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Chapter 57: Transformation of Marlina [3.4K]

As the plan draws closer to its conclusion, Ansel must maintain the necessary caution. After all, composure and elegance do not conflict with meticulous prudence.

His training of Seraphina is also a challenge to the world, any negligence could potentially lead to the nullification of his previous efforts.

Therefore, at this moment...

"Um... um..."

Seraphina, whose chin is being scratched by Ansel, tightly closes her eyes, yet uncontrollably emits a purring sound.

— She probably intends to squeeze out a beast-like growl from her throat as a form of intimidation, but the sound that eventually comes out has nothing to do with any beast.

"Have-have you had enough?"

Seraphina, squatting on the ground, suppresses the urge to jump up and punch Ansel in the face, and asks through gritted teeth.

Damn you Hydral! I will punch you to pieces!

Ansel enjoys the sight of the girl\'s embarrassment and anger, yet her inability to do anything about it brings him pleasure.

After the night at the Red Frost Manor, Seraphina\'s feelings towards him have shifted from indescribable complexity to closeness.

Seraphina\'s nature is wild, even chaotic. Her family is very harmonious, and she did not lack love during her upbringing, but there was one thing she lacked: recognition.

Although she brought this upon herself, her nature rooted in her soul prevents her from reflecting, or rather, even if she reflects, she will not accept it. She is running headlong on a path of either tearing apart obstacles or self-destruction.

Among the four heroes in the original world line, Seraphina is the only one crowned with the title of "Emperor".

It is precisely because of her unchanging, indomitable wildness and madness that she embarked on the path of a tyrant after experiencing blood hatred and despair.

However, she has no interest or brains to be an emperor.

No one would accept or recognize this arrogant dominance, but Ansel did.

That night, for the first time in her sixteen years of life, Seraphina heard someone say to her, "I recognize everything about you."

The corresponding fact makes it impossible for her to doubt Ansel\'s words.

Because Ansel never told her "you can\'t do it", but taught her "how to do it" after each punishment.

— Except for those boring etiquette.

"Seraphina, it seems that you haven\'t been focusing on your training these days."

Ansel withdraws his hand and continues to deal with the documents after petting the dog to relax.

"...What do you care? I\'m saving you money and you\'re not happy?"

Seraphina punches Ansel\'s thigh, then rudely sits on the desk, crosses her legs, supports her cheeks with both hands, and looks like a boss.

Ansel knows very well that his young wolf lady is using this method to hide her guilt.

After secretly recording the Count of Stoneheart\'s speech at the meeting, Seraphina hasn\'t found any opportunity for a whole week.

She watched as the policies of Red Frost City gradually relaxed, the praises of the civilians gradually increased, and rumors about "Hydral\'s pressure" began to spread, but she was powerless to do anything about it.

How can they cheer for such a small profit! What you could have gotten is much more than what they pretend to give!

Seraphina, who is worried every day, naturally has no mood to exercise.

"I thought you hit a bottleneck." When no one is around, Ansel has no requirements for his own people. The social etiquette of the nobility is old and boring, he also finds it annoying, but maintaining it on the surface is necessary, even if he can do whatever he wants.

"The path from the Crystal Staircase to the Throne is a dual transformation of spirit and flesh. Only when you ascend to the Throne, you truly enter the world of extraordinary beings."

Ansel glanced at Seraphina\'s white and tender thighs. Because it has been getting colder recently, the study and even the entire mansion often maintain a heated state, so Seraphina usually wears hot pants.

Well... Although their world is also male-dominated, there is no oppression of women. After all, the opportunity for men and women to achieve extraordinary beings is equal, so Seraphina\'s dress is not considered "indecent", but it is indeed bold.

— Mainly because, apart from Ansel and Saville, there are no other men, and Seraphina automatically ignores the ghost-like old butler.

It\'s okay to say that she only wears it for Ansel to see.

After watching for a while, Ansel suddenly put down his pen and said, "Seraphina, can I touch your thigh?"

"Oh."

Seraphina, who is asking herself "what should I do" every day, is a bit out of it and casually responds.

The next second, her expression changes dramatically, she immediately reacts and screams, "What are you saying... yi!"

Before she finishes her words, Ansel\'s hand is already on her white, soft, plump, and firm thigh.

As Ansel, who regards self-discipline as a creed, one of the few hobbies used to relieve desire and madness, our young lord Hydral has a deep and unique research and understanding of the beauty of women.

If Marlina is more favored by Ansel in her whole person, in her soul and character, then from the most primitive reproductive impulse, the Hydral loyal to desire will choose Seraphina.

