"Ansel!"
Upon crossing the fiery portal, Seraphina caught sight of Ansel and immediately dashed towards him with exultant cries.
"Stop."
A frigid, haughty female voice compelled Seraphina to stop, as Evora, standing beside Ansel, furrowed her brow.
"You reek too much... calling you Ansel's dog, do you truly have no distinction from the wild beasts in my hunting grounds? Can't you use magic to tidy yourself?"
"You—"
Seraphina's eyes flashed with malice, her burgeoning feral spirit causing her to instinctively radiate a brutal, menacing aura, which Evora easily perceived as hostility.
"Come, Seraphina."
Just as Evora raised her hand, seemingly to chastise Seraphina, Ansel interjected, chuckling softly as he said, "Ignore her. Your scent is far more pleasant than hers."
"..." Seraphina was momentarily stunned, then blinked and let out a light chuckle, joyfully skipping to Ansel's side and making a mischievous face at Evora's back.
Seraphina's body indeed bore the marks of the jungle hunting grounds: bloodstains, mud, and various pungent odors. After standing to Anse's side, she hesitantly sniffed her own arm, only relaxing when she saw no abnormal reaction on Ansel's face.
"Do you always neglect logic when defending your little dog, Ansel?"
Evora crossed her arms, scoffing coldly: "Now you look like a lovesick fool of a young lad, isn't that a bit too embarrassing?"
"Because, compared to somehow overpowering feminine aura, I prefer Seraphina's wild nature."
Ansel ruffled the wolf girl's head, who purred contentedly.
"Rather than saying I'm a lovesick fool..."
Young Hydral, with a slight tilt of his head, gazed at the lavishly dressed, long-legged Evora, unable to suppress a laugh as he said, "It's more like our esteemed Lord elder princess, a dissatisfied, unfulfilled woman ."
Yet, what pained and seemed absurd to Ravenna was the belief that — Ansel would not deceive Seraphina.
Indeed, even if she perceived Seraphina to have been tamed by Ansel's design, the Ansel of now would surely not deceive Seraphina.
— Ansel of Hydral would not stoop to deceive someone he cared for, someone he loved deeply, for something as trivial as the forsaken herself/
Such a cold and harsh reality was inescapable for Ravenna, for her intelligence laid bare the truth, and the answer emerged unbidden before her eyes.
The young couple before her, seemingly indulging in their desires, were in fact exchanging a pure and evident love, a truth so glaring it was almost blinding. To Ravenna, what was blinding was not the love between Ansel and Seraphina, but the irreplaceable... nature of their bond.
—An irreplaceable bond that once felt so near, yet now seemed so distant.
"Alright, if that's what you truly desire, we can discuss it further tonight," Ansel said, steadying Seraphina by her waist, their foreheads touching as he spoke with a light chuckle, "Today, we shall do as you wish."
"Hmm...ha..."
Seraphina, breathing heavily, reluctantly licked Ansel's lips, her inner fervor and strength not diminished by the day's vigorous hunt but rather intensified.
Clinging to Ansel's hand, she nestled against him like a puppy circling its master, her silly grin belying her contentment.
"Take a short rest, you can go back to the village with Marlina later. I won't intrude," Ansel suggested, pinching Seraphina's cheek affectionately.
"But remember to return on time tonight, alright?"
"I know, I know!"
Seraphina responded with glee, planting another kiss on Ansel. "I wish every day could be just like this."
"Hmm? If that's what you wish, Seraphina, it's not out of the question."
"Ah... No, no, no... Let's not," Seraphina hastily objected, shaking her head vigorously at Ansel's seemingly serious consideration.
"That won't do; I would become a complete fool, a useless person! I am, cough, the strongest pact head for Ansel... Ah! Ansel, look, look, this is the Tidecaller! I've taken care of it, hehe!"
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