I Became the Patron of Villains

86. Title Conferment Ceremony (2)

“……Such a rumor has spread?”

“Yes. There was a meeting of the United Kingdoms recently, wasn’t there?”

“Was there?”

“……It seems like you really have no interest in your surroundings, Count.”

“That’s true.”

At Alon’s nod, Evan immediately responded.

“Anyway, it seems that such a story came out from there? The story that Penia Crysinne and Count Palatio might be connected.”

“…Was Penia Crysinne there by any chance?”

“Of course not. It was originally a place where only the royals gathered to promote friendship for the continuation of the United Kingdom’s alliance.”

“Then why did such a rumor arise?”

“I don’t know that either. I only heard it somewhere.”

As Evan shrugged his shoulders, Alon genuinely looked puzzled.

It was because there was no reason for such a story to come and go between Penia and Alon.

Rather, recalling Penia’s appearance a while ago, it was puzzling why such a rumor arose.

‘What is this…?’

Alon, with a questioning expression, decided to ignore the rumor for a moment.

Rumors that spread distortedly are quite common among nobles, and he thought it would naturally disappear over time.

Most of the baseless rumors Alon had seen so far had disappeared quickly.

“Well, it’s a rumor that doesn’t need much attention.”

So Alon lightly brushed it off.

Until a few days before arriving in Teria.

A simple banquet held for the nobles participating in the title conferment ceremony.

“Congratulations, Count!”

“…What congratulations are you talking about?”

“I heard a rumor that you are in a certain relationship with Penia Crysinne.”

“…”

Alon raised question marks in his mind several times. He was starting to feel dizzy.

He had only been here for a short time, but he had already heard this story for the fifth time.

“Thank you for the congratulations, but unfortunately, that’s a baseless rumor.”

After dismissing the noble’s words, he was eating an egg tart in a corner of the banquet hall when Duke Altia appeared before him.

“It’s been a while, Count.”

Seeing her smile and bow her head, Alon nodded, but only for a moment.

“It’s been a while.”

“Is that rumor true by any chance?”

“What rumor are you talking about?”

“I recently heard a rumor that you’re involved with Penia Crysinne, the Blue Tower Master.”

“……”

It was the sixth time now.

Though baseless rumors would eventually fade, they burned brightly until they did.

Alon sighed and spoke.

“I’ve said it several times already, but that rumor is nonsense.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. It couldn’t possibly be true.”

“I thought it was true?”

“……Why?”

“Well… A marriage with the Blue Tower Master would have a very positive impact on the Count’s family and our faction. For example-“

As Altia Duke began to explain the benefits of marrying Penia Crysinne in a clear and concise manner, Alon inwardly showed a weary expression.

From the biggest to the smallest details, the way she meticulously distinguished the advantages and disadvantages reminded him anew that she was one of the three masterminds of Asteria.

‘……Not that it’s any different now.’

As Alon was thinking that.

“……With such positive aspects, I thought the Count would seriously consider the marriage. Am I wrong? Besides, I thought the Count spread this rumor?”

“……Me?”

“Surprisingly, rumors can be very powerful. If spread like this, even if the other party dislikes it, they often get entangled due to the collective benefits.”

At the Duke’s words, which casually painted him as a sinister character, Alon replied.

“……No matter how much it’s me, I wouldn’t go that far.”

“Oh, really……?”

Seeing the very surprised expression on Duke Altia’s face, Alon wondered how he appeared in their eyes.

As Duke Altia pondered something deeply.

“Indeed, the Count might be romantic in such matters.”

With those words and a gentle smile, they exchanged a few more words before parting ways.

That day, Alon received about nine congratulations.

……It was not as easy as he thought.

####

The next day.

The coronation ceremony began.

In front of the nobles, the 8th King Crittenia Siyan declared that Count Palatio had been elevated to the rank of Marquis.

The ceremony was, in fact, over in a flash.

However, even after the ceremony, Alon was still a count.

The reason was simple.

To officially use the title of Marquis, he had to go to the Archbishop of the Holy Kingdom of Rosario and receive a blessing.

Therefore, as soon as the event was over, Alon began preparing to head to Rosario.

“Then, have a safe trip.”

“Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty.”

As Alon bowed his head at the words of safe travel, Crittenia Siyan, who had been staring at him, approached with a thoughtful expression.

Swoosh-

Just like last time, she gently lifted the corner of his mouth with her index finger.

“Didn’t I say you look better when you smile?”

“I apologize, Your Majesty.”

Alon bowed his head.

“Well, it’s fine. Come back up once the ceremony is over. Let’s have a chat face to face.”

With a faint smile, Siyan waved her hand once and turned around.

Alon, who was staring blankly at Siyan, who was slightly different from what he had thought, began preparing to head to the Holy Kingdom.

####

The journey from the Kingdom of Asteria to the Holy Kingdom of Rosario took about two to three weeks, which was quite long.

However, it was more comfortable than heading to Raxas, because there were many villages and territories to stop by between Teria and Rosario.

Because of this, Alon was having a clearly more comfortable journey than when heading to Raxas.

About a week into the journey to Rosario, Alon was resting at an inn in the village of Nenda.

“Count, no- should I call you Marquis now? I can’t get used to this.”

“I’m not a Marquis yet, so call me comfortably.”

