What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 373

#373

Desecration (2)

Night is sometimes the best time to unravel mysteries.

I couldn’t gauge how much time had passed since I’d lost consciousness.

I tried to find the moon, but the moonlight was obscured by thick fog.

It wasn’t a forest, but a dry prairie dotted with sparse, large bushes.

Nearby, nettles and thorny vines lay scattered.

Elise, looking flustered, began to speak.

“Why······.”

And she uttered the first words that came to her mind.

The Grand Duke casually raised an eyebrow.

“Why, you ask? Isn’t it obvious? The wind was so strong it blew us both far away.”

Then he plopped down opposite her.

As if it were nothing, he casually pulled out the Princess’s throwing spear and used it to skin a dead deer.

He removed the entrails and tossed them into the fog, where small beasts emerged to feed their young.

The old man skillfully separated the meat, skewered it on wooden sticks, and prepared a meal.

He tore off the tougher parts with his teeth and spat out the blood to rinse his mouth.

His wild attitude was hard to reconcile with the image of the head of a Grand Ducal family, born of noble lineage.

Elise, who mainly oversaw military matters, wasn’t necessarily surprised by the sight, but this was usually the work of her subordinates.

She had never imagined that a member of the royal family would be so uninhibited.

Judith Carminha was a living legend of the Holy Kingdom, and rumors about her were rampant even in the royal castle.

Some said she was unbearably eccentric or even senile.

A black eyepatch covered the old man’s right eye, lost long ago.

The remaining left eye was dark and deep, like burnt earth.

It was more than ten minutes later, when the smell of grilling meat began to waft through the air, that Elise finally spoke.

Normally, she would have acted faster, but she was quite taken aback.

“Weren’t we on the battlefield?”

“We were.”

“How did we get here?”

“Didn’t I already explain?”

“······How much time has passed?”

“You were unconscious for half a day.”

“Then where is this?”

“······.”

*Crack, crack!* Judith closed his mouth, watching the carelessly burning bonfire.

It was unclear whether he didn’t know or simply wouldn’t answer.

The Princess continued with patience.

“······’The Curse of the Saintess’ is a mystery where lives disappear randomly from around the new moon to fifteen days before it. It is a misfortune that has plagued the Statia Plains for nearly a hundred years.”

“That’s right.”

“I heard that the royal family and the Schneider Duchy have been investigating for a long time, but no one knows the circumstances, so the disappearances continue. I also heard that those who occasionally return live as madmen for the rest of their lives. I have received reports that all the nearby villages have either been ruined or abandoned.”

“That’s only partly true.”

The Grand Duke pointed out indifferently, poking at the flames with a branch.

*Sizzle.* The deer meat was browning nicely.

A faint furrow appeared on Elise’s brow. She sharpened her tone.

“Weren’t we supposed to avoid getting caught up in strange phenomena? We deliberately stalled until the Crown Prince ran out of strength, and Count Arno van Roy agreed to erect a huge wind barrier on all sides. It was an operation designed to prevent disappearances, at least on our side. We expected very few, if any, casualties.”

“I remember it too, so there’s no need to repeat it at length.”

It was a strategy to endure the sacrifice of a few for the sake of victory.

War was inherently like that.

“So, if we’ve been swept away, we must return. If you know where this is, please tell me.”

“······.”

Then the Grand Duke closed his mouth again. Elise waited for a long time.

But there was no answer, and the old man was just focused on the meat.

Unable to bear it, Elise jumped up from her seat.

She wasn’t hot-tempered, but she also wasn’t the type to hesitate when faced with a great responsibility.

······At least, that was the case most of the time.

“There is an army waiting for me. If you don’t cooperate, I will go back first.”

Elise hurried away, her long braid flying.

She grabbed her throwing spear, which the Grand Duke had used to butcher the deer, and vaguely determined the direction by looking at the hazy moon.

She figured she should move roughly south.

Although she had no escort and the whereabouts of her beloved horse were unknown, she was a Cardinal-level Paladin [a high-ranking holy knight].

She would be fine even if she didn’t eat or sleep for days.

