he asked softly, “Zoya, what did Annan bring when Annan left?”
“He just brought some money along.” An adult woman with long dark blue hair gradually emerged from Ivan’s side.
There was a cold crystal ring on the ring finger of her left hand.
Zoya sighed helplessly, “He only took 50 pounds of paper money and a small bag of silver coins. No matter what I said, he didn’t put on the positioning ring either.”
“That’s how kids are when they grow up,” Ivan commented plainly.
Zoya raised her eyebrows, “The way you put it, His Highness Annan did not look like a child previously.”
“That’s because he has an adult soul in his body. Don’t treat him as a child. He understands these things. If he wants to help, he will come back immediately.”
Grand Duke Ivan took a deep breath and exhaled a mouthful of condensed air.
A thin layer of frost instantly formed on the glass in front of him. Ivan’s face turned pale, and he could not help but shiver.
Seeing this, Zoya immediately stepped forward.
She supported Grand Duke with her right hand and put her left hand behind Grand Duke Ivan to smoothen his breathing. The crystal ring suddenly lit up, quickly drawing the chill from Ivan’s body.
However, Ivan was still trembling violently.
He frowned tightly, did not say a word, and just gasped violently with his mouth closed. The severe pain made him clench his teeth, and the muscles on his cheeks bulged.
The purple runes on the cheeks became more profound and apparent.
After a while, Ivan said hoarsely, “I’m fine, Zoya.”
“You really are…” Zoya complained, letting go of Grand Duke Ivan.
Her right hand was a little red from the chill, while the ring on her left hand grew increasingly shiny.
“In short, don’t be too harsh on Annan. Unlike Dmitri, he is not a kid who is overly concerned with his reputation. He knows how to escape, but he is not timid.
“Among high-ranking people, this is a rare talent.” Ivan said slowly, “I trust him more than I trust Dmitri and Maria combined.
“Dmitri is a serious kid, but he is short-sighted. He has a gloomy personality, but he is easy to entrust his heart to others. So, he is prone to prejudice against people and things. He can be an excellent minister, but he cannot be a Grand Duke.
“Maria, like her mother Anya, is a persistent and brave girl. However, she loves her blood relatives more than her distant relatives and friends, and her love for her relatives and friends is more than for her people. Maria does not care about strangers and will choose to be close to or distant from someone based on her preference. If she succeeds to the throne, she will become an incapable ruler or tyrant.
“If anyone can be a better Grand Duke than me, it can only be Annan.”
“Is it because His Highness Annan is broad-minded even to contain the entire world?” Zoya made wild guesses.
Ivan shook his head.
“It’s because he’s a madman.” Grand Duke replied, “He is a fearless lunatic.”
He still remembered how Annan replied when he told Annan about the secrets of this country and this world.
“—I don’t care. I’m what you called ‘a person who is not of this world’.” Not long after getting the name, the Young Annan replied, “If necessary, let me be the Grand Duke. I can even become a deity or a saint.”
“Think about it, Annan. In this world, the higher status does not represent riches and wealth, not power but a smelting forge.”
“So what?” At that time, the immature Annan asked sharply, “There must be the Lord of Cinder [1] to spread the fire, father.
“If it can’t be someone else, why can’t it be me?
“If it can’t be me, why can’t I take this fire away?”
Although Ivan did not understand what the Lord of Cinder meant, Ivan vaguely understood Annan’s metaphor.
It was from then on that Ivan recognized the essence of Annan.
Being able to sacrifice everything other than the goal for the sake of the [objective] without any psychological pressure.
In other words, he was the one who could destroy the world to save it.
A person who did not move forward relying on the teachings of others did not yearn for wealth and power, did not believe in benevolence and morality but a person who simply obtained pleasure from the actions of “accomplishing goals”.
From then on, Ivan understood.
Annan walked on a dividing line between dusk and dawn.
Then, instead of forcing him with “fear”, it was better to seduce him with “pleasure”.
If Annan wanted to become a saint or a deity, Ivan must seal his fear. It was not for the “absence of fear” but to prevent this fear from misleading his path and goal in another direction.
However, on the other way around.
“I also trust Annan immensely.” Ivan said slowly, “Only a madman would want to save this riddled world; only a madman would save these countries full of crimes, and only a madman would try to save foolish and short-sighted mortals.
“Only a madman would try to purge the world of all nightmares; only a madman would try to purge the Gray Mists; only a madman would easily kill his past ‘self’ to rise higher.
“But it just so happens that Annan is such a lunatic.
“He has a strong desire to rise, so he is a perfect transcender; he has an immense desire to seek knowledge, so he is an ideal ritualist; he has a tremendous desire to possess, thus a perfect Fallen.
“He is meant to be the peak of any path. He is not trying to change the world for justice or compassion, but just for pleasure.”
All his desires were for internal ascension, not for possessing external objects.
That was probably why he was chosen for the [Book of Divine Transporter].
The Divine Transporter was the carriage of [Ascension].
If Austere-Winter Dukedom needed a new king, it could only be Annan.
Austere-Winter Dukedom needed Annan for the rescue, and Annan needed the responsibility to save.
It had been like this from the very beginning.
“Your Majesty.” Zoya seemed to have thought of something and asked Ivan, “Annan seems to have a ring from the Rasputin Family in his hand.”
“What?” Ivan was stunned for the first time.
He turned around suspiciously, “How did he come into contact with people from the Rasputin Family?”
Zoya shrugged.
“I guess,” she whispered, “He got it at Geraint’s place.”
“Could it be Anya’s younger sister?” Thinking of his dead second wife, Anya Rasputin, the mother of Annan and Maria, Ivan frowned slightly.
He remembered that Annan had capitalized on the “Don Juan Geraint” identity when he was in the Noah Kingdom. Interestingly, Don Juan’s mother was a nobleman from the Austere-Winter Dukedom.
However, to Ivan’s knowledge, Don Juan’s mother should be from the Melvin Family.
Thinking about it now, Anya’s younger sister, Lily Rasputin’s, sudden disappearance happened during the first two years before the third daughter of the Melvin Family married into the Noah Kingdom. So it might be a little related.
“Investigate this matter, Zoya.” Ivan tapped the scepter with his fingertips.
He responded in a low voice, “Look into the third daughter of the Melvin Family, Euphemia Melvin. Did she exchange identities with Lily Rasputin? Check to see if it is the ring of the Rasputin Family. If so, ask the Rasputin Family for a copy of Lily Rasputin’s password, and give the password to Annan.
“Annan said he’ll be back next month. Get things done by then.”
“Yes, Grand Duke.” The woman with long blue hair answered solemnly.
“And also,” Ivan said in a low voice.
“Yes, Your Majesty?” Zoya asked suspiciously, “What did you mean to say?”
“When Annan returns, remember to give him some extra money secretly, possibly 50 pounds. I think he has 80 other-worldly entourages. This money allows 80 people to take the subway and will be spent after four or five trips.”
Ivan said with a straight face, “He may not be embarrassed, but he must not know the fees of the underground world. Next time, bring him 200… No, 300 pounds worth of paper money.
“Austere-Winter is poor, but not so poor that the Grand Duke needs to save the expenses. Got it, Zoya?”
“En, I shall remember that,” Zoya responded with a slight smile.
