What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 511

#511

Therefore the disaster came upon them suddenly (4)

“…A divine relic?”

The Empress was momentarily at a loss for words.

She was one to always consider numerous possibilities in her thoughts and actions, but she never expected to hear such a term in this situation.

Elisabeth, who was delivering the report, also wore a bewildered expression.

A heavy silence filled the spacious command tent.

“Our garrison was also very perplexed, and they altered the man’s meals and sleeping arrangements, subtly rephrasing the questions they asked him multiple times. But the statements he gave remained the same.”

“……”

“It appears that Duke Sneider had long hidden a divine relic in the Salt Swamp, and when Franken Castle collapsed, he secretly smuggled it out. This would have been around the time when His Highness the Crown Prince and his party infiltrated the area.”

The adjutant calmly continued his report. Deep wrinkles formed on the Empress’s brow.

She slowly ran her fingers through her silver hair, delving into the past.

The chestnuts in the brazier soup bubbled away, oblivious to the tension.

The state documents and quills that cluttered the desk merely looked up at their master, holding their breath.

“…Haines and the children didn’t mention anything about this.”

“I apologize. At the time, I was…”

“Yes. You were caught in the explosion at Mankrans Village and were unconscious.”

Her cherry-colored eyes darkened to a deep crimson.

Frederica silently replayed the events of that day.

‘Listen closely, Serenite. Time is short.’

‘Yes.’

The day the Salt Swamp collapsed.

There were massive, unexplained explosions at Statia Rock Castle and Mankrans Village.

The Imperial Army suffered considerable casualties, and François and Elisabeth were also seriously injured.

The Empress had to send several of her trusted commanders to the side of the Main God. And that wasn’t all.

On the same day, a mid-scale explosion occurred in the Statia Plains.

While there were no casualties on their side, it was estimated that at least several dozen, possibly up to a hundred, soldiers in the Venetian army camp lost their lives.

The damage to both sides was clear, so to the soldiers, it looked no different from an engagement.

But Frederica knew that wasn’t the case.

Because none of it was part of her strategy.

‘They’re trying to create a smokescreen by causing simultaneous accidents.’

That’s what she told Princess Juliette.

The memory of her pale, pure face gradually turning to despair was vivid.

‘What happened to the Salt Swamp? There must be a reason why those fellows are like that.’

‘In the basement of the fortress, bio-experiments were being conducted to create Holy Knights. It was a more advanced form than at Statia Rock Castle….’

The young man trembled, yet he formed a perfect sentence from beginning to end.

His eyes, filled with sorrow and shock, steadfastly reflected the Empress once more.

It was one of the many reasons she favored him.

‘And did they succeed?’

‘No. Even if they succeeded in imbuing special aether [a magical energy], the ‘side effects’ or ‘reactions’ seemed severe. Those who failed died on the spot.’

“…They’re just full of it.”

The Empress had reacted exactly the same way back then.

Caroline, who had woken up at some point, was frowning at her from where she lay slumped on the desk.

She seemed to have grasped the general flow of the conversation.

The scene of her screaming so loudly that the garrison shook when she heard the news of Elisabeth’s unconsciousness overlapped in her mind.

Then, when she heard the diagnosis that aura [a life force or energy field] was gathering in her daughter’s dantian [an energy center in the body, according to traditional Chinese medicine], she gritted her teeth and grinned.

A deep sigh escaped the Empress’s lips.

‘Did you secure any evidence?’

‘I’m sorry. We got right up to the place they called the ‘Divine Chamber,’ but then there was a huge explosion. The entire castle completely collapsed and turned into a pile of rubble.’

“The Divine Chamber, huh…”

Frederica crossed her arms and muttered.

Was that space hiding the energy of the divine relic?

Unfortunately, the war situation had turned very hectic since that day.

The Empress had to immediately set out for the plains after hearing the Princess’s brief explanation.

There, she met Princess Elysee Phoenician, who had miraculously returned, and after that, envoys from both countries held meetings and negotiations.

To make matters worse, immediately after Aurelia visited the Shrine of Boundary, strange white lines began to appear in the sky.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that the great currents of the continent were shifting.

