After enduring yesterday's events, Seraphina evidently restrained her wildness considerably. Whether it was due to overwhelming shame or being frightened by Ansel's perilous potion, she had been quiet and well-behaved thus far today, unlike her usual self.
At present, she and Ansel were fishing in a pond dug within the Howling Wind Castle.
As a hunter, Seraphina possessed more patience and skill than Ansel in this endeavor. Currently, the score was four to five, with Ansel at a disadvantage.
"You're quite subdued today, Seraphina," Ansel remarked, initiating conversation uncharacteristically.
"..."
The girl gripping the fishing rod pursed her lips, "Do you wish to shock me this much?"
Ansel couldn't help but chuckle, "It seems you're well aware of your own speaking abilities."
Seraphina remained silent, her mood excellent while hunting, hardly affected by external disturbances.
"I initially assumed," Ansel flicked his wrist, "that upon waking this morning, you would immediately inquire about the assistance I could provide."
"You're not incapable of speaking," Seraphina retorted without hesitation, "Why should I be in a hurry, eager to be shocked by you?"
She harbored deep resentment towards the collar around her neck, yet inadvertently revealed an unusual trust in Ansel.
— She had grown accustomed to his unwavering commitment to his word and his honesty.
The young girl's thoughts in this regard were simple, even endearingly so.
Ansel's fishing rod momentarily stilled as he glanced at the focused Seraphina, his gaze softening slightly.
"Remove the collar," he suddenly said.
Seraphina hesitated, displaying no joy but rather extreme wariness as she clutched the collar, "What are you planning? To shock me to death?"
"Because from now on, I wish to converse with you as equals," Ansel's gaze returned to the pond, "I've said it before, that collar is for training you, not to bind you. Once you've truly matured, I will no longer use such unequal methods to punish or... humiliate you."
"Ah, so you're aware that this is humiliating?"
Seraphina's pent-up resentment from being shocked for so many days finally erupted.
Despite her newfound calm, she couldn't help but mock, "I thought Lord Hydral considered shocking people as a form of greet-ugggggghhhh!"
"Seraphina, I hope you understand one thing," Ansel sighed deeply, empathizing with the conflicting emotions from joy to rage of those who raised dogs, despite never having owned a pet himself.
"The humiliation you're experiencing now is self-inflicted. By this point, you should realize how lenient I've been with you."
"Now," Ansel successfully caught another fish amidst the splashing water, turning to Seraphina with a patient and gentle tone, "Do you wish to continue wearing the collar while I lecture you, or engage in an equal conversation?"
Seraphina remained silent for a while before finally removing the collar with a sullen expression, tossing it forcefully to the ground.
— If not for the knowledge that she would have to wear it again later, she would have stomped on it at least twice more.
"In this trial I've given you, what do you believe is most important?"
Ansel ceased fishing, putting away his rod and standing behind Seraphina to watch her fish.
"What else could it be, keeping an eye on you to prevent you from taking action?"
Seraphina replied sullenly.
"Keeping an eye on me? Are you certain you can do that?" Ansel couldn't help but laugh, "Do you plan to stop me by subduing me in advance? Isn't that a bit ridiculous, Seraphina?"
"What am I supposed to do then? I've followed you all this way, completely in the dark, knowing nothing. I don't know why that damned Baron was assassinated, nor why you're helping him. What do you want me to do?"
Seraphina angrily delivered a highly logical speech.
Ansel responded with an even more logical, concise, and powerful statement: "Then why don't you ask me?"
"..."
Seraphina was dumbstruck.
"I, well, you..."
She trembled the fishing rod in her hand, and the fish that almost bit the hook hurriedly escaped.
"You enjoy engaging in fruitless conversations with me, asking questions of little significance."
Ansel gazed at her beautiful snowy short hair and chuckled, "But even if your questions are meaningless, have I ever refused to answer? Except for last night, because you said you didn't want to."
Seraphina was at a loss for words.
It seemed... it was indeed the case?
It was only then that she faintly sensed something else Ansel had invested in her, besides extraordinary tolerance.
It was an unparalleled patience.
He never refused to answer her questions, even when they were so foolish that she felt embarrassed.
And in this never-ending refusal, Ansel never lied.
The girl bit her lip, her fingers anxiously twirling a strand of hair, "Then, can you, I mean, Lord Hydral... tell me?"
"Of course," Ansel replied without hesitation, "I can start from the beginning."
"Let's start with the most superficial - you're curious why someone would want to kill the two barons, right?"
"...Yes."
"It's simple because someone wants to use them against me."
Seraphina's heart was only half-focused on fishing, "How does killing them affect you? Are you close to them?"
"Not particularly close," Ansel shrugged, "I just asked them to assassinate me."
"..."
The poor girl was once again shocked by his casual words, and this time, the flash of inspiration in her mind instantly connected the dots.
"You..." she exclaimed on the spot, "The assassination that day was arranged by you?!"
"Is it hard to understand?"
"Nonsense, who would ask someone to assassinate themselves?!"
"Do you think an assassination only brings death?"
Ansel countered, "Does the end of a war only bring destruction and pain? That's just the interpretation of writers and playwrights, dear Seraphina."
"In this world, there has never been any meaningless slaughter or death."
In Seraphina's silence, Ansel calmly and honestly revealed everything to her, "A brave and kind young noble, on the day he executed a cruel lord, personally attended the nobles' banquet, where he proposed many new laws beneficial to the people, and then... he was assassinated by malicious nobles. You see, how reasonable and appropriate."
"So," the blond youth placed his hand on Seraphina's shoulder and spoke softly, "The young foreign noble shines even brighter, while the local vile nobles become more despicable. And all this... only requires a small, risk-free assassination that even you can easily handle - although Saville intervened at the time, you were indeed able to cope."
Ansel could feel the warmth in his palm and the anger and coldness emanating from Seraphina's bones.
It was not the rage of being humiliated and tormented by Ansel, but a deeper, more thorough... hatred.
"Disgusting," she squeezed the words through her teeth, then continued resentfully, "I deeply regret any good impression I had of you, Hydral."
"You are the most disgusting person I have ever met in my life, without exception."
If there were any progress bars for affection to observe, Seraphina's bar above her head, which had almost reached the middle, would have plummeted to the negative depths at this moment.
But Ansel didn't mind, or rather, he needed Seraphina's hatred.
This calm, deep, step-by-step … hatred that would bury her.
Very well, keep it up, dear Seraphina.
Ansel was so delighted that he wanted to whisper in her ear -
[Your growth is about to begin.]