Volume 2

Chapter 84 : The Wolf and the Daughter, Part Three

Hitana ended up fleeing Anselm’s bedroom outright.

Helen, who had memorized all of Hitana’s skills and techniques displayed today, kept staring at a certain part of Anselm.

“Due to physical limitations,” she suddenly said, “with my current body, I might not be able to…”

“That’s not what you need to focus on now, Helen.”

Anselm smiled, patting the petite scholar in his lap, “Have you thought about your current goal?”

“Father’s goal is my goal,” Helen replied softly, “You are never wrong.”

The puppet, whose life was shaped yet unable to fulfill even that shaped purpose, found the one destined to embody her entirety.

Anselm’s long-prepared plan—stirring her emotions, lowering her guard, leveraging fate’s push, and finally replacing the absolute anchor in Helen’s heart—achieved its most perfect execution.

Anselm smiled gently, “Then start by fulfilling the agreement with Ivora.”

“Ivora’s agreement.”

Helen answered without hesitation, “I understand. I’ll ensure vulnerabilities in the system Sulun needs. Please rest assured, Father.”

“No, not just that,” Anselm shook his head, “The mechanized armor, the ether armaments… you need to assist with those too.”

“…”

After less than a second of silence, Helen showed no confusion, only saying earnestly, “Won’t she threaten you, Father?”

“No, don’t worry. For now… Ivora won’t do anything so reckless.”

With that answer, Helen had no further questions, nodding, “Then I’ll find alchemists capable of crafting ether armaments and do my best to meet Ivora’s demands.”

The potential dangers Ivora’s control of ether armaments could bring to the Empire, the costs she might pay in the process—things the old “Mingfuluo” would have considered—Helen gave no thought to.

Because it wasn’t necessary.

If Father saw no issue, there was no issue.

“And outside, except in front of my closest people… I hope you’ll still call yourself Mingfuluo.”

This simple statement caused a vivid change in Helen’s expression.

She turned, tightly embracing Anselm, pressing against his chest, saying softly, “Can I refuse, Father?”

“Barely started being my daughter, and already wanting to be a bit willful?” Anselm stroked her long hair.

“I don’t want my current self tainted by the wreckage of the past.”

No need to worry about any suffering, no need to search for answers to unsolvable problems.

Having shed that absurd, broken past, she could fulfill the desires and pursuits etched into her soul while gaining… a truly perfect life.

Helen didn’t want to look back, would never look back.

“But I don’t mind, Helen.”

Anselm gently rubbed her cheek, saying softly, “By my side, you’ll always be my daughter.”

Helen’s petite frame softened, the aversion and resistance in her heart easing with those words.

“I understand.”

She held Anselm’s hand, her delicate fingers interlocking with his.

“I’ll continue acting as that puppet, Father.”

Saying so, Helen leaned up slightly, mimicking Hitana, kissing and licking Anselm’s earlobe:

“All as you wish.”

***

Hitana, who had fled in a panic, stood in the corridor, still clutching her chest, panting heavily.

Crazy… absolutely crazy! Even Lina wasn’t that crazy!

Thinking back on her own absurd behavior and unspeakable words, and Helen’s completely earnest, studious expression—that surreal scene made the wolf girl’s body burn, her head dizzy, unable to control her physical reactions.

“Anselm… what kind of magic did he cast on that little runt to make her like this?”

Helen’s glossy-less purple eyes sent a shiver through Hitana.

Every time she recalled those eyes, an eerie chill ran down her spine.

The girl grew deeply worried, “I’m not… too late, am I?”

“Is Anselm planning—no, has he already completely broken her? Left her no way out?”

With new thoughts, Hitana finally broke free from the heated memory.

She paced back and forth in the corridor, her mind still filled with Anselm, but this time, she recalled the moment he spoke to her about his plan to tame Mingfuluo.

She clearly remembered Anselm saying… he didn’t truly want to completely destroy Mingfuluo, that he’d give her a chance.

But why did it end up like this?

The current Mingfuluo—no, Helen—had even abandoned her name, becoming… something even more like a puppet.

Hitana didn’t care about Mingfuluo, or rather, the current Helen.

She only cared whether Anselm genuinely wanted this, and what led him to make such a choice.

“Damn it… I can’t figure this out at all!”

The girl stomped her foot in frustration, “I hate this guessing game stuff! I’m not Lina… hm?”

Her eyes suddenly lit up, “Right, Lina might figure it out! Uh… but where is she now?”

The wolf girl sniffed, her face full of suspicion, “Why can’t I catch her scent… Whatever, I’ll ask a maid.”

After wandering the corridor for a bit, Hitana caught a maid and hurriedly asked, “Where’s Lina right now?”

“Miss Marina should be in the underground library. Shall I guide you, Miss Hitana?”

“Oh… the library. No need, I know where it is.”

Marina had once taken Hitana to the underground library at Hydra Mansion, but Hitana, who hated books, turned back at the door and bolted.

The girl eagerly dashed downward, following her memory, and soon reached the underground library.

Knock, knock, knock—

Hitana rapped on the heavy bronze door.

