Leave the Villainous Second Male Lead Alone - Chapter 4.2

Suppressing the anxiety welling up inside me, I sipped my tea in silence. Lawrence, meanwhile, continued speaking, his brow furrowed.

“My father wanted to punish the rioters harshly, but… what crime is there in starving people trying to survive? He ended up giving them settlement money and allowed them to stay on vacant land in our territory.”

“I see. You did a good thing, Lawrence.”

“But that doesn’t solve the fundamental problem,” he said with a sigh. Then, with a faint smile, he added, “The one piece of good news is that the situation in the North Sea is improving. It seems like the pirates will soon be completely eradicated—their roots nearly pulled out.”

“Completely?”

I, too, had been heavily investing in Blast Harbor and conducting trade in the North Sea, but this was the first I’d heard about the pirates being eliminated. Lawrence, being more involved in politics, clearly had access to better information. Seeing my surprised expression, he raised an eyebrow and replied,

“It’s still confidential. If word gets out to Loengrin or the Empress, it won’t bode well.”

“Understood. I’ll be careful.”

The conflict between the Empress and the Emperor had intensified in recent years. As the two vied for control, they took particular care to conceal their political maneuvers. Lawrence’s family, the House of Armagnac, supported the Emperor, as did the Count of Winyates, who harbored deep resentment toward Loengrin and the Empress.

“Rumor has it that the naval fleet, under His Majesty’s secret orders, has been making significant moves over the past two years,” Lawrence said, lowering his voice.

“The naval fleet? The one acting under His Majesty’s orders?” I asked, looking up and meeting Lawrence’s gaze.

“Yeah,” he replied cautiously. “It seems a remarkable figure has emerged—a young admiral of the fleet. He volunteered for the North Sea operations and is reportedly wiping out the pirate groups.”

“…A young admiral?”

I froze, my heart skipping a beat.

I almost dropped the teacup in surprise.

The Peron Empire had long been renowned for its naval strength. Unlike the army, which was largely composed of private soldiers from noble families, the navy operated as a direct unit under the emperor. Because of this, rising to the rank of naval admiral often meant ascending to the status of a new noble. Despite its reputation for being rough and grueling, many volunteered for the navy, dreaming of upward mobility.

However, few survived to see those dreams realized. The navy was a melting pot of criminals, the impoverished, and outcasts. It disregarded social status entirely—skills and merit were the sole criteria for advancement. Even runaway slaves could become admirals if they proved their worth. Conversely, those lacking ability, no matter how noble their lineage, faced miserable deaths. By all accounts, the navy’s culture was said to resemble that of a pirate crew.

Though the emperor had been bedridden for years, rendering him a shadow of his former self, the navy’s loyalty gave him enough power to rival both the empress and Roengrin. The empress, despite her backing by the Harrington dukedom, could not openly disregard the emperor, nor could she appoint Loengrin as crown prince. The vacant position of crown prince was a glaring issue, but Roen’s formal appointment had been continually delayed thanks to the emperor’s naval forces.

With such immense authority vested in the navy, the position of admiral responsible for the entire North Sea region—particularly under the emperor’s secret orders—was exceptional. The news of a young admiral assuming this role was nothing short of astonishing.

Young admirals were exceedingly rare in the navy’s history.

After a few more words about recent happenings, Lawrence took his leave. Left alone, I gazed out the window, my thoughts in turmoil.

Could the ‘young admiral’ Lawrence mentioned be Callisto?

The North Sea was vast, comparable to the Pacific Ocean from the world I once lived in. If the young admiral leading the campaign to eradicate the North Sea pirates was indeed Callisto, it would explain his absence and the lack of communication for the past two years.

But why the North Sea?

I could understand why he hadn’t started a rebellion—perhaps for my father’s and my sake. However, there was no clear reason for him to venture into such a perilous region.

“I don’t even know if it’s Callisto or not, so there’s no point in worrying about it right now.”

Sighing, I tried to clear my chaotic thoughts. Just then, my father returned from the palace meeting. His face looked utterly exhausted.

“Did something happen at the meeting, Father?”

Since I turned eighteen, I had taken over all the business dealings of the Winyates family. However, my father still participated actively in politics. These days, whenever he returned from the palace, his complexion was darker than usual. As he sank into the sofa in the reception room, I cautiously asked,

“Was there anything special?”

Father shook his head tiredly.

“Special? No, it’s always the same. Prince Roen grows more arrogant by the day, and that worries me.”

“So Loen hasn’t changed, I see.”

“The emperor has been bedridden for years,” my father said with a sigh. “Prince Roen has been acting as though he’s already the crown prince, filled with self-importance. Meanwhile, the empire crumbles around him. The famine persists, bandits run rampant, and he couldn’t care less about the suffering of the people.”

My father clicked his tongue and sank deeply into the sofa. I thought about the dire local situation Lawrence had described. The escalation of these problems could largely be attributed to the Empress and Loengrin.

“I heard that Roen has been embezzling taxes for a long time,” I said cautiously.

It was already common knowledge. My father, frowning deeply at the mention of Roen, opened his mouth to respond, his displeasure evident.

“Yeah. Even though I know, there’s no way to stop them, not with the Harrington Duke’s family backing them. Every chance they get, they embezzle more, and the empire can’t possibly function properly.”

“Lawrence mentioned that the situation for residents in the local territories has become serious,” I added.

“Since there are no other princes now… if His Majesty were to pass away in this condition, wouldn’t Loengrin ascend to the throne?” my father muttered, his voice heavy with concern.

I quietly sipped my tea, pondering his words. If there were another prince, the situation might be different. But the problem was that we had no clear idea of where that prince might be.

No, there was a clue—one—but I still couldn’t say how reliable it was.

My father seemed to be thinking along the same lines. Subtly, he glanced at me and asked, “Is there still no news from that kid?”

The fact that Callisto was alive was a closely guarded secret. Ever since the great fire that struck Winyates, my father and I had taken extreme care with our words, even within the safety of the mansion. We strongly suspected that the Empress’s confidants had infiltrated our household.

Only my father and I knew the truth about Callisto. Though it seemed that Callisto and the Gilos siblings had been indirectly relaying information to Lawrence and Brine, we rarely discussed him, even among ourselves.

For my father to bring him up now showed how deeply worried he was. I hesitated for a moment before shaking my head.

“I haven’t received any direct news. It doesn’t seem like Lawrence has heard anything significant, either.”

“…No news ‘directly’ from him?” my father repeated, picking up on the nuance in my words. He looked at me sharply, as if weighing my answer.

Carefully, I replied, “There are rumors of a ‘young admiral’ in the North Sea who has been eradicating pirates. It’s supposed to be a top-secret matter, known only to His Majesty and the House of Armagnac.”

“The North Sea…”

We didn’t say it outright, but we were both thinking the same thing.

Unlike trade with the Eastern Continent, which only required crossing a relatively small inland sea, trade in the North Sea was fraught with peril. The North Sea was vast, an endless expanse of ocean, teeming with pirates operating on an unimaginable scale compared to those in the Inner Sea. Out of every three ships sent out, two would inevitably encounter pirates, and it was considered lucky if even one returned.

Despite the risks, North Sea trade was incredibly lucrative. The profit from even a single successful ship could cover the losses of the other two. It was this potential that made people stake their lives on it.

For me, the safety of the North Sea trade was directly tied to the survival of Winyates. If the North Sea could be freed from pirates, it would mean our family’s future was secure.

The idea of a naval admiral eradicating the North Sea pirates filled me with a dangerous glimmer of hope, one that swelled uncontrollably.

Support