Super Righteous Player-Chapter 1259 - 291: The Inevitable Has Arrived (5100)

After the grandmother woke up, the somewhat tumultuous political situation in Winter swiftly returned to stability.

As for the Melvin family who disappeared into thin air, it was as if people had forgotten about them.

A full week after their disappearance, no one asked a single question, nor did anyone inquire.

Of course, they couldn’t possibly know the truth about the divine entity, but they probably all knew what happened.

The Melvin family had been attempting rebellion for more than a year or two. In the Winter duchy, aside from Rasputin, nearly every family had some thoughts about the duchy’s throne.

Although the bearer of the Tricolor Scepter must have the surname "Winter," according to Winter’s traditions, intermarriage within the Winter family is not allowed. This is because it would increase the probability of premature death and consolidate talents and abilities.

However, regardless of gender, Winter’s partner could not withstand the internal damage inflicted by the icy dragon blood—during moments of emotional upheaval, exchanging bodily fluids essentially meant the mucous membranes absorbed the diluted, active dragon blood.

This was actually the same as the ceremony that originally turned the Winter family into the Dragon Blood family.

If they could withstand it, their bodies would be transformed into a true Frost Scaled Dragon. But in most cases, they couldn’t endure it. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

This meant that even if the Winter family had strong fertility, every time they were intimate, it significantly shortened their partner’s lifespan and weakened their constitution.

This is also why it’s more likely for Winter women to leave descendants—because after their constitution was damaged, even with ceremonial and divine treatment and protection, it was easy to miscarry during pregnancy.

This is why the Northern Union has always targeted Annan but never bothered with Dmitry or Maria. Because it was no secret that Dmitry was cursed by the Rotten Husband and had lost his ability to procreate... Thus, if Annan dies, only Maria could leave descendants.

—And her descendants would inevitably be the next Winter Archduke.

At the same time, Maria is also the Lady of the Storm, and at any time, might be required to dedicate herself to the Tower of Storms... She wouldn’t have a long lifespan, and the young archduke might inherit the Tricolor Scepter at about the same age as Annan.

Then, as the archduke’s only relatives, they would likely secretly control the Winter duchy. They would become a family with a higher status than Rasputin—in the situation where the Winter family had very few members, they would undoubtedly be the first family.

This was a highly feasible and low-risk open strategy. It had nothing to do with the family’s strength or heritage, as long as their household had a child Maria could favor.

—The premise being, they could indeed kill Annan.

But evidently, they did not dare to act. Because this semi-open plan was only an embellishment to them—naturally nice if successful, but not essential. Apart from the Northern Union, other families’ living environments hadn’t deteriorated to the point where they "must assassinate the archduke."

However, they could watch from the sidelines.

Therefore, almost all families were aware of the Northern Union and Melvin family’s plans.

They were all watching from the sidelines, outwardly continuing to support the Winter family, while actually offering help to neither side—if Annan were really killed, they would all rush to side with the Winter family.

And if any family couldn’t resist taking action and crossed the "observation line," they wouldn’t mind selling out their colleagues and reporting it to Archduke Annan.

They did not support the Melvin and Northern Union, nor were they truly loyal to the Tricolor Scepter—their sole loyalty lay with themselves.

Everyone had their own ulterior motives. That was entirely normal.

Indeed, it could even be said that the Rasputin family was willing to always stand with the Winter family solely because Annan and Maria’s mother came from the Rasputin family... They were Annan’s natural allies because they were their current biggest beneficiaries.

Although they previously harbored no good intentions, Annan did not plan to let them "bear the burden of thought crimes."

When the grandmother woke up, these notions of theirs were already declared broken.

Moreover, more importantly, when spring arrived, as Winter’s resources suddenly became abundant, the economy was surely going to recover rapidly. They no longer needed to engage in anxious internal strife to fight for scraps of benefit.

Under such circumstances, no one dared to pursue matters regarding the Melvin family.

After all, on the day the Melvin family disappeared, the grandmother awoke. If it were to be claimed as a coincidence, it would be too coincidental.

Who knows if the Melvin family did something particularly taboo that enraged the grandmother—making her, upon waking, flatten the Melvin family.

Raising questions at this time would inevitably make her think they were in league with the Melvin family.

After all, the nobles of Winter could be said to be unclean... In this era, where are there any spotless nobles? If investigated thoroughly, no family could stand scrutiny.

If truly, they couldn’t find any dark history, it would be an even worse sign—let alone nobility, not even saints could have every family member adhering to the letter of the law. If that were truly the case, then there would only be two possibilities.

Either they used some means to erase related records and evidence; or they specifically restrained every family member to keep their behavior above reproach for some purpose.