It was ironic.
After the death of the previous King Noah, the people of Noah spent two months organizing the succession ceremony. Up until now, the ceremony had yet to conclude, nor had a successor been confirmed.
Kafni and her uncles and aunts continued their intense struggle, both overtly and covertly—meanwhile, this event didn’t affect the normal operations of the Kingdom of Noah.
On the night Grand Duke Ivan transformed into a dragon, Annan had already completed the accession ceremony without any hindrance.
When Annan succeeded to the throne, his brothers and sisters had not even had time to return home.
Even so, no unexpected events occurred during the transfer of power… After all, the actual people in power of the country were not so much the ministers or the Grand Duke, but rather the Winter’s Hands.
The main job of the Grand Duke was merely to make decisions in the general direction.
In a sense, those “Ring-bearing” Winter’s Hands were the real top echelons of this country — they not only had the power to discuss policy directions with the Grand Duke but were also responsible for the supervision and implementation.
Those Winter’s Hands, distributed all over the country, were responsible not only for monitoring nobles and officials everywhere but also for overseeing these policies.
These members, comprising the highest echelon known as the “Ten Fingers of the Ring,” essentially acted as the cabinet of the Austere-Winter Dukedom.
During the times when Grand Duke Ivan could not move freely, it was the “Ten Fingers” that governed Austere-Winter.
Now, only six of the Ten Fingers remained. Due to the rebellion stirred up by the Winter Insurgent Vladmir, the power of Winter’s Hand had noticeably diminished. The four external authorities — “military affairs”, “espionage”, “diplomacy” and “foreign trade” had been taken back into the hands of the Grand Duke.
So far, the “Ten Fingers” of the Winter’s Hand were incomplete.
It was not because Ivan Austere-Winter didn’t have the ability to find four trustworthy people from Winter’s Hand… It was actually for Annan’s sake.
The other six “Ten Fingers” had all witnessed young Annan’s outstanding methods.
They more or less knew Annan’s origins, understood Annan’s close relationship with the Twelve Upright Deities, and had witnessed Annan’s wisdom.
Then, after Ivan’s death, they wouldn’t harbor any ill intentions toward Annan… and Annan would be able to “use” them normally.
If Ivan replenished the Ten Fingers, he would face a new problem
“Those who are loyal to Grand Duke Ivan may not necessarily be loyal to you; those people believe in Grand Duke Ivan because they know him, but they have not witnessed your talent…”
At the morning table, a mature woman with dark blue curly hair and a gentle temperament sat on the table and whispered.
There was a transparent ring on her left ring finger that exuded cold air.
At the table, there were only her and Annan—because the one named “Zoya” was responsible for all domestic affairs including Austere-Winter’s Grand Duke’s food, housing, travel, and dressing.
Now that Annan had officially succeeded to the throne, Zoya would continue to serve him. Annan asked her to eat with him, so Zoya would naturally not refuse.
In fact, the reason she did not dine with Grand Duke Ivan was not that Ivan prevented her from sharing his table, but because of the Grand Duke’s extreme frailty… She had to constantly watch closely to see if Grand Duke Ivan choked or had a sudden illness.
Not just during meals… even during bathing, changing clothes, and using the toilet, Ivan was always under the watchful eye of Zoya. The concern was that Grand Duke Ivan might suddenly fall, choke to death, or die suddenly — events that were indeed probable.
And now that the Grand Duke had become the healthy Annan, she no longer had to worry so much.
However, the other members of the “Ten Fingers” each had their own political affairs to handle. The only one who could stay in the Grand Duke’s mansion for an extended period, constantly accompanying Annan, was still only the “Left Hand’s Ring Finger.”
Ivan’s transformation into a dragon was too rushed.
The job of teaching Annan how to become a qualified Grand Duke fell on Zoya.
“I understand, Aunt Zoya.”
After Annan swallowed the food, he said in a calm and orderly voice, “Father hopes that I will fill these four positions myself.”
