The Hero Stole My Lover, So I Decided to Steal the Hero's Lover Instead - Chapter 68-69

Chapter 68: The Hero Party’s POV

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It had taken quite some time just to reach the royal capital, but the journey from there to Zwein took even longer. At last, they arrived in Zwein.

Just how many days did that take…

The moment he stepped into the town, a sense of nostalgia washed over him.

Ah, I was born and raised here…

The sun had already set, and the moon floated in the sky, shining brightly. It was night.

“What shall we do?”

Ronnie asked. The four of them wore hoods to keep their faces hidden. Hooded travelers weren’t particularly rare, so those around them likely assumed they were an adventurer party.

“Man, I’m beat…” 

Daryl said. 

“Let’s get a room.”

The four found a cheap but fairly clean-looking inn and went inside. If they chose a more expensive place, the money wasn’t the only issue, but their cheap-looking hooded cloaks would make them stand out. They wanted to avoid drawing suspicion.

The four rented a single room, and Cain decided to go out alone.

“Huh? Where you goin’?”

Daryl asked, flopping onto the bed.

“I’m going to see Alicia.”

“Don’t cause any trouble.”

Ronnie added as he collapsed onto another bed. The three of them seemed utterly exhausted. But Cain was just as tired. He simply ignored it because he wanted to see Alicia as soon as possible.

“I know. I’ll be back soon.”

With that, Cain left the inn.

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He still remembered Alicia’s address well enough. However, there was no guarantee she still lived at that house. If she had moved… How would he find her? His head throbbed with unease as he arrived at Alicia’s house.

For now, the house was still standing. It hadn’t been torn down. A faint light shone from within, so someone was clearly living there. Whether that someone was Alicia, though—he couldn’t be sure.

Knock knock.

He tapped the door knocker. But no matter how long he waited, the door didn’t open.

Is she pretending not to be home? Or maybe she didn’t hear the knock…?

After some hesitation, he pressed his ear against the door to try and hear voices inside. There was no one around, so doing something suspicious wouldn’t be a problem. He thought he heard a voice—just barely.

A woman’s voice. Alicia’s voice. But he didn’t want to believe it was her. Because that voice sounded so weak, as if gasping, like it might dissolve into the air and disappear at any moment…

No. That’s impossible. This can’t be happening…

With a trembling hand, he tried the door. Naturally, it was locked. Without hesitation, Cain activated the magic spell Unlock. It was a simple lock, and with a soft click, it opened immediately.

He unlocked the door and stepped inside—

“What the—!?”

On the bed, Alicia and Luke were lying naked in each other’s arms. The shock was so great, Cain was speechless. He blinked several times.

Is this… Is this a nightmare?

His head throbbed violently. His vision twisted and distorted. He felt dizzy.

It’s the same.

Cain thought to himself. 

It’s just like that time. When I was embracing Sheryl, and Luke walked in on us…

The situation was identical. The sin he had once committed was now being returned to him. Was this what people meant by karma?

Karma… No, it’s not like I did anything wrong—

“How does it feel, getting your lover stolen?”

A voice whispered behind him, laced with malice.

“—Ugh!?”

He spun around, reaching for his holy sword—but before he could draw it, his right arm was slashed. It dangled loosely at his side.

“Oh dear, my mistake. She’s not your lover anymore, is she? She’s your ex-lover.”

The woman standing there was the same suspicious beauty he had spoken to through the communication crystal.

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Chapter 69: The Hero Party’s POV

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“Oh dear, my mistake. She’s not your lover anymore, is she? She’s your ex-lover.”

The woman standing there was the same suspicious beauty he had spoken to through the communication crystal. Even though he had been shaken and caught off guard, the fact that she managed to get behind Cain convinced him once again—this woman was no ordinary person.

Before she could land a second blow, Cain leapt to the side. He rolled across the ground as he landed, but immediately sprang back to his feet and at the same time, raised his Holy Sword.

The woman glanced around inside Alicia’s house with a smirk, then kicked the front door shut with a loud bang before turning to face Cain.

“You… Who are you…?”

Cain asked, but the woman did not answer. She simply twisted her terrifyingly beautiful face into a creepy smile. However, if one looked closely, her eyes weren’t focused on Cain. They were fixed on the Holy Sword.

The Holy Sword… No way—

The Holy Sword was a weapon especially effective against demons. To humans, it wasn’t all that different from a regular sword, just sharper than most. But the fact that she was paying this much attention to it meant…

“You’re a demon…Aren’t you?”

“Indeed I am.”

The woman grinned and acknowledged it.

“I am Sharon. Leader of the Demon Kingdom… The Demon King.”

“—!?”

Cain was shocked. He wouldn’t have thought that the Demon King—the Hero’s mortal enemy—was here, of all places…

Cain understood everything in that moment.

She’s the one! This Demon King is behind everything! 

Everything… Alicia breaking up with him… Cain being forced to kill Sheryl… Becoming a wanted criminal…  Everything was the fault of this woman called Sharon, the Demon King. That was what he decided to believe. That was what he told himself to believe.

“If I just kill you… If I can kill you, everything will go back to the way it was!”

Cain charged at Sharon. As he raised the Holy Sword, he noticed that its blade had lost some of its former brilliance. Once, it had radiated with divine light—now it was dull.

(Wha-…Why…?

The Holy Sword’s power was affected by the wielder’s mental state. Which meant—Cain’s current state of mind was as dulled and rusted as the blade itself.

He’d been failing repeatedly lately. His life wasn’t going well. He knew he was mentally exhausted. But still—he hadn’t realized it was this bad.

“Ah, how pitiful. You must’ve gone completely mad.”

“Silence!”

Activating his latent abilities, he closed the distance in an instant. Then, he raised the Holy Sword high to strike her down—

“Hmm. You’ve weakened enough that I can deal with you easily now.”

Sharon caught the Holy Sword with her hand. Of course, she wasn’t barehanded. A black liquid coated her palm like a glove. The dull light of the Holy Sword tried to blast it away, but was instead consumed by the multiplying black fluid.

“There. I’ll be taking this.”

Cain’s grip on the sword loosened. A laser fired from Sharon’s fingertips pierced through his hand.

“Gghhhuuuuaaahhh!”

Cain screamed, crouching down and clutching his injured hand. The Holy Sword had been taken from him with shocking ease. Without it, there was no way to kill the Demon King. What could he do now—?

Wait! There’s no need to kill the Demon King!

If he could give up on Alicia, then it wouldn’t matter if he fled in disgrace. He could leave Zwein immediately, and the four of them could head for the neighboring country.

But—

Give up on Alicia…? No. I don’t want that. I can’t accept that!

Even so, his instincts—his body—were already trying to flee from the Demon King. Cain hadn’t ordered himself to move, but his body stood on its own, turned its back to the Demon King, and bolted.

Don’t run! Don’t run! Don’t run!

He told himself that over and over, but his body was honest to its instinct. It made no excuses. It was consumed by fear. There were no other options left.

At the very least… If I can just grab Alicia before I run…

He somehow managed to evade the Demon King and break into Alicia’s house. In an instant, he would tear Luke to pieces, grab Alicia, cradle her in his blood-soaked arms—carry her in a princess lift—and escape from Zwein.

He would come like a prince coming to rescue his princess.

That was the “plan” he had crafted… When suddenly, thud, a heavy impact slammed into his body.

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