What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 780

If You Could Look Inside the Seed of Time (6)

3:00 PM, March 21st.

Cain Street, the heart of the Royal Capital of the Theocratic State of Fenetian.

‘Rally to Eradicate the Fallen’s Base’

A large, yellow cloth fluttered, bearing letters as red as blood.

Little Yep pointed beyond it, his eyes wide.

“Sister, look over there. More people are coming!”

“Of course, they are. We told Mom exactly what to say, so more are coming now.”

“Because we decided to believe Haine noona [older sister]?”

“Of course.”

“The pretty uncle will be surprised when he sees it. You know, at the Pantheon. The priest uncle.”

“Of course, he’ll be surprised.”

Dorothea Valentin retorted firmly.

Then, the man sitting across from them in the carriage quietly cleared his throat.

The two children, holding hands tightly, turned their gaze to him.

Diederik Roséhärder, the Count’s son, immediately composed himself and apologized.

“My apologies, I was being rude in front of such precious guests.”

“Yes. Laughing out loud at a lady’s words?”

“That’s right!”

“Hahaha.”

While he was briefly amused, the Valentin siblings were once again completely captivated by the scene outside the window.

Everywhere they looked, their eyes were filled with people, people, and more people gathering like flocks of sheep.

The Valentin barony was a wealthy family, and their territory was rich in natural resources, including iron ore, making it a populous land. However, the two children, not yet eight years old, were seeing such a dense crowd gathered in one place for the first time.

The vast majority of them were armed.

Spears, swords, bows, axes… Some even carried shovels and hoes they used for tilling their gardens.

It was evidence that ordinary citizens were beginning to join the self-defense forces, most of whom were knights or soldiers.

The very fact that so many people had gathered at a time when the moon was not yet up foreshadowed a significant change.

The figure of Heralda Valentin, bravely raising her sword and giving a speech, was reflected in the window from afar.

“…and! We must find the Fallen’s base and eradicate them!”

“……”

The priest watching her had a deep shadow on his brow. He had a bad feeling.

The royal capital would soon be overturned, whether by war or internal upheaval.

Diederik calmly tried to continue feeding the siblings their lunch, moving the spoon.

It was originally the job of the nanny or servant, but he was quite close to Heralda’s children.

He had always admired and respected her for doing things that others could not, but perhaps this time it was too dangerous…

-Knock knock knock

It was then.

“Young Master, Young Master Diederik!”

A servant of the Roséhärder County frantically knocked on the carriage.

Diederik’s face hardened as he opened the door.

At the same time, the shouts from the street poured into the narrow carriage.

“Waaaaah…!”

“Let’s defeat the Fallen! Defeat them! Defeat them!”

“Attack the base! Attack! Attack!”

“Aaaaaah…!”

The children covered their ears, startled by the deafening noise.

Soon, a neat letter was placed in the man’s hand.

“Master Etzardt, my lord, sent this letter to you, knowing that the passageway was completely blocked. He managed to get word to you with great difficulty…”

“Thank you, I was waiting for news anyway.”

The young master excused himself to the children and quickly opened the letter.

Recently, a large number of Fallen had additionally appeared near the warehouse district on the eastern side of the royal capital, close to the port, making it very difficult to bring in various relief supplies from outside the capital.

All movement was only possible on moonlit nights, but even that had become difficult as thieves had begun to appear in the royal capital these days.

The people who needed it most were the first to know that the value of money was falling.

People were inherently sensitive to change, and a small minority of them resisted this in very antisocial ways to ensure their survival.

For example, pillaging, robbery, kidnapping, and abduction.

It had already been four days since Diederik had been unable to return home.

-Rustle

“……”

He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again.

In such complex currents, his father’s letter was also extremely unsettling.

“Young Master, has something bad happened? Has something happened to Baby Yiseol and Princess…?”

“……It’s nothing like that. Rest assured.”

No, could he rest assured? The priest sighed, rubbing his face wearily.

How could he not be, with the sudden mention of a ‘divine object’? He unfolded the crumpled letter again.

‘Soon after you left with the cargo, the most sacred guest from the continent visited our family’s rose garden. We complied with their request…’

What on earth was all this about?

‘…Also, there has been no news from Princess Cornélise, who is loved by the Main God, and Yiseol, but Sant, who passed through the Duchy of Raso beyond Memphis, visited our mansion last night. Yes, your brother Sant, who left the rose garden. I won’t explain how surprised your mother and nannies were.’

This again… Good heavens.

‘The boy brought with him a noble holy knight of the Imperial Army named Isabelle Rambouillet and a commander she serves. Also, as part of their group—your brother emphasized several times that he was not a prisoner of war—there was a combat priest of the Theocratic State in an unclear state of consciousness, who, surprisingly, your father knows well. May God lead her soul to the path of life.’

It felt like a dream, lacking any sense of reality.

‘It was the brave Martier Zeelstra, the right-hand man of the blessed Crown Princess.’

-Rumble…!

“Uhhh…!”

At that very moment, a strange vibration was felt on the outer wall of the carriage. It was a sound like the earth rumbling from a very distant place.

The participants in the rally, densely packed on the main street, stirred with loud noises.

It wasn’t an earthquake strong enough to shake the carriage, but Diederik, as an Ether holder [someone who can manipulate magical energy], immediately sensed misfortune.

He hurriedly put the servant in the carriage, closed the door, sat the two children by the window in their seats, and deployed a small sanctuary [magical barrier].

The siblings, placed under the golden shield, looked out with wide eyes.

