—The Melvin family is the greatest betrayal.
That was definitely the truth blurted out under duress and desperation.
It might be a bit exaggerated, but it was not false.
That was one of the truths Annan wanted to get from her through aggressive means.
Apart from Rasputin, the only noble in the Austere-Winter Dukedom with a Gold Rank transcender was the Melvin family.
Whether it was the previous rebellions or the attacks Annan faced later on, their family was eerily quiet about it all.
Typically, as holders of such a rare and strategically significant Gold Rank transcender, wouldn’t they be more vocal about such national-level events?
Not only were they quiet, but the Winter’s Hand actually let them stay that way.
No one ever investigated them, nor did anyone doubt them. It was as if every time a disaster struck, everyone instinctively forgot about the Melvin family.
As Annan speculated before—
What is the purpose of the Winter Insurgent’s betrayal?
What is his purpose? What is the necessity of doing this? What is the reason why he has not come back yet?
There was only one answer.
His mission was far from complete.
Annan had roughly guessed one of his goals.
That was to gain influence in the underground cities.
“The Winter Insurgent” was well-known, highly skilled, and ruthless. Since arriving in the underground world, he quickly rallied an armed force and effectively took control of multiple cities.
If he were still the Winter’s Hand of the Austere-Winter Dukedom, such actions would undoubtedly be met with joint condemnation from other countries — it was unquestionably an act of aggression.
But after he instigated the rebellion… regardless of the actual truth, from the outside perspective, he was seen as the initiator of the uprising. Therefore, even if it was for political asylum, the underground world couldn’t stop him from building his own forces.
—Because he was trying to protect himself.
Moreover, in the underground world, the original political structure was also very loose. The Winter Insurgent was not the first to acquire the name “Digger” by purchasing discovery rights, and then gain control of a certain city.
Since they could do that, why couldn’t I?
Aside from this goal, the other motives might be related to the Melvin family.
“What did you say?” Even Celecia couldn’t help but be surprised by these words, “That’s not what you said when you first joined us.”
Especially, when admitting to rebellion in front of the next generation of Austere-Winter’s Grand Duke — even though Euphemia didn’t know that “Elle” was actually Annan, Celecia was aware of it.
“Because that’s a lie.” Euphemia Melvin looked bitter, “I didn’t escape from my family just to pursue freedom.”
“Do you know? All the descendants of the Melvin family, except for the Divine Child who inherited ‘the Divine of the World’, the rest are mere tools to pass on the bloodline. Since we are tools, naturally we will not learn ‘human’ skills.”
To preserve their divinity, the children of the Melvin family were kept away from worldly affairs from birth, untainted by the mundane. Activities like farming, cooking, forging, and hunting were strictly forbidden, and even learning about them was not allowed — they couldn’t even touch books related to these subjects.
Among the knowledge in the world, the only ones that the children of the Melvin family were allowed to learn were “the knowledge of killing and saving people”. In other words, assassination and medical treatment.
However, it was only limited to “learning”.
The Melvin family would never truly allow them to do so. The reason was that they were concerned that external forces might interfere with their “nurturing” process… Whether it was taking a life or saving one, there was always a “target” for applying one’s skills.
The target’s words, actions, and gaze might shake the Divine Child’s divinity and drag him into the mundane world.
While such actions were taken to cultivate divinity, they also cut off the possibility of the Melvin family’s children escaping the family — they had simply never been exposed to any knowledge of the ordinary world.
Let alone making money, they didn’t even know which items were edible and which weren’t; they had no clue about what constituted poison, what the shelf life of food was, or even what properly prepared food should look like before it was eaten.
They didn’t even have the skills to buy things… where to purchase certain items, or what their approximate prices might be. In fact, they didn’t even recognize the concept that “this item can be purchased”, let alone carrying money with them.
To give an example, the children of the Melvin family were like friends entrusted with an EVE Online account — utterly clueless once they started the game.
What is this? What is that? What should I do? What are they doing?
Reaching this extent, they could truly be called “detached from worldly affairs.”
“But, the children of the Melvin family are by no means dim-witted. Cultivating intelligence under such strict conditions is a challenge in itself… To enhance the children’s comprehension and logical thinking, mere education isn’t enough. Special potions are needed to abstract their thinking.”
Euphemia explained in a low voice.
Simply put…
It was like the children of the Melvin family had consumed so many ‘supplements’ that they all became exceptionally smart.
“Given this, we knew that leaving the family would make even basic survival challenging; and to call it ‘challenging’ would be an understatement. Yet, even so, there have always been those who escaped from the family. You haven’t seen them because… they’re all dead.”
“The family is always been adept at Idol Magic. If one doesn’t escape quickly and far enough, just the everyday items left behind in the family home can be used to curse and kill the defectors… Whether it’s fleeing the family without permission or revealing the family’s rules to outsiders, both are considered forms of ‘betrayal’.”
“Killing with a curse right away, that’s just too much…”
“Elle” frowned slightly after hearing this, “And as for betrayal to the ‘family’? Does merely leaving the family count as a betrayal?”
Isn’t this too harsh?
Moreover, such a ridiculously strict family code immediately raised red flags for Annan.
Is this level of family code really just for inheriting the “Divine of the World”?
“Yet, that’s the reality.” Euphemia said with a bitter smile, “That’s why I planned to escape… And it’s for this reason that Lily used that method to help me flee from the family.”
“As far as I know, ‘Professor Wolf’ Frederick is also from your family, right?”
“Elle” asked, “How did he escape?”
Although Annan had long known that “Professor Wolf” Frederick Wolfheart was actually “Dream Eater” Trisino Seti, he still decided to ask. Maybe he could get some answers from a different angle.
“He faked his death to escape.”
Euphemia quickly replied, “I’ve studied his technique. He faked his own death to throw off the curse’s tracking. Then, he wore an artifact called ‘the Living Dead’ to channel the curse into it.”
“On the one hand, he can also use this method to evade detection and curses. At the same time, he can also produce a large number of curse vessels.”
…Just like “The Scammer And The Missionary”?
Annan asked, “What is [the Living Dead] again?”
Upon hearing this, Euphemia was silent for a moment.
“This is why I say that the Melvin family is the biggest betrayal.”
The most significant difference between her and Frederick was the green, downward-pointing triangle rune etched in the center of her forehead. Within the triangle rune was another dark green equilateral triangle, dividing it into four sections.
The rune glowed faintly at this moment — no doubt, this was the reason why she always wore a mask.
“This is the Curse of the Living Dead. If I die while carrying it, I will become a ‘Living Dead’.”
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