What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 912

The Fifth Season (4)

Some time later, High Priestess Hilda apologized to me on behalf of the Pantheon.

“I am very sorry, Your Highness Yeseo. It seems that some of the Papal Knights of our temple were afraid of His Highness Rüpert and failed to prevent him from entering the temple.”

“It’s alright. No one expected him to come all the way here. He wasn’t exactly banned from entering in the first place. It’s not Hilda’s or the knights’ fault.”

I waved my hand with a smile.

Besides, Hilda was a distant relative of Cardinal Ronald Rüpert.

She had even been ordered by him to monitor Sir John in the past.

Even if she knew that he had been chased back to his home country after the impeachment, it would have been difficult to turn away an elder due to blood ties and power relations.

We could still hear the chorus of the crowd echoing from the portico.

It was a song with scathing lyrics set to a tune that the people of the Empire clearly loved.

“Coward Rüpert, drowned in poop♪

The tree is rotting, the altar is collapsing♩

Scaredy-cat Rüpert, peed his pants♬

Crack! That old man is running away―!”

-Ding, ding, ding, ding!

“Wahahahaha······!”

The bells of several spires added exquisite harmony.

The laughter of the crowd was contagious and soon spread to every corner of every alley and canal.

I hoped that they could comfort each other’s sorrows and frustrations, even in such a small way.

I didn’t know where Rüpert had disappeared to after being dragged out, but it seemed clear that his arrogance and irresponsibility would be talked about for a long time.

Around that time, my friends who had been waiting in the shrine room walked out.

The Pantheon lobby was already very crowded with the Liester archdukes and their servants who had finished the trial.

Young Master Sem had been wiping away tears, and Old Man Dolph, Duke Leopold’s chief of staff, was laughing and crying repeatedly. Sant and Isabel also had red eyes.

I smiled as I looked around at the still innocent-looking children.

The adults were showing such passionate reactions that their faces became serious, but they didn’t really know what was going on.

Of course. They’re at that age. I was like that in the past, too.

I lowered myself and spoke to them.

“Were you guys bored waiting for it to end? You all worked hard.”

“Angel, are we going home now? I have a violin lesson today.”

Yeff, the son of Princess Herarda, shook his dumpling head and replied.

However, judging from the passive tone of his voice when he said he had a lesson, the child seemed to want to play with his new friends more.

His older sister, Dorothea, was already holding onto her mother and talking to her over there.

“Well, do you want to go? Or you can play a little longer.”

I whispered and turned to Cedric.

The Crown Prince, with a nonchalant twitch of one eyebrow, continued to congratulate the archdukes and receive greetings.

Thank you.

“The Imperial Knights will escort your friends while they stay in the capital. There will be a festival in the city starting today, so it would be a shame if Yeff went to his lesson alone, right?”

“Yeah. Yes.”

“Let’s go get permission from your mom. Alright.”

The child turned to Kina and Willem with a very excited face, and then ran to Princess Herarda, saying, ‘Wait a minute!’

I smiled and greeted the other children.

I felt sad to be parting ways already, but I decided not to show it too much since we would be able to see each other often in the future.

The little ones, who had become close to each other overnight, hugged me tightly in turn and gave the divine beasts affectionate kisses.

Then I said goodbye to the adult guests as well.

After countless hand-kissing and handshakes, only a bittersweet smile remained.

We promised to meet again, but we were still sad.

“Where are you going now?”

Lady Martier Zeelstra asked.

She, who had burst into laughter in the courtroom, listened to the contents of the verdict without missing a word in one corner of the entrance today.

I shared a look with Ms. Gain and answered.

“I’m going home for a while. I have a family event this week.”

“······May the Lord bless Your Highness’ journey.”

Maybe it was just my imagination, but Martier’s complexion seemed much brighter.

Prince Yeseo and Cornelise hugged her for a long time.

*

Until that afternoon, none of Wilhelmina Sneider’s guarantors applied for a trial by combat [a formal duel to prove innocence or guilt].

In short, none of the Duke’s family members who attended the final trial tried to overturn the verdict with a sword.

They were all sentenced to life imprisonment in exchange for joint guarantee.

*

And from that day on, the armistice negotiations between the Liester Empire and the Venetian Theocracy reached their final stages.

*

Back inside the Imperial carriage, leaving again through the temporary portal.

Ms. Gain, me, Cedric, Sir John, Prince Yeseo, and Francois and the divine beasts rode together.

-Thud, thud, thud······

“The agreement between the two countries was temporarily suspended immediately after the ‘Great Moonfall’ [likely referring to a significant eclipse or celestial event], but it was soon resumed when it was revealed that sign language was understood. His Majesty has been staying in the military camp all the while, personally reviewing every single word to be used in the treaty. By now, most of the clauses will have been finalized.”

The Marquis explained calmly, and I nodded, patting the sleeping Tete.

So the eclipse was already nicknamed ‘Great Moonfall’.

Well, it was a great disaster that plunged the entire continent into fear and chaos.

“Once the peace treaty is signed, His Majesty will return to the palace immediately. A full-fledged feast will begin around that time, so please keep that in mind.”

“A feast?”

······That feast where His Majesty goes around destroying all the tables in the banquet hall?

“The season of rewarding merit, I mean.”

Francois winked.

“Ah.”

Phew. Thank goodness.

