What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 240

Starting the Cleanup (3)

Elisabeth was a true professional.

The Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard had been blown back quite a distance by the Swordmaster’s aftershock, but with a stylish tumble, *charrreuk!* He slid, planted his hands on the ground, and snapped his head up.

Her short, choppy hair was disheveled, and her uniform was slightly crumpled, but it was a technique someone like me couldn’t even imagine.

After observing the entire situation, she quickly rose to her feet and gestured to her subordinates, issuing several orders.

The Imperial Guards nodded and moved with perfect discipline. She was like a baseball coach.

That… a competent and cool baseball coach. Anyway.

“How weak. Can you even call yourselves the upper class of the Empire with such poor stamina? Take care of your physical fitness.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Ugh. I want my mommy…”

Emperor Frederik clicked her tongue, looking at those who were groaning on the ground.

She completely disregarded the fact that she was a Swordmaster, a 9th-grade knight.

Even though quite a few knights and mages were among the nobility, they were by no means common.

*Sreung, cheolkeok!* Durandal returned to its scabbard as smoothly as flowing water.

I casually slouched in a chair and took out the Flame Stone Orb from my bag.

The red, warm thing was like a hand warmer, which calmed me down a bit.

– *Kooong!*

– *Ttok, ttok, ttok.*

Soon, the audience chamber door opened, and attendants led by Laura entered, helping the sprawled-out priests and nobles to their feet.

They even gave them lukewarm water to calm them down.

Those who had fainted were carried to the lounge on stretchers.

This kind of thing probably didn’t happen often, but the Chief Attendant’s skillful handling of the situation was impressive.

“Prince Ye-seo! Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Are you alright?”

Ganael and Benjamin also received permission and rushed in.

The two draped a blanket over my shoulders and handed me a handful of sweet, colorful dragées [sugar-coated almonds].

I was more worried about them since I heard a lot of glass breaking outside.

“Thank you. I’m fine, but how about you two?”

“We weren’t hurt at all. The knights lay flat and protected us!”

“That’s a relief… The Imperial Palace won’t collapse, will it?”

“Hahaha.”

I heard Sir Johann chuckling from behind. It’s not something to laugh about.

If the building wasn’t earthquake-proof, everyone should evacuate immediately. It was that shocking!

“Do you think a building that can’t withstand the temperament of the Imperial Family would be used as the Imperial Palace?”

The Crown Prince, sitting regally, said with a sneer.

Even though the house was a mess, he seemed to be in a good mood.

David, who had come to check on him, sighed almost imperceptibly.

“Don’t worry, Your Highness. The interior of the Imperial Palace is covered with the highest quality anti-magic stones.”

My teacher, who was being cared for by Natalie, added kindly.

“That gives it the power to withstand earthquakes. Moreover, this place is even stronger because there’s a sturdy portal in the basement.”

“That’s a great relief.”

The corners of her lips gently lifted.

“Frederik also has good self-control, so she hardly used her full power.”

Good self-control…? That was her not using her full power?

The Emperor scoffed at me and returned to her seat.

I knew from books that one Swordmaster was equivalent to one brigade [a large military unit].

But experiencing it firsthand made her seem even more terrifying and incredible.

The Crown Prince seemed possessed when he used his sword, but it was nothing compared to her speed and impact.

The authority of the already popular Imperial Family was soaring, and it was clearly for this reason.

The commotion in the hall was gradually subsiding.

– *Kkiiik…*

The side door opened, and the witnesses the Emperor had summoned entered in a line.

Duke Sarnese, who had been kneeling, slowly raised his head.

His hollow eyes trembled greatly.

“Isabel, Isabel. Christel. Isabel…”

He muttered like crazy, seeing the mother and daughter at the front.

Isabel glanced at the Duke and took a step back, startled.

Christel held her hand tightly.

My teacher looked at the two women with pity.

“Isabel! Christel!”

“Do you feel like confessing now?”

The Emperor asked calmly. The Duke’s trembling gaze finally turned towards the throne.

