What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 460

The Continental Overlord (1)

He was as imposing as ever.

“I told you not to bring the grandchildren.”

I flinched.

“I see two young ones. Should I be grateful they aren’t infants?”

‘Tsk.’ The middle-aged man in the highest seat clicked his tongue.

I held Kina and Willem tightly in my arms.

The twins were trembling, their eyes downcast, overwhelmed by the Emperor’s immense charisma and pressure.

Even though they didn’t even know the name of Frederick Liester.

It wasn’t just because she was a distant elder.

Humans inherently possess an instinctive fear of beings overwhelmingly stronger than themselves.

Gain and I glanced at each other, with the Crown Prince leading the way.

We had simply washed up and changed clothes before being summoned.

The atmosphere was incredibly hectic.

-Thud, thud, thud!

-Clack, clack, clack, clack······!

This was the audience chamber of the Yeriho Lord’s Castle.

The owner of the space had long abandoned the city.

“Marquis Sise! All the criminals have been imprisoned in the dungeon. What should we do about the interrogation schedule?”

“First, record their personal details. Then, start with those His Majesty deems necessary for questioning······.”

“Duke Blanquer! The number of people evacuating to the monastery is increasing. It seems we need to secure additional space······.”

“Open the gates of the Lord’s Castle and let everyone in. His Majesty has ordered it. And ration the supplies by time······.”

“The number of people emerging from the collapsed black market is considerable. Some black mages are engaging in combat, but fortunately, they are not difficult opponents······.”

“Madam! There are items that require approval!”

The open space echoed loudly, and the great nobles attending to His Majesty were very busy.

Knights in armor and mages in robes ceaselessly roamed the square audience chamber’s corridors.

I busily rolled my eyes, scanning the people beyond the pillars.

Thankfully, the atmosphere among the Imperial soldiers wasn’t bad.

Everyone was short on time due to the war, but otherwise, there seemed to be no major issues.

I heard that the Liester army, led by Emperor Frederick, had advanced to Yeriho with unstoppable momentum.

The decisive reason was the large-scale landslides that occurred in the front lines and inland areas of the Holy Kingdom due to the recent heavy rain, which led Crown Princess Elysee to order a major retreat of the Holy Kingdom forces.

Isabelle, whom I met a little while ago, said that the Crown Princess had made a wise decision.

‘On the way here, I saw that very few of the nearby lords had built dikes or retaining walls in preparation for disasters. This is unacceptable, even for small territories. If they lacked capital, they could have received support from the royal family.’

‘Cautiously, I suspect corruption.’

‘In this situation, the Crown Princess chose to save the people rather than pursue the war. If she utilizes her troops, there will be no problem with disaster recovery and relief efforts.’

‘Many lords have abandoned their castles and fled, so tens of thousands of people have already surrendered to our forces.’

Hmm······.

“Yes.”

“Yes, yes!”

I quickly raised my head.

From the extravagantly luxurious lord’s seat, the Emperor was looking down at me.

On either side of her were Marquis Francois Duhem and General Modest Bakari.

The belt hero who saved my friends gave me a dashing wink.

Today, I tried my best to respond, furrowing my brow, but his cherry-colored eyes narrowed for a moment.

“You have time to dilly-dally.”

“Your Majesty, I am deeply sorry! Please forgive me.”

Oh no, I’m going to get scolded more!

“Weren’t you supposed to go down to the black market to find Werner Venetian? At least, that’s what the wren you sent reported.”

-Beep boop!

Then, Dduksoomi, perched on her shoulder, chirped sharply.

The divine creature had received plenty of affection, as its wings were very sleek.

I thought it had gone straight to Herrit, but I heard it was taking a break here.

I answered as politely as possible.

“Yes, that was our original plan. It seemed clear that Werner needed mana to use his magical prosthetic arm, and we suspected he had gone down to the black market. Specifically, there was a high probability he would contact the black mages there. So, everyone except Elizabeth and Ganael decided to infiltrate together.”

“But what is all that?”

