Became the Patron of Villains Chapter 6
Previously on Became the Patron of Villains...
Alon found great contentment in his life at Rodmill.
Though a mere three days had passed, his time there provided everything he imagined a true noble's existence should entail.
He possessed the freedom to wake at his leisure.
He could rest whenever he felt the urge.
He could dine at any hour he chose.
In Rodmill, Alon easily maintained the three pillars of life that he believed brought supreme joy when practiced without restraint.
Sigh
As the funeral rites for Leo Palatio, the Palatio family's firstborn, proceeded, Alon stared forward and let out a quiet breath.
Leo’s corpse was pale and devoid of life, mirroring the state of Tonio and the previous Count Palatio before him.
A look of mild bewilderment crossed Alon’s features.
Alon’s confusion stemmed from the fact that Leo’s demise deviated from his expectations. The natural order of events seemed to have been distorted.
His eyes moved to Leo’s remains, inspecting them with care.
The ceremonial attire concealed the physical trauma, but...
A ‘Moonflower.’
Following the customs of the kingdom, a blue Moonflower—a local flora—was used to mark the site of lethal injuries or significant scars on the deceased.
One such flower rested upon Leo’s chest.
As he pondered the cause of Leo’s death, Alon couldn't help but speculate about the identity of the perpetrator.
Leo was known for his reckless dealings within the underworld, constantly inviting danger. It wasn't entirely shocking that he met such an end.
After all, Leo’s actions had indirectly or directly resulted in the deaths of over a thousand souls.
Nevertheless, Alon remained suspicious because he possessed knowledge of Leo’s intended future.
Lost in these reflections, Alon surveyed his surroundings.
The attendance at Leo’s funeral was quite substantial.
The knights, retainers, and servants of the Palatio house were all in attendance.
While he understood that some nobility had stopped by to offer condolences, they had departed prior to Alon’s arrival.
Consequently, the gathering consisted solely of those bound to the Palatio household.
And...
Every one of them was desperately attempting to avoid meeting Alon’s eyes.
A servant who once mocked Alon, claiming he would have perished as a commoner, was now bowing low, drenched in a cold sweat.
A knight who used to provoke Alon at every turn now pointedly looked away, refusing to acknowledge his presence.
However, Alon detected a more nuanced tension in their behavior that piqued his interest.
The moment Alon’s eyes landed on a servant, they would begin to tremble, their fingers twitching with nerves.
Earlier, when Alon’s gaze met a knight's and he offered a casual shrug, the knight became so flustered that he dropped his ritual sword, creating a clumsy disturbance in the middle of the ceremony.
Such reactions made it abundantly clear how the household staff now viewed Alon.
Two hours passed,
“Young Master.”
“Yes?”
“The situation has surpassed my expectations.”
“...How severe is it?”
“Currently, you are regarded as the shadow ruler of the Palatio family, a man capable of dismantling Avalon in a single day.”
Alon realized that, without his knowledge, he had been branded as a powerful mastermind within the Palatio ranks.
“I was merely... toasting bread...”
Alon lamented softly, remembering his quiet time in Rodmill making breakfast while these wild rumors were being woven through the estate.
“In the time it took for that bread to brown, you became the secret leader who commands sword masters.”
“I am not in the mood for jests.”
“I am quite serious, Young Master. That is indeed the gossip circulating.”
“...How did such a tale even begin?”
Frowning, Alon felt completely lost. In response, Evan began to detail the intelligence he had acquired from the guild.
Moments later,
“To summarize, a day after Leo died, his organization, Avalon, vanished from the underworld entirely?”
“That is correct.”
“And... the public believes I am the culprit.”
“Precisely.”
“...Why?”
“Because you are the sole individual who gains from this outcome, Young Master.”
“When framed that way... it does seem logical...”
It was true; Alon was the prime suspect by default.
Leo’s death happened right as Alon departed for Rodmill, and Avalon was dismantled immediately following.
In this context, Alon’s benefit was undeniable.
He possessed a flawless alibi by being in Rodmill, all while his path to becoming the Palatio heir was cleared.
Furthermore, the destruction of Avalon meant the underworld's parasitic grip on the Palatio family was finally broken.
Essentially, any criminal influence that could have troubled Alon had been eradicated.
“But... are you certain you didn't orchestrate this, Young Master?”
“...You were standing right there with me, buttering the toast.”
“I know, but everything aligned so perfectly that I felt compelled to ask.”
“Are you actually doubting me...?”
“It isn't doubt, per se, but you do have a habit of issuing commands without explaining your motives.”
Alon fell silent at Evan's remark. He couldn't deny it.
Instead of answering, Alon sank into thought.
Alon shook his head.
No matter how he analyzed it, he couldn't identify any group with the power to annihilate Avalon so swiftly.
Just as he was about to dismiss the thought, a memory surfaced.
“...Ah.”
“Ah.”
Recalling a previous conversation with Evan, he asked,
“Evan.”
“Yes?”
