What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 706

#706

Everyone is Connected to Schneider (1)

‘I visited the Duke’s residence, but was told that the head of the family was not there, so I am forced to deliver this here.’

Duke Ahata Sarhentini left the tea party alone as soon as she opened the letter.

Her forehead, which had been shining under the care of the healing priest, was damp with cold sweat.

The unidentified robed woman had already disappeared.

“Duke, Duke! Please take me with you!”

“Hurry! Follow me quickly!”

‘Lord God, what is all this?’ The servant, who had followed from the Duke’s residence, ran through the royal castle, carrying her master’s bag, gloves, vest, and gown.

Running through the most noble building of the Holy Kingdom felt almost sacrilegious, but the lower staff had no choice.

If she didn’t want to become a lost child and miss dinner, she had to hurry.

The royal castle had the shape of a perfect circle when viewed from above, but from the ground, it was a fortress that felt like a maze.

Soaring spires that seemed to pierce the sky, dozens of large and small courtyards, winding and complex colonnades, a glass greenhouse where one could easily get lost, royal guard barracks with a chilling atmosphere—and even accommodations for honored guests who stayed as pensioners of the King.

The Venetian royal castle was a place where one could easily get lost and wander for days.

“Duke, uh, why are you in such a hurry? Did something happen at the mansion?”

The servant hurriedly caught up with her master.

Fortunately, there were many other servants and attendants in the royal castle, and they were all too busy serving their own masters to pay her any mind.

The Duke breathed heavily and ignored the servant’s question.

But it didn’t seem like something had happened to the Duke’s residence.

The Duke was heading not outside, but to the tallest spire in the castle.

She strode up the stairs of the unfamiliar space, and the servant puffed and panted, hurrying after her master.

The sweet scent of desserts and coffee wafted from all directions, but she couldn’t afford to be distracted.

Armed guards stared at the servant’s back for a long time and then walked away.

“Barent! Barent!”

“Good heavens, dear?”

“Huk, my husband is here…”

Finally, the Duke raised her voice, and the servant was surprised and looked up.

Now that she noticed, it seemed a tea room for high-ranking people was located here.

The Duke’s husband, Barent Sarhentini, who was coming out of the room with a nobleman, was surprised to find his spouse.

“What brings you here? I thought you were going back to the mansion after the tea party today? Goodness, look at you sweating.”

“Go back first. Something happened. Read this.”

The man seemed confused by his partner’s actions but soon unfolded the letter, and his face became as hard as a brick.

The eyes that dismissed the accompanying nobleman betrayed a faint tremor.

And when the hallway was empty, Duke Ahata Barent Sarhentini barely opened her mouth.

-Rustle!

“What is this sound? Schneider’s ducal house is entrusted to Sarhentini?”

“… Wilhelmina Schneider must have changed her strategy. Originally, she planned to completely win over the Crown Princess and make her her puppet… Something must have gone terribly wrong on the battlefield.”

“I don’t understand, dear. Even so, she sent this letter to you? By now, we’re a group that knows we’ve betrayed her.”

“Of course. She knows very well that I am a ‘bat’.”

“…”

The husband bit his lip for a moment, then glanced at the servant standing awkwardly below the railing.

The woman quickly lowered her head.

Not speaking even if there is a mouth, not seeing even if there are eyes, and not hearing even if there are ears.

That was the iron rule of those who served the nobles of the royal capital.

If you didn’t want your head to be cut off, you had to pretend you didn’t know anything. Silence did not last long.

“…Schneider initially approached me, appreciating my temperament. Do you remember?”

The Duke whispered. This time, it was a voice so small that the servant could not hear it.

“Of course, I remember. She said she liked your ‘commercial sense’. At the Crown Princess’s birthday celebration.”

“Yes. It seems she expected me to betray her.”

“Such…”

“Maybe she was even thinking of using that, just like now.”

“…I don’t know what you’re talking about. No, I shouldn’t even know because of that ‘oath’….”

“…”

The Duke paused to catch her breath and fell into thought.

Her shallow eyes darted around, looking for a clever trick.

