Anselm certainly couldn't reveal any superfluous emotions to Sitana at the moment, merely asking without any anger, "So, do you want to continue listening, Sitana?"
"Why not?" Sitana replied, her face expressionless as the fishing rod in her hand cracked with several lines. "If I don't listen, does that suddenly make you less disgusting? Also... get your hand off me!"
Anselm laughed and withdrew his hand from Sitana's shoulder, "See, this is something you never would have said in the past. When you dislike someone, shouldn't you detest everything about them, Sitana?"
"Don't act like you know me so well!" The girl turned around, her face full of anger, her sharp canine teeth slightly exposed due to the twitching of her face.
Although she still struggled to control her temper, she had undeniably grown. This pleased Anselm greatly; just a few days of his guidance had already yielded significant results.
"Now, let's continue with the previous topic," Anselm said as he took a step back, generously providing Sitana with a comfortable social distance. "Since I have won the hearts of the people of Scarletfrost through those two viscounts... then, why would someone want to deal with me?"
"..." Sitana slowly turned her head back, seemingly focusing her attention on the fishing rod again, but her mind began to ponder Anselm's question.
Hydra had won the hearts of the people of Scarletfrost... his words now carried more weight than anything else, so those who wanted to deal with him could only be...
"Is it... the true master of Scarletfrost?" Sitana muttered to herself in disbelief, following the clear train of thought provided by Anselm.
"But, how is that possible? Didn't you already kill the Scarletfrost Earl?"
"Who told you that the master of Scarletfrost is the Scarletfrost Earl?" Anselm retorted.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Who else would be the lord of Scarletfrost if not the Scarletfrost Earl?"
"Can a lord control everything in his territory?"
The young nobleman shook his head and smiled, "Sitana, while the village chief oversees the village, he must still grovel before the tax collector. Conversely, the tax collector, who wields power in the village, quakes in fear when faced with nobility in the city."
"So why do you think there is no one above the earl? Just because he controls a place much larger than a village?"
In the silence, Anselm spoke earnestly to the young wolf who was deep in thought, "Don't let your narrow vision limit your thinking, Sitana. What you can see is ultimately limited, but the height and depth of your thinking can reach the end of heaven and the bottom of the abyss."
At this moment, Sitana, who was usually so restless, was unusually quiet.
Even though fate had been trying to ignite the unquenchable fire in her heart, it had little effect.
"... There's someone more powerful behind the Scarletfrost Earl, using him to control Scarletfrost?"
Sitana murmured with lowered eyes, "Is it... the Empress?"
"Then you're overestimating our Earl too much," Anselm laughed, "It's just a duke, one of the two dukes of the Northern Realm, the Grand Duke of Greytower."
"You should have an impression of him, as he is the headmaster of the Tower of Skyfrost, and the title of Greytower comes from this."
Sitana was momentarily taken aback, then sprang up right where she stood, blurting out, "You're talking about that dodgy old geezer?!"
"If that's your impression of Grand Duke Greytower," Anselm shrugged, "then it's him."
The young girl, who had put down the fishing rod, looked gloomy and paced back and forth.
"So, the Scarletfrost Earl's dirty deeds were all on his command?"
"Of course not, but you're welcome to visit my study once we return. I have extensive records there that cover all aspects of their affairs."
Anselm had no intention of delving deeper into this topic, as his focus was on explaining the immediate events to Sitana. Additionally, he looked forward to her hearing his account and then independently analyzing the unique aspects of Scarletfrost.
Seeing that Anselm didn't want to continue, Sitana pouted, "So it's 'cause you've been mooching off that Greytower, that's why he wants to deal with you... hang on, how does that tie into him having those two viscounts killed?"
Sitana's voice grew increasingly excited: "They can accuse you, claiming you staged the whole assassination! Then everyone will see you for the despicable fraud you are!"
"Exactly! That's the whole point! You can't afford to let them die, because without that cane, you're nothing, and you don't have any weird arcanist by your side to confirm if they're truly dead or not! But with Greytower backing them... there might be a chance to survive. And let's face it, either way, it's death, but if I were in their shoes, I'd rather be killed by someone else than die at the hands of a jerk like you!"
The excited young wolf blurted out a series of well-reasoned deductions without any flaws, even taking into account that damned pride of the nobility.
Wow, I'm not just smart, I'm super smart! Even Lena might not be able to grasp things as quickly and thoroughly as I just did!
