Super Righteous Player
Chapter 271 - 269 Annan’s Plan_1

Chapter 271: Chapter 269 Annan’s Plan_1

Annan and Kafney were having a quiet conversation in a corner of the great hall when Old Merlin appeared out of nowhere.

"Your Highness, Annan."

Old Merlin did not look at Kafney, but spoke in a low voice to Annan, "His Highness Dmitry is looking for you."

His gaunt face was devoid of any emotion.

The way he carried himself, silent and indifferent, was strikingly similar to Dmitry.

But even with the same expressionless face, Dmitry, because of his appearance and clothing, radiated an awe-inspiring authority; whereas, on Merlin with his deep-set cheeks, it merely seemed like that of a terrifying monster.

In the Kingdom of Noah, the law generally only issues a "soft warrant" for Transcendents who break the law.

That is, their name is put on the wanted list and communicated to the lower echelons, but no real pursuit is initiated. However, the wanted individuals are not permitted to travel, to take out loans, to marry, to have children, nor do they receive any legal protection.

By stripping the legal rights of Transcendents who have broken the law, their range of activities is suppressed, offering a punitive measure that’s better than nothing. It’s only when they actually commit a serious crime that a squad of Transcendents is truly sent out to hunt them.

Essentially, it’s a compromise and understanding—if you have the self-awareness of being a rat, keep a low profile and don’t make a mess, then the kingdom will turn a blind eye to both you and your crimes.

After all, the threat a Transcendent could pose when cornered is simply too great... and killing them off really only leaves behind a new nightmare.

But things are different in Winter.

Especially during the turbulent Winter Years—when the Duke of Winter is on edge, and the snowstorms minimize the negative consequences of a Transcendent’s death. Plus, the population density in the Duchy of Winter is much lower than in the Kingdom of Noah during the Winter Years.

Therefore, they make no compromises.

The Hand of Winter is the special operations force tasked with hunting down Transcendents.

Even if a Transcendent takes a commoner as hostage, the Hand of Winter will never compromise in any form. Even if the Transcendent kidnaps a noble, even someone from the Winter family, the Hand of Winter will disregard the safety of the hostages and kill without mercy.

It is precisely because of this absolute no-exceptions, no-negotiation, severe modus operandi that the Duchy of Winter can maintain stability.

According to Annan’s understanding, the current Duke of Winter, that is, Annan’s father, Ivan Rime, had encountered a kidnapping when he was only in his teens:

It was a group of seven Transcendents. Four Silvers, one Gold, one Bronze... and even a Ritualist.

They had kidnapped Ivan and his brother—naturally, they were not after money.

Their goal was to force the Duke of Winter at the time, Yury Frostwinter, to release a political prisoner.

The specific background and name of the political prisoner were vague in the information provided by Salvatore, and Annan couldn’t find out more. He only knew that the prisoner was also from Winter, even a nobleman, who had later been imprisoned as a political detainee.

But even with his two sons kidnapped... Duke Yury did not compromise with the kidnappers.

The Duke dispatched the army to surround the target, engaging in negotiations for two days and three nights. At the end, when the kidnappers’ patience was almost exhausted... the Hand of Winter broke in and struck like lightning, killing six and capturing one.

However, during this unsuccessful rescue operation, Ivan’s brother tragically died.

——And the one responsible for this mission was Merlin.

But he was not held accountable for the failed rescue; instead, he was commended for his decisive actions, capturing one and extracting the conspiracy behind it under interrogation.

Based on what Annan learned from the Nightmare: White Tower, Merlin should have retired five years ago due to a leg injury. Initially, Annan thought Merlin was actually mute... not until the end of White Tower did Annan see that Merlin had a tongue.

Typically, members of the Hand of Winter have their tongues cut out upon retirement—those secrets, like forbidden knowledge, encrypted and unable to be written down, can only be transmitted through speech a limited number of times.

Thus cutting out the tongue is the best course of action.

But now it seems... Merlin must have been granted special permission to retain his speech.

He could even gain the trust of Duke Ivan to protect both Annan and Dmitry on their journey to Noah.

Did Duke Ivan not care for his brother?

Considering Dmitry’s situation, that’s unlikely.

Annan suspected that this was because Duke Ivan had immense trust in Merlin.

Why, after all, does a silver-tier Disability Wizard receive such trust from the Duke?

The Winter principality is not without its Gold-tier talents. And there are several of those.

Yet in the guard squad that accompanied Dmitry on the subway to Noah, the highest-ranking Transcendent was Merlin.

Regrettably, Annan hadn’t witnessed Merlin unleashing his full power in the White Tower...

He had solved the puzzles too quickly at that time.

Now, Annan didn’t even know what Merlin’s Curse Binding was.

Presumably, Dmitry and the original Annan should have some understanding of it.

Annan vaguely realized—if he couldn’t conquer this "Nightmare: White Tower" with his own power, he would have to find a way to borrow Merlin’s strength.

But how could he obtain Merlin’s assistance without revealing his identity? And what level of power did Merlin possess?

Many thoughts flashed through Annan’s mind.

He quickly came up with some calculations.

Standing up, he nodded silently.

Annan gave Kafney a look, signaling her to stay here.

Kafney looked at Annan earnestly, indicating she understood.

She knew what Annan was about to do—

Three minutes earlier, Annan had said to Kafney,

"I need to check out those six places. But I can’t shake off Merlin’s surveillance... I need your help."

"...?"

Kafney tilted her head silently, confused.

She wasn’t quite clear on what kind of help Annan needed exactly.

But then, Annan explained his plan to Kafney:

He needed Kafney to take him into a private room with secret passages. Then Annan would exit from the other end of the passage—during that time, Kafney would need to pretend as if Annan was still in the room.

Until Annan returned.

And such a private space would be easy to find.

Kafney was somewhat a princess after all.

Her own room satisfied all the above requirements.

Annan was somewhat worried whether Kafney, as a child, could understand his plan...

Another concern was... as a male stranger meeting for the first time—would Kafney be willing to let Annan into her room?

But after hesitating for a moment, Kafney finally agreed.

—So the remaining issue was Annan’s.

Annan stood up, straightened his clothes, and followed Old Merlin to Dmitry.

He needed to take leave from his older brother Dmitry.

To let him know... he would be going to a more private place with Kafney; and to persuade him that he didn’t need Merlin’s accompaniment.

...This seemed, not very simple.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.