The middle-aged woman supported her temple with one hand and gestured. Everyone’s gaze followed her line of sight. Outside the audience chamber’s wide window······.

-Hey, flying squirrels, look at this!

-They make houses out of such small branches. They put sick humans in here.

-So I said I wanted to help too!

The divine creature, ‘Iran’s Spirit,’ was sending a bright smile.

The large horns of the spirit body sparkled incessantly, reflecting the clear sunlight.

Most of the scrap metal that Kina and Willem had gifted was lost in the process of breaking the black magic’s restraints, but some of it remained hanging like decorations.

Every time the divine creature moved, the scrap metal shook, creating a chime-like resonance.

Clang, clang, chime, chime······.

-Eutteum’s familiar is very skilled!

The spirit suddenly praised the Emperor.

I bit my tongue, watching Elizabeth frantically try to cover her mouth.

That’s because it just said ‘Eutteum.’

The pure spirit even gave Her Majesty a nickname!

“You flatter me. There are probably more things to see in the east tower.”

Wow, she accepted it without batting an eye. As expected, first-class people are different!

-Really? What’s there?

-Crash!

Oops, it broke a window after all!

It was an accident that happened when the spirit, excited like a child, lowered its head too deeply.

‘Ah, sorry!’ Crash, clang! The flustered divine creature additionally shattered the rose window on the front of the audience chamber.

‘Heeok!’ The passing soldiers recoiled in horror.

The twin siblings finally stifled their giggles.

The Emperor quietly closed her eyes, and General Bakari let out a short sigh before summoning a magic circle.

-Woooong!

-Zhiiiing······!

And Gain and I blankly admired his circle cleaning the floor like a robotic vacuum cleaner.

Hooray for magic, really. Black magic is trash, but white magic (?) is the best.

“······In the east tower, there are furnishings and furniture that the lord here collected instead of taxes. You are welcome to take them all out and look around.”

-That sounds fun!

Finally, when the Emperor opened her mouth, the spirit, who had been observing the broken stained glass, beamed.

‘Thank you, Eutteum! I’ll come to see you again!’ It didn’t forget to say that before moving to the east tower.

Her Majesty didn’t seem to have much intention of meeting the divine creature again, but it wasn’t a proposal she could refuse.

After all, the other party was ‘the will and manifestation of the power of the main god.’

“······If we do this, the relief center will be prepared more quickly. Give the unusable items as toys.”

“I will instruct accordingly, Your Majesty.”

Wow, she used the divine creature in the meantime! Amazing!

“Princess Juliette.”

Huh, it’s me again!

“Yes, Your Majesty! That is······. Where was I? Ah, so we all went down to the black market, but it was unusual. It was one thing for all sorts of illegal transactions and crimes to be taking place······.”

“They were exploiting the life force of that divine creature.”

Suddenly, Crown Prince Cedric cut in. The Emperor raised an eyebrow.

I could have continued, but the man continued in a sculpted pose.

“You know that black magic is based on life force, not ordinary mana. But the black mages in the black market were stealing and using the power of that divine creature, not their own lives.”

“······Haa.”

“Good heavens, that’s something that would be cursed by the benevolent Prince Philip!”

“We obtained intelligence that their leader was actively exploiting the divine creature, and that the Royal Consort had contacted him.”

A low, cold voice echoed through the audience chamber. I swallowed hard, watching the situation.

The red pandas were piled up like stone towers at my feet, swaying.

Soon, the middle-aged woman tilted her head.

“Then why did you come back empty-handed? According to the Crown Prince, you went right up to him, didn’t you?”

“Your Majesty, it’s my fault.”

I quickly stepped forward.

Of course, it was a commotion we all caused together, but the fact that the ‘Werner Venetian Capture Operation’ turned into was ultimately—

“No. I missed him.”

At that moment, Sir Johann, who had been silent until now, spoke up. Everyone turned to look at him in surprise.

No emotion could be read in his dark, mint-colored eyes.

“Grand Preceptor.”

