What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 108

“#108 Operation Verona (4)”

“First… let’s get inside. We’ll attract attention if we stay out here.”

“Then, if you’ll excuse me, ‘Montague’,” Cristel said, beaming as she climbed over the railing.

Eva, in her dress, was safely helped in by Cristel, and finally, the Prince on the ground lightly jumped up and landed on the balcony.

I looked down at Elisabeth Grey, standing in front of the flower bed, or rather, ‘Mercutio’.

She smiled reassuringly and gave a finger salute. She looked cool.

“Oh my, it’s a bedroom. I’m sorry, Montague.”

Eva apologized, startled.

I laughed it off and put the lesser pandas on the floor.

I was used to unexpected guests since ‘Sadie’ was always ambushing me, but it was still awkward to have two ladies in my room.

I sat them on the two single sofas away from the bed and pulled up a chair to sit beside them.

Prince Cedrick didn’t seem inclined to sit, leaning against the balcony with his arms crossed.

Dduk-ssim fluttered up and settled on his shoulder.

“I’ll get you some tea.”

“Yay!”

The young lady, who had been shy until just now, clapped her hands with delight.

This didn’t feel like a spy operation at all.

“Your Highness, or rather… did you come after hearing from ‘Capulet’?” I asked, pouring warm marigold tea from the teapot.

I wondered if we really needed to use code names, but Cristel seemed to be looking forward to it, so I decided to go along with it.

There were plenty of teacups since Benjamin and Ganael sometimes drank together.

Eva was delighted that there were three flower petals floating in her cup. Cristel was the first to speak.

“Yes. I thought that Montague would want to help Sir Haines even while confined. So, I asked Capulet for an audience first. This morning, ‘Tybalt’ said he received Montague’s letter, so we came together.”

I nodded.

It was early in the morning that I sent letters to ‘Tybalt’, that is, Eva and Sant.

Ganael had also said he delivered them properly.

“Then how have you been here until night? The Duke’s carriage would have been sent out of the Imperial Palace.”

“I’ve been staying out since yesterday to see Montague. I told my mother at the Duke’s residence that I would be staying at Count Mute’s residence for a few days. And today, I hid in Mercutio’s carriage to enter the palace with her. Tybalt happened to be visiting the Count’s residence as well.”

“You mean you were in the carriage all day…”

“No, after entering the palace, I hid in Romero Palace. There are many empty rooms, so I was able to stay comfortably with David’s help.”

I couldn’t help but be surprised by this.

The two princesses had infiltrated the Imperial Palace since morning with the help of the vice-commander of the Imperial Guards to see me.

The Prince had hidden them in his palace and even brought them here.

If Emperor Frederick knew, he would be shocked, but none of them wavered.

Somehow, a touching feeling welled up inside me. I gripped the teacup tightly.

“Thank you. It must have been a difficult decision.”

“No, it was easy.”

Cristel smiled brightly.

She put her eye patch back on her head and met my gaze.

“Montague is always good to us. So, there was no need to hesitate. We’re friends and partners.”

‘Temporary though,’ she added.

I hadn’t acted to receive a reward, but I was grateful that she thought so highly of me.

Then Eva suddenly spoke.

“But you have to explain. I can lend you my name if Montague needs it, but my mother said, ‘Know what you’re doing, Eva.’”

The dark brown eyes sparkled firmly. I had clearly asked Eva for help in my letter.

Since the goal of the operation was none other than the Emperor, they naturally had the right to know the full story.

I nodded and calmly began.

“There’s something I want to say to His Majesty when I meet him. It’s about Sir Haines…”

It was a repetition of what I had told the Prince last night, but that didn’t make it any easier.

When I finished speaking, Cristel and Eva stared at me with shocked faces.

Cristel, in particular, looked like she was about to destroy someone.

“No, that son of a bitch of a royal consort… I’m sorry. But that’s… is he even human? Has the Prince been suffering from that bastard all this time?”

