What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 21

#021 Why Are You Here? (3)

Spring Ball day.

Looking back, I was too naive.

From 9 AM, the imperial tailors stormed into the Juliette Palace, pinning dozens of pins into perfectly good fabric and starting a fierce fitting session.

It was like watching right in front of me.

Even though I was a ‘non-attendee’ of the ball.

“The saying ‘a face is its own pair of wings’ must be for times like these.”

I gave an ambiguous smile at the servant’s words, unsure if it was a compliment or a vocal cord malfunction.

The other servants who helped me dress covered their mouths, amused by the sight.

Well, as long as someone was happy…

“Prince Yeser, could you stretch your arms out to the sides?”

At the request of the head of the atelier—no, the imperial tailor—I obediently spread my arms.

It was my first time wearing bishop’s vestments. [Formal, ornate religious garments worn by bishops.]

Prince Yeser before I possessed him might have worn it, but it was a first for me anyway.

“There are no missing details, and although it was made somewhat hastily, it fits well, thankfully. And as this friend said, it seems Your Highness brings the clothes to life even more.”

The head tailor, with thin-rimmed glasses perched on their nose, opened a thick book of High Church vestments and showed it to me.

The bishop’s attire had few embroideries, but it was quite ornate overall because it was gold.

Only the undergarment was white.

“If you look at the next few pages, you’ll see that purple is a color only the Pope can use.”

“I see.”

I knew that much.

“But Your Highness already possesses amethyst eyes, so it couldn’t be more symbolic. Splendid!”

It took me about three seconds to grasp what that meant.

It meant that my eyes, having received the ‘Blessing of the Gods,’ were purple and matched the clothes well.

Then the head tailor started complaining about how hard it was to procure the highest quality gold brocade this season.

It was our first meeting, but they had great sociability.

-Knock knock

“Come in.”

I responded to the knock faster than anyone else.

If I kept listening to this person’s story, I felt like all my energy would be drained before I even went to confession.

“Your Highness, it’s time to depart.”

It was Benjamin who came to rescue me.

The head tailor said it was really the last thing and placed a large bishop’s mitre [A tall, pointed hat worn by bishops] on my head.

Unlike the clothes, it was white with gold decorations.

“As you well know, the vestments of a clergyman are enchanted with special magic. You won’t feel heat, cold, or weight. It even absorbs the impact of being hit by a running carriage. And this mitre won’t fall off your head until you take it off yourself.”

Wow, I didn’t know that. I was wondering how I could handle this thickness in mid-April, but it was a great relief.

“But the discomfort of the clothes themselves is unavoidable. Just close your eyes for today and think of yourself as the best clothes rack.”

He said firmly.

I was a person until I ate breakfast, but now I had to become an inanimate object, which made me a little sad.

*

I declared that I would not attend the Spring Ball and would be faithful to my role as a confessor.

The Emperor and the Cardinal accepted that opinion. So I thought everything would work out.

I believed I could enjoy peace alone while the imperial family and nobles were loafing around.

But then.

“I think I was too naive.”

“Your Highness…”

Ganael looked at me with pity.

I had scrubbed so hard since morning that the scent of my shampoo filled the swaying carriage.

Benjamin blamed himself, saying, ‘It’s my fault for not explaining in more detail,’ but looking back, it was obvious how things would turn out this way.

Many nobles would enter the palace in the evening to coincide with the start of the ball, but there were also quite a few who wouldn’t give up the spring outing course of coming early to see the flowers in the imperial palace and confessing to the prince of the Holy Kingdom.

The Emperor had foreseen all of this and sent the people from the atelier from the morning to transform me into a presentable state.

As expected, the scope of thinking for a politician was different.

I was worrying about things like ‘What should I eat for lunch today…’

“We will soon arrive at the Imperial Palace temple, Your Highness.”

“But I don’t see the temple.”

I answered in a flustered tone.

