[Dmitry Winter was a man who never feared to "give"]
[He even craved self-sacrifice—since he was very young, he fantasized about so disaster striking from the heavens that only he had the power to resolve, but in the process of defending Winter and protecting his family, he would nobly Sacrifice...]
[From the ti Dmitry was a child, he vowed to give his entire life for the sake of all beings]
[Such dreams, however, he hadn’t had for a very long ti]
[On one hand, this was because he gradually realized that the talents of his brothers and sisters far surpassed his own, making it unlikely there would be opportunities for his heroism; on the other hand, it was because his value lay in the fact of "being" or rather "surviving" itself]
[Though Dmitry himself was reluctant to admit it, his life indeed had transcendent value]
[His self-deprecating hard work and challenges to himself, perhaps they were born out of this enlightennt—a struggle with himself because he didn’t want to admit that his life was more valuable than others, so he needed to help as many people as possible within his limited lifeti]
[On top of this... if at all possible, it would be best to prioritize helping those closest to him, those he cared for]
[——Until now]
[His younger brother, Annan Winter, presented a dangerous suggestion: for Dmitry to use his royal blood to invoke the god of eternal life and childless beings, Rotfuchs, and to bet with Him according to the rules of the Thousand-Faced Phantom Tower]
[If Dmitry could win, then Rotfuchs would have to grant his father, Ivan III, the greatest of the Winter Dukes, the power of immortality. With this, the people of Winter would gain a monarch of eternal majesty, half dragon and half man]
[Indeed, gods do not allow kings any form of eternal life, to ensure the normal succession of dynasties. But in the realm of Rotfuchs, "eternals" are only temporary... once all the eternals are gathered, Rotfuchs needs to kill them in turn to reclaim the dominion of immortality]
[But given Rotfuchs’s abilities, Annan judged—it would take him another two hundred years to complete this ritual]
[This ant that they could at least extend Ivan’s life by two hundred years, two hundred years of health, strength, and vigor, signifying the resurgence of the Winter Dukedom]
[And if they lost the bet, they would rely lose the ability of "inheriting royal blood"—that is, the ability to procreate in any form]
[In any other nation, Dmitry might suspect his brother’s motives. But for Dmitry, this was actually good news... because his lover was a werewolf]
[Male werewolves beco extrely aggressive when injured, drunk, or seeking the opposite sex, and female werewolves during pregnancy and when raising their young, which is why male werewolves are often not allowed into cities, and childless female werewolves can live normally in cities before pregnancy]
[There is no reproductive barrier between humans and werewolves. This ans that once his lover Bella becos pregnant... she will be forced to leave Frost Speech Province, and even lose her status as Hand of Winter. Even if she carries the child of Winter, she will at least be imprisoned until the child reaches adolescence before they can relax their vigilance]
[Otherwise, the news of "Dmitry Winter’s wife attacking and killing civilians" would beco the blade with which the border nobles strike at Winter]
[But if he were to lose his reproductive ability, then there would be no need for concern]
[Win or lose, it was all good for him]
[However, this fact couldn’t be told to Bella—she had always wanted to leave a child of her own, even though she knew that by doing so, she would be expelled from Frost Speech Province, lose her status as Hand of Winter, and might never see each other again... even be induced under malicious guidance to commit the heinous cri of murder]
[She was fully aware of how base the nobles’ sches could be, willing to use any ans to provoke her into murder, yet she still wanted to give Dmitry a child...]
[But it was aningless. Dmitry knew in his heart that the one to inherit the title of duke would likely be his introverted and intelligent brother, the continuation of his bloodline had no value... unless a girl was born]
[——After much hesitation, Dmitry still didn’t reveal the truth of the matter to Bella]
Xiang Shi raised her eyebrows.
...Sohow, this plot introduction doesn’t seem quite right.
The more Dmitry emphasized "it doesn’t matter if I have children" and listed various reasons to prove "I don’t care," the more Xiang Shi, as an "observer," felt that Dmitry really cared about this.
Or rather, what he cared about was "a child with Bella."
But werewolves are a discriminated group—they occasionally go insane, and aside from being physically more robust, there seems to be no advantage at present... even kind of slow-witted.
Oh right, werewolves are not targeted by the Frost Beast first, hence they can coordinate attacks with the Frost Beast.
...However, in this era, it seems that this fact is not yet known.
"However, Dmitry’s concerns are correct,"
Xiang Shi thought.
If Bella really beca pregnant, the conspiracies that could be spun from her situation would be all too nurous... Inducing Bella to commit murder could serve as a leverage to control Dmitry, strike at Winter’s political power, and even reduce the stability of the entire Winter Dukedom.
And Bella’s child could be used to fuel dostic rivalry with the werewolf groups, to stigmatize and diminish the prestige of the entire Winter family, as well as to make claims through raising it, or stealing it.
Even as a re P company player, he could co up with so many thods. It’s likely that the Winter nobles could think of even more sinister conspiracies.
From this point of view, as a mber of a top ruling family like the Winter family, distancing themselves from Bella would actually be the more prudent, more rational action.
Since Dmitry did not do so.
Perhaps they were truly in love...
But imdiately, a question arose in Thirteen Spice’s mind.
...If that was the case.
Why was there no werewolf woman nad "Bella" by Dmitry’s side?
He had seen Dmitry twice now, but the man slled of smoke and alcohol, had ssy hair, and dressed very casually. He looked more like a single, thirty-sothing old dog than soone with a girlfriend.
Where’s your cute darling?
He had only heard that the Rotten could curse people into sterility, but he hadn’t heard that they went as far as to physically castrate them, right?
Thirteen Spice thought this to himself.
He had already entered the underground of the pub.
And there was little Annan, solemnly standing in the very center of a complex ritual array, focused on presiding over the ritual....Of course.
Even though "Annan" played the part very convincingly, reciting the secret knowledge fluently as if he had a teleprompter before him,
just from his wandering, seemingly luminous eyes, and the way he couldn’t help but look around at those present...
In this cat-like young boy’s body, there was likely a dog-like heart.
——Most likely, Husky was playing the part of "Annan".
And just then.
The main quest finally appeared before his eyes.
[Main Quest: Do Not Speak the Truth]
[Do not let Bella know the full extent of the plan]
[Win at least two rounds in the bets against the Rotten]
[Annan Winter must not die]
...Strange?
This main quest exuded a strange scent... It was supposed to be an intelligence battle against the Rotten, yet "winning bets against the Rotten" was only the second side quest.
Side quests are usually part of the main quest, but they can be left incomplete if there is a conflict.That ant, even if he didn’t win... he could still complete this nightmare.
Thus, another confusion, logically, arose in Thirteen Spice’s mind.
Speaking of which, where’s Ah Dian?
Whom was she playing? Bella?
Suddenly, like a bolt of lightning——inspiration surged through Thirteen Spice’s mind.
He suddenly rembered sothing... even though Annan hadn’t explained where the "key" to enter this nightmare had co from. But it was clearly shaped like a wolf’s paw.
Perhaps its owner was... Bella.
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