His eyes were brimming with tears, even from a distance.

“Your, Your Majesty. I. They…”

“Simon. Christel and Isabel’s innocence has already been proven. So, what you need to focus on is…”

Cardinal Boutier continued calmly.

“To lighten their hearts even a little by revealing your sins in detail here. To prevent any obstacles from arising in their future lives.”

“…”

*Heueuk.* He gritted his teeth and lowered his head.

The tattered, blood-red carpet was stained with spots.

The Duke’s voice was very rough, and half-submerged in water.

He sounded like someone who had been in prison for 40 years.

“It was that day. The day Crown Prince and Christel received their knighthood as Holy Knights… I received a letter from a spy working in the Imperial Palace.”

“Good Lord.”

“Did I just hear that correctly?”

The nobles who were watching the trial stirred greatly at the word ‘spy.’

Some seemed to already know the circumstances, but many more were shocked.

Clergymen who were looking up at the sky and praying were also noticeable.

On the other hand, the Emperor’s ironclad face showed no change.

“Is his name Ginette?”

“Yes. In the Chief Attendant’s office… I met him directly.”

Elisabeth confirmed the scroll and asked, and Duke Sarnese answered.

While we were away from the Imperial Palace, the two adults and the young Count had conducted a massive investigation and interrogation.

Laura, standing by the monarch, took a deep breath with her eyes closed.

She must have felt a great deal of shock and self-reproach.

I heard that the Chief Attendant was very thorough in managing those around her.

What we believed to be the Duke’s affair was actually a meeting between the two.

Either way, it was a harsh situation for Isabel and Christel.

“Why did the spy Ginette give the letter to the Duke in particular?”

The Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard’s face showed no emotion.

It was a question asked knowing the answer.

The Duke’s back bent like an old tree, and his voice became as small as a moan.

“Because I, our family… have been acting as spies for the Theocracy since my great-grandmother’s generation.”

“Ah!”

“Lord God!”

No one missed his answer.

A tremendous shockwave spread, and a couple more nobles fainted.

I kept fidgeting with the Flame Stone Orb, watching those who were being carried out.

Even though I had heard enough information over the past nine days, and even though I had expected this situation from the beginning, my throat was parched.

This was Modest Bakari’s prophecy. A tragic development that was not in the original story.

‘Plot.’

“What did your great-grandmother do for the Venetian Theocracy?”

“…”

The Duke raised his head with pale lips. His gaze turned towards the group of witnesses.

I looked at Joan, who had her mouth tightly shut. Her lemon-colored eyes were trembling as if they would break.

Suddenly, I remembered what she had said in Serenete’s prison.

‘I told you. Our family was falsely accused of being spies.’

An extremely desperate face, even though she knew I couldn’t do anything.

‘My great-grandfather had a personality that couldn’t tell even a small lie, and he wouldn’t bend even if he broke. He didn’t admit his guilt until right before he was executed by the late Emperor.’

“She leaked information about His Majesty Romero to the Theocracy. And… and she framed the innocent As Namjak family.”

“Oh, my God!”

“Heok!”

Everyone was horrified by this confession.

Christel patted Joan’s shoulder as she squeezed her eyes shut.

The Duke was now in tears, and his neck turned red with shame.

Most of the great nobles of the Empire valued honor and face as much as their lives.

As the man gasped for breath, some nobles took off their gloves and threw them at his head.

They also uttered short curses. All of them had expressions full of betrayal and anger.

Honestly, my regret for Joan was greater than my anger towards him.

Who would repay the three generations of lost time, and the countless insults that the As family had unknowingly suffered during that time?

Who could compensate Vanessa de As for her time?

The Baron’s daughter, who had to build a trading company with empty hands and travel all over the country to support her ruined family, had passed away long ago.

“What activities did you do before and after that?”

“I don’t know. I only learned about that fact around the time my great-grandmother passed away… and I was too young at the time. I grew up knowing that I was from a spy lineage, but I had never received any orders from the Theocracy until this incident.”

Elisabeth looked back at the Emperor. She gestured as if to tell her to continue.

