What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 783

The flames blazed, and the cauldron bubbled. (3) [This likely refers to an earlier event or a recurring motif in the story.]

Before the royal castle, where a paper-thin, pale barrier stretched out in all directions, I stood in shock.

“Good heavens, why are the royal guards―”

“Serenete.”

‘This way.’ Before the dozens of assumptions flooding my mind could settle, the Crown Prince grabbed my arm and changed my direction.

Hundreds of situations unfolded simultaneously before my eyes, a chaotic mess like diced radish kimchi [a common Korean side dish, implying a jumbled and overwhelming scene].

Torches blazed red, trying to pierce the darkness, and people hurried about carrying luggage.

Livestock screamed and cried in terror; carts loaded with large oak barrels and wooden boxes rattled past.

Soldiers and knights in armor marched in formation somewhere….

And the ominous drumbeats and the shouts of soldiers.

-Thoom, thoom, thoom, thoom…!

“Yaaaaah…!”

“Damn it! I told you we should have left the capital sooner!”

“Shut up and take this! Take care of your family, too!”

“Hey! Don’t block the road there!”

-Clatter, clatter, clatter!

“Mom, Mom…!”

“Just a moment, Cedric!”

Beyond the curses and noisy farewells of the people, a child’s cry erupted from somewhere.

My heart dropped, and I frantically looked back.

Thankfully, an adult who appeared to be the girl’s mother ran over, picked up her fallen daughter, and ran on.

The Prince clicked his tongue softly and pulled the reins from my grasp.

Then, the clever Arumhardt began to move in the opposite direction, taking my place. Ms. Gain turned to me and moved her lips.

‘It’s okay, Gungju-nim [a respectful title, likely meaning ‘Princess’ or ‘Lady’]. Everything will be alright.’

With those short words, my heart magically regained its rhythm.

I took a deep breath and followed the group, hiding under the wide roof of a building: the Venetian Royal Opera Theater, where my friends had been steadily visiting for days.

Cedric looked around and said seriously.

“We’ll wait here for the signal from the other partisans.”

“….Yes. Ms. Gain, how are you doing?”

Barely catching my breath, I stroked Arumi’s mane and asked.

My soulmate furrowed her brow and glared fiercely at the royal castle across the street.

For a moment, her irises flashed with a clear light!

-Cheeeing!

“….Ugh, I still can’t see it. I couldn’t see it this morning or this afternoon either. It’s like every brick is made of steel or something. There’s really no weakness in that castle.”

“There might be soon.”

Sir Johan gently added, turning his horse’s head.

The group watched the chaos on the avenue and nodded in unison.

My soulmate’s eye color softly returned to the water-like hue we knew.

The more I saw it, the more amazing it was.

After Ms. Gain awakened the great stigma and was promoted to the youngest cardinal of the Liester Empire, her special eyes also had their abilities upgraded.

To make a long story short, before, she….

‘Aronia or whatever. My vision has changed a bit since fighting that woman. Somehow, I’m getting more information than before….’

She could see everyone’s weaknesses clearly.

‘Did you say you can see the opponent’s weaknesses?’

‘Yes, like this!’

Attacking those spots intensively could yield quite efficient results. However.

‘-Thud!’

‘You’re still ten years too early, disciple.’

‘Too bad. It really seemed possible today!’

‘Don’t tell me.’

There was nothing to refer to other than physically vulnerable points.

Even that weakness was just a blurry blue tinge, like a drop of paint had spread.

It still didn’t work on someone overwhelmingly stronger than her, and since I came back alive, she hadn’t been deployed in any major battles, so there weren’t many opportunities to use her ability.

But now―

“Did you see that just now? I can turn it on and off as I please. I have a power button in my head. Cool, right?”

“Yes, it’s really amazing.”

When I answered with a smile, Ms. Gain’s shoulders rose about five centimeters as she looked back at Cedric.

The evolution of the divine eye, which could discern the weaknesses of all things and even observe Jeong Hyun-seo’s status window, was not limited to that.

According to her own explanation, those beautiful eyes can now capture the shape of weaknesses as clear points and lines.

In addition, fatal flaws are marked darkly, and minor flaws are marked relatively lightly, so it’s like having a completely flawless vision….

-Doo-doo-doo….

“….”

“….What, the ground is shaking.”

