What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 216

#216

The Nineteen-Year-Old Head of House (3)

“Thank you for your efforts, Archbishop Eunha.”

Duke Simon de Sarnese spoke.

Eugenie Keshier, sitting across from him, tilted her chin haughtily.

The old woman was the head of the Archdiocese in the southwest region, including Serenite, and one of the most powerful archbishops in the empire.

She prided herself on being second only to Cardinal Aurelie Boutier.

Her family, which had consistently produced high-ranking priests, was a well-known power in the southwest.

However, they were not a great noble family, and Keshier had considerable regret about that.

The reason she devoted her life to the central power struggle was also for ‘higher honor.’

“Don’t mention it. I wasn’t doing charity work either.”

The old woman said.

That was why she started acting as a spy through the Vatican.

By simply carrying out simple requests from clergy on the side of the Divine Nation, Keshier could obtain enormous amounts of cash.

A carriage with the Vatican’s insignia could not be easily inspected even by the country’s authorities.

That was the tacit agreement of the entire continent.

In short, it was the best way to receive secret compensation.

The money that came in was used entirely for her political funds.

“I cannot stand to see the prince of an enemy country taking the Crown Prince’s side. How many talented people do we have who deserve that position?”

“You are right.”

“I hope His Highness will choose a priest born in the empire so that the country’s discipline will be properly established. I believe the Duke is well aware of this point and will help in many ways.”

The wrinkled corners of her mouth turned up, a clearly expectant look.

The Duke smiled calmly.

There were roughly over a hundred priestly families aiming for the Crown Prince’s religious partner position.

Aside from Prince Yesser Venetian, there were also many clerics who were keeping him in check from afar.

Keshier wanted the Sarnese Duke to make her granddaughter a consort of the imperial family in the future, in exchange for assisting her ‘schemes.’

“My granddaughter is younger than the prince and has excellent divine power. She is known as a prodigy.”

“So I’ve heard. Ugh.”

The Duke suddenly frowned and covered the right side of his face.

The pain of the burn seemed to have struck unexpectedly. Keshier clicked her tongue.

“Tsk. Why don’t you see a healing priest? You must take care of your body if you want to accomplish great things.”

“…His Majesty is a sharp person. There is no better disguise than scarring my face and hiding my expression.”

‘Well, that’s true,’ the old woman thought.

To avoid being caught by the emperor, who had excellent intuition, one had to move carefully.

You had to pay attention to every word, and you couldn’t suddenly spend a lot of money or do things you didn’t normally do.

She was highly likely to notice changes. So the Duke was a ruthless man.

He dragged his flu-ridden body to the scene of the terror attack to wear the victim label.

Keshier shook her head and said.

“I also had many concerns when dealing with the priest of the Berang Barony a while ago. I had a hard time disguising it as a carriage accident. The grace of the Main God helped with the weather.”

“Was Robert Blanquer’s oracle certain?”

The Duke took a deep breath and changed the subject. Keshier glared.

“Are you doubting my divine power? Isn’t it because the oracle worked that he has been moving without complaint until now?”

“I think so too, but the extra issue was never published. I’m worried if the mail was sent properly. There are rumors that the Duke is dead…”

“Then the cleanup was done properly. What are you worried about?”

She retorted sharply and sipped her coffee. The Duke was silent.

At that moment, the chamberlain knocked on the drawing-room door and entered.

It must be an important matter for him to interrupt the meeting with the Archbishop.

The old woman whispered to the Duke.

“Master, we have successfully distributed about 200 leaflets in Claire Square.”

“Good work. The effect will be great since it’s the weekend.”

“Yes. And… Miss Christel has been staying with the Madam since last night. The nanny is also with her.”

“That’s good.”

He nodded. The chamberlain spoke a beat later.

“Is there any chance she might try to run away?”

“She’s not a child. She is aware of her responsibilities.”

“…”

“Make sure no strange sounds reach their ears. They must not know anything until it’s all over.”

“I will do my best.”

The chamberlain replied faithfully.

