I Became the Patron of Villains (Novel) - Chapter 63 - It Was There, Though (4)

Chapter 63 – It Was There, Though (4)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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On the fifth floor of the labyrinth city.

The place of blue grasslands and ruins.

In that place, where even after half a year the traces of the battle from that day still had not disappeared, it appeared.

Flap.

Wearing a hood, dressed in a black stellar robe, and adorned at its waist and hands with ominous black ornaments, it began to walk across the fifth floor.

It walked across the place where the mercenaries had fought the Outer God half a year ago.

It walked across the place where Alon had stood.

And at last it stood in the place where he had finished off the Outer God.

Then it began tilting its head from side to side again and again, as though it found the place deeply peculiar and at the same time wholly incomprehensible.

How much time passed like that?

Until just moments before, it had simply stood there without any movement at all, looking down at the ground.

Then.

“Ha.”

It opened its mouth, smiling broadly as though something about this amused it to no end.

“I did not think he would be able to do this much.”

A small mutter.

After muttering that in a voice one could not even tell was male or female, it seemed to glance around once, then flicked the fingers of its right hand.

Hum.

After confirming that the black ornament was resonating, it turned its body.

“Interesting. Truly. I wonder how much farther he can go. This has become fun.”

With the innocent smile of a child who had discovered a fascinating toy.

“If he can endure the next one too, this will become truly entertaining.”

It began walking toward one side of the fifth floor.

There was no exit there.

Yet it walked toward the empty ground anyway.

And at some point, it disappeared completely.

* * *

Though it may sound obvious in retrospect, Radan was deeply loyal to the Great Moon.

Without him, Radan would never have obtained power like he had now, and he would never have been able to take revenge for his family either.

In other words, Radan’s loyalty was unquestionably directed toward the Great Moon.

Even so, the reason that loyalty somehow seemed faded was this.

“Let us kill them all. Right now.”

“That would be best.”

“I agree.”

“Same here.”

“……”

Compared to Radan’s loyalty, the loyalty shown by the other members of Blue Moon was overwhelmingly stronger.

“So where are these people called the Proxies?”

“From what I heard, they seem to be scattered across the Allied Kingdoms. There should be fifteen of them in total. I reduced that number by three, so there should be twelve now.”

“You did not kill them without even figuring out their locations first, did you?”

“Of course not. I tracked down at least the leader’s position and the positions of a few others.”

“That is a relief.”

“Tell me quickly. Right now. I am going to kill them.”

“That sounds good.”

Seollang spoke while her golden eyes shone chillingly, and Rine, who had already wiped away the grin from earlier and returned to a completely blunt face, muttered in a way just as chilling.

“I am also planning to kill one after this meeting ends. From the look of it, there is a Proxy near Caliburn as well.”

And even Deus, with his purple eyes shining, was already holding his sword as if he meant to fly out the moment the meeting ended.

Looking at them, Radan felt madness.

Shouldn’t we plan first?

Radan cast a discreet glance around.

Even at that very moment, the members were casually discussing tearing the Proxies to pieces and ripping out their throats. Radan was not used to that sort of conversation.

Among the members, only Yutia used to be like that. The others had mostly behaved very rationally.

The dissonance is severe. And honestly, I never thought Rine would become like this too.

After looking once at the members who had changed so much in only a few years, and at Rine as well, he finally spoke.

“It would be better to calm down, share the information first, and build a plan.”

A cautious but entirely reasonable proposal.

But.

“Are you serious?”

“Radan, what if while we are making plans, they manage to harm the Great Moon?”

“Exactly!”

“I agree.”

Though it was undoubtedly the most rational statement anyone had made, Deus rejected it first, followed by Yutia, Seollang, and Rine, and Radan had to steady his breathing for a moment.

“…Everyone, calm down. You are all too worked up. Shouldn’t we at least share information about the Proxies first? We need to figure out their level of strength.”

Another rational statement.

But.

“Radan.”

“What is it?”

“Radan, are you a traitor by any chance?”

“?”

At Seollang’s absurd suspicion, flashed through with golden eyes, Radan felt suddenly dizzy.

“No, wait. Why has this suddenly led to the conclusion that I am a traitor?”

“Because you have been objecting every time someone says we should kill the Proxies.”

“I am not objecting. I am saying we should first assess the exact situation.”

Radan stopped speaking midway.

Even through the communication device, he could see the dissatisfied eyes being directed at him.

So instinct told him that saying anything more here would have no meaning at all.

He raised the white flag.

“I will make preparations immediately as well.”

As though satisfied with that answer, the other four nodded and resumed talking among themselves.

Looking at them, and thinking back to how the organization had still been relatively normal two years ago apart from Yutia, Radan found himself once again thinking of the Great Moon.

The Great Moon definitely has a hypnosis artifact.