Djibril Diop, who had been quiet all along, muttered irritably. It was true.

We moved further inside, closer to the lobby, and looked around, rolling our eyes.

Outside the royal castle, which was already in chaos, an eerie, almost chilling silence was flowing.

The people who had been moving busily suddenly stopped and listened to the sound coming from afar.

The evening sky, now completely dark, held a distorted moon. My heart pounded, wondering if Wilhelmina Schneider’s rebels had already entered the capital.

-Doo-doo-doo-doo…!

“….”

“….”

“….”

“….”

-Woong!

Tite, in my arms, poked his head out of the robe. My breath hitched for a moment.

I hurriedly tried to fix my appearance, worried that the baby would be noticed. It was then.

-Doo-doo-doo-doo…!

“There, it’s the Duke Schneider’s army! It’s Schneider!”

What?

“What?”

“Schneider is coming! I can see the family banner!”

“Oh, my God!”

Someone shouted loudly from the avenue leading south of the capital.

It was as if someone had poured ice water into my brain, which had been in a state of extreme tension.

The shouts of the soldiers erupting from inside the royal castle were already deafening, and a faint roar was indeed being added from over there.

Ms. Gain made a face and glanced at the west, where Memphis was located.

We had known for some time that the armies of both countries had crossed the mountains, but I never imagined they would already be here….

“It’s the south, disciple.”

Sir Johan pointed out kindly. We looked at him in surprise. Suddenly, the south?

“No, how could the army that crossed the mountains in the west be in the south….”

“Well. It seems that Schneider is not the only force pushing up.”

In an instant, his mint-colored eyes reflected a sharp light like a blade.

Once again, our curiosity was quickly resolved. Because….

“Valentin! The soldiers of the Valentin family are coming too!”

“Waaaaaaa…!”

“Valentin is chasing Schneider!”

“What! Are those two families really going to have a war in the capital?!”

The cries of the confused people were torn like the cawing of crows here and there.

I tried my best to calmly digest the current situation.

The royal guards began to march towards the castle—this clearly suggests the possibility of internal strife between the royal family and the military—the Duke Schneider’s army advancing north from the south, and the soldiers of the Valentin barony chasing after them.

“They’re scattered all over the battlefield. There’s no way that damn Duke would have set only one trap.”

“No, I don’t understand exactly. It would have been more advantageous to confront them with a large army on the battlefield to buy time, so why bother splitting up the forces here and there….”

“The fight will happen whether you understand it or not. First, go into the building lobby.”

Diop gestured sharply. The terrifying noise was getting louder and louder.

Cedric immediately accepted his cousin’s suggestion.

*

Approximately thirty minutes had passed since then (or maybe more; frankly, my sense of time had long faded).

Without anyone getting off their horses, we stood in the musty-smelling opera house lobby.

There was no trace of the spy who said that the 33rd Cavalry had made contact here several times.

Ms. Gain whispered that she hoped he was safe.

After those words, none of us spoke for a while.

“Aaaaaah…!”

“Fight them with all your might! We must protect the royal castle!”

“Captain! The experimental group is nowhere to be seen! Isn’t it our mission to deal with them first!”

“Don’t step back even one step, cough!”

-Sseokeong! [Sound of a sword or blade]

“Heuaaaak! Run, run, run quickly…!”

Outside, someone kept dying, and someone kept killing someone.

Finally, Schneider’s army and Valentin’s army were clashing in the heart of the capital.

My right hand, which was clutching the scepter, turned white and damp against my will.

Soon, when the signal of the Imperial Army partisans rose in the night sky, I would have to take the children and jump into that hellish landscape.

For the total attack on the royal castle.

“….Gungju-nim.”

“….”

To break the core of the ‘summoning circle’ hidden somewhere there, and to shatter Wilhelmina’s plan to kill God.

“Gungju-nim?”

“….”

Let’s save Mom. Let’s save the Prince.

The sensation of cold sweat forming on my forehead was clear.

After much deliberation, I took off my magic stone glasses and put them back in my bag.

I thought it would be uncomfortable when the total attack came.

“Ms. Yeseo.”

“Yes? Ah, yes!”

‘Did you call me?’ Startled, I turned my head, and Ms. Gain, riding on Doria’s back, smiled at me.

