How an Omega Villain Survive chapter 30

After Henry took responsibility, the situation quickly settled. Crown Prince William lost interest in them, and Henry refused to move with the group.

With arms crossed, Henry asked about the nearest area at the base of the mountain.

“What’s the closest territory from here?”

“Heron Territory.”

“Then, let’s meet there, and the person in charge should come with me.”

“Understood. I’ll convey the message and return.”

The leader nodded in agreement with Henry’s plan and prepared to relay the message to the trading group.

“Wait.”

Henry stopped the leader just as he turned around. The leader looked back, puzzled. Henry stared directly into his eyes, the man now in his middle age.

The look in his eyes, which had once been hostile towards Henry, was now filled with admiration.

After all, Henry had saved them, so it was natural for the leader to be grateful. But there was something Henry needed to address.

“We’ll be working together from now on, so it won’t be good if you keep avoiding things.”

“What do you mean…?”

The leader tilted his head in confusion, but Henry didn’t miss the slight tremor in his eyes.

“Bring the real person in charge.”

“If you’re referring to the head of the trading group, that would be me.”

“I want the true owner of the group. Are you going to keep pretending not to know?”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“Hah, this is troublesome. If you want to be the head of the trading group during its reconstruction, I won’t stop you. But you can’t put anyone else in that position.”

Henry’s words left the leader speechless for the first time.

As Henry watched his expression darken, he gave him a moment to think.

“How did you know?”

“That’s not something you and I need to discuss.”

Henry, not wanting to give the man more time to hesitate, casually gestured somewhere.

The nonchalant way he pointed seemed to shake the leader, who then lowered his head and walked away, realizing he couldn’t continue pretending.

As the leader departed, Edwin stepped in.

“How did you know he wasn’t the head of the group?”

“I just know these things.”

Henry replied playfully, winking.

“You’re always trying to deflect with jokes.”

Edwin pressed on, clearly unimpressed. His pheromones weighed heavily on Henry’s shoulders, signaling his displeasure.

Henry shrugged off the pressure, pretending to stretch his stiff shoulders.

‘It would be nice if someone could at least lie and say they could sense his pheromones.’

If others could feel Edwin’s pheromones, he wouldn’t be so careless with them.

But since no one else could sense them, he used them freely, lacking any sense of propriety.

Henry, taking the opportunity to stretch his shoulders, loosened up his neck and spoke.

“The woman who attacked you.”

He didn’t need to be specific; Edwin seemed to understand, nodding slightly.

“You don’t think she’s just staying close to the girl because they’re both women, do you? Sir Teher, who’s currently by my side, is a knight specially assigned by my father. It’s only natural to place capable people around those who are important.”

Of course, Henry had initially requested Sir Teher, and the Duke had easily granted his wish, but Sir Teher was one of the most skilled knights in the Duke’s household, which is why he was assigned.

“That alone isn’t enough to explain it.”

Edwin seemed to consider Henry’s words but then shook his head.

He knew the woman’s swordsmanship was sharp, but it was the girl that puzzled him.

Henry seemed to imply that the girl was the true head of the trading group, but there wasn’t enough evidence to support this.

“Is there another reason why you think the girl is the head of the group?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

Henry asked, genuinely confused. Their gazes met as they stared at each other.

“When did I say the girl was the head of the group?”

“…”

The conversation was becoming increasingly tangled, and a faint wrinkle appeared on Edwin’s usually expressionless face, showing his discomfort with the confusing dialogue.

While they talked, the girl and the woman approached, but no one spoke to them. The atmosphere wasn’t conducive to it.

Henry, still locked in eye contact with Edwin, slowly unraveled the twisted conversation.

“The girl isn’t the head of the group. The woman who attacked you is.”

He pointed directly at the woman.

“And the one with skills comparable to Sir Teher is the girl.”

As he pointed to the girl, Edwin’s sharp gaze flicked between the woman and the girl.

In the carriage, Henry, Edwin, the woman who introduced herself as Violet, and the girl who called herself Herze were gathered. As they awkwardly looked at each other, Violet broke the silence.

“How did you know I was the head of the group?”

Henry smiled at Herze as he answered.

“I pointed out Crown Prince William’s carriage to this girl earlier. I was telling his that the person you were looking for was in that carriage.”

Herze had understood Henry’s message and whispered something to Violet, leading to the ensuing fight.

“You purposely didn’t attack the Crown Prince, did you?”

Henry had informed Herze of William’s identity, so he refrained from attacking him. When Henry asked, Herze reluctantly nodded, not wanting to admit it.

“You must never attack a royal, no matter the circumstance. That’s why I instructed them to attack you instead.”

If Henry hadn’t interfered, Herze would have followed through with his original plan. If William refused to listen to his demands, he had prepared a way out, planning to claim that he didn’t attack him.

“And you made sure to make Violet look like a swordsman by having his join the fight?”

Herze’s plan likely included making Violet appear as a skilled protector of the girl by having his attack Edwin.

In doing so, he could hide Violet’s true identity, even in the worst-case scenario. But Herze refused to acknowledge it, keeping his mouth tightly shut.

“You may have been discreet, but there were many people around Violet. They all seemed intent on protecting their head. Oh, and that’s not all.”

As Henry continued to share his observations, Herze’s expression darkened, and Edwin’s eyes sparkled with interest.

“When you lost the fight and got captured, you positioned the head of the group at the very back, creating an escape route.”

“Do you think just guessing makes you right?”

“But I wasn’t guessing.”

Henry pointed outside at the members of the trading group, who hadn’t yet left.

“They were all gathered around Violet.”

It wasn’t just because Violet was a skilled swordsman that they congregated around her. They were prepared to give their lives to protect her.

The girl had been on the side, not at the center, making it clear who the important person was.

From start to finish, Henry had a better perspective, as he wasn’t actively participating in the fight but rather observing it.

When he mixed in the original content appropriately, the answer became clear.

“Hide the identity of the guild leader and plan for the future, right?”

In other words, Herze was not a combatant like Sir Teher, but more of a strategist. Herze seemed offended by Henry’s behavior, as if he knew everything and turned his head away.

“Aren’t I smart?”

Henry said to Edwin. Edwin, who found it absurd that Henry wanted praise even in this situation, nodded, clearly impressed by Henry’s insight.

He had assumed Henry was only interested in appearances—someone who cared more about wearing the most extravagant clothes than about others’ opinions, and who prioritized his feelings above all.

But the way Henry was acting now was truly unexpected.

“Smart? You figured it out just by watching while others fought.”

Herze grumbled, reluctant to admit it.

“But you didn’t even know what the Crown Prince looked like. What would you have done without me?”

“I may not have known, but I’d heard the rumors about his golden hair resembling the sun.”

“So, did you mistake me for him? I noticed you staring at me.”

Or maybe you were just admiring my good looks? Henry’s cheeky comment left Herze momentarily speechless, his breaths coming out in exasperated huffs.

“As if. It was easy to tell the difference.”

“And how was that?”

“The Crown Prince has a much more dignified appearance than someone as frivolous as you.”

“What if you had made a mistake due to that confusion?”

“Thanks for preventing such a mistake. But do you think the Crown Prince knows you revealed his identity?”

“Wouldn’t he suspect?”

“Wow, how shameless.”

Edwin and Violet couldn’t bring themselves to interrupt the tense and relentless exchange between Herze and Henry.

Not long ago, they were both sharply analyzing the situation, but their fight had devolved into something utterly childish.