He reached that conclusion quite seriously.

And about thirty minutes later.

“Haah. Talking about all this suddenly reminds me of the way the Great Moon looked that day.”

After Deus abruptly went off on an impromptu act of worship in the middle of discussing the Proxies.

“Everyone, move immediately. We will hold a proper meeting after this matter is fully resolved.”

With Yutia’s words, Blue Moon began to move.

* * *

The next day.

After resting at one of the estates owned by Duke Altia, Alon set out around the evening when the royal ball was finally beginning in earnest.

And once he arrived at the royal palace.

“I will be back.”

He said that to Evan and moved on.

Then.

“I will be waiting.”

Evan, who had lightly bent and straightened his waist in a bow, witnessed it.

As his master walked toward the ballroom of the royal palace, a great many nobles all began following behind him at once.

Looking at the sight of nobles who could, in one sense, sway Asteria itself all attaching themselves behind Alon’s back as they walked, Evan was made to realize once more Alon’s position.

Well, the count’s fame really is immense already. And he is also the head of Kalpa.

Alon himself seemed not to care much about that fame, but to Evan, who had watched it grow in real time at his side, the difference felt enormous.

In the past, when Alon attended balls, he had been ostracized or feared. But now he had become the leader whom most nobles followed.

And was that all?

Given the reputation he had built up, it should have been obvious that the king would openly move to check him, yet even so that many nobles were still following behind him.

Which meant that the nobles attached to him back there were, in effect, nobles who believed that if Alon clashed with the current monarch of Asteria, he had a real chance.

Well, to be fair, if you only heard the rumors, you could absolutely come to that conclusion.

While Evan was evaluating things that way.

Alon, who was walking in front at the head of those nobles, realized something was going a little strangely.

Uh, uh. Something feels off.

At this rate, it looks like I am marching in for a frontal breakthrough.

He turned his head slightly and looked back.

There were many nobles following behind him in support.

This is not the image I had in mind at all.

His original plan had been simple. During the audience ceremony, which had to be attended before enjoying the royal ball, he would receive a moderate lecture from the monarch and then make up some plausible reason for Kalpa to keep existing.

But if he arrived in a formation that looked this openly like a march to battle, it did not seem likely things would end with a mere scolding.

Even so, there was nothing to be done about it at this point, so Alon had no choice but to arrive at the royal ballroom and open the doors.

Oh.

The moment he stepped inside, he could not help but be impressed.

True to its fame, it was the largest and most beautiful ballroom he had ever seen.

Standing there with the doors open behind him and staring blankly for a moment, Alon soon felt the gazes of the nobles focused upon him.

“……”

As far as he could tell, the nobles currently in the ballroom were looking at him in one of two ways.

Some looked at him with reverence.

Others looked at him with open mockery. And naturally, there were overwhelmingly more of the latter than the former.

And Alon could roughly guess why the nobles below were wearing those expressions.

They probably think I let my power grow without thinking and am about to get smacked by the king for it, so they are enjoying the sight.

After realizing that most of the nobles wearing those mocking smiles belonged to either the Aristocratic faction or the Royalist faction, Alon let out a light sigh and moved to present himself before the king.

And at the far end of that vast ballroom, he saw her.

Critenia Siyan, the Eighth Monarch of Asteria.

“……”

From the distance, even while still walking toward her, Critenia Siyan was extraordinarily beautiful.

The golden eyes that could be called the symbol of Asteria’s royal bloodline shone brilliantly as they reflected the light from the terrace, even though her face itself wore a completely affectless expression.

And that beauty was so lethal that any nobleman might commit the discourtesy of stealing glances upward.

Of course, Alon was too focused on hoping that what happened next would unfold in the way he wanted for her appearance to rank very highly in his mind.

And then.

“One who serves Asteria greets the exalted one.”

When Alon at last reached Critenia Siyan and lowered his head deeply in the formal greeting, the monarch, who had remained silent until then, finally spoke.

“Raise your head.”

An indifferent face.

Alon naturally raised his head.

“Are you Count Palladio?”

“Yes.”

At the monarch’s words, the nobles who had been looking at Alon with mocking smiles all smiled more widely at once.

To the Royalist nobles and the Aristocratic nobles, this moment was the most important spectacle of all, the perfectly legal dismantling of Kalpa, the faction that had been causing them so much trouble.

So they all looked at Count Palladio with deeply malicious smiles.

Unfortunately for them, however, that lasted only an instant.

The nobles who had been mocking him wiped the smiles from their lips at once.

And had no choice but to stand there with stupefied expressions.

The reason was.

“Very well. Count Palladio, I shall elevate you to marquis.”

Because the monarch, Critenia Siyan, said exactly that.

And upon hearing those words, Alon.

“…Pardon?”

Could only let out a dazed sound.