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Chapter 77  The Devil\'s Inescapable Shadow - II

"Will, hold on... Will, why are you running so fast? Will—Seri?!" A girl of ordinary appearance, with slightly rough skin, yet mysteriously rosy and healthy, showing no signs of having suffered from the severe cold wave, and not at all looking like she lived in a dilapidated village, chased after an extremely excited fat dog. Upon seeing Seraphina standing in the distance, she covered her mouth with both hands. And Seraphina, likewise, stared blankly at the girl not far away. Is she... Rhiannon? Wasn\'t Rhiannon quite thin before I left, and sickly? Where do those grand clothes she\'s wearing come from? — In fact, after experiencing so much, Seraphina had already had the answer in her heart, but even now, she still didn\'t want to admit it. "Seri, it\'s really you!" The girl cried with joy, running over as excitedly as her fat dog. In Seraphina\'s memory, the weak girl who started panting when she reached the village gate seemed to not exist at all. "Woof! Woof woof woof!" The dog named Will wagged its tail madly, circling around Seraphina. Will was Rhiannon\'s hunting dog. A good hunter always has a good hunting dog. Seraphina had a good relationship with Will and often fed it for Rhiannon\'s father. This hunting dog, which was not strong a month ago, had now become so fat that Seraphina almost didn\'t recognize it. "Seri!" Rhiannon threw herself excitedly into Seraphina\'s arms: "You\'re finally back! I missed you so much, I missed you so much!" The village was small, and there were only so many playmates of the same age as Seraphina. Most of them had left the village, trying to make a living in the city, and only five remained in the village. Rhiannon was Seraphina\'s best friend. They shared everything, often slept in the same bed, and Rhiannon\'s father was also a good friend of Seraphina\'s father, teaching her many hunting skills, and was her second hunting mentor. Rhiannon was Seraphina\'s best friend. They shared everything, often slept in the same bed, and Rhiannon\'s father was also a good friend of Seraphina\'s father, teaching her many hunting skills, and was her second hunting mentor. "Rhiannon..." Seraphina gently hugged her friend\'s shoulders, and the doubts and hesitations in her heart dissipated at this moment. Yes, what else does she have to doubt, to hesitate about? The village has changed, so what? Her friends, her family, the people she is familiar with and cares about have not changed, this is the most— "Um... Seri." Rhiannon, who was in Seraphina\'s arms, sniffed: "Do you smell something on you?" The warm smile on Seraphina\'s face froze. "Ah, never mind! It\'s good that you\'re back, I\'ll take you to my house to take a bath! Now you can use hot water directly without boiling it, this is something only the nobles can use, called... what\'s it called, I forgot, you must..." Rhiannon\'s words paused, then she laughed happily again: "Oh, what am I talking about, you\'ve been in Red Frost City, with Lord Hydral, you must have experienced it already! I\'m so envious of you!" There was no jealousy or other ugly emotions in her words, but this sincere, real admiration made Seraphina\'s heart ache violently. "Seri, Seri, what kind of person is Lord Hydral? Those people who came to the village all said that he is very handsome!" Rhiannon hugged Seraphina\'s arm, looked up and laughed: "So I thought, Seri is also very beautiful, maybe, hehe... Seri?" The enthusiastic girl looked at her playmate\'s face, finally realizing that her mood seemed a bit off, and asked worriedly in a low voice: "What\'s wrong with you?" "...Nothing." After a brief silence, Seraphina smiled: "I just thought of something and was in a daze." Rhiannon breathed a sigh of relief, she patted her chest: "You scared me, every time you show this expression, you are super angry!" 12:47

The corner of Seraphina\'s mouth twitched slightly: "Maybe I\'m pretending, maybe I\'m a little unhappy?" Rhiannon was stunned, then she burst into laughter: "Hahaha, Seri, you\'ve learned to joke in just a few days! The Seri I know can\'t hide her feelings at all! And—" She turned her head to look at the village, and said with that incredibly envious tone: "And, what\'s there to be unhappy about working for Lord Hydral? Look, the village has become so big, so beautiful, everyone eats their fill every day, no one is hungry anymore!" Rhiannon hugged Seraphina tightly: "This is all thanks to you, Seri!" "Working for Lord Hydral, what\'s there to be unhappy about?" "..." What\'s there... to be unhappy about? Just being treated like a clown and a puppet, what\'s there to be unhappy about? Aren\'t you, Seraphina. The grown wolf looked at the village that had raised her, and then at her familiar yet strange friend. She laughed softly, her eyes downcast as she hugged her friend. "Yes, you\'re right, Rhiannon." "What do I have to be unhappy about?"

*

*

Returning in glory to her hometown, Seraphina was unfamiliar with this concept. Yet, at that moment, when Ansel first suggested she return home, her heart was indeed filled with hope and longing. She anticipated that her village would improve because of her, and her family would find happiness because of her. She looked forward to the surprised, admiring, and seemingly saying "Seraphina is truly remarkable" looks from her relatives and elders. And now, when Seraphina stepped into the village, she indeed felt such gazes. Not just gazes, but also cheers. Such boisterous warm cheers, even in the severe winter after the big cold wave, still made people feel doubly warm. Everything was as Seraphina had hoped.

"Why did I come back? Well... I wanted to come back, and Hydral didn\'t control me strictly."

"Look messy... What do you mean messy! Wasn\'t I wearing this when I left!"

"Just me? Marlina is working for Hydral... Huh? Why didn\'t I take a carriage back... Can\'t I exercise! I can knock you down with one punch, Kavan!"

Seraphina cheerfully greeted the villagers, her enthusiastic appearance, no different from the Seraphina in their eyes.

"Lord Hydral can actually tolerate your character, Seraphina." A young man teased, "Are you really just working for him?"

Seraphina glared at him, and the young man immediately shrank his neck reflexively, seemed like he had been beaten by Seraphina since he was a child.

Surrounded by the crowd, Seraphina walked to the center of the village. In fact, she could no longer recognize the roads in the village. Whose house each building was, she could only recognize it based on the location in her memory. Seraphina even saw a statue of Hydral standing in the middle of the village, the place left for the children to play.

The statue was smooth and delicate, and it was obvious that someone was taking care of it every day.

The wolf that escaped from the devil who played with her life and emotions, ironically, stood by his side again.

Moreover, she cheered with joy and excitement:

"Everyone! I, Seraphina, am back!"Nôv(el)B\\\\jnn