I Woke Up from Hibernation and Found a Husband - Chapter 87
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 87
The electrical current pouring from Aaron’s fingertips pierced through the deer’s neck.
The throat, caved in to the size of an adult’s fist, was charred by the electricity—not even blood flowed from it.
“Magnificent work, sir.”
Someone spoke those words, but Aaron didn’t respond. Instead, he flexed his hand open and closed.
A tingling sensation lingered at his fingertips—the backlash from unleashing his ability.
‘This isn’t the feeling I’m after.’
He recalled the sensation of cleaving through a rampaging Beastman in a single stroke.
Something more exhilarating, more electrifying. A power that made even his fingertips tremble—how could he recapture that?
‘Perhaps I’ve lost my mind.’
Aaron wiped his face with the hand that hadn’t used his ability.
He’d thought it didn’t matter whether he had an ability or not. After all, it was an ability determined by Bianca’s hand.
He’d once believed that maintaining just enough power would suffice, but now that his strength had grown, he found it difficult to restrain the exhilaration surging within him.
‘This kind of hunting doesn’t satisfy me.’
People spoke of his leadership qualities after seeing him remain at the Royal Ball Hall for so long, but the truth was different.
He had simply enjoyed it. He couldn’t stop—the pleasure of slaughtering those who were once human, basking in the envious gazes of others.
‘Does the Crown Prince truly need to excel at hunting? Your Highness simply hunts well.’
Claire’s words suddenly came to mind. The woman who had answered the Empire’s Crown Prince—whom everyone watched carefully—with an unnervingly calm, expressionless face.
‘What was Claire’s expression when that Beastman died?’
Did you fear me?
“We move to the next area.”
Aaron clicked his tongue at the spreading distractions and urged his horse forward rapidly. He felt the electrical current dancing at his fingertips. His thirst for hunting was far from quenched.
* * *
‘Faster and more precise.’
In the training room prepared behind the Voltier Mansion in the Convent, Theodore—dressed in light training clothes—stood with his eyes closed, concentrating on the use of his ability.
‘I can’t rely solely on patterns of ascent and descent.’
After the incidents at the Royal Ball Hall and the Beast-Human District, he reflected on how he’d been using his power too straightforwardly.
‘Trying to grow stronger quickly at the Border only clouded my judgment.’
Combat at the Border was simple—preventing the monster horde attempting to cross the demarcation line from advancing further.
Since there were no civilian structures within the combat zone at the Border, wide-area attacks using his levitation ability proved highly efficient.
‘But against urban warfare and entities with high speed, it becomes a disadvantage.’
He decided to focus on the problem that came after levitation.
‘If I can control the trajectory of each levitated object individually, I can maximize my power even in confined spaces.’
Taking a deep breath, he lifted massive chunks of stone that composed the training room’s floor.
‘First, I’ll start by sending each fragment simultaneously toward all four sides of the training room.’
He was about to make his first attempt, exhaling slowly.
“Agh!”
At someone’s scream, Theodore turned his head urgently.
“Ebon?”
Ebon, pressed flat against the wall to avoid the fragments, quickly bowed his waist in alarm.
“I-I’m so sorry! I thought no one was here!”
He wore light training clothes with a wooden sword at his waist.
‘Did he come to train?’
Theodore found the unexpected visitor refreshing and caught him as he hurried to leave.
“It’s fine. Let’s train together.”
At those words, Ebon hesitated uncertainly before speaking.
“I’m sure I’ll only be in the way. I’m not as strong as the Young Master or Miss Claire.”
Seeing Ebon’s passive attitude, Theodore asked as if questioning what the problem was.
“We’re both training to grow stronger anyway. What’s there to be embarrassed about?”
At that, Ebon gave up on leaving the Training Grounds and walked toward Theodore, wooden sword in hand.
‘Hmm, the floor’s a mess because of me.’
Watching him walk carefully across the uneven ground, Theodore scratched his cheek apologetically.
“The floor is pretty damaged, isn’t it? It must interfere with sword training.”
“Not at all. I use the sword simply because it’s easy to obtain. For now, I’m focusing on training my mobility.”
After watching Claire fight at the Harbor Market, Ebon had long since realized he couldn’t match her level.
“Since using raw power is impossible for me, I thought I should at least not become a liability with my feet.”
“I see.”
“Still, my feet are fairly quick, so I should be able to help considerably.”
Seeing him clench his fists earnestly as if pleading for belief, Kenneth suddenly realized Ebon was younger than Claire.
‘Now I understand why Grandfather favors Ebon.’
The way he clearly grasped his own strengths and weaknesses while striving for improvement struck Theodore positively.
“Ah, in that case, I have a good training method in mind.”
A training regimen that could develop both Ebon’s mobility and his own control. As Theodore’s lips curved upward, Ebon trembled with tension.
* * *
“Haa.”
Hours later, they lay sprawled across the chaotic Training Room.
“Good work.”
“I feel like I’m dying.”
At Ebon’s honest response, Theodore burst into laughter. The training method they’d chosen was a sort of tag game using dozens of balls made from bundled training gloves—Theodore intercepted while Ebon dodged and fled.
“How did you even think of making balls from gloves? If I’d known earlier, I wouldn’t have ruined the floor.”
“No, actually, the uneven surface made the training more effective.”
Perhaps because they’d completed such intense physical training, the distance between the two, which had felt awkward without Claire, seemed to have closed slightly.
“Ebon.”
“Yes?”
“You said you were pursuing your younger brother.”
“Yes······”
“Have you thought about what you’ll do if you actually meet him?”
As Theodore posed the question, he thought of Gregory. Could he truly control these violent emotions surging within him when standing before him?
“······At first, I planned to convince him to leave the Market, even if I had to beat him. But.”
Ebon removed his mask.
Sweat beaded across my face, heated from the intensity of training. Droplets traced down the scar that covered half of my visage.
“When he only injured me, I was willing to forgive him. Despite what happened, we were still brothers. But.”
Eris and Erika.
Two souls who had become one, driven to madness by their tragic union.
“That’s changed now. The one I thought was my brother has already become a monster.”
Matthew, seduced by his own abilities, repeating cruel experiments and committing massacres—the weight of his sins had long since shifted beyond redemption.
“That’s something I can no longer forgive.”
The boy’s gaze lingered on the ceiling as if lost in thought.
“When I see him, I’ll land a solid punch on that smug face of his. I’ll demand to know why he made such a spectacle of living. I’ll tell him plainly—you’re truly pathetic.”
Theodore turned his eyes toward Ebon’s flushed gaze.
‘What was our first meeting like?’
Ebon, wrapped entirely in a rigid mask and gloves, had maintained a cold demeanor without uttering a single word. Yet beneath that exterior lay a boy capable of warmth, righteous and formidable.
‘We’re all changing.’
Even when I doubted my own capacity to improve, witnessing those around me striving and advancing kindled my own resolve.
Theodore rose from his position and nodded with satisfaction.
“That’s impressive.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Yes, it is. I should do the same. Land a punch first, think later.”
He spoke to Ebon, who had risen to his feet with a bewildered expression.
“For that, we’ll both need intensive training.”
“Ugh.”
It was only later that the Butler discovered the Training Grounds reduced to tatters and let out a cry of dismay.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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