How an Omega Villain Survive chapter 29

It wasn’t a complete lie, even if he was hiding something. As if that settled the matter, Henry stepped back.

Edwin looked at him with a complex expression before leaving.

After sending Edwin out, Henry cracked the window open to check the situation outside.

He figured Crown Prince William would’ve handled things, but he wanted to see for himself.

Sure enough, he could hear Edwin’s low voice as the fight ended, and the knights were gathering everyone from the merchant group into one place.

Among them was the woman who had ambushed Edwin and the young girl.

If he had been alone, he could have escaped, but he seemed to have stayed because of the girl.

As Henry watched through the narrow gap in the window, William approached and knocked on it somewhat playfully.

“It’s all done. You’re coming out, right? This William Javre worked hard on your orders to clean up the mess.”

“Well, that’s a relief. It was worth trusting Your Highness and coming on this trip.”

In response to William’s loaded words, Henry opened the window wide, greeting him with an equally broad smile.

Henry smiled purely and brightly, as if to praise the well-done cleaning. Of course, William frowned as if displeased by Henry’s smile.

“I just remembered something I was curious about. Henry, since when have you been so good with words?”

“Since Edwin’s birthday party?”

At Henry’s shameless reply, William nodded.

“Right. I thought something was off with you since then. When people change, do they also get better at speaking?”

“It’s probably because it’s me.”

“If only you couldn’t talk…”

William, who had just asked when Henry had started speaking so well, finished with an inconsistent remark, saying that it wouldn’t be as annoying if he couldn’t speak, and clicked his tongue.

Remembering how Henry had openly threatened him earlier, it felt as if Henry was playing him. William decided he would repay this debt someday and changed the subject.

“That woman is quite something.”

As William expressed his admiration, shaking his head in disbelief, Henry subtly nodded in agreement.

The woman indeed possessed extraordinary skills. It wasn’t so much his strength or swordsmanship but rather his exceptional stealth.

“But in the end, it seems that young girl is his weakness.”

“I think so too. That girl must not be of ordinary status.”

Although he wore plain clothes and no one seemed to serve him, that didn’t matter.

The mere fact that the woman was protecting the girl was enough to show that he wasn’t just any ordinary child.

Henry leaned against the window frame and sighed openly.

Speaking of weaknesses, it reminded him of when he asked the guild about Edwin’s weaknesses.

He already knew some, but it would have been nice if there was just one obvious flaw, like with the girl.

And then it happened.

Edwin’s voice, carried by the wind, brushed past Henry’s ear.

“My weakness… might really be you, Henry.”

Henry’s heart sank at Edwin’s indifferent remark. Could he possibly know something?

Henry hastily composed his crumbling expression, layering his face with annoyance as he glared at Edwin.

“What nonsense are you spouting? Why are you dragging me into this?”

“Because you’re the weakest and most precious person.”

“Oh, come on.”

Now understanding what Edwin meant by weakness, Henry realized that Edwin was echoing the words he had said earlier.

But Edwin’s serious tone caught him off guard, making him momentarily flustered.

‘How could I forget what I just joked about?’

Blaming Edwin alone seemed unfair, as Henry had been the one to bring up weaknesses first.

Could Edwin have noticed that they had formed a imprint?

The thought made Henry uneasy and startled.

“So, what should we do now?”

William clapped his hands to draw their attention back to him.

Despite having been attacked and captured, they still didn’t know the identity of their assailants, so William asked for their input on what to do next.

Though William would ultimately decide, he wanted to hear what Henry and Edwin had to say.

“We should interrogate them. Of course, we don’t have time, so let’s do it here.”

Henry suggested in an utterly casual tone, as if proposing a walk on a nice day.

While it would be ideal if the interrogation ended with just questions and answers, there was no telling what kind of force might be involved.

At that, the leader, who was kneeling at the front, glared at Henry. He gritted his teeth and glared as if looking at an enemy.

“Those who treat others’ lives so carelessly will surely face punishment.”

“Then I guess you’ll be the first to be punished.”

Henry nonchalantly responded to the man’s curses while casually picking at his ear, his indifference shocking William, the Crown Prince, who had to suppress a laugh that threatened to escape.

Even so, the laughter wouldn’t go away, and William had to clear his throat several times to compose himself and maintain a serious demeanor.

“Yes, we have a long journey ahead, so there’s no need to move these people elsewhere.”

With William eagerly accepting Henry’s suggestion, unrest spread among the kneeling merchants.

The crime of attacking royalty—no matter what extenuating circumstances they had, the outcome was inevitable.

They had known that failure meant death when they made their plan.

So, despite their desperate attempt, they ultimately failed.

As the merchants resigned themselves to death, their faces contorted with shame and anger.

“We’re still in the interrogation phase and haven’t decided on any punishment yet.”

Henry tried to stop them, thinking they might be jumping to conclusions, but no one listened to him.

He considered going around to each of them and saying, “Not yet,” but decided against it.

After all, they knew what would happen if their plan failed.

In the original story, those who had kidnapped Henry met their end for the crime of attacking royalty.

“First, explain why you did this.”

William pretended not to notice the heavy sense of defeat on the leader’s face as he asked.

