Dmitri stood in front of the Grand Duke's palace and took a deep breath.
Pale white breath is scattered in the air...
He didn't expect...
Less than a week after he left Frostwhisper Province, his father had already turned into a dragon. It could even be said that something happened to Grand Duke Ivan as soon as he left Frostwhisper Province.
He was not able to see his father for the last time as a human being, nor was he able to participate in Annan's enthronement ceremony.
Emotionally speaking, he wanted very much to go back, kick out all the visiting ministers, and get Annan drunk...but his rationality told him that this made no sense.
This will only cause more trouble.
He was once the eldest son of the king of a country, and now he is the elder brother of the new grand duke.
As Dmitry, any abnormal behavior on his part will lead to over-interpretation by others. All he can do now is to try to maintain the stability of all parties in the winter and maintain the rule of Annan... After all, this is what they did eight years ago.
The path has already been determined.
Even Dmitri thought that maybe it wasn't that Ivan turned into a dragon right after he left... but that Ivan deliberately sent him away because he knew he was about to turn into a dragon.
It has nothing to do with Dmitri's own wishes.
Most people don't know that Dmitri has lost his ability to have children.
If Dmitri and Annan were in Frostwhisper at the same time when Grand Duke Ivan turned into a dragon, then Dmitri, who also had the same claim, was older, and had been in contact with government affairs for a longer time, even if he did not seize the authority of the Grand Duke himself
According to the wishes of the nobles, some nobles will spontaneously form the "Demetrius faction".
In this way, after Annan succeeds to the throne, he will encounter some trivial troubles on the political level. Although in terms of his personal ability, this trouble will not cause actual obstacles.
Although the core power of the Principality of Winter is in the hands of the "Ten Fingers"... However, even this trivial trouble was still eliminated by Grand Duke Ivan.
He is such a conservative and steady ruler, as solemn and steady as the endless glaciers in the north in winter. It is precisely because of this that he can still maintain the stability of the Principality of Winter in the winter.
"Come on, Dmitri."
A cold voice sounded behind him.
The short girl in white robe said: "Don't stand there stupidly at the door, you are blocking my way."
That is his biological sister Maria.
You can tell just from the tone of voice that this is indeed a kiss...
"I was just thinking about my father."
Dmitri whispered.
He subconsciously wanted to touch the cigar on his chest, but Maria gave him a gentle push from behind.
So he coughed lightly and put his hand back into his pants pocket without leaving a trace.
He was still wearing the dark gray frost animal skin coat, and he still looked like he was not well dressed. The cuffs were not worn, but were floating behind him like a long cloak. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to his elbows.
His hands were stuffed into his trouser pockets, and there were quite obvious bulging veins on his exposed forearms.
If Ivan saw him dressed like this, he would definitely teach him a lesson. He would ask him to put his clothes on properly and roll down his sleeves.
"What, do you want to hit someone?" He was admonished like this.
If someone smells like cigarettes or alcohol, they will be scolded again.
"My father is not dead."
Maria said coldly: "He has turned into a dragon and is guarding us from another world, guarding the winter."
"Ah, I know that too."
Dmitri murmured: "It's like the old saying, 'There is no funeral in winter.'"
"'When a person dies, he will be buried in the ground. Don't be too sad.' My father said."
Maria followed him and whispered.
This is a unique tradition in winter.
Because the natural environment in winter is harsh and resources are tight, people often do not have the habit of extravagant and complicated rituals.
They had no feasts to celebrate births, nor feasts to commemorate the dead.
Newborns are often not sure they will survive, so they can't even get their own names. Generally, they don't get their official names until they can feed themselves and run around alive.
The same goes for the dead... People in the winter don't miss the dead much.
This is not because they are indifferent? It is because too many people die too quickly...and too urgently.
If you can't escape from sadness for a long time? Then sadness will come one after another until the person is completely buried.
