A Villain's Way of Taming Heroines

"That Mr. Diplopod happens to excel in concealment, disguise, and transformation, making him the finest fence in the outer markets."

Marlina turned to Ansel, her voice laden with complexity, "So, with such a 'coincidence,' you let Vulture become aware of Hyena's preparations, leading him to believe he was fully prepared, only to single-handedly destroy most of his elite forces? This is truly, truly..."

"Absurd."

Ansel uttered the word Marlina could not, "It's utterly absurd, isn't it?"

"...Yes."

"What do you think this coincidence is, Marlina?" Ansel asked softly, "Was it all meticulously orchestrated by me from the beginning?"

Marlina pondered for a moment, then shook her head, "No, from the very start, until... until you uncovered his identity and intentions, none of it was within your control."

"Exactly, that's what we call a coincidence." The youthful Hydral gazed down at the streets below, where the chaotic battle between Hyena's and other leaders' underlings had spread to the thoroughfares. Rodent and Vulture seemed unwilling to let Hyena off so easily, and reflected in his azure eyes was the increasingly tumultuous scene.

"It's not that I chose something, dictating the path it should take. It was merely a passerby brushing by, just a feather drifting down from the sky, or even just..."

Ansel's voice took on an ethereal, wistful quality: Enjoy tales from m-vl _emp _yr.

"The fleeting thoughts that cross your mind."

Seraphina, momentarily taken aback, also turned to look at Ansel, her expression tinged with concern.

Ansel smiled, whether out of habit or to reassure Seraphina, and conjured a fist-sized iron sphere in his palm, which he casually tossed from the bell tower.

"I merely provided guidance to these elements, but the path... has always been their own choice."

The iron sphere plummeted from the sky, striking a man in the midst of the fray on the head, killing him instantly.

"It was as if the eavesdropping spell of Mr. Diplopod could never elude me, nor Lawrence, yet I tacitly permitted his actions, subtly hinting and encouraging him to persist in his course."

"What have I done?" Ansel tilted his head, "I did nothing, merely swayed him between the choices of 'continuing to eavesdrop' and 'immediate withdrawal', making him more inclined to overhear the conversation between Mr. Hyena and me."

"So..." Marlina murmured, "It's just a coincidence, just... a coincidence."

"Yes, it's merely a more direct, more lethal coincidence among countless others."

Ansel smiled gently, but Marlina, looking at this smile, felt a chill that was not of cold.

She was not afraid of Ansel, but of the suffocating, irresistible... implication in his words.

"Marlina, do you wonder why, when I could directly crush Hyena, directly win this unfair game, I insist on achieving my goal by creating coincidences?"

Marlina, her palm slightly cold, hoarsely said, "Yes, Mr. Ansel, please tell me."

"Because it's a coincidence, it's also the most innocent... fact."

The devil's face lifted into a cold smile: "A reasonable fact."

"Diplopod would do so because he is under Vulture, because after Hyena's death, his boss could get more market share, he could get more channels. Therefore, he could not sit idly by and let the Hyena have a chance to rise again, therefore, he who has the ability to eavesdrop would choose to take the risk...

and under the Hyena's extreme urgency, oblivious to the outside world, and my 'doing nothing', he would undoubtedly choose to continue eavesdropping."

"The only 'deliberation' here is my inaction, but that's all. After all, Hyena is oblivious to this, all he sees is his own failure."

"What did he do wrong? He did nothing wrong, he made the most appropriate, the most correct choice at the time but it is precisely this appropriateness and correctness that led him to an unacceptable defeat. Because beyond this appropriateness and correctness, there appeared a... coincidence that he could not see, could not predict, could not calculate."

"As if it were destined, absurd, ridiculous, yet real coincidence."

Ansel took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, his eyes closed, a satisfied and brilliant smile on his face:

"Without Mr. Diplopod, I could choose other ready-made coincidences, if there were no ready-made coincidences, I could create them myself. Because for this black market, I can modify its inherent rules, change its existence meaning, or even erase it directly, it's too small, too small for me, so small that it's in my palm."

"Marlina, tell me."

Ansel leaned slightly, whispering in Marlina's ear: "Now, as Mr. Hyena, how... can you change your doomed end?"

"I..."

Marlina opened her mouth, she wanted to say something, wanted to say something practical, something that could glimpse a little light from this desperate situation, but she couldn't say anything.

Change...

How to change?

How can this be changed? If everyone around me, everything, can be turned into a coincidence that puts me in a deadly situation by the indomitable terror of Mr. Ansel... who should I trust? Even though no one has betrayed me, I can't trust anyone anymore? I even...

even...

I can't even believe myself?

Marlina, who came to this incredible conclusion, was trembling a little, a huge terror that was absurdly absurd dominated her mind... just by assuming, just by thinking, she was a little overwhelmed.

"Marlina."

A hand suddenly covered the girl's gradually pale face. "Don't go too deep." Ansel stroked her face, "I'm punishing Mr. Hyena, not you."

"...I, I know, Mr. Ansel."

Marlina took a deep breath and forced a smile: "I'm fine."

Ansel looked at her for a while, and said softly, "Do you want to continue? Or end it here?" Marlina closed her eyes.

In her mind, Annelisa's worried and sad words came up.

["Ans is very lonely, even now with Seraphina accompanying him, he is... still very lonely." ]

["I am his mother, I can feel it." ]

["He has lost... he has given up something very important to him." ]

"...The game continues, Mr. Ansel."

The ordinary girl who didn't know what she was challenging, said firmly: "Even if there is no hope, I will still try to defeat you."

*