What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 234

Curtain Call (6)

The head chamberlain of the Liester Imperial Palace, Laura Mendi.

-Click!

“Your Majesty!”

As the second child of a noble ducal family and a loyal servant of the Imperial Family, she rarely became this agitated.

There was always one thing she asked of the thousand or so palace staff.

‘Don’t make a fuss.’

Those words contained everything Laura had learned in the palace since Frederica was a naive princess.

“Your Majesty, you must come out immediately.”

“Laura?”

So, a situation like today was truly rare.

A premonition that the frequency might increase flashed through the head chamberlain’s mind.

This past autumn, hadn’t the eastern sky been torn and golems rampaged, causing her to rudely interrupt the Emperor’s concentration?

It was a dark hour. Her two masters also hadn’t been able to rest on the last day of their ‘reprieve’….

“You seem urgent. What’s wrong?”

The Cardinal, as if waiting, rose from the sofa in his nightclothes.

He had barely eaten half of his simple meal.

It would have been strange to have an appetite, as he had to move troops from dawn.

This was the room next to the Emperor’s bedroom, her most private space.

Frederica, wearing casual clothes and a gown, frowned.

Her hand was on the hilt of her sword, Durendal, as if ready to rush out at any moment.

The last time Laura had acted like this, the Emperor had issued a nationwide military alert and imposed a curfew on the capital.

She had even contacted the burdensome Emma Corleone first.

The hole in the sky was repaired on its own, but for a while, the Vatican and the Holy State were flooded with letters of protest.

Just because it was expected didn’t make it any less annoying.

“This time, it’s the western sky.”

“I’m going crazy.”

‘If you are developing new weapons, come forward and confess to God.’

‘If you have received divine punishment for an act against God’s will, confess it at the Temple of Atonement.’

It was ridiculous nonsense.

Whether the Empire made weapons or received punishment, what authority did the Vatican, without a Pope, have to interfere?

In the end, it was the result of the Venetian royal family’s influence.

A country whose king’s mind was wavering should take care of its own internal affairs.

The Emperor took off her gown and prepared to leave.

“Has the sky been torn again?”

“No, it’s something more trivial than that….”

Laura quickly attended to her, saying,

“It is an important and urgent matter. A pirate ship is flying in from the west. It is slowly approaching the capital’s sky, according to an urgent report from the Imperial Guard.”

“……What’s flying in?”

“Huh?”

The heads of the two superiors tilted. Laura paused for a moment.

She had only conveyed the clear facts, but she couldn’t understand why she felt so overwhelmed.

The middle-aged man calmly spoke again.

“A pirate ship that appeared on the western coast has risen into the sky, piercing through the darkness….”

At that moment, in the Claire Square in the center of the capital.

A woman stood on a simple wooden stage.

In her hand was an old magical megaphone.

“So, our brawling lord! Baron Jan Tiliet is locked up in His Majesty the Emperor’s prison as is!”

-Rattle, rattle!

She relentlessly shook the beanstalk she held in her other hand.

Wrinkled beans popped out of the yellowed bean pods.

-Flap!

“Wahahaha!”

“Good riddance!”

Then, the densely packed crowd burst into laughter and applause.

Everyone was happy to hear that the corrupt lord, who had been extorting 50% in taxes, had been arrested.

Even though it was an incident that happened in a distant territory, not their own, the commoners easily sympathized, weeping and laughing.

This was an act called ‘Bean Threshing’ in the Empire.

It was a custom of the Liester people to shake off the resentment accumulated over the past year, cleanse their bodies and minds, and welcome the new year.

The Bean Threshing held every year-end at Claire Square was especially famous.

Many people came from all over the Empire to participate in this event.

The woman shouted with flushed cheeks.

“It’s all thanks to His Highness the Crown Prince and his friends! The lord, who was brawling after drinking and eating extravagantly in a tavern, was thoroughly scolded by His Highness the Crown Prince!”

“Waaaaah!”

When the Crown Prince’s story came out, the crowd let out a joyful shout.

The presenter smiled and tapped the floor with the remaining beanstalk.

