What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 414

Finding the Lost Piece (3)

A suffocating flush crept up his face, turning it crimson.

His mind went blank, unable to string together a single coherent thought.

Verner Venetian was simply fighting tooth and nail to survive.

He didn’t want to die like this.

-Creak, creak!

“Keuheuk, kut! Eheok······!”

The bed frame screamed in the man’s stead. Prominent veins bulged on his smooth forehead.

The long scar across his eye, intertwined with the elaborate tattoo covering it, contorted grotesquely.

A prosthetic hand adorned with various jewels scratched wildly at his neck, leaving raw marks.

The prosthetic leg replacing his right limb and his left leg kicked frantically in the air.

However, strength was rapidly draining from his limbs.

-Squeak, squeak!

His vision blurred, and the luxurious gown began to droop downwards.

The man shed involuntary tears as he thrashed for the last time.

‘Clang, clang, clang!’ The ornaments on his prosthetic limbs jingled loudly.

Yet, the tightly drawn cloth refused to release him.

Rather, as if unwilling to tolerate the Duke Consort’s resistance, it constricted his windpipe even more forcefully.

-Creak!

“Eut, euk! Keogeok!”

It was horrifying. An ominous numbness spread throughout his body.

He wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer like this.

“Heok, keok! Kkeuheuk!”

“Father······?”

Cutting through his groans, a tiny whisper echoed from afar, like that of a fledgling bird.

It was a voice he could clearly hear even through the layers of curtains.

Cornelia had woken up. Verner shook his head, his eyes wide with terror.

He couldn’t bear to show his beloved treasure such a sight.

But on the other hand, he was certain that only she could save him.

The certainty quickly turned into desperate hope.

The Duke Consort writhed as if trying to vomit up all the organs in his body.

Save me!

“Keuheoeok! Kor, keok, keot, kkeuheut!”

“Father? What’s wrong?”

The child’s voice trembled with fear.

All she could see was the shadow of her father, suspended in the air and struggling.

However, it appeared faint and unclear due to the curtains that surrounded the bed.

In an instant, she was wide awake.

Even as the color drained from her face, the girl busily fumbled on the bedside table.

She turned on the magic lamp and hurriedly got out of bed. This was surely a nightmare.

Whether it was her father’s nightmare or her own, it was a terrible and frightening dream.

So she had to wake him up.

“I’m coming, Father! I’ll save you right away!”

The child hastily conjured a small droplet of water in her palm. ‘Splash!’

And the moment she leaped towards Verner’s bed—

-Kwaaaang!

“Princess! Step back!”

The massive door was torn off its hinges, and a familiar voice echoed through the bedroom.

Cornelia was startled, her shoulders twitching as she fell.

No sooner had her knees touched the ground than a throng of people rushed in to care for the girl.

‘Your Highness, are you alright!’ ‘Are you hurt!’ Urgent whispers poured down like a waterfall.

The small power she held in her hand instantly seeped into the carpet.

The child blinked incessantly, utterly bewildered.

She couldn’t understand what the sudden influx of people meant.

The magical lights painting the dark ceiling with red and blue hues, the adults’ murmurs, all felt ominous.

At least the face before her was someone familiar. Someone who served her mother closely······.

“Chief of Staff?”

“Yes, it’s me. Good heavens!”

“Save Father, Father!”

-Swoosh, crack! Snap!

At the same time, something shattered from the direction of her father’s bed. ‘Crack!’

Cornelia gasped again and clung to the Chief of Staff.

In the dark gloom, she could no longer see her father’s shadow.

Instead, a terrifying noise erupted from beyond the dark curtains.

The sound of something breaking, being hit, being destroyed. ‘Thud, thud, thud!’ ‘Thwack!’ ‘Euhahaak!’ ‘Clatter, crash!’

“Ugh······.”

The child squeezed her eyes shut, desperately trying to remember her sister.

It made her feel a little stronger.

“Cough, cough, cough! Heoeok! Kuluk!”

Sparkle! Green eyes widened.

A familiar voice was descending into the terrified child’s ear.

It was just a cough mixed with a metallic rasp, but there was no mistaking who it was.

Cornelia instantly shook off the Chief of Staff’s hand and ran forward. Tap!

“Your Highness!”

“Father······!”

‘Thwack!’ She pulled back the curtains and desperately embraced him, sprawled on the bed.

Verner grabbed his daughter and coughed and laughed simultaneously.

His flushed face was drenched in sweat, and even in the darkness, she could see the bruises on his neck.

His lips were split, and his lilac sideburns were covered in blood.

