The Villain Carries the Holy Sword – Chapter 88.2

Chapter 88.2: What I Wish For Spring (4)

He turned around.

Gesturing for Wayne to step aside, he faced Cain directly.

Undeterred, Cain continued,

“At first, I didn’t understand what he meant.”

“And that’s why you acted so arrogantly.”

Bold but not disrespectful – that was Cain Ethelred’s reputation.

Hybolt had mistakenly judged that Cain’s presumptuous behavior, which seemed so natural, was wrong, but in reality, it was the opposite.

Cain had played his part perfectly.

“Your Majesty, have you lost your emotions?”

“Why do you say that?”

“It’s a human characteristic to speak little, but it’s strange that it takes so much time.”

From the beginning, Cain had been observing Hybolt’s reactions.

The change in his tone.

His reaction to the threat of beheading.

The look in his eyes during their sharp exchange.

“As if you’re following a set of rules on how to behave in certain situations.”

“Are you testing me?”

Just as Hybolt had tested Oleciren to confirm she’s a witch, was Cain probing him to elicit a desired response?

However, Cain shook his head.

“I’m dissecting you.”

“Dissecting?”

“I don’t know why Your Majesty’s emotions are dead. And frankly, I don’t care.”

“Oh?”

The charade was no longer necessary.

With an impassive expression, Hybolt crossed his arms behind his back.

“In fact, it might be better that they’re gone.”

“Why? What if my emotions compel me to cherish Oleciren, deem her worthy, and abdicate the throne immediately?”

Cain pointed to his heart and head with each hand.

Then, he drew an X over his heart.

“Just because emotions are absent doesn’t mean your mind is dead. You’re still capable of rational judgment, weighing benefits and losses. Wouldn’t that make you an ideal partner for negotiations?”

“So it’s not a probing question but a dissection aimed at understanding my motivations.”

Hybolt inwardly revised his assessment of Cain upward.

Contrary to the rumors of him being solely a Sword Master, Cain’s true strength seemed to stem from the intellect represented by his left hand.

“You’re half right.”

“And what did I get wrong?”

“I can still calculate gains and losses, but I don’t understand why I should choose the former.”

“…….”

Cain frowned.

Hybolt’s condition was worse than he had anticipated.

‘I expected as much, but this is severe.’

There were all kinds of people on the Great Wall, who were always facing death.

Among them were many whose hearts had turned to stone, perfectly fitting the description of “dead hearts.”

The ever-present threat of death.

A bleak future.

A despair-filled past.

In the Great Wall, where one was constantly pressured to fight and survive, sanity was an anomaly.

While some managed to reclaim their capacity for joy, sorrow, and pleasure, most didn’t.

Nevertheless, as Lord East of the Great Wall, Cain had to lead them. The first method he employed was the “exchange of benefits.”

No matter how dead one’s heart, as long as their mind remained intact, they could be motivated by gain.

‘But Hybolt has passed that stage.’

Hybolt Rune Airian, a ‘king with a dead heart’ who wouldn’t be strange to end his own life at any time.

Cain decided it was time for his ‘second method’.

Hybolt stared blankly at Cain with his vacant, pale eyes.

“I merely function based on past decisions. Like a puppet, I simply react as I was designed to.”

“Why?”

“…….”

Hybolt remained silent once more. However, for a fleeting moment, his gaze shifted towards Oleciren.

Or rather, a gaze that seemed to be looking at someone who resembled her.

Cain hit the nail on the head.

“Everwyn Ross?”

This time, Hybolt frowned naturally.

“She disliked being called by her maiden name. Address her as Carla Audrey or Your Majesty the Queen.”

“And what about your current Queen?”

He inquired about Olivia’s mother, his second wife.

“……It’s not that I don’t feel any guilt, but it was unavoidable.”

His words clearly revealed where Hybolt’s true affections lay.

Cain addressed the man who seemed to embody solitude itself.

“You didn’t answer Oleciren even after she asked twice. You simply deflected her questions.”

Most people would have confessed by now, but not Hybolt.

“I don’t want to talk about it. If it were that easy to share, I wouldn’t have made those involved swear the ‘Oath of Trust’.”

“I need to hear it.”

“You spoke of benefits, yes?”

“Indeed.”

“Then present me with a benefit I desire, something that outweighs the value of the secret you’re so curious about.”

Cain grinned at his words.

Hybolt thought Cain looked nothing like Edmund, but that smile was identical.

Brushing back his flowing black hair, Cain declared,

“I’ll bring you back to life.”

A chilling killing intent emanated from Cain’s entire being.

Clang━.

Wayne Siker instantly reached for his sword, attempting to intercept the aura directed at Hybolt.

However, he couldn’t completely block it.

Whooosh━.

Like a biting wind from the eastern snowfields, it washed over Hybolt, sending a jolt through him.

Cain’s killing intent was laced with an overwhelming sense of awe and terror that shook him to his core.

Maintaining a façade of composure, he retorted,

“I’d rather die. What do you mean by bringing me back to life━”

Shing.

“It means exactly that. Not killing you, but reviving you.”

A gleaming Agweska, sharp as if forged in moonlight, was drawn. Wayne Siker responded in kind, unsheathing his own sword.

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