Her voice grew louder and softer as she ran a hand down her face.

She seemed to be struggling to hold back curses and anger, and her breathing was rough. She even seemed to have forgotten the code names.

“I… I intend to help Sir Haines. Honestly, I feel bad for him, and I vented a lot that day. I need to get revenge on the royal consort… How can I let him live like that?”

She looked at the ceiling as if she felt suffocated. She also chugged the tea like water.

Eva, who had been covering her mouth with a handkerchief, asked me.

“But, Montague, aren’t you angry with Sir Haines? Are you perhaps… a pushover?”

“Excuse me?”

“I understand that he had his reasons. But he’s been deceiving the three of you all along. If it were me, I’d be upset and wouldn’t be able to trust him anymore.”

The child’s expression was sulky. I paused for a moment. It certainly could be seen that way.

I struggled to explain my actions, but decided to just tell them how I really felt.

I may have lived longer than Eva, but people were always difficult.

“Sir Haines didn’t have ordinary opportunities.”

“……”

“It’s true that he lied to us. But if his sick son hadn’t been taken prisoner by the royal consort, and if Sir Haines had been able to treat us with dignity, I don’t know what would have happened. He was deprived of that opportunity from the start.”

“……”

“I thought Sir Haines should have the chance to start over on the same starting line. That’s all.”

I smiled bitterly and looked at the child.

Eva stared at me, a little surprised, and then fell into thought.

She seemed to be struggling with complex thoughts. Meanwhile, Cristel spoke with determination.

“To meet His Majesty, you have to go to the Imperial Palace, but that’s realistically difficult.”

“Yes. It would be difficult to infiltrate the Imperial Palace, and Laura, the Chief Secretary, is standing guard.”

I answered, looking up at the Prince. His eyes met mine.

“Could we invite His Majesty to Romero Palace? Romero is right next to the Juliette Palace, so I can see him if I just cross the garden safely.”

When I brought it up, the Prince frowned.

*It’s a more realistic method than your face, so why are you doing that?*

“Did Capulet have a lover?”

Eva turned to me, startled.

Cristel and I didn’t understand what she was talking about and tilted our heads.

The young lady, realizing that we were clueless, exclaimed ‘Ah’ and began to explain.

“In Liester, there’s a custom of hosting a banquet when an unmarried child introduces their lover to their parents for the first time.”

Oh, dear…

“It’s mainly for someone you’re seriously dating. So, I heard that His Majesty also held a banquet when he introduced his uncle [referring to Alexandre, the royal consort from the Blancar family] to the late Emperor. My grandparents were strongly opposed.”

A short, intense silence flowed between the three of us except for Eva.

“Are you going to hold a banquet at Romero Palace and invite His Majesty? Mercutio has a fiancé, so it’s difficult to use her as a fake lover, and I can’t because I’m a cousin, so what’s left is…”

“No, no.”

Cristel sharply cut her off. Eva flinched.

The protagonist’s blue eyes flickered like will-o’-the-wisps.

If she uttered ‘that method’ that everyone was thinking of, she would probably be torn to shreds.

“This is not the way. Let’s consider other methods, Montague.”

“Tom Cruise, calm down.”

I soothed her. The Prince spoke in a sharp tone.

“It would be better for you to fly.”

“Fly?”

“Didn’t you use a Shinsoo [a divine beast] that day?”

He must have remembered Dduk-ssim’s transformation.

I looked at the wren dozing on his shoulder and replied.

“Dduk-ssim is… a Shinsoo.”

“Is that the ‘Bireom’s Ark’ I saw at the bell tower?” Cristel quickly asked.

“Yes. But he hasn’t transformed into his true form since then. I’ve asked him, but he won’t listen. I’m not his master either.”

“You protected him so much, and you’re not his master?”

“That’s what he says.”

“Him?”

Cristel and the Prince took turns questioning me.

