What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 643

The Asymmetric War Records

‘To the esteemed and beloved Commander of the Ervé Duhem Guard,

Commander, how are you? This is Elisabeth.

Hoping that the Lord rejoices in your life.

How is the weather in the Imperial City, not far from the sea?

How are the people who live their lives in the Place de la Claire and Valérie Hill where children play, in a season when hot winds do not blow?

I know that you are of robust constitution, but I have heard that there are now over a hundred members of the Imperial Family gathered in the Imperial Palace, upholding the pride of the Imperial Family.

Also, the leader of the Fleur-de-lis [a symbolic flower representing French royalty, often used in heraldry] predicts that a cold wave will prevail throughout the continent for some time.

With His Royal Highness Prince Consort Stanislas recently returned to the palace, and many elderly members of the Imperial Family present, I believe that your and the Lord Chamberlain’s hard work is significant.

I pray that you will be in good health despite your busy schedule.

Here at the forefront, snow is falling incessantly.

In fact, the expression ‘falling’ is not enough to clearly express the current situation, because from morning, able-bodied soldiers and workers are mobilized to shovel the snow that has accumulated overnight, only for it to become a snowfield again before sunset.

When darkness falls and the ground freezes, there will be another commotion from dawn, so we must mobilize the young soldiers once more to clear the snow before that happens.

Fortunately, the supply of magic stones is sufficient, so there is no problem with winterizing. A few days ago, snow removal carts with plow blades started circulating the military camp, and since the main camp was established, healing priests from the rear have been steadily arriving, so there are no major disruptions in the operation of the relief center.

It is truly a blessing from the Lord that the magic beast oil and bread to light the fires are not lacking, and that clean water and cloth do not run out.

The cooperation of dozens of noble merchant guilds, including the Rambouillet Marquisate, is of great help.

However, this damn heavy snow is really a headache.

These days, I carry a snow shovel along with my rapier at my side, which reminds me of my trip to the north to hunt down magic beasts a few years ago.

Snow removal at that time was a truly painful memory.

But the pain of war is gradually being forgotten as a miracle.

Yes, a miracle written in the Bible.

Her Grace Princess Juliette once told me, ‘The current pain will all become short anecdotes over time.’

She gave me profound wisdom even before the war broke out, which is amazing to recall.

As everyone expected, the truce began on February 15th, marking the week of the Lord’s Descent Festival, and at the right time, His Royal Highness Aurélie Boutier arrived at the front line, carrying the warmth of her beloved homeland.

All the soldiers bowed their heads before her to receive her blessing.

His Majesty, who had been coughing up blood in his tent for over a week, looked remarkably better from that day on, so the Oath of the Twin Stars [likely a significant pact or promise within the story’s lore] must indeed be a solemn promise of the soul.

The headaches and high fever that threatened His Majesty’s body disappeared as if washed away, and vigor and vitality returned to his red celestial eye, and Durendal [likely a character or object of importance], seeing this, made a clear sound like a happy child.

The priests who risked their lives to assist him also sobbed quietly in the corner of the tent.

For a while, His Eminence the Cardinal will assist and care for His Majesty, so the great nobles who know the situation have breathed a sigh of relief.

The Emperor has no intention of withdrawing his personal command until the day this war ends.

Just as he has done from the beginning.

Furthermore, before I deliver the most precious and joyful news—you may find it hard to believe that there is news more important than the matter of His Majesty’s health—I would like to report the intelligence from the occupied territories that has come into the main camp in order.

Some of this will be mixed with what I mentioned last time, and some will be new.

Please forgive your foolish subordinate for not having the leisure to refine this letter.

First, Marquis Léon Cissé has sent a message from the head of the Crescent Moon.

He has received full authority from Marquis François, who was the proxy for His Highness the Crown Prince, and is currently administering the Barun County and the Atsuma Barony.

He is an experienced politician and related to the Imperial Family by marriage, so the great nobles consistently comment that there is no one better suited to stabilize the north.

His Majesty’s insight was accurate this time as well.

The northern tip of the Divine Kingdom has become a completely Imperial-occupied territory since January due to the naval landing and successive victories of Admiral Emma Corleone, but the atmosphere is still unsettling due to the ‘Awakening of the Four Dragons’ and the ‘Window of the Lord’ incidents that occurred there.

