A Villain's Way of Taming Heroines

"...You're right." Hendrik's emotions had calmed considerably, "Even if it's an illusion, I will still chase after it."

He stood up, bowing deeply to Ansel.

"All the members of the Tower of Babel and I will remember your kindness, Lord Ansel. Even though we will soon become a group of wanderers, if you ever need anything... even if I can't speak for others, I will do everything in my power for you."

Ansel laughed heartily, "There's no need, Mr. Rundell. I don't need you to do anything for me. Use your talents and abilities to bring more change to the empire, to this world. That would be the best repayment for me."

"...Yes!"

The man who was about to lose his ideal clenched his fist, not out of anger or sorrow, but out of excitement and joy.

"Hendrik Rundell, I will remember."

After Hendrik left the mansion, Ansel sat on the sofa, stretching lazily,

"Well, this little game is almost over, but..."

Hydral picked up his wine glass, gently swirling it, smiling as he watched the crystal-clear, dreamy liquid:

"How can we let the ending be so bland and boring?"

"Mr. Ansel."

A gentle, calm, and steady female voice sounded behind Ansel, a pair of hands resting on his shoulders, gently massaging, "Is there anything you need me to do?"

"You just finished the work in the Red Frost territory, and as soon as you arrived in the capital, I gave you a task. Isn't that a bit too much?"

Ansel said with a smile, not turning around.

"But Mr. Ansel called me to the capital, there must be something you need me to do, right?"

The girl's voice was a bit playful and excited.

"Hmm... It sounds like I'm some kind of unscrupulous noble exploiting his subordinates."

"How could that be, Mr. Ansel."

Marlina Marlowe bent slightly, whispering happily in Ansel's ear,

"This just proves my value to you. Please, use me as you see fit."

Ansel gently stroked Marlina's cheek, softly saying, "Then, go help me deliver a letter to Evora. Go quickly and come back quickly. Seraphina misses you."

"I will, Mr. Ansel."

The girl clad in a black dress straightened her back, departing the lounge with an air of efficiency. Ansel took a sip of his wine, releasing a contented sigh:

"As for the other side... Saville."

"I am here, Young Lord."

The butler, Saville, who was almost always at Ansel's side in Red Frost territory, appeared again like a ghost.

"Have you reviewed the detailed reports of those two territories I gave you?"

"Yes, I have fully understood."

"Send a small gift to the Count of Watson, then go tell the grand lord of the Spirity Lake..."

"..." Listening to Ansel's words, Saville raised an eyebrow slightly, "Are you sure, Young Lord?"

This question was not a challenge to Ansel's decision, but rather Saville expressing his surprise.

"Of course." Ansel said with a smile, "Remember to let the Count of Spirity Lake keep the secret."

"Yes."

The old man bowed slightly, then fell silent for a moment, and said, "Young Lord, your father… dear lord will arrive in the capital in three days."

The smile on Ansel's face froze slightly, he silently took a sip of his wine, and waved his hand casually, "I know, you go first, Saville."

But this time, Saville unusually did not follow Ansel's order, but continued to stand in place, bending his waist even lower, his old voice carrying a hint of... pleading.

"Young Lord, I can feel that lord's time... is running out."

"..."

"This may be the last time for dear lord, you and madam..."

"Saville."

The entire lounge began to fill with a faint black mist, young Hydral, holding a wine glass, said calmly:

"You should go do your thing."

The old man sighed silently, his figure disappeared in the lounge.

The swirling black mist slowly dissipated, Ansel sitting on the sofa, staring at the wine glass full of cracks, remained silent.

"The future."

He suddenly laughed.

"...The future."

*

Ravenna was still in the alchemy workshop, studying the alchemical weapon that Ansel had conceived, a weapon he named "Nidhoggur".

The more she studied, the more she felt that Ansel must have hidden something.

According to the etheric circuit he built and the design principle, this thing... was definitely not for fighting at the beginning.

"Using such a tiny amount of ether to carry the essence requires a high level of alchemical skill, but if every one of them requires a master alchemist to forge, it would lose the biggest advantage of Nidhoggur, mass production... or rather, this thing must be able to be mass-produced to have value."

The woman dissected the finished Nidhoggur made by the top alchemist of the Tower of Babel in the large alchemy workshop, murmuring to herself:

"...Constituting matter? No, multiple essences can realize matter constitution, there's no need to go to such lengths, but it seems to have some other use..."

"Nidhoggur, Nidhoggur... theoretically, it should not be able to penetrate the armor of the Black Knight, the ether would be dispersed before it could infiltrate the circuit, Hydral must know this... does he want me to fail? No, he wouldn't, if he wanted me to fail, he wouldn't go to such lengths, he wouldn't deliberately create something meaningless and worthless to distract me."

"But how exactly to make Nidhoggur work? He didn't tell me directly, is this a test for me? Once I fail, he can step forward and push all the mistakes onto me... this possibility is not small."

As Ravenna was immersed in her research on Nidhoggur, the door of the alchemy workshop was suddenly opened, and she, oblivious to it all, continued to ponder:

"Bug... why not something else, why specifically a bug? Is this a hint?"

"Mass production, mass production... once truly mass-produced, and if there is a way to link their essences... like bees pouring out of a hive... to make them interrelated, to build..."

"...Ravenna?"

"Like a real... swarm."

"So that's how it is... that's how it is!"

As her thoughts diverged, Ravenna's eyes grew brighter and brighter. After days and nights of non-stop research, she finally glimpsed a bit of the scene behind the creation of Nidhoggur. If this really was the monster's idea, then this metal bug called Nidhoggur would be a construct not inferior to mechanical armor... no, it would be a greater construct than mechanical armor!

-->