"Of course, all of this was inspired by meeting the beautiful C.C."
C.C curled her lip. She admitted she could not beat Ask in a war of words, so she simply stopped talking.
But Ask was not about to let her stay silent.
"An ageless, immortal witch. Now I believe it completely. The bullet went straight through your head, yet there's not a trace of a wound left. Your ability to recover really is astonishing!"
Ask offered a few words of praise, then reached for C.C's body again, continuing to tease her.
Her gaze turned cold once more.
"You bastard, haven't you had enough fun yet?!"
Ask smiled without answering. He would not stop until he got what he wanted.
"Tch!"
Then C.C fell silent, biting down hard on her lip. Even when tiny traces of blood appeared, she endured the pain.
"Mm..."
As he heard those soft sounds coming more and more frequently, Ask decided to turn up the pressure.
"Say, even a bullet through your body won't kill you, and your wounds heal on their own. But if your body were taken apart, would you still be alive? Would a severed arm grow back?"
Ask's wicked smile sent a chill down anyone who saw it.
Those devilish words lingered in C.C's ears. She knew this man really could do it. Taking her apart... the mere thought terrified her.
For the first time, C.C felt afraid of a man's words.
"You... pervert!"
"Oh? You still have the strength to get angry?"
Ask gave Monica a look, and she produced a saw from somewhere.
One glance at the uneven teeth along its sharp edge was enough to make anyone tremble involuntarily.
Ask deliberately moved the saw over C.C's arm a couple of times, pretending he was about to cut. Her expression changed dramatically. She squeezed her eyes shut and cried out:
"No-!"
Her voice was shrill and thin, like the desperate scream of an ordinary woman.
C.C kept her eyes closed and clenched her teeth. She was frightened and wanted to escape it all.
The moment she felt something touch her skin, she hurriedly turned her head away. That terrified face bore no resemblance to the fearless, immortal witch she had been at the beginning.
Yet there was no pain. On the contrary, it felt very comfortable.
Puzzled, C.C slowly opened her eyes. The warmth against her arm came not from the saw, but from Ask's hand.
He had already tossed the saw behind him, and C.C let out a long breath of relief.
Ask found her reaction rather amusing.
"Relax, little wildcat. How could I bear to do something so cruel to you?"
But the delight on his face betrayed him.
He would stop at nothing to achieve his aims. Even if he despised something deep down, he would grit his teeth and do it. That was C.C's assessment of Ask.
If I keep defying him, he might really...
C.C began to give in. Originally, she had only wanted to knock Ask down a peg. Anyone would resent being forcibly dragged here and treated this way, and want revenge.
But C.C had not expected Ask to be so ruthless.
First he had subjected her to unbearable embarrassment, then shot her in the forehead without another word.
He had even considered taking her apart.
C.C was afraid. She had wanted to toy with this man, but she was the one who ended up yielding.
In all her years of life, this was the first time she had met someone so "troublesome."
"It's Code..."
C.C had lost her earlier defiance. This man could not be judged by ordinary standards, so she decided to give in.
"Code? Could you explain it in detail?"
Seeing that C.C had yielded, Ask had no reason to keep tormenting her. He stopped what his hands were doing.
"Code is..."
The two of them talked in the secret chamber for seven full days. Each day, apart from the time he needed to show the maids the "EU campaign strategy" he was working on, Ask spent all his time beside C.C.
After fear and despair, one had to offer a little hope. After the stick, a little sugar. That was how to gain a firmer hold on someone's heart.
As for how to bring this immortal witch completely under his control, Ask had already "felt out" the answer on the first day-"open the heart she had kept sealed away for so long."
Put simply, he needed to have heart-to-heart conversations with her, let her grow accustomed to his presence, and make her come to like this "life."
Seven days later, with his departure for the EU only a few days away, Ask had to leave the cell to make preparations.
C.C looked unhappily at Ask as he prepared to leave.
"I've told you everything there is to tell. Are you still going to keep me locked up here?"
Ask turned back and smiled.
"Of course. I'm also planning to take you to the EU battlefield afterward. Your training won't end that easily. At the very least, I need to make you obey my orders completely."
C.C was still a ticking time bomb. She was immortal and knew many of his secrets. Only by keeping her imprisoned at his side could he feel at ease.
"Tch! What a detestable man!"
C.C no longer treated Ask as a boy, but as a man.
Ask said nothing. He was about to turn and leave when something suddenly occurred to him. He stopped and looked back at C.C.
"Speaking of which, I heard an interesting word."
C.C raised her head and looked at Ask in confusion.
"..."
It was the murmur he had heard after "killing" C.C on the first day.
C.C's expression changed instantly, her face filling with shock.
"Why... do you know that...?"
There was a trace of vulnerability in her voice. It was the weakness buried deepest in her heart, beneath layer upon layer of disguise, and the final hammer blow that would shatter her defenses.
That word brought back memories of the pain and sorrow she had once suffered. C.C began to tremble.
"So it really is an important word. Is it your name?"
Ask walked back to C.C and reached out to stroke her cheek.
Only after feeling the warmth of his hand did C.C recover a little, though her voice still trembled.
"You... where did you hear it...?"
Ask smiled warmly.
"You said it in your dreams. It's a lovely name. Compared to C.C, it sounds more like a human being-a girl who makes people want to cherish her."
Hearing those slightly teasing words, C.C felt inexplicably happy. Her breathing slowly steadied, but without her noticing, both her tone and her state of mind had changed.
They had grown a little gentler.
"So young, and already sweet-talking girls at every opportunity."
"There aren't many women worth sweet-talking. And you, ..., are one of them."
Hearing him softly call her true name again made C.C tremble.
A trace of tears glimmered in her eyes, and there was a hint of joy on her face.
"Could you... say it again? With genuine feeling..."
"..."
Ask granted C.C's request. This time, his voice was very gentle, filled with care and tenderness.
As long as it achieved his goal, it did not matter what role he had to play.
C.C smiled-a sincere smile of gratitude.
Finally, Ask kissed C.C on the cheek, unlocked the chains around her wrists and ankles, then turned and left.
C.C remained alone in the secret chamber. The door was not left open; Ask had not allowed her to leave.
Yet her state of mind was entirely different from before. Much of her anger and resentment had faded, and a sense of happiness had even begun to rise within her. Still, her feelings remained complicated.
She knew what this feeling was. But she was an ageless, immortal witch, while Ask was only an ordinary human. There could be no future for them.
Even so, C.C wanted to cherish these feelings for the limited time they had.
Looking in the direction Ask had gone, C.C murmured to herself:
"Perhaps I should withdraw from your plans, Marianne."
Before you continue