Also, the rumor that Baron Eda Atsuma’s terrible bio-experiments and corpse desecration through the misappropriation of the Guild Hall has already spread to everyone in the territory.

However, the people of the Divine Kingdom are generally deeply religious—I certainly do not intend to belittle them, but compared to them, the faith of the Imperial people feels very secular—and they tend to accept and endure everything as the will of the Lord.

Even though the divine artifact awakened after two thousand years and the sun did not rise in the sky for several days, hundreds of them did not knock on the gates of the lord’s castle or move as a group to resolve this, even if they fainted in their homes.

Of course, some commoners who have learned to read or have been educated in the city are different, but the problem is that the majority of the people do not enjoy the benefits of proper politics.

I have seen tens of thousands of people who have been literally abandoned on my way here.

They surrendered to the Imperial Army without the slightest resistance, and many villages even welcomed us.

I felt strange every time that happened.

Even if it is a land that guarantees the autonomy of the lord, our Empire is no different.

If the same thing were happening in Liester, it would somehow have reached His Majesty’s ears.

We have a surveillance system—even if it is loose and rusty.

On the other hand, the central nobles of the Divine Kingdom seemed to have a fatal flaw.

In the eyes of a humble viscount, most of them do not seem to love their territories very much.

I am sorry that the story has gone astray.

The conclusion of what I wanted to say is that Marquis Cissé has confirmed the survival of Baron Averlona Barun.

She, who had been suffering from a rare disease, survived and returned despite a rebellion in the lord’s castle prison, a swarm of mythical Griffin beasts covering the northern coastline, and the disappearance of her son.

If our navy had been just a little later, the baroness might have been killed that day by the escaped prisoners.

According to Marquis Cissé’s letter, she is now able to walk on her own, thanks to the tireless efforts of the Imperial healing priests.

The prognosis is not very good, but it seems clear that her life has been extended to some extent.

His Majesty expects her to be a witness to the great sins committed by Werner Fenetian and Wilhelmina Sneider.

Her son, Count Sem Barun, and the daughter of the deceased Baron Atsuma, Countess Francisca Atsuma, are already providing the Imperial Army with the necessary information.

In addition, the military academy where the Crown Prince and his party infiltrated is currently being used as a lodging and training ground for the Imperial Army.

The naval forces remaining there, along with the faculty, are working hard to recover from the damage caused by the magic beasts, and news has come that medical staff have been dispatched from the neutral zone.

The number may not be sufficient, but it will surely help in the reconstruction of the north.

Regarding the ‘Holy Knight Creation Experiment’ perpetrated by Duke Sneider, such meaningful evidence is accumulating.

However, the heartbreaking misfortune is that Marquis Cissé ultimately failed to capture Werner the Prince Consort.

This was previously confirmed by Admiral Corleone and Prince Djibril Diop last month, and he disappeared without a trace, leaving only mysterious blue wheel tracks.

There are those who have seen him, but only in words, and no one knows his specific whereabouts.

Some mention the possibility that the Prince Consort has already died as a traveler, but His Majesty believes that he is alive somewhere.

As you know, I always trust my lord’s intuition.

Also, a few days ago, the spirit of the divine artifact Iran visited the main camp from the Yeriho garrison.

The knights who escorted the spirit all had smooth skin and looked good with their plumpness, and I heard that everyone becomes like that if they grow and eat crops with the seeds given by the divine artifact.

It is truly a sacred miracle that the spirit, which had been deprived of its power for so long, has recovered so much divine power.

The precious being does not like iron and blood, so it mainly stays in the rear, but it greatly enjoys the new culture of humans.

It also truly wants to help the ‘Little Moon’ party that took it out from underground.

Yeriho was originally the largest of the garrisons, but now it also serves as a reception center for the refugees of the Divine Kingdom and the surrendered nobles and clergy of the Divine Kingdom.

Its geographical advantages are excellent, and public buildings such as the lord’s castle and monasteries remain relatively intact.

Interrogations are also continuing on those who survived the black market and those captured near the ‘Twilight Sanctuary.’

