Anselm propped his chin with his hand, appreciating the scene of sisterly affection at the door.
Step by step, he was pleased to see Sitana grow through pain, not because of the twisted nature of it... well, maybe a little bit.
In fact, this ring was indeed the property of Earl Scarletfrost, not Anselm's. He merely had Savile arrange for it to appear before the greedy little wolf Sitana when she was looting for gems.
Regardless of whose ring it actually was, it was the core part of Anselm's plan. Even if Earl Scarletfrost didn't have it, he would have found a way to acquire it or simply had his own father create something with the same effect.
Although its function was simple, it would destroy everything for Sitana—not just help her see herself clearly.
This was about the final stage of taming, and Anselm's... enlightenment.
"Sita, what's wrong?"
Malena looked at her sister with concern, though she still felt some annoyance towards her recklessness and rudeness. However, she had learned not to get overly agitated about it anymore.
She had come to terms with reality and found a goal to strive for, no longer feeling lost.
[So, Sita, no matter how absurd you become, I won't care anymore. After all, you are someone recognized by Lord Hydra, and I don't have the need, nor the time, to worry about you so much.]
[After all, you've never cared about it either.]
Thinking this, Malena reached out to touch Sitana's shoulder, but... her hand passed through empty air.
The girl with trembling eyes took a half-step back, her mouth slightly agape, but no words came out.
"...Sita?"
Keenly sensing something amiss with Sitana, Malena finally felt a tinge of worry, but before she could voice her confusion, Sitana suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders and, without a word, pushed her away forcefully.
BANG!
Sitana slammed the door shut without any regard, gasping heavily for air.
"Why are you in such a mess, Sitana?"
Anselm said this with a smile, deliberately directing his gaze to the ring on her index finger: "Oh... so you've put that thing on. Didn't I tell you that you need to be mentally prepared in advance?"
Sitana clutched her finger, ignoring the knocking and shouts from outside, and didn't speak. She just stared intently at Anselm.
The young Hydra shrugged, curling his index finger and tapping the table lightly: "Feel free to speak your mind, Malena can't hear us."
"What exactly..."
Upon hearing this, Sitana relaxed slightly. The young wolf didn't want Malena to know that she had just... heard her thoughts, not one bit.
"What exactly is this thing?"
"I took a look when I brought you back that day. It's probably a little trinket from Earl Scarlefrost, left behind in the treasure vault by the Scarlefrost family."
Anselm answered leisurely, and he wasn't lying. What he stated were "true facts," only omitting a few details. Even so, if Sitana asked, he would answer truthfully.
However, at this moment, Sitana couldn't possibly think of it.
"It allows the holder to hear the thoughts of anyone whose beyonder rank is lower than their own, and it also allows them to sense the other person's emotions."
"And when facing a higher-ranked beyonder..."
Anselm stood up and walked towards Sitana, who was gradually sliding down the door to sit on the floor: "You can listen if you want, but you need my permission. Otherwise, I'll only feel a constant harassment."
"I..."
Sitana's already fragile thinking ability was thrown into chaos by Malena's thoughts. She clenched the ring, lowered her gaze, and murmured, "I don't want to hear these. Help me take off this ring, take it off right now."
"Take it off?"
The devil's lips curled up slightly.
He leaned down and whispered in Sitana's ear, "Why take it off? Don't you want to hear how others see you?"
“I DON’T WANT TO”
Sitana first shouted this, then, as if afraid of being heard by Malena, she whispered, "I don't have such... nasty hobbies."
"No, no, no, Sitana, it's not that you don't have this hobby; you resist it only because you can't control it."
In this world, only a very few people can resist the temptation to peek into others' minds.
Sitana had not yet embarked on the path of a supreme ruler who scoffs at everything and believes in her own supremacy. Currently, she was just a sixteen-year-old genius girl, and she was completely different from the original timeline, not experiencing any hardships, but instead having unconditional support for resources and a formidable backing.
Such a nature made her highly sensitive to external evaluations.
She could dismiss with a laugh those criticisms that despised and detested her, but before those criticisms were voiced, regardless of whether they were good or bad, she definitely "wanted to hear" them.
This was true for most people, but it was particularly pronounced in Sitana.
