A Villain's Way of Taming Heroines

Emerging from the public cemetery, Ravenna gazed upwards at the overcast sky.

Rain was imminent in three minutes and sixteen seconds; she needed to hasten her return, she contemplated.

Although Soren's prohibition had been partially incinerated, Ravenna's soul remained trapped within this puppet, hence, it was still Madam Ronger who accompanied her on this journey.

To Ravenna, such a wasteful expenditure of human effort was utterly disgraceful, yet she had undertaken it, indicating that this matter held a significance for her equivalent to that of research and learning.

"Let us depart, Madam Ronger," Ravenna calmly stated, "It is time to return to the Tower of Babel."

The dignified scholar nodded slightly, walking shoulder to shoulder with Ravenna towards the direction of the Tower of Babel.

"Ravenna," Ronger suddenly spoke, "You... still haven't told us why you went to the Alchemy Association that day, and what happened."

"There is no need, you cannot resolve this issue. Speaking of it would only add to your worries and decrease your efficiency."

The woman emotionlessly responded, leaving one unsure whether to call her rational or cold-hearted.

Hearing Ravenna's words, Ronger could only respond with a helpless smile, "Actually, you being like this also causes us quite a bit of distress."

"…I have always been this way," Ravenna glanced at Ronger, "I thought you would have grown accustomed to it by now."

Ronger wanted to say that you haven't always been like this, but when she opened her mouth, only silence remained.

She sighed lightly, refraining from further words, simply walking alongside Ravenna.

Occasionally, Ronger would glance at Ravenna's indifferent face, sometimes catching her gazing at the streets of the imperial city, the surrounding buildings, and the bustling crowd.

She could see a vivid sense of weariness and resentment in those magnificent purple eyes.

Ravenna rarely displayed her emotions so openly, but every time she left the public cemetery, she found it difficult to control her emotions.

Even though many were astounded by the remarkable talent of this young sorcerer, the outside world, even the Tower of Babel, would not change their view of Ravenna because of her abilities.

Rational, cold, and aloof.

In the eyes of most scholars within the Tower of Babel, she was an incessantly operating cold machine, a machine that commanded respect and fear.

And now, this machine was silently walking on the road, wasting precious time for learning and research, even having a powerful fifth-stage sorcerer accompany her in wasting time, just lost in thought and reminiscence.

"Madam Ronger," Ravenna suddenly spoke, "Have you ever regretted?"

"…What?"

"I mean, when the Tower of Babel began to promote the production of firearms."

The woman turned to look at her elder, calmly asking, "Have you ever regretted it?"

Ronger fell silent.

Regret? She didn't know how to describe her thoughts.

The Tower of Babel was on the brink of collapse at that time, there was no choice to speak of. Ravenna's extraordinary performance saved the organization. At that time, no one thought there was any problem, everyone was immersed in the joy of rebirth.

But as time passed, with the pressure exerted by Evora, the mass production of firearms, and the research requirements for various new etheric firearms... more and more people in the Tower of Babel began to feel anxious about the future.

It was only because Evora's demand for alchemical weapons had not yet reached a point of nearly oppressing the Tower of Babel, that this anxiety was limited to a certain range, allowing the Tower of Babel to still be considered an "academic organization".

But as the upper echelons of the Tower of Babel, whether it was Hendrick or Ronger... they did not hold positive expectations for the future of the Tower of Babel.

That violent revolution was both the door to the redemption of the Tower of Babel and the road to hell that went against their ideals.

By the time they realized it, it was already too late.

"Ravenna, it was never your fault," Ronger comforted in a gentle voice, "No one will blame you."

She knew all too well how much this young girl, who carried countless reputations, had endured over the years, the trials, the pain, and the transformation that came with it... Ravenna never confided in anyone, but she did not collapse in silence, instead, she became stronger in silence.

If she had not devoted more energy to research and development, she might have reached the fourth stage next year or the year after.

Ravenna did not respond to Ronger's words, she just continued to walk calmly, her steps getting faster and faster, as if she was no longer focusing her attention on these meaningless things, gradually returning to her usual cold machine-like demeanor.

"Let us proceed, Madam Ronger, there should be a carriage station nearby, we—"

"Ah! The lady in white!"

A little girl's exclamation of delight interrupted Ravenna's words.

The woman turned her head expressionlessly, staring with an unwelcoming gaze at the girl who had broken away from her mother's hand and was running towards her.

As expected, the little girl who had seemed so happy just a moment ago instantly shrank back. Ravenna adjusted her glasses, turned her head away, and ignored her.

"Miss, you... um, you are... the extraordinary being of B-Babel, right?"

The hope in her timid call made her stop in her tracks.

After a moment of silence, the stationary Ravenna turned to look at the girl again, and said indifferently, "What is it?"

The little girl was initially somewhat timid, hesitated for a moment, then with a blushing face, she bowed to Ravenna and mustered the courage to say loudly:

"Two years ago... my father's injury was healed by something made by Babel. At that time... I -I saw you! I want to thank you!"

"..."

Between the aloof woman and the grateful girl, silence fell.

Just as the girl realized and hurriedly wanted to bow again to bid Ravenna farewell, this cold, rational machine suddenly spoke:

"How is your father now?"

"Ah! My father, my father is very healthy, very healthy!"

The girl who received a response became even more excited. She seemed to have a lot to say to Ravenna, but her mother came over and kept apologizing to Ravenna.

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