What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 679

#679

Coward and Catacomb (2)

And so, we ended up capturing a prisoner we hadn’t planned for.

I thought I could finally catch my breath!

“Hey. It’s obvious you’re a paladin.”

“……”

“I’m taking off your helmet.”

-Thud, clatter!

Gain kicked the armored figure with a rough attitude.

Tied up tightly by Isabel’s vines, he fell to the side with a crash, groaning faintly from within his helmet.

I was startled and quickly grabbed my partner’s elbow.

She turned to me, eyes blazing.

“Take a look at this guy, Your Highness. This lavish armor and accessories…! Even the leather belt looks brand new. See here? Oh? There are even jewels embedded in it? Just looking at the embroidery on the saddle blanket, you’d think he was royalty.”

“Yes, yes.”

“And there isn’t a single scratch on any of it? It’s almost been a year since the war started, and all this wealthy noble’s gear is brand new, and he’s huge. What does that mean? It means that whether the soldiers who trust and follow him die by the hundreds or not, he’s been hiding in a safe place, shamelessly holed up in some corner of the Cheonro [a region or area] to save his own life. Okay?”

“Oh, my…”

“So, he deserves to be treated like this, this bastard. He doesn’t know anything about camaraderie or noblesse oblige [the obligation of nobility to serve], he’s just a commoner.”

-Clang!

“Ugh, ugh…”

Gain gave him a terrifying flick on the forehead, and a sobbing sound leaked from under the helmet.

Sant and I fidgeted, looking back at our friends.

Everyone in the group, including François, wore expressions of agreement with her words.

Sant and I were unfamiliar and scared of the very concept of war prisoners, but the others had lived as royalty, nobles, or kings, so they couldn’t forgive him.

Gain was a war hero, so there was no need to say more.

“Hngh…”

“……”

I swallowed hard.

The knight that she and Isabel had dragged along had no soldiers under his command, nor even a decent weapon.

He had a sword belt, but judging by the fact that he had no sword, he must have thrown it away himself or had it taken from him.

Other than that, he had a horse wearing armor, but the horse was so terrified that Sant and I had to take care of it separately.

I carefully stroked the horse so it wouldn’t be startled, and watched the situation. Soon, the helmet was removed from the prisoner’s head.

-Clang, clatter!

“Gasp…”

“What?”

“Hoo-oong… Hwaaa-oong…”

The man who finally revealed himself was crying, his face covered in tears.

I widened my eyes at his unexpectedly beautiful appearance.

The sharply cut back of his head and the platinum blonde two-block cut [a hairstyle] were impressive.

On top of that, he had extravagant blue eye makeup and deeply tanned skin. Large, striking features.

With luxurious dangling earrings and an eyebrow piercing that I was seeing for the first time here.

“A pathetic guy who was hiding is now even crying. Hey, your name and age. Tell me everything about your family and unit.”

“L-Leo…”

“Speak clearly and loudly. I won’t ask twice.”

“Leo, Leopold Lasso… I am… My title is Duke… Hwaaa-oong. My age is…”

“Just a moment.”

“Lasso? Lasso, you say?”

Sir Johann immediately raised a hand, and Sant questioned with an incredulous look.

The interrogation was immediately halted.

I blinked, looking back and forth between the two who had grown up in the Divine Kingdom.

The atmosphere was ominous.

…What’s wrong with you all?

*

“Crazy, is he really a Venetian royal? This bastard!?”

“Calm down, calm down! Christel!”

“Hey! You ignored the dying people and crawled all the way here? Do you have any conscience?!”

I hurriedly grabbed Gain, who was trying to jump up.

The group had once again hidden themselves in the snowy coniferous forest in the corner of the side path. But at this rate, our location would be announced to the whole neighborhood by the roar of a certain knight who had swallowed a trainload of firecrackers.

Cedric, leaning against a rock, was glaring at Lasso with deep contempt.

The Ether shackles I had brought were firmly fastened around the prisoner’s neck.

As for His Majesty Hanan, he lamented, ‘What sins did I commit in my past life to see such a guy again?’

“Hoo…”

I was just as bewildered.

It was already dusk, with the setting sun turning dark.

Faint explosions and shouts echoed from afar, and hazy steam flowed from the Crown Prince’s mouth.

“…The existence of despicable social leaders is commonplace, but the fact that this man is a Cardinal is astonishing.”

“I agree.”

François said in a somber voice.

That’s right. It was shocking that he was a royal and hiding here, but the bigger shock was that this ‘Leopold Lasso’ was an air-attribute Cardinal.

Not just an Archbishop, but a real Cardinal!

“Ha… Amazing. Why is a Cardinal doing this in a place like this? Could this be part of a huge trap? Is Venice trying to strike us using him as bait?”

“It would be logical to think so, but the Duke’s Ether flow was too desperate just now.”

Dioff ruffled his hair and complained, while Sir Johann explained in a calm voice.

Everyone’s eyes turned to him.

“Considering the level of emotional turmoil he showed… His statement that he hid here because he was afraid of the war seems quite plausible. He didn’t seem to have trained in martial arts either.”

Indeed. His large palms had no scars or calluses.

Then Gain got angry again.

“No, how can a Cardinal be so cowardly? If he’s a Cardinal, he has stigmata [marks of holiness] like Johann-ssam. When I saw the handsome guy and the madman fighting one-on-one earlier, those people were just human weapons. He’s old enough, and he’s not just a regular knight, but a Duke, hiding and crying. He should have retreated to the rear and helped his country in other ways.”

“Perhaps, perhaps he had great trials to obtain the stigmata… I’m also embarrassed to see such a knight for the first time. I never knew that the head of the Lasso family, a branch of the royal family, would be afraid of killing…”

“……”

With Sant’s confused muttering as the last word, everyone fell silent.