He was from a servant family raised directly by the Duke’s great-grandmother and had watched the Sarnese heads of house grow into spies for generations.

Of course, there had been no active involvement during that time.

At most, it was just passing on minor information at the request of the Divine Nation.

But this master was different.

He might achieve as great a feat as his great-grandmother.

The chamberlain smiled, reminiscing about his eternal master.

“Then I will step down.”

“Yes, thank you.”

He bowed politely and left. He deliberately didn’t bring up the medicine and burn ointment to be taken today.

The current master was more advantageous when he was in pain, and he knew it well.

*

Really, it was a stroke of luck.

“Ganael, lie down again. You need to rest.”

“But, Your Highness.”

“No. Not until dinner.”

Sss. I made a snake sound. The boy lay back on the guest room bed with a troubled face.

I smiled and covered the child and Benjamin with blankets.

The double room that Maria had guided me to was so huge and nice that it was a chore to go back and forth between the two beds to take care of them.

But today was my day to serve them.

Since it was decided in the Prince’s name, no one could disobey. Authority was really good at times like this.

-Awoo

“Look, Benjamin. Tete is happy too.”

“Yes, Divine Beast. I missed you too.”

I handed the harp seal to the middle-aged man.

Benjamin smiled kindly and soothed the little one.

Seeing that made me incredibly happy again.

Whether this was the author’s consideration, the Main God’s blessing, or both…

My friends were safe. It was a real mess earlier.

‘Little brother! Ack!’

Maria shouted, covering Therese’s eyes, and

‘Good heavens, what’s that look! Why are you covered in blood!?’

‘It’s not my blood, Antoinette. Hahaha.’

Sir Ervé Diem gave a chilling answer and laughed.

‘Oh my, our family’s only second child!’

‘Big brother!’

François Diem fainted again after seeing his younger brother’s gruesome appearance.

Mariel, the Diem family’s healing priest, came to check on Sir Diem’s condition.

She said there were no major injuries and he would heal cleanly in a day or two.

However, the guards who fought with him were seriously injured and would have to rest for a month.

I was planning to visit their room after dinner.

Fortunately, the Berang Baron family didn’t have a single scratch.

The three of them were washing up and resting in the next room.

That’s right, even the imperial coachman only had minor scratches!

I turned to the trustworthy paladin and smiled brightly.

“I sincerely thank you, Sir Johann. It would have been difficult for Sir Diem and his colleagues to protect the civilians alone.”

“No, Your Highness. I benefited from the strong wind that blew at the right time.”

The mint-colored eyes curved pleasantly.

His skin was glowing, so he seemed to be in good condition.

I glanced back and exchanged glances with Ganael.

The boy gestured around his neck with a serious face. My expression hardened.

Was that a no? ‘All dead’?

“…Oh my.”

Sir Johann almost died?

It took him hours to wake up, so it must have been difficult because of the tranquilizer.

“Please sit here. I’ll give you ether [a magical healing substance].”

“It’s difficult for you to do this to someone who isn’t your partner.”

“It’s okay because they’ll get a lot later. Take it for Herrit’s sake.”

-Saaaaa…

I quickly pulled up a chair and sat him down, deploying a small sanctuary [a protective magical field].

Demi and Tete were delighted, blooming flowers and dew in the circle.

-Squeak, squeak

Since the lesser panda was looking for a human bed, I gladly held him and told the three friends the story.

They deserved to know the whole story.

They had all worked hard to find the suspicious person at the masquerade.

Above all, we all desperately hoped that the Marquis was not a bad person.

“So… September 30th is the day the Diem siblings lost their parents and younger sibling. They couldn’t announce the truth because it could create a sense of fear in the territory. At the time, His Majesty took great care of the Marquis and supported the family so that it wouldn’t falter.”

“I didn’t know at all. I only knew it was an accident…”

Ganael said in a barely audible voice. Benjamin also had a somber expression.

“Then the reason the Marquis is sick around this time every year is…”

“He took office around the age of nineteen, after things like the funeral and inheritance procedures were completed.”

I heard that he suffers severely for as long as two weeks.

