What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 152

#152 My Partner’s Partner (1)

I had resolved not to get involved with the main characters, but somehow, I’ve been steadily hanging out with them.

In the beginning, I was unknowingly swept up in things, but recently, I’ve been actively participating.

I had no intention of denying it.

I no longer wanted to evade the issue by saying, ‘It’s just because Eunseo likes them.’

“What do you do after dance practice?”

Sir Johann, sitting across from me, asked gently.

Before I knew it, Christelle and Eva had moved on to the next dance step.

Musicians began to play a slow waltz to the rhythm of four pairs of feet.

-♪♩♬······

I answered, holding the warm acacia flower tea.

“I was thinking of going to see Tite’s Pond, now that it’s completed.”

“That sounds lovely.”

His mint-colored eyes fluttered with anticipation. It was an invitation to go together.

I ended the conversation with a smile and looked down at my notebook.

There were bound to be things I couldn’t recall, but I had written down a considerable amount of information about ‘Toegye-gong’ [likely a reference to a specific romantic plot point or character dynamic] since the first day I possessed this body.

Among them were fragmentary pieces of knowledge like ‘Crown Prince’s nickname Seregi’ and abstract phrases like ‘first kiss at the masquerade ball.’

In an empire where masquerade balls are held frequently, how could I predict when the two would kiss?

However, by piecing together the stories Eunseo had told me, I could make some educated guesses.

For example······.

∙ Lotus Festival

∙ Mounted Archery Competition

∙ Falconry Tournament

Items crossed out with long lines caught my eye.

These were things I had salvaged by comparing the major events in Liester for the second half of the year, which Benjamin had obtained for me, with my memories.

All three events appeared in the original story, but Christelle and Crown Prince Cedric showed no interest in them.

During the Lotus Festival, we met Elysee and wandered around Aitz Village.

The Mounted Archery Competition turned out to have been held in early June, but at the time, I was watching the duel between the Crown Prince and Duke Robert Blanquer.

The Falconry Tournament was scheduled for next weekend, but none of the main characters were interested.

‘Sir Sarnese, how about falconry next week? With the Crown Prince, too.’

‘It would be fun if we all went together······. But wouldn’t it be difficult? The Prince and I have to practice our dance until the very end, you know.’

I tentatively asked Christelle, but she responded with perfectly reasonable excuses.

The Crown Prince was equally uninterested.

‘Your Highness, aren’t you going to the falconry tournament?’

‘Now you want to raise falcons, too?’

‘What? That’s not what I meant.’

-Beep beep beep!

Because Dduk-sim [likely a pet or familiar] got angry at the Crown Prince’s absurd reply, the conversation ended vaguely.

The wren would never allow me to be interested in other birds.

Saying I’m not his owner······.

-Squeak!

“Okay, I get it.”

I placed Demi, who was climbing up the chair leg, on my lap.

The remaining lesser pandas clung to Benjamin’s pants.

The last I saw of Dduk-sim and Tite, they were sleeping on the sofa in the bedroom.

Stroking Demi’s tail, my thoughts gradually calmed down.

“Hmm.”

So, the conclusion was that Toegye-gong was not unfolding as in the original story.

It was regrettable, but after a little thought, it couldn’t be helped.

Elysee came to the Empire for the Holy Knight investiture examination, but the main characters in the original story were not Holy Knights in the first place.

The reason the Prince threw his glove at Robert Blanquer was because I was insulted.

Originally, he would never have stood up for Prince Yeser, his rival.

The reason everyone is indifferent to falconry is also because they have a schedule to leave for the Blanquer Duchy the next day.

“Still······.”

I muttered to myself and circled the words ‘Romance Fantasy’.

Still, the big framework of the romance fantasy seemed solid.

Christelle and the Prince were gradually becoming closer, and they were likely to attend this masquerade ball as partners.

“Sir Johann.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“The Prince and Sir Sarnese, I mean. They seem to have gotten much closer than before, right? From your perspective as a teacher.”

“······Compared to the beginning, yes.”

He answered slowly to my question. See, I’m not the only one who thinks so, right?

