I Became the Patron of Villains

155. The Way Back (2)

Fenia Crysinne originally lived for her own satisfaction.

She acted as she pleased like a spoiled brat, but that didn’t mean she was stupid or dull.

In short, she had a good sense of self-awareness.

To Fenia, who had a decent grasp of her own situation, the reformation letter wasn’t a big deal.

The letter was a source of fear for nobles living political lives, but if one wasn’t entangled in political ideology, there was no reason to be afraid.

As long as one didn’t commit absurd acts like human experiments related to heresy.

Moreover, the Holy Kingdom was also careful not to easily antagonize the people from the Magic Tower.

Because fighting each other wouldn’t benefit either side much.

Therefore, when Fenia heard that Cardinal Yutia had come to see her because of the reformation letter, she was indifferent.

In fact, when she first heard about the Cardinal’s visit, she even hoped she would make a small slip of the tongue.

Maybe she could relieve some of the stress accumulated from the work caused by Marquis Palatio.

So she looked at Yutia with very venomous eyes.

At least until Yutia entered.

But.

The moment Yutia, who had entered the room, looked at Fenia with a deep smile.

Fenia couldn’t help but straighten her posture.

Because, for a very brief moment, she saw something behind Yutia.

She didn’t see it clearly.

But one thing was certain.

It was the same kind as ‘that’.

The thing Marquis Palatio had on his back.

Something that humans should never perceive.

The moment you realize it, you can gain everything in the world, but you must give up your life for it—a poisoned Holy Grail.

Penia began to sweat coldly all over her body without realizing it.

The fact that ‘that’ exists.

It meant that the person in front of her was not just a mere cardinal, but an entirely different being.

Therefore.

‘What is this? How? Why is something like that behind the cardinal of the Holy Kingdom? Why?’

Penia, feeling fear and confusion.

At the same time, the survival instinct that began to ring the alarm miraculously summoned a memory that had been crumpled up in one corner of her mind.

It was the rumor that Marquis Palatio and Cardinal Utia were closely associated.

The moment she realized it, Fenia closely observed Utia’s expression.

She was definitely smiling, but she wasn’t smiling.

Unlike the curved line of her lips, her eyes were cold.

Fenia struggled desperately for survival.

“Th-that is absolutely not true!”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, yes, absolutely! That’s just a baseless rumor, yes! It definitely is…!”

“For something like that, I heard you didn’t deny the circulating rumors-“

“N-no! I denied all of them recently! From now on, such rumors will never- absolutely never come out! Really!”

Fenia explained eagerly.

Whether her explanation worked or not, the shadow remaining in Utia’s gentle smile seemed to gradually lift.

Witnessing this, Fenia became even more determined, realizing that her lifeline was gradually opening, and continued to speak to firmly nail it down.

However.

“I-I don’t even like the Marquis that much. You know? He’s always expressionless, and, well, you know? I don’t really like people like that-“

“What?”

She might have gone a bit too far.

“…Pardon?”

“What did you just say?”

Utia’s face, which had been smiling pleasantly, suddenly turned cold.

Fenia belatedly rolled her eyes and opened her mouth.

“Ah, th-that-“

Fenia was sweating profusely.

Why did she have to suffer so much because of Marquis Palatio?

Suddenly, she felt a surge of sorrow, and tears welled up in her eyes.

But the next moment.

“Tower Lord.”

“…!?”

Fenia couldn’t help but be surprised.

Just a moment ago, Yutia, who had been sitting across from her, had somehow moved closer and was now sitting right next to her, gently placing a hand on her shoulder.

Penny, who had frozen in an instant, wanted to scream but managed to stifle it with a hiccup.

“Trying to prove your innocence is commendable, but that’s a bit of an overstatement, isn’t it?”

“Hic-“

“Answer.”

“Y-yes… y-yes…! I-I’m sorry…!”

“I’ll let it slide this time. But next time… you know what will happen, right?”

Tap-

“I have little patience.”

Yutia whispered in a chilling voice into her ear.

“Alright, Lady Butap. Let’s get along well from now on.”

“…Yes. I-I understand. Indeed, Marquis Palatio does have some charming qualities… Ha. Haha.”

Penny responded with an awkward laugh to Yutia, who had already stood up.

“…So, you’re saying you wanted to have a certain kind of relationship with Marquis Palatio?”

Seeing Yutia’s face gradually harden again, Penny hurriedly added,

“N-no, that’s not it. The Marquis is charming, but that’s not my type-“

“So, the Marquis is not your type?”

“No- that’s not it. He’s definitely a charming person-!”

“Not your type, but a charming person, so you’re secretly interested-“

“No, that’s not it-“

Feeling trapped in an endless loop, Penny thought with indescribable anger and injustice.

What the hell does this crazy woman want from me!!!

But as she said, Penny was very self-aware and painfully realized that she couldn’t defy the person in front of her.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m sorry for being alive…”

She could only bow her head.

…It was a peaceful afternoon.

####

About three days later.

[Kahahaha- I win!]