The young wolf lady who was touched on her thigh shivered first, then immediately jumped up and stepped directly on Ansel\'s desk.

"Hydral, I warn you... you, don\'t go too far!"

The girl who has been stripped and touched countless times said angrily: "There are plenty of women in this house, don\'t bother me! If you want to go crazy, go find them!"

"Even they wouldn\'t dress so coolly and sit on my desk without my request."

Ansel responded as a matter of course: "I find it hard not to interpret it as you having some special intentions."

The always truthful Hydral looked up at the snarling she-wolf with a smile: "And doing this kind of thing with a girl who suits my taste, I always accept it all."

"Suits... suits the hell!"

Seraphina, angry and ashamed, kicked at Ansel\'s shoulder, and then, the electric shock collar that hadn\'t been used for a while brought her a long-lost familiar experience.

"Uhhhhhhhh!"

Seraphina, whose foot had just been lifted, convulsed all over, shivered and fell directly onto Ansel\'s desk. From time to time, she curled up into a ball, looking fierce, just like a delicacy spread out in front of Ansel.

"Seraphina, have I been overly kind to you, causing you to forget certain things?"

Ansel, scratching Seraphina\'s chin with his finger, couldn\'t help but chuckle, "You are free to do whatever you wish, but are you prepared for failure and the subsequent punishment?"

Seraphina, somewhat accustomed to the intensity of the shock, recoiled and bit fiercely onto Ansel\'s finger.

She was shocked again, whimpering with Ansel\'s finger in her mouth.

"Observe, I can touch you without being shocked, it\'s merely a simple application of ether."

As the intensity of the shock increased, Seraphina\'s gaze became somewhat scattered. Her mouth slightly agape, drool trickling out, her tongue hanging out, while Ansel, grinning, played with her pink tongue, "You promised me you would study diligently, to improve yourself, yet you\'ve become so lax recently... it\'s rather disappointing, Seraphina."

He took out a handkerchief to wipe the drool from his finger, then wiped Seraphina\'s mouth, pinched her underarm, and moved her to the side.

"Once you\'ve regained your strength, remember to exercise."

Although he said he "always accept it all", Ansel, who had made Seraphina like this, didn\'t do much else. He just spread out the slightly wrinkled documents and continued to write, while saying meaningfully, "Otherwise, you will regret it, Seraphina."

In the study, apart from the sound of Ansel\'s pen scratching across the paper, only Seraphina\'s panting echoed.

"Hydral... you... wait..."

After an unknown amount of time, Seraphina, who finally had the strength to prop herself up, was still panting, "One day, one day, I... !"

As she was speaking, Seraphina, who was about to drool due to exhaustion, quickly inhaled.

Ansel, who was working with his head down, couldn\'t help but laugh, making the extremely embarrassed young wolf wish she could bite him to death.

"Lord Hydral, do you have a moment?"

At the same time, a soft and pleasant girl\'s voice rang out along with a knock on the door.

Seraphina was startled and before she could speak, Ansel had already said, "Come in."

And so, Marlina entered.

Upon entering, she saw her sister lying sideways on Ansel\'s desk, just propping herself up with her arms.

"..."

Marlina, who was cheerful and holding a stack of documents, looked at Seraphina, who was extremely guilty and shifted her gaze away, not daring to speak.

In recent days, Seraphina has been preoccupied with the idea of exposing the meeting of the Count of Stoneheart. With nothing else to do, she spends a great deal of time with Ansel.

As for what Seraphina is like when she\'s with Ansel... let\'s just say those who know, know.

Seraphina herself doesn\'t know how many times she\'s made mistakes or been toyed with by Ansel, only to be discovered by Marlina. At first, her sister would scold her angrily, giving her long lectures before bed. But as the number of discoveries increased, Marlina seemed to stop caring and fell into ...silence.

A silence devoid of words.

Seraphina was certainly pleased, after all, she no longer had to endure the nagging. However, when she was caught, she still felt a bit guilty.

The young girl, her hair still in simple braids, glanced at her younger sister without saying much. A gentle smile quickly returned to her face as she walked to the desk and respectfully handed a document to Ansel:

"This is a list of all the impoverished families in the city of Red Frost, divided according to the poverty line you set. It includes details down to the residents of each street and their specific income situations. Please review it."

"Has it been verified?"

"Yes, with the help of Miss Meli and Butler Saville, everything has been verified."

Marlina\'s tone became increasingly steady, her posture more dignified, her speech rarely stumbling, and she even dared to look directly into Ansel\'s eyes more and more.