At this distance, the main gate of the temple should be clearly visible, but only the top of the building was barely visible due to the rows of carriages.

The parking situation was serious.

“There’s even someone who parallel parked in the middle of all this…”

I heard Ganael trying to hold back laughter at my muttering.

Escorted by the coachman, I got out of the carriage, and the knights guarding the temple bowed to me in turn.

Then the heavy main gate opened. I took a small breath.

Hundreds of pairs of eyes that had been staying indoors were all fixed on me.

*

…Wouldn’t it have been better to go to the ball instead?

No, that’s not true. Let’s get a grip. I slowly raised my hand and slapped my cheek once.

No matter how tired I was, it was better than being in the same space as Christel or the Emperor.

I could avoid both of them if I just endured it for one day, so I shouldn’t have weak thoughts just because it was a little hard.

“Are you alright, Your Highness? I will prepare a bath for you as soon as you return to the Imperial Palace.”

“You have worked hard, Your Highness. Go and get some rest.”

“You two have also done a great job…”

Ganael and Benjamin led me out of the temple.

In fact, I was too exhausted mentally rather than physically.

Confession was a job with more listening than speaking, but even though I had eaten two hearty meals in between, my head was throbbing.

I hadn’t used much ether, so it must have been purely due to stress.

“Ganael, what time is it now?”

“It’s 8:35.”

“Thank you.”

The time for the appointment with Duchess Sarnese, whom I was supposed to meet at the Stroda Palace across from the temple, was 9 o’clock.

I thought that if I returned to my room around 8:30, I wouldn’t accidentally run into them, and I was glad that it went as planned.

“Really, from now on, I should just make an excuse that I’m sick and get out of it.”

“Yes, you should.”

Benjamin defended me. I smiled faintly and moved towards the carriage.

My body, which had been tense all day because of the uncomfortable clothes, felt stiff.

The confessions of the nobles proceeded in much the same way as those of the workers of the Imperial Palace.

Except that the confessors wore better clothes and used more sophisticated words.

And except for the fact that there were people staring intently at me, and the frequency of troublemakers was slightly higher…

The flow itself was similar.

“At the very end, there was even someone who asked me to name their child.”

The two of them widened their eyes at my words.

“They asked me to give their daughter a middle name. They said they didn’t really have anything to confess, but they wanted me to give the child a name I had made up.”

Ganael shook his head. Benjamin sighed.

Since the person in question, four-year-old ‘Sophie,’ liked playing soccer the most, I gave her the middle name ‘Zinedine’ so she would become a great person. [Zinedine Zidane is a famous French soccer player.]

Imperial people use French names, so it seemed like a very excellent choice.

“Then I will take you to the Juliette Palace, Your Highness.”

The imperial coachman approached and opened the carriage door. I nodded and stepped on the footstool.

No, I was about to step on it.

“Benjamin, that…”

I pointed. I wondered if I was seeing things because I was so tired.

Because a situation that could only be described as such was unfolding across the street.

Benjamin’s eyes, following my fingertip, widened greatly.

Ganael was also just as surprised.

“…Divine Creature?”

A dazed question flowed from the boy’s mouth.

From the ground, thick vines were growing rapidly towards the left end balcony of the Stroda Palace.

Roughly speaking, it looked like it was about the size of an adult male’s waist.

The sound of the vines tearing through the nearby grass and shrubs could be heard from here.

“…”

Yes, it wasn’t a hallucination, it was real.

I got into the carriage without hesitation.

Although the Stroda Palace, where the ball was in full swing, was lit up with red torches and magical lights, the area near the temple was dark, so it was as if I hadn’t seen anything.

Whether that red panda hadn’t left the Imperial Palace or a new divine creature had appeared, it had nothing to do with me.

“Shall we go now?”

“Yes, yes.”

Everyone moved quickly at my somewhat cold voice.

As Ganael and Benjamin took their seats, the coachman approached to close the carriage door.

That’s when it happened.

