That's pure hostility.

Doreen was sure of it.

This is also one of the survival skills of country werewolves.

In order to prevent yourself from inadvertently provoking someone you can't provoke, or to prevent someone from being attacked coldly when you are walking in a small alley. Werewolves are very sensitive to the hostility of others-

The moment she sensed the danger, the whole world in front of Doreen turned a dim yellow in an instant.

The speed of the flow of time slows down dramatically, and everything that stands still becomes blurred...... Everything that was still moving in front of me became unusually clear and bright.

This ability to predict danger is also one of the racial characteristics of werewolves.

…… But there is also a case.

It's like now.

Even though she sensed the crisis, nothing appeared in front of Doreen. In her field of vision, nothing seemed to be moving except the wind blowing the curtains.

Doreen peeked to the sides.

It stands to reason that she can't see anything if she's not a transcendent person.

She felt that she was being watched by many people, and she was aware of strong hostility and even killing intent, but she couldn't find out where they were.

"Doreen?"

Annan urged again.

“…… Be. ”

Doreen replied with a little trembling, and her vertical pupils shortened and returned to round pupils again, while she swallowed hard.

Against the cold gaze behind her, she slowly pushed the door open.

The first thing that caught my eye was not Annan.

It was a middle-aged man with many dark purple lines on his skin, thin cheeks, and deep eyes.

He has short, gray-white hair that is meticulously combed backwards. His hair became very thin, just like his own. He didn't seem to be in good shape, sitting in a chair and holding a scepter that was divided into silver, black, and dark blue, and held the ground like a sharp claw.

His pupils were ice blue like Annan's right eye. His face is roughly seventy percent similar to that of Annan.

But his pupils are even lighter than Annan's eyes...... It's not so much ice as egg whites. It's faintly yellowish, which accentuates the sense of transparency.

…… Is this the Grand Duke of Winter?

Doreen realized his identity in an instant.

It was none other than the legendary Ivan Rindon.

"You're Doreen."

Ivan's voice was calm, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly.

It is different from the chill that Annan gives people - if Annan is a translucent ice surface, it gives people a sense of calm and dangerous. Then Ivan is like a thick layer of snow on top of this icy lake.

All the sense of danger is hidden under the deep snow.

But at the same time, Ivan gives people a wonderful sense of distance and awe.

It's like ......

Under the snow, there were many corpses.

“…… Yes, Your Majesty. ”

Doreen's originally anxious and frightened mood quickly calmed down under Ivan's gaze.

She nodded, knelt on the ground, bowed her head and whispered, "My name is Doreen Angel." ”

"Hmm."

Grand Duke Winter replied softly and nodded slightly.

He suddenly asked, "Do you know Bella?" She is also a werewolf. ”

“…… I don't know. ”

Doreen thought for a moment and shook her head.

"I see."

Ivan sighed softly and waved his hand, "Sit down, kid." ”

"—please be seated."

A female voice identical to that of Annan when she first entered the door sounded behind Doreen.

But she didn't frighten Fur this time - perhaps because her emotions were already tense to the limit, and this surprise attack was expected.

She looked back, and this time saw the owner of the voice.

It was an adult woman who looked to be in her early thirties, with hair the exact same color as the dark blue of the Grand Duke's scepter.

On the ring finger of her left hand, she wears a transparent ring that constantly exudes cold. It's like it's carved out of ice.

…… Is this the upper echelons of the Winter Hand?

Doreen's heart tightened.

She had heard her teacher say before that the duties of the ten high-ranking officials of the Winter Hand.

The ring finger of the left hand is directly responsible for all the internal affairs of the Grand Duke, including eating, intercourse, travel, and dressing. The status is roughly equivalent to that of the "unwielded duke" of the United Kingdom, that is, the personal eunuch of King Denisoa, and the status of the court is quite high.

Undoubtedly, this is also a big shot.

When Doreen got up, she hurriedly saluted her respectfully.

This made the "ring finger" stunned for a moment, and then the corners of his mouth were slightly raised, and his gaze seemed to become a little gentler.

Her left hand rested on Doreen's shoulder, and her right hand silently gestured to the chair in the corner of the room.

Although the life of the Grand Duke of Winter is simple, it is not dilapidated. It is said to be a chair, but in fact, it is also a soft and cold sofa made of frost animal fur.