Thinking of this, Sitana became even more pleased with herself, believing she had figured out the whole situation. With her hands on her hips, she burst into a loud, triumphant laugh:
"Screw helping you! I'll sit back and watch that bastard slip away right before your eyes, and if it means everyone gets to see the real you... bring on the punishment!"
As soon as the words fell, the safe house of Viscount Howlingwinds at the highest point of the castle exploded on the spot.
"Why not?" Sitana replied, her face expressionless as the fishing rod in her hand cracked with several lines. "If I don't listen, does that suddenly make you less disgusting? Also... get your hand off me!"
Anselm laughed and withdrew his hand from Sitana's shoulder, "See, this is something you never would have said in the past. When you dislike someone, shouldn't you detest everything about them, Sitana?"
"Don't act like you know me so well!" The girl turned around, her face full of anger, her sharp canine teeth slightly exposed due to the twitching of her face.
Although she still struggled to control her temper, she had undeniably grown. This pleased Anselm greatly; just a few days of his guidance had already yielded significant results.
"Now, let's continue with the previous topic," Anselm said as he took a step back, generously providing Sitana with a comfortable social distance. "Since I have won the hearts of the people of Scarletfrost through those two viscounts... then, why would someone want to deal with me?"
"..." Sitana slowly turned her head back, seemingly focusing her attention on the fishing rod again, but her mind began to ponder Anselm's question.
Hydra had won the hearts of the people of Scarletfrost... his words now carried more weight than anything else, so those who wanted to deal with him could only be...
"Is it... the true master of Scarletfrost?" Sitana muttered to herself in disbelief, following the clear train of thought provided by Anselm.
"But, how is that possible? Didn't you already kill the Scarletfrost Earl?"
"Who told you that the master of Scarletfrost is the Scarletfrost Earl?" Anselm retorted.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Who else would be the lord of Scarletfrost if not the Scarletfrost Earl?"
"Can a lord control everything in his territory?"
The young nobleman shook his head and smiled, "Sitana, while the village chief oversees the village, he must still grovel before the tax collector. Conversely, the tax collector, who wields power in the village, quakes in fear when faced with nobility in the city."
"So why do you think there is no one above the earl? Just because he controls a place much larger than a village?"
In the silence, Anselm spoke earnestly to the young wolf who was deep in thought, "Don't let your narrow vision limit your thinking, Sitana. What you can see is ultimately limited, but the height and depth of your thinking can reach the end of heaven and the bottom of the abyss."
At this moment, Sitana, who was usually so restless, was unusually quiet.
Even though fate had been trying to ignite the unquenchable fire in her heart, it had little effect.
"... There's someone more powerful behind the Scarletfrost Earl, using him to control Scarletfrost?"
Sitana murmured with lowered eyes, "Is it... the Empress?"
"Then you're overestimating our Earl too much," Anselm laughed, "It's just a duke, one of the two dukes of the Northern Realm, the Grand Duke of Greytower."
"You should have an impression of him, as he is the headmaster of the Tower of Skyfrost, and the title of Greytower comes from this."
Sitana was momentarily taken aback, then sprang up right where she stood, blurting out, "You're talking about that dodgy old geezer?!"
"If that's your impression of Grand Duke Greytower," Anselm shrugged, "then it's him."
The young girl, who had put down the fishing rod, looked gloomy and paced back and forth.
"So, the Scarletfrost Earl's dirty deeds were all on his command?"
"Of course not, but you're welcome to visit my study once we return. I have extensive records there that cover all aspects of their affairs."
Anselm had no intention of delving deeper into this topic, as his focus was on explaining the immediate events to Sitana. Additionally, he looked forward to her hearing his account and then independently analyzing the unique aspects of Scarletfrost.
Seeing that Anselm didn't want to continue, Sitana pouted, "So it's 'cause you've been mooching off that Greytower, that's why he wants to deal with you... hang on, how does that tie into him having those two viscounts killed?"
"Because if I kill them, they will definitely die; but if Grand Duke Greytower kills them, it's not certain."
"???" Sitana was utterly confused, "Why do you want to kill them again? Weren't you here to help them?"
"Because they did some not-so-clean works for the Scarletfrost Earl," Anselm said casually, "If we follow the normal process, they would receive a very, very thorough... punishment before they die."
Whether it was smuggling national resources or indiscriminately plundering and killing, according to the Empire's laws, the torture these two viscounts would endure before being executed was, to some extent, more terrifying than death itself.
"The deal I made with them to assassinate me is that I will grant them a swift and merciful death."
