A Villain's Way of Taming Heroines

Chapter 581 Les Miserables - II

after another half hour, the carriage finally arrived in salt lake city.

ansel had many means of travel at his disposal. not only did dispute fortress offer various modes of transportation, but he could have flown marlina to salt lake city himself, saving considerable time.

yet he chose to take a merchant caravan's carriage, free of charge, with the adventurer they encountered on the road serving as its guard.

the reason was evident: while ansel had been putting marlina under pressure, he was not merely allowing her to flounder in a vortex of confusion. he still provided her with opportunities to assess the situation and moments to catch her breath.

the young hydra glanced at marlina, who clutched her notebook tightly, her ever-tense state of mind evident to him.

"according to ms. ravenna's directions..."

after entering the city, ansel and marlina took another carriage to a luxurious villa within salt lake city.

"number 65 heckle street, the residence of the adventurer hastings."

marlina, seemingly unaware of ansel's gaze, confirmed the destination before turning to him. "mr. faust, this is the place."

— incidentally, ravenna had not accompanied ansel this time. she neither wished to run further errands for him nor felt comfortable leaving seraphina alone to rescue other enslaved individuals. thus, she temporarily took marlina's place and stayed with seraphina for a day.

the girl, gripping her bag strap with both hands, softly asked, "shall we announce ourselves, or—"

"adventurers need not adhere to such formalities, margarete."

ansel walked straight ahead, the iron gate that barred his way disintegrating into dust.

the adventurer faust abandoned the order that lord hydral had always upheld, wielding his insurmountable power as he pleased.

the front door of the villa was also silently disintegrated. as ansel stepped inside, the maid, clad only in an apron, looked up from cleaning the chaotic living room with a startled expression, followed by an inevitable scream.

— naturally, there was no need for this scream to summon the owner of the house. ansel merely tapped the hilt of his pitch-black blade, causing the ceiling to crack open. amidst the sounds of shattering bricks and falling debris, a man still wrapped in his blankets plummeted to the floor, his half-awake face filled with bewilderment.

"hydeon hastings, hand over the fifteen-year-old boy you bought from the speckled snake of dispute fortress."

without bothering to identify himself, our lord faust spoke directly, looking down imperiously at the gradually waking adventurer.

— of course, he could have skipped even this sentence and simply taken the boy back, but doing so would have defeated the purposes of accepting this commission....one of them.

"wait a minute, wait a minute," mr. hastings muttered, rubbing his forehead.

the man shrugged. "if you truly are that legendary lord, then i must indeed be grateful for still having my life."

adventurers, who constantly stepped through the portals of unknown labyrinths and descended into bizarre realms, had long developed extraordinary adaptability. mr. hastings didn't even flinch at the grand gesture ansel made for a mere commission, or at least he hid it well.

"to get to the point, you want my little treasure, don't you?"

a smile crept onto the man's face, and the unsettling term made a foreboding feeling rise in marlina's heart.

"well... i did buy him legitimately from the speckled snake. of course, lord faust, if you insist, you can take him. but, um..."

he rubbed his hands together, grinning. "surely a person of your stature wouldn't mind a bit of compensation? after all, taking on this commission clearly wasn't about the money."

"the trade of slaves is not lawful."

marlina continued to speak on ansel's behalf, her gaze fixed unwaveringly on hastings. "you would be wise to hand him over immediately."

"..."

hastings fell silent, not out of reluctance, but as he once again shifted his gaze to marlina, his eyes filled with confusion.

this perplexity rendered him speechless.

"so..." finally, realization dawned on him. "you're not lord faust's pet, but his servant!"

at that moment, something within marlina snapped. over the past days, as ansel's "servant," a mortal servant, she had endured countless confused and curious stares. like a delayed curse, it all erupted within her now.

"i am... mr. faust's servant."

marlina's voice trembled with barely contained emotion, her nails digging into her palms. "is there a problem with that?"

"uh... no, no problem at all?"

hastings seemed to sense the shift in marlina's demeanor, perhaps fearing it might displease ansel. he quickly clarified, "i don't think less of you because you're mortal, miss! in fact... oh yes! the fact that mr. faust chose you as his servant despite being mortal shows how remarkable you must be!"

he laughed heartily. "you have a bright future ahead, dear lady. with mr. faust's favor, your potential is limitless..."

marlina couldn't hear hastings' words, only a buzzing noise filled her ears.

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