This trip to the Howling Castle was quite fruitful for Anselm.
Sitana's taming had made significant progress, and he had officially wrested this year's "harvest" of Scarletfrost from the Graytower Grand Duke, while also prevented that old fox from achieving his true hidden intentions, which he had been concealing persistently.
The term "Gray Fox" was not used in contempt or jest; it was a nickname given out of resentment and wariness by many who had suffered losses at the hands of the Grand Duke of Graytower.
From the most superficial perspective, the Grand Duke of Graytower intended to use the staged deaths of two viscounts to expose Anselm's fake assassination, thereby undermining the public sentiment and arrangements Anselm had built in Scarletfrost. On a deeper level, he knew that Anselm would not simply wait passively, so he hoped to use this opportunity to probe what kind of hidden cards Anselm might be holding, especially since he appeared to have no external support.
And the true intention hidden beneath these two objectives was to be carried out by the assassin from the Order of Time.
For a Grand Duke, someone who already stood at the pinnacle of power within the Empire, was the gain or loss of a single territory, or the external forces held by Anselm, truly that significant?
Of course not, the most important thing had always been just this one.
—It was Hydra himself.
Only those who was part of the highest echelons truly understood what Hydra represented for the Empire.
They were far more than just "the Emperor's executioner" or "the nobles' butcher"; their relationship with the Emperor was not simply that of a traditional superior and subordinate.
In the present era, as the current Hydra slowly succumbed to madness and Anselm was about to assume the reins of power, nothing was more important than Anselm himself.
And for the Grand Duke, the truth about Hydra's Contract Heads was not a secret. Therefore, in the scheme set by the Grand Duke of Graytower, the core objective was to probe the depths of Anselm's capabilities, which was...
To investigate the individual who had been treated in an unconventional manner by Anselm, possessed remarkable talent, and was highly likely to become the next Contract Head of the Hydra—Sitana.
This final, hidden core objective was extremely cunning and insidious. Even if Anselm had the ability to uncover all the assassins, how could he possibly discover in a short time that one of them was a formidable member of the Order of Time?
Unfortunately, as Anselm had told Ocarian, in many cases, countless strategies and calculations can be destroyed by just one thing—disparity in information.
No matter how perfectly the Grand Duke of Graytower planned, he did not know that among the ordinary retinue of servants around Anselm, the seemingly elderly butler was actually a such a monster. He was unaware that among all the Contract Heads under Anselm's father, Savile was the most special one. He was also oblivious to the fact that the power Anselm himself possessed was enough to make the assassin from the Order of Time completely betray him, causing his entire scheme to collapse.
This was also the "unstable factor" that Anselm had determined to eliminate at the time
After all, carrying out an assassination on Sitana according to the will of the Grand Duke of Graytower, and doing so according to his own will, were two completely different concepts.
When Anselm brought Ocarian over to his side, everything that happened at Howlingwinds Castle was already completely under his control.
In this brief farce, Miss Young Wolf came to understand the significance of knowledge, witnessed the boundless possibilities of battles between the beyonders, grasped the formidable power of thought, and by doing so, defeated an overwhelmingly powerful enemy that seemed nearly insurmountable to her, savoring the incredibly sweet taste of victory.
—Even though Ocarian had actually let her off the hook quite a bit, with the genius assassin capable of using three different forms of time magic not pushing Sitana to her limits under Anselm's instruction, it was still enough, or rather, it was exactly as it should be for Anselm.
Sitana Rancemalos, there was no need for her to grow wildly and savagely through the bloodbath of that future's battles. She only needs to follow the path that had been planned for her, using her unreasonable talent to achieve the same greatness.
In this way, having tasted all the victories and joys brought by Anselm, even if Miss Young Wolf grew from a cub into a wolf king, when facing Anselm, she would remain the most perfect and devoted loyal hound.
However, that was a matter for the future. At the time, the most important thing was to proceed step by step, steadily and methodically, with the taming of Sitana.
Arriving at the manor gate, Anselm smiled as he was greeted by a line of maids.
[My dear Sitana, starting with the deep hatred you hold for me, the real taming is about to begin.]
[Are you ready?]
*
Malena was deeply ashamed of her own incompetency.
The "simple" paperwork that Anselm had left for her, Malena found utterly confusing to handle. On the first day, she completed it only with constant guidance from Meryl.
And the considerate maid, Miss Meryl, spoke in a genuinely warm tone about things like:
"The situation in the Scarletfrost territory is a bit complicated," "The mess left by that Scarletfrost Earl is indeed difficult to handle," and even comments like "It's quite impressive that Miss Malena has achieved such a level of literacy" were spoken!
What made Malena even more upset was that Meryl had no ill intent at all; she truly believed that given Malena's background, having such a level of literacy was quite exceptional. This only served to make the young girl feel even more bitter and sorrowful.
She had once been delighted by the job Anselm had given her, believing that the young Lord Hydra had recognized her insignificant little brilliant mind.
But in the end, the only thing she could boast about... was her literacy?
"Sigh... I wonder how Sita is doing, I hope she didn't make Lord Hydra angry."
Finally managing to complete the third document on her own, Malena stretched and let out a sigh tinged with worry.
"That child... she's not like this at all."
As the elder sister, Malena found it hard to comprehend the deep dissatisfaction and even resentment that Sitana harbored towards Anselm.
She was well aware that Sitana despised the nobility, but she also knew that her sister was definitely not someone who couldn't tell the difference between gratitude and grudges.
From an outsider's perspective, Malena could sense the leniency that Anselm showed towards Sithana, which could even be considered indulgent.
Why was Sithana not grateful for Anselm's kindness, but instead repeatedly showed disrespect towards him?
[Could there be... a secret? Has Sita noticed something wrong with Lord Hydra?]
I need to find an opportunity to have a good talk with Sita, maybe I can figure it out—
Just as Malena was thinking this, the door to the study suddenly swung open.
"How have you been these past two days, Miss Malena?"
Anselm greeted Malena with a smile as she instinctively stood up.
"Lord, Lord Hydra!" the young girl exclaimed, "You're back? I... I'm sorry, I, I didn't know!"
Her expression was quite flustered, clearly anxious because she hadn't gone to greet Anselm.
"Why be nervous just because you didn't greet me?"
Anselm tilted his head slightly and smiled at her gently:
"Miss Malena, you are not my servant."
"..." Malena's words caught in her throat, and she felt an indescribable warmth and softness, a kind of... happiness that made her feel a bit light-headed.
You are not my servant.
Such words, for a girl who had long been scorned and exploited by tax collectors, who had to endure the disdainful looks of others every time she entered the city due to her status, yet a sensitive and intelligent person herself, were incredibly warm and precious.
Respect from a prominent figure. This was something Malena had never dared to imagine.
"Thank you, thank you, Lord Hydra, I truly am very grateful for your—"
The young girl, too shy to meet Anselm's gaze, slightly turned her head, and all her joy and bashfulness transformed into external body language: flickering eyes, lightly biting her lip, slightly swaying body, nervously tapping her toes behind one leg, and the swinging long braid that highlighted her flushed earlobes, all reflecting her pure and beautiful soul.
Just as she was about to express her deeply sincere gratitude to Anselm, the door was "BAM" slammed open.
"Ahahahaha, Malena, you'd never guess just —"
"Just how amazing..."
The young wolf, wrapped in bandages from head to toe, looked suspiciously at the smiling viper and her sister with flushed cheeks.
"...I, I am?"
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