The paramount essence in taming animals and training pets is what?
Not the method, nor the patience, but... understanding.
Understanding forms the bedrock of all training, the guarantee that when you extend your hand, it will nuzzle its head into your palm.
So, when Ansel beheld the shift in Seraphina 's countenance at her parents' words, he knew the time was ripe.
At this juncture, he addressed Seraphina with an insouciant and casual demeanor, "Do you genuinely believe, that those nobility's posturing is due to your 'power'?"
"What do you mean, Ansel... L-Lord Ansel?"
Seraphina's voice seemed oddly tempered, akin to a low growl held at bay in her throat.
"Miss Seraphina, you were expelled from the highest academy of the North, the Frost Tower, at the age of twelve, having attended only one term."
Ansel stood, his ever-present serpentine scepter transforming into a pitch-black blade whip, securely held as if it were the reins controlling a fiery steed.
As he meandered towards the bookshelves, rummaging for something, he casually continued, "But in that single term, you ascended from an ordinary individual with no ties to the extraordinary, to the second stage of the Heavenly Road, the Crystal Staircase, shattering the record for the fastest promotion in the history of the Frost Tower."
He cast a sly grin towards Seraphina, "A prodigious genius, aren't you?"
She remained silent, evidently, that academic experience held no cherished memories for her.
"But how could the Frost Tower expel such a prodigy within a single term? Ah… Allow me to recount your heroic deeds--"
"Publicly humiliating novice instructors with your harsh words, hmm... six times; injuring peers through excessive brutality in public duels, twelve times; repeatedly uttering disrespectful remarks about the nobility and imperial laws in public places--"
He waved the thick report in his hand, chuckling, "It appears, the Frost Tower wasn't blind to your talents, rather, they were exceptionally magnanimous, Miss Marlowe."
"You know nothing!"
As Ansel finished, Seraphina seemed to lose her composure, her voice echoing like a beast's roar in the study, "The city's nobility regarded me as a beast from the wilderness. If they intended to humiliate me... they should prepare to have their limbs broken!"
Her body began to move, the blades clinging to her delicate skin threatening to pierce the thin layer of flesh.
"Ah, composure, Miss Seraphina." The seemingly complex blade whip was remarkably docile in Ansel's hands. Even though Seraphina was riled, Ansel ensured no marks were left on her.
"I can empathize with your anger," he assured her gently.
"..." Seraphina sighed, her gaze strayed, "You are slightly different from them."
Ansel was taken aback by this remark, then couldn't help but laugh, "I think you've misunderstood something, Seraphina. "
"My understanding of you doesn't mean I empathize with your situation, rather... I discern the true source of your anger."
The devil whispered softly, "You resent your own folly and impotence."
"..."
"Your family exhausted ninety percent of their savings to secure your admission into the Frost Tower. This shows the extent of their expectations and resolve."
"But you -"
Ansel tossed a piece of paper at Seraphina's feet, his tone growing indifferent.
It was a notice, an expulsion notice.
The frosty inscription declared the fall of a pampered daughter of heaven, akin to a meteor descending.
"But you let them down."
"That wasn't my fault!"
Ansel's words had dug into Seraphina's deepest wound, she ignored the blade whip coiling around her and crushed the expulsion notice under her foot, roaring furiously, "It's them, they couldn't tolerate me! Those nobles couldn't bear to see a twelve-year-old girl from a rural village being stronger than them!"
"You see, Miss Seraphina," Ansel loosened the blade whip's hold on Seraphina, sighing lightly, "You're always like this, never willing to accept your mistakes."
"I didn't -"
"Hush."
The blade whip's tip rested against Seraphina's throat, Ansel raised his index finger to his lips, whispering, "Listen to me, Seraphina. "
"You despise every noble equally, deeming them all to be foolish, despicable, narrow-minded, and intolerant."
