I Became the Narrow-Eyed Villain in a Dropped Novel

I walked along the riverbank, following the numbers marked on the neatly built warehouses.

17, 18, 19.

Stopping in front of Warehouse 19, I glanced around.

Laborers were bustling about, carrying goods, but no one came near Warehouse 19.

‘Looks like I found the right place.’

I casually opened the door and stepped inside, greeted by orderly stacks of crates.

The freshly made crates were labeled in red with “Borgia Liquor Guild.”

At the end of a row of crates with the same red lettering, a white-haired woman stood with her arms crossed.

“You’re late.”

“Something came up that I had to deal with.”

It was a shameless excuse, but Til just shrugged.

She must be used to it.

“Everything here is getting picked up by the palace tomorrow.”

“Isn’t that too much?”

“What do the grunts know? They’ll just do as they’re told. We’ve already persuaded the person in charge.”

The word “persuaded” sounded chilling.

Reading my expression, Til snapped, as if she knew what I was thinking.

“Not that kind of persuasion. It was a perfectly normal transaction with money.”

“Sure. Let’s skip the process. Is the stuff in order?”

Til carefully pulled out a crate from the innermost part of the warehouse.

It had already been opened once, as the lid lifted smoothly.

I leaned in to look inside the crate.

A strong smell of oil hit me from bottles filled with yellowish liquid.

Waving my hand, I quickly pulled my head back.

“How much is there?”

“Enough to burn down the palace and then some. The weapons are placed where they’re easy to access. Now it’s up to the user to make good use of them.”

Of course, there was no plan to burn the entire palace.

We just needed to set fire to the path leading to the Imperial Capital from the banquet hall where this banquet was being held.

“I don’t know if all this oil can stop the Imperial Guard, though.”

Til grumbled as she closed the crate.

This much oil was meant to block the Imperial Guard’s approach.

It had to create flames fierce enough not to be easily extinguished and hard to break through even with defensive spells.

In cases like this, brute force was more cost-effective than magic.

“They’ll evacuate the Emperor first, so we’ll have some time. We just need to secure the palace firmly.”

“Easy for you to say when it’s not your job.”

“It’s not your job either, is it?”

The members infiltrating the palace were Hendrick and Blaiher.

To minimize chaos, we needed the Emperor’s elder, and to fill the Emperor’s vacancy, we needed Blaiher.

“Ha, you’re really leaving that to me?”

“Who else but you can attack Lord Werner Chartra, injure him just enough not to kill, and escape?”

As soon as word spread that Chartra was attacked on his way to the banquet hall, if the Imperial Army forcibly took control of the Imperial Capital, that was a success.

With no place to fortify or hide in the capital, even the Imperial Guard wouldn’t hold out long.

“Even if everything goes according to your plan, whether people accept Blaiher as Emperor is another matter. How are you handling that?”

“Why should I worry about that? Isn’t that for His Highness, who’ll be Emperor, to figure out?”

“…Do you like the kid or hate him?”

“I believe in his ability. By the way, read this.”

I handed a letter to Til, who clicked her tongue.

She examined the letter suspiciously, only accepting it after confirming it was from Headquarters.

As she quickly read through it, her expression grew increasingly grim.

“The professor again? This time he went and caused a ruckus in someone else’s territory. What a reckless old man.”

In someone else’s territory.

That was the most troublesome part of this incident.

Charnirasho was the stronghold of Avantnik, the only Demon member of the Eight Council.

And Professor Zain, also of the Eight Council, had directly attacked that place.

The professor probably had no thoughts beyond his experiment, but to the Charnirasho Demons, it was tantamount to a declaration of war.

Relations between Vestol and the Demons were already strained due to their conflicts, but a direct confrontation was a different matter entirely.

“The good news is, because of the professor, Vestol won’t have the capacity to meddle in the Empire. The bad news… you already know.”

“What’s your plan? You usually don’t care about this kind of thing.”

The original Valheit would’ve let the two fight and used it to his advantage later.

But following that path would definitely get me backstabbed and killed.

“I plan to mediate once the Empire’s affairs are settled.”

“Mediate? You? Why? When? Where? How?”

Questions poured out, full of suspicion.

It was natural she’d be skeptical—someone who normally didn’t care about internal conflicts suddenly stepping up to mediate.

“I’m the acting Commander, aren’t I?”

“…Fair enough, but how are you going to mediate? Both are stubborn as hell.”

“Given their personal history, telling them to reconcile nicely won’t work. I’m not planning to go in and dictate terms myself either.”

With their deep-seated grudges, my stepping in to mediate wouldn’t work.

I needed a far more reliable mediator.

“I plan to use the Empire as the mediator. Specifically, Blaiher.”

“That kid? How?”

“Turn it from a personal dispute into one between factions. For Blaiher, it’s a chance to prove the Empire’s strength, and for us, it’s a way to resolve a headache relatively easily.”

The two would likely prefer this over facing each other and apologizing.

For Blaiher, diplomacy is a stage to quickly show results, so it’s a win-win.

Of course, this only works if we get Blaiher on the throne.

“Back to business—how’s Blaiher doing?”

I’d left it to him to prove himself, but it’s not an easy task.

