High Above

"I never thought that the second prince would be so shy when he was young, and the eldest princess would be so introverted."

Ian raised his brows. He had a vague guess in his mind, but he didn't dare to confirm: "It's just that things will change as you grow up. It's normal for you to be poor at talking when you're young and suddenly talkative when you grow up."

"As for His Majesty... I'm not surprised what he has become after experiencing the Dark Moon turmoil. It would be better to say..."

After a slight pause, Ian said softly: "I think he is doing very well as he is now."

"Um."

Marquis Barton nodded slightly. He did not comment on Ian's words, but said dryly: "You are right, this is all normal - except for me."

‘Except for me, who has watched the growth of princes and princesses since childhood, and even often took photos of them. "

Taking a deep breath, Marquis Barton said in a deep voice: "Ian, you are a prophet. You have passed all my tests, which proves that you are also an excellent sublimator."

"you are crazy."

"So you must understand that all the powerful ascendants on this land are madmen."

"And the Setar royal family... is one of the craziest people."

"Yes, you are right. Adults will change as they grow up. The happy family in the past will fight each other. The shy and timid second prince will become brave and resolute. The eldest princess with social anxiety may also become Becoming an Iron-Blooded Valkyrie."

"But Ian, what if I told you that all this change took only one month?"

Ian was silent.

After learning that Marquis Barton actually had childhood photos of Axel and the princes and princesses, Ian knew that he had misjudged the importance of Marquis Barton.

Obviously, the Marquis of Barton back then was definitely Axel's confidant, and he was even simply the kind of 'knight' or 'personal retainer' who stayed with him and had no official position but lived together with him.

And the other party also has a very deep understanding of the princes.

"The eldest prince Carlos was born during the time when His Majesty was still training troops in the East before he ascended the throne."

Marquis Barton calmly spoke in his office about some secrets that only he and the person involved knew: "As you can see, the eldest prince is a cheerful and thoughtful person, but he doesn't mind showing sincerity to the people he likes - This kind of character is the most common character of the Setar royal family, and it is also proof of healthy growth."

"And other princes and princesses have more or less personality problems."

"But in fact, the eldest prince is not like His Majesty, and other princes and princesses with defects are more similar."

Sitting on his armchair, Marquis Barton's golden-green eyes met Ian's, and he said calmly: "Because some of their characters are similar to 'His Majesty Axel' when he was young."

"ah?"

Hearing this, Ian was stunned: "Sir, what do you mean..."

"right."

Marquis Barton said: "His Majesty Axel was an autistic, socially anxious, shy, and slightly neurotic boy before he was eighteen years old. He liked climbing mountains more than chatting with people, and he liked riding horses more than men. Huannuai means that only us old guys can communicate with him normally."

"Because of this, His Majesty was not regarded as a competitor for the 'Crown' at all back then. Even though he held heavy military power in the east, he was not regarded as a threat."

"It's just that one day, after His Majesty went to the Imperial Capital to pay his dues, he came back with a determined look on his face."

"He told me..."

"'Barton, I want to change myself. I know very clearly that my character is greedy for peace and enjoyment. I just want to stay away from the core of power and be an ordinary prince.'"

"'But I know that I can't live under the wings of my father and teacher all my life...I must become stronger and more decisive.'"

"'I have to be a beacon to others.'"

Marquis Barton said slowly: "How could I refuse at that time? I am the person who most hopes that my master can become stronger. I told him without hesitation at that time that I supported all his actions. If he wanted to If he wants to change, I will change with him."

"No matter what he wants to do, I will be his most loyal right-hand man."

"Then, His Majesty changed."

"He has become decisive, resolute, fierce, and has the majesty and responsibility of an emperor, without losing his tenderness as a husband and father. His Majesty Axel has become the perfect candidate for emperor in my heart."

"Then……"

The old man closed his eyes and sighed: "It's the Dark Moon turmoil."

"It is written in the history books of the Great Library, Ian, you must know... The Dark Moon Rebellion destroyed almost all the inherent power structures of the empire. It is not enough for His Majesty to move his entire Eastern team here, he must activate those ‘Common people’ without aristocratic heritage.”

