A Villain's Way of Taming Heroines

"...You might as well take a guess." Marlina, her face pale from the pain, forced a smile.

"When Mr. Faust returns, will you lose your left hand, your right hand, or perhaps... that beautiful, delicate head of yours?"

Meeting the violent and savage gaze, Marlina did not flinch. Instead, her smile grew even brighter: "It's just a small gamble. Miss Snake Attendant is not a gambler, so she chooses to watch. What about you, madam? Do you want to join the table?"

"...Using this fortune to bet on my rusty copper coin?"

The Queen Bee squinted slightly, pausing her actions and turning to the Snake Attendant: "Is that Faust worth such caution?"

"Perhaps not." The Snake Attendant replied impassively, "Just try, and you'll find out."n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Fine, let me ask another question..."

Yvaine's gaze turned colder, seemingly dissatisfied with the Snake Attendant's perfunctory answer: "Why did Mr. Faust kill?"

Killing, in Dispute Fortress... or rather, in the entire Western Lands, could be a trivial matter.

As long as the killer is much stronger than the victim, both in power and background, killing is not a big deal.

"Those two tried to insult me." Marlina smiled, "So Mr. Faust delivered punishment, that's all."

"Oh... if it's Miss Margarete, it's not impossible."

Yvaine nodded in sudden realization: "It seems they died in vain."

She said this, but the coldness on her face became even more pronounced.

In a brothel like Neverland, how could such a thing happen? They came to find women, who would be foolish enough to provoke someone who looks troublesome over a trivial impulse?

Yvaine trusted the Worker Bee's judgment. After the Snake Attendant took over the brothel market, she used these "guides" to quickly connect with high-ranking extraordinary beings arriving at Dispute Fortress.

There were many like the Worker Bee scattered across the various teleportation points in Dispute Fortress. Their task was to identify powerful extraordinary beings like "Faust" and integrate them into the Hive's social network.

Therefore, their judgment and intuition were unquestionable. According to Worker Bee's description, that "Faust" did not seem like someone who hides his strength. He was powerful and flamboyant... how could anyone be foolish enough to provoke such a person in a brothel over a woman? That was not the reason, which means... he did it on purpose.

And if he did it on purpose—

Marlina's smile seemed unaffected by the excruciating pain in her wrist.

That means... I stayed here on purpose too.

After all, it is quite unusual, extremely unusual, for a mortal to be "taken care of" in such a manner, isn't it?

What exactly does Faust intend to do? Why did he kill people from both the Whistling Chaos and the Hive in a brothel? What is my value in staying here? Am I bait? A trap? Can you...

figure it out?

Under the shroud of mist, do you want to see what consequences there will be if you try to torture or kill me, Miss Yvaine?

Your next chapter is on empire

"Ah, speaking of which, by now..."

The girl suddenly exclaimed: "Your people should have reached the Cyclops by now, madam... haven't they found Mr. Faust yet?"

"...You know quite a lot, Miss Margarete."

An unsettling smile appeared on the Queen Bee's beautiful face: "If I weren't certain you were an ordinary person, I would have to change my approach to talking with you."

"I never know much; I only make deductions."

Marlina smiled faintly: "Since you can't find Mr. Faust, the only confirmed location is the Cyclops Inn, so naturally, you would go there. However..."

She showed Yvaine a look of deep pity: "I wonder how much you value Mr. Faust and how many people you sent. In any case... I hope you didn't overestimate Mr. Faust."

After all... a very formidable and very irritable scholar is quietly reading in that room.

Her words and smile made Yvaine's expression grow darker. The woman tapped her temple with her forefinger, using a special communication spell to contact her subordinates who had tracked down the Cyclops Inn:

"Where are you now?"

"Boss? We're already at Faust's room door, ready to—"

"...No, stop, come back first, let's plan this carefully."

"But we are alre—ah!"

The sudden scream in her mind made Yvaine's heart jolt.

"What is this... where is the enemy? Who? Who is it! Come out! I will kill—"

After the furious roar was abruptly cut off, there was no more sound.

"Judging by your expression."

Marlina, whose hand was now trembling uncontrollably from the bone-crushing grip, reached into her pocket with great difficulty, rubbing something as she sighed regretfully: "It seems my warning came too late. I apologize, madam."

At this moment, Queen Bee had completely lost any interest in idle chatter with Marlina, and had no intention of disguising her true feelings.

She stared at Marlina with intense, barely restrained murderous intent, enunciating each word: "You, what exactly are you trying to do?"

Marlina smiled: "Does it matter? The law of adventurers... the strong rule. Mr. Faust has no obligation to explain his intentions to you, Miss Yvaine."

"Ha!" The woman let out a fierce, derisive laugh, "Do you really think he's Faust? Does he really think he's Faust?"

"To me, Mr. Faust has never been 'fake.' Besides..."

