A Villain's Way of Taming Heroines

"You concealed it perfectly, didn't you?"

Margarete's hand holding the gun did not waver, just as her icy voice had never warmed. "Ada, that young man in your group, you should remember him, Mr. Cliff."

"Unfortunately, you chose the wrong person."

In Margarete's eyes, Cliff saw his own disbelief reflected. The old man seemed unable to accept that there could be a traitor among those he had chosen.

These people were the earliest saved by Seraphina, who had received her grace most directly and were the most steadfast in their vow to follow her... How could there be a traitor?

"Your judgment is lacking, or perhaps... like Miss Fenrir, you are too naive."

Her cold voice mercilessly trampled on Cliff's resolve and faith. "Do you truly know how many among those people possess that courage?"

Ada, the young man rescued by Seraphina from the clutches of slavers, also guided Ansel and his companions and made significant contributions to the further eradication of the lower district's slave market.

However, it was during that time that Marlina noticed something troubling about him at first glance.

He had clearly been sold from that very market, so why, after being liberated by Seraphina, hadn't he informed her of its existence?

Seraphina had asked this question at the time, but Ada had managed to deflect it, and Miss Wolf hadn't paid it much mind. However, Marlina had been suspicious ever since.

Not long after, she confirmed one thing: Ada was a well-disguised ordinary person.

By "well-disguised," it meant he appeared to be wholeheartedly dedicated to Seraphina, working diligently and earning a good reputation.

By "ordinary person," it meant that… at his core, he was just an average guy with some cunning, seeking a better life without any lofty ideals.

He hadn't told Seraphina about the slave market because, after recognizing her abnormal kindness, he feared that more liberated slaves would dilute his share of the undeserved benefits he received from Seraphina's excessive generosity, that's all.

Such people were numerous under Seraphina's command. By Seraphina's standards, they should have been expelled long ago. However, Marlina, considering their individual capabilities, retained some of them and distributed them across various management domains.

This was how she solved the issue of staffing for Seraphina's subsequent management. While Marlina superficially put in considerable effort to find one or two individuals who met Seraphina's standards, in reality, she only considered two things: loyalty to Seraphina and ability.

Although under Marlina's control, their loyalty began to shift towards her, she was ready to discard anyone unqualified at any time. This did not prevent her from extracting their final value—primarily for the present moment.

She had them infiltrate Seraphina's most loyal faction to prevent any surprises. It was a difficult task, but with enough people, success required just one, and Ada was that success.

In Cliff's despairing gaze, Marlina calmly spoke:

"Let me tell you what your fate is."

"Your comrades have long been controlled by the extraordinary beings, their memories erased, their original mission forgotten, and they have been integrated into this riot."

"And the same goes for you, Mr. Cliff. When you next open your eyes, you will be the organizer of this riot. Unable to tolerate the atrocities of the gang members, you will engage in physical conflict with them, and then..."

The girl tilted the gun slightly, pointing at the severed arm on the ground: "You will have your arm broken by a thug wielding a shoddy firearm, inciting the masses and triggering the long-brewing tensions, ultimately sparking this riot."

She sighed, "I have failed in my duty to oversee, and I am to blame. But fortunately... the residents of the lower district united as one, overcoming the gang members who had oppressed them for so long, and emerged victorious."

No longer angry, Marlina holstered her gun and calmly said, "This is the end of the story."

Realizing he had been thoroughly used, Cliff, upon contemplating how Seraphina would continue to be deceived and manipulated by Marlina, and how he would become a mere pawn in her game, could not help but howl in despair:

"Why... Margarete! Why are you doing this? Everyone had such high hopes for Miss Fenrir, for a new life, so why—"

"Enough, take him away, Mr. Cook," Marlina commanded as she turned and seated herself, waving her hand lightly.

An extraordinary being, who had been lounging at the edge of the stand, yawned and scratched his head before leisurely walking over to Cliff, knocking him unconscious and staunching his bleeding before lifting him up.

"Shall we proceed as you instructed, Miss Margarete?"

The extraordinary being, sent by Inothea's command, asked amicably. Although puzzled by the absurdity of the task, he was entertained by the spectacle and determined to carry out the boss's orders diligently.

"Yes, thank you," Marlina replied.

"Ah, it's nothing," the extraordinary being said, pressing his hand to Cliff's head, casually manipulating the mortal's memories. "Is this Lord Faust's hobby? Or does he want to teach that self-righteous Wicked Wolf a lesson, so he had you, Miss Margarete..."

"Mr. Cook," the girl's voice was very gentle, "please refrain from asking questions that should not be asked."

The extraordinary being shrank back, laughing awkwardly, "Ah, haha... sorry, I spoke out of turn. Uh, I've finished with him, I'll go and deal with the rest of the group now."

"Thank you."

No sound came from behind, indicating that the extraordinary being had left. Find more to read at My Virtual Library Empire

Gazing at the lower district, where riots were erupting in various districts, Marlina suddenly muttered to herself, "I gave you a chance."

Cliff was a good man, and most of those he had organized were decent people as well. Marlina did not want these good people to die in vain, so if Cliff had chosen to retreat, she would have merely erased their memories rather than sending them to the front lines of the riot.

But this old man... he was too obstinate.

"Hope..."

As Marlina continued to watch the increasingly chaotic riots, she kept murmuring this word, never allowing the bloodshed and misery to penetrate her gaze.

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