Ansel took the document, occasionally nodding his head, and said with satisfaction, "You\'ve worked hard. It\'s impressive that you could complete this form in three days, Marlina."

"It\'s because you allowed me to mobilize abundant resources."

The young girl shook her head with a smile, "If I couldn\'t even do this, I would be too ashamed to serve you."

"Hey, Hydral."

Looking left and right, something seemed off about these two, as if she was inexplicably being left out.

Feeling a sudden surge of annoyance, Seraphina couldn\'t help but interrupt, "What is this for?"

— Just to mention, Seraphina remained the posture on Ansel\'s desk.

"I received a notice from the Astronomical Observatory of the Imperial Capital a while ago."

Ansel answered patiently and gently, without any hint of annoyance, "The great cold wave of the North is coming soon, within a week. I asked Marlina to count the poor families in the city of Red Frost, allocate funds, and provide them with enough coal to survive the cold wave."

"Oh... that\'s a good thing, so you\'re actually capable of doing good deeds!"

Seraphina giggled, completely oblivious to the slight frown on her sister\'s face.

But as she laughed, she felt something was off. The young girl stroked her chin, "You just said... the city of Red Frost?"

"Yes, what\'s wrong?"

"Just the city of Red Frost?"

"Yes."

"But the Red Frost territory isn\'t just the city of Red Frost!" Seraphina suddenly stood up, "What about the civilians in the other cities and villages?"

"They\'ll find a way." Ansel said calmly, "Before I came here, did all the civilians in the Red Frost territory die every year?"

"Well, that\'s not what I meant..."

Seraphina bit her lip, "Since you\'re giving away coal anyway, why not give more and help more people?"

"Seraphina!" Marlina\'s eyebrows knitted together, "Think before you speak! Don\'t be unreasonable!"

"What\'s unreasonable about it!"

The young wolf was stunned. She couldn\'t believe that these were words her gentle sister could say.

Her sister always cared about the people around her the most. Unlike her, who was always disliked by others, everyone loved Marlina. Even when she returned from the market, Marlina would use her meager money to buy candies and distribute them to the children in the village.

How could she say... helping more people is unreasonable?

"Hydral is indeed capable of helping more people! Since he wants to help, why can\'t he help more?"

Seraphina was somewhat annoyed by Marlina\'s unusual tone and attitude, "Marli, do you want those people to freeze to death in the cold wind?"

"It\'s Lord Hydral who\'s paying for it, and all the funds are provided by him personally!"

Marlina stared coldly at her sister, "You have no right to force him to do so on moral grounds."

"I..." Seraphina opened her mouth, her sister\'s unfamiliar face left her at a loss and increasingly angry.

"I... how am I not qualified! Now in the Red Frost territory... I, I have the closest relationship with him, besides the old butler!"

Although she didn\'t like to put it that way, thinking of the promise Ansel made to her that night in the manor, Seraphina\'s heart felt warm.

She raised her chin and snorted proudly, "Hydral, isn\'t that right?"

Ansel just smiled, neither denying nor agreeing.

In fact, this was tantamount to acquiescence, and Marlina\'s momentum weakened instantly. However, Seraphina was still relentless, as if she had to make Ansel admit it:

"Hydral, hey, don\'t just smile! Say something!"

Seraphina, who had regained much of her strength, sat up, moved her buttocks, and sat next to Ansel on the table. She shook his shoulder vigorously, "Is it, is it?"

"Yes, yes, yes... my Miss Seraphina."

Ansel laughed helplessly, "You\'re right, you do have the right to advise me like this."

"Hmph... hmph, hehe."

Seraphina blushed and turned her head to look at Marlina, quite smugly saying, "So, as I said before, Hydral won\'t be angry with me. We have a great relationship, so why can\'t I make suggestions?"

"..."

The young girl lowered her head and didn\'t speak, while Seraphina took her silence as an inability to respond. The joy of defeating her sister made her even more delighted. She gently tapped Ansel\'s knee with her toes, leaned down slightly, and whispered:

"So, is it okay? I, I know it\'s a bit excessive... the extra money you give away, can I owe it to you? I\'ll hunt and help you earn it back later."

"You know I have the ability, right?"

Although her voice was soft, the study was small enough for Marlina to hear clearly.

Those kind, innocent words were sharper than any blade in the world, cruelly cutting her already shattered dignity.

She couldn\'t boast to Ansel about how much effort and hard work she had put into organizing the document in just three days. Instead, she had to use "If I can\'t do this, I\'m not qualified to serve you" to clarify her position, humility, and boundaries with Ansel.

But Seraphina could so easily and casually say, "I have the ability," ask Ansel for anything, and propose any absurd ideas.

