What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 282

The Sub-Male Lead Goes on Strike – #282

#282

The Last King of the Thousand-Year Kingdom! (6)

-Chirp, chirp, chirp!

The sound of a titmouse chirping rang out. In the distance, the court musicians were playing.

-Click

Orelly Boutier set down her teacup and gazed out the window.

In the front garden, where spring had begun to dip its toes, the gardeners were hard at work.

Planting new seedlings, trimming shrubs, and watering sprouts—their faces were all bright.

Throughout the thawing Imperial Capital, everyone was preparing for the new beginning of the year.

She thought of her disciple who had left for the desert.

In truth, she thought of him every day, but there were moments when his face and voice would suddenly appear vividly in her mind.

Just like now.

“It’s in the final stages. Do you need anything else?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. We just need to gather the mana injection specialists and test the operation. The remaining three locations are in the northern mountains. Access is difficult due to the snow still piled up…”

This was the reception room inside the bedroom area.

Orelly still couldn’t go anywhere.

She was fortunate to have at least escaped the bedchamber, thanks to her generous partner.

Across from her, Frederick and François were deeply engaged in conversation, passing documents back and forth.

The topic was the restoration of wartime portal records.

It was last summer when children had disappeared through portals buried in the ground, ending up in the village behind the Imperial Palace.

Recalling the commotion of that disappearance, Orelly still chuckled these days.

Afterward, the Emperor had declared that he would restore all the portal records that the Queen Mother had burned.

Among them, magical formulas that functioned normally would not be destroyed but thoroughly managed.

Thus, the work that had begun in late summer was now nearing its end.

“We could use the intact ones for civilian trade or transportation.”

“Indeed. The local nobles are inherently positive about portal and road construction projects, so if the Imperial Family approaches them, there will be good results.”

“You’ve worked hard. I’m glad I entrusted it to you.”

‘Try a little harder.’ Frederick chuckled and patted the Marquis on the shoulder.

The man beamed and bowed respectfully.

Seeing him so pleased to be recognized by his master, the Cardinal was also delighted.

As she smiled, the chamberlain knocked and entered.

The servants followed behind, carrying drinks and desserts on a golden cart.

The white-haired child, always a welcome sight, was with them.

Herrit, holding Laura’s hand tightly, wore clothes bestowed by the Emperor and shoes provided by the Cardinal, looking every bit the young master.

‘If you are to serve the Emperor tea, you must wear the finest clothes in the Empire,’ Frederick shamelessly made such an excuse.

At the same time, he ordered the tailor to add plenty of pockets that the child liked.

“Welcome, Laura. Herrit is diligent as always.”

“Hehe.”

Herrit smiled brightly and bowed. He seemed to be gaining a little weight, which was good to see.

At the Emperor’s gesture, the child trotted over and picked up the ice tongs.

At his signal, the servants began to move busily. Everyone looked pleased.

-Plop

Today, too, one ice cube went into the Emperor’s coffee.

As Laura handed the Cardinal her black tea, Herrit poured milk with his small hands and stirred with a teaspoon.

He carefully filled a bowl smaller than his palm with sugar.

He even placed a coaster under the glass for the Marquis, who had recently become obsessed with ‘Café Chris’ [likely a trendy coffee drink].

He was a child with a good memory and no mistakes.

“Thank you, little Haynes. Since I’ve received such a precious treat, I must return the favor!”

François said, pushing a parfait glass toward Herrit.

The large, mint-colored eyes folded into crescent shapes.

On the first day, he had been anxious about whether he could accept such a thing, but after the Emperor had allowed it a few times, he now happily ate his fill.

He also sat close to his temporary guardian, the Marquis.

The little one couldn’t even imagine that the Imperial Palace staff had made extra snacks just for him.

That’s why he was a child. François asked gently.

“Is it delicious?”

Nod, nod.

“Is it more delicious than what you eat at our house?”

Pause. Then the Marquis burst into hearty laughter.

Herrit belatedly realized he had fallen for an adult’s prank and smiled sheepishly.

Orelly watched the child eating with whipped cream on his lips and checked the document in her hands.

.

“······.”

It was what Elizabeth had brought up a little while ago.

In fact, it was a survey targeting virtually all citizens, and progress was slow because it was being conducted quietly with the cooperation of the lords.

The work, which had begun in October of last year, had not yet completed half of it.

It was expected that at least 100,000 person-days, including clergy, would be invested until the work was completed.

Still, there were notable gains.

