Help, I'm in Another World and All the Men Are Are So Dangerous! [BL]-Chapter 266: The Hidden Mastermind

His gut reaction wasn’t fear—his body wasn’t registering Feilu as a threat.

But then... what was Feilu’s role in all this?

Feilu was the one who had tricked him, the one who had brought him here.

And yet, if he wasn’t truly the enemy... was there someone else pulling the strings?

Rocco processed the situation as calmly as he could, then gave a small nod in response to Feilu’s plea.

For now, he would listen.

If Feilu wasn’t an enemy—at least, not at this moment—then cooperating was the safest option.

Besides, Rocco had no desire to experience whatever "painful things" he was being warned about.

"Help will come soon," Feilu murmured. "Please, just hold on until then."

With that, he removed his hand from Rocco’s mouth and stepped away.

At first, Rocco assumed hold on simply meant staying put and waiting calmly for rescue.

But when he caught the pained, conflicted expression on Feilu’s face, a sinking feeling settled in his gut.

This wasn’t going to be as simple as a straightforward rescue mission.

Something much worse was about to happen.

...

A loud crash rang through the room, laced with frustration, freezing the already tense atmosphere even further.

The shattered glass of a liquor tumbler lay scattered across the floor, joining an ashtray that had been thrown earlier.

Just yesterday, this room had been spotless—not a speck of dust in sight.

However, now, it looked more like the aftermath of a brawl or the ruins of a long-abandoned building.

And the cause? Almost certainly, it was the man who had been radiating a sharp, volatile energy since last night.

"Hey, Sylas, could you quiet down a little bit? Taking it out on things won’t change anything."

A voice finally cut through the silence, coming from someone no one had dared to challenge until now.

Whether he was a savior or simply oblivious to the tension, it was the young heir of the Del Fiore family who finally voiced his complaint.

He had remained completely silent for hours, unaffected even as Sylas had been violently lashing out since the previous night.

But it seemed even his patience had its limits.

And honestly, it had been unbearably loud.

At the sound of his voice, Sylas’s already furious expression twisted further, and suddenly, he stood.

With a single motion, he grabbed Del Fiore by the collar, his voice low and threatening.

"You think you have the right to complain? This happened because you left Rocco alone."

Sylas was far from his usual composed self.

Laxus, however, merely let out a scoff, sneering as he spat out his response.

"Ha. Yeah, you’re right. It was my mistake. I let my guard down, and that’s why Rocco was taken. I won’t argue with you on that."

Then, leaning in ever so slightly, he murmured in Sylas’s ear, delivering the final blow.

"But isn’t that the same for you?"

The air in the room remained thick with tension.

The other men present trembled under the sheer pressure radiating from the two.

The Del Fiore, entirely unfazed, went in for the kill.

"Pushing your regrets onto someone else? Not a great look, don’t you think?"

Sylas’s shoulders twitched—just barely.

It was rare for him to show any sign of being shaken, but the words had clearly hit their mark.

Because the truth was, Sylas wasn’t blameless.

After all, he had stationed guards to protect Rocco—their angelic little prince—yet had utterly failed to make use of them when it mattered most.

Sylas had been just as careless.

And if there was anyone who had lost the right to assign blame, it was him.

Perhaps realizing this himself, his grip on Laxus’s collar loosened—then released entirely.

Laxus placed a firm hand on Sylas’s slumped shoulder and, with an almost dazzling smile, spoke as if he were simply exchanging pleasantries.

"Don’t worry. If anything happens to Rocco, I’ll make sure to atone it with my life. There’s no way I can keep living in a world without him. So go ahead, hate me all you want."

His voice was lighthearted, almost casual.

And yet, there wasn’t a single hint of deception in his expression.

He was serious.

That was the face of someone who was genuinely ready to throw away his life without a second thought.

The only thing anchoring him to this world was Rocco—nothing else mattered.

In that way, he was exactly the same as Sylas.

"That being said, I’m not planning on letting Rocco go just yet. Don’t worry—his location should be arriving any minute now."

"What...?"

Sylas’s head snapped up, his eyes wide.

Philip, too, involuntarily sucked in a breath.

Even he had struggled to track Rocco’s whereabouts since last night, yet this man had already gotten close to pinpointing his exact location?

But when? And how?

As suspicious glares shot his way, Laxus simply smiled and continued in a pleasant tone.

"The one who knocked Rocco out and kidnapped him was almost certainly Feilu. Rocco was last seen alone with him, and after that, all sightings of him disappeared."

"...Yes. That’s why we’ve been systematically searching through every one of the Don Ferocelli family’s villas. The mastermind behind Rocco’s abduction is undoubtedly them."

Philip gave a small nod.

That theory made perfect sense.

In fact, it was almost certainly correct.

Everything had been a trap set by the Don Ferocelli family.

The entire soirée had likely been nothing more than a stage for Rocco’s kidnapping. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

And as further proof—both Feilu and the head of the Don Ferocelli family had vanished without a trace since last night.

As if they had disappeared alongside Rocco himself.

From the circumstances, there was no doubt that the Don Ferocelli family was responsible for it.

That was the conclusion Sylas had drawn as he continued investigating their villas and properties.

However, Laxus shook his head with a broad grin.

"Too bad. There’s actually a mastermind pulling the strings behind this. The Don Ferocelli is just a pawn—Feilu, too."

"What do you mean? If the Don Ferocelli isn’t the main culprit, then who..."