There was a scene that could be clearly seen even from the carriage hidden in the corner of the main street.

-Rumble rumble rumble…!

“Oh my god, look over there! Towards Memphis!”

“Uhhhh…”

Beyond the chaotic screams and confusion, everyone in that place clearly witnessed it.

“Rose Uncle, what is that?”

“……”

The three beacon towers of the distant Memphis Mountains simultaneously emitted gray smoke in a terrible spectacle.

The explosions that burst behind them were like a rain of blood-red meteors pouring from the earth towards the sky.

The children mistook this for fireworks and were delighted.

Diederik felt as if his heart was falling and knocked on the roof of the carriage.

He had spoken to Princess Heralda in advance in case of an emergency.

-Tap tap, tap tap tap!

“Driver! Take us to the Valentin estate, quickly!”

They had to run. Right now.

*

-Whoosh…

“Your Highness, please go inside now. There was a prophecy that a sandstorm is coming soon.”

Benjamin, the chief steward of the Juliette Palace, came to the side of the massive pillar and paid his respects.

Aurelie Boutier, who had already left the Riester headquarters and arrived at the Temple of Vigilance, was quietly looking out over the desert.

It was the shape of black clouds and darkness gathering in the distant eastern sky.

Eyes the color of sand sank coolly beneath her monocle.

The wind, rough as a lion’s tongue, swept ominously through the temple.

“……Your Highness. You must get enough rest for tomorrow’s journey…”

“I think I’ll have to stay here for a while.”

‘Tell the Imperial Family and the Noble Council that.’ Her voice flowed out as calm as usual.

Benjamin, who was tasked with assisting her to the Imperial Palace, looked bewildered at the unexpected words.

Ganael, who was bringing out refreshments from behind, also blinked in surprise.

Aurelie continued to speak softly without looking back at them.

“Ronald Lüpertz, the Director-General. It seems someone needs to keep a close eye on him.”

“By ‘keep an eye,’ you mean…”

“It seems the end is in sight… I also think I should prepare in some way.”

“……”

“……Your Highness?”

Ganael asked back in a fearful tone, but no answer came.

The purple hair fluttered violently in the wind, but the Cardinal stood motionless in place.

The moon that night was waning.

*

March 22nd, D-Day.

Just before sunset.

“Oh my, you’re finally leaving. It’s been a war-like day, every day. You can believe me, this is coming from a priest working at the Pantheon.”

Hilda said, watching us pack our bags, half relieved and half regretful.

‘Thank you for everything.’ I smiled and shook her hand. Then Gain also quickly grabbed her hand.

The Divine Beasts did not reveal their divine power in front of Hilda—even pretending to be ordinary pets was not easy—they just perked up their tails and greeted her.

Finally, Cedric and Duke Dioph gave a short nod, and Sir Johann exchanged glances with her without saying anything.

Then Hilda shrugged and gave a wry smile.

“Johann. As a priest… I still can’t apologize to you.”

“……”

“It was my duty to monitor you and report on your daily life. And I still belong to the Papal States, so… I can’t deny what happened back then. Because if I did, I would have to deny my entire past.”

“……”

“But…”

Hilda glanced at me slightly. I nodded almost imperceptibly and smiled.

You’re doing great. No more, no less, just as we talked about. With sincerity.

“But deceiving you to carry out my mission, using your trust… that was definitely a big mistake.”

She said in a trembling voice, blinking.

“What you said back then was right. I betrayed you. I didn’t want to be scolded by Director-General so badly that I cried… For the shallow reason that I didn’t want to go back to the desert and be mistreated. I said I liked you, but in the end, I used you as a tool. So…”

Then Gain widened her eyes and looked back at Dioph.

He seemed to have expected it, blowing air out of his mouth to fix his hair.

“Everything you said, that we weren’t friends, is right. It’s late, but I’m sincerely sorry.”

“……”

“……I’m not asking you to forgive me. I’m not shameless enough to ask you for that.”

Hilda finished speaking and pursed her lips into a straight line.

Sir Johann was silent for a long time while looking at her. I didn’t wait any longer.

“Then, shall we depart now?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s do that.”

“Good thinking.”

The three men and women took the lead right away, and I picked up Demi and took a step.

Before long, Sir Johann approached my side.

He walked without looking at me and asked in a low voice.

“Should I forgive Hilda?”

“No.”

“……”

Perhaps the answer sounded strange, the man turned to look at me with slightly widened eyes.

A foolish chuckle escaped. I stroked the Divine Beast’s neck and slowly elaborated.

“It took Hilda a very long time to formally apologize, didn’t it? During that time, Sir Johann must have been carrying the wound all along.”

“……”

“Then perhaps, it will also take time for the seeds of apology sown today to bear fruit.”

At least that’s what I thought.

“Think about it carefully, and consider Hilda’s sincerity. Or you don’t have to think about it at all for the time being. Just…”

“When the time comes?”

“Yes, when Sir Johann feels it’s the right time. If the knot in your heart is ever loosened by today’s apology, you can slowly forgive her from that day on. No one will force you.”

“……”

Was it not a bad answer? The corners of the Cardinal’s lips lifted slightly.

I looked up at him and smiled back silently.

Around that time, we passed the Pantheon lobby and the wall of the large guestbook.

And when the heavy door opened…

-Whinny!

“Look, it’s Princess Heralda!”

“The Princess has captured a criminal from the Sneider Duke’s residence!”

“Yaaaaay…!”

In the square, where the belated exodus and broken furniture were chaotically mixed, the great upheaval was finally beginning.