“His Highness the Crown Prince and his party worked hard to liberate Iran’s Spirit, and they gave me a separate mission. It was an order to find Werner Venetian in the black mage’s mansion.”

“······.”

“I dare say it was not a difficult task.”

“Why did you miss him?”

The Emperor’s question was sharp. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Sir Johann, of course.

She just intuitively sensed that something had happened underground.

We held our breath as if listening to a ghost story.

“I met a cardinal from the Holy Kingdom there. He introduced himself as a person of Crown Princess Elysee Venetian.”

“······.”

“······.”

A cold silence flowed for a moment. I mulled over his words, then widened my eyes.

What, could it be Ran? That person was on Elysee’s side?!?

“He explained that his mission was one thing: to capture Werner Venetian, protect him from being killed by anyone, and only make him kneel before the Crown Princess. That was all.”

“······.”

“Of course, I couldn’t easily believe those words. It also conflicted with my mission.”

“······.”

“I guess he didn’t trust me either.”

In an instant, Sir Johann’s eyes shone coldly like blades.

His lower face was smiling, but there was no warmth above it.

I felt a chill and hugged the children even tighter.

So that means the two of them had a fierce physical conversation in the burning mansion.

“Did you find out the other party’s name?”

“There are two officially recognized air-attribute cardinals of the same age in the Holy Kingdom, so it was difficult for me to be sure. However, he had ash-gray hair and eyes.”

“I will find out. It won’t take long.”

Francois immediately took the words. The Emperor gestured with an indifferent face.

“······And?”

“As the conversation went on, the wall collapsed, and there was no one in the room across the way. Because there was a constant presence of people······. To be honest, I felt like I had been caught off guard. It’s my fault.”

“······.”

Once again, a heavy silence pressed down on us. I stared intently at the floor, feeling anxious.

My mouth was dry and my stomach was burning with nervousness.

We had failed to properly carry out the dignified imperial order, so we had no excuse even if we were severely scolded or punished as a group.

But even if we could turn back time, we would definitely make the same choice.

Maybe that was the problem.

Royal Consort Werner is the worst murderer and criminal who must pay for his sins.

I really never forgot that for a moment······.

‘Claw, run away!’

‘You can’t die! We promised to live together forever!’

Even after seeing these children and Claw, I couldn’t pretend I didn’t see it.

I had witnessed such inhuman and terrible things, and I couldn’t bear to put it ‘second’.

At least, I wasn’t that smart and cold-hearted.

I know. In the eyes of the Emperor who rules the Empire, I must look inadequate and incompetent. But······.

-Nyaaang

Nyaaang?

-Nyaoo

-Thud!

I blinked and turned to the side.

Lopi, who had lightly jumped off Sir Johann’s shoulder—when had he been there?—was advancing to the bottom of the Emperor’s stairs with a stiff posture.

The guy was tucked in Herrit’s arms when Herrit’s father came up with the power of the belt.

So I guessed that’s why he went to save him······.

-Ket, keck! Cook!

Huh?

“Lopi, what’s wrong? Did you eat something wrong? Did you swallow fur?”

-Koo-ook! Ket!

“Oh my, what’s wrong with him? Lopi?”

I became pale and stroked the cat’s back.

Gain, also surprised, hugged Tete and hurriedly approached.

I wondered why the little one suddenly came forward, but it seemed to be a gesture asking me to see that he was sick.

In a short moment, all sorts of thoughts ran through my mind. Did he breathe in the fumes wrong underground?

Was he exposed to the black mage’s mana for too long? Would it get better if I gave him ether right away?

Demi has never had indigestion after eating anything—

-Ptooey!

At that moment, something black fell from Lopi’s mouth.

I reflexively squinted and observed it.

It wasn’t clear because it was soaked in saliva······.

“What is it, cloth? Something like a robe hem?”

Gain mumbled with a grimace. I suddenly looked at her,

“Ah······.”

Suddenly, I felt my vision fading.

-······Thud!

“Oh no! Princess!”

And it was blackout. Really, just like that.