What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 485

Sub Male Lead’s Strike – #485

Vote for Your Guild Master (5)

…Lonely, you say.

“Thank you so much. This will definitely help the students recognize us.”

The Princess Consort is lonely….

“Of course. Take this too. If you say you came with an introduction from Yara, the village representative, even the strictest teachers will accept you.”

The next day, the sun shone for the first time in a while.

The Pink Princess was feeling melancholic alone under the bright rays of light.

“Thank you.”

The priest, surrounded by kind people, smiled sweetly as he received Yara’s bracelet.

Arumharte nudged his master’s calf with his hooves, gesturing something like, ‘You’re popular, huh?’

His arms were already full of the Sea Dragon Military Academy’s insignia and dried jerky.

The bracelet was a simple piece of metal without any special decorations, but upon closer inspection, Yara’s initials and date of birth were crudely engraved on it.

Most of the people in Barun Territory wore such accessories in preparation for being killed by monsters.

All the refugees were eager to help the mercenary guild ‘Somaek’.

With Prince Stanislaus’s declaration that he would go to the north without receiving a single penny, almost all resources except money were pouring in.

Gain stood blankly next to her partner, gazing at his profile.

“I’ll give you this. It’s a handkerchief embroidered with my initials. If you go to Yerihol Territory and give it to the servants Ganael or David, they’ll treat you well. Just say you were introduced by the mercenary Heineken.”

“Oh my, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“….”

The Princess Consort, who slept soundly all night and woke up the latest, was perfectly fine.

Despite what happened last night, he didn’t seem to have any aftereffects.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he washed up cleanly, ate four plates of breakfast, and even meticulously took care of Tete and Ropi’s washing.

Gain quietly watched him, hugging her knees. When she called out ‘Princess Consort,’ he would turn to her with his usual kind face and reply, ‘Yes, Gain-ssi.’

When he saw unfamiliar children running towards him, he smiled and scolded, ‘You’ll fall if you do that.’

Gain tried her best not to leave his side.

She usually did, but today she was even more like a clingy sticker.

Then, the Princess Consort gave her biscuits and cookies as he came and went.

Gain had now become a clingy sticker covered in cranberries and chocolate chips.

“If you go down the path where we first met, you’ll see blue wagon wheel tracks. Follow them, and you’ll reach Yerihol. The ground will become weaker as you go, so be careful where you step.”

Marquis Francois explained in a kind voice. The refugees nodded repeatedly.

“Yes. We will never forget the mercenaries’ kindness. May you enjoy the fair winds of the North Sea and the abundance of the East Sea.”

“Thank you so much!”

“Please take good care of our village and territory, sirs.”

“Yes. Don’t worry too much.”

“….”

Amidst the bustling farewell atmosphere, Gain remained silent.

She didn’t want the Princess Consort to be lonely.

She knew how that felt, so she hoped he would never have to experience it again.

‘I’ve met a lot of lonely people.’

‘That Princess Consort is quite something too.’

Absolutely, no matter what.

‘I don’t know what you’re doing now, but you should do it moderately.’

…I didn’t want to make things difficult. To hear those words from that playboy of all people.

“If you go north for another day, you’ll reach Barun Territory. If the weather is good, you’ll see the military academy half a day later.”

“The school is this big! There are signs along the way too!”

“Hey kid, you’ve got a loud voice.”

As Jibril grumbled, the crowd burst into laughter.

Gain secretly glared at the annoying wizard.

The Princess Consort simply smoothed the child’s hair with a bright face.

“Hahaha. I’ll be sure to remember, the signs.”

“….”

She knew that the relationship between the three of them, maybe four, was not ordinary.

She also knew that their situation was not ordinary.

But just because it wasn’t ordinary didn’t mean it had to be painful or bad.

Gain sincerely liked and cherished Yeser.

Even after graduating from elementary, middle, and high school with difficulty, she didn’t have any friends she could confide in.

To be precise, Gain was the type of person who couldn’t bring herself to say such things to others.

Everyone else was living happily and healthily, and she didn’t want to burden them with her dark stories.

She especially didn’t want to show any weakness.

Her father’s domestic violence, her mother’s sudden accidental death.

Her mother, who would often steal her sister’s part-time job money. Her unexpected runaway and loss of contact.

The two sisters left alone in a small room with overdue rent.