“They were using the divine relic to experiment there.”

The Salt Swamp incident, lacking any concrete evidence and with no possibility of on-site investigation, was thus temporarily forgotten.

Because more urgent matters were lining up.

“They cleared out Statia to destroy the evidence, cleaned up the Salt Swamp at the same time, and diverted attention in all directions to make it impossible to know what was more important?”

“Yes, that hypothesis seems plausible.”

The adjutant replied respectfully.

Frederica blew her bangs upward, counting numbers in her head.

The four divine relics of the Divine Kingdom were different from the Empire’s divine relics; they didn’t stay in one place but wandered around.

Only the Crown Princess’s weapon, ‘Headwind’s Omen,’ was in one place, and she guessed that that very fact stimulated the ambition of the heir to the throne.

The other treasures were scattered, making even a search difficult.

“The Omen belongs to the Crown Princess, and the ‘Ice Silkworm’s Repository’ was said to be sunk deep in the sea.”

“Yes. From 13 years ago, it was often seen by citizens of the vassal states, caught on the spines of the Demonic Beast Obsidian Sea Urchin. Currently, Lord Rambouillet is keeping it safe.”

“‘Iran’s Spirit’ was trapped in the black market and exploited by humans.”

“Then they met His Highness the Crown Prince and his party and were liberated. They are now with the Riester garrison in Yeriho, recovering their divine power.”

“So one remains.”

“Yes, that. The heart or pancreas or whatever.”

Caroline slowly straightened up, picking at her words. Her hair was a complete mess.

For a while, no one spoke.

The divine relic ‘Heart of the Four Dragons’ was the most mysterious and least known of the Divine Kingdom’s treasures.

“Tsk. This has become a headache.”

“…Indeed.”

Frederica picked up one of Aurelia’s sacred stones and pressed it to her forehead.

It had been a long time since she had longed for her embrace so earnestly.

The Riester Imperial Family had been closely watching the status of Phoenician’s divine relics for the past thousand years.

Even if there was almost no information coming in, they did so steadily. It was only natural.

Because no Holy Knight had been born in the Empire for a long time, there was no one who could control the divine relics.

The Empress’s consort, Alexandre, was clearly a special case, but he was not the ‘owner’ of the divine relics either.

That was why an atmosphere of worshiping and protecting the divine relics had been created in the Empire for a long time.

Frederica’s ancestors judged as follows:

‘If no one can have them right now, it is wise to shape public opinion so that it will not be easy to do so in the future.’

Thus, the belief that ‘using divine relics for personal gain will incur divine punishment’ became the foundation of the Empire’s religious education under the leadership of the Imperial Family.

In fact, it was a priest’s saying that appeared only once in the Main God Church’s Bible.

On the other hand, the Divine Kingdom was overwhelmingly in a better position.

In short, as long as a chosen Holy Knight appeared, the Phoenicians could use the divine relics at any time.

It was only a matter of time before they weaponized them and armed the entire army.

The military education that Frederica received as a princess also assumed such a case, and her successor, Cedric, received the same teachings from the great nobles.

Riester was a great power in terms of area and population, but the Phoenicians’ claim to the Divine Sacred Authority was very powerful.

No matter how secularized it had become, the status of the Main God Church in the Empire was very strong.

If the day ever came when all four divine relics of the Divine Kingdom chose their owners, no one could even guess what would happen to Riester.

However, ‘experimentation’… was a subject she had never imagined.

Frederica was literally disgusted by the Divine Kingdom’s secret cruelty.

“Not only do they desecrate the corpses of Holy Knights and abuse the Divine Beasts, the messengers of the Main God, but now they are even using divine relics as experimental subjects.”

Wasn’t Phoenician the country that valued divinity above all else?

“From the time they buried the bodies of priests to make sacred stones, and sprinkled priest’s blood to contain aether, it was a bit eerie. Should I say something?”

Caroline said, taking out a bottle of alcohol from somewhere.

The Empress raised her eyebrows, meaning she should.

“The Holy Kingdom is bullshit. This country has been eaten by God.”