"Firstly, I must concede that the empire is indeed in its twilight years, thus, the nobles you see do constitute the majority. Yet, I implore you to examine your conscience, Miss Seraphina, during your unparalleled display of talent in the Frost Tower... Was there not even a single noble who showed you kindness? Did all the nobles truly exhibit nothing but abhorrent jealousy in that moment?"
Ansel, gazing at the petrified Seraphina, moved forward with a gentle smile, "It appears you recall the circumstances quite vividly. However, why... why did all the nobles become detestable to you in such a short time, turning into your enemies?"
"The answer is simple—Seraphina, who despises the nobility from the core of her being, not only rejected any goodwill but also haughtily scorned them."
"Because you deeply believe in the greatness of your talent, elevating your pride and dignity even above that."
"Therefore, you ended up so angry... Dearest Seraphina."
The handsome noble drawing nearer to the silver-haired girl, murmured thoughtfully. He watched as the girl's body began to tremble, and in a pleasant tone, continued.
"The shock, disappointment, anger, and ultimate forgiveness of your family made you realize your errors. As you grew older, you started to understand, and in the dead of night, you would imagine—what if you had accepted the goodwill of at least one noble, would things have turned out differently?"
"You regretted, you resented that twelve-year-old child, that naive, arrogant, foolish child, foolish... self."
"Shut up!!"
Seraphina's crimson eyes trembled violently, her pupils in the center of her eyes seemed eerily to disperse and reform. She tried to pounce on Ansel in an uncontrollable roar, but was held back by the blade whip, strangely leaving only a few light bloodstains on her.
"Are you already so incensed? But this is merely the beginning, Miss Seraphina."
Ansel stood just an arm's length from Seraphina, maintaining a composed smile.
"Let's return to our initial topic—what do you think made you significant? Your power? The Crystal Staircase? An ordinary second stage?"
The blond youth sighed and shook his head, "Miss Seraphina... do you know how many superhumans of the Crystal Staircase level exist in the Northland, no, in the Red Frost territory? Do you know the level of the Count Stonehear's manor's chief guard? Why would you think that the nobles, in just one night and one morning, would strive to handle matters so beautifully, for just an ordinary human of the mere Crystal Staircase level?"
"Ah... I understand what you think. You believe that they saw your unparalleled talent—just like the mentors in the Frost Tower who tried to keep you."
"But here, Seraphina, I can tell you explicitly."
Ansel of Hydral, a young noble with the magical blood of the terminal beast Hydral flowing in his veins, delivered his judgement impassively.
"You are worthless."
"No one cares about your talent, no one cares about your power. Seraphina, you must understand one thing, your existence, in the eyes of the Red Frost nobility, holds only one value."
"—That is to win my favor."
"Bull…shit!"
Seraphina bellowed.
"Why wouldn't they curry your favor directly then? Why not deliver those things to your doorstep? Ha! Are common folk like my parents of value to a person of your stature?"
"So, Seraphina," Ansel advanced a step, tenderly and pityingly stroking her head, "you've grown, yet you remain blind."
"Why? Because you have been the beneficiary of my leniency, my indulgence."
He flexed his fingers and the blade whip nimbly caught Seraphina's hand as she tried to seize his forearm.
He continued, laughing, "You see, it's just like this. I've forgiven your affronts, your rudeness, your arrogance...countless times. "
"I've turned a blind eye to your uncouth language, dismissed your brutish behavior with a laugh - do you know what that signifies in the eyes of the nobility, Miss Seraphina?"
Ansel's touch was as gentle as one would bestow upon a lover.
"It signifies that you are of utmost importance to me, that you are deserving of the leniency of a Hydral, perceived by them as brutal, malicious, terrifying. Therefore, your happiness becomes a reflection of my own state of mind."
"So, Seraphina...everything you've acquired has nothing to do with you personally."
"— It's merely due to the mercy that I've bestowed upon you."
"Hyd...ral!"
