I Became the Patron of Villains (Novel) - Chapter 86 - Investiture Ceremony (2)
Chapter 86 – Investiture Ceremony (2)
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Translated by Jinmu
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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“…A rumor like that started?”
“Yes. There was a summit of the Allied Kingdoms not long ago, remember?”
“Was there?”
“…The more I watch you, the more I feel that you really have no interest in what happens around you, my lord.”
“That is true.”
At Alon’s nod, Evan answered at once.
“In any case, it seems that sort of talk came up there. That Penia Kraisinne and Count Palladio might end up together.”
“…Was Penia Kraisinne there by any chance?”
“Of course not. It was a gathering of royals in the first place, meant to maintain the alliance among the Allied Kingdoms.”
“Then why would a rumor like that start?”
“I do not know that either. I only heard about it.”
When Evan shrugged, Alon looked sincerely baffled.
That was only natural.
There was absolutely nothing between him and Penia that could have produced that sort of story.
If anything, remembering how Penia had acted recently only made it stranger that such a rumor had appeared at all.
What is this…?
Alon wore a puzzled expression, but only briefly.
Soon he decided to ignore the rumor.
Rumors that got twisted and spread had always been fairly common among nobles, and he assumed that this one too would naturally disappear once enough time passed.
Most baseless rumors Alon had seen so far had vanished quickly.
“Well, it is not a rumor worth paying attention to.”
So Alon let it slide.
At least until several days later, before he arrived in Theria.
A simple banquet was being held before the investiture ceremony for the nobles attending it.
“Congratulations, Count!”
“…On what exactly?”
“I heard the rumor that you and Penia Kraisinne are in that sort of relationship.”
“…”
Question marks rose in Alon’s mind again and again.
He was starting to feel dizzy.
He had not even been in the hall that long, and this was already the fifth time he had heard the same story.
“Thank you for the congratulations, but unfortunately that rumor is false.”
After dismissing the noble’s words, Alon moved to one corner of the banquet hall and began eating an egg tart.
Soon Duke Altia appeared in front of him.
“It has been a while, Count.”
She smiled and bowed lightly.
Alon nodded, then answered,
“It has.”
“By any chance, is that rumor true?”
“What rumor are you referring to?”
“I heard recently that there is a rumor going around that you and Penia Kraisinne of the Blue Tower are in that sort of relationship.”
“…”
That made six.
A false rumor might disappear quickly in the end, but before it disappeared it was burning brightly.
Alon let out a sigh and said,
“I have already said several times that the rumor is nonsense.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. There is no way it would be true in the first place.”
“I thought it was true.”
“…Why?”
“Well… a marriage with the Blue Tower’s vice tower master would have an extremely positive effect on your house and on our faction. For example…”
Starting from that point, Duke Altia neatly explained the benefits of marrying Penia Kraisinne.
Watching her thoroughly divide the advantages and disadvantages, from the largest matters down to the smallest, Alon inwardly looked worn out.
It reminded him once again that she was one of Asteria’s three hidden powers.
…Though in the present she was not all that different anyway.
By the time Alon was thinking that,
“…With this many positive elements, I judged that you would have more than enough reason to consider marriage seriously, Count. Was I wrong? On top of that, I thought you were the one who spread this rumor.”
“…Me?”
“Rumors are unexpectedly powerful. If you spread one like this, there are often cases where even if the other party dislikes it, the interests of the groups involved end up binding them together.”
At those words, which casually turned him into a gloomy schemer with a ruined personality, Alon replied,
“…Even I would not go that far.”
“Oh, really…?”
Altia looked sincerely surprised.
As Alon found himself thinking, Just what sort of man do these people think I am, the duke pondered something for a moment and then said,
“In that case, perhaps you are romantic in matters like this.”
With that, she smiled softly.
After speaking with him a few more times, she withdrew.
That day, Alon received congratulations about nine times.
…It was not an easy experience.
* * *
The next day, the investiture ceremony began.
Before the eyes of the nobility, the Eighth King, Critenia Siyan, declared that Count Palladio had been raised to the rank of marquis.
The ceremony ended so quickly that it was almost absurd.
Even so, after the ceremony ended, Alon was still only a count.
There was one reason for that.
In order to formally use the title of marquis, he had to go to the archbishop belonging to the Holy Kingdom of Rosaria and receive a blessing.
So as soon as the ceremony ended, Alon began preparing to head for Rosaria.
“Then go safely.”
“Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty.”
Alon bowed at the king’s words.
Critenia Siyan stared at him, gave a faint hum, then stepped closer.
Just as before, she used her forefinger to lift the corner of his mouth.
“Did I not say that you look rather good when you smile?”
“My apologies, Your Majesty.”
Alon lowered his head.
“Well, enough. Once you finish the ceremony there, come back up. Let us speak while facing each other.”
