What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 435

#435

Dingdongdaeng Black Market (5)

-Bweebeebee!

“Ttuk-shim, be careful!”

Weasel soared into the dark night sky through the chaos.

The palace lord, surrounded by two paladins, raised his voice anxiously.

The lightning from a moment ago was clearly a flow of mana, but no matter how he looked at it, it wasn’t an attack aimed at them.

‘Wham, bam, crash!’ ‘What’s going on!’ The owner’s gruff voice was heard from downstairs.

‘Swish!’ Johann rushed to the window frame in an instant.

His hair rippled a beat later, covering his shoulders.

Mint-colored eyes gleamed like reptile skin.

Before he knew it, the man held a sharp sword of air in his hand.

The fluttering curtains obeyed the paladin and scattered.

-Whooooosh······

“Tch, damn it.”

A man was seen rolling on the dry ground in front of the tavern.

“······.”

The Cardinal knew the opponent well. Red irises in the darkness emitted a clear light.

Johann immediately checked the clock on the side table. The hands pointed to 12:04 a.m.

It was exactly seven days since they left the military camp.

‘If you take my son and the children away, I will not send any communication for a week afterward. Of course, there will be no reinforcements either.’

‘You understand what this means, right.’

“What’s wrong, Sir Haynes? Is it the enemy?”

“Who knows.”

The knight’s eyes sharpened as he recalled the Emperor’s words.

It was a time that was easily misunderstood, and a situation that was difficult to accept.

Everything was too ambiguous.

Duke Jibril Diop was groaning, hiding something in his arms, and seemed to be injured.

Judging from the fact that there was no smell of blood, it wasn’t a deep wound.

The moment Johann quickly followed his gaze—

-Meeeeow!

“Hey, you there!”

‘Slurp!’ A beast that flowed like liquid escaped from the Duke’s arms.

The Cardinal’s pupils widened slightly. It was a divine beast resembling a cat.

But he hadn’t sensed it at all because it had hidden its aether [a magical energy or essence] so perfectly.

He never thought it would follow them this far, but the small creature instantly disappeared into the shadows.

The commotion didn’t end there.

“Yo! What’s going on there!”

“Are you picking a fight after drinking?”

“Seriously. There’s always a brawl in this ruined neighborhood.”

“It looks like it’s going to rain again, so go inside and fight, go inside!”

From the gate the group had passed through, guards were approaching, sauntering along.

It was the midnight patrol time. However, the group didn’t seem to grasp the situation properly.

The lightning from a moment ago was clearly magic, but none of them seemed to have excellent mana sensitivity.

A commoner, thinking that a heavy rain would fall, opened the window and looked at the sky.

Fortunately, there were few onlookers. The Cardinal hid behind the curtain, avoiding the moonlight.

Only his eerie glow was visible in the dimness.

“Sir Johann······?”

“Shh.”

The owner called him, but the man simply put a finger to his lips.

For now, it was necessary to watch how the situation outside unfolded.

The Crown Prince’s eyes, which met his, narrowed like a beast.

The three nobles were flawlessly protecting each other as always.

Confirming this, Johann watched the movement of the shadows again.

The conversation flowed in through the open window.

A long, black lightning mark remained about ten steps away from Duke Diop.

And if you followed it······.

“Are you okay? Or should I drag someone to the station?”

-Rustle, rustle

“······It’s nothing. Go back.”

Stagger, stagger. There was someone barely getting up.

The woman was wearing a sword belt around her waist, but she hadn’t drawn her weapon.

The guards glanced at the two men and women, trying to confirm that nothing was really wrong.

Then, the moonlight that broke through the clouds scratched her cheek.

Around that time, Elisabeth, who had approached silently, stood right by the window.

And she frowned slightly.

“It’s Duchess Marguerite Diop of the Diop family. What brings her here? Perhaps it’s an urgent message from His Majesty······.”

“It’s still unknown, Sir Mute.”

‘Not yet.’ Johann whispered almost inaudibly.

The viscount faced him with a confused look. It was then.

-Thud!

“Evan!”

The Duchess, who seemed to be in bad condition, finally collapsed.