“This crazy-“

[뀨-?]

Alon, who had been traversing the desert for a long time, looked at Evan and Basilio, who were heating up with unfamiliar energy on the coachman’s seat, and at Kamangi.

‘…What kind of game are they playing?’

After having quite a leisurely thought, he soon rummaged through his bosom and took out the Scorpion armor he had obtained.

Like the artifact he had given to Yutia, it had completely lost its power and was emitting a grayish light.

‘…Apostle.’

Apostle.

It was the first time Alon had seen an Apostle.

They were beings that didn’t even appear in the game.

The one thing that was certain was that they were strong.

‘…If Seolang hadn’t awakened, we would have been the ones defeated.’

Alon felt a deeper need to explore magic.

Handling the monstrosities was one thing, but he also had to prepare to some extent for the Apostles that would soon start appearing.

When judged coldly, if all Apostles possessed that level of power, it would be virtually impossible for Alon to stop them.

If he couldn’t stop them, the Apostles would eventually create sins.

Fortunately, Alon had people to help him with his research, and he had already thought of ways to enhance his magical abilities.

The only concern was the ‘information’ about the Apostles.

‘…There is nothing to know about them.’

Unfortunately, there was no one who knew information about the Apostles.

It was the same when he asked Rine, and the dragon people he visited while staying in the colony for a few days were no different.

The only thing he got was a remark that if there was someone who survived until the end of the war, they might know.

Therefore.

‘…Kailas.’

Alon recalled that name once again.

To the golden dragon, he was a mage.

But now, he appeared as a goblin in foreign news.

‘…I should go meet him as soon as I get that item following Eliban.’

Apart from the method of using the Shadow Dragon, there was one more reason to meet Kailas.

While organizing his thoughts like that.

“Marquis.”

Suddenly, Alon turned his gaze to the sound of Evan’s voice.

“Why is that?”

“Come to think of it, I didn’t give you this.”

Evan took out a glass bottle from his bosom and handed it over.

“……What is this?”

He asked, holding the bottle containing black powder.

“I heard it’s the powder of a saint’s corpse?”

“……What?”

“Was it the secretary of the wolf? That person gave it to me.”

With the ensuing explanation.

“……Why this?”

Alon, bewildered, stared blankly at the finely ground powder of the saint.

####

At the southernmost end of the continent, in a lush forest, a sacred land touched by the hands of elves instead of humans.

Deep within the place called Greynif by the elves, there was the elven kingdom of Fildagrin.

A dreamy elven country built around the World Tree.

And in the center of that kingdom, right below the World Tree, in a grand palace.

“……You found the Blessing of Lagiern?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

A man – no, Perion, who had shed his human disguise, bowed his head and reported to the queen.

“……I didn’t think it could be found, but you have done a truly great deed, Perion.”

Queen Magrina, with her bright platinum hair flowing down to her waist, praised him in a voice mixed with amazement and pride.

Perion bowed his head even lower and continued speaking.

“Thank you, Your Majesty. However, there is one thing I must tell you.”

“What is it?”

“The Blessing of Lagiern, it was not I who found it.”

“……It wasn’t you, Perion?”

“Yes. That is-“

Nodding cautiously, Perion began to recount what had happened in Lartania, and Queen Magrina, who had been listening to Perion’s words for a while.

“……So, the Marquis of Palatio not only saw through your disguise at once but also told you the location of the Blessing of Lagiern……is that it?”

“Yes.”

“The room blessed by Ragiern was made to look like Pagade’s hideout-“

“…No one else entered that place except me. And as I mentioned, there was a message written inside.”

“…’I hope it reaches my younger sibling well.’ Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

Magrina stared at the blessing Perion brought with a look of disbelief, remaining silent for a moment.

Her voice began to tremble slightly.

“…So, Perion, are you suggesting that the Marquis of Palatio could be the primordial elf— in other words, my brother?”

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“…Of course, I can’t be certain. But the fact that he easily saw through my affiliation with Pagade and guided me with Ragiern’s blessing… I believe only he could have done that.”

Magrina was at a loss for words again.

Because Perion’s words made sense.

However, this fact alone was not enough to judge the Marquis.

As far as Magrina knew, her brother, the primordial elf, had died hundreds of years ago.

She was well aware that the dead do not return.

Amidst the continuing silence.

“I will quietly go and confirm it.”

Turning her gaze to the voice coming from beside her, she saw an elf in a wizard’s robe, Magrina’s personal wizard, Filde.

“…Can you confirm that?”

“There is a way. As you know, my eyes are a bit special.”

“Ah.”

Magrina let out a gasp unconsciously.

Filde had eyes that could see souls.

In that case, confirming the identity of the Marquis of Palatio would be an easy task.

“…Then, please do.”

“Understood. I will go with Perion.”

As soon as the task was decided, Filde and Perion bowed without hesitation and left.

Watching the backs of the two elves,

“If my brother is really alive…”

She clenched her fist tightly.

She knew it was an absurd notion.

Nevertheless, a subtle light of hope lingered in her eyes.