What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 364

#364

Connection (1)

It felt like a frying pan had fallen on the top of my head.

My mind went blank. I couldn’t focus at all.

“That, that is…”

“It doesn’t make sense, does it? But it seems to be reality.”

A calm voice enveloped us. Francois D’Huem was an exceptional magitech [magic technology] scientist.

He could remain rational in any situation, provided he was given scientifically sound reasons.

But I wasn’t, and this felt so different from the phenomenon we experienced in Empress Hanan’s tomb.

I naturally assumed it would be similar to then, but the situation was much scarier and more serious than I thought.

So, if I try to sort it out…

First of all, the Chaum Ruins didn’t have different ages inside and out.

The ancient tomb and the spirit had endured a thousand years together, and only the internal space-time was distorted by the Aether [a magical energy].

Even so, it was only a few days different from the outside.

Even that returned to normal after Hanan chose Isabel as her incarnation.

The red ghosts of the desert escaped their long confinement and left with smiling faces.

But here, there were no opponents we could negotiate with in these irrecoverable ruins.

There wasn’t a single bee, butterfly, or dragonfly in this vast flower field.

The Divine Beasts fidgeted, circling around the group’s feet.

Lady Elisabeth and Duke Fabrice wore similar expressions to mine.

“Sir Johan, what do you sense?”

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. The Moon Halo Grass colony is significantly disrupting the Paladin’s [holy knight] perception. There’s nothing immediately detectable nearby, but even if there were…”

“You can’t be sure, then.”

I took over the conversation. The Paladin tilted his head with a regretful look.

The Deputy Commander snapped at Francois like a hornet.

“Are you saying that the three of them went to the past, mister? Can you really guarantee that?”

“Oh, Lord God…”

The Duke closed his eyes and began to pray.

The Marquis looked down at the stone tablet and calmly replied.

“To get an accurate result, we’d have to use the mana chronometer in the Marquis’s mansion. It will take time for experimentation and analysis. But even here, we can get an approximate value with a simple measurement.”

‘There won’t be a dramatic difference, Elisabeth.’ Hearing that made my heart sink.

Indeed, the pen I had taken out a little while ago must have been a magic tool.

I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again, holding the two Divine Objects.

The hilt of the Hye Sword was hot, and the surface of the Relic was as cold as ice.

Thanks to that, my vision seemed to clear up a little.

Please, hold onto your reason and focus, Ye-seo Jeong. Don’t even dream of wavering.

There’s no way we’ll be separated like this.

This can’t be the end for us.

“…There must be a way.”

As soon as I declared that, everyone’s eyes turned to me. They say there’s power in words.

We won’t give up on anyone. So we’ll be able to find those two.

We’ll meet the protagonists again in perfect condition. Definitely.

“I don’t think our theory is completely off. Seeing that the stone tablet with their names engraved on it was found, the location must be right. Just look at how the Theocracy’s army isn’t searching this area. They seem to know something is here. At least, the deduction that Yuliter was scattered here seems certain. Her dead soul caused trouble during the New Moon… To do that, a tremendous amount of Aether must be sleeping here.”

I said, looking around the flower field.

Beyond those who were diligently collecting Moon Halo Grass, soldiers digging in the outskirts of the village caught my eye.

My friends were silent for a moment. Sir Johan’s white hair fluttered in the soft breeze.

“…Are you expecting a situation similar to when Sun Halo Grass was discovered?”

“Yes. No matter how outstanding a priest Yuliter was, a time distortion of nearly a hundred years is impossible. There’s no way she could do what Empress Hanan, who was called the strongest of her time, couldn’t.”

At most, I expected a distortion of a day, or a few hours if we were lucky.

Even that would be too much for her, so I thought she would be restricted in many ways.

But if the Romero era and this place were running parallel—

“…Deputy Commander! Deputy Commander!”

At the same time, soldiers were shouting loudly from over there.

Clatter, clatter, clatter! Two or three knights were riding towards us.

Lady Elisabeth looked at me with a surprised expression.

Even after giving the order herself, she looked surprised. I immediately nodded.

Wasn’t that the only evidence to support our opinion?

“Good heavens, Madam!”

“There are bones under the ground! Not just one or two!”

The voices of those with white flags were cracking. Everyone looked pale.

The woman at the head ran up to us and quickly reported.

“Your Highness! The remains are mostly in armor. Judging from the form of the weapons buried with them, they appear to be knights, not ordinary soldiers. If we expand the excavation area, we expect to find even more…”

Francois groaned and rubbed his forehead.

I barely suppressed the feeling of goosebumps all over my body.

The Lesser Pandas clung tightly to my ankles, trembling.

