Chapter 417: The Only Color - Four - IV
"..." The puppet opened her mouth but no words came out.
She may not have understood the young man\'s words, but if she wasn\'t mistaken—
"That\'s alright, you only need to grasp one thing," Ansel said softly, leaning in.
"In this game, within Breeze City, no one has been harmed."
"The landowners have received substantial compensation, Breeze City has acquired significant funds for development, the original farmers have not been devastated by their crops, and thanks to Loran\'s sales strategies, farmers in other parts of the empire have been minimally affected. Of course...
this is only temporary, but as you\'ve heard, they are already preparing plans for any potential issues that may arise."
"So…"
The devil asked, lifting the puppet\'s chin, his head nearly touching her lips in a moment of intimate proximity. "What are your thoughts on this?"
A prolonged, profound silence ensued.
Then, after the collapse, after the destruction, the puppet trembled and uttered her first words: "Is this... subject to change?"
"Of course," Ansel replied with a cheerful smile. "You cannot change it, they cannot change it, perhaps... no one can change it."
His hand, encircling the puppet\'s slender waist, tightened gently, as if to meld her into his being.
"But..." the young Hydral answered with relaxed certainty, "I most certainly can."
This is... subject to change.
Thepuppet observed everything before her, her once lifeless and frozen eyes beginning to quiver.
It wasn\'t the worst possible outcome she foresaw, but rather... a better, the best possible one.
In the most nihilistic despair, the doll glimpsed a fragile ray of hope.
"Ravenna... Ravenna..."
Then, this sigh, this name, momentarily eclipsed that light.
"Here..." the puppet grasped Ansel\'s hand that was wrapped around her waist, her voice numb and mechanical, "Here... there is no... Ravenna."
"Oh? Then who might you be?"
"..."
Observing the puppet unable to answer his question, the devil laughed with delight, lowering his head a bit closer, whispering into the ear of the puppet he embraced:
"Poor Ravenna," he murmured compassionately.
"A life manipulated, pursuits abandoned, and a self of no worth."
"Your convictions are false, instilled and cultivated by force."
"Your companions are false, having committed acts of betrayal long ago."
"Your self is false, how can an existence built upon all that is counterfeit be real?"
"Your pursuits are false, your desires are false, everything you do and think... all of it is false."
Ansel\'s words became a noose, tightening around the puppet\'s neck, but how could the puppet suffer from these revelations?
For these were not insights that Ansel needed to remind her of; they were truths she had already recognized, and to which she had become indifferent—
In that instant, a profound shade of sea blue unexpectedly filled her vision.
She had been looking at it all along, had seen it countless times before, but this time... the sea blue, as clear as the sky, nearly filled the puppet\'s entire gaze.
She heard the sea blue saying:
"But it doesn\'t matter."
She felt the sea blue gently enveloping her:
"In a world where everything is false."
She realized, as the sea blue seeped into her:
"I must be, the most real."
At that moment, in the puppet\'s mind... a multitude of memories exploded into existence.
Not those she had lost, but those she had, memories she held dear.
All of them... related to Ansel of Hydral.
His teasing, his jests, his care, his earnestness, every word he had spoken, every deed he had done, the past dreams, joy, freedom, and... happiness, all unfolded before the puppet\'s eyes.
"Tell me, who shares the same ideals as you?"
[Ansel was forced to give up something, and it saddened him]
"...It\'s, you."
"Tell me, who is willing to walk with you, who can walk with you?"
[Are the thoughts and feelings I\'ve poured into you also lies?]
"...It\'s you."
"Tell me, who has the ability to realize the vision you aspire to?"
[But, I most certainly can]
"It\'s... you."
The puppet\'s breath grew rapid and scorching, the sea-blue eyes that seemed to brand themselves into her vision drew ever closer, penetrating her gaze until no other hue could find harbor...
Indeed, in her eyes, in her world, no other color had space to exist.
"Thus..." the vibrant, fervent sea blue spoke softly, "who am I?"
"You are..."
Instinctively, the puppet reached out to touch his face, and as she hesitated, shrinking back, he grasped her hand firmly, placing it upon his cheek.
As the warmth of his fingertips transferred, the puppet murmured dreamily: "You are... Ansel."
"Ansel... Is it merely Ansel?"
He smiled, caressing his face with the puppet\'s hand: "Do you recall, I once inquired, what exactly is a father?"
"..."
"A father is a teacher, a guide, a companion, a... creator."
"My dear, my dear."
The devil gently stroked the puppet\'s cheek: "I can teach you how to craft remarkable alchemical devices, I can guide you on their righteous use, I can be by your side, unceasingly, I can rescue you from the abyss of nothingness..."
"Create anew, yourself."
"Therefore."
He kissed the puppet\'s lips: "What am I to you?"
"You are... no..."
In a daze, bewildered, the puppet saw that beam of light, but within her destroyed self, the indelible talents and gifts allowed her to see through the devil\'s seduction, struggling to respond:
"Ansel... you... do not wish... to help..."
He had given up; he was no longer—
"But you understand, I have my problems, don\'t you?"
The critical juncture propelled by fate, seized by the devil, transformed into a blade, pierced through the puppet\'s last vestiges of persistence.
The puppet murmured: "Problems..."
Yes, problems, Ansel was threatened, I thought, if only the threats could be eliminated, then...
"If only you could help me, if only you could eradicate my foes..."
The devil confessed tenderly: "Wouldn\'t I then be the one, who never forsakes you, who always stands by your side?"
"Answer my question once more, who... am I?"
If only... I could assist Ansel, if only... the issues could be resolved.
He would stand by my side, forever... steadfast, he understands me more than anyone, can assist me more than anyone, cares for me more than anyone.
The ideal, too, could be... realized.
Upon the puppet\'s cheeks, a vivid blush emerged.
She extended her arms, embracing the devil\'s shoulders, her voice betraying emotions no longer befitting a mere puppet.
"You are... Father."
Uttering these three words, she experienced an unprecedented sense of peace.
"Very well," her father inquired with satisfaction and joy, "then, who are you?"
Being by my father\'s side, as long as he stands with me, I can realize my worth.
My existence... is meaningful.
"I am..."
Immersed in those sea-blue depths, the puppet acquired a new name, responding with such elation:
"I am... Helen, the daughter of my father."
Ansel of Hydral gazed into those eyes, once devoid of life yet now brimming with fervent expression, and gently embraced her tender form.
To destroy Ravenna? To obliterate her self? To annihilate everything about her?
No... What Ansel desired was not destruction, but replacement.
To replace everything in her life, all that she held dear, and her indestructible ideals.
Even at this juncture, are you still hoping to realize your worth, chasing after that crafted illusion?
It\'s alright, since that\'s the case, you just need to know... everything you do for me, is in pursuit of that ideal.
Helen, my dear Helen.
From now on, I am your everything.
I am your... only.
*