"Ansel!"


    Upon crossing the fiery portal, Seraphina caught sight of Ansel and immediately dashed towards him with exultant cries.


    "Stop."


    A frigid, haughty female voicepelled 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 shed 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 rxing 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 youngd, isn''t that a bit too embarrassing?"


    "Because,pared 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 thevishly dressed, long-legged Evora, unable to suppress augh as he said, "It''s more like our esteemed Lord elder princess, a dissatisfied, unfulfilled woman ."


    Seraphina, who was being petted and enjoying it, quickly pulled Ansel''s sleeve, not wanting him to start another argument because of her.


    Evora said no more, merely huffing and vanishing in a burst of mes. The grand hall was left with only Ansel, Seraphina, and Ravenna, who stood with her head bowed, her expression vacant and dazed.


    Ansel nced at Ravenna but remained silent, instead turning to Seraphina, holding her hand, and speaking gently, "Did you have fun?"


    "So much fun!"


    Seraphina nodded vigorously, her face aglow with unwavering joy.


    After ying the Tidecaller, Seraphina had frolicked in Evora''s hunting grounds for a while, even killing two fourth-stage monsters and encountering a fifth-stage giant turtle. Our fearless Miss Seraphina bravely punched it, only to find that the creature didn''t even bother to retaliate, simply walking away.


    In summary, Seraphina had never experienced such a luxurious and perfect birthday, and she indeed had a joyful time.


    "Since the days I''ve been with you, Ansel, every day is wonderful… I feel happier and happier! "


    Seraphina, her cheeks flushed with a rosy hue, demurely lowered her gaze, seemingly unable to contain the excitement within her heart. She leaned in for a kiss, only to be acutely aware of the dirt that marred her skin, leaving her head awkwardly suspended in mid-air.


    Yet Ansel, undeterred, cradled the back of her head, pressing her tender, slightly wild lips against his own.


    "What''s the matter?"


    He inquired, eyebrows arched in yful challenge as he slightly pulled away. "Do you find me repulsive?"


    Caught off guard, Seraphina hesitated for a moment before embracing Ansel with fervor, engaging in a passionate and untamed kiss.


    The sound of their mingling breaths, the entwining of lips and tongues, and the girl''s expertly skills honed by Ansel…were, to any onlooker, exceedingly intense, enough to induce a blush.


    And there was but one onlooker present.


    Ravenna''s difiture and loss of control, stemming from Marlina''s words and initiated by Ansel''s test, found its culmination in Seraphina''s deration, leading to the crashing of her self.


    All the hesitations, confusions, vacitions, and contemtions she had experienced pointed inexorably to the oue she least desired to confront.


    She had considered the possibility that while Seraphina could not deceive her, could Ansel have deceived Seraphina? Was thisyer of deceit part of his calctions as well?


    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 intelligenceid 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 ring it was almost blinding. To Ravenna, what was blinding was not the love between Ansel and Seraphina, but the irreceable… nature of their bond.


    —An irreceable 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 vige with Marlinater. 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, nting 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 be aplete 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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