With a short laugh, Siyan waved a hand once and turned away.
Again seeing a side of her that differed somewhat from what he had expected, Alon stared blankly for a moment, then resumed preparing for the Holy Kingdom.
* * *
It generally took two to three weeks to travel from the Kingdom of Asteria to the Holy Kingdom of Rosaria, so it was a fairly long trip.
Still, it was easier than the road to Laxas because there were many villages and estates between Theria and Rosaria where one could stop.
For that reason, Alon was traveling far more comfortably than he had when heading for Laxas.
About a week after setting out for Rosaria, Alon was resting at an inn in an intermediate village called Nenda when Evan spoke.
“My lord, no, should I call you marquis now? I still can’t get used to it.”
“I am not a marquis yet, so call me as you usually do.”
“Then, my lord, I obtained one of the pieces of information you asked me to look into.”
“…Here?”
“There is an information broker in this village too. I stopped by while I was at it.”
That was what Evan told him.
“…So what is the information?”
“Ah, to be honest, it is nothing huge. But it seems that the abyssstones and Abyssal Cores you mentioned have been showing up on the black market often lately.”
“…Does that mean they are being distributed in large quantities?”
“No. It does not seem to be large-scale distribution, but they are showing up often.”
“Hmm…”
Alon thought it over.
…That is not good.
It was not a good sign for abyssstones or Abyssal Cores to spread through this world.
If Abyssal Cores, which granted godhead to the strong and raised them into even more powerful beings, had started spreading in the shadows, then the odds of the world openly descending into chaos were shooting upward.
On top of that, even in the original story, Abyssal Cores had only been described as things that circulated somewhere.
There had been no explanation of the exact route through which they were distributed.
In other words, he could not cut off their circulation using the knowledge he already had.
“…Did you find the distribution route?”
Alon asked on the off chance.
But Evan shook his head.
“No. Unfortunately, I could not find that. But I did find out where many of them have been going.”
“Where?”
“The Holy Kingdom.”
“…The Holy Kingdom?”
“Yes. At least, that is what the information guild believes.”
Alon made an odd face.
The Holy Kingdom was exactly the sort of place that did not fit with Abyssal Cores.
Of course, that place is corrupt enough in its own way, but I do not think it had fallen so far as to start putting its hands on Abyssal Cores.
Tilting his head, Alon thought further.
…I should ask Yutia about this too, if possible. Though if I do that, I will have two things to ask of her. Should I buy her some sort of gift?
He had already been planning to ask Yutia for one favor while he was in the Holy Kingdom.
After a little thought, he concluded,
If possible, I should stop somewhere along the way and buy at least one thing.
A little later,
“It is about time for dinner. Let us go downstairs and eat.”
“Agreed.”
Alon headed down to the first floor of the inn with Evan to get dinner.
“Wahaha!”
“Drink! I said drink!”
“That bastard was soft as hell!”
The first floor, which had been empty when they arrived, was now so loud that it hurt his ears.
Alon stared blankly at it.
“Mercenaries?”
“That is what it looks like.”
“…For an inn, the soundproofing is very good.”
“I was surprised too.”
Alon soon moved to take an empty table in one corner.
No matter how noisy it was, he still had to eat.
So while moving toward the empty table,
“Up we go!”
“?”
Right before he could sit down, a mercenary abruptly claimed the seat first.
“What are you looking at? This is my seat!”
One of the mercenaries who had been fooling around with the others a moment earlier was suddenly picking a fight with him.
“…”
Alon and Evan both made blank faces.
Even if a mercenary was ignorant of the world’s finer points, there was no way anyone could be stupid enough to pick a fight with someone who was obviously a noble at a glance.
That was why they reacted that way.
“Go sit somewhere else, huh?”
Alon soon caught the strong smell of alcohol coming from the man and realized that the mercenary, already insensible from drink, had lost what little intelligence he had left.
As Alon was wondering what to do,
“…?”
He suddenly realized the surroundings had gone quiet and looked around.
The mercenaries were all still there.
But the same men who had been making so much noise a moment earlier were now staring toward Alon and the drunk mercenary, their mouths shut, expressions somewhat horrified.
The instant Alon felt puzzled by that,
“Didn’t you hear me!? Just ge…”
Someone appeared behind the drunken mercenary who had been causing trouble.
Crash!
A liquor bottle smashed over his head.
The mercenary collapsed with a thud and twitched on the floor.
Alon wore a startled look for a moment at how suddenly it had happened.
“S-sorry! Count Palladio!”
Soon he saw the beastfolk woman who had struck the mercenary still holding the shattered bottle and bowing her head deeply.
Something about her looked familiar.
Alon soon realized who she was.
“…Myaon?”
“I’m really sorry!”
It was Myaon, the guild master of Ancient Chasers, one of Lartania’s Five Great Guilds.
And she was bowing her head.