The child gasped for breath and clutched at the cloth wrapped around her father’s neck.

She had to untie it, it was clearly hurting him, but she couldn’t muster the strength in her fingers.

Her whole body trembled with fear, and tears kept flowing. All other sounds faded away as if by magic. Daddy, Daddy······.

“It’s okay, kuluk! It’s alright······. Haa, I’m alive. Father is alive······.”

“Father, don’t cry. I’m here······.”

‘Whack!’ Before the sentence was even finished, Verner hid the child in his arms.

Then, summoning the last of his strength, he sat up.

Because the combat priest who had saved him was standing firmly at the foot of the bed.

Her profile, lit by the reddish light, was sharp.

The axe blade in the woman’s hand gleamed menacingly.

Verner hugged his daughter even tighter. Goosebumps erupted all over his body, and his jaw trembled.

“······Martier Jielstra, is it not?”

“I greet Duke Consort. Please evacuate to the front lines at once.”

“······.”

It was an incomprehensible statement.

Were ‘front lines’ and ‘evacuate’ words that could even be in the same sentence?

Even as the man panted and remained silent, Martier was busily requesting something from the Chief of Staff and the others.

Then the group attending the King hurriedly approached.

The Duke Consort instinctively flinched and recoiled.

But the servants’ destination was not him. ‘Thump!’

“Uueueueubeup! Eueup!”

“Eueubeue! Uueueueueup!”

“Silence, you wretches! Do you dare to speak after attempting to assassinate the Duke Consort!”

‘You will face the Royal Guard’s interrogation!’ The Royal Chief of Staff sternly rebuked someone.

The others forcibly roused the criminals and dragged them out one by one.

Verner stared blankly at the scene beyond the curtains.

Six or seven servants who managed his bedroom were kneeling in a row, bound tightly.

They were probably only sixteen or seventeen years old. For a moment, it felt like his breath had stopped.

“Hah······.”

At the head of the kneeling servants was his chief attendant.

An old, loyal retainer who had risked his life to serve him.

Soon, his eyes met those of the old man being dragged away.

“······.”

Betrayal is common.

In the royal capital’s social circles, rife with scheming and intrigue, rumors of one noble betraying another circulate almost daily. So it’s nothing special.

Stomping one’s feet in anger and plotting petty revenge with a burning heart is the work of a novice.

Verner barely took a deep breath, stroking his daughter’s downy hair.

Even so, his bloodshot eyes did not blink.

Even so, the pain of being stabbed in the back did not easily become familiar.

Perhaps it was because he had looked at that blade for too long, trusted it for too long.

“You······. You finally······.”

That man was a confidant he had brought from his own family.

“I have received the order from Princess Royal to escort Duke Consort safely.”

Flinch. Verner turned to Martier, his long eyelashes trembling.

Her eyes shone with a firm sense of duty. Only then did the blood begin to circulate in his body again.

The man’s eyes narrowed sharply.

“What has become of His Majesty? Is attempting to kill me not an act of treason?”

“He is unharmed and safe in his chambers. His Majesty was not the target of this assassination.”

Those words somehow sounded ominous.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Martier had not killed anyone here.

There were only criminals who had fainted from her force and criminals who had been beaten.

The priest tucked the axe into her belt and repeated the same words.

“Let us go. Princess Royal seeks her father.”

“······What reason do I have to trust you and move? How do I know where you will take me and how you will kill me?”

“You and I, the one who first spoke of murder was you, Your Highness. I have no intention of doing so. Nor have I received such an order.”

“······.”

At that moment, a scene flashed through Verner’s mind.

‘Do you act this way because you trust the Princess Royal? Then I will kill you before that child arrives!’

-Clang!

Not so long ago, those were the words he had used to publicly threaten Martier.

The man glared at her with trembling eyes.

The priest let out a silent sigh.

“Do you still not understand? The problem is not me. Your Highness’s loyal servant has turned traitor.”

“······.”

“It is the work of Duke Sneider. But even if we interrogate them, nothing will come of it. That is how he handles things, is it not?”

Gnashing his teeth, Verner embraced his daughter with his loosened prosthetic hand.

Cornelia clung tightly to his neck.

Even with the warmth springing from his heart, he could not understand the current situation.

My sister is trying to abandon me? Why?

They had been a pretty good team until now.

“Your Highness, you must move. There was a secret order from Princess Royal, who is acting as regent.”

Flinch! Verner trembled as if pricked by thorns.

Pauman, the King’s Chief of Staff, who had come to his bedside, was looking down at him with cold eyes.