Cedric Liester was a truly beloved heir to the throne.

“Oh, that’s right! I forgot. The most important thing is left. The story of Prince Yesser!”

“Ooooooh!”

A fierce reaction followed. White breaths rose from everywhere.

This year’s Bean Threshing was particularly hot.

The capital streets were literally packed with people.

Everyone was blocking out the cold with earmuffs, scarves, gloves, and hats.

Compared to the Crown Prince’s investiture ceremony or the eve of the summer festival, the number was smaller, but it was not easy for an event that purely gathered commoners to proceed on this scale.

Considering it was Monday evening, the participation rate was even more surprising.

If the ‘Harvest Festival’ was an event to comfort and celebrate the year’s hard work and enjoy it together, the New Year’s week was a period to relieve old grievances and pray for the new year’s wishes.

The woman continued.

“Seeing that little kid on someone’s shoulders reminded me. The tavern errand boy said that Prince Yesser personally rebuked the lord’s party! He, who should be dignified, gave a spirited speech!”

“Keeeeuh!”

Clap clap clap! This time, applause filled with admiration erupted.

Those who were drinking cheap wine raised their bottles and leather pouches as if toasting.

“Long live Prince Yesser!”

“Uh-huh! Don’t you know you’ll get arrested if you say such things carelessly?”

When someone shouted, the woman on the stage sternly rebuked.

‘Oh my!’, ‘Hahahaha!’ Some were shocked by the chilling joke, and many laughed loudly.

Everyone in the Empire already knew about Andreji’s act of terrorism, committed while praying for the well-being of the Holy State.

Most people speculated that the culprit had done such a thing out of revenge against the prince.

The Andreji family became penniless, without title or honor, and the Count and Countess were sentenced to life imprisonment.

All that was left for the young terrorist was his wealth.

It was clear that he had tried to tarnish the dignity of a precious person by taking his own life, unable to bear the humiliation.

“Ah, is it already time? I understand. I’ll go down now! Don’t forget. The prince of the Holy State is the one who gives silver coins as tips to errand boys!”

“Uwaaaa!”

As if there was a signal from outside the stage, the woman abandoned the beans and hurriedly went down.

The mouths of the onlookers widened at the words ‘a guest who gives silver coins’.

Unless they were eccentric (like the Marquis Dium of the South), it was rare for high-ranking people to give commoners tips of more than a few dozen francs [a former French currency, here used as a general term for small change].

While everyone was talking about Prince Yesser and his friends, a new ‘Bean Thresher’ came up on the stage.

Many eyes were on him.

“……Ah, hello.”

The man took the magical megaphone and stammered.

The burly young man was sweating profusely despite the cold weather.

His complexion was also pale, and he seemed very nervous. After a long time, he opened his mouth.

“I… I am Maurice.”

And the square fell silent. It was because the Bean Thresher was not continuing to speak.

‘Hurry up and thresh, don’t keep us waiting!’ someone shouted.

The sound of babies crying was also heard here and there.

Bean Threshing at home can be freely talked about for hours, but in such a big event, the limit was at most 10 minutes per person.

Maurice swallowed his tears and looked to the side.

The staff member below the stage was gesturing. It meant to hurry up.

“I run an inn……. I don’t know if you’ve heard of it, it’s called ‘Le Chiffre’ [French for ‘the number’].”

“Le Chiffre? Is it a famous store?”

“Huh? I know it! The one in the south…!”

As Maurice introduced his occupation, the buzz spread like dominoes.

The man squeezed his eyes shut and opened them like a calf.

Tears mixed with sweat and disappeared in an instant.

The arm holding the withered beanstalk trembled. So did his lips.

“You will know about the embezzlement of gifts. Because of that this year……. It was a mess.”

“Of course. The innkeeper took the gifts from the townspeople for generations!”

“Oh my! Is that Le Chiffre or Le Chiffon [French for ‘the rag’]?”

The crowd stirred. It was the behind-the-scenes story of a major incident that even His Majesty had been concerned about.

It was impossible to suppress curiosity. Intense gazes were fixed on the speaker.

