I Will Fulfill the Role of the Villain-Chapter 151

Theo's gaze lingered on the flower petals for a while. As if tracing back a memory, he gently brushed over them several times before finally rising to his feet.

After lightly finishing his preparations and heading downstairs, he heard the cry of a cat from somewhere. Theo changed direction and walked toward the drawing room where the sound was coming from. Through the slightly open door, he could see Monet sitting on the sofa.

Monet wasn’t usually one to make noise, but he was crying like this early in the morning. Theo stepped inside and gently picked him up.

"Is it because Luke isn’t here?"

"Meow."

As if to say yes, Monet blinked once. Come to think of it, just like Gwen had said, Monet used to cry like this for a while whenever his owner—Theo’s mother—was away from home. He must have noticed that Luke was away again this time, too.

"Ah, Young Lord. Good morning."

At that moment, Gwen, who had been passing by the drawing room, stepped inside.

"Monet’s crying."

Theo lightly stroked Monet’s chin. Normally, Monet wouldn’t accept anyone’s touch easily, but perhaps lacking energy, he quietly closed his eyes and didn’t resist the contact this time.

"It seems it’s because Lord Luke isn’t here."

Whenever Luke stayed at the mansion, Monet was always at his side. When Luke returned from headquarters after work, Monet would approach him like a pet greeting its master, and after he showered and came back out, Monet would wind around his legs affectionately. They had even occasionally slept together, so it wasn’t surprising that Monet felt lonely now.

"I should ask someone to prepare him some snacks."

Theo agreed and handed Monet over to Gwen’s arms.

"By the way, your breakfast is ready as well, Young Lord. Please come eat."

Leaving the drawing room, Theo entered the dining room. As he sat down and began to eat, his gaze kept drifting toward the other seat. The seat where Luke always sat to eat with him.

He chewed on a tomato atop the salad and thought of how Luke used to pick them up with his hands. There was even that time in Kailum when he’d tried to feed Luke—who had injured his hand—only to fail miserably.

It really was strange. The time Luke had spent in this mansion wasn’t long when you thought about it, yet the memories they made together in this space had become the most dominant ones in all his time living here.

Luke would come back when the time was right. But even knowing that, the emptiness was something he couldn’t stop from settling in.

A familiar thirst welled up. It was similar to what he had felt back when he first learned Luke had retired. At the time, he hadn’t quite known what had made him feel so impatient and empty—but now, he understood the reason.

"Gwen."

"Yes, Young Lord."

"I’m thinking of staying at the military headquarters for a while."

Without saying more, Gwen simply bowed her head in acknowledgment. It wasn’t unusual for Theo to leave the mansion. In fact, the current situation—him eating and sleeping here for a stretch—was rarer. Since his enlistment, he had spent most of his time at the military headquarters anyway.

"If anything comes up or urgent tasks arise, please contact me."

"Yes, of course."

And now, Gwen also knew that there was no longer any particular reason for Theo to stay at the mansion. So all she could do was push aside the regret and say not to worry about the affairs of the house.

Finishing his meal, Theo headed straight for military headquarters. If Luke was doing his best in that distant foreign land, then he too had to fulfill the role assigned to him here.

The moment he sat down, Theo opened the documents he had investigated with Luke last time at the National Library and began reading them thoroughly.

The proof that Welharun had colluded with Nox had been left to Luke. Which meant that he needed to consider how they would handle things once that proof was secured. From that perspective, Welharun was certainly an issue, but the biggest headache was the organization called Nox.

Nox resembled the villainous organizations found in fairy tales passed down among mages, and they had meddled in countless matters until now. They had abused war orphans with nowhere to go, exposing them to crime, and for the sake of profit, they hadn’t hesitated to commit inhumane acts.

If they didn’t use this incident to eradicate the organization completely, there was no telling how many more would suffer in the future. What bothered Theo the most was the possibility that Nox’s ultimate target might be Heighnerr itself.

Why would the leader of Nox want to destroy Heighnerr?

Theo lowered his gaze back to the document.

