Help, I'm in Another World and All the Men Are Are So Dangerous! [BL]
Chapter 202: A Perilous Choice

Chapter 202: A Perilous Choice

He was not built for deception and persuasion.

If anything, they had completely misjudged his skillset.

Why on earth did Ares think he was suited for this role?

It made no sense.

"Hmm...? I actually think you’re the most qualified person for the job," Ares said, sounding amused.

"Eh? No way, that’s a terrible judgment call. You should seriously reconsider it."

"Hmm... is that so..."

As Rocco nodded his head vigorously, there was a brief silence.

Ares’s expression remained unreadable as he seemed to ponder something, and then, after a few moments, he lifted his head as if he had reached a conclusion.

"No, you don’t have a choice in this. If you want to protect your comrades, you will comply."

"Wait—what happened to our peaceful discussion?!"

The sudden pressure completely blindsided Rocco.

He barely held back a sob—this wasn’t fair!

Sure, he’d noticed that his hostage, Ragar, had been sitting within his line of sight this whole time, a silent reminder of the stakes.

But up until now, they’d been having a reasonable conversation!

Why did the atmosphere just shift like that?!

Now Ares was looking down at him with cold, dispassionate eyes.

Had he originally intended to lure Rocco in gently, only to get bored of the whole process?

Was this just his way of cutting to the chase?

It was so sudden.

There was something eerily familiar about this trait—one often seen in tyrants.

It was just like Sylas from the original story.

This man clearly had the same domineering nature.

Well, of course he did.

Someone without a strong drive for control wouldn’t even consider starting a rebellion in the first place.

"Try defying me, and I’ll have your precious right-hand man kill you—then take his own life."

"Isn’t that a little too evil all of a sudden? I... I can’t keep up with this."

The abrupt shift into full villain mode left Rocco completely bewildered.

How was he supposed to deal with this?

There was no way to avoid it.

As he shrank back, eyes welling with tears, the door suddenly swung open with a sense of urgency.

"My lord! There was an unusual presence near the back entrance just now—!"

The man who burst into the room was the archer.

Had Mahmoud been successfully chased away?

Just as Rocco had that fleeting thought, a pair of arms suddenly reached out from behind and lifted him up with ease.

The shock was so great that he couldn’t even scream—he just froze completely.

Then, the person behind him pulled him into a tight embrace.

There was something familiar about the warmth, something that made his heart skip a beat.

Slowly, he turned his head, hardly daring to believe it.

"Brother! ...And Mamoth?!"

"Don’t just throw my name in like an afterthought, damn it."

The one holding Rocco so tightly was Sylas.

And standing right behind him was Mahmoud—who should have been gone.

The windows weren’t open.

There hadn’t been any sign of their presence just moments ago.

How had they managed to sneak into the room without anyone noticing?

As Rocco blinked his eyes in disbelief, Sylas gently ruffled his hair, his usual calm voice giving away the explanation.

"The Mahmoud you were with was a clone. After we separated, the real Mahmoud and I turned invisible and snuck in through the back entrance."

The revelation hit Rocco like a tidal wave.

He voiced his doubts.

"A clone? You turned invisible? No, no, that doesn’t make sense. Mamoth was with me the whole time, and he told me he couldn’t use magic on others—"

"Oh, that? Yeah, that was a total lie."

Sylas said it so casually that Rocco nearly fell over.

"I’m Di Malvento’s private magician. You really think I’d be limited to something that basic? Creating clones and turning others invisible is child’s play."

The realization sank in with a slow, crushing weight.

Wait.

Had he just been casually deceived by his own allies?

Did that mean they didn’t trust him?!

His face turned paled with the sheer despair of it all.

Seeing his reaction, Sylas awkwardly scratched his cheek, looking a bit flustered as he tried to explain himself—probably thinking he was helping.

Completely unaware that his words were only making things worse, Sylas continued,

"I’m Sorry. Rocco, you’re kind of an idiot, right? There’s no way you’d be able to pull off an act. You would’ve just dug your own grave and slipped up eventually, so I figured... it was safer to just fool you too."

"Oi, Young Master Sylas, are you trying to finish him off or console him? Pick one."

Rocco let out a pitiful whimper as he shrank even further, Sylas still holding him tightly, his purple eyes flickering with unease.

It was probably meant to be Sylas’s awkward way of offering comfort, but the effect was... well, less than ideal.

If anything, it was a clean, direct hit to Rocco’s already wounded heart—delivering the final blow with impressive accuracy.

"──I hate to interrupt your little comedy routine, but is this really the time to be laughing?"

A sharp, sickening sound echoed through the air.

Rocco’s head snapped around at the noise, and his breath caught in his throat.

In his field of vision, all he could see was red.

Blood had suddenly splattered across the room—and there was no mistaking it.

It was coming from Ragar.

"Ragar!"

Rocco’s face drained of color as he caught sight of the knife lodged deep into Ragar’s left shoulder.

The most horrifying part?

Ragar had stabbed himself.

Understanding hit Rocco immediately, sending tremors through his body as he turned his gaze toward Ares.

This was bad.

One wrong move—one poorly chosen word—and Ragar’s life would be snuffed out in an instant.

"Rocco, come back here." Ares’s voice was smooth, unreadable. "It seems their arrival was unexpected, even to you. I’ll overlook it this time—but this is your only warning."

Rocco swallowed his saliva hard.

"From here on out, the choice is yours. If you defy me... next, it won’t just be a shoulder. It will be his entire left arm."

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