“My aunt was taken away as a criminal and became a sinner of the country. But, but……. The gifts that were buried in the mountain have not been found yet.”

“Oh my!”

“Where did all that money go?”

“Was she lying? Did she hide it somewhere else!”

The whispering was endless. Maurice barely squeezed out a sentence.

His whole body was as painful as if it were being stabbed with a knife.

“I want to confess here. It’s all……. My aunt smuggled it to the Marquis family. To Marquis Francois Dium’s, the lord’s castle. I dedicated it there!”

“What?”

It was a shocking revelation. The blood drained from the faces of the crowd who were listening.

The Marquis was a prominent figure even among commoners.

This was because he came up with cheap and amazing inventions that were worth forgetting, and because he was a great nobleman who was cherished by His Majesty and a collateral line of the Imperial Family.

The untold story of becoming a Marquis at the young age of nineteen was famous throughout the country.

Someone finally pointed a finger.

“Hey! Do you have any basis for that!?”

“Yes! I have it. The Marquis, the Marquis…….”

“That friend is in big trouble. He’ll get dragged away if he keeps doing that!”

Maurice gritted his teeth and lowered the megaphone. A bitter taste of blood came from his burst lips and the tip of his tongue.

He tried hard not to be aware of the increasingly blurred vision in front of him.

He was afraid of being punished by God. The young man had never committed such a sin in his life.

His limbs were trembling, and his throat was stiff.

Although he lost his parents and was left alone, he grew up under the care of the residents of Ryuka Village. It was the first time he felt so lonely and painful.

Suddenly, the voice he heard in the spring brushed past his ears.

‘Thank you for everything so far.’

‘I am honored. I am honored to be able to serve the prince of the Holy State.’

‘No, I’m talking to Maurice.’

A kind-hearted prince with purple eyes.

Those who saved the village from his aunt’s tyranny.

“Heuk.”

He couldn’t possibly slander such a noble person.

Even if he heard the threat that ‘I will parole your grandfather and aunt’…….

People shouldn’t do such things. He gripped the bean straw as if to crush it.

It would be okay even if the threat became a reality.

Mari and Teddy, the village representatives, were still alive and well, and the residents were much stronger than before.

Even if his grandfather and aunt came back, they would be able to endure it.

“Heok.”

At that moment, Maurice discovered someone looking at him from the very front of the crowd.

A chill ran down his spine.

“No, way…….”

The other person was wearing a thick robe and covering his face with a mask.

His eyes gleamed coldly like a blade in the shadows.

The instinct of the governed awakened the young man. That was the ‘powerful person’ who instigated the evil deeds.

A person who could harm Mari and Teddy with the tip of his finger was watching him right under his nose.

It was a fear that was hard for ordinary people like Maurice to even describe.

He finally mustered a courage close to madness.

“He is helping Prince Yesser’s rebellion!”

“…….”

The square became as quiet as if a funeral was being held.

A fierce winter wind swept past the cheeks of the crowd.

The listeners, realizing that Maurice was serious, turned pale one by one.

“Good Lord! Drag that guy down!”

“Hey! Do you know what that means when you say that?”

“Is that true?!”

“Call the capital garrison!”

“It’s all true! Didn’t you see the flyer? The paper that was floating around Claire Square! What’s written there is real!”

Maurice screamed. His voice cracked and tears flowed.

The staff members rushed up to the stage. He shook the beans like crazy and screamed.

“If you hand over the gifts to the Marquis family! At that house! They used the money to prepare for treason! After Prince Yesser came! They secretly raised soldiers from the Holy State in the South!”

“Uh, I did see a paper with those words written on it!”

At that moment,

-Gooooooo……

A huge shadow loomed over the square. The moonlight disappeared and the surroundings darkened.

The murmuring crowd immediately looked up at the night sky.

And they were horrified.

“A, a pirate ship!”

“Hwaaaaak!”

-Saaaaaa……!

At the same time, millions of mana particles resembling cherry blossoms gathered on the stage.

It was a beautiful sight that made you feel like spring was coming.

The crowd, who had been screaming, stared at the stage with a mixture of fear and ecstasy.