Sitana felt that there must be something wrong with this world.
Someone offering "I'll kill you" as a condition to get others to do his bidding, and there are actually people who comply?
Is there a mistake? Are all you nobles out of your minds?
Observing Sitana's completely stunned face, Anselm cheerfully offered an explanation, "Such a request from someone else might not work, but Sitana, do you know who I am?"
"I am the son of Flamel Hydra, the sole heir of Hydra. If I desired to inflict a hundredfold suffering upon them, their despair would surely exceed a thousandfold."
The golden-haired young man, as warm and brilliant as the sun, gently shook his cane and spoke in a tone as gentle as could be, revealing chilling and sinister words:
"I told them that the death I offer is merciful."
"And they have no choice but to accept my mercy."
At this point, Sitana finally managed to connect all the anomalies she felt.
Without needing any further prompting from Anselm, she turned her gaze towards the highest point of the castle, her understanding growing as she murmured to herself:
"That's why they had to 'die' in front of you... but wait, that wasn't really death. It could've been some sort of trick, like a fake death. I've seen the old fox headmaster bring a student's dead pet back to life before..."
The girl swiveled her head to face Anselm, locking eyes with his sea-blue gaze that brimmed with satisfaction: "With this, they won't die by your hand, and they can... turn around accuse you instead!"
"???" Sitana was utterly confused, "Why do you want to kill them again? Weren't you here to help them?"
"Because they did some not-so-clean works for the Scarletfrost Earl," Anselm said casually, "If we follow the normal process, they would receive a very, very thorough... punishment before they die."
Whether it was smuggling national resources or indiscriminately plundering and killing, according to the Empire's laws, the torture these two viscounts would endure before being executed was, to some extent, more terrifying than death itself.
"The deal I made with them to assassinate me is that I will grant them a swift and merciful death."
Sitana felt that there must be something wrong with this world.
Someone offering "I'll kill you" as a condition to get others to do his bidding, and there are actually people who comply?
Is there a mistake? Are all you nobles out of your minds?
Observing Sitana's completely stunned face, Anselm cheerfully offered an explanation, "Such a request from someone else might not work, but Sitana, do you know who I am?"
"I am the son of Flamel Hydra, the sole heir of Hydra. If I desired to inflict a hundredfold suffering upon them, their despair would surely exceed a thousandfold."
The golden-haired young man, as warm and brilliant as the sun, gently shook his cane and spoke in a tone as gentle as could be, revealing chilling and sinister words:
"I told them that the death I offer is merciful."
"And they have no choice but to accept my mercy."
At this point, Sitana finally managed to connect all the anomalies she felt.
Without needing any further prompting from Anselm, she turned her gaze towards the highest point of the castle, her understanding growing as she murmured to herself:
"That's why they had to 'die' in front of you... but wait, that wasn't really death. It could've been some sort of trick, like a fake death. I've seen the old fox headmaster bring a student's dead pet back to life before..."
The girl swiveled her head to face Anselm, locking eyes with his sea-blue gaze that brimmed with satisfaction: "With this, they won't die by your hand, and they can... turn around accuse you instead!"
Sitana's voice grew increasingly excited: "They can accuse you, claiming you staged the whole assassination! Then everyone will see you for the despicable fraud you are!"
"Exactly! That's the whole point! You can't afford to let them die, because without that cane, you're nothing, and you don't have any weird arcanist by your side to confirm if they're truly dead or not! But with Greytower backing them... there might be a chance to survive. And let's face it, either way, it's death, but if I were in their shoes, I'd rather be killed by someone else than die at the hands of a jerk like you!"
The excited young wolf blurted out a series of well-reasoned deductions without any flaws, even taking into account that damned pride of the nobility.
Sitana's face was flushed with excitement, a sense of accomplishment that was distinct from the thrill of a successful hunt. It was a feeling she had never known—the pleasure of unraveling the threads that had plagued her, then with a gentle blow, watching them drift away in the air, powerless and unable to trouble her any longer.
Wow, I'm not just smart, I'm super smart! Even Lena might not be able to grasp things as quickly and thoroughly as I just did!
Thinking of this, Sitana became even more pleased with herself, believing she had figured out the whole situation. With her hands on her hips, she burst into a loud, triumphant laugh:
"Screw helping you! I'll sit back and watch that bastard slip away right before your eyes, and if it means everyone gets to see the real you... bring on the punishment!"
As soon as the words fell, the safe house of Viscount Howlingwinds at the highest point of the castle exploded on the spot.
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