In addition, the content was somewhat consistent with the Cardinal’s expectations. The page turned quietly.

-Flap, flap

Within the Empire, there were so-called ‘Divine Disease’ patients suffering from ether abnormalities [Ether refers to a magical energy source in this world].

However, it was a very rare disease.

After searching nearly half of Liester, fewer than thirty cases had been reported.

Pascale, the grandson of Sarah Beliard, was one such case.

However, because he was a noble, he could receive long-term care, and most commoners were in a much worse situation.

A cargo wagon loaded with large amounts of sunroot was scheduled to leave for remote areas across the country starting tomorrow.

“Ah! Are you giving me some too? Then just one bite.”

Young children with severe pain did not survive past the age of twelve.

If the pain was less severe, they would sleep for a long time instead.

Some sick children slept for sixteen or seventeen hours a day. But among them…

“François, how is that just one bite?”

“······.”

There were 0 cases with special ether. It was all a problem of pure ether.

There were no patients with cracked vessels.

The archbishops who participated in the study submitted their reports with cruel certainty.

It was the same thing she, Frederick, and Alexandre had heard ad nauseam.

‘A broken vessel cannot exist in the world, nor should it exist.’

Cedric’s case was unique to Cedric in the Empire.

As if to prove that it was truly the ‘curse of the Main God.’

“Orelly.”

“Huh?”

The Cardinal snapped out of her reverie. Eve, who had met her gaze, was frowning.

It seemed her bad thoughts had been conveyed, carelessly.

“Stop looking at that and eat this.”

The Emperor pushed the parfait toward her.

She had thought there was only one for Herrit, but it seemed he had prepared one separately to comfort his partner who couldn’t go outside.

Orelly eventually put the document down on her lap and smiled brightly.

As she picked up the spoon, Herrit looked at her with great anticipation.

He seemed curious about her reaction.

Looking at the lovely child, Orelly once again thought of her one and only disciple.

The gentle, yellow sunlight softly touched the tea table. The waiting was only happy.

“It’s sweet and delicious. I see why Herrit likes it.”

“Hehehe.”

…So it will be alright. Her beloved godson now has the prince and his friends by his side.

He’s getting better little by little.

*

At that moment.

-Paaaa…!

“No way.”

I was so surprised that I gripped the staff tightly with both hands.

The growth, which seemed like it should be enshrined in a museum right away, was faintly glowing, cracked and split as if it would break.

It looked like a creature trying to break out of its eggshell.

The beige light, resembling my teacher’s eyes, was gentle.

However, it was not the radiance of the crescent moon hanging at the top. That was still black and bumpy.

Hanan Lumayan, who was looking back and forth between me and the staff, wore an unbelievable expression.

Sant, who had safely escaped from her grasp, was crawling at full speed!

-Unbelievable…! Does that mean you are even a Cardinal? Have you even passed twenty years of age?

The woman’s voice rumbled. I calmly opened my mouth.

“Twenty-nine, Archbishop.”

-Goodness!

The King was shocked and rushed at me. I was startled but steadfastly met her gaze.

Perhaps because she was from an old era, I couldn’t grasp the criteria for estimating age.

Meanwhile, Joan and the Divine Beasts surrounded Sant and checked his condition.

Behind me, I heard the painter’s urgent voice.

“Don’t hold your breath, exhale. I need to see your condition!”

“I’m already breathing, Baron!”

“But why are your cheeks so chubby?!”

-Gurgle!

Hmm.

-Saaaa…

“Huh?”

At that moment, the staff’s radiance began to fade like a lamp running out of oil.

I quickly checked the growth, worried that it might break.

Fortunately, there were no such signs. It was just turning dark and dull again… Ah.

‘How can I become the master?’

‘It’s simple. Become stronger than me.’

That’s right. It seemed it had judged that my power had weakened again.

I had been overwhelmed earlier, and my ether seemed to have surged momentarily.

My teacher had said that I had to become stronger than her to gain the growth’s recognition, but looking back, this was something she had used until her days as an Archbishop.

So, the exact standard wasn’t the ‘current’ teacher, but—

-Why does an Archbishop possess the World Tree? Those purple eyes have received the blessing of the Main God! Just what kind of being are you!

Oh my!

“This is Prince Yeseo Venetian. The growth is an item bestowed by his teacher, Cardinal Orelly Boutier.”

Sir John explained calmly, and Hanan’s eyes widened.

Her pupils were so large and close that I could clearly see them shaking. The earrings, as wide as teacups, danced.