The blade whip binding Seraphina suddenly emitted a metallic creaking noise. Her fair skin contrasted with the dark whip, creating an eerily alluring tableau.
But the protagonist of this scene was undergoing an even stranger transformation.
Her dark red eyes staring fixedly at Ansel… gradually distorted, no longer resembling the shape of human pupils. Her irises seemed to stain with blood in her roar, her eyes about to mutate into…those of a beast!
"HYDRAL!!!"
Ansel recoiled slightly, frowning, "It seems you, Miss Seraphina, are still unwilling to accept reality…well then, I'll have to tell you something even more unbearable."
"In relation to my earlier analysis…in fact, after being expelled from Frost Tower, you started to learn to constrain your arrogance. You knew not to be too presumptuous in front of nobility, people more powerful than you. Even if it would eventually be exposed, at least initially, you could disguise it well."
"Otherwise, you, who already had the power of the Crystal Staircase after being expelled from Frost Tower, would have killed the tax officer who came to plunder your village. You wouldn't have allowed yourself and your sister to be taken away so easily by the Count of Red Frost, would you? "
"So the question is…why were you so rude when you first met me?"
The true malice churning in Ansel's heart was now transformed into lethal fangs.
"Seraphina, I have carefully read the information about you and drawn an interesting conclusion."
"You have many talents…among them, what I find most intriguing is your almost omniscient intuition."
"Like sensing hostility and murderous intent at that banquet, or helping you find prey, or even having the instinct to seek gains and avoid harm like a beast with great survival skills, right?"
Ansel, leisurely and calmly, watched Seraphina struggle madly, trying to knock him to the ground and rip open his throat on the spot.
"You can sense a person's character, and even their very essence. So when you face those overly dangerous nobles who would easily harm you, you try to control your temper as much as possible."
"But on the contrary…when facing harmless individuals, the savagery and arrogance in your heart would grow uncontrollably. I'm not wrong, am I, Seraphina?"
— Of course, the reality is not like this.
The defiance flowing in Seraphina's blood makes her unwilling to bow to anyone. She submits to those harsh nobles only briefly, for the sake of her family.
This is why the future Sky Wolf Emperor appears so invincible—because by then she would have lost everything she held dear, evolving into a higher level of consciousness.
But Ansel doesn't need that future, nor will he allow Seraphina to possess such enlightenment.
So, in this prolonged verbal slaughter, Ansel prepared to deal Seraphina the final, lethal blow.
"So, your rudeness towards me is not because you couldn't control your wildness for a moment."
"It's because your intuition told you…I wouldn't hold your offences against you."
"Ha...ha… Hydral, Hydral..."
Struggling in her hysteria, Seraphina had now collapsed to her knees, the sounds emanating from her throat no longer discernibly human. Ansel, however, showed no signs of halting, continuing his ruthless adjudication:
"You have been exploiting me."
"You have repeatedly provoked and affronted me, becoming increasingly audacious as you confirmed your intuition."
"'Hydral... I will...kill...'"
"Moreover, you even leveraged my tolerance for your personal gain. Although it may not have been your original intent, you followed your instincts without hesitation, didn't you?"
"Kill you... I will kill you!"
"What's more, you even had the audacity to attribute all credit to yourself thereafter. Well, from a certain perspective, it is indeed your doing, isn't it?"
Hydral sighed mournfully, wielding the most merciless hammer with a tone of profound regret, shattering the dignity that the young wolf held dear:
"Seraphina, you are so ignoble, so deceitful, so..."
"Cowardly."
"HYDRAL!!!"
Her nearly crazed roar shattered the glass in the study room. Rage, hatred, cruelty... An endless fury gave Seraphina strength that she should not possess at this time.
Crack—!
The blade whip that bound her was broken with raw strength. Her blood-red eyes tore through the air like lightning, and the girl, her delicate skin stained with blood, howled as she threw Ansel to the ground. Ansel himself was completely taken aback.
