Imperial Crown.

Chapter 623 Everything has a price, and everything has cracks.

"Girl," "You've worked hard."

Raven ignored the matter between Viston and Comos. He didn't even glance at it. He spared Comos's life to avenge Viston. He strode forward, stood before Melissa, extended his hand, and said with a smile.

"Is this the legendary Raven the Little Bee?"

Raven looked at Melissa. Melissa, in turn, sized Raven up as well, silently thinking to herself. Slender build, handsome features. Short black hair, giving him an odd appearance, like suddenly seeing an orc wearing only underwear. It always made one want to look more closely. His black eyes were deep and clear, remarkably pure. Only his black and gold robe exuded an aura of "outstanding" pressure and majesty. He was far too young. Too young for his age. He looked younger than Veston, even younger than herself. His skin was fair, without a single mole. Clean as a baby. His smile at that moment gave Melissa the illusion that he had transformed from an incomparably dignified "gloomy nobleman" into a kind and approachable "boy next door." "So this is Raven, the one my husband Veston has been longing for." "He certainly has a powerful charm." Melissa had to admit it. Raven was unlike any noble she had ever met in her life. For some reason, a pang of sadness struck her. She used to think that "charm," such an ethereal thing, only existed in comic books and in the domineering CEOs of novels. Now, for the first time, she had a real experience of it.

Charisma, in essence, is a person's ever-changing style. He can be a high-and-mighty, unassailable nobleman, or a gentle and approachable friend. Just now, Raven's smile even carries a hint of shyness. Even compared to Emperor Habsburg, Raven lacks Habsburg's effeminate manner, and doesn't constantly display his power and authority, nor does he deliberately maintain that oppressive aura.

"Well"

Melissa didn't quite understand why Raven shook her hand upon meeting her. What kind of strange etiquette was this?! But despite her confusion, she showed respect. Holding her son in one arm, she extended her hand to shake Raven's. But Raven's grip was very firm, catching her somewhat off guard. This firmness seemed to convey some kind of message—trust, gratitude, excitement, importance… and also a sense of power.

A simple "sister!" and a firm handshake instantly brought the two closer, easing the awkwardness of their first meeting. However, to her dismay, Melissa was reminded of a past event: her grandfather had betrothed her to Raven, and she had cried her heart out. Seeing him in person now, she felt a pang of unease.

"Haha!" "My Conger baby!" "Princess Winry!" "Come, come, come!"

Fortunately, Raven's attention was not on her. He quickly took Conger from her arms and then squatted down to pick up Winry as well.

Unbeknownst to Melissa, Raven's powerful mental perception had already detected the panic in her eyes. It must be said, Melissa was indeed an extremely beautiful woman, with a stunning figure. Her wavy eyes also possessed a captivating, almost yearning quality. However, after being huddled in the small, secret room for so long, Melissa was also filthy and smelly, which somewhat lowered her overall appeal.

This also made the despicable little bee unwilling to perform the hand-kissing greeting anymore, and secretly changed it to a handshake.

Link, standing to the side, had never seen Raven so "carried away with joy" before. Holding the two children, he didn't seem to mind the smell, kissing one after the other. He was beaming with delight and doting on them. He stepped forward and teased, "Now he has to call you grandpa."

After cleanly and efficiently killing Comos, Vesdon walked towards them. He happened to hear this and his face darkened immediately. "Uncle Link, shut up."

Melissa, standing to the side, also seemed somewhat awkward and embarrassed. She could only repeatedly run her fingers through her hair, tucking it behind her ears. Wouldn't that mean she had to call Raven "Dad"?! But looking at Raven's young face, there was absolutely no way she could say that. Absolutely not.

Eric was so amused that he doubled over, his cheeks flushed red from laughing.

The group chatted and laughed as they found a hotel with a hot spring, booked rooms, and let the Viston family soak in it. Raven and the others had been flying for two months and needed a bath too.

