What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 245

#245

Some Wounds (2)

When it came to the two most influential families of the Theocratic State of Fenetian, most people, including the citizens of Riester and Corleone, as well as the ethnic minorities in the neutral zone, knew of them.

Even if they couldn’t delve into the details, they would at least recognize the names and nod in acknowledgment.

This was especially true because both families had deep religious roots.

The first was the House of Roseharder, which had produced as many as four Popes and sent numerous high-ranking clerics to the Vatican.

They were a force that had been loyal to the royal family for generations, prioritizing the well-being of the Theocratic State and the safety of the Pope over their own power.

Recognized for their family’s unique integrity, more than a dozen heads of the household had served as courtiers in the royal palace.

Famous for the vast rose garden of the Count’s residence and their papal bloodline, they were commonly referred to as the family of the ‘High Priest of the Rose Garden.’

The second was the House of Sneider, which had produced two Popes, including the first Pope of the continent, and fostered numerous holy knights, still influencing Vatican affairs to this day.

They boasted wealth and power in the Theocratic State, rivaling the royal family.

The last Pope, Irena Sneider, was from this family, and thanks to her being remembered as the Holy Emperor, the family’s prestige remained high.

After the King weakened, their political influence grew even stronger as the Duke Consort’s family.

In short, Roseharder had a sacred atmosphere externally, while Sneider gave a relatively secular impression.

Even though both families were clergy families, their impressions differed due to the inclinations of the people.

The former had little interest in advancement, while the latter had no qualms about pursuing wealth and glory.

Duchess Wilhelmina Sneider was also a figure who did not deviate much from this pattern.

“…Please, have a seat. I have prepared your favorite tea.”

Werner bravely met his sister’s gaze as he spoke. She nodded slightly.

The head butler, who followed behind, tried to take her fur coat and gloves, but the woman dismissed him with a simple gesture.

She sat down with the air of someone who would only say what she had to say and then leave.

Since this meeting was at her request, it was difficult to press her further.

“It seems you have urgent matters afterward.”

“Even more so on a day like today.”

‘As if the Grand Duke’s sister would be idle?’ Wilhelmina thought, adding a gentle smile.

The contempt she had shown a moment ago had completely disappeared.

The Duke Consort managed a painted-on smile, as if he had heard a pleasant joke.

His sister had a natural charisma and the power to command attention.

With common hair color and an ordinary appearance, she effortlessly projected an aura of authority.

Perhaps even if she were physically unwell or lacked political acumen, Wilhelmina would have succeeded in some way.

Because that’s the kind of person she was: accustomed to being admired and unafraid to voice her opinions.

Werner Fenetian shrank inwardly whenever he stood before her.

He didn’t want to, but it was a habit ingrained in him for decades.

Even knowing that he was much more beautiful than his sister, even being the object of unwanted desires and insincere praise, nothing changed.

Because she didn’t value such superficial things at all.

“Still, please enjoy the refreshments. It’s freshly baked Tom Pouce [a French pastry].”

“You must have heard the rumors circulating in the royal capital,” Wilhelmina said, immediately broaching the main topic. The siblings’ gazes locked in the air.

The head butler stood silently like an ancient statue in the desert.

Werner did not drop his smile but feigned a calm voice.

“Aren’t there always rumors? What story brought you here?”

“You used Sarnez.”

The woman said gently.

Speaking sharply in a kind tone was one of the few techniques Werner had learned from her.

He slowly raised his gaze and stared at his sister.

A face with wrinkles instead of makeup. Hair neatly styled up.

A dress that used only the highest quality fabrics and dyes instead of special decorations.

Simple accessories that his father had passed down.

She was someone who didn’t need to use flashy adornments as armor, unlike himself.

Rather, the more frugal her attire, the more she was praised as a nobleman who understood humility.

“To get rid of a thorn in your side.”

“…”

*How?*

How did his sister confirm that?

What did it mean that she knew the truth?

Werner bit the inside of his cheek hard. He had to regain his composure.

Wilhelmina was someone who wielded absolute power throughout the Theocratic State.

It was only natural that she had more informants than himself, who lived deep within the royal palace.

He quickly put on an indifferent expression.

Even though he had repeatedly failed to eliminate the lowly bastard, his sister was not a suitable person to share his despair with.

“If you say so, Sister, it seems the rumor that Duke Sarnez has fallen is true,” he said, curving his eyes more carefully than usual, as if it were nothing, as if he had such a plan all along.

“…”

Unlike Werner, who clenched both fists tightly under the table, she showed no signs of tension.

Her voice was also calm.

“You are not the Regent anymore. You yielded to the Crown Princess.”

“Yes. Because I fell ill… Elise has been taking care of state affairs for the past few weeks.”

“I heard as much.”

The question of how he was feeling was not even asked out of courtesy.

Wilhelmina continued emotionlessly.

“I remember urging you to hold on to the position of King’s Regent.”

It was a blatant sentence laden with meaning. The Duke Consort immediately took a defensive stance.

“I raised my eldest child entirely with my own hands. Even when His Majesty was busy with state affairs, I was always by her side. She will never betray me.”

“Brother.”

‘Brother.’ That was an expression Wilhelmina mainly used when scolding her younger brother.

Werner unconsciously straightened his back.

A coldness flashed in his sister’s kind eyes.

“Would abandoning one’s father as a blood relative be the same as politically excluding him?”

“…”

“You must think deeply. Your eldest niece will support you, but she will not endorse you.”

It was clearly a reprimanding tone. Werner gritted his teeth subtly.

Elise was the daughter of him and Christa.

No matter how much Wilhelmina flew and crawled in the political world, it was unpleasant to interfere in the relationship between father and daughter.

The person who knew the Crown Princess best in the world was none other than himself.

