"You, I, this... Your grace--"
The guard stammered, stuttered, and spoke in fragmented sentences: "You are, Lord, Hy ...Hydra?"
Anselm smiled and pointed to the cane by the chair: "I don't think anyone has the guts or ability to impersonate me."
Before the stiff guards could respone, he sighed: "I couldn't sleep tonight, so I went for a night walk and saw a group of thieves sneaking around. Being bored, I followed them all the way here."
Despite appearing as if he was hiding in the dim room, Anselm managed to exude the air of the manor master, making the guards nod obediently and not dare to speak:
"And then, I witnessed an interesting scene," the young Hydra said with a half-smile, looking at the two guards, "They easily evaded your watch and stole most of the treasury. If I hadn't caught them, you'd certainly be in trouble."
"You...," the guard widened his eyes, "You caught them?"
"Sixty meters west of the manor, in an alley."
Anselm waved his hand: "I left them there. As for the items from the treasure vault, they will be returned in full after tomorrow's inventory."
He flipped the pages of the book with one hand, speaking in a calm tone: "I'm still a bit bored and plan to stroll around the manor. Is that alright?"
"Of, of course! Please, your grace, feel free! We won't disturb you!"
The guards didn't dare to say a single word of disagreement; even the owner of the manor had been hung up by you, dried by the northern wind.
They seemed to be afraid that their words upon entering the room might have offended Anselm, so they quickly scrambled away, also not forgetting to close the door behind them.
About ten seconds later, from beneath Anselm's slightly bulging wolf fur coat, a muffled voice emerged.
"They gone?"
"Do you think they have the guts to come back?" Anselm raised an eyebrow, "I am wondering if it was you Sitana who wanted to stay a bit longer."
"GO TO HELL!"
Sitana finally stopped holding back her loudness, screamed in extreme fury, and then let out a "awoo" howl.
"......" Anselm's brow slightly furrowed as he pulled out a hand that had been stroking the dog's head under the wolf fur coat, revealing a row of neat, slightly bloody bite marks on his wrist.
Anselm didn't get angry, just showed a slight surprise: "You already have this much strength... So your recovery speed is this fast?"
And Sitana, in turn, threw off the wolf fur coat, panting heavily, still curled up in Anselm's embrace, as if that one bite had drained all her strength.
"You bastard... Hydra... I'm not playing... not playing with you anymore."
Sitana tried to move away from Anselm, but he wrapped his arm around her waist again.
The young Hydra enjoyed the appearance and feel of Miss Young Wolf's waist; it seemed slender and delicate, yet was actually firm and vigorous.
"Do whatever the hell you want," Sitana gave up resisting, lowered her head, and sat like a duck on his lap, "I'm dead tired... Heartless jerk."
Her head rested against Anselm's chest, her tone slightly tinged with grievance.
"After all, this is a punishment; being humane wouldn't be a punishment." Anselm twirled Sitana's short hair with his fingers, the smooth sensation at his fingertips revealing another delightful aspect of the young wolf.
"That's why... that's why I'm enduring this!"
Sitana couldn't help but throw another punch at Anselm, weakly hitting his shoulder: "Otherwise, normally I'd... if I'd fight you to the death."
Sitana Rancemalos always made mistakes, even repeatedly making the same, similar mistakes.
But she never made excuses for her stupidity and mistakes. Just as Anselm always forgave her, no matter how "severe" his punishments were, Sitana always accepted them honestly.
"So, my dear Sitana, do you know where you went wrong?"
Anselm rested his chin on Sitana's head and asked softly.
"Wrong for... don't press on me! I'm already exhausted!" Sitana complained, pushing against Anselm's chin, "Wrong for not beating those two sons of a whore into a pulp first!"
"Close."
Anselm smiled and lifted his chin: "But not quite there. You were wrong for not preparing adequately for your actions, which led to this situation, forcing me to clean up after you."
"......Are, are you serious?" Sitana paused for two seconds, "I thought you'd tell me not to steal."
"Come again? Now you think I'm some kind of upright good guy?"
The young Hydra laughed at his foolish little wolf: "You don't usually see me this way, Sitana."
"I, I was just... What do you know!"
Sitana weakly defended herself: "You said it yourself in that cell, that you can't indulge me in doing whatever I want... isn't that your words?"
"Your understanding of 'doing whatever I want' is a bit off, Sitana."
Anselm gently stroked Sitana's back, making the increasingly tired girl a bit more comfortable: "The mistake you made back then was because you were mindlessly venting your anger and using inappropriate strength."