The numerous pieces of information she had obtained while working as the ‘Seventh Apostle’ poured into her head like a waterfall.

But….

There was only one way after all. Her intuition was clearly warning her.

If she used her head wrong at times like this, she would suffer a great disaster.

“First, you take the children and go down to the territory. As quietly as possible so as not to be noticed by others. I’ll have to go to Schneider’s mansion.”

“What, honey.”

“It doesn’t seem right. Maybe Schneider… I think my gut feeling is right this time.”

‘Rose Garden, protect the royal capital.’ Sarhentini muttered as if to be heard.

Then she quickly took out a small booklet from her arms.

“Here are the bills and checks I have. Exchange them all for cash. Gold would be even better.”

“…Ahata, are you perhaps preparing to flee?”

“Didn’t I tell you when I proposed to you? I can get you all the treasures in the world, but…”

“I can’t buy you life. I know.”

The man nodded, holding his cold forehead.

Sarhentini asked him for a few more things from then on.

Inform her husband’s family of the same content and have them return home.

Don’t throw away the ledgers and mail, even if they are old, and pack them carefully.

Even if it means losing money, she would withdraw from the furnace and military industry, and she would consistently pretend not to know even if someone asked….

“Baron, have you seen this? The entire royal capital is in an uproar right now!”

“What is it?”

Flinch! The couple flinched at the voice echoing from the first floor.

The servant, who had been waiting quietly in her place, stretched her neck and looked down.

However, there were no great expectations.

The royal capital was a land of rumors and gossip, and most of the topics that the nobles were fussing about were someone’s affair or bankruptcy or excommunication.

It was obvious that this time, too, it would be about such content.

“Is that a flyer? What is it about that accuses someone of something…”

“I heard that Marquis Citrun returned with both legs lost, is that true?”

“Don’t even mention it! The Emperor of the Empire cut it off himself. How much did the poor husband cry!”

“Quiet, quiet! This is where His Majesty the King resides!”

“Hey, take a look at this. You haven’t seen this flyer yet!”

When several nobles held out pieces of paper, the guards standing with long spears turned pale all at once.

One of them hurriedly went outside to find a superior.

Soon, the nobles who were strolling in the lobby also approached one by one, and the entrance was instantly crowded with people.

The royal castle attendants holding the flyers rolled up their sleeves and hurriedly climbed the stairs.

The Sarhentini couple looked down at the crowd with pale faces. Their servant stepped forward with a sense of tact.

“Excuse me, attendant. Excuse me! I am a servant serving Duke Sarhentini. What is the content of the flyer that is causing such a commotion?”

One of the attendants, who paused at the name ‘Sarhentini’, quickly opened the paper in front of her.

She judged that if she was a worker from such a noble family, she would be able to read.

The servant quickly muttered the contents.

“‘Her Highness Princess Elysee, who leads the blessed Holy Kingdom’s halo, showed symptoms of madness and confusion during the battle…’ Heop!”

Oh my God. It was an unbelievable story.

The moment she covered her mouth to prevent a loud noise, a large hand reached out from behind. ‘Tak!’

“I’ll take one. May I?”

“Of course, Duke. Then.”

The King’s attendants bowed politely and walked away in a hurry.

The servant looked around with a bloodless face.

Come to think of it, the hallway, which had been as quiet as a mouse until just now, was very chaotic.

Faces filled with shock, fear, disbelief, and questions were floating around like ghosts.

A chill ran down her spine from the top of her head to the soles of her feet.

“No way. No way, eh…”

Could that be true? But Her Highness the Crown Princess is of the sacred blood of the Lord God.

She was said to have received the love of her mother since she was born… That can’t be.

Hundreds of worries stretched out between the servant’s sparse hair.

The faces of her colleagues in the mansion and her family in her hometown also flashed before her eyes.

“…I heard that the Crown Princess caused a rebellion. It seems that she inherited the madness of her mother, His Majesty. Twelve nobles and priests, including Duke Schneider, guaranteed this… An intense civil war is taking place in the puppeteer’s Cheonro [likely a region or territory].”