The spirits who had hidden behind the wall slowly returned to protect their master.

Some of them turned pink with fright when I moved the staff.

I felt sorry and subtly lowered my arm.

Anyway, is the ‘root of the temple’ the ‘World Tree’?

-Venetian…? Are you referring to the forces that advocated for the union of church and state and divided my country?

“Yes. And this is Crown Prince Cedric Liester. He is Prince’s friend and Holy Knight partner.”

This time, the Cardinal introduced her disciple.

Then, Crown Prince Cedric bowed with precision. It was an unexpected display of etiquette.

Hanan was now completely dumbfounded.

-Liester! A descendant of the Duke who swore allegiance to me? They built an empire?

“That’s right.”

‘Hoo-uh!’ The spirits exclaimed.

-And the scions of the two countries have paired up?

“That’s correct.”

‘Goodness!’ Exclamations erupted from all around.

‘Squeak!’ The Lesser Panda Trio added sound effects. There was no separate audience.

-A thousand years is indeed a thousand years. Affection is covered in blood, and then blood is washed away by affection again!

‘Such an empty grudge!’ The ancient king lamented.

Her attire was so extravagant that the spirit body swayed greatly whenever she moved.

The spirits stirred and glanced this way.

Taking advantage of the relaxed atmosphere, I boldly approached Hanan.

This time, the Crown Prince didn’t stop me. I smiled at him and opened my mouth.

The opportunity was now.

“Your Majesty, if you allow it, we will help you.”

-…What did you just say?

The King frowned and asked again. I decided to be brave.

Either way, we couldn’t safely escape the tomb as it was, and more than anything, I wanted to help her and her friends.

If that was possible.

“As I mentioned earlier, it’s not Sant’s fault that Your Majesty’s spell didn’t work. I heard that you can’t be freed unless you listen to the spirit’s song to the end. So, I borrowed the power of Sir John Haynes here. He’s an air-attribute Cardinal-level Holy Knight.”

-Indeed, you are audacious! I have never trusted those pinwheel bastards since I was young!

She pushed right up to Sir John’s face.

The Holy Knight’s white hair fluttered like willow branches.

The woman’s fierce gaze and the man’s serene gaze were in stark contrast.

I quickly intervened.

“But we can serve Your Majesty voluntarily without pledging our souls. Here, from the Roseharder family… The youngest son, Sant, will also cooperate. Right?”

I turned to look at Sant. The young priest was a naturally kind person.

His tearful eyes were clear. He nodded promptly, holding the Divine Beasts in his arms.

“Yes, yes! Even if it wasn’t my fault, I definitely want to apologize and help. It’s still scary though…”

-What?

Hanan raised her head sharply. Her face showed that she didn’t understand.

The spirits were the same. I slowly explained my opinion.

It was closer to a clever trick than an opinion, though.

“You clearly said so. Your Majesty is trapped here, unable to escape, bound by your resentment and affected by the curse you uttered yourself. And you said that only Roseharder can undo it.”

-….

“Conversely, it only requires that Roseharder be included among those who will serve Your Majesty three times. Isn’t that right? It’s not a condition that only Roseharder’s bloodline ‘alone’ is possible, is it?”

-…The target of this body’s resentment for countless eons was that person, but as is usually the case with anger, it was not specific.

She muttered as if to herself. It meant she agreed. There was hope.

I actively stood on tiptoe.

“What about the part where you bind the opponent’s soul? Is that also essential? Your Majesty knows best since it’s a spell you cast yourself.”

-…I coveted the soul because that person would not come to me willingly.

In other words.

“You wanted to bind them in preparation for them not apologizing and defying Your Majesty. Because that’s the most certain way to be freed.”

I asked cautiously. Instead of answering, she tensed her jaw and straightened her back.

It was indeed the correct answer. I roughly saw the outline of the operation.

I exchanged glances with the Crown Prince and looked back at my other friends.

They all nodded slightly. The corners of my lips naturally lifted.

I looked up at Hanan again.

“Hmm. As you’ve heard, we are people who have recently made a name for ourselves on the continent. We all have connections to the Liester Empire, the Venetian Theocracy, and even the Papal State. We know how to use ether and wield sword energy and mana. So, if you wish, we will serve Your Majesty three times. As long as it doesn’t involve killing or harming anyone.”

-….

I looked straight at the King.

My purple eyes held no particular thoughts, but I wished that, just for today, I could influence her.

“We will set you free. Let’s make a pact.”