Fabrice still had an expression that showed he didn’t fully understand.

I explained to him quietly.

“…They’re Theocracy’s Paladins.”

“Pardon?”

“Moon Halo Grass grows where Paladins are buried. Sun Halo Grass grows where priests are buried.”

“Good God.”

He gasped and quickly covered his mouth.

He seemed greatly shocked that the flower field, as beautiful as a painting, was actually a tomb.

There were black tombstones all over the village, but those seemed to be the graves of ordinary residents.

The report didn’t end there.

“And Deputy Commander, you need to come and see this in person. There’s a purplish oil-like substance on the remains… The bodies have long since turned to bones, so it’s not an environment where corpse water would come out, but a liquid resembling sap is flowing.”

“Damn it.”

Lady Elisabeth bit her lip and immediately got on her horse.

At her request, Francois decided to accompany her.

Meanwhile, I sent a message to Margrave Caroline Muet and requested Commander Modest Bacari’s dispatch.

While comforting the Divine Beasts who were whining with worry, I carefully reviewed the information stored in my mind.

It seemed like the search would take a long time. But there was no time.

We had to finish everything by tomorrow night.

When the full moon rises, we have to be together.

“…Definitely.”

-Creak

*

At the same time, the Statia Plains. The Phenetian Theocracy camp.

“If His Highness the Prince has truly resurrected…”

“Ah, come on. That assumption itself is wrong.”

“Still, we must prepare for the possibility…”

“Then the First Prince is now a traitor…”

Inside the central command tent, all the commanders except for the two Cardinals were gathered.

Behind them, dozens of their adjutants stood packed together, exchanging whispers.

The overall atmosphere was as tense and suffocating as walking on thin ice.

It felt like someone would draw a sword or swing a mace at any moment.

“…How long can we last like this!”

-Thwack!

Finally, an old general’s fist slammed onto the table. The terrified adjutants flinched.

‘Oops!’ Her strength caused water glasses and teapots to fall helplessly.

As if waiting for this, a tidal wave of bickering followed.

‘What kind of rude behavior is this, Baron!’ ‘Are you saying we should just sit still! Everyone, wake up!’ ‘Hey, do you think we came all the way to the front lines to play around!’

The atmosphere surrounding the elders became increasingly fierce.

It seemed like someone would throw down their gauntlet at any moment.

The young nobles looked at each other, gauging the situation, and glanced at the head table.

Wilhelmina Sneiderre, sitting in the highest seat, didn’t even bat an eye.

The old man, who had been passionately arguing, finally pointed his finger at her.

“Your Grace, say something! With His Highness Elysee and Her Highness the Archduchess gone, and even leaflets being scattered, the morale of the soldiers is terrible. The rumors that His Highness the Prince has resurrected are greatly agitating even the local residents here. How long can we last like this?”

“…”

The Duchess stared at her intently.

That man was a descendant of a noble priest who had betrayed the Theocracy and defected to the Empire long ago.

Perhaps because of that blood, he didn’t easily fall into Wilhelmina’s grasp, and he would become sensitive like this every now and then, tiring people out.

Nevertheless, there was only one reason why Baron Lavinia Valentine had not died for the past thirty years.

Was it because she was a lord who was loved by the people? No.

Was it because she was a descendant of a war hero who was greatly respected by the upper class? That wasn’t it either.

“We must find a breakthrough! As the Archduke mentioned, giving soldiers bonuses and repeating that the propaganda is false is just a temporary fix. Everyone acknowledges the efforts Your Grace has made, but that’s not enough. The damage from the last battle was considerable.”

“…”

Wilhelmina’s eyes narrowed slightly.

The land of that man, who was still vigorous even in his eighties, bordered the territory of Archduke Judith Kamingha.

In short, Valentine was located on the front line, capable of deterring the Archduke’s wicked intentions.

Although his title was only a Baron, Kamingha, who had no ties to the royal family or high society, only interacted with that family.

It wasn’t a deeply intertwined relationship like marriage, but that made it even more special.

The Archduke was a thorn in the side who could start a rebellion if he wanted to, and Valentine could sense the signs of it.

So there was no point in being at odds with that family.

Of course, no one, including King Christa Ner, doubted the Archduke’s loyalty.

However, the current Duchess Sneiderre was different.

She wanted Phenetia to become hers in a complete and beautiful form.

Without any flaws. Perfectly and purely.

“I will take the Baron’s words to heart. If bonuses were not enough, we will have to make large-scale improvements to their treatment. Even if the Empire’s propaganda is full of lies, it will not be easy to calm the soldiers’ shaken hearts. It is important to gather the military’s morale at times like this.”