Honestly, who would want to listen to such a story?

It was the kind of background that would be criticized as unrealistic or tiring even in a drama.

She also hated the pity or rumors that would follow. So she persevered alone.

That’s why Gain quickly adapted to this world.

She didn’t become perfect in a few days, but in less than a year, she came to genuinely love this place.

Among them, she relied heavily on the one who was once a prince, and still is a prince to her.

So, just as she relied on him, just as she relied on Isabel and Lady Elisabeth….

She hoped he could rely on her too.

‘I may not look like much, but I’m not bad at judging situations. I know the difference between a scared face and a conversational face.’

She didn’t mean to scare him. She didn’t mean to corner him.

She swore she didn’t.

“….”

The thought that she couldn’t be a reliable person for him, and the fact that she hadn’t realized it until now, made her feel pathetic.

She felt inexplicably depressed.

“You look terrible from the morning.”

As she was sitting there, her partner’s partner finally said something.

Usually, the two of them didn’t pay any attention to each other’s expressions.

In other words, Gain’s expression was very serious right now.

She raised her arm and pretended to swat away a fly. Don’t bother me, I’m upset.

“If it’s a terminal illness, return to the military camp.”

Ah, stop it. The blue eyes turned into daggers. Then they widened slightly.

“…Huh?”

Now that she looked at it, the Crown Prince also seemed to be lacking energy.

Of course, with his height of over 190 [cm or about 6’3″] and his innate authority, it would be difficult for others to notice.

But Gain, who saw him every day, couldn’t miss it.

This guy couldn’t completely block his aether [magical energy] in the first place, so if he stayed in one place for a long time, he would inevitably reveal his emotions.

And if there was something he didn’t like, his eyes would look exactly like that.

With that look, he was only staring at the Princess Consort until he understood his feelings.

“…Pilsner-nim.”

“What.”

See? You’re feeling something similar to me right now, aren’t you?

“Let’s talk for a moment.”

“What?”

“Just the two of us. No, the three of us. Right now.”

Gain grabbed his arm and pulled him, then clung to Teacher Johann, who was standing behind the Princess Consort like a flower screen.

In an instant, the Grand Duke’s mint-colored eyes widened.

Even though his disciple was somewhat headstrong, this was rare, so he looked flustered.

Eventually, even the Princess Consort, who was packing his luggage in his saddlebag, turned to look at them.

Gain quickly shoved the two mountain-sized men into the crowd. Then she hurriedly looked for Francois.

“Marquis, no. Guinness-nim.”

Then the handsome man blushed shamelessly. He asked in a small voice, like a machine gun.

“Could that possibly be the new code name given to me?”

“Yes. I’m going to have a little chat with these people for a while. Please draw Heineken-nim’s attention in the meantime.”

“Leave it entirely to me, madam. My heart is pounding with this secret mission!”

Using the man’s wink as caffeine, Gain mustered her strength.

This relationship was more precious and desperate to her than anything else.

So if the balance was off, she had to step in and weigh it on the scales.

Whether it was removing weights from the heavy side or adding weights to the light side, it was right to try anything.

Marquis Francois would be able to buy her at least thirty minutes until departure.

“Quickly, quickly.”

“Sir Rambouillet.”

“How dare you touch someone’s body—”

“It’s about the Princess Consort. The reason is last night.”

At those words, the two men shut their mouths. Gain let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.

Dragging the men, who seemed to weigh four or five times as much as her combined, she headed back to the hut.

A blood-red gaze briefly touched them and then moved away.

*

That afternoon.

After parting ways with Yara and her group who had come down from the north, we were heading north, north, without rest.

-Clatter, clatter, clatter….

-Whoosh…!

Ugh, the wind is really strong. It’s a bit cold here!

“Arum, are you okay? Can you go further?”

-Neigh

That roughly translates to, ‘I can go further than you no matter what.’

Arumi, the pride of the Girardine County, was strong against both cold and heat.

I stroked my furry horse friend a lot and turned to look at the group.

“Then we will begin the counting of the total of seven votes. Can everyone hear me?”

“Yes, Princess Consort!”

Gain-ssi answered loudly from not too far away from the two demons.

I shook Prince Stanislaus’s pocket (ballot box) several times and opened it.

I couldn’t help but chuckle, wondering why we were even having a vote for guild master.

