The villain's way to tame the protagonist

The girl lifted her skirt and followed her two future colleagues up the bell tower, but the higher she went, the more she felt that something was wrong.

The smell in the bell tower, the increasingly strong smell...

Bloody smell?

There was silence in the tall bell tower, with only the sound of three people's footsteps slowly ascending the stone steps.

Marina, who kept her head down and remained silent, suddenly froze when she was about to reach the top.

Because she saw... the sticky blood slowly flowing down the stone steps.

Mioff above seemed to step into the flowing blood unconsciously, and Marina could only calm her trembling mind and follow him step by step.

When she reached the top of the bell tower, the girl saw a scene that made her pupils suddenly shrink.

This was a gift from Grand Duke Mosu to Anilisa. Even the interior is decorated very gorgeously. The top platform was made to look like a viewing platform. From the outside, it looks like the four sides of a dial, but from the inside looking out, it is actually transparent. Although the entire city of Hydra cannot be seen, the scenery is also very good.

What shocked Marina was certainly not the view from the bell tower, but the three people... hanging on the top platform.

A middle-aged man, a young man, and a woman, all three were unconscious, tied up and hung with ropes, their wrists were cut, and the blood flowing down formed scarlet streams.

"This...Ms. Naylan, Mr. Myoff, may I ask what this is..."

Although Marina had followed Ansher for a long time, the only great terror she had ever witnessed was the death after the cold wave. In all the things she had dealt with since then, and in her dealings with other nobles, she had never seen such a scene again.

Therefore, this scene brought a great shock to Marina, but she quickly calmed down and asked questions to her two future colleagues.

Nalan leaned against the wall, exhaling a light mist with an expressionless face.

"Three of them." The woman said indifferently, "Who do you think it is?"

Marina looked at the three people who were unconscious and pale. After hesitating for a moment, she bravely walked forward and observed them closely.

"…Judging from his clothes, he is a noble of high rank."

The girl whispered, "The young man looks very similar to this couple. They should be a family of three."

"There are two scars on the man's face and on his hand..."

Seeing that the man also had scars on his hands, Marina suppressed her nausea and rolled up her blood-soaked sleeves, revealing an arm covered in old scars.

"Is he a warrior? If he was a normal noble with a high title, he wouldn't have so many injuries. Did he use his extraordinary talent and merits to earn his title? He was most likely an adventurer before."

"Although the woman is not beautiful... the signs of being pampered are obvious. The same is true for the young woman. It is obvious that she is cared for and pampered by the man."

After saying all this, Marina let out a long sigh: "That's probably all I can guess, Ms. Naylan."

Naylan waved his hand and said, "It's quite comprehensive... Maiouf, explain the situation to her briefly."

Even in this chilling and bloody scene, Myoff said with a smile:

"This man is Count Bekunt, a Westerner, and a fourth-level transcendent. He exchanged his title three years ago and joined Lord Anser. Because he is an experienced and very experienced zero-point explorer, Lord Anser accepted him and gave him a fiefdom."

"As for the reason why he, his wife and children were hung here..."

Myoff, who looked like an honest man, opened his eyes slightly, and a frightening cold light flashed in his eyes.

"Of course it was him who...betrayed Lord Anser."

"……betray?"

Marina was stunned for a moment, then revealed an expression of disbelief: "How could someone betray Mr. Anser?!"

"Although it is indeed unbelievable to betray Lord Anser, it is not impossible."

Myoff shrugged. "People are complicated, aren't they?"

"The situation in the West Country is extremely chaotic, especially now. Because of Bekunte's former identity, part of the network we set up there has to pass through his hands."

Naylan walked up to Count Berquint and, expressionlessly, stabbed the burning cigarette butt into his cut vein.

"Six days ago, the Lord assigned us a mission. The intelligence was to be delivered by Bekunte, and he leaked the news to the Grand Duke of Dragon Language."

"But this was intentional by the Lord. He knew that Bequint would do this. Even though none of us thought that Bequint would betray us, the Lord had already predicted that he would."

She slowly and forcefully stuffed the entire cigarette butt into the man's vein.

Even though he was unconscious, the earl could not help but growl in extreme pain.

Unable to watch this cruel scene, Marina looked away, and Nairan continued, "The Lord said that Grand Duke Longyu saved Bekunt's life. Bekunt is a warrior who will repay a favor. Although the Lord's kindness is great, it is obviously not as great as saving his life."

"so……"

Marina, who did not go to see Count Berquint, whispered, "Now, are you going to execute him?"

"The Duke of Dragon is a cautious man." Myof smiled, "Everyone knows Lord Anser's, um... brainwashing ability."

He deliberately added quotation marks when saying "brainwashing", but it still attracted Nailan's cold gaze.

Although she didn't finish her words, Marina already understood what Mioff meant.

"So... he is not executed for his treason, but to make sure that the Duke of Dragon Language is convinced that the news was not spread intentionally by Mr. Anser?"

Marina murmured, shifting her gaze to the other two people.

"Therefore..." Her voice was a little dry, "This earl's entire family must be wiped out."

"That's a pretty quick idea." Myoff applauded. "But... it's not necessary."

“…Isn’t it necessary?”

"It was Ms. Naylan's opinion to execute their family." The man crossed his arms, "It was not mine. There are many ways to convince the Grand Duke of Long Yu that the information was true. This one doesn't have to be taken."

Naylan's cold and cruel gaze passed across Marina's cheek and fell on Myof.

"But this is the most direct and effective way. I have no interest in wasting my extra energy on this kind of rubbish."

Marina looked at Bequinte, then at the woman and the young man who were also tied up, and asked:

"Mr. Myoff, what is your plan?"

"Me? It's very simple. Just let Bequint announce his crime on the top of his own city wall and commit suicide in front of all the people in his city."

