"Your Majesty, I have already guessed what Princess Aier has sent concerning me. Ever since the volunteer group from Jade Country was attacked by the Paradise Bird, haven't we been speculating that someone in the Kingdom of Ice and Snow was in collusion with the Paradise Bird?"

"Yes, the person collaborating with the Paradise Bird is me!"

Stephen concealed nothing, nor did he resort to any tricks. He simply admitted it openly, catching Cain off guard. At that moment, Cain would have preferred to see Stephen make excuses, cover up, or even explain.

Even something slightly reasonable would have allowed him to leave Stephen with some dignity. Stephen was already eighty years old. What could a man of that age do with grand ambitions? Strip him of his power and let him live out his remaining years in peace?

But Stephen's direct confession made it impossible for Cain to let him off the hook.

Gazing at the sky, Prince Kester's brows furrowed slightly, while his hand, clutching the windowsill, grew white from the force of his grip.

"Tell me, why?"

"My initial intention was for the Kingdom of Ice and Snow. About three years ago, a man named Sang Guo found me. His identity was special. He made me swear to keep his identity a secret. If a second person learned about his meeting with me, he would disappear instantly.

"Three years ago, my son Kappa died in battle. He was my youngest son, ten years younger than Kester. Kappa's death caused me great sorrow, but compared to the fall of the Kingdom of Ice and Snow, Kappa's death was insignificant.

"I, Stephen, have lived for eighty years, watching the place we labored over our entire lives, the once thriving and happy Kingdom of Ice and Snow, wither away day by day. I couldn't accept it. I couldn't bear it.

"I went on diplomatic missions to various countries, and over ten years, I secured aid more than twenty times. Each time, I was filled with hope, only to be let down again and again, leading to despair.

"In the last five years, no country was willing to aid us anymore. Some countries even demanded real silver in exchange for the food they provided us.

"At that time, I wouldn't just cooperate with a terrorist organization. I would even have considered the devils from hell as gods if they could save the Kingdom of Ice and Snow."

"Did the Paradise Bird save the Kingdom of Ice and Snow? Uncle Stephen, you've been wise your whole life, how could you be so foolish now? Can you really trust the words of terrorists?"

"Cain, do you still remember the story of the Demon Law? Compared to making wishes to the God of Heaven, making deals with demons seems more tangible. At least, the God of Heaven might fulfill your wishes, or he might choose to ignore them.

"Since you do not have to give anything, the God of Heaven does not guarantee you will receive anything. But demons are different. You must offer a sufficient chip to get something in return. As long as you have the right chip, demons are more reliable than gods.

"You ask me how I can trust the promises of the Paradise Bird, but my king, without the Paradise Bird's promises, the Kingdom of Ice and Snow would have perished three years ago. Do you understand?

"You don't understand. You are the king; you are responsible for giving your people hope. You pray to the God of Heaven, hoping he will save your people as if the God of Heaven had heard your prayers.

"These three years have been very difficult, but at least we have survived. But my king, haven't you wondered why, according to past patterns, at least two to three beast tides should have occurred each year, but none happened in these three years?

"In these three years, Exotic Beasts occasionally appeared but never once invaded our Kozmi Area. Have the Exotic Beasts learned mercy, or have our valiant warriors protected our people?

"Neither. It was the Paradise Bird that secretly eliminated the potential threats.

"Why did I agree to collaborate with the Paradise Bird? Because at that time, the Paradise Bird was the only force in the world that possessed the means to counteract the Star Martial Toxins from the five Different Dimensional Spaces. If it had been you, would you have agreed?"

"I..." Cain was at a loss for words, his face revealing a deep heartache. "Why didn't you tell me the truth back then?"

"Tell you? How could I tell you? You are the king, the king of the Kingdom of Ice and Snow. If I had told you, would you have cooperated with the Paradise Bird? And then, the Kingdom of Ice and Snow would have become a vassal of the Paradise Bird? What is the nature of the Paradise Bird? If I had told you back then, the Kingdom of Ice and Snow would have truly been doomed. At that point, it wouldn't be the Exotic Beasts destroying us, but missiles.

"My king, for the future of the Kingdom of Ice and Snow, you must be pure, you must be flawless, and you must be oblivious, misled by your scheming old minister. The day the cooperation between the Kingdom of Ice and Snow and the Paradise Bird was revealed, it would be I, the minister who was blinded by greed, who had betrayed the nation. Execute me alone and save the people. This old minister would die content."

"Uncle Stephen... you!" Cain was shocked. He could never have imagined that Stephen's reason for cooperating with the Paradise Bird was this. Yet in an instant, Cain forced himself to calm down again.

"Then why did you smuggle Space Stones?"

"Money, of course! For money! The Kingdom of Ice and Snow was utterly destitute, and other nations were kicking us when we were down. Just relying on the food aid from Jade Country, could you save your people?

"To prevent our people from starving to death, I had to smuggle Space Stones to earn money to buy food and supplies. The money earned was split fifty-fifty with the Paradise Bird. Detailed accounts are all recorded. You can find them under the bed in my bedroom."

