What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 781

The flames roared, and the cauldron bubbled. (1)

The 33rd Cavalry Regiment emerged into Pantheon Square first.

“This woman, whom we all once pointed fingers at, calling her a Ragged Woman! She provided the most crucial clue to the vigilantes guarding the royal capital!”

The city was boiling like a black magician’s cauldron.

Herarda Valentin’s voice boomed, and the people gathered before her responded with fervor.

“Waaaah…! Hero! Hero! Hero!”

The cheers erupted, and the Ragged Girl, standing to one side, bowed her head, unsure of what to do.

Fortunately, she seemed unharmed, and her complexion wasn’t too bad.

The knights guarding the woman on either side stood with something round touching the ground; upon closer inspection, they were blue-tinged cartwheels [magical transportation devices].

A faint smile appeared on the group’s faces. The girl really did it.

“Duchess! We must return the suffering we endured to that wretch!”

Just then, someone pointed behind the fountain and shouted.

It was clearly aimed at the prisoner captured from Duke Sneider’s residence.

“Return it? No, double it!”

“That’s right! Double! Quadruple!”

“Double! Double! The hardship and pain!”

Then, a stout old woman waved her cane and pointed, and the crowd, swept up in excitement and anger, shook their fists in unison to the beat.

The increasingly heated atmosphere felt ominous.

Even the divine creatures, burdened by their bloodlust and fighting spirit, hid deeper within their owners’ bosoms.

We moved while keeping our heads down, pulling our robes’ hoods low to avoid drawing attention.

In the middle of the square, a bonfire the size of a house was burning, with shattered stalls and shelves scattered around, seemingly serving as firewood.

Some people, belatedly fleeing, hunched over, holding the hands of young children or carrying bundles in their arms, hurrying somewhere.

Duchess Herarda Valentin of the Valentin barony stood tall on the largest fountain in the square, which I had seen before.

I swallowed hard, looking at the Irene ancestor statue behind her, praying to the sky.

The tears flowing down the Pope’s cheeks reflected the surrounding light, shimmering like blood.

“Goodness….”

The Pope’s figure looked like a cursed sculpture, and the red shadows danced sinuously around the round square.

The sunset began to spread crimson to the west. And if you shifted your gaze a little further towards the mountains….

“Double! Double!”

“Waaaah…!”

Finally, beyond the figure of the prisoner being dragged onto the fountain, the Memphis ridge, emitting three distinct streams of smoke, came into view.

The chest of the magnificent mountain range was burning red as if struck by fiery arrows.

It was the scar of a terrible war.

I kissed Tete’s forehead, who was whimpering, several times and looked back at the fountain.

Hoping that Werner Fenetian wouldn’t appear, I worried alone….

“This is the one! In the space he guarded, many bodies of the Fallen who failed to survive were discovered, and we found the remains of Duke Ahata Sarhentini!”

“Oh, my God!”

The crowd, overwhelmed with shock and horror, turned pale.

The continent was still a thorough class-based society, and the discovery of a duke’s body was treated differently from a homeless person freezing to death under a canal.

“What am I hearing? Sarhentini? ‘That’ Sarhentini?”

“The wealthy and happily married ducal family? Goodness!”

“Wait a minute! That old man, I’ve seen him before!”

“What, really?”

Following this, the one dragged up to the fountain, as if it were a gallows, was an old man unfamiliar to us.

He was hunched over, and his skin was rough, like someone who had toiled his whole life.

Again, a feeling, whether relief or disappointment, coldly calmed me down.

The group stood there for a while, observing the unfolding situation.

“Isn’t that old man the gardener of Duke Sneider’s residence? I think I saw him when I went to sell sheep’s milk to their house!”

“That’s right, it is! Wasn’t he a pretty well-regarded old man? I ran into him at the blacksmith’s once too!”

A wildfire-like murmur spread through the crowd.

I quickly exchanged glances with Ms. Gain and Cedrick.

Anyway, things are proceeding as we intended.

“As you all know, this old man is a servant of Duke Wilhelmina Sneider, who has faithfully served in their household for a full fifty-six years! We found hundreds of bodies in the basement of the Duke’s residence, which he managed, and we were able to capture the circumstances that they killed each other while trying to escape.”

“Lord God!”

“Escape, Duchess? Then are you saying those guys were ‘trapped’ in the basement and then popped out?”

People murmured even louder, and among them, a clever one sharply raised his voice.

Herarda pointed her scabbard in that direction and nodded.

Her golden eyes held a faint but unwavering light, like a sextant [navigational instrument] in the night sky.

“That’s right! Duke Sneider had long confined them in the basement of his home, feeding them raw meat and ashes to survive, and had this old man release them onto the streets of the royal capital at the appropriate time!”

“Ah! It’s so disgusting, I feel sick!”

“No wonder! Marquis Citrun has been going around town taking Sneider’s side!”

“I knew it all along! I can read faces a little….”

“Duke Sneider? Hey, could such a prestigious person really do that?”

“Is that true? Huh?”

The square became deafeningly loud with screams close to moans and curses close to profanity.

