“—Rasputin never leaks any secret.”
That was the family motto of the Rasputin family.
They certainly followed it to their heart.
This ancient family with an eleven lineage, existing since the Third Age, had no members leaking secrets.
The secrets weren’t limited to other people’s curses or the deities’ secrets. They would even remember a banter like “I need you to keep this secret” and would never leak it or forget it.
Rather than saying it was a family motto, it was better to say it was a curse flowing in the blood.
It was also because of their loyalty to this oath.
In Austere-Winter Dukedom alone, the Rasputins accounted for over one-fifth of the transcender’s curse. When the transcenders did not have a trustworthy “secret keeper”, they would first look for Rasputin. Some foreign transcenders would make a trip to Austere-Winter Dukedom just to let Rasputin keep the secret for them.
The secrecy continued until both of them died.
As a price for keeping secrets, the Rasputins would ask for an additional “verified and accurate” secret as a reward.
This led to Rasputin becoming the most powerful ritualist family in Austere-Winter Dukedom.
Every Rasputin would store the secrets he held and needed to tell others in his ring before death. After a member of the Rasputin family died, one could get the secret after having the password.
The password of this ring was kept from the owner himself. The three elders of the Rasputin family each held a password chart. According to their date of birth, gender, and number of children in the family, a password could be obtained from the chart.
Only by piecing together the three codes could a Secret Ring be unlocked.
“I’ve confirmed it, Annan. The ring you’re holding is Rasputin’s Secret Ring.”
Grand Duke Ivan said to Annan.
“Ring?” Annan froze momentarily, “What ring?”
“It’s the relic left by Don Juan Geraint’s mother. It should be on you right now.” Ivan reminded.
However, what Ivan said made Annan more confused.
He frowned and thought for a while, “Isn’t Don Juan Geraint’s mother from the Melvin family.”
“It was supposed to be like that. Or rather, we all thought so.”
Ivan shook his head, “However, that is indeed the ring of the Rasputin family. You should understand what it means.”
“… an exchange of identities?” Annan murmured, “But, the surname Rasputin…”
“Yes, it is the family of your mother, Anya Rasputin. The owner of this ring is Anya’s sister… Lily Rasputin, who disappeared suddenly that year.” Grand Duke Ivan said slowly.
“Then, who was supposed to marry the Geraints?”
“It’s supposed to be Euphemia Melvin, the third daughter of the Melvin family.”
In other words, she was the sister of Wolf Professor Frederick Melvin and Eugene Melvin, who died in the White Tower.
“Euphemia is gone too?”
“Of course. However, based on what was previously mentioned, we all thought she married into the Noah family or married someone from the Crow family… given the Crow family’s special status, it’s understandable that we couldn’t reach her.” Ivan explained.
Otherwise, this matter wouldn’t be kept in the dark for a long time.
“Okay, let me think…” There was too much information.
Annan couldn’t help but frown in deep thought.
Ivan continued, “You should also know the meaning behind the Rasputin family. I have already arranged for someone to get Lily’s password. As for what to do with it, it’s up to your decision. You can read it up first, handing it over to the Rasputin family, or give it to the Old Crow of the Geraint family.”
“After all, when you return this time, you will succeed as the Grand Duke.”
—So, I can no longer give your advice on this matter.
Although Ivan didn’t say this directly, his eyes hinted at it to Annan.
It was a firm and gentle look, full of hope.
“I see.” Annan became silent, then nodded slightly.
Unlike the Melvin family, which remained neutral, the Rasputin family was one of the few families closer to Austere-Winter’s Grand Duke. They also lived in Frostwhisper Province.
In other words, the Rasputin family could be swayed. Annan had to take their feelings into consideration… So, giving the Secret Ring to the Geraint family would not be wise.
Why Lily hadn’t shown any reaction all these years?
Judging by the ring she left for Don Juan, she seemed to have a deep affection for Don Juan. She didn’t dislike the Geraint family either since she even engraved the feather’s emblem on the ring.
The feather of the crow was a unique emblem of the Geraint family.
Annan thought the ring was from the Geraint family because of the emblem. However, when he was a guest at the Geraint family’s residence, he never saw anyone else wearing this kind of ring.
At that time, Annan didn’t think much about it.
In the end, it is actually the Secret Ring of the Rasputin family.
“Luckily, I brought it with me.” Annan took out the ring with some hesitation.
It was a luxurious silver ring inlaid with sapphires.
The outer edge of the ring had feather-like patterns engraved on it. However, upon closer inspection, the inner side appeared to have subtle runes.
After getting the information from Ivan, the attributes on the ring had quietly changed.
[Deep Blue Protector]
[Type: Ring (purple) / sealed item]
[Description: Don Juan Geraint’s mother left the relic for him, which contains cold magic power and a curse.]
[Description: A ring that seals a secret. The inner ring is engraved with “Lily·Rasputin” in the language of the elves.]
[Description: This ring has undergone secondary processing with remarkable craftsmanship. It seems to be somewhat similar to the ring of “Winter’s Hand”,]
Seeing this, Annan subconsciously raised his head and looked at the woman with long dark blue hair, who was also a Winter’s Hand member.
The transparent ring on her left ring finger was undoubtedly different from this ring.
Where is the similarity?
Annan held the ring hesitantly, raised his head, and asked Ivan again, “Is it fine to leave this matter to me?”
“After all, this is Lily’s ring. She has no other relatives. You and Maria are her closest relatives. It is reasonable for you to decide its fate.”
Ivan seemed to know this “Lily”, who was his aunty.
“How about Euphemia?”
“Melvin is not the same as Rasputin. I’m not going to let their family investigate this matter.” Ivan replied.
What Ivan hinted was to let Annan investigate this matter personally.
It was a logical move.
“Then, give me the password.”
“The password to unlock the seal is as follows: Get the cowhide of the shoulder of a brown calf. Give it three drops of snake’s tears, then wipe the surface of the ring while it is slightly warm but not red from the flames.”
Ivan said, turning his eyes to his desk, “Zoya has prepared it for you.”
“Should we step aside?” Grand Duke seemed to have a vague idea of that secret.
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