The villain's way to tame the protagonist

"This is a task with a huge workload, complex design and high difficulty, so we had to work non-stop for a while."

Rhine walked around Marina on the desk in a cat-like manner, "Under the chairmanship of Lord Anser, the specific planning of these two regions has basically come to an end. The next step is to implement the plan."

"The Garden is responsible for the East Port, which is still in good order and even more prosperous; Shadow Marsh will go to the chaotic West Country to stir up a bigger storm."

"...Everyone has their own responsibilities. It sounds like a reasonable arrangement." Marina responded softly.

"Reasonable?"

Rhine paused.

It suddenly put its head close to Marina, and its beautiful emerald cat eyes flashed with an extremely cold color.

"Of course it is reasonable. Lord Anser will not make mistakes. However, this reasonableness has always been in line with his purpose."

"Do you know what other identities Lord Anser has besides Hydra?"

"...Another identity?"

"The great dragon slayer, the dark blade, the man of evil... He appeared out of nowhere, left behind countless deeds, and then disappeared inexplicably in the past six months. He is like an adventurer in a legendary story - Faust."

Faust... Marina knew Ansel's identity. During that short day in the black market of the imperial capital, this name left an extremely deep impression on Marina.

"Many people have come to see Lord Anser during this period, but the only one who was personally received by Lord Anser was the wife of Grand Duke Qingjin, and..."

Rhine's cat eyes shrank slightly. "I didn't know about this until the next day. The dead bird hiding in the shadows bypassed me, as if to claim sovereignty."

The coldness in its eyes and the grimness it expressed at this moment seemed to have an explanation - the bird in the shadow... is it the person in charge of Shadow Swamp?

"There's no need to hide this from you, Marina. As a proper transaction, I need to tell you exactly what I need."

Rhine's intention finally surfaced at this moment. He stared into Marina's eyes and said word by word: "The Garden and Shadow Swamp have always helped and cooperated with each other, but now, Lord Anser has divided us into two blocks to carry out two tasks.

"If nothing unexpected happens, the final result will determine who will hold the power of the Devourer Chief."

"And I need it, and it can only belong to me."

Marina was silent for a long time before she asked doubtfully, "I don't seem to be able to participate in such a...competition."

"No, you do - and it's not dependent on Miss Sitana's relationship."

The coldness in Rhine's eyes faded a little, and he reached out and gently patted Xitana's shoulder: "I can confirm that Lord Anser will go to the West Country as Faust in the near future... He has always been fair and will not be biased in this test, but even so, his existence itself is a great help to Shadow Marsh, and Shadow Marsh's performance will be most directly taken into Lord Anser's eyes."

"So... I need someone to eliminate Shadow Marsh's positive performance in Lord Anser's eyes. Of course, I'm not asking you to disrupt their actions. Regardless of whether you can do it or not, this kind of thing itself is extremely stupid."

It whispered very gently, "I will recommend you to Lord Anser, and you just need to do your job as a member of the garden and do your job by Lord Anser's side... just don't let him lean too much towards Shadow Swamp."

"Personal secretary, didn't you do a good job before? Lord Anser, who has transformed into Faust, needs someone who can help him handle various trivial matters at any time."

The mature and pleasant female voice transformed the tone from gentle to seductive:

"Think about it. If you perform well enough, you might even not need me and you will have the possibility to change your fate. And this is an extremely rare opportunity to be alone with Lord Anser for a long time."

Indeed, from that perspective, there is no harm in it for me.

The outcome of the struggle between Ms. Rhine and the unknown leader of Shadow Swamp is still unknown, but the benefits I can get are real.

There is no reason to refuse, it's just...

"Will Lord Anser agree?" Marina asked, "Will he agree to take me with him? Over in Shadow Marsh..."

"He will." Rhine said firmly, "He also knows this delicate imbalance, so as long as I recommend you, he will definitely agree. What's more... Lord Anser likes you, Marina, doesn't he?"

"As for Shadow Swamp, you don't have to worry about it. After all, you—"

Rhine paused, then gently rubbed Marina's shoulders with his paw pads: "After all, you are just a newcomer, and that guy is very arrogant. He won't be stupid enough to argue with you and Lord Anser."

...No, it's because I'm just an ordinary person who can be killed by you at will.

Marina completed the words that Rhine paused for a moment before in her mind.