The Duke hurriedly ran to embrace his twin sister.

The owner, who had run out of the tavern, was approaching them.

At the same time, Johann’s master hurriedly walked to the window.

The divine beasts also ran up and firmly guarded his feet.

“What’s going on? Are those the Diop siblings?”

“Yes.”

“Then they must be the ones His Majesty sent. Could something have happened in the military camp—”

“We’ll have to see about that, Palace Lord.”

“······.”

“Don’t let your guard down.”

Pink eyes under the glasses trembled slightly.

However, Johann had no intention of closing off any possibilities.

Soon, the dry street became crowded with the old man and errand boys.

The Duke expressed his intention to enter the tavern with his sister, and paid the soldiers a suitable price.

Then, the group guarding the castle walls smiled broadly and readily retreated.

‘Creak, clatter!’ ‘Step, step, step!’ Soon, there was a small commotion on the lower floor and the stairwell.

It was the sound of new guests entering.

“······Are you going to meet them first? It’s sudden, but their identities are allies.”

‘I think we need to deal with them before entering the black market.’ Johann’s young disciple whispered.

The group exchanged glances silently for a while.

Finally, Ganael got up from his seat and lit each lamp.

*

They didn’t unpack their luggage because they didn’t know what would happen.

“······.”

“······.”

They didn’t take off the robes with the 8th-grade magic [a high level of magical ability], and they didn’t take off the trump card items they were wearing together.

They were already tense, but they were wide awake now.

The old owner seemed quite surprised to hear that the twin siblings were with their group, but he shut his mouth and went back when they gave him a generous tip.

Thus, Duke Diop, who entered the guest room, was sitting in a chair, tied from his torso to his ankles.

Sir Johann was good at knitting, origami, so of course he was good at cat’s cradle.

Duchess Marguerite was laid on the bed with only her hands and feet restrained.

Even after regaining consciousness, she didn’t offer a single greeting to them.

She was just burying her forehead in the blanket with a very painful expression.

Meanwhile, her brother had a face that was half angry and half tired.

His reddish-blond hair was covered in dirt.

Blood was constantly seeping from his side, and his expensive shirt was torn here and there.

It was obvious to anyone that the situation was serious. The Duke was a whopping 8th-grade combat mage.

I hate to say it myself, but he was a precious talent in the military camp.

“Duke Diop. What’s all this about? Causing lightning in the middle of the night in a land where mages are rare.”

I asked in the softest voice I could, but the man didn’t answer.

Ropi, who came in with them, walked around him with his tail raised.

How did the little guy get here again······.

“The operation was almost jeopardized. It’s not good to attract attention here. You know that.”

“······.”

How on earth did this happen? What on earth were you thinking?

“Don’t do that and tell us. We’re curious about two things. The reason why you two came here, and what happened a little while ago. I wouldn’t ask if it was just the Duchess alone, but why would the Duke come and cause such a fuss······.”

“I’ll answer.”

“I came to save you.”

Duchess Marguerite blurted out, and the Duke immediately cut her off.

Friends who were standing or sitting crookedly all straightened their postures.

I bent over as much as I could and looked back and forth between the two siblings.

After entering the city, it was okay to use aether little by little, so I opened a healing circle for the first time in a while.

The blue grains slowly rose and gathered to the man’s side. The Duchess was exhausted, but she wasn’t seriously injured.

“Save us?”

-Nyaa

Ropi, who answered my question instead, casually wrapped his tail around the Duke’s ankle and passed by.

I opened my eyes wide. What did I just see?

Sir Johann said that Ropi came out of the Duke’s arms······.

“Hah······. Just tie them both to horses and send them back to the military camp. That’s faster.”

“No, what kind of heart is it to say send them back when they came to help? And what if they are discovered by the Shinguk army after being tied to horses?”

“I think that would be better, right now.”

Is this a joke? My brow furrowed on its own.

The Duke glanced at me with tired eyes, then looked at Cedric, who was standing by my chair.

The eyes of the two men were intertwined for a long time. There seemed to be even resentment in his bloodshot eyes.

He chewed the sentence between his teeth.