"Since you\'ve said that..."

Ansel sighed and then laughed softly, touching Seraphina\'s knee, "It seems I have no reason to refuse."

The young girl\'s face turned red, and this time she had no strong reaction. Instead, she giggled, "I knew it, Hydral, you could be a good person if you wanted to! Let me help you from now on!"

"Marlina, then please... Marlina?"

Two calls brought Marlina back from her dark thoughts. She came to her senses and met Ansel\'s worried blue eyes.

Lord Hydral...

She murmured softly in her heart.

"Yes... I\'m here, I\'m sorry, I was just lost in thought."

Marlina looked away, and for a moment, she seemed to have an illusion.

—It seemed... she saw black in Lord Hydral\'s beautiful eyes?

It seemed like a similarly beautiful... black.

"You take this ring."

Ansel took off the black snake ring from his thumb and handed it to Marlina.

"Now, not only my mansion, but all the nobles in the Red Frost territory will obey your orders. I know this task is somewhat difficult, so this kind of assistance is necessary."

Hydral spoke gently to the devout and respectful young girl, "However, no matter how difficult it is, I still have faith in you, Marlina."

"For the sake of the poor people in the Red Frost territory, do your best."

"..."

Marlina\'s lips moved, her eyes trembled.

Lord Hydral... when Seraphina, a genius like Seraphina, an extraordinary person like her, someone who truly has the ability, serves you, are you still willing to look at... look at me?

It wasn\'t a move to buy people\'s hearts, nor was it a deceptive lie. From the gentle treatment at the first meeting, the sincere respect after meeting, and the serious teaching after getting along...

Lord Hydral was looking at her.

Although her value was only to make the great existence on the throne happy, although she had no talent for achieving extraordinary things, and although she was insignificant to this world...

But Lord Hydral had been looking at her from the beginning, acknowledging her insignificant intelligence that was meaningless to the great extraordinary beings.

Yes... what Lord Hydral promised me, what he said—

[Believe me, to me, you and Seraphina are equally important]

He was... doing that too.

Marlina had countless words she wanted to pour out at this moment, but she couldn\'t say a single one.

The young girl just lowered her head and, with trembling hands, took the black snake ring from Ansel as if receiving a sacred relic.

"I will, Lord Hydral."

Clever, kind, gentle, and weak Marlina raised her head, her face beaming with an unprecedented, confident, and incredibly beautiful smile:

"However, I have a small request. Please... be sure to agree."

Seraphina instinctively felt that something was strange about her sister, but she couldn\'t pinpoint what it was.

But the corners of Ansel\'s mouth rose slightly.

The young girl who had been so submissive in front of him a while ago finally dared to make a sincere request, even using the word "be sure."

"Go ahead." The young Hydral smiled happily, "I will definitely agree."

"It\'s just a small matter. I hope I can continue to work with you as before."

Marlina spoke with a gentle smile.

During the days when Seraphina had nothing to do, she would often run to Ansel\'s study or be called to his study, which made Marlina choose to back down.

She no longer worked with Ansel but stayed in her room to deal with documents.

"Ah? That\'s all?" Seraphina scratched her cheek, "I thought it was something else. What\'s the big deal about asking Hydral about this, Marli?"

She said nonchalantly, as if breaking into Ansel\'s study was as simple as eating and drinking.

"Also." Marlina spoke softly, not looking at her sister.

"I hope that when I work with you, you can refuse Seraphina\'s entry into the study."

"Um... there was another request... huh?!"

Before Ansel could speak, Seraphina\'s fur bristled instantly. She turned her head to stare at Marlina, puzzled and slightly annoyed, "Marli, what do you mean?"

"Literally."

Marlina spoke to Seraphina with infinite gentleness and kindness, "Seri, Lord Hydral is tired from dealing with documents every day, and my abilities are insufficient. I might be disturbed by you. For the sake of the civilians in the Red Frost territory, can you not bother me?"

This remark poked at Seraphina\'s increasingly inflated "self-righteousness." The young girl hesitated for a long time before finally relenting, "Fine... I won\'t bother you guys anymore."

So, Marlina cast her hopeful gaze at Ansel.

"Of course, I have no objection."

Ansel also looked at Marlina, and that seemingly different, somewhat meaningful gaze made the young girl\'s heart race, her body heat up, and her blood boil.

But it didn\'t bring Marlina any tension, only a kind of ... happiness she had never experienced before.

"Thank you for your generosity."

Marlina lifted her skirt and curtsied to Ansel, "I will definitely, definitely not let you down. This is for all the poor people in the Red Frost territory."

And for... you.