In the lounge, the indignant Seraphina and the leg-perched Ravenna found themselves in a standoff. However, given that this was Ansel’s home, Miss wolf managed to suppress her urge to seize Ravenna and give her a good beating, anxiously awaiting Ansel’s reaction.

“Ravenna.”

Ansel’s scepter gently tapped the floor, “I have some private dealings with you, but this does not mean that you can repeatedly provoke and insult Seraphina.”

He stepped forward, his smile gentle, but a distinct chill surged in his sea-blue eyes:

“If you continue to disrespect her like this, you will certainly pay the price.”

“…”

Ravenna’s eyebrows slightly furrowed.

“Taking it this seriously…” Her gaze shifted to Seraphina, whose anger had significantly subsided, and the deliberate contempt and provocation in her face disappeared instantly.

That kind of deliberately irritating mood seemed to be just a non-existent hazy veil.

“Miss Marlowe.”

Ravenna retracted her leg, her legs together, slightly straightened her waist, and became a bit more serious in her posture.

“From the transportation circle to now, all my performances were just a small test, I hope you don’t mind.”

“If you do mind.” After putting away that false contempt, her expressionless, icy face, coupled with words that were more than ten times more self-centered than Seraphina’s, was even more annoying.

“Then continue to mind.”

Seraphina’s temples throbbed, and she, who could no longer stand it, turned to look at Ansel:

“Ansel, can I beat her up?”

“You can.” Ansel shrugged indifferently, “But this is just another alchemical puppet, didn’t you smell it?”

“…Huh?!”

Seraphina took a sharp sniff, looking incredulously at Ravenna sitting on the sofa.

Indeed, it was mixed with a similar smell as before… but how did it become so human-like all of a sudden?

“As far as I know.”

Ansel said leisurely, skillfully pouring the liquor on the coffee table into the cup: “Miss Ravenna, who has severe paranoia, has prepared no less than twenty alchemical puppets. Where her real body is hidden, only she knows.”

“This is data from three years ago.”

Ravenna pushed her glasses, “So far, the number of my puppets has increased to fifty-six.”

“And, this is not paranoia.”

The woman looked up at Ansel, her voice cold:

“Hydral, do you know how many times the Etheric Academy has assassinated me after you left?”

Ansel, who took a sip of the liquor, shrugged slightly and chuckled, “It made you expand the capacity of your puppets nearly three times, hmm… I can imagine the severity.”

Seraphina, who didn’t quite understand, was led by Ansel to sit next to him in a daze.

“So, Ravenna.”

The young Hydral put down his wine glass and said with a smile, “What exactly is it that makes you so eager to find me?”

“…It’s just like you.”

Ravenna took off her glasses, and her purple eyes contrasted with her cold and abstinent appearance, creating a subtly captivating feeling.

“You noticed that my reaction in the transportation circle was a performance for the manager, didn’t you?”

“It’s obvious, but… with your usual performance, they would just believe it. Anyway, you put on that kind of expression.”

Ansel leisurely stroked Seraphina’s soft palm, “You’ve made some progress in these three years without seeing me, Ravenna.”

Although our Miss Seraphina didn’t understand at all what these two were talking about, she was very happy to be touched and didn’t bother to think about it.

“If there’s no progress, I would have died in the hands of those old guys of Etheric Academy long ago.”

She threw the glasses she had taken off onto the coffee table in front of Ansel, and her purple eyes, which seemed to carry magic, stared at Ansel:

“Hydral, this is my sincerity, and the price I will pay later.”

“In exchange.”

The woman looked at Ansel, who was interested in playing with the glasses, and her tone relaxed a bit:

“I need you to provide me with protection for a while, and—”

“Oh… you’ve actually achieved systematic dataization.”

Ansel’s tone was quite surprised, “Although it’s a bit crude and simple, it’s a huge progress.”

Ravenna’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, “What are you talking about, do you think I can’t reproduce this kind of thing when I have a clue?”

She was not pleased with Ansel’s praise, on the contrary, a strong dissatisfaction and even disgust was subtly floating in her cold words.

But the cold woman almost instantly suppressed that emotion and continued, “Since you also recognize this thing, then I also need—”

“Well, this little thing is indeed good.”

Ansel put the glasses on the coffee table and gently pushed them to Ravenna, smiling brightly:

“But, I refuse.”

“…”

Ravenna stared straight at the gray glasses pushed in front of her, then raised her head and stared at Ansel’s face.

Her slightly contracted purple eyes silently told her incomprehension.

“Ravenna.”

The young Hydral wrapped his arm around the waist of the girl next to him, letting her lie sideways on his leg, leisurely stroking her soft and smooth cheek.

“You know that my evaluation and attitude towards a person never considers those meaningless courtesies and words, but only values as the absolute standard.”

“So when you seek cooperation or even protection from me, you didn’t make any humble and respectful gestures. Because I am such a person, and you are such a person.”

“But you got one thing wrong, Ravenna.”

Ansel, who was lowering his head to knead Seraphina’s face, had a light and cheerful smile, and although the girl’s face was red, she lay on Ansel’s leg and let him do as he pleased, enjoying it very much.

He raised his head and said casually, “You think you have a bargaining chip that can make me respond, but in fact—”

Ansel tilted his head slightly and said in a casual tone:

“In my eyes, you have no value at all.”

Not contempt, nor indifference.

Just a kind of, don’t care.

Under this don’t care, Ansel lowered his head and continued to play and laugh with Seraphina, while still saying indifferently, “In the three years I left the imperial capital, I thought a lot, and the conclusion I came to was…”

“Your ideals and talents are worthless to me.”

“Moreover, I have found something more precious…”

The wicked Hydral exhaled gently in Seraphina’s ear, “Dear Seraphina, isn’t that right?”

–>