Mastermind
Copyright© 2026 by FantasyTranslater
Chapter 21
Alon already had some understanding of why the nobles blatantly ignored him.
“Because all the rumors have finally died down.”
Until now, the nobles had feared Alon because they believed he was the mastermind behind taking down Avalon, which had controlled the vast underworld of the East alongside Leo.
However, the nobles no longer considered Alon to be the mastermind. After he became a count, he had done nothing significant for several years.
The Palatio Count family, from the time of Alon’s grandfather, had always been known as a notorious household that never failed to wield influence in the underworld. The Palatio family had consistently dominated the Eastern underworld, though the degree of their control varied over time.
But ever since Alon became the count, the Palatio family no longer exerted influence in the underworld. As a result, the current Eastern underworld was now divided and devoured by packs of wolves that used to scavenge for the leftover crumbs outside the domain governed by the Palatio Count.
Furthermore, the power of the Palatio Count family had also weakened, which was natural. The power they wielded up until now had mostly been fueled by the wealth generated from the underworld. However, since Alon became count, he no longer used money to maintain power. His desired life was not one of grand success in the underworld, but rather, a comfortable and prosperous life that any noble could enjoy.
In other words, he had already achieved what he wanted.
However, by completely withdrawing from the underworld, rumors began to spread among the nobles.
Some speculated that perhaps the current Count Palatio wasn’t a mastermind at all, but merely someone who became count by chance.
As time passed and Alon continued to do nothing, the rumor gradually became accepted as truth.
Eventually, Alon’s reputation had devolved into that of a “lucky fool who happened to become count in the place of the real mastermind.”
Of course, there were still a few nobles who remained suspicious of Alon, but even they had begun to agree with the spreading rumors.
After all, it didn’t make sense that Alon, if he truly had the power to destroy Avalon in a single day, would not have used that power until now.
In any case, Alon had somewhat expected this kind of treatment, but he hadn’t anticipated that people would go out of their way to mock him like this.
Alon looked up at the two nobles, whose faces radiated slyness. He didn’t recognize either of them.
However, based on the crest engraved on their carriage, it was easy to tell that one was from the Crylde Count family, and the other from the Edolon Count family.
‘They both look old enough, but isn’t this too childish?’
Alon laughed to himself as he noted how aged their faces were.
He quickly understood why the two nobles had come all this way just to mock him.
‘ ... Ah, I see. This is a gathering of the victims.’
The Palatio family, notorious as they were, had also been a powerful family in the underworld. As a result, they naturally provided benefits to the surrounding families but also exploited them beyond necessity.
The families that were frequently treated like tools were none other than the Crylde Count family and the Edolon Count family.
To summarize the current situation, these families, who had suffered under the Palatio family, were now venting their grievances on Alon.
Of course, it wasn’t Alon but Leo, the first son of the count family, who had exploited them.
In short, Alon had no real reason to be the target of such mockery.
But to the two nobles who were eagerly mocking him, what mattered wasn’t that he was Alon but that he was the Count of Palatio.
“All those underworld forces you had, did they vanish because you couldn’t manage them properly?”
“Looks like you haven’t been taking care of your carriage properly either. Would you like to borrow some money?”
The two counts, like anonymous trolls commonly found on online communities, made every effort to scratch at Alon.
“Hmm.”
Alon briefly thought, ‘This is kind of annoying’, but he chose to follow his reason rather than his instincts.
If he were to fight now, he could easily crush the two nobles before him—maybe not slaughter them, but leave them beaten to a pulp. However, doing so would only complicate things. The moment he fought with them, Alon would have to leave the gathering and move separately. And that might lead to unnecessary trouble, like running into bandits.
Clearly, responding to their provocations was exactly what they wanted.
‘There’s no need to entertain these fools,’ Alon decided to ignore them.
He wasn’t stupid enough to fall into such an obvious trap.
That day, Alon ate two ears of corn, using the jeers from the two counts as background music.
‘Delicious.’
The roasted corn tasted even better in the slightly chilly weather.
‘It would’ve been nice to have some butter,’ Alon mused, staring absentmindedly at the moonlit sky.
For the next few days, the uncomfortable coexistence continued.
Every evening, Count Crylde and Count Edolon would emerge to hurl their mocking remarks, and every time, Alon pretended not to care, brushing off their words as if they were nothing.
The one who ignores and the one who tries desperately not to be ignored. Naturally, the one who ignored always won.
Alon had deeply internalized one of the life lessons he had learned from a certain online community: ‘Don’t feed the trolls.’
At least in this place, no one could beat him at that game.
Of course, after several days of this, other nobles began to mock Alon as well, whispering that he lacked dignity as a noble or scoffing at him for staying silent under the insults of Crylde and Edolon.
But despite this, Count Crylde and Count Edolon, who had been the ones persistently mocking him, were not feeling particularly satisfied.
“Damn it,” growled Count Crylde.
“This is absurd...”
Count Crylde frowned as he looked at Alon from a distance. Even though they had been mocking him, they were the ones being ignored, which was naturally infuriating.
But after a moment of their sour mood, they exchanged low whispers.
“Did you confirm?”
“Yes, and it seems like he has no additional guards.”
In truth, the reason the two counts had openly mocked Alon wasn’t just to vent their frustrations. It was also to assess his security.
“ ... Even with an artifact to secretly check, there was nothing. It’s just that foolish brat and that rogue knight sitting next to him.”
“So the rumors are true after all.”
“It seems certain. If he had any forces, he wouldn’t be moving around alone.”
“Then we can proceed with the plan.”
The reason the two counts had been investigating Alon was because they were planning to expand into the underworld.
They were well aware that Alon had no interest in the underworld, and that, as a result, it had become overrun by various packs of scavengers. While the rumors about Alon were already widely accepted, the two counts—having been tormented by the Palatio family for so long—wanted to confirm the truth for themselves.
They needed to be sure that Alon truly had no power left.