Following the incidents of yesterday, Sitana noticeably restrained her savage nature. It wasn't clear if it was the overwhelming shame or the fear instilled by Anselm's dangerous potion, but regardless, today, Miss Sitana had been unusually quiet and well-behaved, quite out of character for her.
"You'll tell me anyway," Sitana replied without thinking, "Why the rush? So you can zap me again?"
She harbored deep resentment towards the collar around her neck but inadvertently revealed a peculiar trust in Anselm.
—She had grown accustomed to Anselm's actions matching his words and... his honesty.
The straightforwardness of the young girl's thoughts in this regard was rather charming.
Anselm's movement to raise the fishing rod halted momentarily as he observed Sitana, who was deeply engrossed in fishing, and his gaze softened slightly.
"Take off the collar," he suddenly said.
Sitana was taken aback, but instead of showing any joy, she gripped the collar with extreme vigilance, "What're you up to? Gonna zap me dead?"
"Because from now on, I want to talk to you as equals," Anselm's gaze returned to the fishpond, "I've said it before, the collar is just for training you, not to bind you. When you truly mature, I won't use this unequal method to punish you, and... well, humiliate you."
"Ha, so you do know this is humiliating?"
The resentment from being shocked for days finally erupted. Even though she was calmer today, Sitana couldn't help but retort sarcastically, "I thought Lord Hydra saw shocking people as a greeting—mmph mmph mmph!"
"...Sitana, I hope you understand this one thing," Anselm said with a deep sigh. Although he had never raised a pet, he could relate to the conflicting emotions of pet owners, who could swing from warmth to rage.
"The humiliation you're experiencing now is self-inflicted. You should realize by now how lenient I've been with you."
"Now—"
Having successfully caught another fish amidst the splashing water, Anselm turned to look at Sitana, his tone patient and calm, "Do you want to continue wearing the collar and listen to my lecture, or do you want to have an equal conversation with me?"
Sitana remained silent for quite some time, then with a grim face, she removed the collar and hurled it fiercely onto the ground.
—If she didn't know she would have to put it back on later, she would have at least stomped on it a couple more times.
"In the trial I gave you, what do you think is the most important aspect?" Anselm stopped fishing and stood behind Sitana, watching her.
"...What else could it be? Keeping an eye on you so you don't make a move?"
Sitana responded in a grumpy tone.
"Keeping an eye on me? Are you sure you can keep an eye on me?" Anselm couldn't help but laugh, "Do you really think the way to prevent me from acting is to try and subdue me beforehand? Isn't that a bit ridiculous, Sitana."
"So what the hell am I supposed to do then? I've been tagging along, blind as a bat, clueless about everything. I don't get why that bloody viscount got whacked, or why you want to help him. What do you want me to do?"
Miss Sitana expressed a very logical argument with extreme anger.
Then, Anselm responded with an even more logical and concise argument:
"If so, why don't you ask me?"
"..."
The girl bit her lip, her fingers nervously twirling her hair: "Then, then you, I mean, Lord Hydra... can you... tell me?"
"YOU..." She exclaimed on the spot, "The assassination that night was arranged by you?!"
"And what do you think an assassination brings? Only death?"
Anselm retorted, "Do wars only leave behind destruction and suffering once they're over? That's merely the perspective of writers and dramatists, my dear Sitana."
"In this world, there has never been any killing or death without meaning."
"You are the most disgusting person I have ever met, without exception."
If there were a way to measure favorability, the progress bar above Sitana's head, which was nearly at zero and about to move to the middle, would have suddenly dropped to the lowest point of the negative scale.
At the moment, she and Anselm were fishing in the fishpond dug within Howlingwinds Castle. As a seasoned hunter, Sitana displayed greater patience and skill in this endeavor than Ansel
The current score stood at four to five, with Anselm at a disadvantage.
"You've been very quiet today, Sitana," Anselm said, breaking the silence.
"..." The girl holding the fishing rod pouted, "Do you really want to shock me that much?"
The current score stood at four to five, with Anselm at a disadvantage.
"You've been very quiet today, Sitana," Anselm said, breaking the silence.
"..." The girl holding the fishing rod pouted, "Do you really want to shock me that much?"
Anselm couldn't help but chuckle, "It seems you're well aware of your conversation skills."
Sitana remained silent; in her hunting mode, her focus was sharp, and she was barely swayed by external disturbances.
Sitana remained silent; in her hunting mode, her focus was sharp, and she was barely swayed by external disturbances.
"I thought," Anselm flicked his wrist, "that you would wake up this morning and immediately ask me what kind of help I could provide."
"You'll tell me anyway," Sitana replied without thinking, "Why the rush? So you can zap me again?"
She harbored deep resentment towards the collar around her neck but inadvertently revealed a peculiar trust in Anselm.
—She had grown accustomed to Anselm's actions matching his words and... his honesty.
The straightforwardness of the young girl's thoughts in this regard was rather charming.
Anselm's movement to raise the fishing rod halted momentarily as he observed Sitana, who was deeply engrossed in fishing, and his gaze softened slightly.
"Take off the collar," he suddenly said.
Sitana was taken aback, but instead of showing any joy, she gripped the collar with extreme vigilance, "What're you up to? Gonna zap me dead?"
"Because from now on, I want to talk to you as equals," Anselm's gaze returned to the fishpond, "I've said it before, the collar is just for training you, not to bind you. When you truly mature, I won't use this unequal method to punish you, and... well, humiliate you."