“Oh, that can’t be. It must all be lies! How can you say such blasphemous things!”

The Duke repeatedly read the flyer, washing her face dry. The husband was now as blue as a ghost.

“The Crown Princess, who has lost her mind, began to kill her allies, and the nobles of the Holy Kingdom, led by Duke Schneider, are trying to stop her… Everyone is working together, but the analysis is that they are outnumbered. At this rate, the royal capital will…”

“Madness? Honey. I’ve seen Her Highness the Crown Princess since she was a child, and she was very healthy in mind and body. What basis do you have… !”

At that time.

“His Majesty the King is here! His Majesty the King is here… !”

With a loud announcement, an eerie silence instantly swallowed the fortress.

The crowd killed their words as if they had lost their vocal cords.

Sarhentini’s servant felt her ears go numb and slowly moved her head.

No, this was rather like the sensation of her eardrums being torn.

She should have been lying flat on the floor to show respect, but at that moment, she felt an enormous pressure and could not move at all.

Her jaw trembled like broken scissors, and her hands and knees vibrated, making it difficult to even stand properly.

It was hard to tell whether what was flowing down her chin was saliva or sweat.

Eventually, a statue-like figure was reflected in the servant’s eyes.

-Jiiiiik, Jiiiiik…

“…”

-Jiiik, Jiiiiik…

“Ah…”

It was a person holding a large, very heavy and luxurious sword.

Every time she took a step, the blade dragged on the floor, scratching the red carpet.

The servant stared blankly at the sight.

The opponent looked paler than the marble decoration of the Duke’s residence and was taller than any other general.

The long, flowing gown was half-stripped, wrapping around her dry arms. Her sun-like blonde hair was brilliant, but her beautiful apricot-colored eyes were empty.

“I can’t see my children… Where did they go?”

“Heok…”

Like an apricot fruit with the seeds dug out.

“…I asked where they went.”

-Grasp!

“…Pull yourself together, what are you doing! Why don’t you run!”

“Heoeok!”

Suddenly, her breath was cleared, and the surrounding noise and shouts rushed into her ears like a tide.

The Duke’s husband was trembling under his eyes and holding the servant’s shoulder.

“Run if you don’t want to die, you have to prepare a carriage right away!”

“Yes, yes! I understand! I understand!”

From then on, there was no room to think about anything else.

Screams mixed with astonishment tore through the air everywhere.

The Duke’s couple and the servant ran madly down the stairs and mingled with the crowd.

She thought it would be a difficult road, but because it was a matter of life and death, she was able to reach the carriage in an instant.

If she remembered the murderous intent and chills she had felt just now, she would wake up screaming even in her sleep.

But this was just the beginning. Unfortunately.

-Woosh, crash!

“Oh my god, master! Tell the master!”

“Court Count! Court Count Etzardt, you must come down to the living room… !”

“Bring the wife and the princes too!”

The Lord God was capricious and mischievous, giving six wings to the rumors, and they soon flew across the royal capital to Roseharder’s Rose Garden [likely a significant estate or location].

It was already a place where the inside and outside were turned upside down due to the disappearance of the Second Princess and the eldest grandson.

“Why are you all standing like this? Did you hear any news from Lee Seol? Why are you so fussy…”

When the Court Count, who had become haggard due to lack of sleep, appeared, all the servants and attendants gathered with pieces of paper in their hands.

The old man groped for an old pair of glasses.

“Master, please take a look at this flyer! The entire royal capital is only talking about this story right now!”

“There’s such a fuss. Some nobles are already packing their bags to return home…”

“What on earth is going on? Then what will happen to us now?”

“I don’t know! Unless Her Highness the Crown Princess comes to her senses!”

“No, it could all be lies. You must not believe it unconditionally!”

“Here, look at the people who guarantee the contents. They are all lords whose names I have heard at least once.”

“It’s really scary. What if the royal capital goes wrong like this? What if we all die?”

“The Imperial Army is coming all the way here? Really?”

“…Summon the priests from all over the country.”

“Yes?”

The workers, who had been very frightened, blinked at the heavy voice that fell.