Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 203 The Ferocious Bird
"As expected, there was no second princess; there never has been."

Rean put down his heraldry book and sighed.

The worst outcome has been confirmed. If we trace the royal family's records back seven or eight generations with certain conditions in mind, we can see something strange.

"In previous generations, there were even seventh princes, but there was still only one princess."

Lions are actually a relatively fast-producing group, and they are also known for having a high rate of female offspring, so this record is clearly problematic.

The biggest problem isn't that we have too few daughters, but that we have too few children!

It is utterly shameful that the number of members of the Lion Clan royal family has never exceeded double digits.

Furthermore, male lions are a notorious breed of promiscuous men, yet most of their kings and princes are exceptionally "chaste," with very few illegitimate children.

The most incredible thing is that the descendants of those "princes" often abandon their royal status and surname without hesitation, becoming true members of the separate family. At this time, they have many children and grandchildren.

"Curse it!"

There's no need to think about it anymore. If it's not a problem with the genes of this ethnic group, it can most likely verify the rumors that the royal family is cursed.

The key to triggering the curse is also obvious: the so-called "second princess".

"The genes seem to be fine, so, the extra daughter..."

During the process of having the fifth and seventh princes, there should have been several daughters (it is said that the male-to-female ratio of the lion clan is 1 to 3).

Since even illegitimate daughters can trigger a curse, Rean didn't dare to think about where the extra daughters went.

This explanation also explains why royal family members are always short-lived and have few children, but suddenly have many children and grandchildren after leaving the royal family. It's hard to imagine someone being forced to harm their own children; anyone with a modicum of humanity couldn't bear that.

This result relieved Rean, as it seemed to confirm that the problem lay with Dania's aunt, not her.
Did you find what you were looking for?

"Well, thanks."

This is a bookstore on the lower level of a mage tower in Mage Street.

Normal books in this world are ridiculously expensive, especially those related to religion, theology, and history. On the contrary, those poorly written practical technical books such as mathematics and chemistry are relatively cheap.

Rean estimated that this was mainly due to the different groups of people who needed it. Those who studied these "sciences" were actually the lower and middle-class craftsmen in this world, while "humanities" such as religion were monopolized by the nobles and the church.

This was not only knowledge for them, but also the basis for their status and power. That's why they had this need and research. Every large family had its own heraldry room and archivist.

To understand the situation of the royal family, it is very difficult to conduct direct research; the royal archives are not accessible to ordinary people.

However, "heraldry" involves the family changes of various noble and royal families, their blood ties and alliances, and the ups and downs of many branch families. It is natural to mention the process of change of various glorious families.

The core of the kingdom's heraldry is the royal family. By comparing several books, one can roughly understand the situation of the royal family members.

Incidentally, Rean didn't go to the official library or the nobles' collections; instead, he went to see a mage.

For mages, what's valuable are all kinds of magical knowledge and related technical knowledge. Heraldry, which these nobles treasure, is actually meaningless junk knowledge. It's just something they habitually collect in a bookshelf. Rean could just invite Royce in by treating him to a meal.

Even Royce didn't take it seriously, thinking it was Rean who had obtained the title of knight, and hurriedly began to design his own noble emblem.

As a friend, he actually suggested to Rean that as a new mage, he shouldn't spend too much energy on this and shouldn't be too hasty, which made Rean both amused and exasperated.

But Reus's advice was not without reason.

A noble coat of arms is often a family’s greatest achievement. If you design it when you’re young, it will be harder to achieve anything later.

Revising a noble coat of arms requires notifying countless heraldic archives to revise accordingly, and even spending one's own money to print new heraldic catalogs and books, making it a double nightmare in terms of finances and connections.

Among these books on aristocratic heraldry, Rean was surprised to discover that the royal family had actually made changes!

"So the original royal coat of arms wasn't a white lion, but a white griffin. Was it changed later?"

This is actually quite rare. Every animal and every symbol in heraldry has its own special meaning, which only heraldry experts can clearly explain.

Those who split up or supported the original family often only made additions and modifications to the original coat of arms.

For example, change the color, add more swords and shields, or add an animal.

