What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 743

Rendezvous (3)

“What?”

‘Princess Elissa Phenetian, who leads the blessed sacred chariot of the Divine Nation, is showing signs of madness and confusion during battle…’

‘…Already dozens of allies have lost their lives to Her Highness’s golden spear, a truly tragic event.’

‘Numerous noble knights and soldiers are trying to stop her, but as it stands, the safety of the royal capital and the royal castle cannot be guaranteed…’

I blinked several times.

At first, I thought I had misread the text, but similar arguments continued throughout the page.

The gist was, “The Princess is mad and attacking allies, and infighting has broken out in the Phenetian army camp.”

…No, wait. What is all this about?

-Flap!

“Just a moment, friend. We’re almost done bandaging you up here.”

-Flap, flap.

While tending to the injured carrier pigeon, I looked around with a serious expression.

The 33rd Cavalry friends who had seen the leaflet also looked mostly dubious.

The pigeon, one of the four that had set out but the only one to return alive, had fortunately made it through the critical moment and was recovering, but its burns were severe, and it would need to recuperate for the time being.

The healers here had worked hard, but some areas might not grow feathers again.

I applied ointment, tied a small ribbon on the bandaged area, and carefully stroked the cyan-tinged neck of the carrier pigeon.

The little one enjoyed the touch for a moment, then trotted over to its dad.

Duke Leopold gently scooped it up in both hands.

-Coo, coo.

“Isn’t this BS [bullshit]?”

Ms. Gain suddenly said. At first, I thought she was imitating a pigeon.

The carrier pigeon kept shaking its head back and forth.

Jibril Diop frowned, looking back and forth between the two.

-Coo, coo.

“Coo, coo. Not BS?”

“Rin, don’t learn those words.”

“Lies. Just say it’s a lie.”

Isabelle and I quickly stepped in to stop the negative influence from spreading.

Then our protagonist, looking a little startled, blurted out.

“No, it just doesn’t make sense, does it? We saw Princess Elissa from afar when we broke through the Puppeteer’s Cheonro [likely a strategic point or formation]. Even then, she seemed quite alright, and I remember her using a Sacred Imprint.”

“That was then.”

The lightning mage pointed out sharply.

Francois, who had been raising his finger, also shut his mouth.

“I usually dislike these kinds of propaganda, but this is war. Can we afford to filter information right now?”

“The person doesn’t necessarily need to be mentally sound to unleash a Sacred Imprint.”

Sir Johan added, holding Rin in one arm (the baby looked surprisingly comfortable).

He also seemed to think it was too early to judge the leaflet’s contents as 100% false.

Then Leopold, who had put the pigeon in his coat pocket, pointed to the paper with a heavy gaze.

This place, with some furniture covered in white cloth in the corner, was the drawing room of the annex of the Lord Raso’s castle.

“But looking at the very last part, the names of the nobles guaranteeing this information are written in neat characters. And those faces…”

“Gasp, Marquis Hendrika Sitrun! He’s a famous confidant of Duke Sneider!”

Clatter! Sant, who had been quietly drinking tea, hurriedly put down his cup and pointed to one spot.

The priest had been taking care of Count Arno van Roy upstairs and had just returned to rest.

As everyone’s eyes gathered, he wiped his mouth and added.

“Well, I don’t know the details, but he’s quite a powerful noble in political circles, so I’ve heard his name several times. It’s certainly true that Sitrun is close to the Sneider family.”

“I also don’t know the details, but some of the names written here are known to have close ties to Sneider. I often saw my mother gnashing her teeth and cursing them.”

“…”

The testimonies of Sant and Leopold, who were from noble families in the Divine Nation, were significant.

The round table, set with refreshments (cheese and old cookies found in the warehouse), instantly became as quiet as if cold water had been poured on it.

After a long while, His Majesty Hanan, who was leaning against the vase, spoke.

-…There is a possibility of a propaganda war.

“Indeed, that’s right.”

Sir Johan nodded.

“Is Sneider trying to undermine the Princess’s position? He’s scheming wickedly.”

“…Damaging the legitimacy of the royal family. Was this his intention from the start?”

Cedric muttered lowly, putting down his coffee cup.

I carefully retraced the events we had experienced so far.

As calmly as possible. I had to consider how Wilhelmina herself would think.

“Whether this was all planned or a result of changing direction midway… It’s certainly a good method for Wilhelmina Sneider. In a scheme to forcibly bring down and kill the Chief God, the existence of a legitimate royal family would be a hindrance in some way. Making the Princess the main enemy of the royal capital would make the situation much easier to handle. From the start, the reason for continuing the Holy Knight creation experiment was to become the new ruler of the continent…”

“Or perhaps both are true.”

Francois tapped his finger in the air once more.

Ms. Gain and I blinked and turned to look at him.

“It could be true that Her Highness the Princess is suffering from madness, and it could also be true that Sneider is using this to frame her.”

“…Are you a genius? Come to think of it, that’s right. The two propositions don’t conflict with each other?”

“Madam, it’s already widely known, but I am indeed a genius.”

The Marquis replied with an elegant smile.

Disturbingly, everything he had said so far was true.

While Rin was playing with Sir Johan’s hair, I quickly asked Leopold.

“Um, that noble who was caught after running away. What else did he say? I want to hear everything he testified.”

“According to him, the nobles have already started fleeing the royal capital.”

“Oh, the nobles, you say? That’s hard to believe.”

Negative emotions were evident on Isabelle’s surprised face.

I didn’t realize what that meant for a moment, but when I thought about it, it was something that couldn’t happen among the imperial nobles who valued honor as much as their lives.

Of course, there might be a very small number who abandon their people and run away, but usually, they wouldn’t dare to think of doing so for fear of His Majesty the Emperor.