"This isn't some particularly advanced aether artifact; it won't be too difficult to control."
Anselm took Sitana's delicate and fair hand, gently caressing the ring: "It's not hard to lift its locking injunction either; just need to find a skilled alchemist in Scarletfrost."
"So..."
The wicked Hydra, for the umpteenth time, bared his fangs once more.
[Which one do you choose?]
The sudden voice in her mind made Sitana tremble.
She looked up to meet Anselm's gaze, and the young noble's smiling appearance eased her tension. Realizing that the situation wasn't dire, her heart began to stir with curiosity.
If, if I could really choose to hear the thoughts of someone specific...
I'm not saying I want to peek into anyone's mind! I just want to get some real answers to my questions!
Sitana disliked thinking about complex matters. Although her intuition could tell her many things, it couldn't replace the ability to hear others' thoughts.
If she had this thing...
Just as Sitana's heart was stirring with curiosity, the flash of insight she trusted immensely suddenly crossed her mind.
[It seems like some of this is... part of Hydra's plan?]
Her mind suddenly flashed with this thought, and all the events related to the ring replayed in her mind.
-- Suddenly appearing when I was looking for Image Projection Crystals, being brought back with Hydra's special reminder, then disappearing for a few days, and finally reappearing out of nowhere.
Is this... a coincidence?
Hydra seems to be very clear about the issues with this ring, but why didn't he just explain it clearly? Instead, he only vaguely said, "Be mentally prepared."
As these doubts grew stronger, making Sitana's heart more suspicious, another thought arose in her mind, completely opposite and unreasonable, clearly coming straight from her heart.
-- But Hydra wouldn't harm me.
If he wanted to harm me, would he need to go through all this trouble?
The usually annoying willfulness and truculence, at this moment, easily defeated the sudden and bizarre thoughts that often interfered with her thinking, causing them to utterly routed and dispersed.
Sitana Rancemalos was such a person, an unreasonable egoist.
This was also the rich fruit harvested by Anselm through absolute sincerity under his day and night taming.
Unless it was a significant event, so significant that it could shatter Sitana's mind, otherwise, even fate couldn't shake Anselm's position in Sitana's heart. After a long mental struggle, Miss Young Wolf bit her lip and looked up at Anselm, "Are you sure you can teach me how to use it?"
"How do you absorb the aether stored in the magic crystals and spread it throughout your body during your usual training?"
Anselm still held Sitana's hand. The young wolf's fingers were long and delicate, with distinct joints but not overly prominent, making the whole hand beautiful but not overly soft.
"It's just... like this and that," Sitana didn't know how to describe her usual training method—this was the unique trouble of a genius. They didn't need the principles; they just needed to think about completing it, and then they could complete it.
Anselm didn't feel troubled either, just smiled and said, "Then follow your feelings... focus your attention on the ring, feel it? The aether in your body is being absorbed by it, and then it radiates out in all directions."
Sitana closed her eyes and followed Anselm's instructions to sense, and within two seconds, her eyes opened again, filled with joy: "I can feel it, is it really that easy?"
"To turn it off, just stop the flow of aether to the ring. To hear someone's thoughts, focus the aether radiating from the ring and direct it towards a specific target."
Following Anselm's instructions, Sitana quickly tried it out, going through the process, but since there was no test subject, she couldn't determine if it was effective.
Anselm's gaze shifted towards the door: "Malena is still outside."
"Ah, Lena!"
Coming back to her senses, the good little sister remembered only now that she had rudely thrown her older sister out of the door, and quickly turned around to open it.
"... "
Outside the door, Malena waited quietly with her hands folded over her abdomen, her demeanor dignified and polite. Her gaze first glanced at the hand of Sitana being held by Anselm, then she smiled gently and calmly, "Have you finished talking with Lord Hydra, Sita? You've kept us delayed for quite a while."
"... Ah? Oh... wait—"
It really works! I can't hear what Lena is thinking anymore!
Sitana let out a long breath in her heart.
She looked into her sister's eyes, that gentle and soft face was exactly as she remembered it, but for some reason... there was an indescribable sense of strangeness.
Should I try—
No, no, absolutely not! I can't use this thing on Lena!
