“You just need to answer yes or no.”

“Deal.” Valrhona said without hesitation, reaching into the shadow on the counter. Half of its arm disappeared as if into water, pulling out a bottle filled with a viscous black liquid and tossing it to Ansel. “Hmph… I wonder which poor soul is going to fall victim to you, but it’s none of my business.”

Valrhona snorted, “Go to hell sooner rather than later, devil.”

Ansel shook the bottle, not paying much attention to Valrhona’s words, and laughed at it:

“I wish you a fortune, Lord of the Crow’s Nest.”

Under the watchful eyes of the tavern patrons, Ansel waved to the leader of the largest adventurer group in the empire, and left nonchalantly. After Ansel left, a crowd rushed to the bar, surrounding Valrhona, asking in a flurry:

“Hey, boss, is that guy really Faust? The Faust who’s said to be able to take on the Grand Duke?”

“He looks so weak, I thought he was a super macho alpha man!”

“Weak? You didn’t see him when he was fighting that old freak Wyvern…”

“Exactly, when this monster walked into the city with a string of dragon heads, you guys were hiding in the basement calling for your mommies.”

“Hey, Vig, what’s your deal?”

Seeing their boss silent, they turned their attention to the bartender who had finally calmed down a bit, “What drink did he order that scared you so much?”

Viggo was silent for a moment, his body still trembling slightly, but he seemed to want to use the act of telling his experience to rid himself of this fear, forcing himself to calm down. “He ordered a glass of Fate, the ingredients are a drop of saint’s blood, a drop of believer’s blood, a drop of arcane blood, a drop of beast king’s blood, and ninety-nine drops of the tears of the suffering.”

“…What the hell? Is that guy some kind of weird sorcerer?”

Vig shook his head, “He said I would be the best bartender in the empire in the future, so he pre-ordered a… trophy for himself. Honestly… I didn’t understand what he meant at the time, but he gave me one of the ingredients.”

“…Ninety-nine drops of the tears of the suffering.”

At this point, Vig’s body started to tremble again. He staggered back, clutching his head with both hands, muttering to himself, “That’s… that’s…”

“Alright, don’t push him anymore.”

Valrhona ended the topic, “I’ve kept those tears, let’s talk about something else. Viggo, you can leave work early, go home and rest for a while.”

The strange being, neither human nor beast, the Lord of the Crow’s Nest, one of the few in the entire empire who had no powerful background, who had stumbled all the way to the fifth stage, its beast-like claws trembled imperceptibly. Because it had kept those tears for Viggo, it knew better than anyone the source of Viggo’s terror. Those tears, just tears, were a thousand times more terrifying than any abyss potion. Ordinary people didn’t even need to drink it, just being affected by its aura would send them sliding into the abyss. Valrhona couldn’t imagine what kind of monster could drink this stuff. Abyss potion, Redemption Water? They were child’s play in front of this thing. It wasn’t the tears of the suffering, it was… despair and the abyss itself.

*

Unbeknownst to all, Ansel had embarked on a distant journey in such a brief span of time. Having dealt with the increasingly streamlined and effortless daily affairs, he dined in solitude, retreating to his study to immerse himself in the seemingly endless pursuit of knowledge. Only when the clock chimed did Ansel set aside his books, preparing to conclude the day.

His gaze, through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the balcony, fell upon Seraphina, who was walking down the street, arm in arm with Marlina. Marlina, still engrossed in accelerating the implementation of Ansel’s policies in the Red Frost territory, was meticulous and thorough in her approach, a trait that Ansel greatly admired. Compared to the ruthless and cold-hearted Lady Violet from the original world line, Marlina’s methods were no longer cruel, yet they still carried a hint of extreme cold rationality. Perhaps it was Ansel’s influence, or perhaps… it was the inertia of fate.

Seraphina, acting as Marlina’s guard, had completely changed. In the predetermined future, Seraphina at this time had already experienced a lot, only occasionally showing a smile when interacting with the members of the revolutionary army, her usual gaze and expression always lifeless.

But now, the young girl was chattering incessantly into her sister’s ear, causing Marlina to display a helpless expression. Her eyes and expressions were so lively and vibrant, on her increasingly charming and attractive face, she appeared so carefree and adorable.

Ansel had only been watching for a short while when she suddenly lifted her head, looking around vigilantly. In less than three seconds, she had locked onto Ansel standing by the floor-to-ceiling window. Thus, the alertness on her face instantly melted into joy. She grabbed Marlina, jumping up and down on the spot, waving her arms. Even through the glass, even from a distance, Ansel could hear the girl’s passionate and affectionate call:

“Ansel! Ansel! I’m back!”

Before Ansel could respond, she was already dragging Marlina, running all the way. After running a short distance, she seemed to realize that Marlina couldn’t keep up, so amidst her sister’s cries of surprise, she picked her up, hoisted her onto her shoulder, and dashed into the mansion.

The echo of Seraphina’s call seemed to still be ringing in his ears. Ansel couldn’t help but smile at the thought of the girl carrying her sister and sprinting all the way. However, this uncontrollable smile had barely risen when it abruptly froze on his face.

“…”

Hydral silently touched his cheek, his fingertips tracing the corner of his mouth.

As his finger slowly moved down, the curve of his smile gradually lost its previous warmth and color.

It wasn’t until this smile returned to Ansel’s usual unassuming, yet gentle demeanor that Ansel lowered his hand and murmured to himself:

“This is for the best.”

Maintaining this smile, he left the study to respond to Seraphina’s affection and anticipation.

At this moment, Hydral suddenly remembered the words :Valrhona had said to him after the transaction was over.

Go to hell sooner…

A laugh involuntarily rose in Ansel’s heart.

It seemed he had always been there, never leaving. freewebnσvel.cm

*