Because, in the eyes of the person in charge of Shadow Swamp and in your eyes, Ms. Rhine, I am just a small character who doesn't need to be taken seriously.

Maybe Ms. Rhine, you might value me a little more because of this deal, but in essence... there is no difference.

Thinking this, Marina gave Rhine an extremely excited and grateful smile:

"Why should I refuse, Ms. Rhine? As you said, there is no harm in it for me."

She bowed her head respectfully: "It is I who should thank you for giving me such an opportunity."

Gratitude was natural, and Marina did not harbor any resentment towards this "contempt" in her heart.

Because Rhine’s attitude is not essentially “contemptuous”... Who would deliberately despise an ant?

Yinghuan would not care about having an ordinary person like her by Anther's side, and even Anther would choose to accept the proposal because Marina is "ordinary" enough - this is Rhine's idea.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have deliberately sought out Marina.

This has never been contempt, but a kind of taking for granted that is higher than contempt.

It was a kind of feeling that burned, cut, and stung Marina's dignity all the time, and it was natural.

This high and mighty extraordinary being who was able to participate in the competition for the head of the clan thought he had Marina under his control, but in fact, all his thoughts were guessed by her, a mortal.

But so what? Would Rhine care?

Even if Rhine knew about his cautious and probing thoughts, he would not take it to heart.

This is the unbridgeable gap between ordinary people and extraordinary people.

It is also what makes Marina’s desire grow stronger…unlimited food.

*

Marina, who should have returned to her residence to rest, chose to go to Hydra Manor.

She didn't want to do anything presumptuous, so she didn't plan to tell Ansel about this in advance.

He came to Anser only because Rhine asked him to do some simple handover. In the words of the cat, it was just a small preparation in advance - although he said a lot, Rhine was still very cautious and paid attention to details.

Following the maid's instructions, Marina came to the door of the study. She knocked gently and was allowed to enter after stating her identity.

The girl who turned the handle was still thinking about how to prepare for the trip to the West, and was even feeling agitated by the words "being alone for a long time".

Thinking this, she pushed the door open and saw her sister lying on the desk with skin so rosy that it could be pinched to draw water. She also saw the boy she had been thinking about day and night, holding her sister's arms as if he was holding the reins of a wild horse.

He looked at Marina, tilted his head slightly, and an irresistible smile appeared on his handsome face:

"Would you like to join us, Marina dear?"

Chapter 7: Indispensable (K)

In the endless flower field, Ansel, sitting cross-legged among the flowers, was stroking Lawrence's head.

"The world is so unpredictable, young master." Shushu sighed as he lay on Anser's lap, "I was ready to die."

Anser smiled and turned to look at the simple cabin: "Who said it wasn't true? Until now, I am occasionally surprised by the choices I made."

"Well, from my perspective, I certainly hope that the young master can save my life."

Lawrence squeaked, "But from the boss's perspective, if the young master inherits the power, he can avoid a lot of trouble."

“It is infinitely better to deal with trouble than to regret your mistakes.”

Anser stood up while saying this. Lawrence also quickly climbed onto his shoulders, stood up, and crossed his chest with his paws. "That's true. After all, the young master, the eldest sister and her family are so humane... much better than the lunatics in the emperor's family who kill each other and kill each other!"

Shushu pouted and said, "If they were in this situation, they would want to kill each other right away. How could they regret it?"

Anser just chuckled and didn't answer. The next moment, Xavier's figure appeared out of thin air beside Anser.

"Master." The old man bowed his head slightly, "Does the manor need..."

"No."

The young Hydra shook his head: "You have only one mission, and that is to protect your father and mother, that's all. You don't have to worry about the rest."

"Oh... I'm quite ashamed to say that."

Lawrence scratched his head. "Although we have become weaker, we are no longer restrained, but we cannot help the young master... With us, the young master can defeat the empire in two months, right?"

"Do you think too highly of yourself, or do you think too highly of those hidden rats?"

Torado's figure turned from virtual to real and appeared beside Anser. He bowed his head to Anser and then looked at Lawrence coldly: "Young Master's decision is the most correct. Don't forget the group of people who tried to kill Madam... Now all we have to do is protect the Master and Madam."

"I didn't say the young master was wrong. Also, you are not allowed to insult rats!"

Torado compared the people who assassinated Anelsa to rats, which made Lawrence scream in anger.

