The Obsessive Male Lead Is Actually Scary

"We’ll start your real training tomorrow," Alessio said, handing me a towel to wipe off the sweat.

I flashed him a confident smile as I took the towel from his hand, dabbing at my forehead like a proud overachiever who just conquered a mountain.

"Oh, done with training already?" Caleb called out, walking over with Mateo beside him.

Mateo handed a rolled-up paper to Alessio without a word.

"We just got word from the team," Caleb went on. "They’ve been digging into Count Belmont’s records, both recent and old. Turns out he’s been funneling funds through false ledgers and front estates for years. There’s strong evidence of black market dealings, and signs of embezzlement too, likely tied to House Wittelsbach. It’s still under investigation, though. The auction site within the Empire hasn’t been pinpointed yet."

Mateo spoke next, calm as ever. "We’ve stationed a few men near his manor in the capital. The rest are on their way to his estate."

Alessio unrolled the parchment and studied it carefully.

"Hm... his orphanage," he murmured after a long pause. "Send a unit there too. If he’s been treating kids like disposable stock for labor and sale, that so-called charitable image he parades around the Empire doesn’t sit right."

He rolled the paper back up, his face calm but intent.

Count Belmont’s orphanage had been running for four years now. To the people of the Empire, he was seen as a generous noble, quietly regarded as a benefactor to the forgotten. On occasion, he was spotted in the capital, kneeling to speak with children, handing out bread, or reading stories in the garden of the manor-like orphanage. Even the local papers praised him. "A noble with a heart," one had called him.

But I’d seen his true face.