I Became the Patron of Villains

6. Misunderstanding (1)

Life in Rodmill gave Alon quite a bit of satisfaction.

It was only about three days, but life in Rodmill was a neighborhood that was too satisfying for him to enjoy the typical noble life he had in mind.

Wake up when you want to.

Sleep when you want to.

Eat when you want to.

It was a place where Alon could practice without hesitation the three things that he believed made humans happiest when they could do as they pleased.

“……Hoo”

While the funeral of Leo Palatio, the eldest son of the Palatio Count’s family, was in full swing, Alon sighed silently and looked ahead.

Leo, lying with a bloodless complexion where Tonio and Count Palatio had been lying.

Alon unknowingly made a dumbfounded expression.

‘I have no idea where to start tackling this.’

The reason Alon thought so was because Leo’s death was so twisted from what he had in mind.

‘Leo’s death was supposed to be confirmed six years later.’

He turned his gaze and scanned Leo’s body overall.

Since he was dressed in ceremonial clothes, he couldn’t see the wounds with the naked eye, but,

‘Evening primrose.’

According to the kingdom’s tradition, a large scar leading to death or a large wound usually had a blue flower from the kingdom, the evening primrose, placed on it.

Leo’s body had an evening primrose placed on his chest.

‘……Died from a sword piercing his heart……’

While thinking about Leo’s cause of death, Alon wondered who could have done such a thing.

‘……Well, if I had to think about it, there are several.’

Wasn’t it known that Leo was doing all sorts of rogue things in the underworld?

He was aware that it wouldn’t be strange for him to be subjected to any kind of act.

The number of people Leo had killed directly or indirectly would easily exceed a thousand.

Even so, the reason he continued to question was because he knew Leo’s future.

‘Who could it be……. Who on earth killed Leo?’

Alon looked around with such thoughts.

Quite a few people had gathered for Leo’s funeral.

The count’s servants, retainers, and knights were present.

Although he had heard that some nobles had come and gone, by the time Alon returned, the nobles who had come to pay their respects had already left.

In other words, the only ones participating in this funeral now were those working for the count.

And.

“……”

They were all trying to avoid Alon’s gaze, shrinking their bodies.

A servant who always complained about Alon and joked that he would have died on the streets if he had been born a commoner was sweating profusely and bowing his head.

A knight who always picked fights with Alon whenever he left the mansion was deliberately averting his gaze to avoid Alon’s eyes.

‘If the third son of the count, who was always ridiculed, suddenly became the heir to the count, it’s understandable that anyone would naturally worry about their job…’

Nevertheless, the reason Alon was paying attention to their reactions was because the servants’ responses were a bit more detailed.

Whenever Alon’s gaze turned to them, the servants would lightly tremble, and even their hands would shake.

In the case of the knight earlier, he had shrugged his shoulders as usual when their eyes met, but during the funeral, he had dropped his ceremonial sword in a laughable disaster.

Through these series of actions, it was clear how the servants currently perceived Alon.

‘This is 100% suspicion… No, it’s at the level of certainty.’

Two hours later.

“Young master.”

“Yes.”

“It’s beyond imagination.”

“…To what extent?”

“Currently, young master, you have become the dark hand of the count’s family, capable of making Avalon disappear overnight.”

Alon realized that, without even knowing it, he had become the dark hand of the count’s family, holding unimaginable power.

“I was just toasting bread…”

Alon’s low sigh as he was toasting insignificant bread in Rodmill while such rumors spread in the count’s family.

“You became the dark hand with swordmaster-level assassins while toasting bread.”

“I’m not in the mood for jokes.”

“I wasn’t joking. The rumors are really spreading like that.”

“…How did such rumors spread?”

As if he couldn’t understand at all, Alon frowned at Evan’s question, and Evan hurriedly began to unravel the information he had heard from the information guild one by one.

A moment later.

“In summary, a day after Leo died, Avalon, which he operated, disappeared from the underworld as if it had been washed away?”

“Yes.”

“…People think I did it.”

“That’s right.”

“…Why?”

“Because you’re the only one who benefits from this?”

“Thinking about it, that’s true…”

In fact, this situation was one where Alon couldn’t help but be suspected.

Leo was killed right after Alon left the mansion and went to Rodmil, and Avalon, which he managed, was also pushed out.

And in such a situation, the one who benefited the most was undoubtedly Alon.

He was in a situation where he was leaving for Rodmil, so his alibi was perfectly set up, and he could become the heir to the count’s family.

Moreover, with Avalon, which Leo managed, being pushed out, the connections with the underworld, which were stuck like thick tar, were completely severed.

In other words, even the influence of the underworld that could bother him was perfectly removed.

“But, didn’t you really do it, young master?”

“You… you were spreading butter on toast with me.”

“That’s true, but the situation fell into place so well that I had to ask.”

“Suspecting me…”

“It’s not suspicion, but there are not a few times when you don’t explain why and just give orders.”

At Evan’s words, Alon closed his mouth.

Because it was true.

Instead of answering, he began to speculate.

‘…Were there any guys in the underworld who could kill a big shot in the east? Hundred Ghosts Night Parade? No, they are an organization that comes out six years later… Then ‘Root’…? They are near the east, so they wouldn’t come here…’

Thinking, Alon shook his head.

No matter how much he thought about it, there was no organization he knew of that could bury Avalon in an instant.

As he came to that conclusion and was about to stop thinking.

“…Ah.”

Suddenly, he recalled what Evan had said and asked.

“Evan.”

“Yes?”