“Let’s talk about the letter sent by the Theocracy. Who sent what content, and where did you keep it?”

“…It was a personal letter from Werner Venetian, the Theocracy’s envoy.”

“Heo.”

‘Goodness.’ The nobles sighed heavily, clicked their tongues, and looked at me.

Even though a detailed explanation hadn’t come out yet, they all had pitiful eyes.

Such gazes were uncomfortable after all.

I crunched on the hazelnut dragées, pretending not to notice.

Wasn’t the real Prince Ye-seo sick of pity around this time?

– *Hwareureureuk!*

At that moment, flames soared from the brazier next to the carpet.

‘Oops!’ The nobles were startled and lowered their eyes.

I was surprised and looked up at Crown Prince Cedric.

His profile, as if drawn with a brush, showed no movement. The corners of my mouth naturally lifted.

Grateful, I wrapped half a handful of dragées in a handkerchief and handed them to him. He frowned.

“Eat a lot.”

He also knows how to think about his friends, kid. He graduated from daycare.

“It contained instructions to assassinate Prince Ye-seo. There were specific instructions not to use assassins but to tarnish his honor… If I didn’t follow them…”

The Duke’s voice sank again. Veins stood out on his forehead, and his whole body convulsed.

His breathing was also difficult, and his Adam’s apple became thick and taut.

“I would reveal the secrets of our family to Your Majesty. I! I couldn’t bear such dishonor! Your Majesty!”

The man shouted as if spitting blood with a red face. Miserable tears and saliva splattered everywhere.

“Please have mercy! I didn’t want to add to my great sins. Sarnese has already lost one of the Empire’s sacred objects! The Blessing of the Azure Sea!”

“Then we could have talked about it!”

Isabel shouted.

The statement that the Blessing of the Azure Sea had disappeared was a huge revelation.

This was because very few people knew that Christel had absorbed the sacred object.

The archbishops holding their chests made gasping sounds, and some of the older ones looked back at the Emperor as if asking if that was true.

No, she was going to. But Isabel didn’t stop.

“We could have told you the truth and discussed it together! What happened when Chris confessed to the Prince that she had absorbed the sacred object, when she confessed to Your Majesty? Were you stripped of your title or deprived of your territory? You didn’t receive any punishment. Because we offered the truth first and begged for forgiveness!”

“…”

Even though she was crying so much that I was worried about dehydration, even though her frail body looked like it would collapse at any moment, she didn’t stop speaking.

Christel and the Duiem sisters firmly supported her shoulders.

The Emperor ignored the woman’s cry.

“Your Majesty was merciful. You understood that it wasn’t intentional. So, don’t ask that precious person for consideration anymore. The one who wasn’t merciful to you was Simon, you!”

The Duke’s eyes widened as if they would pop out.

He had the expression of someone who had been hit in the back of the head with a sledgehammer.

Marquis François, who was standing behind Isabel, covered her hand and handed her a handkerchief.

She continued to speak with a face that looked like it would break, but with a heart that would never break.

“You were arrogant. You believed that you could control every situation alone, like a god. There were so many helping hands around you… We were there. You even regarded us as objects of control!”

“I loved you, Isabel!”

“That’s not love, it’s possession!”

‘We were your prized possessions!’ she cried.

The Duke’s sharp chin dropped open. He had the expression of someone who had been hit in the back of the head with a sledgehammer.

Isabel’s body finally collapsed, and Sir Ervé immediately lent her his arms.

I jumped up from my seat and ran to the witness stand.

*Wadangtang!* I heard the sound of chairs falling, but I didn’t care. A buzzing sound spread like a boiling pot.

“Isabel, Isabel. Can you recognize me?”

“Your Highness…”

Fortunately, she hadn’t lost consciousness. Her dark eyes drew a faint arc as she looked at me.

I held the hand of Christel, who was crying silently, and then stroked the arm of Joan, who was burying her face in her sleeve and shaking.

Then, I looked at Isabel again and deployed the ‘Vitality’ healing circle.