“Your Grace, then…”

“Yes, I will start by providing the necessary resources. Drawing on military rations will only accelerate their depletion. We don’t have time to ask the Count of the Royal Court in the capital to open the royal treasury.”

“Heo!”

‘What a generous spirit.’ ‘What a bold decision!’ Sincere exclamations erupted from all over the tent.

Wilhelmina made it clear that this was only temporary, and that she had no intention of buying the military’s favor with her own money.

She also added that it was only an expression of patriotism, so she hoped there would be no misunderstandings.

However, a large sum of money was a large sum of money.

It cost a tremendous amount to maintain and encourage such a large army for several months.

The nobles were amazed by her generous spirit.

Indeed, the Sneiderre family, which had produced 40% of the Theocracy’s Paladins, was different.

“Since Your Grace has readily made an excellent proposal, our Valentine family will also help, though we are lacking. This is truly a grateful matter.”

Starting with Valentine, similar proposals came from here and there. Wilhelmina bowed gracefully.

“But there is one more thing. It concerns the search for the two Highnesses.”

“…”

“Even after searching the plains several times, there is no trace of the two of them. Shouldn’t we look at the north now?”

The Baron’s proposal stirred the tent again.

This was actually a much more important issue than public opinion or military morale.

The King’s mind was not sound, and the Princess Royal was the King’s proxy, having delegated some of the state affairs to the Count of the Royal Court.

Since there was no evidence that she and the Archduke had died, the search had not been stopped so far.

Both of them were Cardinals, so the probability of their death was extremely low.

Wilhelmina raised the corners of her mouth faintly.

“Using the ‘Curse of the Saintess’ was our plan. Didn’t you expect some confusion until the full moon rises?”

“That’s true, but there was no mention that the two of them would step forward themselves.”

Valentine pointed out. This time, other nobles also supported her claim.

“With all due respect, the Princess Royal’s disappearance is not ‘some’ confusion. Your Grace.”

“Surely the Crown Prince wouldn’t use Mars to do such wicked things… There were too many dead and missing. No matter how powerful they are, this is not a situation where we can wait comfortably.”

“I agree. Shouldn’t we assume the worst-case scenario and send a search party to the north? I heard that the Empire is already sending wagons and troops…”

The air in the tent heated up with heated debate. The Duchess’s eyes darkened.

She didn’t reveal her complex inner thoughts at all.

She just pretended to listen to everyone’s opinions with a thoughtful and prudent face.

But the conclusion had already been made.

‘Do not search the Land of Mist.’

Because her secret is hidden there.

“The Princess Royal is the pillar of the Theocracy! The people are relying on her to endure this time…”

“Didn’t we receive a communication from the Archduke’s territory offering to support the private soldiers? Although the cursed land is dangerous…”

Of course, it would be good for Wilhelmina if Elysee survived.

She sincerely hoped she would return, wherever she had disappeared to.

It would take a lot of effort to raise the young Second Princess to her liking.

She didn’t want more chaos in the Theocracy than there already was.

She had never wanted a war, and when her only brother killed the Prince, she was furious.

How did the Sneiderres get this far, and she was so angry at the audacity of not knowing the hardships of scheming that she was on the verge of tears.

No matter how much she slapped him, she couldn’t cool down. She wanted to throw the limbless bastard into the mud and strangle him.

But the Duchess endured the cruel impulse with an incomparably noble attitude.

When she thought about it, perhaps it was a stroke of good fortune.

For someone, war was God’s grace.

It was an opportunity to make the Theocracy hers faster than planned.

“How about waiting for the Empire’s search results?”

The Duchess offered her opinion in a calm voice.

The Riesterians, who did not know the love of the Lord God, did not know the growth process of Moon Halo Grass or Sun Halo Grass.

They were barbarians who cremated blessed corpses.

They were uncivilized people who crushed the powerful forms into powder.

From a long time ago, they were no different from the beggars in the desert.

How could they dare to imagine such an amazing secret?

They will leave Mankrans not knowing anything.

“As you said, the two Highnesses are strong. Also, I heard that the Crown Prince of the Empire is missing. I heard that he is being assisted by an Archbishop-level Paladin and a swordsman.”

“Duchess—”

“Give the two of them a little more time. In a way, it is a hindrance for us to step in now. Isn’t this an opportunity to cut off the enemy’s line of succession?”

“…”

‘It will only take a day or two.’ The nobles closed their mouths at the ensuing whisper.

Complex gazes flew here and there like arrows.

But no one’s gaze reached the farthest corner of the table. It was a shadowy place.

“…Hmph.”

The Cardinal of Air, Count Arno van Roy, snorted.