However, he was not worried.
Even if Seraphina crushed his throat, he wouldn't flinch.
For he had prepared chains for this savage young wolf. He did not need to pull them; they would automatically strangle Seraphina.
At this moment, under self-loathing and the fanning of nameless rage, Seraphina should have completely lost her sanity.
But before this... she had heard the bell of the future, a sound pleasant to the ears.
Father, mother, sister, village...
[What would happen to them if Hydral died?]
When this thought flashed through Seraphina's mind, her hand stopped.
—Even though she was choking Ansel's throat with both hands.
"I..."
Straddling Ansel, the girl, naked and covered in blood, began to tremble.
"What... am I doing?"
She looked at her released, trembling hands, and asked herself in confusion, fear, and emptiness:
"Why... why did I do this?"
"No... it's not like that... I didn't want to exploit..."
She never gets this angry about things she hasn't done. At most, she would just beat the other person up.
But just now, the intent to kill that devoured everything... could it be that her intuition, her true self...
Was she really accepting that she was exploiting... Hydral's tolerance?
"It can't be, I can't... I absolutely won't..." *sob*
"How could I possibly be..." *sob*
"... be... such a person?" *sob*
The girl straddling Ansel lost all her strength and cried helplessly.
"You look terrible, Miss Seraphina."
A pitying sigh sounded in the young wolf's ears.
"Whether it's your furious behavior or your helpless crying now."
Ansel straightened up, one hand bracing her waist, pulling a handkerchief from his collar to wipe her cheeks, saying gently, "Both are unbecoming."
"Hydral... Hydral, release me… What do you intend?"
Fighting for the remnants of her shattered dignity, Seraphina found herself at a loss. Aware of the potential aftermath of her actions, she dared not move excessively, merely voiced her protest.
"Would it be peculiar if I wished for my followers to maintain their dignity?" Ansel queried, tilting his head to observe her.
"..."
Caught off guard, Seraphina allowed Ansel to carefully wipe clean her face.
"What... what did you say?"
At this moment, she gave no thought to her own condition nor the proximity between them, her voice choked with disbelief, "I... a follower? You still consider me a follower? You're not... not doing this out of revenge?"
"See, Seraphina, you're falling into your old habits again," Ansel chuckled lightly.
Flushing a faint red, Seraphina turned her head away, "But I... I thought--"
Ansel shrugged, "You stopped yourself--of course, that's a lie."
He reached out, gripped her chin, and lifted her face slightly,
"Let me tell you my answer, let me reveal the truth of your intuition, Seraphina."
"I extend this leniency because I believe in your worth."
"Do you recall my words at the banquet last night? 'You're worthless in my eyes, at least for now.' Yet, that applies only to the you of now, Seraphina."
He gazed into her restored crimson eyes, "Your self-assessment is not wrong; you possess the talent to achieve greatness. I have no doubt about this, hence I tolerate your disrespect, your foolishness, your savagery-- but your behavior that night left me sorely disappointed."
"But now, you've returned, armed with reason, sincerity, and the composure to halt in the face of humiliation. Therefore, I think I can afford you another chance."
Ansel's face drew slowly closer, causing Seraphina to reflexively lean back in surprise. Still, Ansel's face halted just close enough for their noses to nearly touch.
"Seraphina, are you angry?"
"I... why would I be angry?" The young wolf evaded his gaze weakly.
"Being looked down upon." Ansel chuckled lightly, "Being regarded as a mere vassal of mine, being scorned to the dust-- are you angered by this?"
Unsure of Ansel's true intentions, Seraphina continued to dodge, "I--"
Ansel promptly cupped Seraphina's face in his hands, fixing her gaze with his, his voice and demeanor turning incredibly stern,
"Answer me, Seraphina-- are you indignant, are you angered by this?"
"..." Seraphina, left with no escape, was forced to stare into his sea-blue eyes.
