A Villain's Way of Taming Heroines

Chapter 759 Heroes and Mortals - III

"You've done well, Marlina," the travel-worn wolf said, her face still showing signs of fatigue. It was hard to tell if her exhaustion stemmed from the recent battles or something else entirely.

"So much preparation during the city's construction. It must have been quite tiring for you."

Her tone lacked any biting sarcasm or accusation, as calm as if she were simply greeting Marlina.

"Mere trifles," Marlina chuckled softly. "Borrowing a bit of power from Mr.Ansel was enough to accomplish it. As for the rest... Lord Suellen lent me some assistance."

"After all, Mr.Ansel doesn't question the purpose of the power I borrow, and the craftsmen who built this place... well, they were disposed of afterward."

Seraphina's steps faltered for a moment before she continued forward.

"You've been so casual about taking innocent lives," Seraphina, who had once shown such anger and hostility towards her sister, now only murmured bitterly.

Marlina's gaze remained gentle: "Just as you, Miss Seraphina, no longer speak to me with such fury."

"Fury?" Seraphina repeated, then scratched her head, revealing a self-deprecating smile.

"You're right... If Ravenna hadn't reminded me, if I hadn't seen with my own eyes how Ansel was being affected, I probably would be furious."

"But what right do I have to express such emotions now?"

The girl who could face pain and death fearlessly for her beloved and her beliefs now showed something that hadn't appeared on her face for too long... sorrow and helplessness.

"If I were stronger, if I could truly help Ansel, how could things have turned out this way? Marli, why did you have to go to such... extremes?"

"The fault lies neither with you nor with Ansel, Marlina."

She lowered her gaze and spoke softly:

"It's with me... who couldn't change or save any of this."@@@@

The ebony witch observed her for a long time, then her face also showed a hint of long-forgotten confusion.

"You... didn't come to stop me?"

There was no anticipated anger, no deep-seated hostility, no harsh criticism. There was only... remorse that consumed her very being.

Marlina sensed only remorse from Seraphina.

"Stop you? To stop you so Ansel has to fight more, and to take away this hard-won opportunity?"

"You could have done so much more! You should have cleared every obstacle in his path, not become his burden and shackle! You're right, Seraphina... this is all your fault, yours and Ravenna's! If it weren't for you two, if someone else stood in your place, if I possessed that power, if I had that talent and ability, Ansel would never have faced such troubles! He should have long since attained the happiness he deserves!"

As the echoes of her outburst faded, Marlina spoke again, her voice hoarse.

"You two have never offered Ansel salvation. "

"You two have merely placed upon him an unbreakable curse."

After a prolonged silence, Seraphina finally responded: "So, allowing Ansel to continue down a path of evil he doesn't desire is your idea of salvation?"

"Yes, that's—" Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire

"—That's what you want me to say, isn't it, Marlina?"

"..."

Marlina fell silent. A flicker of bewilderment crossed her hate-filled obsidian eyes as Seraphina continued:

"Then you'd frankly admit to my words. I should argue with you about whether Ansel should do good or evil. You'd call me hypocritical, foolish, say I've harmed Ansel, insist you're right, and do everything to provoke my anger, to make me hate you, hate everything about you, hate what you've become."

"So from now on, no matter what wrongs Ansel commits, I need only hate you, is that right?"

The young girl gazed into her sister's eyes, now so unlike their former selves, and softly said:

"As long as I don't blame Ansel, as long as I still love him, it doesn't matter how much I resent you, does it?"

In Marlina's silence, Seraphina, who had halted, began moving forward again. Her steps were heavy and difficult, yet resolute.

"You're mistaken, Marlina... This time, I didn't come for Ansel."

"I'm not here to argue about what's best for him, what won't trouble him, what's good or bad, right or wrong... I'm not here for any of that, Marlina. Because from now on, we'll have plenty of time to prove who's right or wrong between us."

"So this time, I've come for you."

Seraphina Marlowe came not as the Head of Strength or Wind, but as Marlina's sister, to speak these words.

Standing a meter before Marlina, she said softly:

"I want to save you, Marli. I can't lose you."

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