What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 205

#205

Intermission (2)

It was a dark night when we arrived at the Lord’s castle.

The air in the southern part of the Empire was truly refreshing and cool.

I could tell that Baron Berang’s territory was small without having to look around much.

The Lord’s castle was small, and the number of magical lights illuminating the place was also very few.

It looked more like a mansion built in the shape of a castle than an actual castle.

A modestly dressed couple greeted us as we got out of the carriage. I immediately tensed up.

I didn’t want them to feel heartbroken when they saw me.

“We greet His Highness Crown Prince Cedrick and Prince Yeser Venetian. I am Fabrice Berang. I am sorry to have made you travel so far to such a humble place.”

“I am Ann Berang. Please be lenient.”

The middle-aged man bowed politely first, and his wife also lowered her body deeply.

The Crown Prince simply nodded slightly in response.

Cristel, holding the sleeping Tete, greeted them brightly.

“Hello, I am Cristel de Sarnese. I will be in your care for a few days. Please take care of me.”

“I have heard much about your reputation. It is an honor to meet you.”

“I am Johann Haynes.”

“Imperial Tutor, welcome.”

Baron Berang greeted the group kindly. I swallowed hard.

The Lesser Pandas in my arms stirred, sensing my anxiety.

“…Nice to meet you. Thank you for inviting me.”

My voice came out normally. The Baron and his wife looked at my face carefully.

Their eyes, which resembled each other, were full of warmth and affection.

These were the bereaved family who had sent two sons to me, only to lose them all at once.

“Welcome, Your Highness. Thank you so much for accepting our invitation.”

The Baron smiled broadly and extended his arm to me. Only then could I breathe a little easier.

As I reached out my hand, thinking he was offering a handshake, he bent down and carefully pressed his forehead to the back of my hand.

‘God,’ I heard him praying softly.

Then, as if taking over the baton, the Baron’s wife took my hands in both of hers.

I was so embarrassed by their treatment of me as if I were something precious that it reached the top of my head.

“Thank you. Our children would be… moved by your grace.”

She whispered and kissed the back of my hand.

I was grateful that she thought of it that way.

Fortunately, the Baron and his wife did not seem to be in pain when they saw me. A relieved smile naturally came to my face.

“This is Elodie, the head of our household and our eldest daughter.”

The Baron gestured. A lady holding a large cat in her arms hurriedly bowed her head.

She looked to be around twenty years old.

“I-I am honored. I am Elodie Berang.”

– Myaak

Then the cat meowed briefly.

Cristel made a groaning sound, and Elodie didn’t know what to do.

Her freckled face was turning red under the lights.

– Kkii?

Demi stretched out its neck. It seemed curious about the cat. I politely offered a greeting.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mademoiselle [Miss]. What is your cute friend’s name?”

“Oh my. I, I am Elodie. Oh dear. This, this fellow is…”

– Nyak!

The calico cat jumped down as if it couldn’t stand its owner any longer.

Elodie was greatly embarrassed and tried to fix her appearance.

The cat had been covering part of her old dress.

The Baron’s wife also looked back at her daughter with a bewildered expression.

Elodie, who made eye contact with the Crown Prince while flustered,

“…Coco! Come here! We were going to sleep together!”

– Miyaaoong

She almost cried as she ran after the cat.

The Baron’s wife sighed, and the Baron rubbed his face wearily. So the fat cat’s name is Coco.

“I am so sorry. My daughter is still so immature…”

“Let’s go inside.”

The Crown Prince cut off the middle-aged man’s words.

The line sounded rude at first, but his tone wasn’t cold.

I was now quite adept at interpreting his external attitude.

That roughly meant, ‘We’re all tired, so let’s stop and rest.’

As if understanding him, the Baron quickly bowed his head.

Soon, an elderly servant of the Baron’s family guided us.

The family crest engraved on the outer wall of the castle came into view.

Neatly maintained shrubs and maple trees in full autumn colors also caught my eye.

– Ummeoe

A friendly cry was heard nearby.

“It looks like they raise cows here too. That’s fun.”

Cristel whispered excitedly. I smiled and nodded.

*

– Kkiiiek…

“Hmm.”

