A Villain's Way of Taming Heroines

Chapter 412: The Only Color - Three - II

Hendrik attempted to use this to calm Ravenna down: "Think, Ravenna... Imagine, when we have trained a large number of extraordinary beings, when we have made significant contributions in various fields, with more amazing ideas perfectly realized and applied to society... What would the empire look like? Isn't the experiment in Pelican city proof?

With Lord Ansel's help, the outcome was so perfect, we succeeded!"

His words perfectly struck the deepest despair in Ravenna's heart, already on the brink of collapse, trampling on the ruins of what was once called an ideal, shattered by Ansel.

"Is that success? Do you think... that is success?"

Bang!

Ravenna punched the door, her beautiful face twisted by collapse and rage, her voice hysterical. Never before, not even in the face of Eileen's death, had Ravenna lost her composure like this. Now, she seemed like... like a madwoman with nothing left.

"That's not success at all, you understand nothing! Not just you... even grandfather, even he... sob..."

After that moment of outburst, she collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut, one hand covering her eyes, her voice twisted and choked.

Ronger could no longer hold back, walking anxiously towards Ravenna, extending her hand: "What exactly happened, Ravenna? What happened? Tell us, we can surely..."

Slap—

The crisp sound of a hand being slapped away echoed in the council room. Ronger incredulously looked at the hand that had slapped hers away, still trembling, and then... met Ravenna's eyes as she slowly lifted her head.

She saw... emptiness beneath the wetness and the shine.

"What exactly... happened?"

Her tone suddenly became flat, as if she were a puppet reciting a fixed script.

"I want to ask you, all of you... Ronger, what exactly happened fifteen years ago?"

"That day, how exactly did my grandfather die?"

In that moment, the majority of those present exhibited uncontrollable and distinctly vivid changes in their expressions.

Most of them were Eileen's last and most steadfast followers. Mentioning his death naturally stirred emotions, but... Ravenna's current state diverted their emotional turmoil not towards the grief of their mentor's passing but towards… the cause of death she hinted at.

"Teacher... he..."

Ronger managed her emotions best, yet her fingertips trembled uncontrollably, "We... don't know. We haven't found the answer in all these years... Ravenna, are you missing him?"

Attempting to embrace Ravenna, she was halted by a gaze so chillingly empty it stopped her in her tracks. The lady, unsure how to proceed, could only muster a forced gentle smile, "That's all in the past now. We have such a bright future ahead of us. The teacher would surely be happy."

"It's all in the past, we shouldn't dwell on it any longer."

Ravenna looked at Ronger with that hollow gaze, then at the others, and finally at Hendrik, whose expression grew increasingly troubled, "You've told me this many times... many, many times."

"So, it wasn't to help me move forward, but to prevent me from looking back... to find the truth."

When it came to the topic of Eileen's death, they would always choose to avoid discussing it with Ravenna, always telling her not to drown in the pain of the past.

So, it was to keep her from discovering the painful truth.

"Ravenna."

Hendrik approached Ravenna, maintaining a calm demeanor and tone, speaking with utmost seriousness, "You might have learned of the teacher's cause of death from somewhere... but are you sure it's true? And not something concocted by someone to influence you, to influence us—"

"How do you know that truth would influence you?"

Ravenna looked up at Hendrik, her gaze as sharp and dark as a sword piercing through his chest, rendering him speechless, while his unease and panic reached a peak.

Then, everyone heard the most devoted follower of the Tower of Babel's philosophy, Eileen's ideal, declare:

"Because it was all of you who killed grandfather."

"...No."

Miss puppet bowed her head, covering her face with trembling hands. Her not-so-long nails sliced through the skin, embedding into the flesh of her cheeks.

"It was grandfather... who made all of you kill him."

*

"Eileen Ziegler met his end at the hands of his eleven most outstanding and steadfast students...

Seraphina murmured to herself, piecing together the information from the fragmented scrolls, while incredulously turning to Ansel: "He... that person, uh, Ravenna's grandfather, he... he was killed by his own students?! And it was..."

The girl couldn't help but look back at the scroll: "He ordered his students to do it, to behead him and open his heart... Was he mad!"

"No, he wasn't mad, quite the opposite... This was Eileen's most perfect, most incomparable creation in his career as an alchemist."

Ansel looked out the window at the vibrant and thriving scene of the Tower of Babel, sighing with admiration:

"He created a flawless, perfect lie for one person, moreover, he created a false life for just one person... capable of changing the world."

Seraphina couldn't resist using her Head of Wind to piece together the information on the scroll, which provided very detailed intelligence. The girl quickly saw what was likely the recorder's specific analysis:

"Eileen's failure and downfall in his later years did not come from targeting by other forces, for his abilities allowed him to transcend such targeting. The realm of sorcery could not contain him, but the extraordinary world was not dominated by sorcerers.

Thus, his fall was entirely his own choice—he could not realize that absurd, laughable ideal, and therefore lost the reason to move forward and even to live, it's that simple."

"In the pursuit of that 'extraordinary universalization,' he realized that he might not be able to reach the endpoint, so he pinned his hopes on his offspring, Leiden Ziegler. He spent over a decade and exhausted everything to cultivate Leiden, but the fact proved that in the realm of creation, talent determines everything."

"And Leiden was the most common person in the world—the most common mediocrity. Eileen, realizing this, gave up forcing his son, but before that, he had forced Leiden for over twenty years. Such abandonment would not bring Leiden relief but would make him hate Eileen even more." Experience new stories on m v|l e'-NovelBin.net

"So you're saying..." Seraphina, who was kneeling by the couch piecing together fragments, scratched her head, "Ravenna's father was a fool? Then why is Ravenna so smart?"

-->