"That's what I consider 'doing whatever I want.'"
"And if." He lifted Sitana's chin, forcing the girl to meet his gaze, with no trace of mockery or teasing, speaking with utmost seriousness:
"If you have a goal, a purpose, and you are extremely serious about wanting to do something, and you take action for it, I will acknowledge everything you do."
"As long as you know what you're doing and what you want."
The sea-blue eyes brimmed with pure gentleness:
"Then in my eyes, you are innocent."
"......"
Sitana, gazing into Anselm's eyes, couldn't help but quiver her pupils.
She uncontrollably shifted her gaze, fell silent for a while, then whispered: "Even if... even if I'm opposing you?"
"If that's what you want," Anselm smiled, "Then keep opposing me."
"I acknowledge you, Sitana, from the moment that contract was signed, I've seen you as my kin, as a part of me."
He gently, without any defense, completely relaxed, rested his chin on Sitana's shoulder: "So I'm willing to forgive you for everything, so I will never lie to you."
Sitana felt the warmth against her cheek.
It was a warmth and tranquility that was distinctly different from the fiery heat of Anselm's chest, making her feel somewhat ethereal.
Today's Hydra was completely different.
It reminded her of the night she, her parents, and her sister sat around the fireplace chatting, until she fell into a deep sleep, and her mother draped a blanket over her during the snowstorm.
In Sitana's not-so-long and not-so-eventful sixteen years of life, only her family had shown her such gentleness and tolerance, and even... even her family had never done so to the extent that Anselm did, in the true sense, never harboring any anger or resentment towards her.
She had endured countless anger and hatred, the raging flames in her heart never subsided as she detested most of the world, and the world rarely offered her kindness and warmth.
In just this short period of time, Hydra had given her a feeling, a feeling... that she couldn't refuse, couldn't resist.
That understanding of herself, paying attention to her, empathizing with her every feeling, having absolute tolerance and benevolence, that willingness to let Sitana immerse herself in it.
That sense of belonging, more real than anything else.
"Hey, I am just saying,... Hydra."
Sitana no longer resisted physical contact with Anselm, just spoke softly.
"What is it?" Anselm responded gently.
"You... in the future..." The young wolf lady hesitated for a long time, finally biting her lip and speaking in a low, shy voice:
"You, in the future, don't do any more of those scamming stuffs. Just be straight up... and no matter what you want, I'll help you, I absolutely won't oppose you anymore, okay?"
Her cheeks gradually grew hot, hot and flushed, as the young girl, clumsy yet trying her best, stretched out her weak hands to wrap around Anselm's waist.
But there was no response, all she received was the silent, wordless stillness.
"You... really, really don't lie to me, huh."
That inhuman physique eliminated the Bee Sting's nerve poison at an incredibly terrifying speed, and in contrast, an increasingly strong sense of fatigue took over Sitana's body. Her eyelids gradually drooped, and her body became even weaker.
"At a time like this, even if you lied to me... I wouldn't... be annoyed... anymore, you know?"
She gently, gently bumped her head against Anselm's chest.
"I'm sorry, I can't do that, Sitana."
"You bastard... pervert, lust fiend... just die..."
The girl, already unable to hear what Anselm was saying, vented her last bit of dissatisfaction weakly, and with the irresistible fatigue, her head rested on Anselm's shoulder, falling into a deep sleep.
"Hydra... Anselm..."
The young wolf, no longer so angry, murmured softly in her sleep:
"If only you were a good person... if only you treated me a bit better..."
"It would be... so nice."
Anselm picked up Sitana, placed her on the soft and warm bed, gently covered her with a blanket, and sat beside her, silently gazing at the delicate and pitiful sleeping face.
His expression changed significantly, this kind of extremely vivid emotional fluctuation almost never appeared on Anselm's face.
The young man's fingers gently touched the girl's tender cheek, the way they hovered, as if wanting to cover her face, yet also as if wanting to pull away.
After a long while, he seemed to make up his mind and withdrew his hand.
"Good or bad, virtuous or evil, righteous or wicked... under the indifferent gaze of fate, what difference does it make, Sitana?"
Hydra murmured softly: "You will eventually understand this, and I will make you understand."
The coldness in his eyes devoured any illusionary warmth that might have existed.
Author's Note:
ps:
Although it seems like our doggo Sita's progression is nearing its end, there are still two major hurdles to overcome. Rest assured, the mental shocks she's about to face are yet to come.
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