I opened my eyes at the sound of the door opening. I stirred sleepily and looked around.

The warm morning sunlight of the South was shining long across the bed through the curtains.

I could see Stubborn and the useless things sleeping soundly on their beds, and the precious burdens melting away in front of the small fireplace.

The guest room that the Baron and his wife had given us was a simple and cozy space.

I slept comfortably even though it was an unfamiliar house.

I slowly got up, with a wren’s nest, no, a wren’s house, built on my head [referring to messy hair].

What time is it?

“Wow, pretty!”

“Shh.”

“Could it be an angel?”

“It’s really purple.”

Somewhere, young voices were whispering. I flinched and looked towards the door.

Then,

“They saw us!”

“I want to see too…”

“You came late, Romain.”

I met the various eyes and gazes that were closely attached to the crack in the door. Their eye levels were all low. I was surprised for a moment, then slowly raised the corners of my lips.

I thought I knew who those children were.

I slowly waved my fingers so they wouldn’t be surprised, and with my other hand, I roughly smoothed my messy hair.

“They said hello!”

“It’s the first time I’ve seen someone so pretty.”

“No, the pink princess from earlier was prettier.”

“Romain! Don’t push!”

“Ahem.”

At that moment, a gentle voice echoed in the hallway.

“Kyaa!”

“Run away!”

“We’re in big trouble!”

Thump thump thump!

Along with the children’s unique giggling and shouting, the sound of running echoed down the hallway.

Only then did I burst into laughter. Benjamin, who knocked on the door, came in with a troubled expression.

“I apologize, Your Highness. Those children are like family to the Baron and his wife, so we couldn’t restrict their access. They are still lacking in education…”

“It’s okay. I was already awake anyway. Did you sleep well?”

I asked, waving my hand. This time, the orphanage built was the first childcare facility in the barony, and until now, the Baron’s family had directly taken in orphans and taught them writing and etiquette.

Those children must be some of them. Soon, Benjamin made kind wrinkles around his eyes.

“Thanks to Your Highness, I always have good dreams. However, breakfast is getting late.”

“Is something wrong?”

“The kitchen is short-handed, so the Baron is cooking himself. David and Ganael are helping.”

I blinked. His eyebrows drooped slightly.

“It seems that the household is more difficult than I thought. To reduce tax consumption, the previous lord had been doing manual labor himself since his predecessor. It seems that most of the money Your Highness sent was used for the orphanage and canal construction. The cost of preparing furniture and household goods is also a cost, and this place will also get chilly in January, so they hired several wizards to finish the construction before then.”

“…”

I woke up completely, and my jaw slowly dropped.

If they hired wizards as well as ordinary workers so that the children wouldn’t shiver in the winter, the expenses would have been enormous.

I didn’t even know that and was just thinking about how sad I was that I couldn’t be with my other friends.

The Baron and his wife must have invited me with a lot of determination, but I was comfortably wondering about the breakfast menu.

I had taken the words ‘a barony with difficult circumstances’ for granted and brushed them off. Even though I had the Yuliter headdress that the couple had put up for auction.

I was so ashamed that my face turned red.

I’m not a little kid who doesn’t know the circumstances of adults, but I wondered when I would grow up.

This was not the time to be doing this. I hurriedly got out of bed and unbuttoned my pajamas.

“What about Cristel and the Crown Prince? Has Sir Johann woken up too?”

“His Highness and Sir Haynes have been doing soul cultivation since 7 o’clock. Sir Sarnese woke up similarly to Your Highness.”

“That’s good. We should help with the work too.”

I said firmly. Benjamin nodded with a wry smile.

It was the reaction I expected.

*

The vast forest land in the eastern part of Riester. A villa in a corner of the Blanquer Duchy.

– Tadat, tadat!

“Damn it.”

Robert Blanquer, sitting in front of the fireplace, spat out a curse.

The quill in his left hand trembled, creating worm-like letters.

His right hand, which had been hit by the Crown Prince’s flames, had been unable to hold a writing instrument for a long time, as the nerves were burning and the flesh was melting.

However, it was enough to ruffle his hair. The disheveled man gritted his teeth.

“Damn it. Eva, I have to reply to this.”

