Grand Duke Ivan turned into a dragon.
The news quickly spread throughout the Austere-Winter province.
It was impossible to hide the news.
Almost everyone saw it. A huge dragon with bright yellow pupils and scales as white as snow, enveloped in frosty air, flew out of the Grand Duke’s Residence. It soared and circled reluctantly in the sky above the Frostwhisper Province.
When it flew out, the frost that condensed around it formed a white trail. Under the night sky, the frost-like scales on its body seemed to shimmer.
Following the traces of the dragon’s flight, gorgeous snow fell in the Great Barrier. The plants that caught those snow would bloom with pure white flowers the following year.
If one ate these flowers, they could calm feelings of sorrow, anxiety, and fear, making the heart peaceful again…
—This was the last gift Ivan Austere-Winter gave to his people.
People gathered on the street or opened their windows at home to watch their Grand Duke transform into a giant dragon, hovering in the sky or squatting on a high platform.
The bright yellow dragon pupils were filled with strong emotions.
Nostalgia, joy, affection… even across species, and from hundreds of meters away, one could clearly see the emotions overflowing from within its heart.
He gained a healthy body and regained his complete emotions — at the end of his mission as Austere-Winter’s Grand Duke, the curse named Winter Heart had also been unlocked.
Even though they weren’t informed, the Austerians quickly understood after witnessing this scene.
Their Grand Duke, Ivan Austere-Winter, would be leaving them today.
But only a few knew that this was not a farewell of suffering.
Because… the dragon named Ivan Frostwhisper will also be born today.
“Goodbye, Ivan.” Annan stood in front of the wide-open floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the pure white dragon flying freely in the air and gradually adapting to its new body.
Annan wore a thin attire despite the snowfall.
Annan’s right eye was as clear and transparent as an ice-blue pupil of a ragdoll cat, while the divine radiance flickered in his emerald-like left eye. He gazed deeply at Ivan, who had transformed into a white dragon.
Finally, the dragon flew over every part of the Frostwhisper Province.
It once again flew back to the Grand Duke’s Residence in public view.
On the top floor of the Grand Duke’s Residence, Annan held a scepter that was taller than him. The three-color scepter hugged a crystal ball tightly, and at the bottom was an inverted silver cross.
The pure white dragon, its body bathed in moonlight, flew toward Annan.
…The moon is really coming to me.
Annan sighed silently and raised the three-color scepter high.
Ivan reached out his dragon claws — huge claws that could hold Annan’s head in his hands.
Now it merely placed one of its fingers on the scepter.
It was obviously just a crystal ball.
Yet it was like a sharp steel needle, piercing through the dragon’s claw—dark red blood slowly dripped onto the scepter, soaking the entire crystal ball. It emitted a faint, dark red glow.
This was the enthronement ceremony for the Austere-Winter’s Grand Duke.
This means that the three-color scepter is no longer under the control of Ivan Austere-Winter, and it also means a complete transfer of power.
“Hold your head high—”
Ivan let out a dragon roar again and circled toward the sky.
As Frostwhisper Province’s barrier opened up, the moment the silent snowstorm fell, the pure white dragon flew away.
After the dragon had completely disappeared, Annan, standing in the ceremonial magic circle that amplified his voice, made a clear, cold, and pleasant proclamation that resounded throughout the entire city.
[I am Annan Austere-Winter. Son of Ivan! Lord of Austere-Winter—]
He slightly raised the scepter in his hand. The crystal ball flashing with dark red light quickly washed away the dragon’s blood and once again shone with bright ice blue brilliance.
Under that brilliance, the barrier closed back.
Then, the wind and snow approaching from outside the barrier were prevented from entering.
The new Austere-Winter’s Grand Duke was born.
In the Province of St. Alexis… the residence of the Melvin family.
In a closed village filled with the smell of incense and completely isolated from the outside world, a man with no hair and golden eyes stood on a high stone clock tower.
There were many runes imprinted on the back of his head, which looked like a complex array. Now the light golden halo was flowing in the rune. Three halos bloomed on the back of the head.
Viewed from the front, one could see the sacred halos behind the man’s head, each slowly rotating in a distinct pattern: first clockwise, then counterclockwise, and clockwise.
Behind him, a girl with black hair reaching the floor knelt and spoke to him in a low voice.
“…From that time on, we made a mistake in the ritual positioning of ‘the Venerated Skeleton’. It was initially confirmed that the divine intervention of ‘Silent Deity’ caused the changes in the positioning of ‘the Venerated Skeleton’. The elders are already preparing to redo the ritual and recalibrate. Preliminary recalibration can be completed within three days…”
The man did not give any response.
His lips were tightly closed, and his eyes shone brightly. He shone with brilliance in the night. Under the stars, he resembled the sun after sunset.
He quietly stared north in the direction of Frostwhisper Province without saying a word.
Northland, Franrangell Province.
Wearing a frost-colored military uniform, a middle-aged nobleman stood upright, a scar running vertically across his left eye. He gazed gloomily at the southern night sky.
He was Ostoff Dolgoruky, a former lieutenant in the Frost Beast unit. He was also the current head of the Dolgoruky family.
“Ivan has undergone Dragon Transformation? Annan Austere-Winter is still not dead.”
Behind him, a white-haired old man with a kind face and single-rimmed glasses said calmly, “I’m sorry, Viscount Dolgoruky.”
“But I suppose you’re about to face the vengeance of our new Grand Duke.”
“I understand, Count,” Ostrov replied slowly. “I have been prepared for some time and won’t implicate you all.”
“Ah? You have misunderstood. That’s not what I meant.”
The elder behind him, hands comfortably clasped behind his back, spoke as calmly as an old butler.
A tall, thin man with dark skin and eyes shining with green light suddenly emerged from the shadows at his feet.
There was a dark shadowy thread between his hands.
Suddenly, the thin thread tightly wrapped around Viscount Ostoff’s neck.
Viscount Ostoff struggled fiercely and groaned, but could not say a word.
The old man’s squinted eyes opened, revealing dark golden vertical pupils.
He said leisurely, “I mean… you may be able to prove useful for other purposes.”
Atop the Fourth Exhausted Collection Hall, a ferocious beast with dark golden pupils crouched quietly.
That was none other than “Beauty of Imbalance”: Vasika Rasputin.
If Annan could see what it looked like at this moment, he would know that she was not some kind of “Catwoman”.
That was because it was a lynx.
The markings on its body form an asymmetrical yet mystically beautiful pattern that would make people feel dizzy at a glance.
However, it was just quietly looking at the pure white dragon in the distance.
White falling snow fell on it, but it didn’t melt at all, covering it with a thin layer. On the contrary, the ceiling beneath it melted the falling snow due to the temperature in the “Fourth Exhausted Collection Hall”.
“The [Tyrant] is coming.”
In the lynx’s mouth, a magnetic low voice came out — Vasika’s gender that day was male.
“—Same goes for Blizzard.”
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