The Villain Carries the Holy Sword – Chapter 68.2

Chapter 68.2: A Journey for Spring (4)

Cain rubbed his thumb and forefinger together, wiping them, and opened his mouth.

“How does it feel to be back home?”

Rude looked up and thought for a moment, then swallowed the cookie and opened his mouth.

“I don’t really know.”

“Why?”

“I haven’t been inside the count’s castle much before.”

“Then?”

“I lived in a separate building with my mother. You see, the other nobles were too…… judgmental……”

It seemed that Mia’s commoner background had affected even Rude.

Oleciren clicked her tongue, and Isoel frowned deeply.

It was frustrating to see that even though they had lent the Wareham name to Mia, she wasn’t using it and was suffering like this.

But they couldn’t say anything against her noble intentions. Especially not to the child.

Cain picked up another cookie and gave it to Rude.

“Kill them.”

“……Pardon?”

Cain pointed his chin towards the window.

In that direction was the Ironheart Bridge, where Rude had launched his attack for the sake of terrorism.

And if one were to go far beyond that, they would reach the Great Wall of winter. Cain, a warrior of the Great Wall and the one who had saved Rude, clenched his fist as the first son of Ethelred.

“You have the power.”

Oleciren, who had been listening, hit Cain’s arm.

“What are you saying to the child!”

“Child? He’s a warrior.”

Rude’s eyes widened.

Ever since returning to the count’s castle, everyone, including Mia and Oleciren, had treated him like a child.

But only Cain saw Rude as an equal, a fellow warrior.

“Rude Crowl.”

Cain’s purple eyes were cold.

But the affection contained within them remained the same, even across different timelines.

Rude keenly sensed that warmth.

“Count Garick fought to protect you and your mother.”

In Airian, where the wall between commoners and nobles was thicker than in other continents, it was unprecedented for a count to take a commoner as his wife.

Count Garick had always fought against such a world for love, and the result was Rude standing before him.

—The first thing my always-stoic father told me with a smile was that we have molten iron in our hearts.

Cain superimposed the image of the young Rude with the image of the warrior Rude who had sacrificed himself at the Great Wall.

‘In the previous timeline, Count Garick cherished Rude as well.’

However, he must have become a puppet in Arian’s schemes and lost both Mia and Rude. But he would have helped Rude escape somehow, and while resisting the brainwashing, he must have left those words for Rude.

“And now it’s your turn. You protect your mother and your father.”

Cain’s existence had completely changed the future of the Crowl family. However, for someone with the heart of a warrior, some things would never change.

Tap.

Cain pointed his index finger at Rude’s beating heart.

Rude blinked for a moment.

His eyes were bloodshot, but he didn’t shed any tears. He might have looked like a child on the outside, but his heart was that of a strong warrior.

“Yes!”

“Whew— But don’t actually kill anyone.”

Oleciren added with a sigh.

She couldn’t help but let it slide because it was Cain, but it would be a huge problem if Rude actually killed the nobles under the Crowl Count.

Rude nodded at that.

“I know that much. I understood what Cain-nim meant as having the resolve to kill someone to protect my people.”

Swoosh━—

Oleciren smiled and stroked Rude’s hair.

“You really are a warrior, just like Cain said.”

“……”

Isoel smiled and nodded at the sight. Cain, on the other hand, turned his head towards the window for no reason.

Oleciren narrowed her eyes at him.

“Don’t tell me, you really meant for him to kill them?”

“……No.”

“You took a long time to answer.”

“You’re overthinking it.”

“Then?”

“I was just expressing my gratitude for bringing me these cookies made by a pastry chef I could never find in Ethelred. Do you have a problem with that?”

Cain said with a straight face, holding up a cookie. It was the same pose Oleciren had made when she was teasing him earlier.

She burst into laughter as if she couldn’t believe him.

“You remember exactly how I teased you and then you get me back. Who would have thought that such a person would be the successor of Ethelred? My, my.”

“Ahem.”

Cain, realizing that his response was a bit weak, didn’t say anything more and just munched on the cookie.

As the four of them continued to joke around—

Knock, knock—

“I’ll get it.”

Isoel stood up at the sound of knocking. It was Mia at the door, holding a silver tray with cookies.

She entered with a warm smile to Isoel and then widened her eyes at the sight of Rude.

Then, seeing the Crowl family’s silver tray on the bed, a faint smile spread across her face.

“Our son is faster than his mother.”

“No, Mother, you told me before that I should bring these if a valuable guest ever comes.”

Cain stood up from his seat again.

Mia bowed her head in greeting and sat down next to Rude. Then, she spoke to Oleciren, who was sitting on the bed.

“Princess Oleciren, if my son has been disrespectful in any way, I apologize as his mother.”

Oleciren waved her hands.

“Not at all. I even patted his head earlier.”

“Please feel free to speak comfortably.”

“You as well, Lady Mia. It’s not good for the mistress of Crowl to be so formal within Crowl Castle. And…”

Oleciren pointed to Cain, who was standing awkwardly next to Isoel.

“As you can see from before, there’s that person who doesn’t know how to treat others.”

Mia smiled wryly at Cain. It showed how comfortable both the princess and Cain were with each other.

“Very well, Your Highness.”

“Good.”

The two exchanged faint smiles.

It was a sight that was only possible because Oleciren didn’t care whether someone was a commoner or not.

Squeeze—

Mia held Rude’s hand, which was next to hers. It wasn’t the soft hand of a child but a rough one, calloused from hardship.

With that feeling, she spoke up courageously.

“Actually, I have a favor to ask, and that’s why I came to see you.”

“What is it?”

It must be a request related to her status.

With the princess, the Ethelred, and the Wareham Count all present, any controversy—

“I would like for my son and my husband to become close.”

“……Pardon?”

At those completely unexpected words, everyone, including Rude, widened their eyes.

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