"Ha, so you do know this is humiliating?"
The resentment from being shocked for days finally erupted. Even though she was calmer today, Sitana couldn't help but retort sarcastically, "I thought Lord Hydra saw shocking people as a greeting—mmph mmph mmph!"
"...Sitana, I hope you understand this one thing," Anselm said with a deep sigh. Although he had never raised a pet, he could relate to the conflicting emotions of pet owners, who could swing from warmth to rage.
"The humiliation you're experiencing now is self-inflicted. You should realize by now how lenient I've been with you."
"Now—"
Having successfully caught another fish amidst the splashing water, Anselm turned to look at Sitana, his tone patient and calm, "Do you want to continue wearing the collar and listen to my lecture, or do you want to have an equal conversation with me?"
Sitana remained silent for quite some time, then with a grim face, she removed the collar and hurled it fiercely onto the ground.
—If she didn't know she would have to put it back on later, she would have at least stomped on it a couple more times.
"In the trial I gave you, what do you think is the most important aspect?" Anselm stopped fishing and stood behind Sitana, watching her.
"...What else could it be? Keeping an eye on you so you don't make a move?"
Sitana responded in a grumpy tone.
"Keeping an eye on me? Are you sure you can keep an eye on me?" Anselm couldn't help but laugh, "Do you really think the way to prevent me from acting is to try and subdue me beforehand? Isn't that a bit ridiculous, Sitana."
"So what the hell am I supposed to do then? I've been tagging along, blind as a bat, clueless about everything. I don't get why that bloody viscount got whacked, or why you want to help him. What do you want me to do?"
Miss Sitana expressed a very logical argument with extreme anger.
Then, Anselm responded with an even more logical and concise argument:
"If so, why don't you ask me?"
"..."
Sitana was stunned.
"I, this, you..."
Her fishing rod trembled, and the fish that was about to bite the hook hastily escaped.
"You tend to engage in conversations with me that lack substance and pose questions that serve no purpose."
Anselm looked down at the beautiful snow-white short hair and chuckled, "But even when your questions seem trivial, have I ever turned down the chance to answer? The only exception was last night, when you explicitly said you didn't want to hear more."
Sitana couldn't speak.
It seems... it seems like that is indeed the case?
It was at that moment that Sitana began to vaguely perceive something else that Anselm had been imparting to her, something beyond his additional lenience.
That was an extraordinary patience.
He never refused to answer her questions, even when they were so stupid that she herself felt embarrassed.
And in this consistent willingness to engage, Anselm also never lied.
The girl bit her lip, her fingers nervously twirling her hair: "Then, then you, I mean, Lord Hydra... can you... tell me?"
"Of course," Anselm answered without hesitation, "I can start from the beginning."
"Let's start with the most superficial—you're curious why someone wanted to kill those two viscounts, right?"
"... Yes."
"It's very simple, because that person wanted to use them against me."
"Let's start with the most superficial—you're curious why someone wanted to kill those two viscounts, right?"
"... Yes."
"It's very simple, because that person wanted to use them against me."
Half of Sitana's heart was no longer on fishing: "How does killing them affect you? Are you close to them?"
"Not particularly close," Anselm shrugged, "I merely requested that they attempt to assassinate me."
"..."
The poor girl was once again shocked by these light-hearted words, and this time, the sparks in her mind that hadn't connected instantly burst into realization.
"YOU..." She exclaimed on the spot, "The assassination that night was arranged by you?!"
"Is it really that difficult to grasp?"
"Are you kidding? Who the hell asks for a hit on themselves!"
"And what do you think an assassination brings? Only death?"
Anselm retorted, "Do wars only leave behind destruction and suffering once they're over? That's merely the perspective of writers and dramatists, my dear Sitana."
In the quiet that followed, Anselm spoke calmly and truthfully, sharing everything with her: "A courageous and benevolent young nobleman, having just executed a cruel lord, went to a noble's banquet that very day. There, he advocated for numerous new laws that would benefit the people. And then... he was assassinated by malevolent nobles. See, how just and fitting it all seems."
"Thus." The blond young man gently rested his hand on Sitana's shoulder, his voice soft, "The young foreign nobleman becomes even more radiant, while the despicable local nobles grow increasingly detestable. And for all of this... a simple, riskless assassination is all it takes, one that even you could handle with ease—though Savile did step in, you were certainly capable of dealing with it."
Anselm could feel the warmth from his palm and the anger and coldness emanating from Sitana... a deep, thorough... hatred.
It was not the rage from being disciplined and humiliated by Anselm, but a more profound, more complete... hatred.
"Truly... disgusting," she squeezed out these words from between her teeth, then said bitterly, "I'm seriously regretting ever having a decent thought about you, Hydra."
"Truly... disgusting," she squeezed out these words from between her teeth, then said bitterly, "I'm seriously regretting ever having a decent thought about you, Hydra."
"You are the most disgusting person I have ever met, without exception."
If there were a way to measure favorability, the progress bar above Sitana's head, which was nearly at zero and about to move to the middle, would have suddenly dropped to the lowest point of the negative scale.
But Anselm didn't mind, or rather, he needed Sitana's hatred.
This composed, profound, self-consuming hatred.
This composed, profound, self-consuming hatred.
Good, good, keep it up, dear Sitana.
Anselm was so pleased that he wanted to whisper in her ear—
[Your growth is about to begin]
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