Judging from the blood smearing her throbbing temple, she must have hit something and passed out.

Fortunately, enough Aether [magical energy] remained.

“Finish your tea.”

Judith said as she passed by. Only then did Elise notice the small cup on the ground.

About half of the light yellow tea remained in the bowl carved from a tree stump.

A slightly bitter scent rose.

“I decline. I don’t have time for this.”

Elise said firmly and turned around. Then the Grand Duke abruptly grabbed her ankle.

“Didn’t you want to talk to me?”

“······.”

“You wanted to talk about the Schneider Duchy, didn’t you?”

Elise flinched and turned her head.

The old man’s left eye was staring at her steadily. But, but······.

“Didn’t you send me away then?”

The Princess muttered. It was true.

She recalled the moment when she had finished all the preparations and went to see Judith.

It was the night when leaflets from the Empire rained down like snow over the pure white Holy Kingdom army camp.

In an instant, all the barracks fell into chaos, and knights and soldiers gathered in groups everywhere, buzzing with confusion.

The precious and only moment when Elise could be completely free from Wilhelmina Schneider’s watchful gaze.

*I don’t know what the Princess is trying to say. The Grand Ducal family and the Schneider Duchy have maintained a smooth relationship for decades.*

······But the situation did not go as she wished. Judith sent her back.

“You said you had nothing to say to me. I remember you telling me to pretend I didn’t hear and go back.”

“······.”

“Are you saying you suddenly changed your mind?”

“My mind has been made up for a long time. I tend to get things done once I’ve made up my mind.”

“I don’t enjoy riddles.”

If anything, riddles were more to her younger sister, Yesuh’s, taste.

Elise glanced at her still inscrutable relative and slowly turned around.

She was someone who had already rejected her once.

Whatever she was thinking, if she clung to her or showed weakness in this situation, it would only result in losing the initiative.

That was Zanin’s teaching.

The Princess also knew that Zanin truly cherished her, even though she had deceived her all her life.

Remembering her younger sister, who was murdered by her father, and her loyal servant, whose life she took with her own hands, her heart seemed to break again.

Elise silently closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

A faint breeze blew, scattering her stray hairs. *Whoosh······.*

*Isn’t it obvious? The wind was so strong it blew us both far away.*

Ah―

“Wind.”

Sapphire-like, chilling eyes flashed open. Realization dawned with a jolt.

Elise hurriedly looked back at the Grand Duke. Could it be…

“······Did Count Roy send us here on purpose?”

Could that really be the case?

“In the chaos, the air······. Did he use the strong wind to drop us off here?”

Could she even dare to hope for such a thing?

“Does that mean the Count orchestrated the disappearance incident so that we could talk? Did Your Highness agree to it with him in advance?”

*I don’t understand. Wasn’t the Count a member of Schneider?* Elise’s questions were endless.

The Grand Duke smirked as she approached, firing off questions.

Her face, which was in her early thirties, looked particularly young under the dim moonlight.

Indeed, the Princess was as rumored.

She possessed both literary and military skills, had an intellectual air, and her dignified aura and dazzling blonde hair resembled her mother exactly.

However, because she had grown up under the influence of her father and the Duchy, she was completely ignorant of the most important facts.

She was even more foolish when it came to political affairs.

Although she was admired by soldiers and commoners, ‘the country’ was not a creature that could be ruled by admiration alone.

In short, this child was immature and inexperienced. She had studied imperial politics, but it was useless.

She would surely be weak in affection, like Theo and Christa.

So she must have lost her younger brother right before her eyes.

Could there be such a futile death in the royal family again?

“······Let’s have some tea first. What’s spreading now is the Moon Halo Grass fog.”

“Yes?”

“The fact that you can walk so straight and bombard me with questions means that you are being helped by the Moon Halo Grass herbal tea.”

Elise’s eyes widened slightly.

Judith watched her carefully sit down and continued to speak.

Elise had tasted Moon Halo Grass before, and she quietly emptied her cup despite the bitter taste.

However, she still seemed surprised by the fact that the aura surrounding her was composed of Moon Halo Grass particles.

