A Villain's Way of Taming Heroines

Seraphina could not comprehend why extraordinary beings… would target mortals.

What was the purpose of designing such a thing? If the intention was to destroy the Lower District from the beginning, why build it at all?

She was already entangled by this question, unable to find an answer… and handicapped by it. Experience exclusive tales on empire

Seraphina had encountered those who used innocents as leverage before, the most unscrupulous and despicable of scoundrels. But they had all underestimated her speed and strength.

Moreover, none had ever been as deranged as these, ready to bury an entire district's population in a bottomless mine at any moment!

She had even exerted a fraction of her true power to intimidate them. Yet, no matter how ferocious or formidable she appeared, as long as her opponents remained calm and realized she would never allow any innocents to be harmed, they would not fall into a disadvantage.

And clearly... adventurers who had spent most of their lives struggling in this chaotic world could easily discern the essence of a girl whose emotions were too plainly displayed.

The lead adventurer remained composed. "This is not an explosive array, Miss Fenrir. It is a necessary array to maintain the structural stability of the Lower District."

"Fuck you!Liar!"

Seraphina wished she could snap this beast's neck on the spot. She had seen with her own eyes that wherever he pointed, the stone walls would collapse. Fortunately, the collapse occurred in the lowest, uninhabited part of the Lower District, and no one was harmed.

She also understood that killing this group wouldn't solve the problem. Unless she could slaughter every extraordinary being in Dispute Fortress instantly, who could guarantee that no one else knew how to control this array?

"Do you not believe me?" The man smiled faintly. "If you don't believe me, you can ask the residents of the Lower District. Ask them if they want this array removed."

"..."

Seraphina remained silent, the red-black phantom beast behind her growing increasingly agitated.

She was no longer the foolishly arrogant girl she once was. The swift change in the sentiments of the residents of Red Frost towards Ansel was still vivid in her memory. The surge of anger and hatred from those people was something Seraphina could never understand, but she had come to realize… she could not expect the common folk to align with her actions.

"I am doing this for their good, so they will surely stand by me"—such naive thoughts no longer crossed Seraphina's mind.

But that did not mean she would abandon these people. On the contrary, it was precisely because of their helpless ignorance that Seraphina was more determined than ever to protect them.

What should I do... It seems they want to negotiate. They haven't harmed any civilians yet, which shows they do fear me to some extent. How can I leverage this fear? How can I ensure the safety of the Lower District's residents from these beasts?

Maintaining her ferocious and murderous facade, Seraphina's mind raced, yet no matter how hard she tried, she could not find a way to break the impasse. This made her increasingly anxious.

And all of this was observed by the seasoned adventurer.

He had ventured deep into the realms teeming with alien monstrosities and engaged in deadly skirmishes with fellow adventurers in the underground ruins of the Sky Conquering Dynasty.

Even after retiring from the front lines, he still maneuvered through the politics and scheming of other guilds… The extraordinary being before him, though capable of tearing him apart with a mere gesture, was nothing more than a righteous, hot-blooded young girl.

At that moment, he felt a twinge of gratitude for his hypocritical legionnaire brother; without his duplicity, subduing this dangerous adversary might not have been so effortless.

"Previously, Miss Fenrir, your request was for us to assign a few responsible, civic-minded extraordinary beings to manage the Lower District, correct?" he said with a smiling gaze.

"Allowing malevolent extraordinary beings to wreak havoc in the Lower District was indeed a lapse in our management. Please believe that we are committed to rectifying this."n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

The ferocity on Seraphina's face did not diminish. "And this is your rectification? Using the lives of the entire Lower District's residents to threaten me?"

"No, no... this is merely a necessary measure to ensure a calm dialogue."

"A calm dialogue," Seraphina sneered. "Only after realizing you couldn't deal with me did you decide on a calm dialogue."

Ignoring her sarcasm, the adventurer continued, "We just believe that people can change. What if we send down some friendly extraordinary beings, and they turn corrupt again? So..."

He spoke to Seraphina with utmost sincerity: "Why don't you manage the Lower District of Dispute Fortress?"

A cunning and mocking glint flickered in the adventurer's eyes as he looked at the slightly stunned Seraphina, and he said with profound earnestness:

"To judge good and evil, to discern right from wrong, the entire order of the Lower District... all within your hands."

"How about it?"

*

Meanwhile, observing all of this, the Garden enforcers, who had been cleaning up after Seraphina's actions, collectively drew a sharp breath.

"Holy shit..."

The enforcer codenamed Graystone glanced at another enforcer, Bones, and rubbed his forehead vigorously. "The situation can get dire... If not handled properly, Miss Seraphina might be forcibly tied down here, right?"

"We can't let that happen," Bones said, his expression equally grim. "In other places, we might have some leeway, but Lord Ansel is also in Dispute Fortress!"

"Ultimately, this is Miss Seraphina's trial and choice. Lord Ansel shouldn't have a reason to blame us... right?"

"The problem is, this situation is completely beyond Miss Seraphina's capabilities—she absolutely cannot harden her heart to sacrifice some people. At this rate, she'll be perpetually controlled here."

"Then... should we ask that damned cat?"

"...We have no other choice, do we?"

Thus, at night.

While organizing the day's events and planning the next steps, Marlina received the communication she had long awaited.

"Marlina."

"What's the matter, Ms. Rhine?"

"..."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the communication crystal, followed by a sigh.

"You've won."