Taming the Protagonist

Chapter 52: Hitana’s Brand-New Ambition

Hitana jolted upright from the bed, her expression filled with panic.

She first patted herself down thoroughly, and after a sigh of relief, her face remained fraught with fear.

What did I say yesterday?! What did I say to that Hydra guy?!

Her robust, flawless body meant Hitana’s memory was equally sharp.

Though she had been exhausted to the point of fainting, she still recalled every word she had spoken, every single character.

"Aaahhh!"

The young wolf girl curled into a ball under the blanket, screaming: "How did this happen?! No, no, no! It shouldn’t be like this! Calm down, Hitana, calm down…"

"Was it Hydra secretly poisoning me or did he use some weird item I don’t know about… Probably not."

"It’s like I wanted to say those things myself. I wanted to say them…"

At this thought, Hitana fiercely smacked her own head, ignoring the aching soreness in her body.

"Why did I want to say those things?! Damn it! No, calm down again, Hitana!"

The girl forced herself to calm down once more.

This time, she didn’t dwell on irrelevant thoughts but faced the complex emotions and words she had expressed head-on.

"That feeling… the reason I said those things to Hydra."

Blushing slightly, Hitana sat cross-legged, striving to stay composed: "It felt like he was so kind to me then… Fine, I admit he’s always been kind to me. Every time I got into trouble, it was my own fault!"

"Every time he disciplined me, he’d explain some reason, and though I didn’t want to hear it… it was pretty useful. He’s always tolerated me and never lied to me… even Lina lied to me!"

"So… so…"

Hitana’s eyes suddenly lit up.

She slammed her fist into her palm, realization dawning.

That must be it!

"That’s it! I’ve come to see him as family! Absolutely!"

"So this is what having a brother feels like… Bah! I don’t have such a scheming brother!"

Having figured out the source of her complex emotions, Hitana grew somewhat melancholic.

Anselm’s silence, which signified his refusal to deceive, left her both helpless and reassured.

"He insists on doing bad things."

The girl irritably pounded the bed: "I lowered myself so much, and he didn’t even open his mouth… ugh."

Hitana couldn’t fathom why Anselm refused to be more upright.

If he wanted fame, wouldn’t doing good deeds openly suffice?

Why did he have to… wait.

The young wolf scratched her chin: "He does seem to be doing real things… So why was I so inexplicably angry whenever I thought of him before? Hypocritical or not, he’s at least done something."

She carefully recalled the reasons for her intense irritation with Anselm: "If the starting point isn’t well-intentioned, the outcome won’t be good either… Oh, right, that’s it!"

The little wolf didn’t even know how she’d come up with such a grandiose-sounding reason back then.

Now, thinking it over, it didn’t seem entirely wrong.

Sitting on the bed, she fell silent for a moment before finally sighing:"So, I still have to oppose Hydra."

Just as Anselm would never lie to Hitana, her core nature wouldn’t waver due to changes in her feelings toward him.

Having had little contact with the outside world and often oppressed by harsh policies, she had spent years hunting, almost always alongside beasts.

Thus, the wildness rooted in her soul shaped her sense of good and evil, her way of thinking, into something as pure and stark as the law of survival of the fittest, an extreme binary.

Without the careful guidance of her parents and Marina, she might have become a far more terrifying egoist than any so-called “villain.”

In short, without experiencing the countless tragic, blood-soaked events of her original timeline, Hitana had no room for growth.

Only something brutal, cruel and profoundly impactful could shake her worldview.

As Anselm had once evaluated her—well, low intelligence.

"The plan must go on, go on… Hmm, use the Shadow Crystal to secretly record Count Ironstone. His meeting starts tomorrow—oh no, today."

Counting on her fingers, the girl fell silent.

"Today?!"

She yelped, leaping up and trying to jump off the bed, only to trip over her own feet due to the intense soreness in her body, crashing to the floor.

"Hiss… huff… hiss…"

Unsure how long she’d been lying there, Hitana ignored the pain.

She was terrified of missing Count Ironstone’s meeting—a rare moment when Hydra revealed a flaw. If she missed it, who knew when the next chance would come?

In a frenzy, Hitana threw on her clothes, reached into her pocket, and her heart sank.

Where’s the crystal?! Where are my crystals?! I grabbed a whole handful!

The pockets of the coat she’d worn yesterday were empty, leaving Hitana stunned.

"Hydra… you wouldn’t be that devious, would you?!"

Clutching her hair, the girl fumed: "You said I could oppose you however I wanted!"

At a loss, she paced anxiously around the room. After one lap, she suddenly noticed something on the tea table.

A piece of paper, a ring, a crystal, and a potion.

"Lord Hydra said, Hitana, the crystals you brought back aren’t good. You can’t use them carelessly, but he can give you one. That ring can only be worn by someone with extraordinary abilities. Lord Hydra didn’t tell me its effect, but he asked me to remind you to prepare yourself mentally before putting it on."

"He said, Hitana, you can do what you want, but you must remember his words."

The handwriting stopped there, leaving a large blank space before continuing:

"The above are Lord Hydra’s words to you. As for me… Hitana, I hope you stop causing trouble for Lord Hydra."

"You probably don’t want to hear those lectures either. So, I’ll only tell you one thing."

"If you trouble Lord Hydra again, I’ll do whatever it takes to earn his forgiveness."

Hitana finished reading the letter.

—And completely ignored Marina’s threat.

Ha, what a joke. Hydra himself said I could do whatever I wanted.

Lina, you’re so meddlesome.

Do whatever it takes?

What, tie me to Hydra’s bed?

The girl pursed her lips and glanced at the light green potion on the table.

"Don’t forget his words… huh?"

The young wolf’s lips curled slightly: "Don’t fail unprepared. Hmph, as if I could forget."

She opened the potion bottle and downed it in one gulp.

A refreshing sensation, cooling even her skull, spread from her throat through her entire body.

To her delight, Hitana found the aching soreness from waking up fading rapidly. In ten seconds or so, she’d be back to perfect condition.

"Heh, that guy really never lies to me."

Grinning, Hitana picked up the new Shadow Crystal, then turned her gaze to the ring.

"…What’s this about a ring only extraordinary people can wear, and needing mental preparation? Whatever, I don’t need it now."

She left the ring on the table. As she prepared to set off, she suddenly remembered something.

Rummaging through the room’s storage cabinet, she pulled out a simple telescope, homemade smoke bombs, sound-lure bells, scent neutralizer, and tranquilizer darts, arming herself to the teeth.

"All set… Alright, let’s go!"

The spirited young wolf swung her fist excitedly.

"I’ll definitely stop you, Hydra! From today, I’ll help you change Chishuang Territory!"