“Then, Count, I have obtained one of the pieces of information you asked me to find.”

“……Here?”

“There is an informant in this village as well. I stopped by while I was at it.”

Evan said.

“……So, what is the information?”

“Ah, it’s not much, but the Abyssal Jade and Abyssal Body you mentioned have been appearing frequently in the black market recently.”

“……Does that mean it’s widely distributed?”

“No, it doesn’t seem to be widely distributed, but it appears frequently.”

“Hmm……”

Alon pondered deeply.

‘……This isn’t good.’

The spread of Abyssal Jade or Abyssal Entities in this world was not a good sign.

The fact that Abyssal Entities, which grant divinity to the strong and transform them into even stronger beings, were starting to spread in the shadows meant that the probability of the world falling into chaos was skyrocketing.

Moreover, even in the original work, it was only mentioned that Abyssal Entities were distributed somewhere, without specifying the exact distribution channels.

In other words, with the knowledge he possessed, he couldn’t cut off the distribution of Abyssal Entities.

“……Have you found the distribution channels?”

Alon asked, hoping for a positive answer.

However, Evan shook his head.

“No, unfortunately, we haven’t found them, but we did find out where a lot of them are going.”

“Where?”

“The Holy Kingdom.”

“……The Holy Kingdom?”

“Yes. According to the Information Guild, that’s their conclusion.”

Alon made a peculiar expression.

The Holy Kingdom was the last place one would associate with Abyssal Entities.

‘Of course, that place isn’t exactly free of corruption, but I didn’t think it was bad enough to deal with Abyssal Entities.’

As he tilted his head in thought, Alon considered.

‘……I should ask Utia about this if I can. But that means I’ll have two favors to ask. Should I bring a gift?’

Alon had already planned to ask Utia for a favor when he visited the Holy Kingdom, so he pondered.

‘If possible, I should stop by somewhere and buy at least one gift.’

With that, he concluded his thoughts.

A little later.

“It’s almost dinner time, let’s go down for dinner.”

“Alright.”

Alon went down to the inn’s first floor with Evan to have dinner.

“Wa-ha-ha-ha-!”

“Drink! I said drink!”

“Wow, that thing is just so squishy-!!”

When they arrived, the first floor, which had been empty, was now so noisy that it was almost painful to the ears. They stared blankly at the scene.

“Mercenaries?”

“It seems so.”

“……The soundproofing is quite good for an inn.”

“Indeed. I was a bit surprised too.”

Alon soon moved to take a seat at an empty table in the corner of the inn.

Even if it was noisy, they still had to eat.

So, as Alon moved to the empty table.

“Oops-!”

“?”

Just before he could sit down, a mercenary suddenly took the seat, leaving him bewildered.

“What are you looking at? This is my seat!”

One of the mercenaries, who had been playing around with his comrades just a moment ago, suddenly picked a fight.

“…….”

Alon and Evan wore expressions of disbelief.

Even if they were mercenaries ignorant of the world, were there really those foolish enough to pick a fight with someone who was obviously a noble?

Knowing that this was impossible, they naturally made such faces.

“Go sit somewhere else, huh?”

Soon, Alon caught a whiff of the strong smell of alcohol from the mercenary in front of him and realized that the mercenary was too drunk to think straight.

As he pondered what to do.

“……?”

Alon suddenly noticed that the surroundings had gone quiet and looked around.

The mercenaries were still there.

But the mercenaries, who had been noisy just a moment ago, were now staring at Alon and the mercenary, their mouths shut in what seemed like shock.

As he wondered why.

“Didn’t you hear me!? Just go-“

Just as the troublesome mercenary was about to cause more trouble, someone appeared behind him.

Crash!

A bottle of liquor shattered against his head.

Thud-! The mercenary trembled on the floor, embedded in the ground.

Alon, who was bewildered by the sudden situation, wore a confused expression.

“S-sorry! Count Palatio!”

Soon, he noticed the beast-woman who had struck the mercenary’s head a moment ago, standing with the shattered bottle in her hand, her head deeply bowed.

Recognizing her somewhat familiar appearance, Alon soon realized who she was.

“…Myaon?”

“I’m really sorry…!”

Myaon, the guild master of the Ancient Trackers Guild, one of the five major guilds in Lartania.

She was bowing her head.

####

The regular meeting of the Blue Moon.

Normally, only the five executives of the Blue Moon would participate in the meeting, but this time, Hidan was also allowed to participate in the regular meeting of the Blue Moon.

The reason was that he had found some information about the forces that had slandered the Great Moon last time.

In other words, he was participating in the meeting solely to report the information, but honestly, Hidan felt a bit excited.

At least in Hidan’s heart, there was a respect for the other Moons, including the Great Moon, who possessed a fundamentally different strength from him.

Thus, Hidan, who entered with an excited heart at the thought of facing the Moons,

[I’m getting married!]

[No!]

[I’m getting married!!]

[No!!]

[I’m getting married!!!]

[No!!]

[As I said, I think this is too unfair. We should be allowed to send letters too-]

[I think that’s right!]

[Looking at the moon like this reminds me of that time. It’s been years, but it’s still vivid. The way the Great Moon dealt with the foreign press was truly impressive. Oh, by the way, Hidan, didn’t you hear about it? Then let me explain it to you step by step.]

[…]

…It was dizzying.