Myof shrugged. "It is in line with his character for a loyal warrior to commit suicide out of shame for his current allegiance. As for bringing disaster to his wife and children, it is obviously unnecessary."

Looking at the woman's ordinary, even below-average face, he was silent for a moment and asked softly, "This Count Bequinte, does he only have this one wife?"

Myoff replied with a little surprise: "Yes."

Then, the three of them fell into silence, with only the sound of dripping blood echoing on the top platform.

"So...Ms. Naylan, Mr. Myoff, do you want me to make the final judgment on Count Berquint?"

"Yes."

Myoff smiled and said, "If you agree with me, they will be cured, forget all this, and then be sent back to their own territory. Then someone will find time to find Count Berquint, and it won't take long for him to make the right choice."

Nalan said indifferently: "If you choose to stand on my side, they will wake up immediately, and the blood-making formula on their bodies will become ineffective. They will bleed to death in fear and pay the price for their betrayal."

“A simple test that came at the perfect time.”

The woman's condescending, judgmental gaze left Marina with nowhere to escape.

"It depends on which side and which path you are suitable for."

Marina remained silent, her eyes a little vague.

It's not like she hadn't made a more cruel decision before - hiding the matter of the Great Cold Wave coal and not telling Hitana. The final result was a thousand times more cruel than it is now.

But Marina had no choice at that time, because she knew that if Xitana's willfulness and selfishness were not corrected in a destructive way with enough cruelty, they would only grow into fatal problems under Ansel's indulgence, and would sooner or later cause greater trouble.

Now, she has a choice. Should she deal with the matter objectively and stop at the right time, or use the most brutal and cruel means to make the betrayer pay the price?

Mr. Anser...what would he think?

Marina's hesitant and wavering thoughts passed through the hanging count's family, toward the transparent clock, and landed on the prosperous scene of Hydra City.

The shock and absurdity created by the distant beauty and the bloodiness in front of her made Marina subconsciously clench her fists.

If it was Mr. Anser...he would never do such a thing.

Only the betrayer should be punished. No, the Countess and her son should be punished as well, but not to this extent.

Following Ansel's line of thought, Marina's mind suddenly became clear.

She was right. This was undoubtedly the choice Anser would make - because he had never even committed evil deeds out of pure violence, so how could he punish and implicate innocent people out of pure disgust and hatred?

"I...support Mr. McAfee."

Marina no longer hesitated. As long as she had Ansher as her "support", her determination was firm.

"If I can make the decision, I hope that the ending of Count Berquint's family will be as Mr. MacAffe described."

A warm smile spread across Myoff's face. He clapped his hands and said sincerely, "You made the right choice, Miss Marina. Believe me."

"Thank you."

Marina smiled and said, "I just think that if it were Mr. Anser, he would definitely support your proposal."

The man's smile became several levels brighter than before. It was obvious that Anser's praise and recognition made him feel more genuinely happy than facing some unknown beautiful girl.

"That point...hahahaha, maybe, maybe."

He said this without any hint of modesty, and his complacency was evident in his words.

After staring at Marina for a long time, Nalan showed a slightly disappointed look.

She took out a ladies' cigarette from her pocket, lit it silently, and walked down the stairs on her own.

Before leaving, Naylan looked back at Marina for the last time, and Marina was also looking at her.

The girl's hesitant look seemed to be asking:

Why must it go this far? This is not what Mr. Anser wants.

Nalan understood what she meant, and the disdainful and scornful sneer appeared on his face again.

"What a beautiful lotus."

She said no more and turned away.

"Naylan——"

"Don't chase her. She won't pay attention to you anymore."

Myoff's voice came from behind Marina: "Ms. Naylan is just like that. She doesn't mean to target anyone. Don't take it too seriously."

"I didn't, I just..." Marina said softly, "I just want to know why Ms. Naylan is so..."

"The people of Shadow Marsh are all like this. You will come into contact with them sooner or later. You have to get used to it."

Myoff took Marina down the bell tower and told her that someone would come to deal with Count Berquint's family soon.

After leaving the clock tower, he led Marina to continue walking towards the Hundred Flowers Plaza, explaining, "After reading your information, I know that you are more suitable for our garden. Your learning ability is amazing. It is remarkable that you have grown to this level through self-study without a proper mentor."

Although he said this, Myoff didn't show any "you are amazing" expression at all. Marina knew this very well - this was still Myoff's social etiquette.

So... am I just an ordinary member of the "garden" that Mr. McAfee mentioned?

"When I take you to the garden, someone will meet you there. I have three more candidates to interview, so I won't continue to take you."

"Mr. Myoff is very busy..."

"Hmm? Busy? That doesn't really count."

Mioff looked back at Marina and said meaningfully:

"Most interviews are conducted over a period of years. Those like Ms. Marina who only need to answer a multiple-choice question are a minority among the minority."

Marina was stunned for a moment, then said helplessly: "That's why Miss Naylan calls me Lucky."

“Hahahaha, don’t worry about it. Anyone who can join the Garden or Shadow Swamp is a lucky person.”

The two chatted along the way and soon arrived at the Baihua Square.

"Yes, that's the administration building."

Maiou pointed to an ordinary-looking administrative building not far away. It had nothing special about it. "Someone is waiting for you at the door. Just identify yourself."

“…That’s it?”

Marina's eyes widened slightly, and she looked at Myoff in disbelief: "Is it that... ordinary administrative building?"

"What else?" Myoff raised his eyebrows. "Where do you think it is? Some secret corner on the eighteenth floor underground?"

"Because you and Miss Naylan acted a little... a little peculiar."

"Don't worry, don't think too much. We are a normal administrative unit... Well, although the level is a little higher than that of ordinary administrative units, it is still an administrative unit."