-Creeeeak…

“…”

The plaintive cry of the red panda pierced everyone’s ears. I squeezed my eyes shut.

I had suffered all day listening to the confessions of the nobles, and I had struggled to avoid going to that palace, and now I was finally out.

If the writer had any conscience, they shouldn’t be scratching at me like this.

-Squeak, squeak, squeaaaaak…

Whether it was hungry or sick, it was none of my business.

There were royals and many nobles inside, so they would take care of it.

Since it was a divine creature, they wouldn’t kill it, of course, and at most, they would lock it up in a cage and watch it before sending it to a good place.

“Just leave-“

-Squeak, squeak, squeak…

I jumped up from my seat.

If this were a web novel with me as the main character, I might have immediately left a comment saying, ‘The development is frustrating, I’m dropping this.’

But in reality, I was getting out of the carriage. Damn it.

*

-Squeak squeak

“Yeah, it’s your brother. Long time no see, huh?”

The vines, which had been stretching out, were already wrapped around the balcony railing.

I easily arrived in front of the scene, using the thick vines as stepping stones.

I came here because this was the left end balcony of the Stroda Palace; if it had been the ‘right end’ balcony where the Duchess had asked to meet, I would have really gritted my teeth and left.

“Is His Highness alright?”

“A divine creature is not a normal animal and cannot be tamed unless you are an ether holder. You all quietly inform His Eminence the Cardinal. Quickly.”

From below, the guards of the Stroda Palace and Benjamin were having a serious conversation.

The soldiers, who didn’t have a ‘manual for when a divine creature appears in the garden,’ were also very flustered.

If it weren’t for the fact that ‘the vestments of a clergyman absorb even the impact of a running carriage,’ they would never have sent me up.

“Your brother doesn’t have anything to eat right now. But will you come with me anyway?”

I reached out my hand between the railings.

Fortunately, the red panda was the one I had taken care of.

I remembered it because one of the chubby tail stripes was white.

The red panda tilted its head as it looked at me.

Beyond the half-open balcony door, the beautiful music and the murmurs of people could be heard.

-Squeak!

“That’s right. Come this way. Let’s just be together for one night, brother.”

I intended to take this guy to Cardinal Boutier as soon as I opened my eyes tomorrow morning.

Then she would take care of it, whether it turned out good or bad.

I stretched out my arm and deployed the sanctuary. [A field of protective energy.]

The red panda, feeling the flow of golden ether, twitched its whiskers and rubbed its round nose against my palm.

A sigh of relief escaped. Now it was all done.

-Tap

At that moment, a black shoe came into view at the end of my vision, which was filled with the red panda.

I slowly raised my head.

It was a strange man that I made eye contact with.

However, I couldn’t help but recognize him.

“What are you doing here?”

In a familiar baritone voice, a conversation I had with Eunseo strangely came to mind.

It was a vivid echo, as if it were playing through earphones.

‘Jeong Eunseo, you say you hate the male lead so much, but why do you always talk about him? Do you actually like him?’

‘No… It’s because of that face! Face, face, face!’

At that time, my sister’s expression was like that of Teacher Na Moon-hee, who was shouting ‘Sweet Potato!’ [A reference to a popular Korean sitcom.]

Eunseo highly valued the male lead’s appearance, calling him ‘Toegye,’ [A prominent Korean philosopher known for his handsome portrait.] but overall, she always maintained a cynical attitude.

A representative example was the expression ‘His face is the Louvre, but his personality is a disaster.’

But now, I could refute her words head-on.

“…”

The man, looking back and forth between me and the red panda, frowned slightly.

“…It seems a divine creature has awakened.”

His face, in that it harmoniously blended classicism and modernity, was closer to the Orsay [A museum in Paris known for its impressionist art] than the Louvre [A famous art museum in Paris].

Jet-black hair like an abyss and eyes that seemed to have garnets embedded in them were overwhelming the space.

The second human I absolutely had to avoid.

The main male lead of . Cedric Liester.