After showering, the group returned to their room, where a sumptuous feast had already been prepared. However, these dishes were hardly to Raven and the others' liking. Accustomed to the delicacies of Eagle City, these were like chewing on chaff and grass. Melissa, on the other hand, ate with great relish with her two children.

Vesdon ate heartily; he had been starving for the past six months.

Raven, with his legs crossed, looked at him with a smile. "You've lost weight," he said casually.

Vesdon paused noticeably as he put food in his mouth, but quickly resumed eating, though his eyes had unknowingly become red. He lowered his head, not wanting anyone to see the tears streaming down his face.

"Your arm is better?" Eric asked in surprise, his eyes wide with surprise.

Link was also somewhat surprised. He had previously thought that Vesdon's right hand was still that alchemical prosthetic limb.

"Hmm." "It recovered when I broke through to the fourth tier." (I made a mistake before, I'm very sorry.)

"Viston said in a low voice," he then discreetly wiped his eyes before looking up and laughing, "You'll never guess what my martial soul is! Haha!"

“I bet it’s just an arm,” Raven said, feeding Conger as he held him.

"Tch," "No fun," Vesdon could only continue eating with his head down.

After having enough wine and food.

It had already gotten dark.

Suddenly, Vesdon turned to Melissa with a cold expression and said, "Melissa, I want to separate from you. I'm being merciful by not killing you, considering we were husband and wife."

Upon hearing this, Melissa turned pale. Even Raven and the others' expressions changed. Eric and Link, who had been chatting and laughing, immediately stopped and sat up straight.

"What's wrong?" Raven asked, puzzled.

She betrayed me!

With great difficulty, Vesdon revealed the truth.

"Ugh"

Raven sighed softly, handed Conger to Eric, then stood up and waved to Viston, "Come with me."

The two entered the room. Now, Vesdon was even taller than him, no longer as fat and bloated as he had been as a child; his muscles looked very toned. Raven squeezed his right arm. "I can tell you still love her, right?" "Tell me." "What are your truest thoughts right now?"

Viston looked pained; now that it was just the two of them, tears streamed down his face uncontrollably. He looked like a wronged child, sobbing uncontrollably. "But...but I really can't forgive her." "She almost killed Conger and Winry."

Raven patted the back of his head, which was still damp from his shower. "Silly boy," he said. "You need to be more mature. You need to pull yourself together!" "You need to understand," he said. "Everything has a price, everything has cracks." "There's no such thing as a perfect person in this world, is there?"

"Let's talk behind closed doors." "I'll tell you a story." "A true story."

"When I first took over Eagle Fortress, Eric almost killed me!"

"And then there was a second thing, which was that back then, he was forced by Nancy's power to submit to her and reveal my plans and deployments to attack Bloody Heights."

"This isn't over yet." "I was once thrown into the Abyss by Habs." "Eric actually agreed to your mother's insane plan." "He's bringing everyone to the capital to rescue me." "He almost destroyed the Griffith family! He destroyed all my hard work."

“Sigh,” Raven sighed, “You know what happened recently? Something incredibly regrettable and heartbreaking happened. Eric was careless and let Hervy and Lamb get him drunk. He almost killed Thor too! Of those second-generation superhumans, only four survived. Baydo lost both his legs and became crippled.”

"I'm telling you this to teach you a lesson. No one is perfect." "Just because of this, should I distance myself from Eric? Or even execute him?!"

"It's like when I released the Snow Chicken Bent, who had betrayed us." "Back then, nobody understood, everyone was cursing me."

"If a man wants to achieve great things and make a name for himself," he must have a broad mind.

"Otherwise, we will follow in Habsburg's footsteps."

Raven earnestly advised him.

Upon hearing Raven's account, Vesdon was utterly shocked, so much so that he forgot to wipe away the tears streaming down his face. He was completely unaware of these past events. His jaw dropped in horror as he heard about Thor and the others nearly being wiped out.