[Massive amounts of magical energy discovered in the air layer over a city that vanished in an explosion. Investigation results identified it as impure dark magic. Tentatively concluded as the cause of the large-scale explosion.]

[Accounts secured from some Sahar people. Believed that many monsters appeared following the massive explosion.]

This was the incident presumed to be the first recorded act of Nox, ten years ago. A massive explosion had occurred in Vite, a desert city under the rule of the Lockbell Empire. The Sahar, a reclusive race, were the native people of that desert.

Theo stroked his chin, deep in thought.

"Leo."

"Yes."

Leo, who had also been working diligently in the investigation unit, stood up and approached Theo.

"Do you know much about the desert city, Vite?"

"You mean the land under Lockbell Empire?"

"That's right."

At Theo’s question, Leo paused to think. Leo had access to information from a wide range of sources, so there was a chance he might know something.

"Hmm, I’ve heard that the Sahar people living in Vite are extremely reclusive. So I don’t know much about them."

"I see."

"But... I have heard something. That the Sahar are said to be quite eccentric."

"Eccentric?"

Surprised by the unexpected word, Theo asked again, and Leo nodded slightly.

"I’ve heard there are many highly capable scholars among the Sahar. Especially in the field of medicine."

Come to think of it, the Lockbell Empire was indeed renowned for its advanced medical science. So much so that people said even other countries’ medicine had progressed thanks to Lockbell, ushering in a continent-wide flourishing of medical knowledge.

Compared to other empires, Lockbell was considered relatively weak—but that medical science was enough to sustain it to this day.

So that was all thanks to the Sahar?

"And not just medicine. I’ve heard that among those who achieved outstanding accomplishments in science, ancient culture, and invention, the majority were Sahar."

"Why are they called eccentric?"

The term "eccentric" didn’t always carry a positive connotation. It was often used for people who engaged in bizarre behavior.

"Well... from what I understand, the Sahar have a strong drive for exploration. They tend to act on ideas that normal people wouldn’t even think of trying. That’s just their nature. Though I’m not exactly sure what they did to earn that label."

Theo nodded. Indeed, scholars often ended up going mad after obsessing over a particular field too deeply.

"It’s because of the documents related to Nox, right?"

Leo must have noticed the materials Theo was reading. The findings from the National Library had already been shared with all members of the investigation team.

"I also found that document unsettling. ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) Compared to Nox’s previous behavior, this one seems a bit off."

Leo was right. Everything Nox had done so far followed a recognizable pattern. They lent power—specifically unclean magic, often in the form of necromancy—to those who desired it, and demanded something in return.

They lent power to Membern, who wanted to win the war against Heighnerr, provided strength to quell the rebellion in the Kingdom of Felter, and were now helping Welharun, who for some reason sought to strike at Heighnerr’s back.

But none of those three cases bore much resemblance to the massive explosion that had occurred in Vite ten years ago. Aside from the fact that impure energy and monsters were discovered afterward, there was no real connection.

Why had that explosion even happened in the first place? Theo felt that if he could dig deeper into this incident, he might finally grab hold of a clue about Nox. That’s why he had tried to investigate this case with Leo at the lead—but as expected, it hadn’t been easy to gather information.

"Um, Commander."

Just then, Leo cautiously spoke to Theo, who had sunk into thought.

"If the military’s information network can’t dig it up, how about trying a different one?"

"A different one?"

"The nobles, I mean."

At the unexpected suggestion, Theo’s eyes widened slightly.

"You know, there are noble families in Heighnerr with long and storied histories. What if we asked them for information?"

Leo added that his own family’s history wasn’t deep enough to be of much help. As Theo silently listened to his subordinate, he suddenly shot up from his seat.

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"Shall I select a few families and reach out to them?"

"There’s no need for that."

"Sir?"

"I already know a family well-suited for that kind of thing."

Leaving behind the words "I’ll be out for a while," Theo briskly walked past Leo and exited the room. Leo stared blankly at the spot where Theo had been standing, then suddenly clapped his hands together.

"Ah, the Redrick Ducal House."

Theo’s own family, and the most prestigious ducal house in the Empire. Only now did Leo finally grasp what Theo had meant, and he nodded to himself.