Generally speaking, if someone dies in a family, they will find a sunny day and bury the body quietly under a certain tree. For those who are a little more particular, they will also erect a monument? Wait until next spring to send a bouquet.
Flowers indicate that everything is fine...at least you still have the time and mood to send a bouquet of flowers.
They must be strong. Even in a declining town with a population of less than four digits, walking on deserted streets, they must be able to live their lives calmly and steadily.
Or? Leave the Principality of Winter.
In the Principality of Winter, the most solemn ceremony is the wedding.
Because in this difficult living environment, it is easier for two people to survive than alone... Only for weddings, the grandmother's pastor must be invited as a witness.
In addition, the Principality of Winter does not even celebrate the New Year. Because the New Year is in January every year. In December? After a whole month of heavy snowfall... wait until January of the next year, it will be the time for the Bone Burial Granny.
The end of the month is often the day when most people die in winter.
Many old people cannot bear the cold winter and die of various diseases. For the Principality of Winter, the New Year is not a day worth celebrating.
Compared with the New Year, the birthday of the contemporary Grand Duke may be more commemorative.
After Dmitry and Maria entered the house, they saw no one in the living room and went straight to the second floor. That was the room that originally belonged to Grand Duke Ivan? Now it has become Annan's room.
The moment he entered the room, Dmitri was in a trance for a moment.
Because the decoration of the room has changed a little...the two paintings hanging above the double bed have disappeared. Instead, Ivan's portrait has been hung at the end of the bed.
There are still no jewelry decorations in the room? However, a few paintings painted by Paper Princess are still hanging in the same place. There are still documents on the desk, in addition to a few occult books.
In Demetri's eyes, his former young brother, who was young and in need of care, was wearing a strangely asymmetrical dress, revealing his left shoulder with a strange curse pattern, and in his right hand he was holding a three-legged sword that symbolized the authority of the Principality of Winter.
He stood in front of the window, looking at the people coming and going outside the Grand Duke's palace.
The moment Annan heard the sound of opening the door and turned around.
This young man, who is only fifteen years old, overlaps with his father, Ivan Lendong.
"Annan...Your Majesty."
The moment Dmitry spoke, he paused because when he blurted out, he realized that he didn't know whether it would be more appropriate to call him Annan, or call him His Majesty Annan, or Grand Duke Annan, or simply call him His Majesty directly.
Maria, on the other hand, did not hesitate at all.
"Annan!"
She took off her hood and called out without hesitation.
A simple and calm smile appeared on that delicate face.
Even if you don't feel any positive emotions, the anxiety, worry and burning longing in your heart are not false.
At the moment when these negative emotions are eliminated, the purest tranquility will still be born in the mind that has returned to the balance point.
"Dmitri, and...sister."
Annan nodded to Dmitri, then looked at Maria: "Well... long time no see."
His voice hesitated for a moment.
It was only for a moment, but he believed that Maria might have heard it.
Because in fact... this is the first time Annan has met Maria during this week's trip.
Admittedly, that face is indeed very similar to Annan's.
But compared to Annan, whose smile clearly gave people a sense of warmth, even Maria who smiled seemed much indifferent... Just like a still immature queen, there was no emotion in her ice-blue pupils.
Compared to Annan, Maria's inhuman attributes are obviously deeper.
Annan only has slightly invisible dragon scales on his body and has light white hair.
And Maria's hair color was as cold as ice.
Her silky waist-length hair is now shorter than Annan's. The ends are a slightly bluish silvery white. Unlike Annan's knife-cut hair, the ends near the ends are uneven lengths caused by natural childbirth.
One, it also shows a sense of hierarchy.
There were already silver-white dragon horns on both sides of her head, and obvious dragon scales appeared on her slender and long neck, wrists, ankles, etc.
Her top is a fluffy sweater that gives people a warm feeling, covering half of her thighs. Her lower body is made up of flat short boots and thick black stockings that are higher than her knees. On the outside, she wears a milky white loose windbreaker with a hood, which always keeps her warm.
