What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 698

Kobi left us in front of the tent before heading inside.

I looked up at the Cardinal and whispered, “Sir Johann, these children… could they possibly be…”

“It’s possible.”

The Cardinal’s mint-colored eyes were cold and unsettling.

François, holding the baby, looked at us, his expression serious as he seemed to gauge our reactions.

Sant, belatedly understanding the situation, quickly covered his mouth, afraid of making any noise.

Ms. Gain and I exchanged glances before looking at Cedric.

An anxious shadow crossed his usually stoic face.

The Crown Prince’s gaze was fixed on Leopold Lasso.

“…”

“…Were there any residents in your territory suffering from what they called ‘divine disease’?”

Yes, divine disease. That was definitely the name of the illness.

I vividly remembered Sir Johann’s story from Juliette Palace.

‘There is no known cause for Herrit’s illness. At least, that’s what the doctors say.’

‘There are quite a few children in the Holy Kingdom who show similar symptoms, and the people there call it ‘divine disease.’ Many infants die because they cannot overcome the pain.’

‘Is it a disease that only affects young children?’

‘…To be precise, few survive to adulthood.’

“That can’t be… The first thing I did after becoming Duke was to review the reports on children with divine disease.”

The Duke’s face was ashen.

He repeatedly pressed his chapped lips with a trembling fist, then released them.

A deep sense of self-reproach filled his voice.

“May His Majesty King Christaener… Ah, may the Lord God watch over his soul. His Majesty was a benevolent king who cared only for his people, even as his madness threatened to consume him. I don’t know much about politics, but… the decree he issued to the lords throughout the country contained instructions to compile and submit a report on infants suffering from illnesses of unknown cause… I heard that was written there…”

“And then?”

“Shall I guess? Your mother didn’t fill that out, did she?”

As I waited for the rest of the story, Ms. Gain asked sharply.

Sant and I exchanged a look. Could it be?

“…At the time… I never imagined she wouldn’t write it on purpose. I just assumed she left it blank because there were no sick children. But now that I think about it…”

“Lord God, how could this be?”

-Awoo.

A shocking realization dawned. François closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

Duke Lasso added with difficulty.

“Actually, my mother…”

-Flutter!

“The story’s over, come in!”

Just then, Kobi confidently pulled back the tent flap and came out again.

We stopped talking as if on cue.

The child squinted at us suspiciously, then shrugged as if it didn’t matter.

“My dad’s inside. Go in and say hello.”

“…Huh?”

“Your dad is here?”

What was going on? Ms. Gain and I gaped, and the girl frowned as if we were acting strange.

“Why, can’t I have a dad?”

“No! No, it’s not that at all, it’s just… We thought this was a place where only you guys lived. And I heard that sick children were being abandoned here…”

“Isn’t this a town where only children live? There were adults here?”

I was flustered by the unexpected turn of events, and Ms. Gain asked directly.

Then Kobi glared at us with very sharp eyes—later, I realized it was similar to the look Eva gave us when she looked down on us—and got angry.

“When did we ever say that? You guys jumped to conclusions. Why don’t adults’ heads work?”

“Sorry, I’m really sorry. I misunderstood.”

I apologized hastily and took a step forward.

Even in the midst of the confusion, I replayed the conversation I had with the child, and when I thought about it, Kobi had never actually said that (surprisingly!).

She explained that the children were hunting, gathering, and taking care of sick animals, but I didn’t remember her saying ‘there are no adults in the cave’ or ‘orphans.’

But if that was the case, it was even harder to understand.

Why were only the children working and taking on the arduous task of guarding?

I turned to Dduk-sim, who had flown over and landed on my shoulder.

His beady eyes were blinking, so I quickly whispered.

“Dduk-sim, I’m glad you didn’t leave for headquarters yet.”

-Bbi-bbit?

“It seems like… the news you’ll be delivering will be much longer.”

-Bbi-bbi!

The wren shrugged as if to say, ‘That’s just like you guys.’

I exchanged glances with my confused friends and entered the tent.

