What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 583

#583

New Method (2)

Some time later.

-······Clatter!

Prince Yeser’s bedroom door closed behind me.

Standing in the hallway again, I quietly caught my breath.

Normally, there would have been a servant or two here, but today was such a busy day with a shortage of hands that no one was to be seen.

Perhaps it was a good thing for me. I needed some time to think.

“Hoo······.”

-Kkihoo······

-Kkiheu······

-Kkiwoo······

The lesser pandas and I simultaneously leaned against the door and slid down.

Of course, only the troublesome ones rolled around in the hallway.

I stood upright on both legs, not caring if my hair got messed up, and relaxed my upper body.

A thin magazine was tucked between my arms. My eyelids naturally drooped shut.

My soot- and stain-covered cheeks tugged a little, but it was nothing.

A deep breath burst from my core. Haaa······.

-Flash!

And I opened my eyes. At the same time, my mouth widened into a broad smile!

“That’s it! I’m going with the Prince!”

-Kkiung!

“We go together!”

-Kkieue!

Suddenly, strength surged from my whole body, and I felt as good as if I had slept for fourteen hours.

Excited, I crossed the hallway with the children.

I couldn’t run in the Imperial Palace, so I briskly walked through the sparkling passages with a brisk pace.

My apron fluttered wildly.

The sunlight pouring in from the window cascaded down my cheeks and shoulders. Of course—

[Hey! You blockhead!]

“Hahahaha.”

Hyung [older brother/older male friend], who had witnessed everything I was doing from inside the room, was going crazy.

Excited purple sparks burst out non-stop right in front of me.

Pajik-pajik, pajijik! Jijijik!

[Jung Yeser!]

[You, you’ve been living quietly all your life, and now you’re causing trouble like this?]

[I told you your hyung was helping you from the outside, but you wouldn’t listen!]

“It’s okay, now I just need to find the green treasure first. Purple is next!”

-Kkiheung!

As I muttered with a triumphant attitude, Demi echoed my words with a determined expression.

I grinned, looking at the flashing Hyunseo Window—like a club light, though I’ve never been to a club.

I know that Hyung is watching my every move.

I know how worried he must be, how much he must be burning up and his blood drying out right now….

-Step, step, step!

I know it well. So, I sincerely feel sorry for Hyung.

I am also a person with normal empathy—and above all, I am his younger brother and precious family member who has spent his whole life with him.

[Ah, someone with empathy is overturning the board that Hyung painstakingly set up? Without a plan?]

“I can’t say I don’t have a plan. Strictly speaking, I’m not overturning the board. Rather, we’ve gained a strong ally. Even if he’s a hostage, Prince Yeser is royalty. He’s a precious person who is trusted enough by the Imperial Palace to bring someone like me, whose identity can’t be verified, straight into the palace.”

[Ha… If only you couldn’t talk…]

As I whispered, pointing out his sentences one by one, it felt like I could hear Jung Hyunseo’s sigh all the way here.

Passing servants and maids sent me greetings and waved their hands.

I greeted them all happily—“Hello, Serenite!” “Hello, Monsieur!” “Where are you going?” “To the underground lounge. I heard that today’s special edition of just came in. I received this from the Prince, and the cover features His Highness the Crown Prince and the Bakari family heirloom—” “That’s good. Pauline! Bring the baguette quickly!”—I continued, my tone excited and slightly faster.

I could hear the voices of Zulia and my seniors from behind.

‘Why is that cutie so happy today?’ ‘I don’t know, she’s a strange one.’

“The Prince may not think so himself, but he is capable and amazing enough. Just surviving until now is enough reason to praise and support himself three thousand times over. But the trials he has faced so far have been so exhausting that he can’t even bring himself to do that. He’s too tired.”

[······.]

“Because he doesn’t have the 余裕 [yoyuu – Japanese for ‘room’, ‘space’, or ‘leeway’]. You can only do that if you have 余裕 in your life, Hyung.”

[······.]

Grasping the railing of the stairs leading to the basement, I glanced at the faintly shining Hyunseo Window and quickly ran down the steps.

The cool air below pleasantly swept over my forehead and the fur of the lesser pandas.

The servants’ lounge and quarters were mostly in the semi-basement, so there was less sunlight and the temperature was a little lower.

But it didn’t matter at all.

I had finished cleaning the tea room fireplace, which was everyone’s headache, all by myself, so I could rest for about thirty minutes!

-Tak, tatak! Tatatak!

Cheerfully stepping on the last step of the stairs, I dashed through the dimly lit underground hallway.

Fortunately, there were hardly any people here either.

The excited little ones bloomed lotus flowers the size of beans in every corner of the hallway. Ssaaah, ssaaah······!

Seeing the sight, a smile bloomed again.

Rather than the fact that you shouldn’t use Ether carelessly in the palace, the feeling that the flowers were beautiful came to mind first.

The conversation I had with the Prince a little while ago echoed in my ears like a dream.

‘Would you like to come with us to find the rainbow?’

‘······Rainbow?’

‘Yes, rainbow. It’s a word that refers to seven very special treasures, and my friends and I can return to our original world if we collect them all. We already have five of them. So, we only need to find two more.’

‘······.’

‘Would you like to join us, Prince? Keep it a secret from the others.’

Perhaps because he had never heard such a proposal before (of course), the Prince’s beautiful eyes widened.

I slightly raised the corners of my lips and continued to speak.

I thought he might refuse, but I still wanted to bring it up.

There’s a complete difference between just thinking about it and doing what I can do.

If I try sincerely, maybe—he might respond too.

‘······Do you need my help?’

