A Villain's Way of Taming Heroines

Ansel was well aware that fate would reveal the truth of that meeting to some of the dukes.

As the Duke of Azuregold had suspected, Ansel used the image he had cultivated over sixteen years, perfectly controlling his demeanor to appear as if he held all the cards, exuding absolute confidence. Even without directly resorting to violence, he did not seem to be retreating.

He aimed to achieve this balance, fully understanding that fate wouldn't let him succeed easily.

With Seraphina and Ravenna falling towards him within a year, Ansel knew that even with limited knowledge of the next two heroines, they could not withstand the growing power of his forces, especially now that he no longer needed to hide.

Even, even without considering the remaining two heroines, as long as Seraphina was given time to grow, once she reached the fifth stage and ascended the crown, there would be no need for a God from the Machine, no need for other pact heads of Hydral, not even Ansel's own power.

His war machine could sweep across the continent, crushing all enemies.

The future Beast King, after all, could spar with the Empress at the fifth stage and retreat unscathed. That Empress was not the aging and suppressed Ephesande, but the newly crowned and fully empowered Empress Suellen, who would not hold back in hopes of obtaining a path to the seventh tier from Ansel. To retreat unscathed from her, the might of the Sky Wolf Emperor was self-evident.

Ansel himself couldn't predict just how powerful Seraphina would become once she reached the fifth stage with the support of two pact heads' powers.

This scenario was the worst and most unacceptable for fate, which wouldn't allow Ansel to succeed easily.

And what Ansel wanted was… for fate to not accept it.

"Among the ten dukes present, we can exclude the Duke of Firmament and the Duke of Bloodust from the West, as they lack rationality."

Ansel snapped his fingers lightly, and the chessboard Ravenna had seen before reappeared on the table. The black king was still accompanied only by a solitary queen, while the black rook rampaged across the opponent's territory, annihilating everything in its path.

"In the southern territories, neither Magus Primus nor Arboro will harbor any ill will towards me—not because they don't wish to eliminate me, but because, should anything happen, they would be the first to suffer."

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The young Hydral, with a smile, rested his chin on his hand and removed four white rooks.

"They might doubt their ability to unite and kill me, but they would never doubt my capacity to take at least one or two of them down with me, especially after that meeting."

"Our Lady Diana is wholly preoccupied with competing for the throne with her niece and lacks the capability herself."

With another remove of a white rook, only five rooks remained on the chessboard, each divided by territory.

"The Western land, Azuregold, Wyvern,"

"The Eastern ports, Sapphire, Triumph, Reverie,"

Ansel leaned back slightly, speaking nonchalantly, "Fate will find a way to make them perceive the plausibility of my plans, thus making them doubt that I'm truly fearless."

"You even left a flaw for this purpose," Ravenna whispered, already understanding Ansel's strategy. "When you contacted Diana, you deliberately didn't conceal your whereabouts."

"Fate can certainly provide a 'flash of insight,' allowing someone to grasp the truth from mere shadows and whispers."

But exactly who would uncover it, that was for me to decide.

Fate, adhering to reason, would not fabricate an idea from thin air; there had to be an existing opportunity. Fate would tug the strings, enabling the puppets to discover a truth they otherwise couldn't perceive.

Without an opportunity, Fate would wait patiently or "reasonably" create one, which would be beyond Ansel's control.

As for whether Fate would bypass the opportunities Ansel deliberately created to entrap him... suffice it to say, if Fate were so capricious, Ansel would have long been utterly defeated, entirely manipulated without realizing it.

"And among these five..."

His hand rested on a piece emanating a soft azure-gold glow, and he smiled:

"There is one who will not miss this chance."

"A pure merchant, a pure... opportunist."

Ansel had mentioned something similar to Ravenna before coming, though not in such detail. Thus, Ravenna felt her efforts were insignificant compared to Ansel's confrontation and gambit with Fate.

"If the Duke of Azuregold comes to you as you predict..."

Ravenna couldn't help but ask, "Won't Fate choose to prevent him from discovering the truth?"

Ansel laughed heartily at this question: "Ravenna, it's Fate we speak of, a supreme existence above all."

"The Duke of Azuregold is an opportunist, which means he could either side with me or stand against me... If it were up to me, I would never allow such uncertainty to exist, but Fate is different."

The young Hydral placed his hand on the king piece, not gazing at the chessboard but at… the invisible player.

Fate, adhering strictly to reason, with countless opportunities and methods to easily obliterate Ansel, never chose to end this outlier world in even the slightest unreasonable way.

In countless gambits with Ansel, as long as there was an option that could shatter Ansel's plans, Fate never cared whether that option also held a possibility for Ansel's gain.

Fate would not manipulate the probabilities of these possibilities, merely observing the unfolding events indifferently, accepting any outcome, and even if the next move led to the same situation, it would unwaveringly repeat.

In a sense, it was a truly admirable and respectable royal path.

Thus, Ansel's best method to win against such a royal path was to tread a purer path of deviance.

Ansel waved the chessboard away, smiling indifferently: "Fate does not need to resort to all means as I do."

"You no longer need to resort to all means, Ansel."

Ravenna gripped Ansel's hand firmly, her voice resolute: "You promised me."

Since she couldn't stand at Ansel's height to gamble with Fate, she would become Ansel's means.

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