What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 307

The screams that felt like they would tear out her heart had subsided with the passage of time.

Elise was regaining her composure. It was a situation where she had to.

“…I can’t leave Father like that.”

She said in a trembling voice.

Janin wiped her master’s cheeks with a cold, damp towel.

Fortunately, the Crown Princess did not show any signs of a rampage.

She had only briefly lost control of her surging anger and sorrow.

Even as she brushed back her hair, the resolute words continued.

“I can trust the Count of the Court. Although he is passive in the power struggle, the House of Loserharder will do anything for the peace of the Holy Kingdom. Some nobles in the capital and the provinces who follow him will also support me. I must borrow their power to bring Father down.”

“Your Highness, the Holy Kingdom’s army is currently at war.”

“I cannot retreat, assuming it is impossible.”

Elise declared fiercely. Janin looked up at her with a calm expression.

Dozens of shadows flickered outside the white tent.

“If I postpone the purge because of the war, I will postpone it again under the pretext of post-war recovery. This is a mistake that has already been repeated in my mother’s and grandfather’s generations. Should I walk the same path?”

“……”

“The source of his control is ultimately me.”

“……”

“When I ascend to the throne, the nobles will follow him because of the privileges they can obtain under Father. Therefore, I am the only one who can stop this madness.”

Elise whispered. It was not new information.

She had known what she meant to her father since she was a child.

Recently, she had even warned him with self-harm.

It wasn’t that she wanted to resort to such extreme measures.

However, the pride and treasure of her father’s life were undoubtedly herself and Cornelise.

He had built the foundation of his life by using his two daughters as stepping stones, which meant that his only weaknesses were herself and her sister.

Father cannot hurt me. Absolutely.

“Are you sure you’ll be alright?”

“I know it’s late. But there’s a difference between giving up without trying and trying anyway. If I risk my life, I have a chance of winning.”

A blue spark ignited in her eyes. Janin knew this moment of Elise well.

Years of resentment, guilt, and self-loathing. The desire to run away from it all…

The Crown Princess always rose again, overcoming those emotions.

She gained strength by enduring moments of near suffocation.

Whenever that happened, the eyes of the young First Princess would burn like this.

“I must also send a message to Mother. She regains her sanity from time to time, so if she reads it at the right time… I can trust the Head Maid. No other hands will do; it must be the Head Maid herself. If she carries it in her arms―”

“Shouldn’t you also examine the Head Maid?”

Janin carefully added. Elise met her gaze.

“It is true that she has served His Majesty for the past fifty years, but you must not let your guard down easily. I have heard that His Majesty has become more dependent on the maids since discovering the broken glass cover. He sleeps with the lights on at night, and on days when he wakes up in the middle of the night, he cries and looks for his servants.”

“……”

“Taking advantage of that, he may have already bribed even the Head Maid.”

The Crown Princess gritted her teeth. It was a miserable but true statement.

Considering the control her father had shown over the provinces today.

Considering that most of the staff in the royal castle had become his people at some point, even if the Head Maid was principled―

Wait.

“…What did you just say?”

What was that?

“I said that the Head Maid might have been bribed.”

Why do people always make the worst discoveries at the worst moments?

“No, before that.”

Elise asked quickly. Janin replied with her usual subtle smile.

“Since His Majesty is more dependent on the maids than before…”

“Did you say broken glass cover?”

“……”

“Broken?”

There was a crack in the Crown Princess’s voice. That was not true.

Elise clearly remembered the morning after her birthday.

She had personally supervised every part of the banquet hall, so there was no way she couldn’t know.

The heavily drunk Martier was asleep under the platform, and her sane mother was sleeping on the bed with Cornelise.

A glass cover was placed at the head of the two people.

It was a magical tool that preserved Michael’s purple tulips, stolen from the Imperial Family’s garden.

Afterward, Janin came in and told her that Yeseo had been framed.

Martier said that the child did not have the ability to defend himself.

Due to the testimony that his memory was not intact…

-Clang!

‘Yeseo, my child, my poor baby….’

Her surprised mother ‘broke’ the cover. That was clearly what she had witnessed.

The sound was loud, and when she hurriedly climbed onto the bed, the King was covered in blood.

Elise grabbed Janin’s arm with one hand.

She was in pain, but she didn’t care.

Then, without blinking an eye, she fired off questions.