"Why didn't you stop after Jade Country developed the Toxin Vaccine?"

"After so many years of cooperation, it wasn't a business I could simply stop on my own."

"And what about Organization T?"

"They were not really T, but the Paradise Bird. The members of the Paradise Bird's peripheral organization are wanted criminals from various countries, disguised as T, secretly engaging in underground Space Stone smuggling operations."

"So, you knew that Jade Country was here to save us, and that their aid was aimed at sealing off the five Different Dimensional Spaces once and for all. Why did you still cooperate with the Paradise Bird to attack the Jade Country aid team?"

When Cain asked this, his voice had turned as cold as ice. If what had been done before could be said to have any justifiable reason, then those twelve missiles that targeted the volunteer group were an unforgivable sin.

With all this done, every reason he had given before was a disguise, a shameful deception.

"I did not cooperate!" Stephen took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "The Paradise Bird approached me to provide the flight path and take-off time of the Jade Country volunteer team, but the route I gave was false, and the time was off by two hours."

"Yet those twelve missiles were precisely ambushed on their inevitable path."

"I didn't know. They might have gotten accurate intelligence through other channels. As for the Space Stone trap that the Paradise Bird used in the second space, I didn't know about that either. In fact… after the volunteer team from Jade Country arrived, I had almost completely cut off contact with the Paradise Bird."

"So you're saying that the nuclear robbery wasn't based on your intelligence?"

"No! Because of my cooperation with the Paradise Bird, they managed to establish themselves in our country. They developed their own intelligence system, and even people in our government departments have been bought by them. The Paradise Bird... they can do many things without my involvement now."

"Is this everything you have to confess?"

"It is everything..."

"Since you have already decided not to cooperate with the Paradise Bird any longer, why didn't you come clean to me? Why did you wait until this moment to tell the truth?"

"Who knew if Jade Country's aid would start strong only to fizzle out? As long as the five spaces are not all sealed, I cannot rest assured. Once all five spaces are closed, I would be ready to atone with my death immediately.

"Now there are only two Different Dimensional Spaces left. I thought I could hold on a little longer. But, unexpectedly…"

"Uncle Stephen..." At this moment, Prince Kester silently turned. "Was framing Wang Lan for terrorist connections your doing behind the scenes?"

"Yes!"

"Why? Don't you know how important Wang Lan is to us? Don't you know that framing Wang Lan would cause great harm to the Kingdom of Ice and Snow?"

"I do know, that's why I dared to! Because I was certain that no matter what I said or did, he would not be harmed one bit.

"The Minister of Finance came to me a week ago, and he told me the nation was out of money. His Majesty the King was even considering selling the energy mines in the Coteville Area to obtain loans from Citibank.

"This is the lifeblood of the Kingdom of Ice and Snow, and without it, what hope does the country have? I told him to stay calm, and that I would find a way to get the money. That's why I was so eager to sell off the twelve tons of Space Stones in stock.

"It just never occurred to me that the man from the Duanmu Family would have already become an agent of Jade Country, and he had quietly begun to investigate me. I could be honest about everything I had done to His Majesty, but it absolutely could not fall into the hands of Jade Country.

"I had no choice but to kill the man and create evidence that he was a Paradise Bird terrorist. As for framing Wang Lan, that was a spur-of-the-moment action. The purpose was to get some leverage in negotiations with Jade Country, to gain some initiative and give up fewer interests.

"Between nations, there is no sincere friendship, only eternal interests. Jade Country is just one of the greedy sharks, the one with the most cultured appearance, but that doesn't mean they don't want to devour us."

"And then? Your plan fell apart and Jade Country caught your weakness, putting us in a completely passive situation!"

"Passive? All of this has been within my plans, my dear King. On the way here, I have already ingested poison, and the wax capsule wrapped around it should be almost digested by now.

"As long as I die, Your Majesty can push all the blame onto me, and the Kingdom of Ice and Snow remains the immaculate Kingdom of Ice and Snow. It was me... conspiring with the Paradise Bird... it was me... plotting to snatch away the Kingdom of Ice and Snow for the Paradise Bird... everything... is my... fault..."

With the fading of the last word, Stephen's pale face, covered with silver hair, was beaded with sweat. The dripping sweat, along with the blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, fell drip by drip.

In the end, the elderly man who had dedicated his life to the Kingdom of Ice and Snow slowly collapsed.

「That night, Wang Lan had a good sleep.」

He was not at all concerned that the Kingdom of Ice and Snow would cover up or conceal anything. The evidence of Stephen's actions was in his hands, and before the evidence, all cover-ups would not be able to block the wrath of Jade Country.

The next morning, bright sunshine spread across the land. Just as Wang Lan had finished washing up and was about to head to the canteen for breakfast, a senior notified him to go to the headquarters meeting room.

Wang Lan quickly changed his route and coincidentally ran into Yu Ruoyun on the way.

"Good morning!"

"It seems the Kingdom of Ice and Snow has reached a result," Yu Ruoyun said, her expression not as relaxed as Wang Lan's, her voice low.

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