"Your Majesty defeated all his brothers and sisters, and eliminated all the nobles and royal bloodlines who intended to harm the empire, betray the empire, and hinder the improvement of the empire."

"Your Majesty did a very good job, so good that it's incredible, so good that it doesn't look like him."

"Instead, it's a bit like...our pioneer emperor."

"The late Emperor Inaga II."

Having said this, Marquis Barton also paused for a while. After a while, he shook his head and said: "Since then, strange events have happened one after another."

"The personality of the second prince and the eldest daughter, who originally had a similar personality to His Majesty's when he was young, has gradually changed in personality. She has become resolute and brave, has independent opinions and is no longer afraid of society. She is also eloquent."

"Now, do you understand why I feel weird?"

Ian was silent.

He now not only knew why Barton told him these things, he even knew why Marquis Barton had looked at him differently from the beginning.

Because he is a descendant of the Cejalrovo family and the inheritor of ancient ruins research experts.

He is a descendant of the discoverer of the 'Law of Immortality' and a descendant of the 'Echo Discoverer'.

"what do you mean……"

After calming down, Ian said in a deep voice: "It's an echo..."

Marquis Barton looked sideways at Ian.

"You indeed know the way to eternal life."

He shook his head: "But it's not something as simple as an echo, Ian... Something like an echo is easy to identify, because the soul structure is easy to deteriorate, and as a method of immortality, it is not qualified at all."

"And the late Emperor... Ian, you didn't really live in the same era as the late Emperor. If you had lived there, you would know that he would never touch such taboos."

"However, I have to say that the late emperor did have very strange changes before the Dark Moon Rebellion... One of the reasons why the prince launched the Dark Moon Rebellion was that Inaga II had been possessed by an ancient evil thing. It’s very convincing indeed.”

"I even suspect that the evil thing that possessed Inaga II was transferred to His Majesty Axel, and then part of it was transferred to the princes and princesses."

Marquis Barton took back the photo in his hand and put it in the drawer. His tone was bleak: "Of course, I also know that even as a guess, this kind of guess is too incredible and even unbelievable."

"But I really can't find any reason to explain this phenomenon."

——The reason Inaga II became weird is most likely because of the silver chip and despair about Terra's situation, and it has nothing to do with evil spirits.

Cursing in his heart, Ian nodded slowly: "These are all your guesses."

"And the second prince also noticed that something was wrong, so you cooperated."

"As for the eldest prince Carlos, he is the most normal one - indeed, he is indeed the one who seems to be the most affectionate among all the princes and princesses..."

After all, not any prince can easily shout ‘Dad, save me! ’ By saying this, it is obvious that he really regards himself as his son and his father as his father.

In the royal family, this kind of thing is quite rare.

Ian now understood what Marquis Barton was thinking.

As one of Axel's most trusted people back then, and even his childhood playmate and retinue, Marquis Barton witnessed with his own eyes the strange changes in the personalities of Axel and his family.

Axel has grown from the introverted and autistic mountain climbing enthusiast to the iron-blooded emperor he is today... This is not impossible, but it is too abrupt.

Similarly, the second prince and the eldest princess also had this sudden change, and there was an obvious sense of abnormality.

even……

Ian suddenly thought of the emperor’s eldest grandson ‘Aina Settar’.

The other party's positive and saint-like personality is indeed completely different from the royal children that most people think of.

It’s okay that he was born like this, but what if Aina’s character also changed due to some reason?

Ian thought about Isengard again.

At first, Ian thought that Axel wanted to reincarnate through the blood of Isengard's 'Refined Light Dragon' - but later this possibility gradually decreased and turned into some grand mission. Part of it is related to the Beast of Thousand Planets or the entire Terra.

But he did remind Isengard's mother, Avelina Setal, through this.

And Avelina also reminded her brother, the second prince Mikael.

Because his wife is also of similar bloodline to the Light Eclipse Dragon, Mikael, who already has a daughter, naturally attaches great importance to this... and found the Marquis of Barton.

As soon as the intelligence from both sides was combined, both sides immediately woke up and noticed the strange personality changes in themselves.