“······There is no such thing as a message from His Majesty the Emperor. I just came to help, and I ended up like this because I fought with my sister on the way. It often happens between siblings. Someone who is an only child would never know.”

“······.”

“So please return to the main camp and obey the imperial authority, sixth cousin.”

Crack! The Crown Prince finally smashed the back of the chair.

‘Eek!’ Leah, surprised, hurriedly crawled into my arms.

I soothed the divine beast and hurriedly looked up at him.

I understand you’re angry, but please calm down. You know we can’t make things bigger here.

Besides, we’re in a hurry.

“······Duchess Diop.”

Whether he understood my intentions or not, the Crown Prince called his sister in a boiling voice.

She, with her disheveled hair, immediately answered. Somehow her voice seemed to be trembling.

“Yes, Your Highness. It’s my fault. I······.”

“Shut up! Can’t you see that I was unilaterally beaten? It’s obvious who’s at fault, so I’m saying I’ll just accept the punishment as it is!”

-Sreung!

Sir Elisabeth’s rapier, drawn like lightning, aimed at the Duke’s Adam’s apple.

‘Haa!’ Ropi, who jumped up, raised his fur and blocked his path.

I was horrified and got up from my seat. At this rate, nothing would work out.

For now, there were more than a few uncertain factors.

The probability that Werner Fenetian is in the black market.

Or the possibility that he is already dead somewhere, or has disappeared like fog through a route other than the black market.

They decided to move by choosing the side that seemed more likely among them, and diligently prepared for many cases for a day.

They were only thinking about that, except for sleeping time.

“Sir Elisabeth.”

It was troublesome for variables to increase here.

“······Sir Johann. Let’s move with the Duke.”

“Yes?”

The Cardinal looked back at me with an unbelievable face.

I didn’t know I would say these words either. Ms. Gain pursed her lips.

“Um. To be honest, I’m most tempted to send them tied to horses.”

“I understand a hundred times over. But now is wartime. Sending the two of them like that is just telling them to die, and I don’t think I should act arbitrarily without knowing the situation.”

I whispered firmly. Sir Johann immediately opened his lips to object. Just a moment.

“Look at Ropi’s actions. I don’t think there are many people who know what’s inside this guy, but there must be a reason why the little one is doing this.”

As I quickly added, my friends paused. I quickly turned to Duke Diop.

His eyes met mine in an instant.

“However, let’s separate the siblings.”

“Serenete?”

“This one is relatively energetic, so he’ll join us, and the Duchess will be interrogated by Sir Elisabeth here. The divine beasts will also be monitoring here. Especially Demi and Perry are children who are good at one-on-one combat.”

“······.”

“Once we arrive at our destination, the Duke will have no choice but to cooperate with us. He said himself that he ‘came to save us’, and if he doesn’t, his life will be in danger. It’s also essential to isolate and interrogate them anyway to confirm their true intentions. What do you think?”

“······.”

Silence flowed between the group for a moment. At that moment,

-Thud!

“Damn it! Hey, Palace Lord! Do you think I’ll be dragged away leaving her behind? I told you before. Just tie them both to the saddle—”

“Duke Diop, I’m giving you a chance now.”

I cut him off coldly.

He stopped struggling in his chair and looked at me.

“I think you’ve forgotten, but I’m a priest. If I wanted to, I could issue a divine decree [a powerful magical command] right now and open your mouth.”

“······.”

“The reason I’m not doing that is because I respect your free will, and my friends respect my intentions.”

The handsome man’s face crumpled. I continued calmly.

“Divine beasts are basically pure and good. At least all the guys I’ve met so far have been like that. I’m not close to the Duke······. But Ropi seems to be defending him, so I’m going to try to trust this child.”

“······.”

-Nyaooo

Then the divine beast opened its small mouth and responded.

The golden-green eyes, which I hadn’t seen in a long time, were very lovely.

Leah, who escaped from my arms, ran to Ropi and greeted him. A burst of laughter came out.

“······.”

“······Then, shall we go down?”

I straightened my back and looked back at my friends.

Ms. Gain nodded with wide eyes.