“Tell me properly. Are you saying it was already broken? Are you saying that Mother didn’t break it?”

“You misunderstand, Your Highness. I made a slip of the tongue―”

“Who makes such a slip of the tongue! Didn’t you just say, ‘He discovered the broken glass cover’!”

Her lips trembled, and her hand gripping her arm tightened.

The sensation of blood draining from her head was chilling.

This was a fundamentally different kind of fear from when she realized that her father had stabbed Yeseo and bribed the priests.

Elise constantly denied reality. No. It couldn’t be. It mustn’t be.

“…Yes, that’s what I said.”

Janin said weakly. A premonition sharper than a spear pierced Elise’s heart.

No way.

“That’s the truth…”

“That’s right. The cover was already broken. His Majesty did not damage it.”

“Then who did…”

“……”

Elise blankly spat out the question. The maid did not answer.

She simply looked at her master with a gaze that treated her as the most precious thing in the world.

Then, with her free hand, she stroked the Crown Princess’s cheek.

Unlike the young woman whose whole body was trembling, the middle-aged woman’s touch was calm.

The corner of the woman’s lips lifted slightly, as if in self-deprecation.

The Crown Princess’s pupils dilated.

-Thwack!

“Heok!”

A golden spear blade pierced Janin’s side. Blood gushed from her wrinkled mouth.

Elise’s eyes were losing their light in an instant.

“Cough, keuhuk.”

“Why did you do this?”

A single tear fell from her blue eyes.

“How could you? How could you do this to me?”

“Heok, ah, ahh…”

‘Tss.’ The falling tears instantly vaporized, concealing their traces.

‘Thud!’ The floor of the tent was instantly filled with a pool of red blood.

Janin could only groan and writhe in pain, unable to give a clear answer.

Elise gripped the spear tightly with a blank face. Thwack!

“Heo-eok! Keuk, heok!”

“Tell me.”

“To…! To destroy His Majesty’s mind,”

“So, what is the reason you did such a thing!”

Whirr! The brazier blazed like a monster.

“Money. Money…”

The pale Janin whispered. Elise slowly blinked her eyelids.

Her head was numb, as if she had been hit in the back of the head with a hammer.

Suddenly, she felt like the whole world was ostracizing her. She was completely out of her mind.

It’s a lie.

“Money…? Just for money…?”

This can’t be happening.

Thirty years of trust cannot be shattered so vainly.

“That’s wrong. Say it again! Quickly! Quickly!”

“Kulak! Euhuk! Keuheok!”

The middle-aged woman convulsed, spitting blood. Elise did not let go of the spear.

Eventually, her face, stained red, slowly looked up at her. Janin was crying while smiling.

“His… His Majesty’s method is simple… With money, kuluk. He silences people with more money… With power, with greater power, euk. He uses people. The price is paid all at once. Certainly. If he does, never!”

“……”

“He will never be caught…”

‘Keuheuk, keuk.’ She was dying. Elise shook her head like a madwoman.

Thick blood stained the golden spear red.

“Don’t talk nonsense! Father is not someone who moves so secretly!”

That was the truth.

Berner Penetian was a person who craved the attention and affection of others from the first moment Elise remembered.

The daughter saw through her father’s essence.

He did not bother to hide his tracks even while committing terrible acts, and he seemed somewhat proud whenever his actions were revealed.

It was a difficult attitude to accept, but Elise’s ‘guardian’ was such a person.

There was no escape. The aftermath was the responsibility of her aunt for a while―

“Ah…”

The realization came like a tsunami, huge and slow. ‘Kehk!’ Blood caught in Janin’s throat.

Elise rushed her like lightning.

“Your aunt and father broke up! Their relationship completely soured after Michael died! Even if it’s the King’s family, it’s completely private!”

“Yes… Isn’t it a very convenient disguise? A dysfunctional family…”

Huk, huk. Elise barely swallowed her breath.

The dying maid’s eyes were filled with pity and compassion.

Until now, she had thought that everything was her father’s wrongdoing.

In fact, he did many things, so she had never even thought deeply about the background.

Using me, who would become king in the future, as a shield, in place of my mother, who was not of sound mind.

She believed that her father was wielding absolute power. It wasn’t just her.

Most of the capital thought so.

But it wasn’t. Rather, there was someone who used him as a smokescreen.

There was someone who quietly ruled the royal castle behind him and profited while he sought the attention of others.