It covers her calves. From the outside, you can't even tell whether you are male or female... This is also Maria's way of hiding her identity.
This is a fairly everyday dress, and will give people a very friendly and warm impression when they meet for the first time.
Annan only needed one glance to know why Maria was dressed like this.
"I know that you have no memory of me in your heart now..."
Maria tried her best to stay calm, as if she was worried about scaring Annan, and said in the lowest possible voice: "But it doesn't matter.
"We will get to know each other again and get to know each other. If we really have extremely sincere feelings, it will be like a name engraved on ice... Even if new ice covers it, the traces will still be wrapped in it."
Annan knew that neither Dmitri nor Maria...the softness existed in their hearts.
Their hearts are made of ice. They will never feel the love, warmth, touch and joy of the world... But even so, the love they give to others is still extremely real.
Even if you don't feel love yourself, you can still give love to others.
Feeling Maria's sincere feelings, Annan took a deep breath.
He finally showed a gentle and natural smile: "Sister...
He called it this.
"……first meet."
"First meeting, Annan..."
Maria stared at Annan and whispered softly, but it seemed as if she was reading it to herself.
"Okay, okay," Dmitri coughed and seemed a little uncomfortable with this scene, "Your Majesty Annan... let's finish the business first, and let's talk about old times."
He interrupted the silence and asked directly: "I heard that Soupu went to your place?"
"...Wait a minute, who is Soufflé?"
Annan was startled when he heard this, and then added: "Also, Dmitry, you don't need to call me that...when we get along in private, just call me Annan as usual."
"I clearly remember what I told you!"
Hearing this, Dmitri breathed a sigh of relief.
He scratched his scalp, and then Maria hit his arm again for this obviously impolite behavior.
"It's that humanoid frost beast... I heard that you picked her up from Viscount Dolgoruki in Wrangel Province?"
"That child's name is Soufflé?"
Annan was a little surprised, but still stubborn about Russell's naming rights: "I remember she said she had no name...I have already named her Russell."
"Soufflé is her original nickname."
Hearing that the humanoid frost beast was indeed here, Dmitri breathed a sigh of relief.
He then explained: "You also know that according to the custom of us Lingdong people, we do not name our children.
"She is a werewolf... She was attacked in the wild when she was an infant before she got a name, and she fell into a coma outside the small barrier. We learned the name Soufu from her mother."
When Dmitry said this, he snorted coldly and showed an expression of obvious disgust: "But how could such a cub, which was only one year old, live alone in the wild... She didn't say anything.
"Oh, but I know even if she doesn't tell her."
There is only one answer.
That was "Miusu"'s mother, who planned to abandon her.
Female werewolves with children or who are pregnant are often not welcomed by the village. This is an experience brought by countless bloody lessons.
In order to allow their children to obtain more resources, they may go crazy and hurt other people's children, just like a cuckoo squeezing other birds' eggs out of their nests. This is the racial instinct of werewolves.
But on the other hand, if you can't restrain this crazy instinct...
Then you can also "counter" this instinctive trigger point.
That is, their children themselves.
She secretly gives birth to her child, then finds an opportunity to abandon it into the wild, and then enters a strange village. This is a new life skill of female werewolves.
"Only these beasts who don't understand emotions can commit such a heinous crime against human ethics."
Dmitri snorted and said calmly: "If you don't want to kill the children yourself, just throw them directly into the snowy wilderness. What's the difference between killing them? This kind of meaningless mercy..."
"Mention it beforehand, Dmitri."
Seeing that Dmitri was about to start thinking about the original sin of werewolves, Annan immediately interrupted him: "I know Russell has special value. But I don't want you to drag her away for breeding... or anything else.
"I have promised to take good care of this child."
"Hey, Annan. Who do you think I am?"
Dmitri said without emotion: "You don't have to say that, I won't do it either.
"I just... wanted to prevent her from being caught by others and used to do this kind of thing. That's why I ran around looking for her."