“Didn’t you mention it last time? The story about the organization hunting down other organizations.”

“Oh, are you talking about the Blue Moon?”

“Yeah, them. Could it be them?”

At Alon’s question, Evan shook his head.

“No, even the Information Guild has confirmed that it’s not the Blue Moon.”

“How do they know?”

“The Blue Moon always leaves a mark after they finish their work. Besides, wherever the Blue Moon has been, there are ‘pieces of corpses’ left, but no bodies.”

“But this time, it wasn’t like that?”

“They said it was a hellscape… Most of the organization was taken down by blades.”

“…So that’s why there’s a rumor about a Swordmaster being behind it.”

“That’s right.”

At Evan’s words, Alon nodded.

‘An organization that can’t survive even six years wouldn’t be able to eliminate Leo and Avalon. But then… who could it be?’

…It was a night of endless contemplation.

“Any traces?”

In the basement of the Eastern Orphanage.

As soon as the four usual members gathered, the question was asked, and everyone answered in their own way.

“We left none.”

“Me neither!”

“Same here. We made sure not to leave any traces, as you said.”

Rine, whose green eyes glowed softly, continued to speak.

“It seems the Information Guild hasn’t linked us to the incident in Avalon.”

“Then?”

“They seem to believe it was a hellscape created by a Swordmaster.”

At Deus’s words, Yutia fell silent for a moment, as if contemplating something, then spoke.

“Still, just in case, keep monitoring the Information Guild’s movements. You all know this by now, right? This matter must never reach him. Never.”

Everyone nodded at Yutia, whose red eyes gleamed menacingly.

“…But, do we really need to go this far to hide it?”

Unlike his usual endlessly relaxed smile, Deus asked Yutia, who seemed a bit unstable.

After a moment of silence, Yutia answered firmly.

“Of course, we must hide it.”

“…Why?”

In response to Deus’s continued questioning, Yutia answered with a flash of red light in her eyes.

“I told you, didn’t I? We are his sword. We must not judge for ourselves, we must not think for ourselves – we must become the sword that he wields.”

“……”

“But a sword that thinks for itself, that’s not right, is it?”

“But this is because the eldest son of the Count’s family targeted him first-“

“Even so, what’s not allowed is not allowed. Because there was no ‘order’. Do you understand? We only move by command. If he didn’t say it, we must not move. Absolutely.”

Deus rubbed the roof of his mouth with his dry tongue and looked into Yutia’s eyes.

She, who possessed an atmosphere so noble and disciplined that it was hard to believe she was in such an orphanage, and yet seemed absolutely unbeatable, changed a lot when his story came up.

Her disciplined gaze turned into a bizarre fanaticism, and her noble atmosphere conveyed a ferocious and grotesque feeling.

Therefore, Deus could not understand.

“So make sure to erase the traces as much as possible. Do not disappoint him.”

She, who had the power and ability to overwhelm everyone here with just her presence, felt such anxiety and impatience over merely being ‘caught’.

“I understand.”

But even though he felt doubt, he had no intention of asking about it, so Deus just bowed his head, and as the conversation was about to end.

“We’ve arrived.”

The door to the basement opened and a man entered.

Even though it was a basement where no light came in, he entered with brilliant silver hair as if it had absorbed the moonlight from the sky.

“As the boss said.”

In the predetermined future, he would become one of the five great sins, the Sin of Purity-

“The remaining forces of Avalon, 286 men.”

-Radan reported, with his bright moon eyes shining.

“I cut them all in half and killed them.”

Five days.

The time it took for the giant organization ‘Avalon’, which had dominated the eastern part of the Asteria Kingdom, to disappear, leaving only a shabby nameplate.

“However, it seems that the job is not completely finished.”

“What do you mean?”

“I found additional nobles involved with Avalon.”

With those words, Radan took out a piece of paper from his bosom, folded so neatly that there was no gap between the sheets, and placed it on the desk.

“The Duke of Altia is involved. It seems they are quite deeply entangled, with even ledgers to show for it. There are about four of them, all of whom appear to be the duke’s children. If they are this deeply involved, they might start inquiring about this matter. What should we do?”

When Radan said that and looked at Yutia, who had been silent for a moment, she muttered, scattering her red eyes.

“You already know what I’m going to say, don’t you?”

“Indeed. Then let’s handle it as quietly as possible.”

Radan nodded quietly with those words.

Since the funeral of Leo Palatio, Alon had been busy.

Apart from starting to investigate Leo’s death, which had proceeded quite differently from the game, there were unwanted tasks that had arisen.

As a result, he spent his days busily, and about a month had passed since the funeral ended.

He was in Estrovan, a territory in the southern part of the Kingdom of Asteria, rather than the Palatio Count’s estate, as usual.

The reason was to attend a ball that was held twice a year.

Of course, the ostensible reason for Alon’s visit was to socialize, but in reality, he had business in the territory.

However, he also intended to take care of the ostensible reason to some extent.

From his position, where it was certain he would become a count in a year, building friendships with the nobles was very important both socially and for his convenience.

…It should be such an important task.

“……”

Alon glanced around the ballroom.

A chandelier representing a crescent moon was shining beautifully, and beneath it, the children and young ladies of the nobles, adorned to the fullest, were exuding the unique atmosphere of noble society and showing off their beauty.

The problem was.

“……”

Those nobles couldn’t even meet Alon’s eyes.

“……”

Seeing a young lady bow her head deeply as soon as their eyes met, Alon sighed at the realization that the ostensible goal of ‘building friendships’ was more difficult to achieve than he had expected.