Anser, who had long been accustomed to the daily bickering between a man and a mouse, asked Torado, "How are father and mother doing now?"

Even though he lost the Demon Chief, Torado, who was still one of the world's top warlocks, was silent for a moment and whispered:

"The Lord and his wife are both in stable condition. His wife should be able to wake up within six to seven years. With the help of a top-level soul sorcerer or precious soul-related creations, this time can be shortened a lot. But the Lord..."

The young man's face turned gloomy, a gloomy look that made him unable to forgive himself.

"I am not sure when the master will wake up. The master has lost most of Hydra's power. The time required to balance the power and adjust himself is probably... extremely long."

Lawrence and Xavier fell silent, only Ansel smiled gently and patted Torado's shoulder.

"Don't worry, it just takes time. We can wait."

"……Yes."

Torado lowered his head and responded softly, his expression somewhat complicated.

Although he absolutely supported Anther's idea of ​​protecting Flamel and Enelissa at all times, he, like Lawrence, felt guilty for not being able to help Anther.

To exaggerate a little, it was Anser who saved Flamel and also saved them - for Qi Shou, this was a double life-saving grace. What's more, they respected Anser before.

But now, without Flamel's help, and without their help, and with Anther's own few followers being too few and still growing, even if Anther's situation looks good on the surface, if he takes a wrong step and is caught in a weak spot, he will be doomed.

At that time, should he go to help Anser, or continue to protect and follow his master? This made Torado very entangled.

"If... Wang and Christo come back." Torado suddenly said, "we can allocate manpower to help you, young master. We can even provide you with assistance according to the situation."

Torado was referring to Flamel's Dark Head and Abyss Head who were still on the other side of the continent. But whether it was crossing the Tiantu Mountains or crossing the Lost Sea on their own, they might not be able to do such a thing as the Qi Shou, let alone now.

"But to be honest..."

Lawrence's tone was somewhat serious: "Even if there is a chance...will they really come back?"

Torado was stunned for a moment, then sneered grimly: "That's true, it's hard to say what they will choose."

For Flamel, loyalty is certainly one of the hard conditions for selecting a covenant leader, but he is not like Ansel, who has a morbid pursuit of this condition because of the existence of fate.

The five leaders who are now staying on the Notong are the ones with the highest loyalty, and the other two... who are originally from another continent, what they will choose is indeed an unknown.

But Anser acted very calm, as if he didn't care whether he could get this powerful help or not.

"I told you, you don't have to worry about my affairs."

He withdrew his gaze from the cabin, and his voice was almost completely devoid of boyishness, with a calmness and confidence that was subconsciously convincing.

Torado immediately saluted by touching his shoulder, and Lawrence, who was always lively and funny, did not say any jokes. Only Xavier was stunned for a long time before he came to his senses and bowed to Anser.

He had taken care of Anser for sixteen years, and in just a moment, his young master had grown from a boy to a leader.

Not only that, he did it perfectly, without any childishness. Just simple words carried the magic of convincing people to obey.

Leader... The master said that the young master was a natural leader, but he also said that he didn't really want the young master to become a leader.

The leader has too many responsibilities to shoulder, and it is difficult for him to do what he wants, but how can Hydra live with his hands tied? The master hates that kind of life, and he doesn't want the young master to live that kind of life.

"Notong's existence is enough to help me. With it hovering over Hydra Territory, I can avoid a lot of trouble."

Looking at his father's pledges, Anser's face showed his usual gentle smile, but compared to the smile that was almost integrated with him and like a mask, the boy's smile now had a more touching authenticity and liveliness.

“The safety of my father and mother is in your hands.

Anser gently patted Lawrence on the shoulder and said, "Protect them well. This is my only request to you."

"Don't worry, young master. I will eat it! Uh... I can't eat it now, but it doesn't matter. Anyway, I will definitely protect the boss and the eldest sister!"

Lawrence waved his claws vigorously: "Leave it to me!"

The young Hydra smiled, turned and walked towards the only exit of the flower field. After greeting Tyr who was guarding the entrance, he disappeared into the space.

Lawrence looked at Anser eagerly, and when he saw him disappear, he immediately became dejected:

"I also feel like going on an adventure with the young master... Can I send a clone out?"

"Young Master will not allow you to waste any strength while protecting the Master." Torado glanced at Lawrence, "Don't dream."

"I know! I'm not... I'm just trying to help the young master!"