The lord family of Radiant City is a typical example; their family crest is a brown griffin guarding the crown, clearly demonstrating their loyalty and dutifulness.

To outsiders, the transformation from a white griffin to a griffin might seem like just a change of pattern. But for those who study noble genealogies and coats of arms, it signifies a major upheaval, even at the cost of altering the family's ancestral glory, and can have significant political implications.

After all, if your boss changes the emblem, will the subordinates and the branch families also change theirs?

In the eyes of the nobility, this was a matter of great importance that could shake the very foundation of the nation.

"Tsk tsk tsk, truly a super stingy jerk, the most vengeful bastard."

The snake crawled out again, as if it were hinting at something.

Rean didn't ask. He knew that if he did, the other person would disappear again, which was itself a kind of hint.

This implies that I can't say about it, but you can find out for yourself!
In fact, this guy had been guiding Rean to notice the problem.

The frequent appearance of snakes increased Rean's sense of urgency.

He knew that snakes weren't troublemakers, and that a crisis was probably imminent; otherwise, there would be no reason for the snake to guide him so frequently.

"Is it a beast? A beast that hates griffins?"

The snake's disappearance only proved that Rean was on the right track. If Rean had guessed wrong, he could have ridiculed him!
This sudden disappearance seems to be a way of telling certain rules, "It's none of my business/I wasn't there."

On the missing book, however, there was an image of a white griffin wearing a crown.

Rean picked up the book, dusted it off, and discovered that it was a fairy tale book that had been mistakenly delivered.

"Was it because of the cover that it was sent to the wrong address?"

Rean opened the book; it was an illustrated fairy tale, probably intended for the early education of aristocratic children.

The content is simple, yet it involves the legendary monarch who founded the country.

The white hero, the Lion King, wielding a magic sword, cleaved through mountains and clouds, slaying the Demon King and successfully establishing this glorious kingdom. This is actually quite common; most legendary stories are like this.

However, Rean noticed some subtle details.
"Drive out the ferocious birds that have occupied the ancient city and build it into a royal capital. Uh, wouldn't it be that old capital that was destroyed?"

Is the old capital where the dragon disaster occurred actually the old nest of that so-called "fierce bird"?
"The vengeful bird, the dragon-winged ferocious bird."

Rean has received the snake's hint.

"Wow, the founding emperor was quite a force to be reckoned with, driving away a beast?"

That beast appeared to be a ferocious bird capable of flight.

Rean noticed that the earliest white griffin pattern had black feathers under its claws!
But at the feet of the white lion, there were only gold coins and ears of wheat. Was this a sign of concession?

"No wonder the snake reminded me to upgrade my dragon wings and dragon eyes as soon as possible. He warned me about the ferocious beasts that might be attacked from the air? We must deal with them through aerial combat?"

Rean felt a chill run down his spine; this was probably the most difficult area to deal with.

As a melee unit, I'd be a sitting duck if I went up in the air.

"Not only that, the griffin turned into a lion. If this is also due to the beast's curse, then it should hate griffins quite a bit, and is also one of the snake's natural enemies."

The establishment of a kingdom is undoubtedly the greatest achievement of the royal family, so this white griffin should represent that achievement.

"The griffin representing the royal family drove away this ferocious bird. Well, if it was truly a beast, driving it away wasn't enough; it was probably killed or completely sealed away. Then it cursed the royal family, preventing them from having a second daughter and indirectly suppressing their prosperity."

Population is always the foundation of a family's and a kingdom's prosperity. This vicious curse has left the royal family with very few members; how could they possibly rise to power?

"A black bird that hates griffins, it is quite vengeful and, to some extent, a natural enemy of snakes."

It seemed the answer was almost there. Rean suddenly stood up, realizing he couldn't afford to waste any more time.

The snake's hint was correct; it was a battlefield he couldn't handle at the moment, and he had to find a way to deal with it.

"Does the royal family know that the kingdom is facing a crisis from two beasts at the same time? Well, they should know, but they probably dare not say, and cannot say."

[Having obtained part of the truth, we are currently over 30% certain; exceeding 50% will allow us to forcibly activate the Heroic Soul Card.]

(End of this chapter)