Card Apprentice Daily Log

Chapter 2621: Gainover’s Dilemma

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Southern Region, Southern Capital, Guild Association Mall, Warehouse No. 234, Limitless Celestial Domain, Gainover Manor, Mirror Maze Dimension

As Anna revealed the truth piece by piece, her glare at Gainover’s incarnation burned with a fury fierce enough to dry the oceans.

”You say you never meant to hurt me or my mother. You keep insisting that you always had my best interests in mind. But we both know what you are thinking right now, how you can use me to get out of this situation and reclaim what you lost once my mother agreed to divorce you. You are nothing but a selfish bastard who cares only about himself and will say anything to save his own ass,” Anna shouted through clenched teeth, even as she remained helplessly restrained by the replica Annas. ”You know what’s funny? I was expecting the man my mother once fell in love with to be exceptional, but so far you have been nothing but a huge disappointment. That settles it, then. I have better taste in men than my mother. I suppose this trip was not a total waste after all. I cannot wait to rub it in her face the next time we meet.”

Even though she was captured and overpowered, Anna remained confident, as ever. Gainover believed that the source of her confidence was her young boyfriend, the Southern Hope. He would be lying if he claimed he was not afraid of the Southern Hope breaking into his dimension to rescue her. Even with Anna taken hostage, he was not foolish enough to underestimate a card apprentice who had slain nearly four dozen elite demigods trained under the masters. Especially now that he knew Anna was aware of the entire, unadulterated truth behind the incident involving him and the Southern Royal Family, she would never again fall for his slippery tongue.

Moreover, until he was far away from this godforsaken region, he did not dare to relax in the slightest. The last time he was in the Southern Region, he was lucky to leave with his life, and now he didn’t dare to make the mistake he had avoided last time.

...

Listening to Anna, I could not help but lift my brows in surprise. The Southern Royal Family had done an excellent job concealing their internal turmoil. I supposed they believed their version of events was far preferable to the truth that a third party had infiltrated the royal family and nearly exploited it for their own ambition. The truth did not cast the royal family in a favorable light; it revealed an incompetence starkly at odds with the omniscient image held in the minds of their citizens.

I also could not believe that the Southern Princess I knew had once been hopelessly in love with this lady-boy. He was several centuries old, yet still lacked any manly features. I still do not understand the appeal some women feel toward men with such girlish bodies. I can imagine a few men taking an interest in them, mistaking them for tomboys until they notice their bulging Adam’s apples.

Whatever the case, it was not as though I was in any position to judge the Southern Princess. Of all the problems before me, my priority was securing my three women, making sure they knew they were mine and there was no escaping me—

That sounded psychopath stalker-ish in my mind. Well, those three bring out the best and the worst in me.

...

”What are you waiting for? Finish it already,” Anna shouted at Gainover’s incarnation, demanding him to be done with it. But when she saw him bite his lip in hesitation, she sneered. ”There is no point in waiting for Wyatt. He will not come. Before coming here, just in case, I made him agree that he would not come to my aid no matter what. Your only move now is to kill me, and then he will kill you.”

”My dear daughter, it pains me to know how little you think of me, and it pains me even more to see you like this. Please understand, sweetie, Daddy does not want to do this. They left Daddy no choice. Daddy wants to resolve this without either of us getting hurt. So please, cooperate with Daddy,” Gainover said, continuing his farce despite Anna having revealed the truth. It cost him nothing to maintain the act, and on the off chance that it worked, he would have hit the lottery.

Yet even as he spoke, his mind wandered, wondering what was taking the Southern Hope so long to come to Anna’s rescue. He could not help but ponder whether Southern Hope would truly watch Anna die. He had been hoping the Southern Hope would break into his dimension to save her; only then could he begin negotiating his release from a position of dominance. But as more time passed, his confidence eroded, and panic slowly crept in, forcing him to second-guess himself.

Gainover truly did not want to summon the Southern Hope to initiate negotiations, but he knew time was on his side. His plan was to escape before more parties became involved, particularly the Southern Royal Family, and especially the Southern Ruler. He was waiting for the chance to settle the score with him for meddling with both of his children.

Having waited long enough for Southern Hope and getting no response, Gainover ordered his incarnation and the replica Annas to bring Anna to the heart of his Mirror Maze dimension, where he lay hidden. This was to further secure his hostage, just in case the Southern Hope intended to take matters into his own hands and attempt a rescue.

Once the replica Annas dragged Anna to the center of the Mirror Maze, Gainover proceeded to call out the Southern Hope for negotiations, having concluded that the latter would not come seeking him, even under threat to Anna’s life. Rather than pressing aggressively, he decided to begin softly. However, at that very moment, Anna, still helplessly restrained by the replica Annas, suddenly summoned forth a mysterious energy from her body and blasted all those restraining her into dust.