But his expression still showed great struggle and slight hesitation.

Raven shook his head, gently clapping his hands, and said, "Let me tell you what will happen if you leave her in the capital." "Habbs is dead." "His grandfather, Gottfried's head, is stuffed in Habbs's abdomen." "I saw it with my own eyes." "Next, Seraphim will inevitably begin to eradicate the Keynes family and the old-school families." "If you leave her here, she will be stripped naked, paraded through the streets in humiliation, and finally beheaded as a traitor." "Is this really the result you want?"

"Yes," "You find it hard to accept the truth now," "You find it hard to bear her betrayal," "But what about in 3 years?" "What about in 5 years?" "What about in 10 years?" "What about in 20 years?"

"When you finally understand," "Will you deeply regret your decision today?!"

"I'm not saying this to force you to agree to keep her." "The choice is entirely yours." "Visdon," "Cherishing the person in front of you is a compulsory course for every man before he matures."

"A man can only truly mature from a boy when he has lost the most precious person in his life and suddenly realizes it."

"This person" is either a mother or a lover.

Raven patted Vesdon on the back. "Why not take Melissa with you?" "For the sake of her two children." "That way, even if you regret it a few years later, you'll still have the power to divorce her." "Instead of leaving her in this dangerous, cannibalistic capital."

These words seemed to truly move Vesdon. After pondering for a while, he nodded solemnly, "I will listen to you, elder brother."

Raven patted Viston's cheek and then gave him a big hug. There's nothing in this world more powerful than a heartfelt hug from a loved one.

After a long while, the two parted ways. Raven walked ahead and headed into the house, saying as he went, "Visdon, you must remember, in this life, there will always be regrets, big or small, more or less."

"Always ready to grant a request." "This is the motto of the Keynesian family of Habsburgs."

"The dead never die." This is the family motto of Ferdinand's Vanderlei family.

"No surrender, no surrender." "This is the Griffith family motto."

"And now," "of these three families that have been passed down for thousands of years, two have already been wiped out!" "Be careful."

Clearly, Raven had found a suitable successor. He held up his index finger and earnestly instructed the person in front of him, "You must be careful." "Women and children can be careless." "But men cannot." "I lost Nancy because I wasn't careful enough!" "It became the pain and regret of my life."

"Also due to trust and carelessness," "those second-generation rich kids casually stole my precious liquor." "I lost those hot-blooded second-generation rich kids whom I had painstakingly nurtured for many years."

Raven gripped Viston's shoulder. "Don't let your anger cloud your judgment. Don't make a decision you'll regret for the rest of your life."

Vesdon's Adam's apple bobbed, and he swallowed. He nodded vigorously.

"Let's go."

Raven led Vesdon out of the room again, just in time to meet Melissa's gaze, who had been watching the room closely. Raven smiled at her, "Veston was drunk earlier." "He said some nonsense." "He's fine now." At this moment, Raven truly understood the meaning of the saying, "If you're not deaf and blind, you're not fit to be a head of the household."

Melissa silently turned her head away. Clearly, the moment Raven appeared outside the secret room, she knew her husband was right.

“Raven…” “Brother.” “Have you seen my father and grandfather?” Melissa asked anxiously. She and Vesdon had been hiding in the secret room for too long and were not very familiar with the situation in the capital.

Raven sighed softly. "Melissa," he said, "listen to me. What I'm about to say might be hard for you to accept." He glanced at Link as he spoke. Link immediately understood and took Winry from Melissa's arms.

“Originally, there were four factions within the capital.” “They were—King Habsburg, Prime Minister Hamilton, your family’s old faction, and Serafinu’s new faction.”

"Therefore, over the years," "the old and new factions have kept each other in check," and "the situation in the capital has been very stable."