“……”

“Or this country is determined to devour God.”

“……”

“Whatever they do, they invoke the Main God, so how can humans be free? Here, you probably need a priest’s permission even to pray to God. Isn’t this a country where you can’t even die as you please, to put it a bit exaggeratedly? That’s why crazy people like Sneider come out. He says he’s going to become God himself?”

-Glug, glug, glug…

Perhaps, it was a statement that pierced the core. Frederica swallowed her silence and reached out her hand.

The Margrave frowned for a moment, but obediently handed over the glass she was about to drink from to her friend.

It was that same cheap liquor that tasted awful.

The blood-red liquid poured down the Empress’s throat without hesitation. ‘Glug, glug, glug….’

-Thud!

The opaque glass was instantly empty.

Frederica finally realized that she had been hit hard.

Perhaps Wilhelmina Sneider had been even more presumptuous, using the fact that she was an Imperial spy.

Controlling information within the Divine Kingdom was easier than eating Diborce [a local delicacy], and she could have completely controlled the intelligence that leaked out to the Empire.

So she knew nothing.

“Damn it.”

About this terrible situation, really nothing.

Elisabeth, who was listening to the adults’ conversation, asked cautiously.

“Your Majesty, should we dispatch additional support troops to the north? They say that the last divine relic of the Divine Kingdom has been moved there, and it is presumed that there is also a secret chamber of Sneider’s there, so perhaps…”

“No. That’s enough.”

The Empress waved her hand, replying with a sigh. Her gray eyes widened.

Caroline took over the rest of the words.

“It’s enough that someone we can’t handle has gone after them.”

‘You come and have a drink too, daughter.’ Then she shook the half-empty bottle of alcohol.

Her face was back to normal.

The adjutant ended up smiling a little.

*

Ugh, I really can’t laugh! This is not funny!

-Gugugugung!

“Hold on tight.”

“Wait, wait, wait! No! This is too deep, ugh!”

The Crown Prince’s body suddenly sank downwards.

‘Beep beep beep!’ Dduk-sim [a small, cute creature], who was sitting on my crown, sprang up and expressed his excitement.

The lizard draped over the man’s shoulder swayed back and forth, and eventually grabbed his collar and clung on.

It was a vertical drop into the valley without a moment’s hesitation.

Hair whipped wildly, hitting my forehead. I was so disoriented that I couldn’t even tell if I was cold or hot!

-Kuuuung!

“Woah, awesome!”

Superhero landing successful!

Barely managing to grab the Crown Prince’s robe hood like reins, I busily looked around.

As always (damn it), I was perched on his shoulder like a piece of luggage.

And there were my friends—

Huh!

“Kristel! Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?!”

“I’m fine! I’m being carried to save Sam’s aether!”

Gain, being carried by Sir Johann, shouted at the top of her lungs.

It was a relief that it wasn’t because of an injury.

Far above, His Highness Stanislaus and Duke Jibril Diop were keeping the demonic beasts in the sky in check, escorting us.

The group was currently moving separately from the Military Academy team to lure the monsters away.

After all, this side had one divine relic (Gain), two (me), three (the Crown Prince), four (Dduk-sim)—five (the Repository) [referring to the divine relics they possess or are associated with].

Above all, if we were guarding the beach, not only the students but also the territory residents who couldn’t leave the island would be in danger….

“It seems like you bought some time with the sand monster earlier, Your Highness. The big ones haven’t made it here yet.”

“……”

At my words, Crown Prince Cedric, who was calculating the next escape route, turned around.

His magic was truly incredibly powerful.

The iron hidden in the beach sand surged like a tidal wave towards the swarm of demonic beasts, and the smaller ones were swept away without even resisting.

No matter how terrifying the demonic beasts were, they couldn’t withstand the pain of having their entire bodies pierced by iron needles.

However, the griffon group was definitely a problem.

“If we do well, we might be able to lure them to the entrance of the foothills… Huh?”

-Kkirurururu!

Before the words were even finished, a huge shadow dominated the sky above us.

I gaped in astonishment and more astonishment.

…What is that? Why is it so big?

#512