What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 17

#017 The Duke’s Family is Suspicious (3)

-Squeak!

“Lesser······.”

“Is it a magical beast?”

I was about to mutter something like, ‘Why is a red panda here?’ but I shut my mouth at Ganael’s question.

Benjamin, who rarely gets flustered, was also greatly surprised, and the atmosphere was a bit strange.

It was like······.

“I’ve never seen an animal that looks like this before.”

It was as if red pandas didn’t exist in this world at all.

-Oooong!

The red panda made a cute, unidentified sound and approached me.

I reflexively deployed the Sacred Domain [a protective barrier powered by divine energy].

The broad, golden circle warmly enveloped me, Benjamin, and Ganael.

“Both of you, please don’t move for now.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

I also picked up the water bottle that was on the table.

I heard that magical beasts are weak against water and fire, so I was thinking of splashing it if necessary.

But, is it really a magical beast? Are red pandas magical beasts in ?

-Squeeeeak!

The red panda, upon discovering my Sacred Domain, stood up on its two hind legs.

Then, it waved its front paws like arms, narrowing the distance as if threatening us.

The reddish-brown face with white cheeks and eyebrows looked extremely ferocious, crazy······.

My heart ached.

“It’s so cute······.”

My mouth moved according to the flow of consciousness.

In the meantime, the red panda fearlessly entered the circle.

The creature carefully examined the Sacred Domain, which brightly illuminated the floor, sniffing and pressing its paws firmly on the patterns. Then······.

-Shaaa······

With a sound like grass being laid down by the wind, small weeds and wildflowers began to grow wherever the creature stepped.

“Good heavens······.”

“Thank you, Lord God······.”

Ganael exclaimed. I could hear Benjamin praying beside me, as if in pain.

Only then did I realize that this red panda was not a magical beast.

Looking back at the balcony, I saw vines that had grown abundantly to the inside of the railing.

-Krrr

Eventually, the red panda, having advanced to the center of the circle, looked up at me.

As if it had met a worthy opponent, as if it had discovered a very delicious prey, it stood up again.

Soon, perhaps because it was difficult to balance, it placed both feet on my knees and opened its mouth as if threatening me, which looked like a smile, and I burst into laughter.

It seemed like a signal to give it something.

“This creature seems to be a divine beast [a creature imbued with divine power].”

At my words, Ganael closed his eyes and began to offer some kind of prayer.

I slowly placed the water bottle on the table and picked up a slice of orange from the plate.

I bent down and let it smell the fruit first, and the red panda put the slice in its small mouth and chewed on it for a while.

“You eat well. Want more?”

-Krrrr!

I reached out my other hand and carefully stroked its forehead. There was no resistance at all.

I gave it a second slice of orange, and the sight of it diligently chewing was devastatingly cute.

“It doesn’t seem to have any intention of attacking. Perhaps because it’s a divine beast, it’s very friendly to people.”

In reality, it’s just an affectionate red panda. I smiled and gently touched the tip of its nose.

Only paladins and divine beasts can use the powers of water, fire, air, and earth.

I had learned that wizards and magical beasts can never access the four sacred powers.

Judging by the way it freely creates flowers and grass, this creature must be a divine beast of the earth attribute.

It must be one of the three that Sadie said she ‘hides in the Imperial Palace and puts to sleep during the day.’

But how did it wake up at this hour? What about the other two?

“Your Highness is truly a noble person.”

While I was lost in thought, Benjamin said to me.

I, who had only given food to a wild animal, was momentarily embarrassed.

“It is said that if a priest has pure and abundant ether [spiritual energy], that energy spreads and those around them have good dreams and become healthy. We have experienced this often through Your Highness. But I never thought you would even summon a divine beast······.”

I was stunned by Benjamin’s testimony.

I was so shocked by the fact that his talk about dreams wasn’t just flattery that I belatedly realized his eyes were moist.

I was a human dreamcatcher······.

“Oh, well. I see.”

“Then, then, should we move this divine beast, this divine beast-nim, to a place where there is a divine object?”

Ganael asked hesitantly.

Although there wasn’t much data on divine beasts, it seemed everyone knew as common sense that if a divine beast appeared, it should be led to a divine object.

“To do that, someone with divine power has to step forward, but His Eminence the Cardinal cannot leave His Majesty’s side. And I can’t move as I please either.”

I replied quickly.

Considering the location where it appeared and its abilities, the red panda was definitely the one Sadie was responsible for.

I don’t trust the kid 100%, but we promised to cooperate temporarily to solve the divine beast problem, so I didn’t want to send this creature out of the Imperial Palace without consulting her.

Perhaps something happened to Sadie and she lost one of the red pandas.

-Krrr

“No, it’s okay.”

The red panda made a crying sound, as if sensing my anxiety.

I carefully stroked its triangular ears, which looked like they were covered in snowy eyes.

“Should I give you some ether too?”

The red panda’s black, round eyes sparkled with curiosity.

I moved slowly, watching the creature follow me without taking my eyes off it.

Sitting on the chair and drastically reducing the size of the circle, the red panda was surprised and stood up again.

It’s seriously cute.

“It seems hungry, and there may be a group traveling with it, so I’ll keep it with me for today. Please don’t tell His Majesty.”

To my surprise, Benjamin nodded obediently at my words.

Perhaps he also wanted to spend a little more time with a divine beast that is said to be hard to see even once in a lifetime.