I wouldn’t be able to accept the drinks as they come, unlike Ms. Gain or Francois······.

Come to think of it.

“······I heard that Werner Venetian’s body was hanging in front of the castle, but what happened to it?”

This time, I covered the baby’s ears and asked in a whisper, and Ms. Gain across from me shrugged.

“I was curious about that too, so I asked Lady Elizabeth yesterday, and she said that the birds had torn it all apart and the bugs had eaten so much that the stench of rotting corpses was all over the place. But the Princess didn’t see it, thanks to her brother Baejjang blocking her well.”

“That’s a relief······.”

“In the end, the merchants nearby took it down on their own because it was interfering with their business. But no one was willing to hold a funeral, so, um······. Did they just throw it away somewhere?”

“A fitting end.”

Cedric, who checked his watch, looked at the documents and said.

As soon as he returned to the capital, he had to proceed with the large-scale memorial service next week.

Fortunately, it was Sunday in Korean time, so I thought I could join him.

I nodded a few times and looked out the window. The view was soon filled with people.

“Waaaaah······!”

“Your Highness the Prince! Your Highness! Be happy!”

“Your Highness, may you live a long life! Your Highness―!”

“Angel! Thank you! Thank you for punishing those bastards!”

“We are deeply grateful······!”

Thousands of people who had not yet dispersed were waving their hands at the passing carriage procession.

People shedding tears and wishing Prince Yeseo happiness, people who were truly grateful to me even though I was not the one who investigated the evidence and made the verdict.

Innocent babies waving their hands and skinny dogs wagging their tails······.

I wasn’t by the window, but I stretched my arm out as far as I could and waved.

I smiled hard and moved my mouth in large motions to answer them.

“······Speaking of which, I have something I’d like to suggest.”

“Yes? To me?”

The Prince by the window turned to me and smiled.

I was showing Tete to the people outside the window, but I was stunned for a moment.

I heard Ms. Gain exclaim, ‘Wow, that’s a sure thing.’

“Yes, to you. In the manuscript that Princess Berenice Mendi showed us······.”

He said in a soft voice.

“······There is a sentence I would like to add. Or rather, I should say ‘setting’.”

“Yes, yes.”

“I would like to include the expression ‘we share each other’s senses and memories’.”

“That’s······.”

It was a completely unexpected topic.

I blinked, hugging Perry, who was climbing onto my lap.

I roughly knew that Prince’s vessel had been replaced by my vessel, and that my emotions were being transferred to him.

But conversely, I can’t read the Prince’s emotions······.

“That’s the only way your many achievements won’t be erased. Think about the past.”

“Ah······.”

An instinctive exclamation burst out. The Prince was thinking that far ahead.

“The title of Marquis Serenite was given to you, not me.”

“But I was borrowing the Prince’s body at that time.”

“Even so, it would be difficult for your achievements or courage to be forgotten. Above all, I do not want such a result.”

“······.”

“It would be better to reveal that we share a vessel, so that your enemies will not have an excuse in the future. Trust me.”

“······.”

Hmm.

I don’t think I’ll have ‘enemies’ or anything like that, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned since coming here, it’s that······.

“······I understand. You never know what might happen.”

Yeah, especially in our world line.

It seems that the Lord readers often have somewhat dangerous imaginations······.

“Hehehe.”

The Prince chuckled as I answered solemnly, and Demi stuck out her tongue as if surprised.

Then Cedric, who had been listening silently, raised his eyes for the first time.

Oh my, he’s making such an arrogant face.

“······Share a vessel? Do you think the Imperial Family would publicly announce such nonsense?”

“Why?”

I turned to him and frowned as well.

Is it because there’s a bit of a lie mixed in? Is it because we’re not actually a two-way system, but a one-way sharing system?

―Gasp!

“Wait a minute! Wait a minute, Cedric! I’m sorry, but move over a little!”

-Tock, tock, tock······

In an instant, all the thoughts in my head disappeared, and only the shocking sight outside the window captivated me.

I asked him to move over, but there was nowhere else for Cedric to move, so I was practically lying down sideways and barely clinging to the window frame.

“Huh······.”

-Tock, tock, tock······

By the time we passed the almost half-destroyed Venetian castle, my jaw had dropped open.

From the center of the castle, vines as thick as two or three adult men combined had grown enormously like noodles, and I recognized at a glance that it was a sacred plant sprouting from the arrow of the divine artifact ‘Shrine of the Woods’.

A new life had sprouted from the arrow stuck in the center of the castle.

Some of the workers mobilized for the post-war reconstruction were seen sitting on the vines and resting.

Then, if you shift your gaze to the collapsed castle walls······.

“······Huh? Is that kid still······?!”

“Oh my, Gyoo!”

In the midst of the great upheaval of the era, such as the end of the war, the Great Moonfall, and the war crimes trial, a majestic red dragon sitting alone on the castle walls and fluttering its beard.

However, the divine artifact, rolling its gray eyes and watching the passersby, looked very pathetic.

I pounded on the ceiling of the car like a madman. Good Lord!

-Knock, knock, knock!

“Knight! Knight, I’m sorry, but please pull the car over to the side of the road for a moment! I’m sorry―!”

Gyoo! Has no one told you that you can release your true form yet?!

What Happens When the Sub-Male Lead Goes on Strike – Episode 913