Chapter 593: The De Facto Ruler

Third Person’s POV

Having experienced enough of the world already, Ethan knew that groups who loudly proclaimed themselves to be the sole representatives of justice were often far more complicated than they appeared.

Based on Shixea’s words alone, he could already imagine how the Luminous Cradle Empire likely viewed mages possessing dark affinities.

They would almost certainly label them as carriers of corruption and servants of evil, regardless of their actual character.

The thought did not sit well with him.

But Shixea didn’t care about his thoughts and continued speaking as she wanted to be done with the target briefing and feared him interrupting her again and showing some other tantrums.

"Because of this prolonged conflict, the Ice Emperor has remained absent from the Ice Emperor City for extended periods.

The Chief Priest and even the Ice Emperor’s sister, who are the two most powerful existences of the Ice Emperor City after him, frequently accompany him as well, since the war constantly requires powerful fighters and capable leaders."

Her gaze sharpened slightly.

"As a result, the Ice Emperor’s grandnephew has effectively become the de facto ruler of the city during their absence.

While he officially holds only two official titles, those titles grant him enormous influence."

She leaned back slightly before finishing.

"To the public, he is not merely the headmaster of the Northern Glacial Region’s most prestigious institution, the New Moon Magic Academy, but also the Duke of the Crystalgard Domain, which is the most prosperous and powerful domain of the original seven domains of the Ice Emperor City that comprises the full Northern Glacial Region.

His name is Dominic IceHeart, and he is the grandson of the Ice Emperor’s long-deceased brother.

No one knows his exact age, but he has been alive for an extraordinarily long time.

Due to both his granduncle’s favor and his own immense power, he has effectively ruled over Ice Emperor City for many years."

As she spoke, Ethan’s brows slowly furrowed in confusion.

The more he listened, the stranger the situation sounded to him.

The Ice Emperor was obviously the strongest existence in Ice Emperor City and was far older than this Dominic IceHeart.

He was a Rank Five forbidden powerhouse whose authority should have been unquestionable within his own domain.

Yet according to Shixea’s explanation, the actual control of the city had rested in Dominic’s hands for years.

The more Ethan thought about it, the more unreasonable it seemed.

According to normal logic, the Ice Emperor should have many children, given that he had been alive for untold years.

And if the Ice Emperor truly possessed children of his own, why would he favor a grandnephew over his direct descendants?

No matter how talented Dominic was or how much affection the Ice Emperor held for his late brother’s bloodline, it still did not explain such a bizarre arrangement.

Power, influence, and succession were things that rulers rarely handed away without reason, especially when their own children stood to inherit them.

After pondering for several moments, Ethan finally voiced his doubts.

"I think there are some holes in the story that you are telling me, Miss Shixea.

If everything you are saying is true, then how is it possible that someone like the Ice Emperor would favor his grandnephew over his own children when it comes to controlling the center of his power?

I don’t believe any father would willingly allow such a thing to happen without an extraordinary reason.

Whatever the explanation is, this level of favoritism feels highly unusual." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Listening to Ethan’s question, Shixea nodded slowly.

Rather than appearing offended, she seemed somewhat relieved.

A faint sigh escaped her lips as she looked out the carriage window for a moment before turning back toward him.

"Your question is perfectly reasonable, Young Master.

In fact, if you had not asked this question, I would have begun doubting whether my decision to entrust you with such a dangerous task was truly the correct one or not."

She deliberately paused after speaking, her pale blue eyes observing Ethan carefully as if hoping to detect some reaction from him.

However, his expression remained as calm and unreadable as ever, totally unaffected by her praise whatsoever.

The only indication that he was listening attentively was the sharp focus hidden within his crimson eyes.

Seeing that he remained silent, she continued.

"The real reason behind this unusual situation is that the Ice Emperor only has two children, and both of them were born within the last thirty years."

The moment those words left her mouth, Ethan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

For the first time since the conversation had begun, genuine surprise surfaced within him as the statement this woman had delivered was simply too strange.

Everything he had learned so far only made the situation appear even more abnormal.

A Rank Five forbidden existence who had ruled for so many years that might be even be measured in thousands of years, possessed immense power, and maintained an enormous harem, only having two children in all that time sounded almost unbelievable.

Immediately, Ethan felt as though a crucial piece of the puzzle was still missing.

His mind rapidly replayed portions of the previous day’s conversation, and soon he remembered something Shixea had mentioned earlier.

After a few moments, he spoke.

"One of them must be your son, the one you mentioned yesterday."

A faint flicker of appreciation passed through Shixea’s eyes.

"Yes. You guessed correctly."

There was a trace of satisfaction in her voice as she nodded.

"The other child is a girl. She is Princess Arlene, the daughter of the Ice Empress."

"Ice Empress?"

Ethan raised an eyebrow at the sudden mention of a title he had not heard before.

Seeing his reaction, Shixea remained patient as she did not appear surprised by his confusion and calmly explained.

"She is the primary wife of the Ice Emperor in this era, after the previous Ice Empress died of old age.1

He married her roughly five hundred years ago.

However, despite all those years together, she was unable to bear him a child for a very long time."

Refer Volume 0/Chapter/Magic Realms detailing the lifespan of mage realms