Furthermore, the number of clergy from the Divine Kingdom who are defecting from the Vatican to the Empire is increasing day by day.

We are advancing with significantly less damage than we expected before the war.

I will carry the names and faces of each and every one of my fallen comrades who died before my eyes to the Sea of Tranquility, but from the perspective of a nation, if I dare to calculate with the abacus of the god of death, our side’s ‘losses’ are not great.

But the people of the Divine Kingdom seem to know this as well.

As if competing with each other, they brought all kinds of land documents and gold and silver treasures and repeatedly requested an opportunity to kneel before His Majesty.

After the rumor spread that it was ‘the late Prince Yeseo’ who closed the window that appeared in the sky and protected us, Ronald Lüpert, the Secretary-General of the Vatican, formally requested a meeting with Her Grace Princess Juliette.

Of course, His Majesty rejected this outright.

The important thing is that our resources are increasing.

This is a case that I have never learned about even in history class when I was young.

Our army is becoming stronger and stronger, and our information is growing day by day.

The front line of the Divine Kingdom has retreated continuously since the last major resistance some time ago, and has now been pushed back to the ‘Puppeteer’s Path.’

The ancient valley where the water has dried up is surrounded by endless rocky mountains, and according to the nobles of the Divine Kingdom, it is such a high and rugged terrain that it is difficult to secure even a proper supply route.

Indeed, there was a good reason why it was called an impregnable land.

The sky there looks particularly black and heavy, as if even the clouds have difficulty passing over the peaks.

It was called the ‘Forge Abandoned by God’ a long time ago, so you can well imagine its threatening appearance.

Anyway, the nobles of my age often talk about our ‘overwhelming victory’ based on the above grounds.

I think it is an absurdly premature time, and on the other hand, I am somewhat suspicious and afraid of such a smooth war.

Isn’t this too asymmetrical?

Should we, as believers, understand this as the will of the Lord as well?

Or does Princess Elysee have other plans?

An event that completely dispelled all these worries and 잡념 [Korean word meaning “雜念”, translated as “idle thoughts” or “雜念”] happened just yesterday.

From now on, please understand even if my handwriting becomes poor.

Yes. The great event that I dared to say was more important than His Majesty’s news was none other than the return of the Crown Prince and his party.

It was a brilliant scene that could only appear in a fantasy novel or a sacred painting.

Including His Majesty Frederick and His Royal Highness Aurélie, everyone who could walk on two feet witnessed the miracle with their own eyes.

So, if you hear vivid testimonies in the future, you will know that my writing is by no means an exaggeration.

Her Grace Princess Juliette Yeseo, our Serenite Marquis, held high the scepter she inherited from her teacher, spread her three pairs of wings wide, dyed the whole world in golden light, and descended upon the main camp.

Even that day was the Lord’s Descent Festival.

Even as I write this, I am not sure whether what I saw with my own eyes was a dream or reality.

The priests were shocked and burst into tongues, and half of the soldiers instinctively prostrated themselves on the floor and prayed.

The other half shouted with near madness and threw their helmets, hats, and outerwear into the sky.

I swear to the sun, I have never experienced such a dazzling pandemonium in my life.

It was as if a grand festival was being held in the middle of the battlefield.

When it was revealed that she had brought back His Highness Cedrick, Lord Rambouillet, Lord Haynes, and even the Divine Beasts, there was an outpouring of tears.

We have not yet recovered from the wonder and thrill of that day.

Even at this moment, someone somewhere in the main camp is praising the Princess and the Lord.

Not only did the soldiers talk about that day all night long, but everyone who was healthy was eager to help with the work of the military camp.

Suddenly, a reborn vigor returns to their faces.

The gracious Princess fainted as soon as she landed on the ground, and His Highness and the other two were unconscious from the beginning.

However, according to His Royal Highness Aurélie, fortunately, none of them are in critical condition.

Early this morning, an archbishop ran out into the tent alley and shouted:

This is the grace of the Lord that no one can deny, and the only and clear sign of victory that the Lord has given to the Empire.

And a little while ago, the servant who brought me the meal said:

The holy Princess Juliette is the incarnation of the Lord.

I couldn’t deny it.

Even today, when the entire military camp is excited, the four of them are still asleep.