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She could sense that Ansel truly found joy in everything Seraphina represented… be it loyalty or folly, obedience or whimsy.

It was more than enough that Seraphina could bring such sincere delight and solace to Mr. Ansel, for as long as there was someone to alleviate his solitude, Marlina too felt a profound happiness.

Yet… Ansel\'s mother had mentioned that even with Seraphina\'s company, Ansel still felt a deeper loneliness...

With this thought, the young girl\'s expression remained unchanged, her eyes slightly downcast, a wistful sigh in her heart.

Her capabilities, she realized, were still woefully inadequate.

Even though a terrifying suspicion has taken root in my heart, what can I possibly do?

To presume that I can share the burden for Mr. Ansel with my current abilities is nothing short of audacious. If my suspicions are true, to lightly speak of "sharing the burden" would be… to belittle the hardships that Mr. Ansel has endured.

Seri, though loyal and brave, is far too naive. Even now, she harbors a "passion" that could potentially harm Mr. Ansel at certain moments. She is also incapable of standing on the same intellectual level as Mr. Ansel.

… Speaking of which, how has that Miss Ziegler been doing recently?

The incident at the Etheric Academy had deeply involved Ravenna, leading Marlina to conduct a thorough review — She had always believed that there were no coincidences in Ansel\'s plans. Ravenna\'s presence there, her speech, and her demonstration of the existence of the data system must have all been part of Ansel\'s scheme.

Although she had no way of knowing what had transpired between Ansel and Ravenna three years ago, Marlina had deduced an answer that was close to the truth based solely on their relationship. So, at this moment... what she was wondering was whether the proud Miss Ravenna Ziegler would come or not.

Her Mr. Ansel would not miss such a good opportunity. The birthday banquet was likely just the beginning, with more unknown events waiting for her… and her.

If Miss Ziegler remained stubborn under these circumstances... Mr. Ansel would probably truly give up on her.

As Marlina pondered this, she suddenly felt a slight vibration in her pocket. She immediately took out the telecrystal and began to converse with the other party.

"... Alright, I understand."

After ending the conversation quickly and succinctly, Marlina looked up at Ansel, "Mr. Ansel, the gift has arrived."

"Gift!"

Seraphina jumped up instantly, "Is it my gift? Is it a gift from Ansel?"

"Not from Mr. Ansel, but from someone else for you, Seraphina," Marlina smiled helplessly, "It\'s from Lord Soren, Mr. Ansel."

The idea of a grand duke from the supreme nine seats of the Etheric Academy giving a gift to a third-stage extraordinary being sounded absurd, but when the recipient was Seraphina, it was actually quite normal — even though Ansel had never publicly announced Seraphina\'s birthday.

"Why?"

The young girl was puzzled, "Ansel didn\'t tell others that it\'s my birthday, did he?"

"This shows that you are a big shot, Seraphina."

Ansel stroked Seraphina\'s cheek and said softly, "Even though you are not yet able to stand on your own in my eyes, but for the empire, for this world, you are already a big shot who is worth the strong humbling themselves and the weak desperately trying to curry favor with."

Although most of this was directed at Ansel, it was impossible that there were no overtures towards Seraphina. After all... everyone had seen the potential of this disaster beast.

Ansel looked at Seraphina, who seemed a bit dazed and apparently had no real sense of the situation, and said with a light laugh, "It\'s okay, don\'t be nervous, just accept all these gifts. They are all what you deserve, Seraphina."

"...It feels like a dream."

The young girl murmured as if she were sleep talking, "Even the grand duke is giving me gifts…really, Ansel?"

"What\'s so surprising about that? Didn\'t Hydral also give you a gift?" Ansel rubbed her cheek vigorously.

Upon hearing this, Seraphina instantly snapped back to reality, "So what are you going to give me!"

"Why, don\'t you want to see what Mr. Soren has sent first? Not just him, there will probably be many more people coming to give you gifts later, there will be plenty of surprises."

"I don\'t care."

The young girl snorted disdainfully, "I will just give the things they send over to you, Ansel. I won\'t use them anyway... I just want the gift from Ansel!"

She sat on the lawn, her head resting on Ansel\'s thigh, and said listlessly, "Why is there still more than an hour before the banquet... I can\'t wait, Ansel, can you knock me out?"

"I do have other ways to make you pass out."

"What... ah!"

The "battle-hardened" Miss Seraphina immediately realized what he meant and, blushing with embarrassment, hammered Ansel\'s thigh. But perhaps because it was her birthday, her courage was particularly high today. She blushed and said, "You can\'t make me pass out in just over an hour, even if you are Ansel!"

"Really?" The questioned beast lord raised an eyebrow, "Do you think I\'m only at this level since I usually hold back a bit?"

"You… what-what are you holding back! Is that what you call holding back!"

Seraphina headbutted Ansel\'s waist in annoyance and huffed, "We\'re not talking about this today!"

"Alright, alright, what Seraphina says goes."

Ansel\'s hand rested on the young girl\'s soft and snowy skin, feeling the warmth.

Birthday… a concept that had become a distant to Ansel.

For six years, he had eschewed the celebration of his own, deeming it an unnecessary waste of time.

Despite Flamelle and Annelisa\'s persistent attempts to commemorate the occasion, Ansel never engaged with genuine enthusiasm.

— Since that fateful day, he no longer believed… his birth was an event worthy of celebration.

Yet… the possibility of change had once been within reach.

Had that woman extended her hand three years prior, he might have struggled to rise, but alas, there were no such contingencies.

Ansel harbored no significant malice towards Ravenna, fully aware that his initial intentions towards her were far from benign.

He blamed his youthful naivety, unable to control his schemes, thoughts, or the tumultuous emotions within.

In a way, he was grateful to Ravenna for her substantial assistance on a matter of destiny that was of the utmost importance.

Therefore, to reciprocate the aid you have bestowed upon me, I have prepared… a gift for you, my dear Venna.

*