I could tell that she was also nervous, but she was smiling for me.

The stars in the night sky were relieved of their duty to shine because Ms. Gain was there.

“I wasn’t going to say this this time, really. Because it might be a bit… psychologically… unsettling?”

“Yes.”

“Um. But my birthday is in a few days, isn’t it? Gain Ham’s birthday.”

“…Yes.”

March 25th, right. I smiled broadly, as if I had forgotten the situation at hand.

The shouts and explosions coming from outside were like stories from another world.

“No matter how tough the royal castle is, there are two cardinals here now, so it’ll be decided by the 25th or 26th at the latest, right?”

“I hope so. We need to light Gain’s birthday candles and cut the cake.”

“Hehehe. Hehehe.”

Satisfied with my answer, Ms. Gain leaned forward and grinned.

I exchanged glances with Cedric, who was on my left.

He simply raised one eyebrow as usual, with an expression that he didn’t strongly object.

I felt a pang that the guy who hated sweets and disliked untimely small talk wasn’t angry even at the absurd birthday cake story.

The man’s left hand held the Hwaseong’s Hyegom [likely a named sword or weapon], drawn from its scabbard.

Suddenly, I wanted to remember this moment for a long time. Without any context, just because.

“….Shall we take a picture?”

It was a truly terrible suggestion, considering what was happening outside right now.

“Huh? A picture?”

But I felt like it had to be now or never.

“….My phone is back on. Diop charged it the other day.”

As I said that and started rummaging through my bag, Ms. Gain, who had been gaping, opened her eyes wide.

“What, when? I thought he only knew how to do a million volts? No, wait….”

“What is that? Was it made to resemble a beetle?”

“I thought it was a cuttlefish, but that makes sense too.”

“Wow, Gungju-nim, how old is this phone? I almost called Animotion [likely a defunct company or service] just now.”

“Hahaha.”

Even so, most of the functions work well. I turned on the camera and raised my hand high.

Then, Ms. Gain smiled brightly and quickly leaned her upper body this way.

There was a limit to getting close because she was riding a horse, but thanks to Charlemagne and Doria’s cooperation, we managed to get a picture of the three of us together (of course, Cedric didn’t seem to fully understand what this behavior meant).

Tite, who had already squeezed out of the robe, was fluttering his flipper feet.

I looked at Sir Johan and Diop alternately and raised the corners of my lips.

“Would you two like to take a picture with me too? If you’re okay with it….”

At that moment,

-Kwakwakwang! [Sound of a crash]

A completely overturned carriage rushed into the entrance of the opera house!

“Uwaaaak!”

-Clang! Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!

-Heeheeheehing! [Sound of a horse neighing in distress]

I screamed like a madman and pulled on the reins.

In an instant, the front glass of the building was completely shattered, and the statue of the saint, which had been erected on one side of the wide lobby, collapsed to half its height with a crash.

The carriage drew a diagonal line that defied the laws of physics and crashed into a corner, avoiding us. ‘Arumhardt, outside!’ Cedric commanded fiercely, brandishing his sword.

Arumi, who was carrying me, was startled by the shock and raised her front feet but quickly regained her composure and ran out of the entrance.

Black carriage wheel tracks remained crookedly on the smooth marble floor.

-Whoooo….

“Ah….”

In the meantime, the night wind, frozen like the air of the North Sea, slapped my cheeks.

I was finally able to realize.

That carriage almost hit us just now. Sir Johan changed direction at the last minute. And….

“Oh, oh…! What is that, what is that!”

“Hey, look at the sky! Look at those things rising in the sky!”

“Damn it, what’s all this fuss!”

When I came out of the theater, our finale was finally beginning.

I looked up at the night sky in the midst of the pandemonium where life and death intersected at full speed.

The sound of my friends’ horses’ hooves approaching from behind resonated on the floor like fate.

“What, aren’t those lanterns? Who would suddenly float lanterns like that in this situation?”

“Shoot them all down!”

“It’s the enemy’s distraction! Shoot them all down!”

Beyond the piercing shouts, what I could see.

‘Soon, the small sun of the Empire will arrive in the capital. We plan to float his symbol in the darkest sky as a signal that all cavalry can recognize.’

“….Liester!”

“Waaaaaaa…!”

Thousands of vividly tangerine-colored divine lanterns.