“Didn't you mention a faction before that specializes in hunting other groups?”
“Oh, you mean the Blue Moon?”
“Yes, them. Could they be the ones?”
Evan shook his head in response to Alon’s query.
“No. The information guild has already dismissed the Blue Moon as suspects.”
“How can they be so certain?”
“The Blue Moon always leaves a signature behind. Furthermore, where they strike, one might find severed limbs, but never intact corpses.”
“And that wasn't the case here?”
“They described it as a slaughterhouse... most of the members were cut down by a blade.”
“Which is why they assume I have a sword master in my service...”
“Exactly.”
Alon nodded, processing Evan's explanation.
...It was a night lost to endless theorizing.
***
“Were any clues left behind?”
In the subterranean depths of the eastern orphanage, the four regular members gathered. The question was posed, and each answered in turn.
“I left nothing.”
“Neither did I!”
“Same. Following your orders, I ensured no traces remained.”
Rine, her green eyes glowing softly, added more.
“It appears the information guild hasn't connected us to the Avalon incident.”
“And?”
“They’ve attributed the carnage to a sword master.”
Upon hearing Deus, Yutia remained quiet for a moment, lost in thought, before speaking.
“Still, maintain surveillance on the information guild just in case. As I have emphasized repeatedly, you all understand, right? This news must never reach him. Never.”
Though Yutia’s red eyes burned with intensity, the others nodded without a second thought.
“...But is such extreme secrecy truly necessary?”
Deus asked, his usual grin replaced by a look of concern as he watched Yutia’s rare display of tension.
After a brief silence, Yutia replied with conviction.
“Of course we must hide it.”
“...Why?”
In response to Deus’s persistence, Yutia’s eyes flashed dangerously.
“I told you. We are his sword. We do not judge or think for ourselves; we are simply the weapon he wields.”
“But for a sword to think on its own... that is wrong, isn't it?”
“But the Count's eldest son targeted him first, so—”
“It is irrelevant. A mistake is a mistake. There was no ‘order.’ Do you understand? We move only at his command. If he did not speak, we do not act. Ever.”
Deus ran his tongue over the roof of his mouth, meeting Yutia’s gaze.
For a girl living in an orphanage, she possessed a regal dignity, yet her presence carried an overwhelming, crushing power. But when the subject turned to him, her demeanor shifted.
Her noble gaze became one of haunting fanaticism, and her aura turned savage and primal.
Deus could not comprehend it.
“So ensure every trace is erased. Do not fail him.”
How someone as powerful as her, capable of dominating everyone in the room, could feel such profound dread over being ‘found out.’
“I understand.”
Despite his confusion, Deus chose not to argue and simply nodded. As their meeting concluded,
“They are here.”
A man entered as the cellar door swung open.
Even in the pitch-black basement, his hair shimmered with a brilliant silver light, as if he carried the moon's glow with him.
“Just as the boss predicted.”
In the destined future, he was known as one of the Five Great Sins—The Sin of Obsession.
“The remaining Avalon forces, 286 men.”
Ladan, his sharp, lunar eyes gleaming, gave his report,
“I cleaved them all in two and ended them.”
It had taken a mere five days for Avalon, the titan that once ruled the Asteria Kingdom's eastern underworld, to be reduced to a broken signpost.
“However, I do not believe the task is finished.”
“What do you mean?”
“I discovered more nobles tied to Avalon.”
Ladan produced a neatly folded document from his coat and set it on the table.
“The family of the Duke of Altia is involved. The connection is deep, with ledgers proving their transactions. There are four individuals, apparently the Duke’s own children. Given their involvement, they may begin investigating this incident. What are our orders?”
After a moment of quiet reflection, Yutia spoke.
“You already know my answer, don't you?”
Her red eyes shimmered with a dark light as she whispered.
“Understood. I shall handle it with the utmost discretion.”
Ladan gave a silent nod of agreement.
***
Alon had been swamped since Leo Palatio’s funeral.
Beyond investigating Leo’s death—which had strayed from the game's script—other responsibilities demanded his time, much to his chagrin.
Consequently, his days blurred into a constant stream of tasks. A month after the burial, he found himself in Estrovan, a southern territory of the Asteria Kingdom, rather than the Palatio estate.
He was there to attend a biannual social ball.
Publicly, Alon was present to build social bridges, but he also had private business to conduct in the region.
Still, he intended to play his official part to some degree.
With his succession as Count virtually guaranteed for the next year, establishing ties with other nobles was vital for both his reputation and future ease.
...Or so he had hoped.
Alon surveyed the grand ballroom.
A crescent-shaped chandelier cast a beautiful glow over the room, where the heirs of noble houses displayed the refined grace of the elite in their finest clothes.
The issue was...
Not a single noble dared to make eye contact with him.
Alon watched as a young noblewoman instantly lowered her head the moment their eyes met.
He let out a sigh, realizing that his mission to ‘strengthen social ties’ would be far more difficult than he had imagined.