Making an unknown illegitimate child known to the public—how could that be simple?

If push comes to shove, I could step in directly or even skip that part of the plan.

“He seems to be doing alright.”

“I knew it… Wait, what?”

“He’s moving to Schwaben… There’s already talk about the Emperor’s hidden child.”

“That fast?”

“It’s where he’s from.”

I hadn’t considered that, but still, isn’t that too quick?

“If you’re curious, go to Schwaben and check. It’s not hard.”

“I will.”

I’d planned to check on it anyway.

Originally, attacking Werner was the priority, so I was going to put Blaiher’s side on hold, but now I was curious.

How did he do it?

* * *

“Senior, you’re drinking too much.”

“Hey, how often do we come to a place this expensive? Drink the good stuff.”

“It’s not good stuff, it’s strong stuff.”

The senior ignored the advice and downed another glass.

The apprentice blacksmith of the Royal Blacksmiths’ Guild sighed almost inaudibly.

Three years as an apprentice, and alcohol was still foreign to him.

Plus, being in the most famous high-end tavern on Schwaben Street made him even more nervous than usual.

“We’re out of snacks… Got any good stories?”

“Uh, did you see the article in the Current Affairs Daily?”

“The one about His Majesty—no, someone—requesting troops from those Vestol bastards? You’re behind, kid. That’s old news. The hot topic now is this.”

Despite being tipsy, the senior glanced around carefully.

The apprentice got a bad feeling about what he was about to say.

“Heard about Chancellor Hendrick escaping from exile?”

“What? Is that allowed?”

“Of course not! Everyone’s guessing where he went. Some say he’s coming to the Imperial Capital, others say he fled to the Northern Federation nearby.”

“Ooooh…”

The apprentice raised his glass, halfheartedly agreeing, hoping to toast and shut him up, but the senior had no intention of stopping.

“The juiciest part hasn’t even started. Too guilty to become Emperor himself, so he’s using His Majesty’s illegitimate child. What was the name… Bla-something.”

“That’s an interesting story.”

Someone suddenly cut in.

The apprentice’s eyes trembled as he looked at the intruder.

“Count Valheit? What are you doing here…?”

That squinting gaze, that mouth ready to sneer at any moment.

It was unmistakably the man who came that day and bought the ebony staff.

“Came because I saw a familiar face, but you’re discussing something serious.”

“Uh, yes, Count. Just talking about rumors floating around.”

The senior, his earlier bravado gone, scratched the back of his head and tried to slip away.

But he couldn’t take more than a few steps before turning back.

A menacing figure was glaring at him.

“So, what did Chancellor Hendrick do?”

“It’s not confirmed…”

The senior’s loud voice grew quieter.

The narrow-eyed man shook his head, as if disappointed, and turned to the apprentice.

It was clearly a closed gaze, yet it felt burning.

“He’s coming to the Imperial Capital with the Emperor’s illegitimate child.”

“So he’s really coming to the capital?”

The apprentice and the other tavern patrons all focused on Valheit’s mouth.

Whether he knew it or not, Valheit sipped his drink leisurely, waiting for the apprentice’s response.

Trying to dodge the question, the apprentice gave a vague answer.

“No one knows if the illegitimate child is really His Majesty’s, but since the key is Chancellor Hendrick, does it matter?”

“Hmm, whether it’s real or not doesn’t matter… Interesting perspective. You recommended a refined item last time too, so your viewpoints are quite unique.”

The apprentice hiccupped involuntarily.

Was today the day the senior warned about, disappearing without a trace?

He was about to shed his apprentice label, so why did this guy show up now?

“Thanks to you, I got such a fine item. Saved my life three or four times because of this.”

“Thank you…”

Watching Valheit wave the staff, the apprentice felt dazed.

Was he being genuine or sarcastic?

“Back to the main topic, it’s almost certain Hendrick is coming to the capital. But I’m curious about who this illegitimate child is.”

Nobles, merchants, the tavern owner, even the staff—all focused on Valheit’s words.

The usually noisy tavern fell silent.

“Personally, I hope it’s real. Don’t you think so?”

The bombshell statement left most of the tavern’s patrons gaping.

After a brief moment of shock, they began whispering as quietly as possible.

“Uh… yeah, I guess.”

“I knew we’d see eye to eye. Meeting again like this is fate, so I’ll cover your drinks. Except for your friend’s.”

The senior’s face, which had brightened at the mention of free drinks, darkened again.

The apprentice was equally baffled by the situation.

“I’ll see you next time. In a quieter place.”

Valheit announced his departure as abruptly as his arrival.

But what mattered more to the apprentice was the words he left behind.

‘Why does he have to say things so ominously?’

What did he mean by meeting in a quieter place?

His mind spun with confusion.

Meanwhile, the senior wrapped his arm around the apprentice’s neck, shaking him back and forth.

“Hey, you’ve hooked a big one, huh? At this rate, you’ll outrank me!”

“Uh, I’m not sure.”

“Playing humble? I’m jealous, man. I want to recommend something to Valheit and turn my life around too.”

Ignoring the senior’s blabber, the apprentice kept staring at where Valheit had disappeared.

‘It’s definitely a bad feeling.’

That was the apprentice’s conclusion.