In the image of the Grand Duke of Annan, overlapping with Vladimir at the moment.

Celicia could smell death clearly.

- She was very clearly aware.

What if she really said the same answer as she did when she answered Vladimir...... It was as if he was asking "Grand Duke?" What Grand Duke? The answer is that she is really going to die.

Maybe it's a decent glass of poisoned wine, or maybe it's a public execution.

Now she is no longer the innocent teenager she was back then.

Annan was serious.

She knew that the young new Grand Duke would not be able to forgive a man who had committed the sin of rebellion and was still unwilling to do so.

Then, a new thought came to mind.

…… I don't want to die yet.

That's all there was to the "Thoronik" of the year.

At that time, Solonic really wanted to give everything for his teacher from the bottom of his heart. After becoming Celicia, her first reaction was "I can help the teacher more".

But now, she has met a new partner.

She traveled to many places she had never been to before, and she saw the lives of others as well as her own.

She had a companion with whom she could travel, and someone who loved her. She had already laughed heartily and had interesting anecdotes to tell after drinking......

Is she still loyal to Vladimir?

- That's nature.

But can she still give her life for him without hesitation, as she did in the past?

…… Not necessarily.

She wanted to live.

So, she threw in the towel.

"A good reply. A good start. ”

Annan smiled, slowly clenched the three-color scepter, and slowly parted his fingers one by one.

Apparently weaker than Celisia's, the young Grand Duke was just a wizard...... But he exudes a strong sense of oppression that is difficult to look at.

"One thing must be clear - Vladimir has abandoned you."

Annan said calmly.

"It's not—"

Celicia subconsciously wanted to refute, but her words suddenly froze.

It occurred to her that after she became Celicia, she had never seen her teacher again. There was no communication between them, and the only thing that was certain was that the teacher and her confirmed each other's survival......

…… Could it be that the teacher already knew that I would betray him now?

She thought sadly.

Celicia clenched her teacup tightly, not caring about the heat.

Rather, this hot teacup can give her a masochistic sense of self-punishment, but it can make her heart more firm.

"What I want to ask is. How Vladimir betrayed me back then. ”

Annan said slowly: "I'm talking about all of them. ”

“…… All of them? ”

Celicia was stunned for a moment, and said slowly: "Just as you expected back then, there is nothing to say. The teacher used Dmitry's bodily fluids to cultivate bloodline seeds using the ritual of the cup-bearer, and used the results of cultivation to create a spell that could control the frost beast. ”

"That's not what I mean."

Annan asked calmly: "What I said is - why did he betray me back then?" What is his purpose? ”

“…… He wanted to leave the Duchy of Winter. ”

Celicia glanced at Zoya, hesitated for a moment and gritted her teeth and replied, "This is a deal." He exposed all of Winter's potential enemies and crushed them in one fell swoop......

"For example, the local aristocracy, for example, the Far Northern Brotherhood...... Say, the Winter Hand.

"'His Highness Annan's greatest enemy is the Hand of Winter itself. Grand Duke Ivan did not even have the right to appoint and dismiss soldiers, nor did the eunuchs of the United Kingdom be so outrageous...... He's basically working for the Winter Hand. That's what the teacher said to me. ”

Zhuoya didn't say a word, closed her eyes and didn't say a word.

This is indeed true.

She also knew, so she didn't get angry.

The Hand of Winter has always been the highest secret service directly under the Grand Duke of Winter, and with the gradual decentralization of power from generation to generation, the scope of the privileges of the Hand of Winter has gradually increased.

For the Rindong family, which has a high mortality rate, this mode of governance minimizes the negative impact of the death of the ruler, and the Rindong family is usually not good at politics...... It is not easy for them to live in peace and stability, without being assassinated, committing suicide, or going crazy.

And the more you want to be a good duke, the more bad things you will encounter, and the faster you will die. In the end, every generation of grand dukes cannot become "good grand dukes".