I quietly gathered firewood, glancing sideways at the Cardinal tied to the base of the fir tree over there.

All the group’s conversations did not leak out thanks to Sir Johann, and the prisoner was completely restricted from Ether, preventing him from eavesdropping on our voices.

In addition, he was blindfolded and his ankles were tied tightly at Cedric’s direction (by Duke Dioff).

Finally, His Majesty Hanan’s poisonous plants had laid dense traps around him, so he would suffer a great misfortune if he tried to do anything foolish even for a moment.

“Koo-ool…”

…Huh.

“Looks like he’s sleeping.”

How can he sleep now? I muttered to myself and unpacked my luggage to prepare dinner.

Just a few hours ago, I witnessed thousands of horrific corpses in the valley, and here I met a surviving royal.

Whatever the reason, it was true that it was hard to look at the prisoner with kind eyes.

It’s a good thing he surrendered willingly… In a way, that person seemed to be very air-attribute-like.

‘Free spirit.’ Not exactly a compliment.

*

The night in Cheonro brought a pitch-black blanket in an instant.

-Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…

Occasionally, a red bird would sit on a branch above our heads and cry.

Sant explained that it was a male cardinal, and that it was not nocturnal.

I thought that child might not be able to sleep because he had seen too much death.

We finished our simple meal and prepared for bed.

We set up a place to sleep to block the wind, set the watch schedule, and patrolled once each to the east, west, south, and north.

The prisoner was given clean water and jerky.

Meanwhile, Sir Johann went to circle the night sky, suppressing his presence as much as possible.

It was a patrol that he couldn’t attempt when the sun was up because he would be spotted by the enemy.

-Crack, crackle, crackle…

“François, please untie your scarf.”

“Yes. Yes?”

And in front of the bonfire lit with the Sacred Fire, I suddenly said that.

It had been on my mind the whole time, and I thought I should definitely heal him while I remembered.

Then the Marquis waved his hands in great embarrassment.

He also looked at Sant and Isabel, who were sitting across from him and talking.

Gain, who was brushing Doria’s mane, noticed the Marquis and narrowed her eyes.

“I-It’s an honor. It’s not a big wound, so there’s no need for you to worry about it.”

“But didn’t Sir Johann hurt you?”

“Oh, my goodness. How did you know…?”

As I whispered, the Marquis’s lips twitched with a shocked expression.

I peeked under the scarf while he was stammering.

…Oh my. My eyes briefly closed.

“The bruise is still dark. It’s all over your neck. Why didn’t you show it to the healing priest at the main camp?”

Then François hurriedly avoided my gaze. The whisper became even smaller.

“Well… How could I show something like this? Anyone would see the signs of assault, so the priests would have tried to find the culprit. It could have caused bad rumors in the military camp. If I just apply the medicine well, it will get better soon…”

“It hasn’t gotten better yet. So, Sir Johann must have been visiting François’s barracks every morning.”

“……”

“I’m really quick to notice things like this.”

The Marquis, who had been looking at me with a surprised face, changed like a deflated balloon when he heard those words.

What kind of expression is that?

“Your Highness is really… An unpredictable person. How did you know?”

“I kept bothering David. I told him that François seemed to be in pain, and if it was something involving Sir Johann Haynes, please don’t hide it and let me know. Then he told me that the Marquis was in charge of Sir Johann’s quarantine area.”

As I shrugged and whispered, the handsome man laughed helplessly and sighed.

I slightly raised the corners of my lips and opened a healing circle for him.

Soon, blue particles warmly wrapped around the man’s neck.

-Saaaaa…

“Since he was a Cardinal and there was a risk of rampage, I thought that violent tendencies might have been revealed there. I studied paladin stuff quite a bit.”

“……”

“…You’ll still be Gerrit’s godfather, right?”

“Of course. That sunny child will become the guardian angel of the Dhiem family in the future.”

“Hahaha.”

I laughed brightly and carefully removed my hand.

I poured Ether directly onto the injured area while it was in contact, so the recovery was definitely faster.

‘Thank you for your grace.’ The Marquis’s face, who was pressing down on his quickly healed neck, also turned bright. You’re welcome.

Gain, who had been waiting silently for the situation to be resolved, cleared her throat.

“Your Highness, Marquis.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Sir Ramboillet.”

“Shall we discuss our future plans?”

She plopped down next to us and drew the attention of Sant and Isabel, who were sitting across from us, to this side.

Cedric and Duke Dioff had not yet returned from their last patrol.

I threw a few dry branches into the bonfire and readjusted my posture.

“Yes, good.”

“First, the prisoner. That irresponsible flip phone or whatever.”

“L-Leopold…”

“Close enough, priest. Anyway, what should we do with him? Should we leave him where he was?”

“Hmm…”

Everyone had a serious look at that question.

First of all, he surrendered of his own will, so we couldn’t kill him, and we shouldn’t morally. Since his status was royal, it was most advantageous to capture him.

However, he was a Cardinal, so it was difficult to take him by force… Many things were in the way.

The Cardinal’s divine power was too strong, so my oracle wouldn’t work, and then he would just be a burden.

Even on a infiltration mission where it was difficult to see even an inch ahead, it was a big risk to bring him along.

But if we left him here and he changed his mind…

“I saw earlier that there was groundwater springing up nearby, and there were rocks to avoid the cold. If we abandon him in a place like that, wouldn’t he either go home on his own or collapse from exhaustion while crying? We’ll take the armor, food, and horse.”

“…Wait a minute.”

I blinked and quickly raised my head.

Gain still had a clear face.

I quickly turned to look at the flip phone Duke.

…Groundwater? That means there’s a space where water flows underground.