In fact, even now, great nobles, including Eva, are stepping up to raise military funds.

If they ran away with their families, they would have to be prepared to never set foot in the royal capital again for the rest of their lives.

“The public sentiment is so fierce that it’s hard to believe it’s the capital of a country, the homeless hiding under the canals are as numerous as sewer rats, and the guilds and banks that have stopped operating are as common as ginkgo nuts in an autumn forest. The order is drying up day by day, like looking at a drought-stricken reservoir…”

“In short, it’s a complete mess, five minutes before the chaos.”

“Com-plete mess. Five min-utes be-fore.”

“Rin, you should only use kind words.”

Isabelle gently scolded the baby and gave Ms. Gain a look.

This time, our pink Tama [Ms. Gain] also had a rather wronged expression.

“Mom, this isn’t right. It’s not that ‘mess,’ it’s when you’re wrestling. It’s a really cool sport. It’s a word from Korean wrestling… Ha… I can’t argue because of my record.”

“In essence, it means there is no leader in the royal capital right now. The nobles, who should be the center, are busy running away, the sick king cannot rule the country. Her husband has fled somewhere in the Memphis Mountains to avoid being wanted, and the regent, the Princess, may not be in her right mind right now… Anyway, it’s definitely involved in a civil war.”

I took out a pen and carefully wrote notes in the margin below the leaflet.

Then Diop pointed out one more thing.

“On top of that, the only normal royal is a snot-nosed brat.”

“…”

“He’s a prisoner of our forces now.”

“…”

He glanced at Francois and then looked at Cedric.

The atmosphere was that all the royals agreed with that statement, and strictly speaking, Cornelices and Iseul were indeed our prisoners.

I briefly looked at the divine beasts who were sprawled out asleep on the other sofa.

-Snoooore, snoooore…

“…”

Suddenly, my brother’s voice came to mind.

The desperate cry of the phoenix, his mysterious lavender eyes sparkling beneath his rimless glasses.

‘【Elite Seo! Yeseo, are you okay! Go to the royal castle!】’

‘Brotheeer!’

‘【…Go to the royal castle!】’

And the note from Mom that my brother had shown me.

‘The Vessel of the Divine Nation – Royal Capital

The Heart of the Royal Capital – Royal Castle’.

“Heart. Royal Castle… The first king, Yuri Phenetian. And…”

My hands were much faster than my words. I scribbled wildly like a possessed person.

Cedric, who was next to me, immediately caught my whisper.

“Are you inferring that Yuri Phenetian prepared something in the royal castle?”

“Yes.”

I answered immediately, meeting his eyes. Then my friends’ faces became even more serious.

“He was bold and well-prepared enough to turn the entire royal capital into a trap for the Chief God. So, if the royal capital is a summoning circle… Maybe the royal castle, its heart, has the heart of the summoning circle.”

Of course, it might not be. But you never know.

“…Indeed.”

“That makes sense. Cunning guys don’t forget to create an escape route.”

The Crown Prince and Diop cocked their eyebrows at the same time. Then Ms. Gain quickly raised her hand.

“Then what about the Rose Garden? Didn’t His Holiness Pope Roseharder set up something in the Rose Garden too?”

-That is the ‘defense’ that Mateis wrote in blood, not a fundamental ‘solution’.

The Elder explained solemnly.

The Emperor, who had filtered out many emotions, was very calm.

-The so-called Pope’s document also says so, and he had to live under Phenetian’s silent oppression throughout his life…

-He wouldn’t have been able to conduct an in-depth investigation.

Hmm…

“Um, actually… My brother, who appeared in my dream, also told me to go to the royal castle. I didn’t hear a specific explanation, but it’s been bothering me.”

I spoke cautiously. Then.

-Coo, coo!

“Huh? If your brother said so, we should definitely go. Suddenly, the royal castle seems too suspicious?”

“What, why didn’t you say so sooner?”

“Oh my gosh, there must be something in the royal castle!”

My friends’ heads turned towards me.

“No, well. I’m not sure. It’s not like my brother knows everything…”

“Excuse me for interrupting, Palace Lord. But if it’s the Palace Lord’s brother, isn’t he ultimately the eldest son of the Chief God…”

“Francois.”

I barely suppressed him, who was about to kiss the back of my hand.

My friends were briefly agitated but quickly regained their composure.

I tapped the corner of the leaflet with the pen tip and fell into thought.

The Roseharder family’s historic Rose Garden, the royal capital where the summoning circle lives and breathes.

The royal castle, which seems to hide the last secret piece. And…

-Coo, coo.

“Coo, coo. Pigeon, sister.”

“Yes, pigeon. It got hurt a lot while working. That’s an industrial accident.”

‘If it is our royal family’s sacred emblem, I know it exactly.’

Dĕa Ex Máchĭna [God from the Machine].

A god made by mechanical device.

‘This emblem is a proof only allowed to the precious people of the royal castle. If a collateral like me used it carelessly, I would be severely punished.’

The words that Rin Isenia, a royal from the northern Divine Nation, had left were still unforgettable.

Thinking about it now… Maybe someone in the royal family vaguely knew the principle by which the Chief God created the continent.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have used the word ‘machine’ exactly.

For example, Yuri Phenetian. Or any of his descendants.

Ms. Gain rubbed her forehead with her palm and frowned.

“Rose Garden versus Royal Capital… Ah, this is more intense than I thought. There’s not much time. Maybe we should just split up?”

“For now, that would be more realistic. The Raso Duchy also needs to be supervised by someone, and the Princess needs a permanent guardian.”

“A monitor, to be exact, Marquis.”

-Coo, coo

Diop tilted his chin, and the pigeon responded primly.

I looked down at the paper with a serious expression for a long time.

And this time, I wrote this in the upper margin.