I smiled and looked at the first page of my notebook. I saw a sentence written neatly.

∙ My Goal

Don’t get involved with the main characters, survive until the end of the war, and return home healthy!

······I hope the flow continues to change like this, so that even the war that occurred in the story will be undone.

But I didn’t think the author would easily give up on such a significant event.

In the meantime, subplots or foreshadowing that I don’t know about may have been steadily planted near the main characters.

And assuming that a battle will definitely occur,

-Kieung

“Oh, I’ll keep going.”

Demi whimpered unhappily when my hand stopped. I hurriedly stroked his back.

Christelle, who was spinning around with Eva, smiled brightly at me. It was like seeing stars in the middle of the day.

“······.”

Honestly, if a war broke out, I wouldn’t want to leave Christelle and the Prince’s side.

They are the Empire’s only Holy Knights, so they will likely participate in the war, and I am their official partner and friend.

If I’m not there, the two of them will have to receive Ether [likely a magical or divine energy] from another priest.

More than anything, I couldn’t just send my friends to the battlefield and stay in a safe place alone.

My body might be comfortable, but my heart would definitely be as hard as hell.

“Sir Sarnese, hold my waist. Not like that!”

Eva, who was held up by Christelle, shouted with a laugh.

The protagonist began to tickle the young lady with playful eyes.

Soon, a high-pitched voice echoed through the ballroom.

“Next week, you’ll both become true Holy Knights.”

Sir Johann said, touching his lips to his tea. When I turned my head, my eyes met his.

It had been a full two months since Elysee left the Imperial Palace, and the Vatican had dispatched a special envoy to the Empire.

It was to deliver the papal bull [official decree from the Pope] approving Christelle and the Prince’s investiture as Holy Knights.

Next Tuesday, Cardinal Boutier will receive the holy will and bless and invest the two men and women directly in front of the Emperor and the great nobles.

“Yes, I didn’t expect it to take this long.”

“Two months is normal. It took me seven months to pass the Archbishop promotion examination.”

The unofficial Cardinal replied with a deflated voice.

It was probably because of his background.

Seeing my expression, Sir Johann drooped his eyebrows as if embarrassed.

“I was just joking.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s just that you looked angry. I know you don’t pity me lightly.”

He added, ‘I looked like a scary Pope.’

I finally let out a small laugh at the silly joke.

Talking about the examination naturally reminded me of Elysee.

I hoped she and Cornelis would be safely reunited with the Prince, but I was worried about how to solve that problem.

I picked up a quill and scribbled as my hand went.

∙ My (New) Goal

– Try not to let my friends get hurt

– Stay healthy so that the three siblings of the Divine Nation can meet again

– Get information from the main characters and return home

······Does this make sense? My expression was naturally distorted by the tremendous contradiction.

I’m thinking of being with the main characters if a war breaks out, but the three siblings must also be able to reunite?

If that level of friction occurs between the two countries, won’t they just never see each other for the rest of their lives?

Besides, what happens to my return plan if I die by mistake on the battlefield?

-Kieueung

At that time, Demi, who was looking into the notebook, stood up abruptly.

The lesser panda’s black eyes shone fiercely. What’s wrong?

-Kiee, kiee, kieeee!

“······.”

-Kurururu, kureut!

“······.”

-Kieung! Ku!

He seemed to be expressing his opinion very earnestly, but I was ignorant of the language of the divine beast, so I couldn’t understand it at all.

Perhaps frustrated, he repeatedly raised and lowered his front paws.

He also opened and closed his mouth in a circle. I frowned.

“Are you saying let’s fight?”

-King······

Then Demi collapsed powerlessly. He then pretended to soothe me by gently pressing on my stomach.

His tongue was sticking out, and he was very lovely.

I held his body so he wouldn’t fall and asked.

“Don’t fight, but reconcile?”

-Kiing!

Demi did a somersault with an expression that said, ‘That’s it!’

I burst into a smile and hugged him. Don’t fight, but reconcile······.

My eyes widened.

“Don’t wage war? Are you telling me to stop the war?”

-Ki

When I whispered quickly, the divine beast cried briefly as if it were obvious.