Tete in my arms cried out, looking expectant.

Ropi in the Crown Prince’s saddlebag was also peeking out, looking at me.

Yeah, humans are really interesting, aren’t they?

-Rustle, rustle

“The first vote goes to… Jibril Diop.”

I opened the ballot and showed it to everyone.

Then Gain-ssi and Crown Prince Cedrick made faces like they had bitten into a lemon.

Francois, who was following beside us, took the ballot, put it in another pocket, and recorded the vote in his notebook.

It was truly amazing that we were holding such an event in the midst of a fierce wind.

I rummaged around and took out the next piece of paper.

-Click, click, click

“The second vote is….”

I was worried that the atmosphere might have become gloomy after I collapsed last night, but thankfully it was okay.

Of course, Grandfather, upon hearing the news late, teared up, saying that he had to send me to the Empire immediately.

Even after I told him several times that there was absolutely no problem, he was about to carry me up himself.

I was so embarrassed that he was even trying to spoon-feed me porridge.

“The second vote says Francois D’heim.”

“Monsieur D’heim, one vote!”

The Marquis shouted dramatically.

The paper’s fancy handwriting was obviously Francois’s own.

I bit my lip to barely hold back my laughter.

‘Aung!’ Tete was also enjoying himself, wiggling his body under the swaddle.

I should quickly move on to the third vote in times like this.

-Rustle, rustle

“Third vote. Stanislaus!”

Hehe. This handwriting is mine.

I couldn’t decide who to vote for until the end, so I ended up casting a vote for the eldest, as I had initially thought.

I had heard that he didn’t kill out of conviction, but I didn’t think that a leader necessarily had to be able to kill people.

Even though it was wartime and we were on our way to the enemy’s camp to catch Werner, that is.

Grandfather, upon hearing the results of the vote, widened his eyes and turned to look at us.

He seemed very curious about who had given him the vote. Hahaha.

“Next….”

I opened the fourth vote with thick mittens on.

This is getting more and more interesting. Aren’t you all getting one vote each?

“Yeser, huh?”

Huh?

I was so flustered that I held the paper upside down and then turned it over.

But the delicate handwriting on the paper was definitely the trace of a man I knew.

‘By the grace of the Main God, to Juliet, Princess Consort of the Great Liester Empire, and Marquis Serenite, Archbishop Yeo Eun-ha.’

“No….”

I opened my mouth and looked at the Crown Prince, then stared at the paper with a bewildered expression.

Why did you write it so grandly again? You voted for me? Why?

“Princess Consort, give me the ballot.”

“Ah, yes. Yes.”

I awkwardly handed the paper to Francois, who gave me a meaningful smile.

In an instant, a strange sense of unease ran down my spine on the north wind.

What is it? What is this feeling?

-Crackle, crackle

“Then next…. The next person to receive a vote is….”

‘Yeo Seo-ssi ^.~♡’

“…I have one more vote. Yes.”

I shook the paper haphazardly in the air and quickly handed it to the observer.

Francois, who couldn’t read Korean, was sparkling his pink eyes and was interested.

On the other hand, my insides were burning up.

Wow, I’ve only gotten two votes, but I’m already the predicted number one. There are only two votes left.

From now on, another friend has to get the vote no matter what.

I have to have a runoff vote to fall [lose]!

-Gulp….

The sound of swallowing was too loud.

I opened the sixth vote with a trembling hand for some reason.

Please be another friend. Please be Grandfather. Please be Lightning Man—

‘Princess Consort Yeser.’

…Ugh!

“This! Something’s wrong with this?”

“One more vote has been added to Princess Consort Yeser!”

Francois, who leaned over to check the paper, declared cheerfully.

His voice was so loud that it seemed like no one in the group missed it.

Jibril Diop snorted as he looked beyond the horizon.

Gain-ssi rejoiced with a face as bright as a star.

“Congratulations on your election, Guild Master!”

“Congratulations, Guild Master. I’m worried that you’ll suffer with your weak body.”

“Yes, yes…. Th, thank you….”

No way. I rummaged through the pocket with a dazed look.

And I took out the last seventh vote and checked it. Rustle, rustle.

‘Princess Consort Yeser, baby.’

“….”

“Hehehe. Grandpa will help you diligently.”

No, wait a minute?

How did public opinion suddenly turn upside down overnight!