A moment of daze later, she felt as if... something was entwining her.
"I..."
A wild flame rekindled without warning in the depths of her heart. Seraphina felt frustration in her weakness, agitation in her frustration, chaos in her agitation.
In the midst of the chaos, she clenched her teeth and yelled in a fit of self-abandonment, "Isn't that obvious! How could I possibly stand it! Why should everything I have be attributed to your grace!"
Having vented, she collapsed, puffing at Ansel, "Are you satisfied now? Do you want to call me selfish again?"
Ansel laughed heartily, "No, there's no need, this is just fine. Seraphina... I need you like this, I need your anger, your... greed!"
He held her face firmly, a pure, unadulterated fervor ignited in his sea-blue eyes, a fervor witnessed by only a handful.
"Then go prove them wrong, Seraphina, prove that you will become a great one worthy of submission, not just a footnote of Hydral."
"And before that, I will become your nourishment, your sustenance, your strength. If you possess the capacity-- then devour me without restraint!"
In the stupefied gaze of the young wolf, Ansel of Hydral made his mad promise,
"This is my vow to you, and you must become my aid in return."
"Seraphina, my dear..."
The demon, having ended his sermon, extended an invitation to the young girl:
"Do you wish to sign this pact, witnessed only by you and I?"
"..."
Seraphina remained silent for quite a while, then responded with equal gravity:
"Sometimes, I fail to control my own temper. Consider this carefully."
"Could it possibly be more perilous than what we've just endured?"
"I—alright, alright, no need to argue further!"
Seraphina first subconsciously averted her gaze, then forced herself to meet Ansel's eyes, affirming word by word:
"I accept your terms, Hydral. If you can truly deliver as promised, then...you may use me as you see fit."
Ansel responded with a satisfied grin: "Excellent. It's time then, to provide an impeccable guarantee to our agreement."
A sense of foreboding welled up within Seraphina's heart: "What are you planning?"
Ansel merely laughed without answering, nonchalantly picking up his blade whip from the ground and giving it a light flick. The parts Seraphina had shattered instantly reassembled themselves. He tossed the whip behind a table, hooked something, and flung it towards himself.
Ansel, still smiling, caught the object with his other hand: "Now, wear this, Seraphina, as proof of our pact."
Seraphina stared at the object in Ansel's hand, her mind suddenly overwhelmed.
"You—you!" She cried out in disbelief, "You expect me to wear this?!"
—It was a collar!
"I plan to keep you close by, Seraphina, but can you assure me that..." Ansel pointed towards her mouth.
"I've said it before, I will tolerate your savagery, but the more savage you appear, the more it will seem like you're receiving my favor—in the eyes of others. Miss Seraphina, surely I do not need to repeat what that implies?"
Ansel undid the clasp of the collar, speaking leisurely: "Whatever you gain from my generosity, it does not belong to you, but to me. I will not permit you to freely take what is mine. Do you understand?"
Seraphina stared at the collar, her expression changing rapidly: "What does this have to do with this object?"
"It will allow me to stop you from uttering inappropriate words or engaging in offensive behavior at the earliest opportunity—unnoticed by others."
Ansel stated matter-of-factly: "And it can be removed at any time."
After a lengthy hesitation, the young girl finally accepted the collar from Ansel's hand, glaring fiercely as she put it on herself.
"How can this thing—Ah!!"
She let out a sharp cry, a mix of surprise and a hint of coyness, her body trembling as she collapsed into Ansel's arms.
"Although it may appear to be an ordinary collar, it has been forged with the magic crystal of a Thunderhawk, capable of releasing varying intensities of electric current at my command—rest assured, the maximum is just enough to cause a mild numbness."
Ansel positioned Seraphina's head on his shoulder, unable to suppress his laughter: "How does it feel, Miss Seraphina?"
" Hydral..."
Drained and slightly twitching, Seraphina roared in mortification:
"You truly are the worst!!"