The deep blue crystal above shot a beam of light onto her, confirming her identity, and the door slowly opened.

“Lina!”

As soon as she stepped into the library, Hitana shouted, “Where are you? I need to talk to you!”

“…Hit.”

From a corner of the massive library came a girl’s sigh:

“Even if few people have access here, that doesn’t mean you can yell. And… can’t you smell where I am?”

Following the voice, Hitana scampered over and found Marina, grinning, “This makes me seem more enthusiastic, right?”

Marina, flipping through a thick book, looked exasperated, “So, what’s this about? Study time is precious, I can’t spare it to mess around with you.”

“It’s not messing around, it’s serious!”

Hitana pouted, annoyed that Marina made it sound like she only cared about playing, “It’s about Anselm.”

“…” Marina’s expression turned serious. She marked her page, closed the book, and said earnestly, “What’s wrong with Mr. Anselm?”

“No, no, it’s not Anselm, it’s that Mingfuluo… Mingfuluo, you know her, right, Lina?”

“Miss Mingfuluo… What about her?”

So Hitana chattered away, spilling everything that happened, the shocking changes in Mingfuluo, all in one go to Marina.

“…So, doesn’t something feel off?”

The wolf girl looked worried, “Did something happen to push Anselm? Why did he suddenly go so hard on her?”

After hearing Hitana’s account, Marina’s brows furrowed slightly but soon relaxed.

She gave Hitana a pleased smile, praising, “You’re thinking carefully about Mr. Anselm this time, Hit. Good job, keep it up.”

“Heh heh heh… of course, I’m Anselm’s… no, wait!”

Hitana’s silly grin lasted two seconds before she shook her head vigorously, “Why are you praising me, Lina?! I still don’t know what’s up with Anselm!”

“You need to understand one thing, Hit.”

Marina leisurely resumed flipping through her book, responding calmly:

“All of Mr. Anselm’s arrangements are precise, perfect, and interconnected.”

“If his goals change, it means extending or altering the original plan. But clearly… from what I know, the effort and planning Mr. Anselm has invested in Mingfuluo—no, Miss Helen now—are clearly long-prepared arrangements.”

Having been slightly involved in that game and contributing to Breeze City’s development, benefiting greatly from the economic department, the seemingly unremarkable Marina, who seized every chance to improve herself, knew far more about Mingfuluo’s situation than Hitana.

From everything she could see, these plans weren’t a sudden whim or a detour prompted by some key moment but a fully controlled outcome Anselm had long confirmed.

Seeing Hitana still confused, Marina explained further:

“In other words, this was always Mr. Anselm’s goal. If he truly wanted to give Miss Helen a chance, then… it’s not over yet.”

She thoughtfully touched the page, “Mr. Anselm’s plan hasn’t ended.”

“It… it’s not over?”

Hitana’s eyes widened, “That girl’s practically glued her eyes to Anselm’s… you know! She’s completely done for, what more could change?”

Marina couldn’t help but chuckle, “Weren’t you like that when Mr. Anselm first tamed you?”

“I was not!”

The wolf girl’s face flushed red as she shrieked, “I wasn’t… that bad! I at least put up a little fight! Not like her, so… so…”

“Miss Helen’s feelings for Mr. Anselm were frozen for three years. Now, with her rebirth, her hatred turned to guilt and passion, so it’s not surprising the backlash is so intense.”

Marina analyzed rationally, then winked, “Careful, she might steal your spot, Hit.”

“Hmph! No way! Anselm would never go for a runt like that, that… that…”

Hitana’s voice trailed off, her confidence waning.

Because she remembered—Anselm didn’t have preferences; if it was pretty, he was all in!

The more she thought, the less confident she felt, her expression growing vivid. Meeting her sister’s teasing gaze, she suddenly shouted and pounced.

“Lina, Lina! My dear Lina! Help me, Hit!”

The wolf girl pitifully shook her sister’s arm, “I can’t lose to that girl!”

Don’t compete if you don’t want to lose—Marina almost said, but after a second’s hesitation, she held back.

This was the key to her reliance on Anselm now, and she didn’t want to share it, not even with her sister.

“Alright.”

The cunning Miss Marina sighed with feigned helplessness, “I’ll help you figure something out. Now, let your sister read in peace, okay?”

“Yay! Lina’s the best!”

Hitana gleefully kissed Marina’s cheek, then happily skipped out of the library.

But after a few steps, she stopped.

“…”

The girl, sniffing, slowly turned back, her suspicious and puzzled gaze roaming the vast library.

Why did she smell something so familiar here, yet couldn’t pinpoint who it was?

She sniffed harder, but the scent seemed to vanish entirely.

Unable to find an answer, Hitana scratched her head, chalked it up to a mistake, and bounced out of the library.

About four or five hours later, at dinnertime, Marina, satisfied, closed her book, returned it to the shelf, and left contentedly.

As the bronze doors slowly closed, the library’s crystal lamps extinguished one by one, plunging everything into darkness.

Then, after an unknown time.

In the library, which should have been empty, a single lamp suddenly flickered on.