——If there is bla, it can only be placed on the divine intelligence awakening too early in the child of the cup.
Long before they were born, they possessed consciousness. Before they could even bask in the world’s "love" in their innocence, they were already subrged in the blood of human desire, understanding greed, understanding hatred, understanding the purpose of their own birth.
"The child of the cup is not a continuation of life at all—it’s rely a replication of life. Anyone who sees their own child of the cup instinctively feels revulsion, for this infant, identical to themselves, is the proof of their life’s failure..."
"A creation of man, capable of understanding human love? What a joke... Having never felt love from the mont of birth, how could it learn to love others?"
Annan recited the final words of Henry the Eighth.
In his eyes were pity and tranquility.
"Of course he understood love. To be able to offer such words is proof enough that ’a creation of man can understand human love’... But precisely because of this, he lanted his own aningless existence.
"No one ever expected anything of him; the royal household was a place of indifference. For a man-made being who sought ’love’ and ’need,’ he was dood never to find what he sought.
"Even if he, as a king, did his best... his most trusted ministers, his offspring, and relatives were only calmly counting the days, waiting for him to die on schedule."
When a person’s fate is sealed before their birth, their life has already lost all of its possibilities.
It was by looking at Henry the Eighth as a mirror that Annan realized with utmost clarity... just how fortunate his own circumstances were.
Similarly born of an unusual origin, similarly expected by the masses, similarly bearing a heavy mission that covered his entire life from birth... yet Annan was trusted and loved by the people. He had friends by his side, siblings in front of him, gods behind him, as well as the hands of Winter and the Players at his disposal.
Compared to Henry the Eighth, he was truly fortunate.
One can discern gains and losses through others as mirrors.
Henry the Eighth was like "a failed Annan," who, with his death and aningless life, told Annan all too clearly... what he could beco if he chose to fall.
Just then.
Dmitry suddenly walked over.
Making a fist with his right hand, he gently knocked on the area of his heart, bowing his head as he gazed at Annan, "Grandmother loves you, and I love you too.
"Don’t worry, Annan... we are different from them."
In Winter, there was no need for scheming and plotting like Noah—simply surviving to adulthood was hard enough.
"If it weren’t for you, Annan. Perhaps I would have already died."
Dmitry sighed deeply, saying earnestly, "Don’t overthink it, you and he are completely different people."
...Huh?
That comnt made Annan pause for a mont.
He had no recollection of Dmitry saying such a thing to him before.
It was then Maria who interjected, "Since we’ve decided to send you on a mission to Noah, it now becos a diplomatic visit. Naturally, Annan should carry the tri-color scepter... It makes perfect sense.
"Ivan is physically weak and cannot go out on visits. You, as the new Duke, filling in for him is a fine choice... It’s also an opportunity to avoid the lilight. At the very least, it’ll help dodge those who co begging for rcy on behalf of their factions from Zorgen when the northern forces are being eradicated.
"But the three of us cannot leave at the sa ti."
"...We can’t leave at the sa ti, can we."
As soon as Maria finished speaking, Dmitry nodded and volunteered, "In that case, I will..."
"——Stay and watch the house."
Maria interrupted without rcy.
"Why!"
Dmitry protested by slapping the table.
"Because you’re the weakest."
Annan explained softly.
"Hey, hey, hey! You little rascal..."
"Annan is right."
Maria imdiately interjected, "Besides the Frost Sword Technique, the only thing you can use is our grandmother’s Divine Arts, my dear Archbishop. You can only unleash your power when you are on the land of Winter, where you have the right to claim authority... Once you leave Winter, you will beco far too vulnerable."
"We will not bring too many Hands of Winter this ti, as we need to leave so behind to suppress the North. Therefore, we might lack the manpower to protect you."
The right to claim authority is also one of the traditional powers, the so-called rightfulness and propriety.
To use the grandmother’s Divine Arts, one must follow a certain tradition. In other words, the user of the Divine Arts must hold a status.
The Winter family can use Divine Arts anywhere in Winter, as Winter inherently belongs to them—conversely, in other countries, they can only use Divine Arts within their own residences. This is because the houses they’ve purchased are also their private property.
For other priests, it is slightly more troubleso. They either use Divine Arts in their temples or they must abide by certain traditions... or to put it simply, "rules".