They were a fantastic match when they were like this. I shook my head and smiled.

“You need to go back soon, so I’ll tell you the story about Dduk-ssim later. It’s a bit long. Right now, we should be discussing inviting His Majesty to Romero Palace.”

“I refuse.”

“I don’t want to.”

The two men and women stated their refusal sharply.

Eva looked at the three of us with a troubled expression, but she kept glancing at Dduk-ssim, who was clinging to the Prince.

She seemed curious because she was unsure if an ordinary bird was really a Shinsoo.

I hugged Demi, who was climbing onto my lap, and started calculating.

No matter how I looked at it, inviting the Emperor to Romero Palace was the fastest and most rational method.

If we added the excuse of ‘a place to introduce a precious person’, we could somehow get through the Emperor’s tight schedule.

It was the best route to meet the Emperor before the Princess arrived.

It seemed good enough to think it was the author’s arrangement.

*That’s right, it might be the perfect opportunity to connect the two.*

I carefully examined Cristel and the Prince.

They were skillfully avoiding eye contact and pretending to be lost in thought, as if they were afraid I would ask them.

They hate it so much now, but they might thank me later if things go well.

I scratched my cheek and pondered. How could I elicit voluntary participation?

What can I do?

Using my beauty… the Prince is more handsome, so that won’t work.

Pretending to be sick… I’m not sick, so I can’t do that either. Hmm.

“I’m hungry.”

I muttered experimentally. I glanced around and saw that the eyes of the three were on me.

I was a little embarrassed, but I decided to endure it, thinking of Sir Haines and his son, who were asleep.

*What can’t I do after coming this far?*

“I did have dinner. I didn’t have an appetite, so… I only emptied two servings. Hahaha.”

“……”

I really can’t act.

I writhed in mental anguish and buried my face in Demi’s warm body.

The lesser panda whimpered and clung to my neck.

It seemed that my embarrassment was being conveyed to him.

“I wish I could help Sir Haines… I haven’t been able to eat well these days. I have no motivation, and the ether in my body doesn’t seem to be circulating well.”

“……”

“I wish someone would let me meet His Majesty…”

Please react somehow. If you tell me to stop, I’ll quit coolly!

I bit my lip and lowered my eyes. At that moment,

-Grumble

Demi, hidden in my arms, made a strange cry. It sounded like a hungry stomach.

Then Cristel jumped up from her seat. I flinched and looked at her.

“Tom Cruise. This is…”

“I’ll do it.”

“Yes?”

*Is this really working?*

“Why aren’t you eating properly? Sir Haines is really at fault. If I want to get a proper apology, I have no choice but to desperately keep him alive.”

“That’s true.”

“It’s nothing. Can’t we just tell His Majesty that we’re dating and then say we broke up after dinner?”

“That’s right. Yes.”

Cristel spewed out words in a tone that I couldn’t tell if she was angry or giving a declaration.

I barely breathed and answered. She turned around and glared at the Prince.

She looked like she could turn him into stone with just her eyes.

Then the Prince shot me a terrifying look. *Damn it, did he find out it was acting?*

That’s when it happened.

“Ugh!”

I made a sound like a dying demon and bent over.

It was because Demi poked my solar plexus with his front paw. Ouch!

“……I accept the offer.”

Then the Prince spat out the words through his teeth. What?

“Let’s draw up a contract too.”

“We’ll need a witness.”

I lifted my head with wide eyes.

The two protagonists were glaring at each other as if they were about to freeze or burn each other to death, and they were standing face to face, reciting the conditions.

*Did it really work…?*

-Squeak!

Demi immediately pressed down on me and demanded praise.

I rubbed his back and tail a lot with a dazed look.

*Our MVP did a great job again today. Shinsoo is mysterious…*

-Tap tap

Then Eva tapped the armrest of my chair. I turned to the young lady.

The child’s eyes narrowed, and her mouth moved largely.

‘Your Highness, you are bewitching.’