‘The Prince would definitely be a great help, but I’m not suggesting it solely for that reason.’

‘Then?’

‘If you’re okay with it, I’d like to give you a different experience.’

‘······.’

So, I thought it would be nice if I could provide just a short break in his old and tiring daily life that repeats every day.

I wanted to show him new possibilities.

‘I can dare to promise that it will be a pleasure you have never experienced in your life.’

‘······.’

That was all.

“I’m not trying to do something great. I don’t have the capacity to do that, and I’m not prepared to do that. Hyung knows best that I’m just glass noodles [easily broken/fragile].”

[You······.]

You can point fingers at me and say I’m thoughtless.

But I don’t have ambitions to save the pitiful Prince or to turn the continent upside down.

I’m just an ordinary office worker.

Even if you look at me kindly, even if you rate me highly, I’m not a great person who can have that much influence on someone.

Because my vessel has been small since I was born.

I just want to be next to my close ones, occasionally celebrate anniversaries, help whenever I’m needed, laugh together when there’s something happy, stay by their side when there’s something sad, and occasionally volunteer at animal shelters… something like that.

I’m just an ordinary citizen who can only do that much.

“But when I read Toegye [a collection of writings], it seemed like Prince Yeser was always alone. Hyung knows that too, right? You wrote it yourself.”

[······Of course, I know.]

“Yeah. That’s why.”

-Knock, knock, click!

Having arrived in front of the lounge, I carefully knocked and opened the door.

There was no one inside.

Only the fireplace, which had embers to remove moisture, was burning warmly.

I quickly went inside, filled the sink with cold water, carefully placed the magazine on one side of the sofa, and washed my blackened hands and face.

Splash, splash, splash······!

“Ah, it’s refreshing. Look how black and dirty the water is.”

-Kkieueue

“Oh? Is Hyung dirty? Huh? Jung Peri, come here.”

-Kkiaaa!

The lesser panda, who had been caught by me, shook his chubby limbs.

I cleaned the little one’s feet and the tip of his nose and looked back at the status window.

I felt like I could feel Hyung’s gaze.

-Kkiiing

“······Hyung. In the story, Christel goes on endless adventures. It’s very different from what we experienced in our world line, but anyway, she bravely writes her own story. Especially Crown Prince Cedric and Lady Elisabeth often accompany her. The Prince only steps up occasionally······.”

[Because there are limits in an enemy country.]

“Yeah, because he’s a hostage. But when he does step up, he does something very big. He definitely makes an impression on Christel and His Majesty.”

Hyung was silent for a moment.

Next, I gently lifted Leia and washed her front paws.

The gentle divine beast was quiet as usual.

-Splash, splash, splash

“I know that Hyung didn’t deliberately harass the Prince or his friends. I didn’t think things would turn out this way. You were just writing a story as an author… probably for Jung Eunseo.”

[······.]

“So, Hyung must have been very surprised too.”

[Surprised? My heart dropped at least thirteen times.]

I put Leia down and chuckled, finally picking up Demi. Yeah.

“But I’ve been watching the Prince for the past few days, and I’ve been thinking. What does that person do during his lonely time alone? Until Christel finds him, until the day he can be active again, does he have to keep······.”

‘Does he have to keep being alone like this?’ The last words were mixed with my breath, but I don’t think Hyung missed them.

I smiled, looking at Demi, who was gently biting my apron.

“So, I wanted to let him get some fresh air. And you never know. If that happens, he might regain his vitality, his will might spring up, and new ideas might spread.”

[What new ideas.]

“Thoughts about his future life, his way of survival, his friendships… for example.”

[You’re not going to try to change the content of this place in that way, are you? You have big dreams.]

“It would be nice if it changed. I want to leave all the future to the choices of the people here. This is solely their world. We can’t stay here for long······.”

That’s because our world line was in the middle of a war right now.

So, we had to return as soon as possible and catch up on the lost time.

His Majesty Frederick and His Highness Aureli, my comrades on the battlefield, and my friends left in the Empire.

Wilhelmina Sneider, Werner Venetian, Crown Princess Eliser, little Cornelise······.

And the Prince, waiting for me alone with his eyes closed in Juliette’s secret room.

[······I want these guys to be happy too.]

“Oh.”

My eyes widened at those words.

I stared blankly at the status window, supporting Demi’s warm belly.

It was probably my imagination, but it seemed like I could see Hyung’s face, taking off his glasses and pressing his eyes.

[I wrote it myself, so how could I not? If possible, I want to give them a happy ending. That’s what the readers want too, of course.]

[······But as long as you’re running around there, that’s not the top priority.]

“Ah, Jung Hyunseo······.”

[I know you’re stubborn and won’t change your mind once you’re set on something.]

Hyung was silent for a long time after that.

It was so quiet that I worried that he had completely logged out (?).

[······It’ll work out somehow. I’ll try to fix it, so you just take good care of your friends.]

Crazy, awesome!

“Hyung, are you serious?!”

-Kkia!

-Slap!

Puh! Demi, who was very excited, hit the surface of the water with his tail, and I was covered in black dirt again.

Nevertheless, the smile did not wash away.

Thank you so much!

*

At the same time. The Bakari baronet’s suburban territory.

The heart of the ‘Lake of White Magic’.

“······Take a good look, daughter. This will be your wedding gift.”

“Yes, Father.”

The young successor of a historically deep magician family was standing in front of a shining relic.

The prophet who had followed them silenced his breath, hiding behind a thick pillar.

-Ssaaaaa······!

“······.”

Beyond the clear cyan eyes, a bracelet glowing in deep green was rising.

The teenager tightly gripped the staff hidden under his robe.