On a hot summer day, just nesting in it can cool your whole body. But it's not too hot this season...... Fortunately, werewolves are not very afraid of the cold.

Doreen curled up in her chair and looked around the room habitually.

She soon noticed two portraits of women hanging from the head of the bed.

A delicate-looking, gentle-smiling black-haired girl, her hair was braided in front of her left shoulder and at the front.

The other, on the other hand, was almost exactly the same as Annan - she had beautiful long silver hair, which was fastened with a headband. And her expression is even colder than Annan's, and her temperament is also very cold, giving people a sense of nobility.

This should be Annan's biological mother, right?

Speaking of which, it seems that both generations of the wives of Grand Duke Ivan have died.

…… They all married the Grand Duke of their own free will.

Doreen pursed her lips.

Because Grand Duke Ivan was not a transcendent, but his talent was terrifying...... This resulted in each of his partners not living long. Just like himself.

Of course, there are not a few nobles who have coveted the bloodline of the Winter clan for a long time.

However, not all of them can go through the test of an old grandmother.

The old grandmother is also the god of tradition.

She doesn't care if they love each other or not...... If love is best, but if it is not free love, then at least the consent of the person concerned must be obtained – both men and women.

Because forced marriage is a seed of instability. It may mean that the proximity of one party to the other will lead to the convergence and separation of power after the birth of the offspring, and after the death of both parties, this complex lineage can lead to "instability".

And instability is the biggest impact on tradition.

As a result, large-scale marriages are rare in the Duchy of Winter - nobles are more concerned about each other's health and abilities. Because this will affect the offspring, and then directly affect the inheritance of the family.

And even more so with Grand Duke Ivan.

His first wife was just a commoner. Not transcendental, not ceremonial masters, just ordinary Old Grandmother believers.

And she also knew at the time that Grand Duke Ivan had a cursed physique. But she was still willing to marry Ivan.

- Not willing to marry the Grand Duke, but to Ivan.

But true love doesn't change reality.

After she gave birth to two children, she fell ill and died.

And the second child of the Grand Duke died before he could get the name.

If the principality has only one heir, "Dmitry", it cannot be considered stable. And if there are no female heirs, who can inherit the Tower of Storm?

Not to mention, Dmitry's talent can only be considered average at best. He worked very hard, but he wasn't smart enough, not strong enough, not even extraordinary.

At this time, a noble girl went directly to the Grand Duke's Mansion and bluntly said that she wanted to marry the Grand Duke.

She had no affection for Grand Duke Ivan, and had never even met Ivan before.

But through the divine examination, she is not greedy for glory and wealth, and she does not care about status. She really wanted to marry the Grand Duke...... And not to marry Ivan.

Her purpose was pure and simple, but it was difficult for Ivan at the time to accept.

- Yes.

Just for the Duchy of Winter.

When they first met, she said that Dmitry's ability could not inherit the Duchy of Winter - with the tense situation of the Duchy at the time, if Dmitry inherited the Duchy, his ability would not be able to suppress all the nobles, and would only cause internal strife and division in the Duchy.

"—It is the nobles who fight, the commoners who die and wound, and the winter that destroys."

She said.

Therefore, before the Grand Duke dies, he must be used to "make" a stronger heir for the Duchy of Winter; At the same time, in order to let his future daughter continue the mission of endless storms.

The Daughter of the Storm at the time was Ivan's aunt. She is already very old, and she is also the only female bloodline with the "Heart of Winter". Preventing the Tower of Storms from being powerless, the only way to do so is to seek out the Son of God from the Church - and this means a transfer of power.

Ivan was initially very resistant to this kind of marriage. He refused three times, and he didn't even have a good impression of the powerful girl.

But later, he was impressed by the other party's wisdom, vision and heart.

- If the other party has the blood of winter, he will definitely become a better Grand Duke than himself.

Ivan realized this.

And they soon became friends - not lovers, but friends of the opposite sex who could entrust everything, talk freely about the world and politics. This also became a good story at the time.

Many of the most effective and long-lasting policies of Grand Duke Ivan came from his second wife.

In the end, they got married.

This was Ivan's second and last wife.

A total of four children were born, two of whom survived the curse of Winterheart. In the end, she, as a powerful ceremonist, could not withstand Ivan's growing strength of frost, and like Dmitry's mother, she died of illness in the bed.

Doreen remembers that this heroic woman was born into the Rasputin family.

She seems to be called ......

Anya Rasputin.