I was so dumbfounded that I let out a hollow laugh.

If it were that easy, I would have targeted that side from the beginning.

But I was not an influential person with decision-making power, but a hostage from an enemy country, and my words would not be heeded······.

“Or am I wrong?”

The murmur slipped out.

Certainly, if it were the early days of possession, that interpretation would be correct.

However, I have won the Emperor’s favor over the past six months and have become the Cardinal’s only disciple.

I was also the Crown Prince’s friend and partner.

I have also built up friendships with the Empire’s four major noble families, including the Sarnese Duchy. Huh?

“Is this······. Is this possible?”

I patted Demi and muttered.

First of all, Emperor Frederick was famous for his anti-war tendencies.

The rescue of Sir Johann and Herritt was also accomplished with everyone’s help, so perhaps, with the cooperation of many people once again, we could prevent a terrible turmoil.

Of course, saving two people is very different from saving millions of people, and preventing such an event would be close to impossible······.

Umm.

“It will be possible.”

Sir Johann said firmly. I was surprised and turned my gaze to the opposite side.

His eyes were curved with conviction.

Those words followed.

Ganael, who had just received a new snack at the entrance to the ballroom, placed a mousse au citron in front of us and smiled brightly.

“That’s right. Everything will work out as the Prince wishes. I don’t know what it is, though.”

“Thank you.”

“Eat a lot and cheer up!”

The boy clenched his fists. Eva, who was far away and caught my eye, pouted her lips.

She seemed to think my break was getting too long.

I smiled bitterly and held up the dessert cup. I’ll just eat these three and go quickly.

*

“We will wait here.”

Benjamin, Ganael, and Sir Johann stood side by side in front of the Imperial Archives.

Christelle and Eva decided to stay in the Juliette Palace ballroom for additional practice.

I’m not in a position to be leisurely either, but I took the time to check something in the archives.

As I stepped back, saying, ‘Then I’ll be back,’ the Emperor’s Palace attendant opened the door with a familiar gesture.

Soon, a huge library revealed itself before my eyes. It was a place that gave me the feeling of a scene from a movie every time I came.

“Sejak, Sejak, Sejak······.”

Without hesitation, I strode into the smell of books.

The autumn sunlight was pouring in through the glass windows that filled the walls.

If it were an ordinary university library, I would have enjoyed a short nap while photosynthesizing, but now I had no choice but to be as serious as possible.

I carefully scanned the spines of the books lined up on the ebony bookshelves.

Just last week, I had found records about Emperor Romero near here.

Somewhere around here······.

“Why is it over there?”

I muttered, craning my neck.

. It was a history book published during the reign of Emperor Celine.

Last time, it was placed at eye level, but today its location was far away.

Seeing the gruesome title, Joan’s warning echoed in my ears again.

‘The family that framed us is still living well and prospering. Who knows, they may still be acting as spies for the Divine Nation?’

I pressed my lips tightly. I didn’t entirely trust her words.

However, it was strange that Joan’s great-grandfather, Baron As, was killed by the late Emperor even though he insisted on his innocence until the end.

There were many priests in the Empire, and Romero could have confirmed whether the Baron’s words were true at any time through confession.

explained the reason why he did not involve a priest in the trial as follows.

‘After being betrayed by the priest he loved most, the late Emperor was unable to trust any servant of the main god. He never had a religious companion in his life and worshiped only himself until the moment of his death.’

It was a very terrible heartbreak. The era of war began because of Romero’s fever, so that says it all.

But the documents he left behind might be a clue.

I stood on tiptoe and reached out my hand. I need to read that again properly.

“Damn it. Too high,”

-Tak!

A large hand leisurely pulled out the book. I opened my eyes wide and turned to the side.

“An unexpected choice.”

Clear orange eyes stared at me. I was so surprised that I almost had a heart attack.

You should make some noise when you walk around!

“Are you curious about those who died at the hands of your great-grandfather?”

The Prince uttered a gruesome sound. I held onto the bookshelf and took a deep breath.

Just like when I met Christelle here last time, people who romanticize libraries need to reflect on themselves······.