The leader, who had been sobbing with grief, suddenly lifted his head and shouted.

“We were falsely accused, and we wanted to clear our name. But no one would listen to us. The lord, the royal administrators—everyone turned their backs on us.”

“A false accusation?”

“Our Rebe merchant group was a mid-sized group operating in the Cairo territory. We lived honestly, harming no one, but the reward for that was the downfall of our group. What wouldn’t we do in that situation?”

“So why did you target me when your group fell?”

False accusations aside, merchant groups could collapse in the blink of an eye due to the flow of profits.

Being a mid-sized group, they might have been crushed by a larger group or hit by malicious rumors spread by a rival.

But even taking all that into account, William couldn’t understand why they had targeted him.

However, the leader, still not grasping William’s point, shouted back in frustration.

“We thought if we captured you, someone would finally listen to us.”

What a fool, Henry thought as he sighed and rubbed his forehead. What was the point of claiming to be wronged to someone as self-absorbed as William, the Crown Prince?

“You planned to take me hostage.”

Before the leader could respond to William’s musing, the woman who had remained silent until then made eye contact with the leader and shook his head slightly.

Though the gesture could be interpreted as futile, it also hinted at a private understanding between them.

“So, to summarize, you tried to capture me in a desperate attempt to save your merchant group, unaware of the consequences of laying a hand on royalty?”

William summarized the situation in his own way, clearly more concerned with the attack on himself than with the group’s downfall.

The merchants’ faces darkened further as the situation spiraled into the worst-case scenario. Unable to just stand by, Henry finally intervened.

“That’s not right.”

“What’s not right? My long-time friend and loyal subject?”

William responded kindly to Henry’s words while reminding him of his position.

The unspoken message was clear: Watch your words.

Any answer that offends me will not be tolerated. Ignoring the phantom warning in his mind, Henry spoke.

“They hoped that the fair and just William, Crown Prince who loves all citizens of the empire, would understand their grievance and help them rebuild their merchant group.”

“Understand their grievance? Then many could simply draw their swords on me and claim they’re wronged.”

“Brandishing their swords was merely a display of how desperate they were, not a threat, but a childish complaint to have the imperial family punish the one who illegally took away what was theirs. Of course, we can’t let such antics slide next time.”

Henry downplayed the actions of the merchant group while praising Crown Prince William.

As Henry chuckled and sided with the merchants, William crossed his arms and observed him, while Edwin acted as if he couldn’t understand what Henry was thinking.

Edwin couldn’t see why Henry would defend those who had nearly injured them with their blind swords, but Henry remained unperturbed.

The merchants were equally baffled. The one who ordered the interrogation was now defending them. Ignoring the confused reactions from both sides, Henry pretended not to notice.

‘It wouldn’t be right to let that child die, after all.’

Just because they died in the original story doesn’t mean they have to die here.

It was Henry’s capriciousness, knowing the fate of the merchant group.

As a result, the girl looked at Henry with a curious gaze, and the woman watched him as if trying to understand his motives.

“Interesting.”

William seemed somewhat amused by Henry’s words, but only for a moment. He then turned his back to Henry, smirking mischievously.

“So, you’re asking me to spare that merchant group? It sounds to me like you’re pleading for their lives.”

“Henry, don’t get involved any further.”

Sensing that William was subtly trying to shift responsibility, Edwin grabbed Henry’s arm, trying to tell him that he shouldn’t bear any responsibility for a merchant group he had just met.

William was intent on executing those who dared to oppose him, but Henry’s interference was complicating matters. However, Henry ignored William’s trap and smiled innocently.

“I’m not pleading for their lives, but asking you to re-investigate what happened to them.”

“And then?”

“If you find any injustice as they claim, please clear it up. Doing so would only elevate your status as Crown Prince.”

“That’s easy to say. How are those who can’t even distinguish friend from foe supposed to prove their innocence?”

“They can prove it.”

Henry answered so easily that William looked to the merchant leader.

The leader, who had been staring blankly at Henry, suddenly nodded vigorously at William.

“Yes. We can prove everything.”

“See? They said they could.”

Henry’s coaxing, as if saying, ‘I told you so,’ made William smirk bitterly, but his expression soon hardened.

“Even if that’s true, I can’t forgive them for pointing their swords at me. No matter how much you try to stop me, Henry…”

“What if they become my people?”

“…What?”

“If I take them under my wing, would you grant them mercy?”

William looked at Henry as if caught off guard.

The very tactic he had just used on Henry was now being turned back on him.

He had intended to shift some of the blame onto Henry for siding with the merchants, thinking it would be convenient to burden him with this responsibility.

But Henry had seen through his intentions and boldly accepted that burden.

“I can’t understand why you’re going to such lengths.”

“Consider it a whim, spurred by the fine weather. Then let’s conclude by saying I’ll take full responsibility for the merchant group. What do you think?”

Henry needed to handle today’s events in a way that left no room for complaints. Satisfied with having offloaded the trouble, William accepted Henry’s proposal.

As William returned to his carriage, Henry glanced over the newly acquired members of his group, finally locking eyes with the girl and giving his a wink.

‘I just saved your life.’

The girl looked at Henry with disgust at his smirk before quickly turning away.