"The time has come, you must fulfill... your promise."
The promise naturally concerning that bargain.
The perilous and madcap bargain Ravenna had struck with the Young Princess. Despite her self-proclaimed rationality, she had accepted the deal.
For in the twenty-one years of her frigid existence, meaningful endeavors were few and far between.
Such a noble and grand aspiration to transform this rigidly absurd world, ultimately leading to a tragic demise, yet still imparting his beliefs and ideals to his granddaughter. The death of Eileen Ziegler was an obsession Ravenna could not relinquish, no matter the cost.
"You... now?"
Ravenna almost instinctively wanted to distance herself from Suellen, uncertain if she was under Evora's surveillance, but Suellen had already spoken, leaving her with no alternative.
"Fear not, for my haughty sister, Lord Ansel will handle her."
Suellen assured with a serene and gentle smile. "Otherwise, why would he not accompany his favorite pact head and instead choose to linger with that detestable bastard?"
Ansel... indeed had other plans.
Ravenna was not surprised by this revelation; Ansel's nature was to utilize everything to its fullest potential, even... Ravenna had no doubt that it was to fulfill this very scheme that he had brought Seraphina here.
"...What do you require of me?"
Ravenna inquired calmly, having regained her composure.
"I have placed an egg of a lesser Tidecaller here; it has hatched and found a host along the river," Suellen explained with a tranquil air, as Ravenna looked on in mild shock.
"The venomous beast you encountered earlier was its host. You are fortunate to have come across it so soon."
"A lesser Tidecaller?" Ravenna's mind flashed with scant details about this enigmatic divine species, quickly grasping Suellen's intentions.
"It is irrelevant to the final outcome."
"...So, to ensure that Evora cannot intervene," Ravenna slowly understood, "you turned to Ansel? Had him act on your behalf?"
"Everyone knows of the deep rift between Lord Ansel and my sister, especially since he unwaveringly sides with the Empress."
Suellen's smile bloomed: "He would, of course, be willing to do a favor, as this is no difficult task for him."
Initially, Suellen had not considered reaching out to Ansel, but she was struck by a recollection of his words at the Alchemy Association.
Ansel, who had effortlessly discerned that she was the mastermind behind the cessation of the floating cannon production and had requested their reinstatement, had made a compelling proposition:
["I assure you, I shall not interfere with your forthcoming plans and actions. Should the need arise, I am prepared to offer my assistance—for a fee, of course."]
This promise planted a seed of thought in Suellen's mind, which fully blossomed after Ansel's stark opposition to Evora following the war game.
Convinced that there was an undisclosed conflict between Ansel and Evora, Suellen no longer hesitated to... seek help.
"On one hand, Lord Ansel would obscure my sister's view, under the pretense of not allowing her to treat his favored pact head, Seraphina, as a mere pet. My sister would harbor no suspicions, for Lord Ansel's fondness for Miss Marlowe is widely recognized, is it not?"
The battle at the Etheric Academy, which heralded Seraphina's power and potential, not only announced the rise of a formidable being but also signaled to other extraordinary beings: The young Hydral truly cherished his sole pact head.
"With Lord Ansel's restrictions in place, she will temporarily refrain from surveilling this hunting ground, and her character is such that she would disdain any eavesdropping or spying.
However, as time progresses and if the destruction caused by the Tidecaller worsens, my unscrupulous sister will undoubtedly devise other means to address the issue... such as deploying formidable creatures to intercept and eliminate the Tidecaller's lesser kin. At that juncture—"
"Do I need to... intervene?" Ravenna murmured in response, finally understanding why she had been brought here.
She was indeed an "assistant," but not to Seraphina—she was Suellen's aide.
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