A Villain's Way of Taming Heroines

…

[Day Eighty-One. ]

Ansel tested the outside me again.

He used Seraphina… to make me anxious, leveraging Seraphina's current status and his concern for her to destroy my already fragile sanity.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Coupled with the aid of fate, the outside me is now on the brink of collapse.

His control over human emotions is impeccable, and his plan is flawless.

It's dangerous; I am no match for Ansel... My choice was correct.

If I hadn't erased my memories, I couldn't have deceived Ansel. Discovering the problem while he completely distrusts me would have ruined everything.

I'm sorry, Ansel, for turning you into what you are now.

…

[Day Ninety.]

Seraphina's birthday... Ansel deliberately invited the outside me, likely to use Seraphina's loyalty to further undermine her.

Not just that, but Ansel's kindness and affection towards Seraphina would plunge the outside me into nostalgic memories of our time together, leading to deep regret.

As expected, the pure loyalty and affection Seraphina shows Ansel are beyond my reach.

Even now, I can't be as pure as she is. Ansel needs someone like her, someone who gives him a sense of security.

I will never be that person. Even if I stand by Ansel's side, I will always argue with him, refute his opinions, and question his thoughts. In the end, a girl like Seraphina is more likable.

But I will never become more likable. I don't need Ansel to like me.

I am simply doing what I believe is right, as I always have.

But the outside me can't make such a resolution. She probably only feels regret... nothing but regret.

Ansel's ambivalent attitude, this contrast and comparison, leaves the outside me with no escape.

Only from this detached perspective, fully aware of all changes, can I see everything clearly. Otherwise, if I were in her place, I would be just another person manipulated by Ansel.

But from this… I can confirm one thing.

Ansel's situation… is becoming increasingly dangerous.

His feelings for Seraphina are genuine; he needs and relies on her sincere love.

Yet, even so, Ansel can use Seraphina's birthday to scheme against the outside me.

This has become his instinct. In some ways, he is colder and more resolute than I am.

Seraphina is one of the most important people to him, yet he can still use his feelings for her to manipulate me.

Stop this, Ansel.

…

I encountered Lady Hydral, Annelisa.

Her words further validated my thoughts.

She told me that Ansel has come to regard the sacrifice of emotions as a matter of course, an act akin to instinct.

I was already aware of this, but hearing it confirmed by her still evoked… an indescribable sadness.

During our conversation, I learned something even more significant.

Ansel's disposition underwent a drastic change during his childhood. On a certain day when he was ten years old, he suddenly became reclusive and unwilling to trust others.

My conjecture is that Ansel, for some reason, by a stroke… discovered the existence of fate. Following this conjecture, Ansel has been contending with fate… for six whole years.

Six years ago… he was only ten.

At ten years old, he had to face the machinations and malice of the entire world?

So…so he never trusted me from the beginning. Living in such a hell, who could he trust?

…

The outside me attributed the root cause of Ansel's current state to the empress's oppression.

With incomplete information, this seemed the only possibility, especially since the decisive battle between the Empress and Lord Flamelle was imminent. Even if the Empress died, Ansel would still have to face the next Empress.

Over the past three years, I have witnessed everything that I experienced, and with all my conjectures and understanding of Ansel, I gradually arrived at this incredible answer.

Even now, I cannot be certain if it is correct.

… Annelisa's appearance and her conversation with the outside me are likely driven by fate.

She has now sided with Ansel, wanting to create a weapon capable of killing a divine being.

Though shallow, it is all she can do, which aligns with my thoughts.

— Without power, one cannot help Ansel.

Yet, I feel something is amiss.

According to my deductions, there are only two to three years left until the decisive battle between Lord Flamelle and the Empress, which should be quite urgent. However, Ansel shows no urgent need for power. Why is that?

…

[Day One Hundred and Two.]

What the hell… is Ansel doing?

He actually made me, the outside me, call him father.

It's absurd! How can you... on what grounds...

Calm down... I must remain calm. This is his way of taming me.

He wants to shatter my pride with this title. It must be so... but why father? There are many ways to break one's pride, yet he chose this title. Could there be a deeper meaning?

…

He deceived Madam Ronger into revealing the truth about the Tower of Babel.

Over these three years, I have been somewhat prepared, as I did not bury myself in research like the outside me did.

I saw much more. Hendrik and the others have ceased pursuing grandfather's ideals. I had vaguely prepared myself for this.

But still... it was hard to accept. When I heard Madam Ronger say it herself, I lost my composure, only slightly better than the outside me did.

So, Ansel not only wants to shatter my dignity but also strip away everything around me step by step? The outside me… have already begun to rely more and more on Ansel.

… I too, want to rely on him.

I am very tired, Ansel. These truths... can I stop looking at them?

No... you must continue, Ravenna.

Even if Ansel is so cruel to you now, you must continue.

…

Ansel took me to see Leiden. How could he have fallen to such a state?

It turns out he left everything to me, he left everything—

Father... did you and Mother truly care for me? What really happened back then... why did everything turn out this way? Why has it come to this?

From the elders beside me to my blood relatives, Ansel... do you wish to replace everyone around me? Is that why you chose the title of Father?

The outside me couldn't accept it then, and for now I can't accept it either, but she had no choice; she was already ensnared by Ansel's schemes.

What is Ansel planning next... I have a very bad feeling.

Grandfather's death... could it be related to Ansel?

...

No, that's not right... this is Ansel's way of breaking me, of taming me. My persistence and pursuit must come from the heart, of course, of course...

How could I be... meaningless?

It took me a very long time to calm down.

Ansel's questions... I have no way to refute them.

I have no way to refute him. Why am I so obsessed with that ideal, even though I have never interacted with any commoners, never truly witnessed their lives?

But... but I am much better than the me outside who has nothing but ideals.

In my heart, there is still Ansel. I can more calmly... calmly understand all this.

Perhaps Ansel is right; I simply want to change the world. I have never truly cared about the commoners, but the question is, where do these thoughts, this persistence, come from...

Another key point is that Ansel's question can be applied to himself.

He says his pursuit of ideals is a lie, but I know very well that it is definitely not a lie.

So... where does Ansel's sincere passion come from? As a divine species, why is he so... special?

Fate, the fate-knowing Ansel, who possesses knowledge beyond the times, in character and thought, is nothing like a divine species, nothing like a noble, such a different Ansel.

Your next journey awaits at empire

And... it seems he can anchor the unknown, fully understanding the development of so many things.

I feel that I am not far from the truth.

…