​"The Trillah Kingdom was founded by King Brotz Von Trillah, who was one of the seven kings that rebelled against the empire, as you just read," Martha continued, taking over the history lesson. "Our kingdom is located at the very outskirts of the continent. That is why we only share borders with two other nations: the Tessan Kingdom to the south, and the Crestfall Kingdom to the east. To the north, there is only a frozen wasteland of snow. As for the west—where our specific barony is located—there is the Great Forest. It is said that anyone who ventures deep into that forest is never seen or heard from again." Martha said to Ian with serous expression.

​"And that covers it for the geography of the kingdom now, for the current affairs and the peerage system," Martha said, her expression turning grim. "At the very bottom of the noble hierarchy are the Barons. There are so many Barons in this kingdom. In fact, some Barons don’t even have a single piece of land to manage; they only own a large estate in the Capital. That is one of the reasons why our family is often scoffed at by other nobles because we even got a small territory to govern while some don’t."

​"Next are the Viscounts. That is where real nobility starts. In this entire kingdom, there are only six Viscounts, and each of them controls at least two full towns," she explained.

​"Above them are the Counts. Counts control entire cities and hold enough authority to have lower nobles, like Viscounts and Barons, serve directly under them. In this entire kingdom, there are only four Counts—one for each side of the kingdom. In our western region, the one who rules closest to us is Count David, a Fourth-Class Mage."

​Martha visibly shivered as she mentioned Count David’s name, wrapping her arms around herself.

​Ian noticed her sudden discomfort. "Is something wrong, Aunty? You seem shaken just mentioning that guy."

​"Well... that man is an absolute monster. He is a notorious womanizer who abuses his wives and concubines to the extreme. It’s an open secret that some of them have even committed suicide just to escape from him," Martha said, her voice filled with disgust. "When I was younger, he actually wanted to take me as his wife. Thank the heavens father firmly refused him."

​"That must have been terrifying," Tracy said softly, looking at Martha with sympathy.

​"It was a long time ago. It’s just a bad memory that surfaces whenever I hear his name," Martha sighed, quickly regaining her composure.

​"Where was I? Yes—after the Counts, we have the Marquis. There are only two of them in this kingdom. As I mentioned in the meeting, there is Marquis Silas Blackwood in the south, who is supporting the Second Prince, and Marquis Julia Graves, who is supporting the First Prince. A Marquis holds a terrifying amount of power. They control the borders of the kingdom and guard against invasion from our neighbouring kingdoms. They have power to control the army so that is why they are so influential."

​"And finally, at the very top, there is the Duke. There is only one in the kingdom, and that is Duke Snow," Martha said.

Tracy, who had been standing quietly in the corner, suddenly flinched. A violent shiver ran down her spine the absolute second the name ’Snow’ left Martha’s lips. Tracy quickly lowered her head, tightly gripping the fabric of her maid skirt to stop her hands from trembling.

​Seemingly unaware of Tracy’s reaction—or perhaps deliberately pretending to be—Martha’s piercing golden eyes darted over to glance at Tracy’s striking white hair for a split second before smoothly returning her attention to Ian.

​"Duke Snow controls the entire northern region of the kingdom with his own massive private army. The only reason the Royal Family hasn’t done anything to curb the Snow Family’s military power is because the Duke’s ancestors personally helped the King’s ancestor—specifically King Brotz Von Trillah—seize the throne during the great civil war that destroyed the Aurelian Empire. But now that the current King is weak and dying, the Snow Family head is eyeing for the throne for themselves. I guess they no longer feel comfortable serving under someone else," Martha explained.

​"I see," Ian nodded, fully understanding the dire political landscape. "I guess the entire kingdom is on edge right now because of the King’s failing health, huh?"

​"Yeah. Once he dies, it is really going to be hell out there," Martha agreed.

​"Thanks for the information, Aunty. And, of course, thank you for the scolding me and giving that pep talk earlier, and I will try to control my anger next time." Ian said with a small smile.

​"Of course..But if you really want to make me happy, you should go and apologize to your Uncle Jacob for your behavior," she requested.

​"That was the plan, but with how fast the time has moved, I guess I will have to go find him tomorrow morning," Ian said.

​Martha nodded and stood up from the bed, smoothing out her dress to leave.

​"Oh, by the way, Aunty... there was something important I wanted to ask you," Ian suddenly spoke up.

​"Mmm? What is it?"

​"Well, I have been really curious as to why you sent, Isaac, to Trillah Academy," Ian said, tilting his head. "With your vast intelligence network, you definitely know that the Academy is not a great place for weak nobles, especially for a Thorne. He is practically guaranteed to suffer from severe bullying there. I myself didn’t even last a week there before I had to drop out." Ian said recalling the previous Ian’s memories of the academy.

​Ian expected a logical, calculated answer from her aunty. He did not expect Martha’s face to instantly twist into an expression of pure, unadulterated anguish.

"I guess, I should tell you since you are here, I just wanted to get more evidence first" She said staring down.

"Tell me what?"

​She slowly sat back down heavily on the bed, her hands trembling. "I sent Isaac to the Academy because I thought it was the safest place for him. I needed him far away from that man," she said, a deep, venomous anger bleeding into her voice.

​"That man?" Ian asked, his brow furrowing.

​"Yes. Him. My husband. Your so-called Uncle," she spat.

​"...!" Ian just stared at her, completely stunned into silence.

​"As you know, I am in charge of gathering intelligence for the family," Martha began, her voice shaking violently. "When my mole inside the Eden Guild dug deep for information regarding your father’s assassination, he found a rumor. The rumor stated that the contract to kill my brother was placed by an ’old, retired assassin’."

​Martha looked up at Ian, tears brimming in her eyes. "I make it a point to know the history of every single employee who works in my estate. Long ago, when I married Alarick, he brought his personal assistant, Edward, with him. I looked into Edward’s past, and I discovered that he used to be a professional assassin. Back then, I didn’t care much, but when I read that spy report... I connected the dots and it dawned on me."

​A tear finally escaped and rolled down her cheek. "Ever since that day, I have looked at my husband differently. The way he talks, the way he smiles and his actions to people... it all felt so suspicious and cold. I couldn’t stay in that house knowing full well he might be the man who orchestrated my brother’s murder. So, I fled to the Main House, claiming I was just busy with ’work’."

​Martha buried her face in her hands, her shoulders heaving. "As for Isaac... I couldn’t take him with me without raising Alarick’s suspicions, but I couldn’t leave my son alone with that monster either! What if Alarick brainwashed him? Or hurt him? So, I forced Isaac to go to the Academy. Even if he suffers from bullying there, at least he is safe from his own father!"

​Ian listened quietly, the sheer weight of her tragic revelation pressing down on the room. Tracy stood frozen in the corner, her hands covering her mouth in shock. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

​"And do you want to know the absolute worst part, Ian?" Martha cried, looking at her trembling hands as if they were stained with blood. "Jacob and I were the only two people in the world who knew the exact, travel route you and your father were taking the day you were ambushed. But... I told my husband about it. Just casual conversation as a wife."

​She let out a devastating, heartbroken sob.

​"I gave the mastermind his target. Sometimes... I feel like I am the one who killed my brother." She said crying.