Help, I'm in Another World and All the Men Are Are So Dangerous! [BL]-Chapter 282: The Real Mastermind

And then, with that same unsettling smile, Laxus had thrown a long-winded interrogation at him.

To Rocco, there was nothing more terrifying than facing a Laxus like this.

Because when someone he loved treated him the way they would treat someone they didn’t love, it was unbearably painful—enough to make him cry.

"Aaand you made him cry. Honestly, how childish. Laxus, you’re still nothing but an immature teenager."

"F-Father! Don’t just sit there laughing—help me out!"

"This is something you need to fix yourself. You upset him, so take responsibility and make it right. Honestly, considering how delicate Rocco is—practically like a fairy—you really are an idiot, Laxus."

"Ugh...!"

Makarov who is lounging lazily as he threw out his sharp remarks, earned a rare moment of speechlessness from Laxus.

Rocco, still teary-eyed, wondered if Laxus wasn’t actually angry after all.

Sylas pulled him even closer into a warm embrace.

Mmm... cozy.

Then, a hesitant tap on his shoulder made him turn around.

Laxus stood there, brows furrowed in regret, looking very apologetic.

"...I’m sorry, Rocco. I wasn’t angry. I was just... pathetically jealous of Feilu. And then I said something really unfair. I’m really, really sorry..."

His slumped shoulders and downcast eyes made him look like an abandoned puppy.

That sight triggered something protective in Rocco, and before he knew it, he was patting Laxus’s head in comfort.

"Mm, yeah. I’m sorry too. It’s just... Laxus’s smile was a little scary. I really, really love it when you smile for real, y’know...?"

"...Ghh...!"

"Not a scary smile, but a gentle one. I love that smile. The usual Laxus—I love him a lot. So don’t be sad, okay? Because I always love you."

"Guhahh!!"

Laxus staggered as if he had just taken a direct hit.

Although Rocco had hastily tried to explain, he wasn’t sure what to do next.

It seemed that, unintentionally, he had taken Laxus down.

For some reason, Laxus had coughed up blood and collapsed onto the floor, groaning in agony.

The second victim after his father—how pitiful.

"Laxus... died..."

"Leave him. Let’s continue the discussion."

Apparently, Rocco was the only one worried about poor Laxus.

The report resumed as if nothing had happened, so he quickly pulled his hands away from Laxus and shifted into listening mode.

Sorry, Laxus. I’ll come back for you after this is over...

As he listened, it became clear that the mastermind behind everything was, as expected, Ares.

The head of the Don Ferocelli family had secretly been working with Ares for years, despite maintaining a supposedly neutral stance.

In reality, he had been supporting the rebel forces from the shadows.

His motive was simple—he found it humiliating to remain in an unremarkable, neutral position and wanted to bring down the two great families.

Although he had seemed like a rational person, it turned out he was an incredibly ambitious man.

As for the sequence of events, once he learned that Rocco would be attending the soirée, he devised his plan.

Feilu had been aware of this.

Initially, he had wanted to stop his father’s wrongdoing, but in the end, the plan had gone through.

While Feilu had indeed assisted in Rocco’s kidnapping, he had also misled Ares’s faction and fed information to Laxus.

Because of this, his punishment would likely be lighter than that of the others.

The reason Feilu betrayed Ares’s side was because Laxus, having noticed his internal conflict for some time, had skillfully persuaded him to share information.

Laxus’s competence in moments like these was honestly terrifying.

But in any case, the kidnapping incident had been successfully resolved.

And considering that they had managed to capture the leader of the notorious rebel army, wasn’t this an incredible achievement?

As Rocco blinked in amazement at the sheer magnitude of it, everyone else simply shook their heads, looking exhausted.

What was going on?

"Hmm? Since we caught all the bad guys, doesn’t that mean everything will be peaceful now?"

Perched on Laxus’s lap—where he had recovered from his earlier collapse—Rocco swung his legs idly as he posed the question.

Meanwhile, Sylas, who had lost possession of Rocco to Laxus, was sulking beside them, frowning in discontent.

"Well... things have gotten a little bit complicated. Thanks to that troublesome prince, we’ve uncovered a rather shocking new truth."

"A new truth?"

The words sounded thrilling, and Rocco’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

Makarov chuckled at his reaction, shaking his head. "It’s not the kind of thing you’d find fun."

Then, with a gentle smile, he revealed the truth.

"The mastermind... was not the prince."

He said it so nonchalantly, but Rocco was completely lost.

Wait, huh?

If Ares had been arrested as the villain, wouldn’t that make him the mastermind?

Or was there another higher-ranking figure above him?

But... who could be above the prince? There shouldn’t be anyone... right?

Confused, Rocco looked at Makarov, who gave him a knowing smile and patiently explained in simpler terms.

"Didn’t anything ever seem off to you? If the prince was the true mastermind, do you really think he could have outmaneuvered Georgio the Hyena? Or maintained a rebel army for years? Doesn’t he seem a bit... unfit for that kind of role?"

"Hmm... now that you mention it, that does sound suspicious..."

So, if Ares was truly the mastermind behind everything, that would mean the incident involving Georgio’s sister was also part of his scheme.

For example, in Georgio’s case, he had mentioned that the attacker was incredibly skilled.

If someone had been able to move faster than Georgio and kill his sister before he could react, they had to be extremely powerful.

But according to what they knew so far, that highly skilled person would have to be Ares.

That... that just didn’t sit right.

Ares, stronger than Georgio? No way.

That was absolutely impossible.

Even Laxus and Sylas would struggle to avoid injury in a serious fight against Georgio.

"There’s no way that could happen. Ares could never beat Georgio or anyone else. How did he even avoid getting caught for so long? Was he just ridiculously lucky? Like, super lucky?"