The healing priest Mariel explained that it was a disease caused by mental pain.

Still, Therese told me quietly that he seemed to be in better condition this year.

I quietly agreed. He came to save me and Demi, didn’t he?

Clearly, he will get better little by little.

“Then it was amazing that he came to the masquerade.”

Sir Johann said. I scratched my cheek.

“Princess Therese said she really wanted to come to this ball.”

I was too shy to add it, but according to Maria, Therese begged her older brother to dance with me.

The Marquis wanted to fulfill his youngest sister’s wish to attend a social event for the first time in her life.

Even if that day was the anniversary of his family’s death.

But around that time, all the invitations to the territory were discarded, so there was no justification for leaving for the Blanquer Duchy late.

“He said he had no choice but to inquire about connections in the Imperial Palace, in case he could get an invitation.”

“I’m not from Liester, but I think it would have been quite embarrassing.”

The paladin laughed softly. I nodded my head.

“That’s why he was so embarrassed to see us at the Imperial Palace. He also asked his sisters to keep it a secret. He wanted to surprise them.”

“The reason he hurried back on the day of the ball must have been because the demon appeared.”

“Yes… The Princess must have been scared.”

Looking back, the reason why I didn’t meet the three sisters here during the demon subjugation must have been the same reason.

Were they at the Marquis’s residence in the Imperial Capital?

“Anyway, that’s the story,”

-Knock knock

At that moment, someone knocked on the door and came in, bowing. It was Antoinette.

“Welcome, Princess. You must be busy, but all the way here…”

“Prince Yesser.”

Her voice was very serious. The corners of my mouth slowly lowered.

“The messenger who left for the Imperial Palace has returned injured. The Imperial Capital Defense Forces are blocking the portal. The land route also seems to be blocked in the central region.”

Ganael gasped. The woman’s face was dark. No way. Surely.

“It’s Duke Sarnese’s forces. He is deceiving the Imperial Family and manipulating the soldiers.”

*

That night, Sarnese Lord’s Castle.

“It’s okay. Everything will be fine. Who are we?”

Christel asked, her blue-gray eyes shining.

Isabelle in trousers and the nanny answered with tense faces.

“Isabelle, Christel, Ellen.”

“Hello, we are! ‘The Outlaws of the West’! …That’s what you said, Miss.”

Nanny Ellen perfectly memorized the greeting, even the Korean-style folder bow [a deep, respectful bow].

Christel smiled brightly and hugged them both once.

She also rubbed her arms and side fat with affection.

It was to loosen their stiff bodies and lighten the mood.

Isabelle and the nanny giggled, saying it tickled. It was fortunate that the plan worked well.

“Yes, that’s right. Let’s check the plan one last time and then go in. Don’t forget that I’m an Archbishop-level paladin, and if you trust me and follow me, you’ll never get hurt if you fall behind.”

“Yes, ‘Ollie the Kid’.”

“We have to report to His Majesty to catch Father for sure. If we try to solve it with a conversation between us, we’ll either be trapped or become accomplices. Father isn’t doing this accidentally.”

“That’s right, that’s right.”

Ellen said in a trembling voice. The Duke had been planning and moving for months.

If things continued like this, it was obvious that Christel herself, as well as her innocent mother and nanny, would be swept away.

So she had to steel her heart.

To save everyone and help the Prince, she had to pull herself together.

Christel took out the operation map from her bag and unfolded it.

The map of the western part of the Empire, including Sarnese, was drawn on the left, and an enlarged map of the inside of the Lord’s Castle was drawn on the right.

It was a work by Isabelle, who had a talent for art.

“Soon, at 11 o’clock, we’ll turn off the lights and pretend to sleep. We’ll wait for an hour and then move one by one through the window from 12 o’clock. I’ll go down first and clear the area…”

-Knock knock

At that moment, someone knocked on the bedroom door. The noise was somehow heavy and scary.

Christel quickly hid the two women who were shrinking behind her.

“Who is it?”

“Christel.”

It sent shivers down her spine. It was her father.