"However, King Habs was determined to deal with me." "So he sent Ferdinand out of the capital." "That's not so bad." "But the problem is," "the orcs had already annexed the province of Crispi." "This made Egihard feel threatened and pressured." "After all, his territory was in the neighboring province of Venadi." "So without the king's order, he rushed back to quell the orc rebellion." "He probably thought this trip would only take two or three months at most."

"But with his departure, the old-school faction in the capital is now down to just your family."

"This gave Serafinu an opportunity." "He conspired with Prime Minister Hamilton to murder your grandfather Egihard." "He also slaughtered all of your Hainhotz family's relatives in the capital." "Ferdinand also died at my hands." "His family was similarly subjected to Serafinu's bloody and brutal purge."

"At this point," "two of the old school lineages have been gone," "leaving only Egihard."

"Serafinu effectively took control of the entire capital, effectively sidelining King Habs." "He then ordered someone to poison Habs." "He waited until I came to the capital before removing Habs' internal organs and framing me." "He made me bear the stigma of regicide."

Raven tried to keep things simple. He only said what he could say. However, the truth of how all of this happened step by step was far more complex and dark than Raven could describe.

The current situation in the Keynesian Empire:
King Habsburg (X)

Prime Minister Hamilton
The old school: Egihard Berenheim. Ferdinand Van Doria (X). Gottfried Hainholz (X).

The new school: Serafino Queseland. Wittus Ireyvonde (X). Oculius Melodian.

As for why Raven knew that Vertus was dead, it was naturally due to his martial spirit. He had seen Vertus at a party eight years ago, but couldn't find him; he was just a blur of white light. He was obviously dead. But how Vertus died, and why, was unknown to Raven.

As for "complexity," let's take one example—

King Habsburg was naturally dissatisfied with Raven. Personally, Raven had stolen his beloved Lux. Publicly, Raven had killed Anthony and then Ramsay Bolton. So how could he not hate Raven? Yet, despite his hatred, Habsburg remained rational. On a smaller scale, he could repeatedly use his royal power to suppress and exploit Raven. On a larger scale, he could send the Nameless Ones to kill Raven, just as he had destroyed Montreal.

In fact, that's exactly what he did. He sent out the Nameless One—J—Ezio.

But... who put him on the decision-making stage, forced to openly confront Raven?! It was the old school. It was Gottfried. The old school feared that Habs would seek another battle with Insa, so they wanted to divert Habs' attention. They ordered Tyrone to launch a surprise attack, a complete showdown with Raven. This forced Habs into a position where he had no choice but to give the order.

The old guard believed that the power structure of the human race on the continent was now solidified and stable. Without a legitimate reason, there was no need to attack the Insa Empire. However, Habs, driven by personal political ambitions and desires, wanted to conquer Insa and become the ruler of humanity.

From the perspective of the old school of thought, attacking the Insa Empire would be both wasteful of resources and manpower, and would also damage Keynes' international reputation. That's correct.

From Habsburg's perspective, attacking the Insa Empire would not only avenge his defeat but also weaken a group of disobedient and stubborn old nobles, thus consolidating his own power and position. That's not wrong.

Yet, it was precisely in this extremely complex political calculation and game that the bitter consequences we see today ultimately resulted. The old guard has completely withered away, a classic case of shooting themselves in the foot!
As for "darkness"—

What Raven couldn't tell Melissa, he still can't tell her now.

For example, how he used "confession" to get Thomas to deceive Habsburg.

For example, he was incredibly cunning, using the "Hidden Insight" technique with the Image Recall Beads to deceive everyone. This led the old guard to believe that destroying Raven would be easy.

Furthermore, how did he exploit Vesdon's "betrayal" to gradually fuel Habs's inflated desires? He convinced Habs that through Vesdon, he could control the Griffith family after Raven's death. This led to Habs's "impatience," causing him to agree to the old school's request for a final battle with Raven.

and also
and also……

The most crucial point is his relationship with Serafino...

……

(End of this chapter)