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Caught off-guard, the Duchess froze momentarily before snapping back to attention. "Well, I know a few orphans... But I\'ve never heard you ask about a man before."

Ester leaned closer to the Duchess before whispering, "I\'ve heard he\'s around your precious daughter, so you must know something. He is not who he seems to be."

"I see," the Duchess replied, surprised but unwilling to let it show on her face. \'She seems to have learned something about project \'subject one\',\' the Duchess thought, scrutinizing the General. \'Does the wedding have something to do with the project?\'

Although the Duchess knew of the project\'s existence and its correlation to Ryan, she was as clueless regarding the empire\'s goals as Ryan.

"I\'ve also heard a rumor that you and the Grand Empress aren\'t on good terms," the Frost General suddenly said.

The Duchess tensed, expecting the Grand Empress to appear and slit her throat any second. \'Does everyone know that we aren\'t on good terms? I might be ruined!\'

Seeing the Duchess\'s horrified look, the Frost General knew her instincts were correct.

"It... could be better," The Duchess said, trying to keep her expression neutral, \'I need to figure out what she knows.\'

"But why would you think we aren\'t on good terms?" The Duchess asked.

The Frost General relaxed a bit. Then, waving her hand dismissively, she said, "You know, rumors and all."

The Duchess let out a fake laugh. "Oh, those rumors. They fly around all the time. It\'s good that smart people like us don\'t believe in them."

"Well, good enough. So then you\'ll be coming to the wedding?"

"Of course, I\'m coming to the wedding. It\'s the most significant event in decades, your daughter, Mara, and the Grand Prince\'s wedding! You must be ecstatic," The Duchess said, a fake smile pasted on her lips.

"Why wouldn\'t I want to align my house with the Grand Empress? My daughter would be on the same level as royalty… and she wouldn\'t be with an orphan."

The Duchess asked, "By orphan, I\'m assuming you\'re referring to the Anthony Dire earlier? Was your Mara interested in this Anthony Dire?"

The Frost General gazed at the Duchess for several minutes without a word.

The Duchess could tell that an evaluation was happening, indicated by the shift in the atmosphere.

"OK. I\'m telling you this as a mother, our positions aside," Ester quietly responded.

The Dutchess tried hard to pull off a sympathetic, maternal look, while curiosity almost caused her to jump from her seat.

Ester continued, "I brought Mara home from school a while ago, and she talked to her maids about someone named Anthony Dire. The maids, of course, looking out for her best interest, sent spies out to look into this young man. However, we soon found out that the spies died less than 10 minutes after receiving the assignment."

The Duchess\'s eyes grew wide, and she clapped her hand over her mouth, trying her best to look shocked.

The Frost General slammed her hand on the table, "And that\'s why I need to know about this, Anthony Dire. Something is not right, and if my daughter is going to get harmed in any way, I need to know."

Casually, The Frost General flicked a crumb off the table, "Maybe this Anthony Dire is dangerous, and maybe he needs to be taken care of."

The duchess spoke before thinking, "Oh, no, don\'t hurt him. He saved my daughter\'s life! Don\'t hurt him."

"Interesting,\'\' replied the Frost General. "Please tell me more."

Grinning sheepishly, the Duchess scratched her head. "What can I say… I\'m a paranoid mother."

If the Frost General had been capable of laughter, she would have burst into tears at those words.

\'Really? A paranoid mother, you say? Didn\'t you once destroy three noble families because you thought the toys their children shared had explosives inside?\' the Ice General thought but kept her cool.

Seeing no response from the Frost General, the Duchess kept talking, words tumbling from her mouth. "I don\'t think he\'s good enough for her, but he did save her life and rescued her from these wolf beasts."

The Frost General\'s eyebrows raised a fraction.

"OK. OK, long story. Anyway, I agree something is different with Ryan, but I don\'t think Ryan knows that he\'s different. People have been following him."

The Frost General said, "Ryan… By people, you mean-"

The Duchess cut her off. "People that are not trying to kill him, just keep an eye on him. And by their movements, my gut feeling…" and the following words rushed out, "I think the human empire has something to do with Ryan."

The Frost Generall nodded her head, \'Exactly as I thought.\'

The Duchess\' eyes darted back and forth, hoping this wasn\'t a trap.

"I think the Grand Empress has some plan, and Ryan is in the middle. But I can\'t figure out what it is," the Duchess said, seeing no ninjas spring out at her.

The Frost General nodded, silent for a moment, and said, "Agreed. And from what you\'re saying, I don\'t think you support this plan."

The Duchess responded, "I am wary of this plan."

The Frost General nodded, "As am I."

===

After the meeting was over and the Duchess left her residence, the Frost General started to think of a way to obtain more information on Ryan without alerting the Duchess.

\'I still don\'t trust the Duchess completely, but if what she said is true, then Ryan is caught up in something big. If the wedding is part of a plan, the Grand Empress wouldn\'t use her grandson as a chip unless the target goal was unprecedented.\'

While in compilation, Ester heard a knock on her door, and in came her daughter, Mara.

"Mara, my daughter, long time no see."

"Hello, mother," Mara greeted Ester before sitting across from her.

"Have you talked with the Duchess?" Mara asked.

"Yes, we got done not even 10 minutes ago."

"Did she have anything to say about… him," Mara said, her icy constitution breaking slightly thinking about Ryan.

\'It\'s been so long since he stroked my hair,\' Mara thought, touching her head in longing.

"She did. I know you said you didn\'t notice anything strange about Ryan, but are you sure there was nothing?" Ester said, narrowing her eyes.

"I\'ve told you this a thousand times, mother. The only thing strange about Ryan was his charm. But, overall, he\'s just an above-average enhancer. Okay, if that\'s all, mother, I\'ll be going."

Ester suddenly got an idea while watching her daughter walk out of the room.

Pulling out a piece of paper, she began to write a letter.

"Dear Ryan, I know you must have heard about my wedding, but what you\'ve heard is not true. Please come and meet me at this address tomorrow night. Hope to see you soon, love Mara."

"Ruth, Heather!" Ester called out, licking the envelope shut.

"Yes, Master Frost?" Ruth said as the two handmaids appeared before Ester.

"I want you to deliver a letter for me."

"Of course, Master. To whom should we give this letter?"

"Give it to Anthony Dire. Or should I say, Ryan, the 10th-ranked enhancer at the academy."