A Villain's Way of Taming Heroines

"So, please... stop doing things that could endanger the Tower, alright?"

The man's expression was profoundly sincere, yet tinged with caution:

"If you still harbor resentment towards us, we... we can find ways to apologize, we will do everything to earn your forgiveness, but please do not harm the Tower of Babel anymore. Lord Ansel is our pillar; do not speak those words before him. He might forgive once, twice, but not indefinitely."

Since that lecture at the Etheric Academy, having tasted the benefits of complete allegiance to Ansel, the Tower of Babel could no longer detach itself from this unrestricted, unbridled pleasure.

"...You simply do not understand the crux of the issue, Hendrik."

Helen stood up, her voice indifferent as she responded, "There is no need for us to continue this conversation, there never was."

Her situation was actually very similar to that of the Tower of Babel. Both held the belief that "as long as Ansel's support was secured, all problems could be resolved."

However, the issue was that the Tower of Babel's desired outcomes had long since diverged from its original intentions, while Helen, self-destructive, still clung to that flickering, fading belief.

Their actions seemed similar, but their ultimate goals and initial motivations were starkly different.

Both sought to realize their ideals by relying on Ansel, a contrast filled with irony. This irony made Helen, who already harbored resentment towards the Tower of Babel and its founders, even less likely to feel any affection for the Tower.

As she said, the Tower of Babel was now worthless because with Ansel, with her "father," any problem could be solved.

Helen, deciding not to continue the conversation, turned and left without hesitation.

"Wait—no... Stop, Ravenna!"

But as she reached for the doorknob, the man behind the desk also stood up, his voice stern, even somewhat... cold.

"This is not about whether we can negotiate now."

Hendrik gazed at the petite scholar, who wouldn't even turn her head back, and it was then that Hendrik finally made up his mind.

"I, we... will not sit idly by as you threaten the Tower of Babel. The Tower is not just our and our teacher's life's work; it embodies the ideals of the younger generation of sorcerers, it flows with the blood of a new era! It must not be destroyed, absolutely not!"

"... Ravenna, if you are still a member of the Tower of Babel, then I command you—"

The man braced his hands on the desk and spoke deliberately, "to immediately cease your collaboration with Her Highness Elder Princess, and stop any actions that might anger Lord Ansel. If you are unwilling to stop on your own, then we will take action to prevent you!"

In Hendrik's eyes, Ravenna secretly working for Evora was akin to an extremely dangerous ticking time bomb. Should Ansel discover this, it would not only be disastrous for Ravenna but could spell doom for the entire Tower of Babel. He could not allow this to happen.

"...Troublesome."

Helen, however, merely expressed her annoyance and indifference to Hendrik's resolute will.

Creating etheric armaments for Evora was Ansel's idea. Even if Helen did not understand why Ansel, who had conflicts with Evora, would do this, she did not delve deeper.

She felt no obligation to explain these matters to Hendrik, especially since Ansel had instructed her to continue her actions under the guise of Ravenna. This gave her even less reason to share "Helen's" insights with Hendrik.

Ansel might pretend to be unaware until Helen found the help needed to complete the etheric armaments; or perhaps, to avoid suspicion, he might indeed judge the Tower of Babel, but what did that matter?

The Tower of Babel had lost its value, and the only one who could see my ideals was Father—Helen must have thought this in Ansel's eyes.

Compared to the Tower of Babel, which claimed to create a new era but was merely falling into an old cycle, what Ansel was doing was truly advancing the arrival of a new age.

Thus, even if it meant the Tower of Babel had to pay a price, or even if it meant the Tower would crumble, as long as Ansel's goals were achieved—

"Then you don't have to consider me a member of the Tower of Babel anymore."

Helen, without turning back, pushed open the door: "I will leave here, leave this place of no value."

Her decisiveness left Hendrik's mind nearly blank. He had considered many possibilities, but never this one, because he believed that Ravenna, no matter how resentful or how much she denounced the Tower of Babel as false and worthless, would not truly abandon it.

But she did... and she did so without any burden.

"Ravenna!"

Hendrik instinctively reached out, trying to make Helen stop:

"How can you—"

At that moment, Hendrik's mind truly went blank, his consciousness momentarily disrupted and frozen.

Because just as she stepped out of the office door, "Ravenna Ziegler"...

Her chest burst open with a bloom of blood.

Just as Ansel stepped out of the Etheric Academy's main gate, he suddenly looked back and raised an eyebrow, saying:

"In such a hurry?"

"...What's the matter, Ansel, what's—ah!"

Seraphina suddenly jumped up, immediately turning her head in the direction of Ansel's gaze: "What, what is that! Gosh! It feels like some powerful entity suddenly erupted, is there a fight going on?"

"No, it's nothing, don't worry too much, Seri."

Ansel spoke leisurely: "This is merely a trial, a game, a... gamble."

["...And I bet that you are destined to have nothing, you will destroy your achievements and ideals in your own obsession and madness."](Chapter Puppet Repairer Ansel - IV)

"The winner gets their heart's desire, the loser loses everything, that's all there is to it."

From the window of Hendrik's office, the bird-like creature composed of Nidhoggur, the alchemical creation, conveyed everything happening inside the office to Ansel.

And he, toying with a bracelet of unknown origin, responded with such a smile.

*