Chapter 56: Gifts of Hydral
Unbeknownst to Seraphina, a web woven from pure malice was about to ensnare her tightly.
Now, with evidence in hand, she no longer exhibited the joy she once did when she caught Hydral off guard. She was not pleased, neither with the nobles' clamor nor with Ansel's deliberate scheming.
The young wolf, having broadened her horizons, was aware of the nobles' wealth. She knew that even a small amount of their wealth could help many commoners survive the harsh winter in the Red Frost territory.
The thought of people freezing to death daily in the outskirts of the city, while the nobles gathered to praise Ansel's "art", stirred up a storm of anger in her heart that had been silent for a long time.
"This absurdity must end,"
She murmured to herself. She would not accept these distorted rules, nor this absurd world.
Although it was a clear day, the occasional cold wind still howled past. Seraphina stood on the street, watching the passing carriages, her hand gradually tightening, oblivious to the biting cold wind. She was surprisingly calm at this moment.
"I alone can't do much, even with this thing, I can't effectively spread the words of the Count of Stoneheart."
In these days, all of Ansel's teachings seemed to have worked perfectly at this moment. Seraphina, stroking the image crystal, squinted her eyes and murmured, "Offending that guy is one thing, but spreading this thing means offending Ansel as well. In the Red Frost territory... it seems no one has the guts to do that."
Seraphina thought of the "revolutionary army" she had encountered the night before, and her mood worsened.
"Relying on those guys, I might as well hope that Hydral will act openly and aboveboard in the future."
The young girl's impression of the revolutionary army was extremely poor, and since those people had been caught by Ansel, even if there were remnants, she had no way to contact those guys who were hiding somewhere.
"Damn it, I should have planned this earlier," Seraphina, who was now deeply experiencing the bitter fruit of acting rashly, bit her nails, "Just holding this thing seems to be completely useless."
Unable to reach anyone for help in exposing the truth, Seraphina felt somewhat helpless — Simply showing the words of the Count of Stoneheart to one person was meaningless. She needed to broadcast this scene to a multitude, to stir up a wave in the Red Frost territory.
Numerous nobles and merchants who recognized Seraphina's identity saluted her. Our young wolf either ignored them or glared back fiercely, embodying the essence of a savage.
After going through such a roundabout process, she had obtained the key item, but found no place to use it, which left Seraphina extremely frustrated.
In her eyes, Ansel was unusually obsessed with his reputation in the Red Frost territory. If the words of the Count of Stoneheart were exposed by her, Ansel's reputation would undoubtedly plummet.
Since those policies were originally intended to be implemented by Ansel, under these circumstances, he would not care about those nobles in order to save his own reputation, and would forcibly push the original decrees.
As long as she could do it, the lives of the common people in the Red Frost territory would improve, and Seraphina was convinced of this.
"I must not rush... I must not rush."
She kept reminding herself, the mistakes she had made before were still vivid in her mind: "Think carefully about what other methods there are, after all, the initiative is in my hands."
"I just need one opportunity... an opportunity to publicize this recording."
Seraphina murmured to herself, firm in her belief, and headed towards Ansel's mansion.
*
Ansel, who had just finished his outing, was in his study, talking to a big shot with whom he had briefly interacted not long ago.
"Your Grace, I have already checked the assets plundered by those rebels, and they will be returned to Red Frost Manor tonight."
"You have worked hard, little Hydral."
The ordinary old man in the image wiped his glasses and sighed helplessly, "If so many things were really lost, it would be somewhat troublesome."
"Among those assets, there were the crystal core and heart of the Red Ice Serpent."
Ansel, swirling his wine glass, sounded slightly surprised, "I thought that the Count of Red Frost had given them all to you?"
"Count Cantrell is a greedy and foolish fellow."
The Duke of Gray Tower seemed unsurprised, "This is something he could do."
"So, how about sending these two items directly to the Frost Tower?"
"No, no, no... let them stay there, I don't need these two items recently."
The Duke of Gray Tower seemed to be not very concerned about his own property.
"Alright, since you said so, I won't do anything unnecessary, but..."
Ansel put down his wine glass, interlaced his fingers, and said sincerely, "You are a bit too relaxed about the security of Red Frost Manor. To protect those assets, relying solely on inhibitions and guards, isn't it a bit weak?"
The old man chuckled, "Who could have thought that they could get such a powerful etheric concealment scroll? That's a rare item, not many are circulating in the northern black market, and most of them were released by us."
Ansel made sense, and the Duke of Gray Tower's response was also unproblematic. The young and the old stared at each other through the air, one with a humble smile, the other with a kind expression.
"In that case, I won't bother you anymore."
The young Hydral bid farewell to the gray old fox, "Goodbye, Your Grace."
"Come and visit the Frost Tower when you have time." The Duke of Gray Tower raised his teacup to Ansel, "I should also fulfill my duty as a host."
"Certainly."
The conversation ended, the image disappeared, and Saville appeared beside Ansel.
"How is it?" The meticulous evil snake held his wine glass and asked leisurely.
"As you said, Miss Seraphina has completed the recording."
Saville bowed slightly, "Actually, I was a bit worried that she wouldn't know how to operate the image crystal. Fortunately, with your guidance, she finally figured out how to use it before setting off."
"She must be troubled now about how to publicize what she has seen and heard."
Thinking of Seraphina going in circles, talking to herself, forcing herself to calm down, wrinkling her little face, and thinking hard, Ansel couldn't help but laugh.
"Should we give Miss Seraphina this opportunity?"
"It's still too early."
Hydral's mouth curled up, he was playing with a ring inlaid with an emerald gemstone - the very one that Seraphina had brought out from the treasury of Red Frost Manor.
Or rather, the ring that Ansel had let her bring out from there.
The evil snake who had prepared a quagmire of despair for the young wolf put the ring into Saville's hand, and the old butler knew what he had to return later.
"Before that, she has to accept a small gift from me."
"To strengthen... her determination to change me, or to overthrow me."
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