We also hadn’t expected that level of hell, so we were making all sorts of faces while listening to the Duchess’s words.

Those who had received Sneider’s favor showed reasonable doubts—

“Anyone who doubts, go to Duke Sneider’s residence right now and check it out!”

“……”

“……”

The man who had been guarding Herarda the whole time shouted in a booming voice.

Then the scene became as quiet as if cold water had been poured on it.

Ms. Gain, unable to contain her curiosity, eventually stood on tiptoe and rested her chin on my shoulder.

“I won’t stop you. Rather, I’ll assign a knight to escort you, so go and see it clearly with your own eyes! You will realize that no one in the world can create such a bloodbath overnight!”

“Waaaah…!”

“Who is it?”

“Second Young Master Roseharder!”

“Hey, where is Marquis Citrun, whom you praised so much? Didn’t he already run south with his husband?”

“Shh!”

Murmurs poured down like fireworks over the bursting cheers.

I stroked Tete’s back, hidden in the robe, and observed the old man in question.

His eyes, which had been dedicated to Sneider his whole life, contained not a shred of guilt.

Rather, his expression was so dignified that it felt even noble.

Then the Crown Prince saw through his heart in an instant.

“He’s acting like a martyr.”

“……”

For a moment, the back of my head tingled as if I had been hit with a knuckle. I looked up at the man and just mouthed.

‘A martyr’… Then that person is really out of his mind.

It was then.

-Boo….

From very far away, a faint foghorn-like sound was heard.

It wasn’t clear because it was buried in the noise of the crowd, but its presence was definitely resounding. I could be sure I hadn’t misheard.

With our eyes meeting, Cedrick and I frowned at the same time.

Whether it had reached only the group’s ears or not, the people gathered in the square were also looking around one by one.

Ms. Gain whispered without lowering her chin from my shoulder.

-Boo-ooo….

“Your Highness, what was that sound just now? Ah, I hear it again. Now.”

“It’s similar to a foghorn… Could it be coming from the eastern port?”

“But don’t we not have foghorns here yet?”

“Ah.”

I nodded.

I quickly checked the evening sky, but the military signal mentioned by Partisan of the royal capital was not yet visible.

‘Soon, the Empire’s little sun will arrive in the royal capital. We plan to display his symbol in the darkest sky, sending a signal that all cavalry regiments can recognize.’

‘That is the beginning of the total attack on the royal castle.’

-Boo-ooo-ooo….

“Also, look at this cartwheel! This is the item of the culprit who kidnapped Prince Yef, the son of Duchess Valentin!”

Flinch! Prince Roseharder, who had already climbed onto the fountain, was lifting Werner’s blue cartwheel with one hand.

People, newly surprised by his strength and bearing, exclaimed in excitement.

I clenched my fist and cheered inwardly.

Good, with this, the Imperial Envoy is perfectly caught up in this incident. Escape or hiding will no longer be easy.

“It’s west.”

“Yes?”

“That sound just now. It’s not a sound from the sea.”

Jibril Diop spat out.

Before I could answer, Sir Johann gently added.

“It’s the sound of a battlefield horn.”

Ah….

“An army that has crossed Memphis is entering the royal capital.”

“Crazy, no wonder it sounded familiar.”

“Let’s hurry. Serenite.”

“Yes, yes!”

It wasn’t an unexpected situation, no, perhaps this flow was natural, but my heart began to pound wildly.

We had been at war all along, but suddenly fear surged as if the battlefield was right in front of us.

I hurriedly moved my feet and left the square with my friends.

Riding a horse would inevitably attract attention, so we tightly gripped the reins and moved breathlessly under the shadows.

However, by the time the figure of the weeping Irene Pope was completely out of sight, I couldn’t help but look back once.

“What is this sound? Huh?”

“It’s a horn! It’s the sound of our army’s horn…!”

Finally, in the place where the light of the Lord God had begun to settle, irreversible chaos was also seeping in.

We left the rear to Valentin and Roseharder and hurried to the royal castle.

*

Meanwhile, Liester Imperial Palace.

In the largest guest room of the Emperor’s Palace.

“Imperial Envoy, I will submit the next document. It concerns the 5th additional military fund support, unanimously approved by the House of Nobles.”

“Yes, please do so.”

‘Thank you.’ The kind-hearted predecessor Imperial Envoy, Stanislas Liester, put on his reading glasses again and requested new green tea.

Since Aurelie Boutier left the Imperial Palace, he had been simultaneously fulfilling the roles of the Imperial Family’s elder and the Empire’s regent.

Chief Secretary Laura Mendi bowed with flawless movements and stepped back.

No, to be exact, she tried to, but failed.

“Wait a minute! Please let me see Imperial Envoy, please!”

“Lord God, Young Duke Blanker! How can you act so rudely!”

An absurd commotion began outside the door.

“Five minutes will do. No, three minutes is enough!”

“Young Duke, audience must be requested by submitting documents in advance….”

“I can’t wait for weeks. It’s about using artifacts as weapons! Your Majesty’s approval is urgently needed!”

Eva’s voice rang out in the wide hallway.

Stanislas took off his glasses again. A white and young boy came into view.