“…So that’s how it is.” After listening to Annan’s explanation, Grand Duke Ivan sighed deeply.
His mood was a little complicated, and his right hand holding the scepter tightened slightly.
“Anya…” Ivan whispered the name.
There were complicated emotions in his eyes.
Was it Sad? Nostalgic? Calm?
Or neither of them.
Even Annan couldn’t understand that complicated emotion.
Those were the eyes one could have only after living through most of their life.
The people who met those eyes would quiet down subconsciously.
“Are you sad, Father?” Annan couldn’t help but ask.
Ivan was not responsible for this matter. It was a tragedy caused by Lily’s clumsiness in the first place.
However, Anya performed that ritual to seek extraordinary wisdom, find a way to marry Ivan, and change Austere-Winter. Lily faced a misfortune accident because of this.
After all, Ivan Austere-Winter was old.
Unsurprisingly, old people would look back on the past with regret.
Instead, because Ivan had many successes in his life, those failures became even more deeply ingrained in his memory… Just like his two wives.
“Nolan Geraint…” Ivan was silent for a long time, whispering the name of Old Crow.
“What?”
“If you see him again, thank him for me.”
Ivan said slowly, “Anya also told me… She hopes to see the winter year over and the harvest year coming. She wants to see a blooming flower, even if it is just a small one.”
“However, I can’t fulfill such a simple wish for her. Nolan is better than me. He granted Lily a joyful life.”
“But, you are a brilliant Grand Duke.”
“I am.” Ivan replied calmly, “But I can’t be considered a good husband.”
When Ivan said this, he took another deep look at Annan, “…I’m not a good father either.”
“That’s not the case.” Annan shrugged, “At least you are not a bad father.”
Grand Duke Ivan gave his children a lot of freedom.
The Wolf’s Kiss dungeon showed that Annan’s elder brother, Dmitri, brought him up when he was young. Except for Winter’s Hand, who took care of his necessities, his older brothers and sisters were mainly there for him.
Only when Annan learned Frost Sword did Grand Duke participate in his life by teaching him personally.
When Annan first regained consciousness at Frozen Water Port, the Silent Oil had not yet seeped out… So Annan’s memories were only temporarily sealed rather than completely lost.
Back then, Annan recalled that Ivan taught him the Frost Sword technique. It indicated that Annan and Ivan’s “shared memories” were likely rare.
Given Ivan’s busy schedule, Annan might not see him more than several times a year.
At that time, Ivan was still in good health, unlike now when he needed to lie in bed all year round. He must have been traveling all over the place… Probably at a level of constantly being on the move and not settling down.
At least he managed to give too much freedom to Anna and Dimitri that he didn’t notice his children were in trouble.
After all, Ivan was the best Grand Duke in Austere-Winter’s history.
This was something all Austerians would admit from the bottom of their hearts.
No generation of Austere-Winter’s Grand Duke could handle various affairs of the winter year better than Ivan. At least after the death of his first wife…or maybe even before that, Ivan had dedicated his entire life to the Austere-Winter Dukedom.
It was expected that Ivan would neglect his family.
After all, Ivan’s time was not infinite.
Of course, Annan’s remarks might sound too casual. After all, this was not his childhood. When he arrived in this world, he already had an adult soul in his body.
And now, Annan had utterly forgotten about his childhood. It was like speaking without experiencing it firsthand — at least Dmitri and Maria would be affected dramatically by this.
At least their childhood would not be so pleasant.
However, they still had a relatively normal mother. Especially Dmitri… his mother seemed to be a relatively gentle person. It could even melt solid ice like Ivan’s heart.
Perhaps, Dmitri and Maria had always cared for and loved Annan because Anya passed away shortly after Annan was born.
Grand Duke Ivan was busy with government affairs and had no time to care for his children. So the two siblings volunteered to take care of Annan.
The elder siblings took the parental role.
Compared with the Melvin family, who simply treated their offspring as tools, the Austere-Winter family was considered excellent.
“However, although Lily is doing well in Noah, telling Rasputin about it is better.” Ivan coughed lightly.
Ivan raised his thin right hand, revealing the faint outlines of his bones. He handed Anna a rigid card resembling a greeting or business card.
After handing it over, Annan squeezed it lightly with his hand. He discovered that a thin metal sheet was sandwiched in the middle of the thick paper.
There was an address and a name written on it.
“Vasika Rasputin. Am I going to meet him tomorrow?”
“He is Anya and Lily’s cousin. He is also the patriarch of the Rasputin family. You can call him uncle or even aunty.”
“What does that mean?” Annan was a little confused.
Is this person male or female?
“Rasputin is a secret keeper, so naturally, there are many taboo rituals. Vasika has performed a special ritual, merging himself with a female cat. So he will constantly change his gender and appearance with the moon’s phases.”
Ivan glanced at the copper calendar on the wall, “Now Vasika should be a female… She may have manifested some characteristics of a cat. After you meet her, remember not to be afraid and not to be rude.”
Cat girl? There’s nothing to be afraid of.
Annan thought so from the bottom of his heart.
Annan couldn’t help but ask, “However, isn’t the frequency of the Rasputin holding taboo rituals too high?”
So far, all the Rasputin Annan had heard seemed to have held taboo rituals.
Ivan shook his head, “This is a normal situation for the Rasputin family. That’s how the surname Rasputin came from in the first place.”
Grand Duke said slowly, “In Frostwhisper, the word ‘Rasputin’ is usually used to describe a person who has misbehavior… It isn’t a compliment.”
It was more than “not a compliment”. Ivan’s words were too tactful.
It was a derogatory word that was treated as an insult to a person’s morals.
“Why would Rasputin use this word as a surname?”
“It’s called ‘Infamy Ritual’.”
Ivan replied, “Their goal is to provoke unconscious insults from others. In doing so, they can easily acquire a common influence known as the ‘Curse of Three Insults’, which requires being ‘heartfeltly insulted’ by three people within a day.”
“This is also why in the story, some ritualists who have fallen into darkness will use cruel means to commit evil deeds everywhere and leave their names behind. They are deliberately collecting insults, curses, and hatred. If these are gathered to a certain extent, they will also become an influence.”
“It causes weak villains to fall into nightmares and die, but also increases the strength of true villains.”
To put it simply, they are looking for scolding.
Annan thought to himself.
“This is a common influence necessary for many taboo rituals used to curse and kill others. Rasputin is a traditional ritualist family. They have multiple influence pools… and their name is naturally one of the influences.”
“So they used ‘Infamy Ritual’ to replace their family name with this archaic insult. Although few people understand Frostwhisper, as long as they pronounce this surname, it can be regarded as a ‘heartfelt insult’.”
“In addition to the name, they will participate in large-scale events such as ceremonies, funerals, and weddings. The goal is to collect influence as much as possible.”
“Almost all of these influences will be used to hold rituals before the expiration date. Therefore, every Rasputin will perform at least one taboo ritual. They will be more or less different from ordinary people. Although they are all weird, Rasputin will be your best friend when you succeed as the Austere-Winter’s Grand Duke.”
Ivan reached out and patted his three-color scepter and said meaningfully, “They always need Austere-Winter’s help.”
“Remember that. I can’t reveal too much to you for the time being… But in the conversation with Patriarch Vasika tomorrow, don’t be deceived by his bluff.”
“Remember, you have absolute agency.”
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