“Roy is secretly known as a family where the Paladins’ rampages are particularly violent. A long time ago, even the direct line of royalty was tacitly forbidden from entering their lands.”

“······.”

“It seems you didn’t know. Well, you grew up sheltered by the Duke anyway.”

Elise bit her lip at the Grand Duke’s sighing words.

Shame flushed her neck red.

The old man changed the position of the deer meat and said calmly.

“Arno van Roy was no exception. More than ten years ago, he rampaged without even realizing it and killed his brothers, and in shock, he tried to harm himself······. He sent his wife and children to the main family and came to find me. He was a wreck.”

“Your Highness, you mean?”

“He must have heard rumors about the Grand Duchy. Whispers passed only among the Paladins.”

Clear confusion crossed Elise’s face. The old man was just quietly watching her.

There was no weight in his gaze, but her mind was racing.

A noble-blooded, ignorant princess with no real power and only a baby to protect.

Could this young woman revive the declining Holy Kingdom?

Could this person uncover the secrets of the royal family and the Schneider Duchy that even she didn’t know, and stand up to them with dignity?

As with everything in the world, the possibilities were fifty-fifty.

So the Grand Duke decided to place half of his hope on her. It was a bit impulsive.

“There are no Paladins in the Grand Duchy. Only this old body.”

“······Yes?”

“We live by voluntarily abandoning Aether. Because we realized early on that it is not the blessing of the Main God.”

Elise’s eyes shook as if they were about to shatter.

It was an expression of incomprehension that went beyond disbelief. It was an inevitable statement.

However, the old man’s tone did not waver.

“The Venetian Holy Kingdom is arrogant before the Main God and has received a terrible curse. The result is now.”

“What, what are you saying······.”

“It’s not a curse?”

The Grand Duke’s only eye flashed sharply. Strength entered Elise’s chin.

“That’s right. I apologize, but this is close to blasphemy. The Holy Kingdom has achieved many great things with its divine power. I don’t know why the Grand Duke, who knows history well, is talking about curses―”

“Not a curse?”

The Grand Duke let out a hollow laugh. Elise’s complexion hardened.

“If you don’t know the reason, I’ll point it out. Does the Princess see today’s Holy Kingdom as normal?”

“······.”

“Religion and politics are virtually one, and the ecclesiastical system wields absolute power, making the ignorant people even more idiotic so that they cannot even resist, and mercilessly ruling them using false faith and fear. Is it normal for this trend to continue for a thousand years? Is it the grace of the God you believe in that those who know it inherit power and teach it again, unchangingly stagnating and rotting? A terrible addiction that continues through generations? Tell me, Princess.”

*Tell me that the existence of this country is not a curse!* The old man roared.

Elise’s face turned pale at the tiger-like force.

Goosebumps ran all over her body, and the strength in both hands was naturally released.

The exhausted grasses were bowing their heads under the Cardinal’s wrath. *Swish, swish······.*

It was a land where even insects did not cry. Her chest was pounding, and her head was spinning.

Elise felt a sensation as if her stomach was turning inside out.

No, maybe her whole world was.

“Even though you have lived your whole life locked in a cage, how can you not even know the shape of your own cage?”

She was suffocating.

“It would be nice if you didn’t know and lived. Because you are the Princess of a country. You just have to do as your mother and grandfather did, and follow the path that your great-grandmother wiped with blood. Be grateful for the evil deeds of your ancestors throughout your life and take care of state affairs. Bring in a husband, have descendants, and pass on the position again. Then you won’t leave a bad name in the history books.”

“······.”

“Have you ever thought about the lives of the dead who have no names to leave behind?”

Her noble mouth opened weakly. Her dimly shining blonde hair was trembling.

The Grand Duke quietly stared at the Princess for a while, then got up from his seat without regret.

“Eat and go. It’s a guest service.”

He tilted his chin.

Only then did Elise look back at the deer meat on the dying bonfire.

The flesh, which was now cooked enough, came into view.

She felt nauseous.

“Let’s end the conversation here. I hope we don’t meet again.”

With those words, the old man strode away into the fog.

It was only after a long time that Elise ran after Judith.