The gazes of unfamiliar children were on the back of my head, then scattered.

*

-Flutter!

And as soon as we entered—

“Welcome. I heard you are the precious people who saved my daughter.”

“…Hello.”

“Hello… Nice to meet you.”

I realized why we hadn’t met a single ‘adult’ here until now.

“I’m so sorry. I should get up and greet the guests, but…”

“No, please rest comfortably.”

“We’re going out soon to help the kids with their work, Father.”

“…Thank you so much.”

Kobi’s father appeared to be completely unable to walk or sit.

He was lying flat, covered with an old blanket that wasn’t even worthy of being called a blanket.

Both legs were attached, but from the knees to the tips of the toes, they were completely twisted and seemed unable to function.

The man was very emaciated, his skin rough from not eating properly, and his hair was half gray.

Judging by his face alone, he was clearly a young man, but his body seemed to have aged considerably due to a long illness.

We hadn’t even expected there to be an adult in the mountain village, so we were at a loss for words when we saw him.

Finally, François spoke.

“At first… I thought this was a temporary shelter only for young children. But seeing you, it seems there are deeper circumstances we don’t know about.”

“Ah…”

As the Marquis readjusted Lynn in his arms, the man quickly took on a sad expression.

No, the word ‘sad’ alone didn’t seem to be enough to express the sorrow and hardship he had experienced.

He looked at his young daughter sitting at the head of his bed and slowly began to speak.

The story the man told us was as follows.

The previous Duke and lord, Maiker Lasso, was notoriously picky, quick-tempered, and extremely greedy.

She was relatively close to the royal family, but she was not a priest or a holy knight.

The Lasso Dukedom was originally famous for collecting rare animals and demonic beasts and distributing their special parts at high prices, and that business flourished even more after she took the title.

With this confidence, Maiker began to exploit the territory in earnest to make more money.

For the sole reason of finding special individuals, she forcibly disrupted the habitats of hibernating beasts, and she also unhesitatingly plundered the livestock of the territory residents if they had even a slightly outstanding aspect.

As befitting a stingy royal, the compensation was minimal.

Many territory residents ruined their annual farming due to the lord’s tyranny, and the number of people ambushed by wild animals who lost their homes also increased.

The people felt fear beyond anger at her cruelty.

Some risked their lives and fled to the Roseharder County, but if they were caught, they would end up being hanged in front of the lord’s castle.

As this was repeated for a long time, everyone came to accept this hardship as an unavoidable fate.

Until her only child ascended to the title of Duke.

“One day, Young Master Leopold… I heard that he became the Duke overnight. I have never met him, but everyone in the village was surprised by the news.”

“…”

“…”

We quietly looked at the Duke.

He was silently shedding tears without saying a word.

“I didn’t hear that the previous Duke had passed away, but… After the Young Master took the position, many changes occurred. We received proper relief for the first time in over a decade.”

“…”

The Young Master, who had not even been able to covet the position of a minor duke, immediately implemented numerous changes as soon as he became the lord.

He immediately provided relief supplies to people who were sick or had disabilities, and he lent money or grain to families in difficult circumstances at the lowest interest rates.

In addition, the slaughter of sick animals, which had been carried out immediately under the pretext of ‘maintenance costs,’ was completely stopped.

Acts such as releasing soldiers to kidnap cubs in order to capture rare demonic beasts, and constantly cutting off the horns of animals in order to grow more magnificent horns, were also prohibited.

The territory residents said that they were finally able to breathe.

“He also said that he would not forcibly mobilize the people during the farming season, and that he would no longer catch animals for trade… He wanted us to live our lives.”

“…”

“It had been a long time since I had seen my village friends smiling like that. The children also ran around freely with the old dogs. But the following year…”

“…”

“War broke out.”

‘Awoo.’ Tite, who was being held in Sant’s arms, burst into tears.

I bit my lip as I looked at Demi, who was clinging to my knee.

Duke Lasso hurriedly left the tent, trying to hide his tears.

Soon, Sir Johann said in a toneless voice.

“…The previous Duke returned while the Duke was away.”

