What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 244

Sub Male Lead’s Hiatus – Episode 244 (244/920)

#244

Some Wounds (1)

The relationship between nations requires a very delicate balance.

For example, even if rulers know that they have planted spies in each other’s territories, they usually don’t focus on finding and eliminating them.

Politics is inherently like that.

If there is intelligence to be gained by using the enemy’s spies, then some losses [compromised information or resources] must also be tolerated.

The less damage, the better, but eliminating it completely is impossible from the start.

So, rather than carrying out a witch hunt to find spies, it is more important to control the quality and quantity of information leaking out.

You must know how to mix lies into the information that flows out, and you must be able to discern the truth from the whispers you hear.

Frederic Riester was someone who grew up receiving a thorough education befitting an emperor.

Christa Neretian would likely be the same.

So, this situation was seriously wrong.

Using spies to cause chaos in another country and commit serious crimes was something that should never happen and could never be allowed.

It didn’t matter who was behind it.

Neretian had clearly crossed the line.

The precarious balance was finally collapsing.

“…I receive the imperial command.”

Johan Haines, who answered in a voice like a soft breeze, stepped back.

The Emperor stared at the troublemakers with her usual expression.

Looking at the Crown Prince, who had already gone down the stairs and mingled with the group, seemed to improve her mood slightly.

She moved her gaze and glanced at the Prince next to her son.

Purple eyes were looking up at her, tense.

She chuckled.

“Young Marquis, do you know your sins?”

“I’m sorry.”

The cheeky one immediately apologized.

Even though the trial of the century had just swept through the audience hall, he seemed to remember that she had said she would give a ‘punishment’.

Her head tilted involuntarily.

“Tell me.”

“Well… I’ve been thinking about it for the past few days, and I still think that smuggling on a pirate ship is a serious crime. Exiting through the portal is okay because there was a portal there, but that wasn’t the case when we came in. Besides, we also shook off the Imperial Navy chasing us. Bringing a ship into the sky above the capital city at night when there are many people is also something to be punished for. It could have been dangerous.”

“You know it well.”

Then the Prince looked back at his fellow troublemakers.

Christel, who had sent Joan and Isabelle ahead, had a troubled face, and the Dium siblings still seemed to be having a hard time.

He exchanged glances with Cedric and then opened his mouth.

“However, I dare to say that there is room for consideration. Otherwise, there was no way to reach the capital city. To use the Cheboim International Portal, Admiral Emma Corleone’s demands were…”

‘A little overwhelming.’ He finished speaking in a strange tone.

The Emperor chuckled as if she understood.

“You’re still far off. It would have been even more twisted because François was with you.”

“Did you know… about the two of them?”

The Prince’s eyes widened. The Marquis groaned lowly and avoided the gaze of his superior.

“Of course, I know. It is true that people like the Admiral are difficult to deal with, but wouldn’t it also be your fault for not dealing with it properly, since you grew up as royalty your whole life? I heard you made quite a name for yourself in the social circles of the New Kingdom.”

“…”

The embarrassed young man only opened his mouth. The Emperor chuckled inwardly.

His features were beautiful and his figure was beautiful, so there must have been many admirers, but with that kind of personality, he must have never been in a relationship.

The Cardinal couldn’t stand it and stepped forward.

“He’s teasing you, Prince. You don’t have to take it seriously.”

“I’m serious.”

“Frederic couldn’t stand Emma’s tricks either. It was something you guys couldn’t handle.”

“Tricks?”

Princess Maria, who was sniffing, suddenly asked.

Antoinette warned her younger sister and her partner shot her a hot gaze, but Aurelie continued to speak quietly.

“Don’t you kids know? Emma fell in love with Frederic’s swordsmanship and courted him for a long time. She even did strange things to keep Alexandre in check…”

“I will give a punishment.”

In the end, the Emperor cut her off by running her hand through her hair.

The young ones, who were staring up at the two with their mouths open, were flustered.

Even Cedric, who was good at managing his expression, looked embarrassed.

The Prince hurriedly began rummaging through a bag that looked just like him.

Then he took out something that shone brightly with dark red silk and gold thread.

François was the first to be shocked.

“I, I’m going to use this.”

“…”

The Emperor quickly recognized the object in the Prince’s hand.

It was a document she had given to the Prince as a birthday present last May.

She was so dumbfounded that she let out a laugh.

The Prince’s mind was so strange that he always played unexpected cards, but she never thought that it would appear here today.