“Not leaving the royal castle is tantamount to defying the royal command, and even if you stay here, the Royal Guard cannot perfectly protect you. Now, the only person who can guarantee Your Highness’s safety is Jielstra.”

“······.”

“As you well know.”

That was, indeed, the case.

The Royal Guard had long since degenerated into the level of Duke Sneider’s private soldiers.

There were forces within who followed the King, but they were not the majority, and those loyal to Christiana had no reason to look favorably upon Verner.

The Duke Consort quickly racked his brains even in his disheveled state.

Then he could leave the castle right now and entrust himself to the mansion of a noble who served him.

Because he didn’t like that bald priest very much.

Because he knew very well that she regarded him with dissatisfaction.

But would that place really be outside his sister’s grasp?

“Second Princess will be staying at the Lord of Roseharder’s mansion in the capital for the time being. Princess Royal has made separate arrangements.”

“Daring to separate my daughter and me—”

“Lord Yudith Kamingha’s private soldiers will escort us from afar.”

“What?”

Who? The Duke Consort’s eyes widened. Was this something that ‘that’ Duke was even involved in?

Elisabeth is moving her forces on her own?

“······I need 10 minutes.”

“······.”

“I need to pack the princess’s belongings, and I need to prepare myself. I can’t go out in this weather with nothing on.”

“I’ll give you 5 minutes.”

Martier retorted coldly to the calmly spoken words.

Verner swallowed hard and nodded.

And he recalled the old robe he had worn at the Temple of the Boundary ‘that day’.

He had to get that first.

The day we learned that Elisabeth had lost a piece of her memory (too big to be called a piece).

With Princess Royal’s sweeping proposal, we entered the second truce.

Officially, all combat activities were suspended by imperial decree.

The deadline was until Duke Consort Verner of the Shin-guk came to the front lines. Of course, it was an unexpected development for everyone.

It was an astonishing event, and most of all, it was fortunate.

Because there could be no better outcome than if no one died or got hurt and the villains could be punished.

However, the atmosphere was still serious.

“······So when is he coming?”

Gain asked in a serious voice. I quickly took out a letter from my bosom.

After possessing—ah, it’s not possession now.

Anyway, it didn’t seem like I had been in such a critical situation since learning about the second blue star.

Rustle, rustle. I spread Ganael’s letter in the middle of the Crown Prince’s blanket.

The lesser pandas, who had been waiting quietly, gathered and put their tails together.

-Kki

-Kku

-Kkeung

Following them, the three of us naturally put our heads together.

The most secret place in the military camp, where no one could eavesdrop on the conversation.

It was the Crown Prince’s bedroom area.

“If you look at the second paragraph, it says that it’s the carriage serving the Cardinal, so it won’t be able to move very quickly. Besides, Ganael is planning to stop by the Temple of the Boundary and assist the Master. Herit and Sant are accompanying her here.”

I whispered in a serious voice. Then the blue-gray eyes grew long.

“Then we can take a relaxed approach to the arrival. No, should we be conservative in times like this?”

“That’s probably safer. Today is November 7th, and this is a letter sent on November 3rd······.”

“He’ll arrive this week.”

Cedric spat out. I bit my lip as I watched Lopi climb up the guy’s back. What should I do?

“Ganael is coming this week, but we don’t have any measures. All we had was to keep Elisabeth from taking off her engagement ring.”

“It’s really frustrating. The medicine doesn’t work. The healing circle doesn’t work either. It’s just from the shock······. It’s really amazing that she remembers everything except her fiancé.”

Gain sighed. I nodded silently.

The doctors and healing priests who examined Elisabeth all shook their heads.

They all agreed that ‘time is the best medicine’.

They also said that memory loss was not an uncommon injury on the battlefield.

Since we can now take a break with the second truce, they advised us to only see and hear good things and get plenty of rest for the time being.

Then the memory will naturally return.

But no one knows when that will be.

“Princess, why. If you watch daily dramas [soap operas]. The main character with amnesia usually hits their head hard somewhere and that’s how it happens.”

Suddenly, our pink princess spoke again.

Then the Crown Prince frowned, barely visibly.

I laughed, nudging the guy’s arm with my elbow.

Just wait a little, I’ll explain ‘daily drama’ later.

Because an important opinion is about to come out now.

“Isn’t it that you have to hit your head again to get your memory back?”

Eliminated! Not an important opinion!

“There’s also that. Shocking kiss. If you do a shocking kiss, your memory comes back?”

“Yes?”

If it’s a shock, it’s a shock, and if it’s a kiss, it’s a kiss, but what’s a shocking kiss?

“Would you like to try it, Crown Prince?”

“······.”