A Villain's Way of Taming Heroines

"The sixth model... still harbors some fatal flaws."

At the workbench, Ravenna set down her pen, her face etched with fatigue—a rare display of weariness from her. She massaged the bridge of her nose, summoning her spirits.

"Ansel."

She turned to look at the blond youth reading on the sofa: "Do you have any thoughts?"

"None," Ansel replied nonchalantly, "Encountering obstacles is quite normal, Venna. Do you really aspire to achieve in less than a year what your grandfather spent his entire life striving for?"

"It’s not I, but we."

The petite Miss Ravenna removed her glasses and gently wiped them with a silk handkerchief from her pocket, calmly responding, "With you here, it’s not entirely impossible."

"You’re giving me too much credit," Ansel chuckled wryly.

"But the progress of the universal ether furnace research has been largely driven by you alone."

Ravenna sat beside Ansel, looking at him earnestly:

"Without you, I wouldn’t have made it this far."

"..." Ansel, his boyishness fading to reveal a more adolescent visage, paused before laughing, "That doesn’t sound like something you would say, Venna."

Ravenna touched her cheek, frowning slightly, "Am I not allowed to speak such words?"

From her expression, it seemed she wasn’t upset by Ansel’s words but genuinely pondering whether it was fitting for her to say such things.

"Just a joke."

Ansel reached out to smooth Ravenna’s furrowed brow, his smile radiant, "It’s just that you rarely speak so openly, and I’m quite surprised."

Ravenna gazed into Ansel’s clear, bright azure eyes and after a brief silence, she whispered:

"It’s because lately, you seem to be in low spirits."

The boy’s movements halted momentarily, and he withdrew his hand, looking at Ravenna with a hint of surprise: "Why would you think that?"

"Because I understand you."

Ravenna replied without hesitation.

"Understand..."

Ansel mulled over the word, repeating it softly, then couldn’t help but laugh.

["You understand me, I understand you; you support me, I support you. Just like our current relationship, in my eyes, that is friendship."]

Ravenna had once spoken these candid and forthright words to him, and indeed, as she said... she truly understood him.

Even if the time they had spent together wasn’t particularly long by strict standards, even if he had initially approached her with schemes and malice.

"You always seem to express your emotions and thoughts so directly, Venna."

"Because there’s no need to conceal them."

Ravenna tilted her head slightly, somewhat puzzled by Ansel’s sentiment: "Unless there’s a compelling reason to hide them, why should I conceal my emotions and thoughts?"

"The reason is... perhaps you could gain more respect and... friends that way."

"Why would that ever be necessary?"

In Ravenna’s eyes, reflecting Ansel’s figure, she responded with a sense of conviction: "Respect is meaningless to me, and as for friends..."

"I already have you, and that should suffice. I don’t need any other friends."

Ansel turned to look at her, teasingly saying, "What is this, a confession?"

"..."

Ravenna paused for a moment before standing up, her demeanor and voice filled with utmost seriousness:

"I am five years older than you, Ansel."

"So... the crux of the matter is that you’re five years older?"

The blond youth looked at her with a half-smile, "I thought you were going to say that Ansel, you are only thirteen years old."

"…Because you don’t look like a thirteen-year-old child—you’ve grown about 0.3 centimeters taller recently."

"Really?" Ansel touched his hair.

"I’ve been watching you."

Ravenna walked up to Ansel, and with a tone as casual as discussing what to have for lunch, she uttered these ambiguously affectionate words.

She slightly lifted her gaze, looking at the face so close to hers, and with more certainty, she said, "0.27 centimeters, to be exact. You’re at the age of growth, and it won’t be long..."

Miss scholar’s voice dropped slightly as she averted her gaze, "It won’t be long before you’re taller than me."

Her subtle displeasure and awkwardness amused Ansel, who was about the same height as Ravenna and reached out to pat her head, teasingly saying, "If you’re so concerned about height, why not concoct some special potion? For you, increasing your height should be quite simple."

"…I will not make any modifications to my body."

Ravenna first moved Ansel’s hand away, then frowned deeply, speaking very seriously, "This is my way of asserting and mastering the extraordinary, the purest proof of my will. Moreover… only a natural body can be the perfect vessel for the soul."

She looked towards the spare puppet in the alchemy workshop, observing its tall and perfect form, yet her eyes held no envy or desire.

"If the value of growing taller is merely to be tall, and it might even affect my soul, then it has no value at all."

"Such a pure utilitarian…" Ansel reached out and pinched Ravenna’s cheeks, which she slightly resented but did not resist.

After kneading the delicate girl’s soft cheeks for a while, he suddenly said:

"Venna, are you this utilitarian with me as well?"

"…What?"

"What I mean is," he said in a half-joking tone, "if one day I can no longer be of help to you, would you abandon me?"

"Would I become worthless in your eyes at that time?"

"…What you’re really asking is," Ravenna stared straight at Ansel, "if you were to become senile for some reason, would I take care of you?"

She couldn’t think of a scenario where Ansel wouldn’t be able to help her, except for the unlikely event of him becoming senile.

Ansel, somewhat amused and exasperated, replied, "Let’s just assume that’s the case."

"Although there would surely be many others to take care of you then, and it certainly wouldn’t be my turn. But since you’ve assumed as much, then…"

The scholarly young lady, with her cheeks in Ansel’s grasp, calmly responded, "Of course, I would take care of you, Ansel."

"Even if I were of no value then?"

"The value you hold for me is not limited to that."

She glanced at Ansel’s hand on her cheek, "Do you think there’s anyone else in the world who could treat me with such impunity?"

The blond youth laughed joyfully, squeezing her cheeks again, "Should I feel honored by that?"

"Of course, but likewise… I feel the same."

Ravenna calmly replied, "Seeing you makes me happy, Ansel."

The young Hydral paused for a moment, then skeptically said, "But you don’t seem at all happy."

"…Do I need to display that stiff smile you’d mock before you believe I’m happy?" Explore new worlds at NovelBin.Côm

Ravenna sighed, reaching out to pinch Ansel’s cheeks in return, and the two playfully pinched each other, a humorous sight.

"If you ever become so pitiful that no one wants to take care of you, I wouldn’t mind keeping you by my side—though that’s unlikely to happen."

She gazed into his sea-blue eyes, which always captivated her, and softly said, "If you insist on making such meaningless assumptions, then my answer is—"

"No matter what happens, you will always be my friend, Ansel."

"…No matter what?"

"Yes," Ravenna nodded in response.

"What if…"

Hydral, capturing the sincere expression of his friend, softly asked:

"What if I say, I’m giving up?"

"I’m giving up on the future we both aspire to."

*