The Villain's Redemption

"If I say, no. Would you believe me?"

"So not a war… then an alliance?" she continued asking. Was he here because of the dark ones, too?

"Yes."

"You are surpassingly honest."

"How did you know I'm not lying?" he retorted.

She pursed her lips. This man really liked to retort stuff. How infuriating.

"Why would you ally yourself in such a weak kingdom?" she asked.

"Weak? Only you would say that."

"Humans are weaker by nature. They might have the potential to wield greater power, but they usually let their own demons destroy it. They always destroy each other for power."

"You speak as if you are not one of us."

She smiled and didn't say anything. Seeing this, he continued, "The Dark Ones are slowly making their presence known. They are more dangerous than anything else in this world."

"And yet the humans are struggling amongst themselves." She added. Of course, the male leads are different from all those people. This man had his own destiny. Usually, the protagonists were destined for something bigger. "They wanted to know who is more powerful," she added. "Isn't it… ironic? Humans… tend to destroy each other because of power. However… without greed, humans would have no ambitions and therefore would never grow."

Silence surrounded them.

Both of them knew that she was speaking the truth.

Humanity is a complicated thing.

For a few seconds, both of them didn't say anything to each other. They just stared at the lake, enamored by the reflection of the moon that was visible from the lake's clear water.

"Your highness… why don't you ally yourself with me?"

"Pardon?"

"Since you are looking for an ally then… why not make a deal with me?"

"You— "

It seems that her words totally surprised him.

"You wanted to work with the Lycans?"

Ah, it seems that this was because of the church; she concluded when she heard the shaking in his voice. "Is there something wrong?" she asked.

"What about the church?"

"The church?"

"You are their saintess… if you work with us…"

"Ah…"

"The church would hunt you down."

"My aim is to help eliminate the dark ones. What does this have to do with the church?"

"They wouldn't let you work with me."

"Did you think I need their permission to do something?"

Again, he turned silent.

"Saintess… you sure know how to put people in a very challenging situation."

She chuckled. "I am stronger than this kingdom alone, your highness." Of course, she was only boasting. However, if Mo Li joined her, she was confident that the two of them would be enough to fight armies of the demons. They could easily help the Lycans.

"And in exchange?" he asked.

"At least you are sane enough to know that I am not doing this for free."

"Nothing in this world is free."

"True," she smiled. "In exchange, promise that you would not wage war against humans." To be more specific, against her Larsen Family.

"I thought you hated the humans?"

"Humans aren't my enemy. The Dark ones are."

"So you don't want me to kill humans."

"On the contrary, I want you to unite with humans. I want you to work with them."

"Humans are treacherous. If the Lycans didn't have any other choice, we won't — forgive me." He cleared his throat as if he just said something unforgivable. "I didn't mean to say that."

"Your highness… as your ally. I want to know what is bothering you." That was an order. "Let me rephrase that. As your strongest ally, I want to know what is going on behind the scenes. Why did you come here and why did you want to ally yourself with the treacherous humans?"

"That— "

There is more to his story, and it was making her curious. She didn't think she was being nosy. She would call this… gathering information.

"That woman who tried to poison the prince… wasn't she your mate?"

"How did you know that?"

"You have… a peculiar smell that is similar to hers." Of course, she was only lying. She wanted to know the real reason why this man rejected Eleonor. And hopefully, she wanted to clear the misunderstanding between them.

"You can still see our bond?"

"Bond?"

"It's um… never mind."

"Anyway, I notice your smell. So I thought you were brothers and sisters. However, I haven't heard that you had a sister. So I assumed you were mates. And it seems that I am right?" Why does it feel like she was trying to scam him?

As the male lead, can he tell if she was lying?

That would be very scary!

"She was my mate. Our bond was already broken," he said.

"I am not an expert, but I knew enough about Lycans. I am curious about this bond, but I knew you wouldn't tell me a thing, even if I force you to."

"You are right."

"Then… it should be alright if I kill her, right?"

"You — " There it was. That intimidating air could easily suffocate any normal human being.

She immediately added. "So you still cared about her."

"You cannot touch her."

"Right."

"Even if she is no longer— "

"Your highness… do you still love her?"

"I don't think that question is relevant to our alliance, saintess. I would advise you to mind your own business."

He was indirectly calling her nosy! She could only sigh inwardly. She decided to stop asking questions, for now.

"Tell me about the dark ones." She changed the topic. Rhea could feel relief rushed towards the man.

"They have been attacking the surrounding villages. People — Humans think it was the rogues."

"Oh?"

"The attacks have increased in the past few days. In fact, it is not just the dark ones but demons."

"But how did they— "

"I have the same questions. They shouldn't be able to terrorize the villagers, after all, we are guarding the gates."

Rhea bit her lower lips as she thought of the coincidences.

The Rogues from the south, the dark ones, and demons from the north.

Was it just a coincidence that the rogues and the dark ones are targeting the Lycans at the same time?