A Villain's Way of Taming Heroines

Thus, during this time, Miss Maragarate Grutchen Muller, who had been freely wielding control over the Howling Legion, lost control of the riot.

What should have ended within a day extended nearly a day and a night.

When she walked into the lower district, the horrific scene before her took Marlina's breath away.

She quickly reached the same conclusion as Ansel—the civilians, empowered by her arrangements, had crushed all the gang members and pushed all the way to the entrance of the lower district. The battlefield's carnage was essentially a spectacle created by the extraordinary beings for their amusement after watching a beast fight.

But reaching a conclusion was useless; Marlina couldn't change anything now. She could only hope... that Seraphina could stay as calm as possible.

Then the second unexpected thing happened—Seraphina was indeed very calm.

She observed the splattered blood on the streets, the severed limbs, the scattered weapons, the heads hanging from wires, and she silently walked forward.

She was so calm that even the joyous cries of "Lord Fenrir is back!" didn't change her expression.

Even upon seeing the bodies of many loyal followers who served under her, Seraphina merely stood still, quietly looking at the corpses for a long time before leaving without a word.

There were no angry roars, no uncontrolled shouting, just silent progression.

As she approached the entrance to the station, the wolf finally spoke, her voice hoarse.

"So, this is the price, Marli."

"If I were here, no one would have died, no one would have been hurt."

Marlina gazed at her sister's profile, her once charming and wild visage now bearing emotions too complex for Marlina to easily decipher.

After a moment of hesitation, she softly said, "They died with their beliefs, Seri."

Having entered Dispute Fortress, she should have assumed her new identity, yet she still conversed with Seraphina as a sister.

"I know, which is why I'm not very angry. That would insult their resolve."

Seraphina clenched her fists tightly. "I'm just... a bit sad, that's all."

Even now, she believed that those who fought for her died a worthy death.

Marlina, who orchestrated everything and watched helplessly as it spiraled out of control, could only remain silent.

She should have felt remorse, overwhelmed by guilt in the face of her sister's pure righteousness and trust.

But to her bewilderment... she did not.

Even from an objective standpoint, Marlina could acknowledge her actions as terribly wrong, yet she felt no guilt.

Neither towards Seraphina nor the fallen civilians.

She merely felt... regret, regret that she could not have done better.

This strange sensation began to breed panic within Marlina.

Before the panic could take hold, a cold voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Marlina Marlowe."

In front of the station, the petite scholar's figure appeared before Seraphina and Marlina.

"Can you explain why the lower district became like this… within two days of Ansel and me leaving? Where did you place the alarm I gave you?"

"Shorty, don't be so harsh on Marlina from the start. What could she have done about the lower district? She was kidnapped!"

Seraphina retorted, firmly protecting Marlina from the interrogation.

"...And, what is this alarm anyway?" she added.

Ravenna slowly shifted her gaze to Seraphina, her voice growing colder. "I haven't even started with you, you stupid dog. After knowing you would duel with Ansel, did you abandon everything else? You claimed you would protect the residents of the lower district. Is this what you call protection?"

"I'm not good at those things; it's perfectly normal to leave it all to Marlina, isn't it? Do you want to see me mess things up even more?"

Seraphina huffed. "Then you'd have another reason to blame me, right?"

"..."

Upon hearing Seraphina's words, Ravenna was visibly taken aback, catching the most crucial part of Seraphina's statement.

"You just said," the woman slowly narrowed her eyes, "you entrusted everything to Marlina."

"Yes, what else could I have done?"

"...Ha."

Ravenna let out a cold laugh. "Do you realize that after you handed everything over to her, the lower district became even more chaotic?"

Seraphina was also stunned, but after regaining her composure, her first reaction was not to question Marlina, but to angrily confront Ravenna. "What do you mean? Are you saying Marlina is responsible for this mess in the lower district?"

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"I said nothing," Ravenna replied, her expression emotionless as she pointed to the bloodstains at the entrance of the station. "The facts speak for themselves."

Before Seraphina could erupt in anger, Ravenna turned her cold, sharp gaze towards Marlina.

"You owe us an explanation, Marlina. To me, to your sister, and... to Ansel."

Ansel of Hydral's figure finally appeared, and upon seeing him, Seraphina immediately grabbed his hand, both furious and aggrieved. "Ansel! It's fine if shorty says something about me, but I won't allow her to speak about Marli like this! How can she? Marli has done so much here, hardly sleeping at all. How can she...

Marli, don't be afraid. Ansel and I will support you. Marli, Marli..."

Seeing her sister lower her head in silence, Seraphina began to sense something was wrong.

"Say, say something, Marli."

Seraphina let go of Ansel's hand and shook Marlina's shoulders vigorously. "Don't be afraid of her. You can't let her slander you like this, Marli!"

I have failed and caused great trouble for Mr. Ansel.

According to the predetermined outcome—if there is a mistake, it is mine alone, and has nothing to do with Mr. Ansel.

Seraphina and Ravenna must not discover even the slightest hint that Mr. Ansel had any intention of manipulating the lower district's civilians.

Fortunately... this mistake still has its final value.

As Seraphina's increasingly frantic questioning continued, Marlina's heart remained serene. She had been prepared from the very beginning, ready to bear the consequences of failure.

Thus, the young girl raised her head, ready to speak.

"I..."

She met those sea-blue eyes.

Those eyes conveyed to her—

I am not accustomed to others bearing the burden of my failures.