The man nodded, holding his daughter’s hand tightly.

“Although we are uneducated… We heard that Leopold became a Cardinal-level holy knight a few years before becoming the Duke. We also knew how important that was.”

“…”

“It was about half a year after he became the lord. The man, who had been rumored to have a kind attitude since he was a young master… The day he declared his participation in the war…”

Until then, the territory residents had not expected the return of the previous Duke at all.

That was because Maiker’s presence had already faded significantly.

Although there was no proper death announcement, rumors that she had died were circulating in the territory as if they were a foregone conclusion, and not even a single decent sighting had come out.

Their new lord donned his armor and left the territory with a unit of terrified rhinoceroses.

Instead of the Cardinal going to the battlefield himself, his territory residents were excluded from conscription.

“A week after the Duke left, the previous Duke appeared in front of the castle gate.”

“…”

“…It was like a nightmare.”

After that, the situation went from bad to worse.

Maiker launched a de facto rebellion, taking advantage of the fact that her son had vacated the castle.

She began to act like someone who was desperate to regain everything she had lost.

Most of the policies that the young Duke had changed reverted to the past, and she grabbed anyone with healthy limbs and sent them to the battlefield.

The logic was that the more soldiers conscripted, the more the royal family’s face would be saved, and the more investment funds would be received from the royal family in the future.

In the process, dozens of children who had not yet passed their sixteenth birthday were dragged to the battlefield.

Adults with severe internal illnesses, as well as those with healthy limbs, were also conscripted en masse.

“To tell you the truth, this place is… a place where children who are used to losing their families have hidden themselves with their families.”

“…”

The man said with a faint smile. I struggled not to tremble in my chilled body.

Kobi was silently watching me.

*

That afternoon, Gain was guided by a young child to a barn.

It was mealtime.

-Meeeh, Meeeh.

“Yes, yes. You eat too. Lots of fresh fruit specially made by the Divine Master! There are also kidney beans!”

-Quack, quack, quack, quack…

“Ah, you guys are geese, right? Not ducks, geese. Nice to meet you. I was told to give you guys this.”

It was confusing. The baskets that the Palace Master and the children prepared were endless.

After much deliberation, she sprinkled a lot of finely chopped carrots and turnip pieces in front of the geese.

Creatures with scars here and there, torn wings, or broken beaks rushed in and busily pecked at the floor.

Gain stared blankly at the geese, then suddenly raised her head.

-Moo-oo-oo.

-Woof! Woof woof woof woof!

-Cluck cluck cluck cluck.

-Grrr…

“…”

It was called a barn, but it was more like an animal farm where all kinds of animals were gathered.

It was just sad that everyone here was sick.

How stuffy and difficult it must be in such a cramped place.

“…Our Palace Master said that she will come and see you later too. She said that even if she collapses from using her healing power, she will pour out as much as possible.”

-Quack, quack, quack.

“She might not be able to cure very serious illnesses… You’ll understand, right?”

She and Cedric knew best that the Palace Master couldn’t be stopped or persuaded on days like this.

Gain got up with a troubled expression to take care of the calves over there.

It was right then.

-Knock knock knock.

“…Princess Gong.”

“…What is Princess Gong, Princess Gong.”

Duke Lasso, a large man, was standing in the doorway, having been there since who knows when.

Gain frowned, but quickly realized that he had something to say to her.

She wondered why he had come to her as soon as he had finished crying somewhere alone until his eyes were swollen, and what the reason was.

No, why me? Wasn’t he afraid of me?

“What’s wrong? Did you come to me because the Palace Master is busy? If it’s urgent, you can tell Sir Johann.”

“Well, it’s not that… I, I know the location of medicinal herbs that can be used for the children. I swear I’ve seen them.”

Meadowsweet [a plant with medicinal properties]? Gain, who was bending over again, jumped to her feet.

“Are you talking about sun halo grass? That’s great. Where is it? Is it nearby?”

“That’s, well, that is…”

He hesitated for a long time with a strained voice.

“Lasso Territory.”