As Ian said, it is natural for a person's personality to change as he grows up, but if the personality change is very sudden and rapid, even if you don't feel it at first, you will notice something is wrong when you mention it later.

However, Marquis Barton himself couldn't guess what happened to the Setar royal family - was it a curse on the throne? Or is it the influence of the Sun Bird’s bloodline? Or is it really the sequelae caused by some kind of eternal life, or even... an ancient evil spirit?

It was precisely because the Marquis of Barton was completely confused about these things that he mentioned it to Ian today in order to get some information from him, a descendant of the Cejallorvo family.

But it's a pity.

Ian doesn't know either.

It's not an echo, and most likely it's not a royal curse or an ancient evil spirit, so what's left may be the blood of the Sun Bird.

But this is the most unlikely - the Sun Bird's bloodline curse is unlikely to be one of these theoretically considered 'advantages'.

Moreover, according to what Marquis Barton said, the personality change that happened to Axel was probably a transformation he made voluntarily.

"Soul transformation?"

Having just obtained this technology from 'Insect Swarm Ian', Ian couldn't help but think of this word in his mind: "Is it possible that Axel has carried out a comprehensive soul transformation on himself?"

If it were the original Ian, he wouldn't believe the so-called coincidence.

But Ian, who already knew the truth about his guiding star's psychic powers, began to believe that all coincidences were intentional.

Not to mention, this guess is actually quite reasonable.

At this moment, Ian even remembered that he had seen a 'learning machine' in the depths of the South China Sea Labyrinth.

Although this learning machine was quickly destroyed by Patrick, there was obviously more than one learning machine that could carry out 'echo transformation'.

There may be many of them, and they have been acquired by a big force like the Empire a long time ago, and then turned into a prototype for some kind of transformation surgery.

For example, the prototype of soul transformation and soul seal.

"Axel wanted to change himself and imposed some superior soul seals on himself, just like the soul seals of the insect swarm path will make everyone optimistic and positive, unable to be knocked down by failures and disasters, Ah Kesel will most likely make himself more iron-blooded, courageous, and decisive."

Ian murmured to himself: "But, what is the change in the personality of the prince and princess? Did he also transform his own child's soul seal? This kind of thing is not voluntary cooperation, or is it mandatory for the insect swarm to deal with the child body? Deceptive soul transformation is basically impossible to succeed..."

"Furthermore, if Aina's character is obtained in this way...then why does Axel carry out related plans?"

Although he knew a little more than the Marquis of Barton, Ian couldn't say he had found the truth.

Especially Ian knew that Axel had conducted countless unknown experiments behind his back.

The resurrection of the dead from the Gnosis Academy, the artificial psykers... the artificial souls from Avak's laboratory, the Dead Lord, the nameless savior and the Blood River Arms... the Black Key and the Pure White Tower of Babel...

Too much too much.

If the answer can be obtained so easily, Ian will feel something is wrong - there are too many crazy people in Terra, and Axel, as the strongest group among them, cannot just do such a simple thing.

It is absolutely impossible to just use soul-transforming soul seal-level technology. His real purpose is definitely crazier than Ian imagined.

"What do you want me to do?"

Taking a deep breath and calming down, Ian looked at Marquis Barton and said, "Tell me these extremely dangerous confidential information, and I finally know why you support me so much - this is my compensation and reward."

"But why do you have to tell me? You are obviously not sure whether I know about the Cejalrovo family's method of immortality!"

"Because you have to know."

Marquis Barton sneered and said solemnly: "Who do you think you are now? Ian? You are the prophet, my heir, the future governor of Nanling - you are the Earl of Silver Peak, the new fifth-level powerful elf in the future. Friend of the hunter, friend of fairies, guest of Dragon Island."

"You are one of the most talented people in the empire. You are also someone who is favored by the eldest prince, the second prince, the eldest princess, and even Princess Avrina... Your conditions are much better than mine. Except for you, Who else can get relevant information from all the key princes and princesses at the same time?”

"You said you don't want to know? As smart as you are, you must know very well that all this information is closely related to the current Emperor. If you knew, you might be able to avoid it. If you didn't know, you might have violated the taboo one day. To die—would you rather not know?”