“Then I’ll bring things for the divine beast-nim to use. Like a bowl or a cushion. And I’ll pack lots of fruit!”

Ganael rapped with an excited expression and quickly retreated.

I don’t know if red pandas like fluffy cushions, but watching this creature, it didn’t seem like it would dislike anything.

“I’ll go check the vines on the balcony. We might need to call a gardener.”

Benjamin then left the room. Only then did I let out a long breath.

I managed to buy some time, but if Sadie doesn’t come tonight, I won’t have any other choice tomorrow.

I’ll have to inform the Emperor of the truth and get help from an external priest.

“How did you get all the way here?”

I asked, slowly releasing ether.

The red panda tilted its head and sniffed against my calf.

I picked up a cherry, removed the stem, and held it out, and it put it whole in its mouth and crunched it, looking incredibly adorable.

I understood why Eunseo always watched animal videos on YouTube.

“I don’t think it would have appeared in the novel.”

If a creature like this had appeared in the original , Eunseo would have appealed to me and my brother in some way.

No, in the first place, the cover wouldn’t have only featured the main character and the male lead.

If a lovely pet appears in a web novel, isn’t it the rule of this industry to expose it on the cover by any means possible?

I didn’t think the author would have wasted a card like a red panda.

-Knock knock

At that moment, there was a knock.

I gave the red panda a slice of apple to chew on and answered.

“Come in.”

“Your Highness, Lady Elisabeth is here.”

Benjamin said in a very troubled voice as he opened the door.

I froze and barely turned my head to look at Benjamin, then slowly lowered my gaze to meet the red panda’s eyes.

I was so distracted by this creature’s cuteness that I hadn’t anticipated this situation. What should I do?

“Prince Yeser, I have come to speak about the divine beast that appeared in Juliette Palace.”

But Lady Elisabeth’s words that followed were saying something that far surpassed my worries.

*

“So, His Majesty knows that I have the divine beast.”

“Yes, that’s right. That’s about right.”

Lady Elisabeth seemed to be repeating herself today, but I just assumed that was the case.

I heard that there are many nobles coming and going to the Imperial Palace as the Spring Ball is just around the corner.

The Royal Guards must be very busy these days, so I understood that they were out of their minds.

“The gardener witnessed it?”

“Yes. That is······. He came to check on the flowers for a moment in the afternoon and discovered a divine beast climbing the wall of Juliette Palace.”

She stared blankly at the red panda on the carpet, then answered my question stiffly like a robot.

Then, as if she was thirsty, she gulped down the cold rosemary tea.

Well, Benjamin said that the thickness of the vines on the balcony was as thick as an adult man’s forearm.

There was no way that something like that could grow so quickly without attracting attention.

I handed a strawberry to the red panda, who was circling around my feet and extorting snacks.

Pleased with the sweetness, the creature sprouted a small dandelion from my toes.

“Then, how long should I take care of it? Is His Majesty planning to invite an external priest?”

I was about to become a temporary guardian, which was not in my nature.

Thinking that, I turned to look at Lady Elisabeth.

Her gray eyes, which were always full of confidence, looked unusually listless for some reason.

“The priest is already there······. No, yes. I heard that they will be summoned soon.”

She continued her answer.

“So that the divine beast can freely move at any time in response to the divine power outside······. There was a royal order to keep the balcony open at night. Since all the servants in the Imperial Palace have been background-checked since the last attempted assassination, you don’t have to worry about internal threats.”

The conditions were very good.

Even if Sadie came at night and took the red panda away, the next day I could just say, ‘The divine beast felt the flow of divine power and left Juliette Palace on its own.’

I nodded in satisfaction.

Then Lady Elisabeth sighed and swept back her well-groomed bobbed hair.

The sleeves of her uniform jacket were blackened.

“Lady Elisabeth, your clothes are burned.”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

She smiled. It was a dangerous smile for some reason.

“I should have just stabbed him once and gone to jail······.”

“Pardon?”

“Your Highness, have you ever seen a carrier pigeon?”

I felt like I had heard something very scary, but because she straightened her posture and looked straight at me, half of my memory became hazy.

The influence of a beautiful woman was tremendous.

“I’ve never actually seen one.”

“I went to the North last year to exterminate magical beasts.”

“Ah, yes.”

The topic changed abruptly. Or, did it?

“But the road was blocked due to heavy snow, so there was no way to approach their base. However, if we changed direction, the schedule would be delayed a lot. The damage in the North was very severe, so we eventually decided to march on. I started removing the snow while scolding and appeasing my subordinates······. At that time, I looked at the sky and thought. I hate snow removal so much. I’d rather be that carrier pigeon delivering the news of snow removal.”

Her every word resonated with my heart.

As someone who spent his days as a soldier in the Republic of Korea Army, I knew all too well how disgusting the trash falling from the sky was.

“But now that I’ve actually become a carrier pigeon······. I feel like the heir to the Baekjak family who was removing snow was better. ”

A feeling of pity poured out like a tide.

How busy and tiring must the work in the Imperial Palace be for someone to miss being a snowplow?

It was impossible.

“Lady Elisabeth is an excellent deputy commander of the Royal Guard. Once you’re discharged······. No, this will all become short anecdotes over time.”

She raised her teacup and smiled at my words of encouragement.

“I’ll toast to those words.”