“How do you know what kind of punishment I will give that you would use such a precious thing?”

“Even if you give us a light punishment, I know that what we did was a problem that could threaten the security of the Empire. I will take responsibility for the Crown Prince’s mistake today. I heard that no one except His Majesty is allowed to bring weapons into the Imperial Palace.”

The young man said brightly, pointing to the son of a b*tch’s boots.

It was the spot where he had drawn and thrown a dagger to threaten Keshier.

The Crown Prince looked back at the Prince with a strange face.

Held in his delicate hands was a certificate signed by the Emperor herself.

The moment when he was asking for permission with a body drooping from the heat and unable to even open his eyes properly was still vivid in her mind.

‘If you allow me… I would like to ask for that request at this moment.’

‘I allow it. Tell me.’

‘Please give me a second life.’

The purple gaze was desperate.

‘A second life, you say.’

‘I want an exemption that I can activate at any time. Even if it’s only for one time.’

Frederic knew that he had offered his neck to her, that he was giving his heart to those words.

The attempted assassination by the twin assassins was only two months ago.

The Prince and the Imperial Family were just beginning to build a foundation of trust.

So it was a struggle to prepare for something for the future.

It was not to prepare for himself to commit a crime, but a struggle assuming the case that he might be framed.

It was a very wise survival instinct.

‘Good.’

The answer flowed out willingly.

Her son had made a great contribution to obtaining the Hyegeom of Mars [likely a significant artifact or weapon], so she could give him that much privilege.

On the one hand, she was sorry that he had survived in the New Kingdom in this way.

It was definitely such a memory.

“There is no guarantee that this kind of thing will not happen again.”

When she tested him, his blessed eyes shone clearly.

It was different from that day when he was asking with a dying voice.

It was also different from a little while ago when he was full of anger and sadness and was broken.

“Because everyone believed in me. They made sure I didn’t have to use this.”

The Prince was quickly gaining the strength to move forward.

In front of the belief that he had cultivated by clumsily tamping the ground, giving it the water of patience, and basking in the sunshine-like affection.

As if that small bud was stronger than anything else in the world.

“And I believe you will do it again.”

“So you’re going to enjoy the privilege I bestowed on you for this kind of thing?”

“Yes.”

The Prince did not hesitate and submitted the certificate through the chamberlain.

The troublemakers who were with him looked greatly surprised, but they did not stop him from acting.

It must be because they also had the same heart.

It meant that they no longer needed a shield made of paper.

Even if their whole bodies were pricked by thorns and rolled in mud, they would walk together like that.

Those clumsy, reckless guys who couldn’t find their way and couldn’t even tell the difference between cliffs and valleys…

“Do as you please.”

She liked it. So she let him do as he pleased.

Aurelie let out a small laugh like a breath.

“The Crown Prince has made good friends. It is rare to have a friend who takes the blame for you.”

“…”

The orange eyes looked at her mother for a moment and then turned back to her partner.

The Emperor shook her head as if she was about to sigh.

“I won’t punish you. You can go and rest.”

“Thank you very much, Your Majesty.”

“Little Waterdrop.”

The one who understood the unfamiliar title first was the smart and quick-witted Waterdrop herself.

Christel stopped bowing and raised her head in a flash.

Frederic no longer called her ‘Sarnez Little One’.

“Don’t be afraid.”

“…”

“Your mother is strong and so are you. The two of you are enough.”

“Thank you for your grace. But there aren’t two of us. There’s Ellen and my friends too.”

“I shouldn’t have said that.”

A smart answer came back. The Emperor made a tired expression and gestured.

Christel raised the corners of her lips slightly towards the Prince and the Crown Prince, then bowed with the group and left.

In the vast audience hall, only a very small number of people remained in an instant.

The smiles slowly disappeared from the faces of the three people, including Johan.

Soon, a cold and chilling silence descended like a gust of wind.

It was Frederic who broke the ice again.

“…The contents.”

“The Crown Princess wants to check on Yeseo’s condition herself. She mentioned the initial details of this incident.”

Aurelie boldly summarized the letter from the New Kingdom.

The Emperor frowned and looked back at the seat next to her.

“The reason?”

“I heard the child is sick. The basis cannot be revealed.”

‘Sick?’ At the question, the Cardinal shrugged.

That was because the Prince was of a healthy constitution.

Although he was sensitive to the cold and heat and had fainted due to ether depletion, that was all.