“But my advice is… don’t appoint ‘Ten Fingers’ just yet.”
Zoya said solemnly.
“Got it.” Annan nodded, “After all, I am still young. Even with your help and support, I have never even met the other nobles and officials of Austere-Winter… It is difficult to gain their recognition.
“Appointing high-level officials or making personnel changes at this time could lead to instability within Winter’s Hand. My idea is to first introduce some new decrees or other major events to attract their attention.”
…Annan is quite reliable, putting my mind at ease.
Zoya sighed silently, satisfied.
He’s much better than his idiot brother.
His Excellency Dmitri has the feminine face of a schemer, but his personality is quite straightforward.
He didn’t like being suspicious of others, nor would he be overly cautious around people. If Dmitri had succeeded to the Grand Duke’s position, then after hearing Zoya’s suggestion, he certainly would have responded without a second thought, “No problem, I think there’s no need to overcomplicate things.”
Maria, on the other hand, didn’t care about those people at all.
She was undoubtedly a born tyrant — Zoya would rather Dmitri succeed to the throne than Maria.
Because Maria cared more for family than friends, more for friends than strangers, and more for strangers than enemies, she acted with a very clear “hierarchy of priorities” that depended solely on her personal feelings. If she became the Grand Duke, her governance would be blatantly nepotistic, making decisions based solely on favoritism.
The seniors wouldn’t mind it. Perhaps, Maria would also have a good relationship with them. She wouldn’t drag them down. But she certainly brought in a bunch of incompetent, yet likable fools to sit in high-ranking positions.
It was undoubtedly a blessing to have Annan, a smart person, to inherit the Austere-Winter Dukedom.
Although Annan was not as gentle as Ivan… nor was he able to make friends with everyone like Ivan. His approach was undoubtedly much tougher than Ivan’s.
But now, Noah was also undergoing a change of kings, and the ruler of the United Kingdom was reportedly nearing his end… The world was about to enter a “new generation.”
Being tough during this time might not be a bad thing.
“So, do you have any thoughts on a decree that can attract their attention?”
Zoya asked in a low voice.
“Show me the spy list first.” Annan replied, “Those we sent to other countries, and the spies of other countries sent to us too.”
Annan wanted to check on this for a long time.
Even as the first heir, Annan did not have the power to get a hold of this information. Because this was the authority that originally belonged to the “middle finger of the right hand” but now belonged to the Grand Duke. Even the Grand Duke’s wife, children, or parents had no access to it.
Soon, a Winter’s Hand handed over a thick stack of documents.
…There are many surprises.
Although the “right hand” representing offense in the Winter’s Hands was almost crippled, thanks to the diligent maintenance of that “right thumb”, it hadn’t been completely destroyed.
Annan skimmed through it — the intelligence personnel installed in the Noah Kingdom was the least, followed by the Papal Kingdom. Austere-Winter, on the other hand, buried at least 30 spies in the United Kingdom, which had no common borders at all… It was unrelated to the chaotic situation in the United Kingdom.
But most spies were dispatched to the underground world.
There were more than ten official members of the Winter’s Hand alone there — including peripheral members, those who hadn’t even made it into the Winter’s Hand, temporary members, and spies infiltrated into the underworld. There were a total of 160 people. Most of them existed in the form of illegal arms and mercenaries, but three had become “Diggers”.
Annan checked carefully but could not find the name “the Winter Insurgent”.
…What happened?
This made Annan frown slightly.
It was slightly different from what he initially thought.
However, when Annan looked for the three highest-ranking spies, he had some unexpected gains.
“This person is…” Annan was stunned.
Annan actually knew one of the top three spies.
He was immediately thankful… Fortunately, when he was investigating the Fallen, he didn’t activate this spy.
Because the spy who penetrated the deepest underground world of Austere-Winter Dukedom was none other than the Overseer of Sporeggar Mill.
—Nieusel.
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