“She will return the position to me whenever I ask. Isn’t Elise a busy child taking care of military affairs?”

“Since you gave it away so easily once, it won’t be difficult to take it twice,” Wilhelmina replied simply. It was a look that pitied him for not knowing that.

Werner spat out an answer in anger.

“Even if I hand it over twice, I will receive it back three times, so it’s not something you need to worry about, Sister. Weren’t you supposed to not interfere with matters within the castle?”

“How nice would it be if you didn’t make me worry.”

She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes sharply.

Her unique snake-like gaze glared at Werner.

Wilhelmina, who was known to be generous and broad-minded, had never been lenient to her only younger brother, not even once since birth.

He struggled to suppress the goosebumps.

Thinking that he was glad he didn’t drink the tea since he would have indigestion anyway.

“I told you the day before the royal wedding, Your Highness. Live as you wish, do as you please… but you must know your place.”

Chocolate-colored eyes glared sharply at his sister.

His lips trembled with shame. The Duke continued without wavering.

“When Your Highness brutally murdered the cat my mother was raising, I didn’t say anything. Even though my mother collapsed from the shock and never opened her eyes again, I didn’t resent you.”

“…”

Wilhelmina was someone who had clearly watched the process of the man in front of her growing up.

She couldn’t bring herself to love her younger brother.

Immediately after giving birth to Werner, her mother rapidly weakened and spent more days lying in bed than with her children.

Even calling in renowned doctors and healing priests from home and abroad had no effect.

Her father, the late Duke, loved his wife and children very much, but he was busy restoring the damage from the war, so he rarely returned to the lord’s castle.

In that environment, the second child grew up entirely as he pleased.

Despite the constant teachings of nannies and tutors, Werner’s cruelty did not subside.

No amount of tears or coaxing worked.

‘Isn’t the order of placing the dishes wrong!’

-Clang! Crash!

‘Oh, young master!’

‘Please forgive him. This child made a mistake because it’s his first day!’

He often hit or yelled at his subordinates. The weaker the opponent, the more frequent the assault.

He killed his mother’s cat at the age of seven and broke the leg of his father’s beloved horse at the age of ten.

It was like seeing a demon. It was eerie and terrible, and she didn’t want to be near him.

His face, which smiled like an angel in front of his parents, was hateful and disgusting.

When her mother finally passed away, sixteen-year-old Wilhelmina wept and thought.

That child might be the result of the devil of the Lord God being born wearing a human mask.

He must have chosen such a beautiful shell to deceive people and lead them to ruin.

That her younger brother had devoured her mother.

“When you screamed that you would kill a priest whose origins you didn’t even know, I quietly helped. Because I judged that it would be helpful to the family’s long-term prosperity.”

“…”

Becoming the Duke Consort of Fenetian was the only event in which Werner contributed to the family.

“When you tried to kill that son, I condoned it. Because the existence of the First Prince was not beneficial to us.”

“…”

“Wasn’t it enough to send him as a hostage?”

“Sister.”

Werner cut her off as a warning. His voice became terribly low.

The lilac hair, once praised as the most precious in the Theocratic State, was trembling with anger.

“As long as it breathes somewhere, I can’t be perfect.”

“…”

“You wouldn’t know. You wouldn’t understand. But that dirty blood clot, even given the name Yeser, is a stain on my life that reeks and induces vomiting!”

His pale jade face flushed red with humiliation. The Duke Consort’s voice grew louder and louder.

The head butler glanced at him.

“I am the King’s husband! I am the spouse of the highest person in the Theocratic State! Isn’t it a position where I should only enjoy what is noble and perfect? What’s the big deal that I used a Duke from another country to come all the way here!”

“You fool!”

-Slap!

The Duke Consort’s head snapped to the side. The man opened his mouth in a daze.

The shock came several beats late.

His left cheek, which had been hit, was swollen and red, and soon a hot pain, as if burned, surged.

Wilhelmina stood up abruptly, raising her hand. Spilled tea dripped onto the carpet.

The colorful cake was collapsing hideously.

“Haa…. Ah….”

Words did not come out quickly.

“Do you know what you’ve done!”

“Why, why.”

It was the first time he had been subjected to violence by someone. *Why?*

“What are you going to do if you incite a rebellion by encouraging spies from enemy countries! Are you going to start a war? Huh?”

“How dare you. How dare you lay a hand on the Duke Consort of a country…”

“If a declaration of war comes out due to your fault, how will you take responsibility! Not only will your position as Duke Consort be in danger, but the very existence of the Duchy will be threatened! You moron!”

“Your Grace!”

“Can’t you shut up!”

‘Clang!’ The Duke threw a porcelain teapot at the head butler.

The servant bowed deeply and hurriedly stepped back.

Werner, covering his cheek, looked back at her almost convulsively.

“How can you do this to me… What did I do wrong to deserve this!”

“Isn’t the person you should be questioning His Majesty!”

*Thump!* She stomped her foot. The man flinched. The woman’s eyes shone fiercely.

“It is His Majesty who did not give you affection, and it is His Majesty who betrayed you. But aren’t you pathetic for clinging to commoners for thirty years!”

“…”

“Never again.”

Wilhelmina suddenly pointed at him. Werner instinctively held his breath.

“Never again think of laying a hand on the Emperor’s land. If I hear of this happening one more time, your position will not be safe.”

His eyes shook greatly. His sister was now talking about the possibility of a second Duke Consort.

It was a threat of deposing himself at any time and bringing a slender young thing to push into Christa’s bedroom.

The Duke did not care whether Werner was in shock or not.

She straightened her disheveled hair, tidied her coat and attire, and left the drawing-room with an elegant step.

She was once again the flawless figure of the head of the family.

-Click, creak!

-Tap, tap, tap…

The woman’s footsteps faded beyond the hallway.