He muttered as if cursing. The contents of the letter to his sister were no different.

‘I know you can’t handle the position of Vice-Duke’, ‘Confess honestly to Mother and give up now, even now’.

All sorts of threats were filling the precious paper.

A blue poison settled in Robert’s eyes.

The crooked letters spewed out only distorted abuse.

‘You are a good sister, but you are slow-witted and lack consideration, so it will be difficult to earn the respect of the territory’s people. It will be more comfortable to live by receiving your brother’s allowance. What kind of politics is a girl who is only interested in dresses and ribbons going to do? Besides, you have no talent for magic. If you ascend to the dukedom, you will be pointed at for tarnishing the honor of the magician’s family. Don’t go around the easy way…’

“Should I write more gently? Tch.”

Saliva splattered from the man’s lips. Perhaps this was the last chance to persuade Eva.

He had been issued a restraining order, but there was no order not to send letters.

However, the portal mail costs were expensive, and he was now counting his meager pension and worrying about his old age.

Kwang! When his thoughts reached that point, Robert slammed the desk roughly.

The custom-made perfume ink splattered everywhere.

“If I just become the Vice-Duke again…”

He wiped his cheeks and hissed.

All the letters sent to the Blanquer Ducal Residence in the Imperial Capital had been returned.

The first one or two had traces of being opened, but after that, they came back looking as good as new, without even a short reply.

It was uncharacteristic of Eva. Surely there was someone behind her manipulating her.

What had been lingering in Robert’s mind for the past few days was a pair of fancy gray eyes.

Elizabeth Mute. A swordsman who had once taken his sister away and kept her close.

“A royal dog. A frontier count’s family that only eats demons in the north dares to…”

It was clear that he was trying to seduce his young sister and covet power.

Besides, Count Mute was famous as a friend of Prince Yeser.

“The Empire will be ruined because of that prince. No…”

He glanced at another envelope placed on one side of the desk.

It was an anonymous letter to be sent to Sarah Beliard.

The ‘great nobleman’ who had made contact at the masquerade was a thing sent in the morning in the name of a social club.

Robert was only acting as a messenger, simply replacing the outer envelope, but he was able to watch the prince’s downfall from close range.

It was a satisfying revenge. His mood improved when he thought of the contents of the envelope.

He smiled and scribbled the last line of the letter.

‘The bastard you’re mindlessly following will soon be in mortal danger. So think carefully. Who will be your brother for the rest of your life?

-R. B.’

He also left a stylish signature. Then he rang the bell loudly to call the nanny.

Soon, the study door opened and a middle-aged woman appeared.

“Did you call, young master?”

“Yeah. I’m going to send portal mail [magical mail]. This one to the Imperial Capital residence, that one to Sarah Beliard’s office. Make sure they arrive on the morning of the 19th.”

He put the letters in envelopes and handed them over. The nanny’s eyes widened.

“Beliard? That reporter you’re talking about?”

“Yeah. It’s unsigned, so take care of it. You know what I mean, right?”

He said quietly and shot a sharp look. The middle-aged woman swallowed hard.

She was a servant who had worked in the Duke’s family for a long time.

She was quick-witted enough that no long explanation was needed.

The young master valued the contents of this, and the fact that the young master sent it to the Imperial Capital should not be known.

It seemed that the poor person was trying to publish an article to inform others of their situation.

After sorting things out to this point, the nanny quickly replied.

“Leave it to me. I’ll go shopping and find a beggar. If I give him a silver coin and a thick set of clothes, there won’t be any problem with keeping his mouth shut and sending the mail.”

“Good idea. I’ll skip lunch, so don’t look for me.”

“…Yes. But if you’re hungry, please call me?”

The woman hugged the two letters with a worried look and went out.

After confirming that she had passed through the main gate through the window, Robert began to clean up his desk with a satisfied expression.

The notes he had received before the masquerade were all burned as ‘ordained’.

So, even though it was an envelope that came in the name of a social club, it would be over if he put it in the fireplace. 탁!

– Hwareureuk!

The paper that had escaped his grasp blazed up. It was then.

“Ugh.”

The man’s back bent over. Huddeuk. Black lumps of blood poured from his mouth.