“…Was it you who stole Emperor Liester’s letter?”

“Yes…”

“Did you do that to protect Father’s position as King Consort?”

“……”

“Was that your aunt’s order?”

Wilhelmina Sneider.

The head of the Duchy. A woman famous for her virtues of frugality and humility.

A person called a ‘saint’ in a secular family. A politician who conveys her opinions without raising her voice.

A person who is respected by the people of the territory.

A person who can establish another King Consort even if her father steps down.

A person who can repeat this several times.

“Because of your aunt’s money…?”

Elise asked, sobbing. Janin lowered her head. As if agreeing with her words.

“How much was it?”

“……”

“How much did you receive? How much did you promise for the next salary!”

“……”

“Answer me right now! Right now!”

Whirr, crash! The table and brazier rolled across the floor due to the ether explosion.

Bright yellow flames devoured the carpet.

Elise glared at Janin with tear-stained jade eyes. Tears of blood streamed down.

“……”

The maid was dead with her eyes open.

“Uwooeuk!”

A wave of nausea rose. The Crown Princess shook off the spear and began to vomit.

* * *

-Weeeeng!

The vacuum cleaner was running diligently. It was a leisurely Saturday.

Of course, I wasn’t leisurely at all.

“I need to run it quickly and read Toegye Gong [likely a reference to a historical figure or a fictional character]. Is there no end to the dust?”

I grumbled as I pushed the living room floor.

There was something I hadn’t considered since I had been away from home for a year, and that was the cleaning duty.

Damn it!

“Jeong-eun, you have too much hair. Are you shedding your fur because it’s spring?”

When I grumbled at my sister’s room, the girl who was pounding on the keyboard begged like a fly.

I was so dumbfounded that I just laughed it off.

She seems to be refraining in front of us, but my sister has been living with her laptop and phone since the latest episode of ‘Toegye Gong.’

I don’t know for sure, but it seemed like she was relieving her sadness by talking to other readers.

When I looked in because it was quiet, she was looking at the screen with a crying face.

It’s hard for us to give proper comfort… Hmm.

Especially me. I barely swallowed a sigh and focused on cleaning.

-Weeeeng…

The division of household chores among our three siblings was quite clear.

My brother mainly cooks, and I do the dishes.

We take turns cleaning the master bathroom, and Eunseo is responsible for Eunseo’s bathroom.

Eunseo also does her laundry separately. My brother does everything, including folding my laundry.

I throw away food waste and general waste on my way to work.

Eunseo is in charge of recycling all kinds of waste. Everyone cleans their own room.

The promise is to do it yourself with a vacuum cleaner or a mop, but it usually happens on weekends.

So, what about the living room and kitchen?

“That’s me.”

I chirped as I wiped the last corner. I sweated a bit, saying this was also exercise.

I rubbed my forehead on my shirt and went into my room. I should vacuum my room while I’m at it.

When I’m done, I’ll take a shower and read Toegye Gong in a refreshing environment and a clean body.

I’m going to eat Hallabong [a type of citrus fruit] with my brother and Eunseo.

-Weeeng!

“Did I read up to episode 99 last night? Was it episode 98?”

I was burning with the will to read all night, but there was no way a normal office worker would have that kind of stamina….

I usually fall asleep at twelve o’clock.

Around 1 o’clock, I could see myself nodding off without fail.

I urged myself to think of my friends, to think of the children and burdens I had to protect.

I washed my face and gargled to chase away sleep. In the end, I fainted before 2 o’clock.

Still, I was able to speed read because I was in a hurry.

99 episodes in one night was an amazing speed by my standards.

It was the result of skimming through the scroll, extracting information.

I have a lot of time today, so I can see more,

-Weeeng, clank!

“Huh?”

Something got caught in the vacuum cleaner. It was under my bed. There’s nothing stored here, so it’s strange.

I pushed the nozzle in again.

-Clank! Wooong, wooong, woooong!

The machine immediately started operating the turbo function.

It was as if it was protesting that there was something there and why I kept pushing it.

I’m sorry, hyung [Korean term for older brother or male friend]. I’m not trying to harass you.

“Let’s see, is there a towel or something…”

-Weeeng, weeeng, weeeng!

I bent over and pulled out the vacuum cleaner.

A small brown cotton ball came out at the end of the nozzle. Uh…?

-Bbi-bo!

…Uh-uh!? Huh?!