Mastermind
Copyright© 2026 by FantasyTranslater
Chapter 48
Count Zenonia stared blankly ahead.
Before her was Marquis Filboid, the leader of the noble faction and someone whose power in the political world could not be ignored, bowing his head to Count Palatio.
‘What...?’
Though Count Zenonia had once operated mainly in the underworld before creating Kalpha, that didn’t mean she was entirely ignorant of current politics.
After all, the Zenonia family had, at times, maneuvered between factions to reap benefits.
But even if she had never been involved in politics, this situation was astonishing.
Among nobles entrenched in politics, those with significant authority never bow to others.
In contrast to the underworld, where one might bow in front and stab in the back to achieve one’s goals, the political world of nobles valued justification, principle, and prestige.
Such a gesture was never made lightly.
In a world where justification, principle, and prestige determined almost everything, bowing to someone meant giving them tremendous leverage, both internally and externally.
‘How...?’
Count Zenonia turned her gaze to Count Palatio.
Even though Marquis Filboid was essentially declaring his defeat, Palatio’s expression showed no hint of surprise.
It was as if he had anticipated this outcome all along.
Feeling a tingling sensation at her fingertips, Count Zenonia couldn’t help but smile.
‘As expected, remarkable.’
Of course, she had no idea what method Count Palatio had used to force Marquis Filboid to admit defeat, and honestly, she couldn’t even imagine.
But what mattered to her was the power itself, so she could only look at Count Palatio with admiration.
‘ ... What is this?’
Meanwhile, Alon was watching Marquis Filboid, bewildered, as he bowed his head.
Silence.
Though Alon was not silent by choice, he was simply trying to grasp what was happening, as he had no idea either.
‘Did I do something?’
Alon, who had even forgotten to chew the financier in his mouth, was racking his brain, but soon shook his head.
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t recall doing anything, and besides, he had been too busy to even consider dealing with Marquis Filboid.
‘ ... Did a rumor spread?’
Naturally, Alon began considering other reasons.
‘Come to think of it, there had been rumors lately about my closeness with Seolrang.’
Alon thought of Duke Altia and Count Zenonia, who knew about the rumors spreading from the Colony, but soon dismissed that theory.
While it was true that he had been treated with respect by other nobles after the rumors spread, it still didn’t make sense for Marquis Filboid to bow just because of Seolrang.
As Alon continued to review one hypothesis after another, he eventually arrived at only one conclusion.
‘What in the world did these two do?’
Alon subtly glanced over at Duke Altia and Count Zenonia, who were both staring intently at him.
Even though he was ignorant of politics, he knew enough to realize how absurd it was for the leader of a faction to bow his head like this, so Alon found himself staring blankly at the two of them.
‘ ... Ah.’
He suddenly recalled that the two women behind him were supposed to become two of the three hidden powers of the Asterian Kingdom.
‘I need to be careful.’
Just as Alon finished his musings,
“Truly, I have lost...”
Marquis Filboid, the leader of the noble faction who had never bowed in public before, lowered his head even further and begged for forgiveness.
And there was no trace of shame or anger in the Marquis’ expression.
In fact, his face was filled with fear.
The reason for his fear was a single letter he had received a few days ago.
Shortly after Duke Limgrave had been dragged to the Holy Kingdom after receiving a conversion letter, Filboid had received a letter as well.
The letter didn’t contain much.
There was only a small magical orb and a single sentence.
But that small magical orb and single sentence were enough to instill a chilling fear in Marquis Filboid.
Because the magical orb, which was capable of storing a one-time video, had shown:
[A-ah, I really don’t know anything. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry~]
The image of Duke Limgrave, trembling uncontrollably, strapped to a white chair, as if triggered by a seizure, repenting.
And after the magical orb finished playing, it shattered into pieces, leaving behind only the letter.
[You’re next.]
That single sentence was written.
But even that alone was enough to instill fear in Marquis Filboid, and he could easily guess where this backlash was coming from.
‘Count Palatio...!’
Marquis Filboid couldn’t understand how Count Palatio had connections within the Holy Kingdom stronger than the high-ranking cardinals they had bribed.
However, that wasn’t the important issue.
What mattered was that Duke Limgrave, who had been scheming with him to bring down Count Palatio, had been caught in the backlash and dragged to the Holy Kingdom, where he was left half-destroyed.
And the next target had been decided to be himself.
If he hadn’t received this letter, Marquis Filboid would never have bowed to Count Palatio.
While receiving a conversion letter would certainly be a serious political issue, as long as he wasn’t truly in league with heretics, there wouldn’t be any significant personal danger.
But Duke Limgrave had suffered this fate despite having no ties to heretics.
In other words, it was highly likely that Duke Limgrave’s downfall was entirely due to Count Palatio’s scheming.
Not wanting to be dragged off to the Holy Kingdom and meet the same fate as the Duke, Filboid, overcome by continuous fear, eventually bowed his head.
“Please~!”
And not just bowing his head—he dropped to his knees, completely prostrate on the floor.
It was a desperate plea, expressing his desire to abandon his political career and live out the rest of his life in peaceful retirement.
In response,
‘Amazing...!’
‘As expected of the Count...!’
Count Zenonia and Duke Altia looked at Alon with eyes full of admiration.
‘ ... Amazing. What in the world did he do?’
Alon glanced at Count Zenonia and Duke Altia with a somewhat uneasy expression.
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