Sitana immediately interrupted her own thoughts. She wanted to scratch her head, then realized that her hand was still being held by Anselm. She quickly pulled her hand back, blushing and slightly embarrassed, and walked away with her head down: "Well, then, I'll be going now."
"Remember to ask Miss Meryl if you're hungry, Sitana. I probably won't be able to have lunch or dinner with you today."
"...Sure."
The girl's eyes were downcast, a bit sad.
She didn't like the feeling of loneliness.
And Malena didn't say anything, just watched as Sitana disappeared down the corridor, finally entering the study and gently closing the door.
"Lord Hydra," Malena's smile was warm and appropriate, "let's continue with our work."
"I thought you would ask what happened to Sitana first, Malena."
Anselm looked at the girl in front of him who was gradually breaking free from her cocoon, his gaze becoming more and more satisfied: "She behaved very strangely, didn't she?"
"That's not something I should overstep."
Malena slightly bowed her head: "Right now, I don't have the qualifications and strength to compare with Sitana."
This statement made Anselm burst into joyful laughter: "So, your meaning is, someday—"
"Yes, someday."
The girl placed her hands over her heart, looking straight into Anselm's eyes, speaking with a mixture of piety and fervor, humility and confidence:
"Someday, I will gain the power and authority that you will acknowledge, to repay your kindness, your recognition."
Anselm, watching the noble soul gradually infested with his own color, happily gazed into the dark red eyes similar to Sitana's, his tone slightly rising:
"Is that all?"
The confident and beautiful Malena was momentarily stunned, her earlobes gradually turning red. She also unconsciously shifted her gaze, her voice becoming soft and tender.
"...No, it's not, if you—"
"Alright, that's enough for now."
Anselm took a step forward, but he didn't make any excessive physical contact under Malena's nervous gaze.
He just gently adjusted Malena's hairpin, tidied up the collar of her plain dress, and placed his hands on her shoulders.
"This is good enough now, I like your purity, Malena."
"Before your ambition is realized, I would prefer you to maintain this purity."
"After all, between you and me, there shouldn't be a need for any extra bindings, right?"
There was no teasing, no flirtation, no romantic ambiguity in Anselm's eyes, only the purest trust, recognition, and encouragement.
"You are not the kind of person who needs to use such methods to achieve value, to repay the kindness."
The devil who liked to manipulate hearts but was always utterly sincere, gently patted the girl who was about to fall into being his follower, speaking with utmost confidence:
"Even if no one believes in your ravings, I will be the witness to the realization of your ambition."
"Ah, and also."
Hydra said with a light laugh, "Just call me by my name from now on, 'Lord Hydra' is too formal, isn't it?"
Malena had to close her eyes for a moment, as she didn't want to show any more emotional lapses in front of Anselm.
"Alright, Hyd... Anselm... sir."
The ordinary Malena bowed her head in response, not showing any girlish shyness, but rather responding with steadiness and calmness: "I will not disappoint your expectations, definitely."
"Good, then let's continue with our work. I need to arrange a speech in six days. Can you complete your tasks by then?"
"Of course," Malena replied without any hesitation, and without any reluctance, "I will complete it even earlier."
No one could have imagined that a month ago, she was just a village girl, yet here she stood so calmly, holding the authority to mobilize the entire Scarletfrost's nobility, making such a promise to the feared-by-all Hydra.
Malena couldn't have imagined it either, so she valued everything she had now even more than her own life, and more than she valued ...Anselm, the one who gave her all this.
[I've already given you a lot, Sita]
[Even if I'm not qualified to have Mr. Anselm for myself, I will never let you be the first]
The girl with flames of darkness flickering in her eyes made this arrogant vow in her heart.
And here, Anselm, who was fully aware of everything that had happened, sat back down behind the desk with a smile on his face.
Under his management, Scarletfrost was gradually getting back on track, and the number of documents that needed his attention was also decreasing.
At the same time, in this grand play that was about to end, the adjustments and corrections he needed to make were also few.
My dear Sitana, everything has been prepared for you.
The stage, the actors, the props, and... my meticulously crafted, most perfect script.
Please perish in the fire ignited by conflicts and collapse.
And I will give you, an unparalleled rebirth.
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