"...Of course not." Ian closed his eyes and then laughed: "Indeed, I want to thank you, Marquis Barton."

"Your reminder is very useful... If I want to be deeply involved in empire-related matters in the future, I will need to know all this information."

"but."

Opening his eyes, Ian looked at the old man and said word by word: "You still have something to hide. This is not your real goal."

"Huh, let's not talk about you anymore? You're a kid who can't hide?"

Faced with Ian's serious question, Marquis Barton raised the corners of his mouth and smiled slightly: "Indeed, this is not my real purpose... and my real purpose is actually very simple."

"I'm curious."

Slowly putting his whole body comfortably on the chair, Marquis Barton looked at the ceiling of his office and said softly: "The most precious qualities of an intelligence worker are extreme curiosity and extreme control."

“Know everything you want to know and forget everything you shouldn’t know, so you can reach the top.”

"Ian...the answer is that simple."

"I'm so curious - how could I not want to know the strange personality changes from the late emperor to the eldest grandson of this generation, and the secrets hidden behind my lord's personality?"

Raising his hand, raising his index finger, and twirling it next to his temple, Marquis Barton said with rare humor: "I'm going to die, but I don't know the truth, and I won't be willing to die. Oh my God, you are so big How could I let go of a prophet in front of me?"

"So, Ian, promise me."

The old man stretched out his hand to the white-haired young prophet, and Marquis Barton said seriously: "If you find the answer and I am still alive, tell me the answer, okay?"

"Not as a marquis, nor as a patrol knight, but simply as a curious person, pleading to another puzzle solver."

he said softly.

Ian sighed.

"I thought it was a big deal." The young man shook his head helplessly and said in a relaxed tone: "It turns out it's just curiosity."

"Yes, if it were me, I would definitely risk my life to find out what happened behind all this. Who can bear this!"

"Don't worry." The white-haired prophet raised his hand and shook hands with Marquis Barton: "I promise you, if you are still alive when I know the truth, I will definitely tell you the truth."

After shaking hands and signing a contract, both Ian and Marquis Barton smiled.

With their intelligence, if they want to break the contract, there are a dozen different ways.

However, they all know that since the other party has agreed, they will not breach the contract.

Because, no matter how many differences there are between Ian and the Marquis of Barton... at least, they are exploring the unknown, the forbidden secrets hidden behind history.

They are indeed fellow travelers.

…

Terra 774, late July.

As the first earl of Nanling, Ian Silverfeng, returned to Nanling, a huge reform storm was set off.

All nobles, all chambers of commerce, and even various alchemy workshops have all received purple-lettered documents from the Governor's Mansion. This represents the highest-level order approved by the imperial capital and completely dispels all local nobles and large chambers of commerce's illegal behavior. With the idea in mind, he began to follow the words of the prophet, count the population in his territory, the data of various production facilities, and submit productivity reports one after another.

After all, it is a method of confrontation between local governments and the central government. This is why the sky is high and the emperor is far away.

But the problem is that the real local emperor of Nanling, Marquis Barton, is in Nanling... His old man is not far from them!

As the saying goes, the emperor is not as good as the current governor, and the emperor plus the current governor is an existence that cannot be violated.

However, even so, facing Ian's idea of ​​unifying the entire Nanling and creating a complete information system, these nobles and big businessmen all had scorn and disdain in their hearts.

They even used more detailed data than needed to write the report Ian needed.

This behavior stems from a bad idea.

Look how detailed I have made this information. Even if I give you all the data, can you see it?

If you can't see it, what's the use of writing it to you or not writing it?

Ian is not particularly clear about this confrontational mentality, and if he knew it, he wouldn't care.

Anyway, he has the fifth-level energy calculation chip of the pre-era civilization, and a complete set of Star God's Gifts. You can make it as complicated as you like. It's just a provincial resource report. It takes me a second to count me out. lose!

It will take some time for the nobles from all over the country to compile the data. With Ian's current status, he does not need to stay in Nauman City all the time. Instead, he can ask others to send the reports to Xiahui Ling - which will be the future of Nanling. The second political center.

In this way, Ian, who has been busy working in Nauman City for some time, can finally take steps again.

Return to his territory.