For example, one can use Divine Arts once a day in December; or one can use Divine Arts once after completing a full worship ritual to the grandmother each day; or, as an elder, they can use Divine Arts once in retaliation if attacked by the young; also, as a mber of the clergy, one gets a chance to retaliate if attacked by a civilian; or when executing a death row inmate—as long as the cri committed is severe enough to warrant the death penalty, without necessarily being a wanted criminal, Divine Arts can be used, and so on. These opportunities are cumulative, but fleeting.
If, as an elderly mber of the clergy, one finishes worship in December and is then attacked by an ard youngster who has committed murder—he can use Divine Arts up to five tis in retaliation. However, if the Divine Arts attack affects others, it will preferentially exhaust the two instances of "high priority".
The grandmother’s rules are plenty and generally of this style. There are strict regulations on every situation that allows the use of Divine Arts and the level of access that each use can reach.
Even if a mber of the clergy commits a fault... such as engaging in misconduct while married, accepting bribes from others, beating an elderly without children, mocking the disabled, or causing unjust harm and killing others, then depending on the severity of the situation, a certain amount of Divine Arts will be deducted.
These temporary asures cannot be added back—only when there is a punishnt reaching the level of "-1", and the enemy’s cri is extrely grave, with five or six permissions of Divine Arts gained, then can a temporary recovery occur. And after the battle ends, the "debt" will be deducted again.
To recover, one must either do good deeds or "sign in" daily.
Without permission to use Divine Arts, it essentially equates to having a disabled mber of the clergy. If a grandmother’s priest fails to use Divine Arts in public, he will be ridiculed—it implies that he surely has committed so misconduct in secret.
The bishops also undergo assessnts, displaying their Divine Arts permissions at the monthly etings to prove themselves; anwhile, in each diocese, bishops randomly check the Divine Arts of the clergy. If soone is found unable to use Divine Arts twice in a row, they will be exiled and automatically enter the Hands of Winter’s investigative procedure.
If cris are discovered, they may even be executed publicly as punishnt for the clergy.
This stringent discipline review is why the grandmother’s priests always maintain a low profile and act cautiously.
After all, in Winter where everyone has the potential to starve, the position of a priest—well-fed, well-dressed, with decent pay and not exhausting work—is a highly sought-after occupation. The priests’ main responsibilities lie in the legal aspects (including execution, family diation, or legal consulting), and since the grandmother’s priests do not possess healing abilities, they do not live among the people.
"Although what you say makes sense, I must correct one point. I am no longer a bishop."
Dmitry spoke calmly and proudly, "Although it has not been announced yet, I have beco a cardinal... It will be made public on the first day of December this year."
"...What rit did you earn this ti?"
Maria asked curiously.
"I identified three conflicts in the Dragon Code and provided new reasonable interpretations to several difficult ethical questions, updating four obsolete laws and traditions of Winter on behalf of the Winter family. Of course, the most important are my record of zero punishnts and the rit of having spent over a year focusing on replenishing the Frost Beast troops with fresh blood."
The corners of Dmitry’s mouth betrayed an uncontrollable smile.
Maria glared at him, "Take care of your health!
"Taming Frost Beasts requires blood—"
"Of course, I know."
Dmitry cut Maria off.
He pursed his lips and said softly, "But with my abilities, this is the kind of hard work I can do. After all, the blood of both you and Annan is far too precious.
"I’ll watch over the ho, Maria. But rember to bring Uncle Victor and Aunt Zoya... Noah is a den of sin, filled with people harboring hidden agendas."
Dmitry sighed and pulled out a cigar from his chest pocket.
This ti Maria did not interrupt him, but he did not start smoking either.
He just held the cigar in his mouth, unlit, and spoke sowhat hazily, "Those people from Noah, they may not be good at many things, but they sure are skilled at scheming. Unlike those fools in the North... the further south, the more cunning they beco, probably because their brains aren’t frozen solid.
"Given that, I will stay put this month. If those idiots from the North dare to cause trouble, I’ll chop off their heads and feed them to the pigs as my last contribution to society."
He glanced at Annan, "Your Grace, you will grant this authority, won’t you?"
Dmitry subtly indicated that he was willing to take the bla for Annan for the "slaughter of nobles," using this thod to further maintain the stability of Annan’s rule.
"Of course."
Annan fell silent for a mont, responding softly.
——And Annan accepted his kind gesture.
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