He never coughed and never skipped meals.

Even with a lot of divine beasts, he climbed stairs and hills well. So it was strange.

What was the probability that the royal family of a country would obtain such false intelligence, believe it as it is, and send a related letter to the monarch of another country?

“Does that mean she wants to enter the country?”

The Emperor asked, receiving and unfolding the scroll.

“No. She requested to meet in the neutral zone.”

Neutrality meant distrust and vigilance. The Emperor clicked her tongue in disbelief.

Who on earth is untrustworthy right now?

“It’s ridiculous. Anything else?”

“No. There’s no code either.”

Apparently, there was no mention of the current situation either.

It was unknown whether she really didn’t know about her father Werner’s atrocities, or whether she didn’t want to know.

The Emperor thought about it and briefly buried her eyes in her palm. She was tired for the first time in a while.

“…I’m sleepy.”

“It’s natural to be exhausted. It’s your birthday tomorrow, so get some rest.”

‘You’ve worked hard.’ Her partner whispered, stroking the back of her head.

The Emperor, who was silently receiving the touch, raised her head.

“We should let them know that the Prince has been cleared of the charges. He seemed to cherish his younger sibling.”

“Do that, Johan.”

“I will obey.”

The Holy Knight answered cheerfully. Frederic leaned her head back on her contractor’s shoulder.

She was planning to focus only on the domestic situation for the time being.

There were plenty of high-ranking clerics to replace Eugene Keshier, but the vacancy of a big shot like Simon de Sarnez was huge.

Thinking of the people who were trembling with anxiety, there was not enough time to catch her breath.

The chaos had to be quelled quickly, and the emperor had to present new hope.

She had no intention of sending the Prince, who had barely escaped the crisis of death, to a neutral zone or anything like that.

She didn’t want to buy her son’s unnecessary resentment either. Now was a time when stability was needed.

“I’m hungry.”

“You talked a lot. And you used Aura.”

“That wasn’t use, it was an exhibition.”

A faint laughter spread.

The birthday celebration to be held tomorrow was scheduled to be held on a small scale.

It was decided at the same time as the confirmation of this trial date.

However, the food that the people outside the Imperial Palace would enjoy in celebration was distributed more generously than in previous years.

In addition, blankets and food were planned to be distributed to the poor first, even to the outskirts of the Empire where the portal did not reach.

She also had to pay attention to the political structure of the Noble Council, which would be rapidly reorganized. The Emperor’s mind was racing.

The miscellaneous thoughts about the situation of the Crown Princess of another country were pushed into a deep corner like that.

The Neretian Royal Castle, a week later, was very quiet.

On the surface, it was peaceful without any problems.

Werner sat in front of a luxurious teacup, waiting for a guest.

The posture of the King Consort was as elegant and dignified as ever.

Although he was somewhat haggard because the poison in his body had not completely cleared, there were many who would consider even that beautiful.

The man looked into the steaming tea and fell into thought.

“…”

Recently, unpleasant and unsettling rumors had been circulating in the capital.

For example, ‘The famous Duke Sarnez has fallen overnight.’

‘A miracle happened where purple tulips bloomed wherever the Emperor stepped.’

‘The 1st Prince descended on a flower boat on a bright moonlit night and blessed the people.’

Every single one of them was a word that he didn’t want to believe. But the fact that struck his heart even more was that none of them could be clearly confirmed.

According to Vatican sources, Riester priests had not been seen since a certain point.

He heard that there was also a commotion in which the priests dispatched to the Empire returned as a group.

At the same time, the security of the border became extremely strict. According to the captain of the guard, the Empire had now become an impregnable fortress that not even an ant could pass through.

So he couldn’t get information from internal informants.

The [a periodical publication], which was commonly circulating on the streets of the capital, had not been seen even as a single sheet since the issue of December 15th last year.

Only rumors lighter than feathers were floating around.

“Such a lowly thing.”

And Werner knew very well that rumors had the most powerful power.

Naturally, anxiety and unease followed.

Right now, he was like a swan swimming in a lake.

On the outside, he was extremely haughty and elegant, but under the surface, he was wildly scratching the water…

-Click

At that time, the door to the tea room opened.

Even though there was no need to, Werner immediately got up from his seat to greet the guest.

It was a habit that had been ingrained in him for a long time. Soon, a woman with a familiar face appeared.

The man tried to make a smile.

A familiar emotion was overflowing in her eyes.