But the Hands of Winter aren't complete machines either—they're not as terrifying as the outside world suggests. Their relationship is not completely severed, it is just thin. Naturally, they also have selfishness and desires...... Even the eunuchs know pleasures, let alone the hands of winter?

The two fathers and sons, Ivan and Annan, were special cases of the Grand Dukes of the past dynasties.

Even if the Grand Duke of the past few times...... "Ivan" is definitely the most virtuous one. His talent as a ruler is unrivaled in the world, and while he is only a mascot, he can subdue many courtiers and nobles, eliminate disputes within the principality, and gradually sort out the messy political situation.

But the hand of winter is not happy.

As Ivan gradually tries to reclaim his power, the upper echelons of the Winter Hand gradually have their own ideas.

They naturally had to be loyal to the Grand Duke and obey his orders.

But that doesn't mean they can't work for their own good.

- This is the truth that Vladimir was able to rebel with a wave of Winter Hands.

He specifically singled out all the "disloyal" Winter Hands, leaving behind naturally the available people.

But it directly lacks the winter hand of ordinary people, and its strength has dropped sharply and its power has shrunk on a large scale. They had to start relying on Annan before they had no choice but to follow the young duke around...... Otherwise, there is a high probability that Annan will be safely placed as a mascot in the Grand Duke's Mansion by them, and they will act as the state government outside.

Zhuoya is not a stupid person, and has long figured out the truth of the "betrayal" back then.

His Highness Annan has been particularly adept at this kind of tactic, which he calls "fishing", and his enemies have always taken the bait. This was the case with the former frontier nobles, and so it was with the Winter Hand...... The same is true of the Far North Brotherhood today.

"—that's not the whole story."

But in the face of such an answer, Annan shook his head instead.

His words pierced Celicia's chest like a sharp sword: "I want to ask, what is Vladimir wanting to leave Winter for?"

"Don't try to fool around. I know...... You know the answer to this question. ”

Annan stared at Celicia: "I trust you, Celicia. I have also decided to forgive you for your past sins. But this question, if you deceive me, it is tantamount to betraying my trust in you. ”

…… Just like that day.

The young son who penetrates people's hearts stares at him like a demon king.

But he was still his direct subordinate that day, and now he is a captive on the other side of the table.

“…… I do not know. ”

Celicia was silent for a moment, then replied in a low voice, "I really don't know. The teacher was very fast and in a hurry, so I could only take those defected Winter Hands to form an icebreaker army and survive in the wilderness......"

In fact, she does know the answer.

Using Dmitry's blood to study the Frostbeast was a deal between Vladimir and Professor Wolf; Leading the Winter Hand to rebel to form an icebreaker army and deceive the support of those local nobles was a deal between Vladimir and Annan...... The second half of the plan is to develop forces underground, and to surrender to Annan, who is in power, in the future, so as to erase his past guilt.

But Selicia knew that Vladimir had his own plans.

But this answer alone cannot be said -

Of all the secrets, this is the only one that cannot be told to others.

What if she said this...... It's really a betrayal of the teacher.

She also thought about making up an answer, but she was worried that with her IQ, most of the lies she made up would not be able to deceive Annan......

So, just answer "I don't know".

She's a fool in the first place, and it's normal not to know......

"—you're lying."

However, this lie did not survive even a round before it was recognized by Annan.

That's natural.

Annan, of course, did not know what Vladimir was doing when he went underground.

It's just his usual trick. Deliberately brought up a frivolity that is difficult to judge and difficult to know, using this bluff to force her to spit out something to prove her sincerity and show that she really doesn't know about the issue.

…… That's how he planned it.

But at the moment when Celicia said "I don't know".

Her body was suddenly covered in red light.

- That's the light that belongs to the "betrayer".

So you really know?

At that moment, Annan was also stunned for a moment.

He suddenly understood the new use of the [Angel's Left Eye] spell......