Vanessa was stunned by what she heard.
Only after a long while did she tug at her hair in anguish.
"Wait, what are you even talking about... I think I understand a little. Everything revolves around 'important historical nodes,' and nothing else matters?"
Victoria nodded slowly. "Everything else is incidental and will not truly affect history. The world is held up by these individual nodes."
Vanessa pondered for a while, her expression growing increasingly pained. "Like how the establishment of the Gear Republic marked the beginning of the Second Era, but what truly mattered was the invention of the steam engine."
"The invention of the steam engine was an inevitable historical node, while the emergence of the Gear Republic was incidental?"
Victoria gave her a long look. "Your example is wrong. The steam engine was not 'invented,' but your reasoning is sound. What truly drives an era forward is the Industrial Revolution, not a change of nations."
"Or take today. Someone pointing out that there is rotten flesh upon the Throne was inevitable, but you being the person before the Throne was incidental."
She stepped forward and gently rested her palm on the crown of Vanessa's head. Vanessa felt herself gradually calming down.
"For certain reasons, you shifted history, and that has affected you in turn. You will be fixed in place as a fulcrum. That is why I said you can never become a noble."
Victoria's expression dimmed a little.
Vanessa tried to breathe deeply, but her body only felt heavier and heavier.
She knew why. Exposure to [Secret History] assaulted her will; hallucinations and delirium were normal symptoms.
And what Victoria had spoken of was an extremely important part even of secret history. Though she had deliberately blurred the crucial portions, Vanessa still struggled to bear it.
"I...