With her nearly crippled hand, Marlina shakily pulled out a bullet.

She used her other hand to eject the cylinder of the revolver, chuckling softly:

"Isn't it because of that very thought that you refrained… from doing anything more to me?"

Reckless behavior, mysterious intentions, and immeasurable power.

These factors combined might not necessarily make the Queen Bee cautious—so what if he has some power? Could he really oppose the entire Dispute Fortress?

But if such a wealthy, powerful, yet extremely arrogant individual, who completely disregards Dispute Fortress, has an unpredictable strength and purpose... and his name is Faust?

When these elements are associated with the name Faust, Yvaine's thoughts inevitably drifted to a place Marlina had anticipated—

What if that man truly is Faust?

Would you dare to kill, would you dare to persecute, the true Faust's servant?

The pain in her wrist made Marlina's breathing heavier, but she still managed to control the intense pain and placed the single bullet into the cylinder.

She snapped the cylinder back into the gun, admiring the beautiful revolver as she spoke:

"Madam, I mentioned that this gun is my reliance, didn't I?"

In Yvaine's moment of uncertainty, Marlina smiled and rested the revolver horizontally on her shoulder, the cylinder pressed against her arm.

"But I never said that this 'reliance' meant I could use it to protect myself."

The cylinder of the revolver rolled along the girl's arm, emitting a cold mechanical sound that her delicate voice could not mask.

As the gun slid across her hand, the cylinder continued to spin rapidly, and the frail Miss Margarete... pointed the barrel at her own temple.

Click.

The sound of the cylinder stopping and the hammer striking echoed simultaneously.

Yvaine stared in disbelief at the girl she could crush with a single finger, instinctively exclaiming: "You—"

Click.

The sound of the cylinder spinning empty made her heart stop, rendering her speechless.

"Oh my."

The girl, who had pulled the trigger without hesitation, remarked in surprise: "My luck is quite good."

Saying this, she pressed the hammer again, her finger once more on the trigger.

"Then next time..."

"You fucking insane!"

Yvaine roared, her face contorted with rage: "What are you doing! If you want to die, do it in front of your Faust!"

"Calm down... calm down, madam." The girl, with the gun still pointed at her temple, reassured her, "You probably think I've made other preparations for death, which is why you didn't knock the gun away, right? After all, you're an extraordinary being... saving me before I pull the trigger should be easy."

—Yvaine hadn't actually thought of that; she was simply stunned by Marlina's insane behavior.

"But for a fragile mortal," Marlina sighed softly, "death is always a simple matter, isn't it?"

As Yvaine realized she could easily disarm the girl, Marlina's words made her hesitate once more.

She wasn't a sorcerer with elaborate tricks; if this lunatic really had another means of suicide... if she really died right in front of her, and if that Faust was the real deal—

The conclusion drawn from the myriad of ambiguous clues made the mature beautiful woman's body start to tremble.

Ultimately, it was a simple choice—if that man wasn't Faust, and everything was just this wretched bitch's bluff, her lies would be exposed sooner or later, and Yvaine would have plenty of time to deal with her.

But if that man was truly Faust, and if his servant died like this...

"Miss Margarete..." Yvaine's face softened into a friendly smile, "What does Mr. Faust need? How can I assist—"

Click.

"Not the second time either?"

Marlina tilted her head slightly: "It seems my luck today is indeed quite good."

"...Whatever it is, my sister Snake Attendant and I will certainly—"

Click.

"Ah! The third time didn't hit either."

A jubilant smile appeared on the girl's face: "This is quite an extraordinary experience to share with Mr. Faust."

"You—"

Yvaine had just uttered a word in a trembling voice when she saw the lunatic before her... pull the trigger twice in succession!

Click, click.

The cylinder rotated to the last position that had not yet been reached.

"My luck is really quite good." The girl smiled as she spoke, "Don't you think so, madam?"

"...Just call me Yvaine, please."

The Queen Bee, her face even paler than Marlina's, murmured weakly.

"Ah, I am accustomed to addressing others with honorifics, Miss Yvaine."

Marlina ejected the cylinder, gently shook the revolver, and the last bullet fell to the ground with a crisp sound.

She handed the revolver to Yvaine, speaking with utmost sincerity and earnestness:

"Consider this ether firearm a token of our acquaintance, Miss Yvaine... I am somewhat embarrassed to admit, but I do have a small favor to ask of you."

As Marlina spoke, she turned to look at the silent Snake Attendant standing nearby, smiling once more.

Accompanying this smile was an unnatural, almost pathological… flush.

"In this city, I need an assistant to help me, to help Mr. Faust... understand a few things."

"In your opinion..."

The frail mortal girl placed the revolver into the powerful extraordinary being's hand.

She whispered softly:

"Who would be the perfect choice?"