Looking at the spy list, many of Nieusel’s actions flashed before Annan’s eyes.
…No wonder.
“After he knew I was Annan Austere-Winter, his attitude towards me became so warm…”
He even rubbed my face.
Annan plained.
Didn’t anyone tell him not to kiss up to the boss… or to suck up to him?
No wonder he always addressed Annan as “Your Majesty” instead of “Your Highness.” It was because he had known all along that only Annan would ascend to the dukedom. This was indeed something that one would understand only if they had been acquainted with the upper echelons of Austere-Winter.
Not even the royal family of Noah Kingdom could confirm this—even the Northern Brotherhood and the Austere-Winter nobles didn’t figure it out.
“I see.” Annan murmured.
That was why when Annan left with his childhood sweetheart named Nefertari, Nieusel was so trusting of them, and his reaction was so calm…
That was why he sold his collection and also provided housing and travel expenses for the players. That was why Sporeggar Mill, the underground city directly under the Austere-Winter Dukedom, was so warm to Austerians.
From this perspective, even though Nieusel didn’t e from a family of Diggers or the Wise and had little money, he managed to successfully bee a “Digger,” discovering multiple underground cities, likely thanks to funding from the Winter’s Hand.
There was even a possibility…
Winter’s Hand had dispatched professionals and used professional equipment to conduct underground exploration… They then transferred the cities they discovered to Nieusel, who had the status of “prospective Digger”.
Therefore, Nieusel became Digger at such a young age, but still stayed in Sporeggar Mill, a small town that was declining due to nightmares — this was probably his mission as a spy.
If Austere-Winter never activated this spy, he would always live in Sporeggar Mill. Live, work, get married, and have children normally as a Digger, maintaining his normal life trajectory… until Winter’s Hand needed him.
That is to say…
The corners of Annan’s mouth raised slightly.
He put the paper back.
—I will just pretend I haven’t seen it.
As one of the very few high-ranking individuals who infiltrated the underground world, Nieusel was quite significant for the Winter’s Hand. He wasn’t the kind of low-level intelligence agent they could just send in large numbers as they wished.
The Wise in the underground world were difficult to deal with — this was not because they were ahead of other countries in terms of race or education, but because they were always in a high-level and high-frequency life-and-death game.
There was one very crucial difference in the underground world.
That was because the laws of different cities weren’t universal, making cross-city pursuits extremely difficult. This led to a situation where assassins, swindlers, and robbers ran rampant in the underground world, and crimes were seldom punished.
To vie for power and eliminate opposition, the Wise often engaged in plotting schemes, setting traps, and fabricating false evidence to attack each other.
If not for their use of a significant portion of their wisdom for infighting — the conflicts among the Wise within the same city, the overt and covert struggles between the Wise and the Diggers, as well as the internal strife between cities and within factions — the number of intelligent individuals in the underground world would likely have grown to levels that would alarm the monarchs of other nations.
Once they activated Nieusel, having him start operations in the underground… he would quickly be discovered by the Wise. If he was lucky, he might be able to evacuate; if not, he would face almost certain death. Essentially, he could be considered a disposable asset.
To prevent their important memories from being discovered after death, almost all spies were not transcendent beings… This was also one of the methods used to identify spies. However, it left these spies with virtually no ability to defend themselves when faced with assassination.
Although there were many Diggers, their significance was actually equivalent to that of other territorial nobles. To deploy such high-level spies, an order had to e directly from a member of the Winter’s Hand of the “right-hand middle finger” level to avoid wastage.
Now only Annan could mand Nieusel.
However, Annan had decided.
—He won’t do that.
There was no shortage of people like him in the Austere-Winter Dukedom…and Nieusel was not just a spy, but also Annan’s friend. He was also a worthy panion.
“Let him live his life in peace first.” Annan whispered.
Nieusel had obviously recognized Annan’s identity a long time ago, but he didn’t say anything…
Let’s scare him the next time we meet.
The corners of his mouth raised slightly, revealing a warm chuckle.
“Grand Duke, what did you say?” Zoya on the side asked with some confusion.
“I was just looking for information about the Winter Insurgent.”
Without any concealment or deception, Annan explained to Zoya directly, “I suspect that there may be other truths hidden in the Winter Insurgent’s ‘defection’ incident back then.”
“For instance… Could this be a drill? Do we actually need the Winter Insurgent to betray the Austere-Winter Dukedom openly, so they can infiltrate other factions under the guise of ‘the Winter Insurgent’?”
So, is this essentially a double-crossing scheme?
Hearing Annan’s question, Zoya was not angry or confused.
“This is your second day after taking the throne.” She just glanced at Annan subtly, “I didn’t expect you to say it out directly so early…”
“Because Aunt Zoya is the person involved. If Ivan has any speculations, Zoya should also know about it.”
Annan spoke calmly, his voice rational, “I am currently the best choice for the Grand Duke of Austere-Winter Dukedom. While this question may be a bit awkward, it’s not sensitive. Even if I ask the other ‘Ten Fingers,’ at most, I’ll be mocked a bit, that’s all.”
“But if I’m afraid of being laughed at and worry about saying the wrong thing or doing the wrong thing, then I will miss the opportunity.”
Zoya, responsible for Grand Duke Ivan’s domestic affairs year-round, had the longest contact with Ivan among all the members of the Winter’s Hand.
Without a doubt, Zoya’s opinion was highly valuable. If Annan chose not to trust her or thought “This question doesn’t need to be asked,” and consequently kept things hidden from this elder, leading to misinformation or misunderstandings that caused delays, it would simply be courting trouble.
Ever since Annan was young…when the teacher said, “Raise your hand if you don’t understand”, Annan never dared to raise his hand because he was worried about how others would see him.
If he didn’t understand, he had to raise his hand.
If he didn’t understand, he would definitely ask.
When faced with ambiguous answers, Annan would never guess on his own. Instead, he would engage the other person in a heartfelt conversation to ascertain their true feelings, thereby understanding their mindset at the time and why they responded as they did.
Now, the reason Annan could adeptly see through people’s minds was precisely because of the skills he had honed during that time.
“So what’s the answer?” Annan asked, “Is [the Winter Insurgent] one of our own?”
Although Zoya responded, she did not answer directly just then. She couldn’t possibly have been the type of person who was slow and gentle, unaware of the importance of timing in her words and actions… So, she hadn’t been digressing, but rather, she had been trying to deliberately steer the conversation away from that topic.
However, Annan was not that easy to fool.
“This question may be a bit plicated.”
“Then, tell me slowly. I think as the Grand Duke, I should have the right to know this now, right?”
“Of course.” Zoya replied seriously, “You naturally have the right to know everything… but I just want to say that all we know is the former ‘Winter Insurgent’.”
After she said that, she stayed silent for a moment to collect her thoughts.
Then, she replied, “You have guessed it right. At least initially, ‘the Winter Insurgent’ did defect on purpose. And his defection plan…”
“…You’re the person arranging it.”
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