What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 821

Gemini (4)

Dawn was just about to break. The three of them sat in a circle on the damp dirt floor.

-Rustle, rustle

“……”

“……”

“……”

-Ugh

Well, if we’re being honest now that they’d settled in, describing the relationship between the three as ‘friendly’ would be a stretch, no matter how much you sugarcoated it.

Ham Gain and Cedric Liester were, from the start, like oil and water.

Conflict, disharmony, and dissonance had been brewing since their first meeting, and their interactions had followed that pattern.

Cedric and Jibril Diop were also on awkward terms.

Cedric was the direct heir of the Liester Imperial Family, the shining first in line to the throne. Jibril was the eldest son of a prestigious ducal family, a collateral branch of the Imperial Family.

As the third in line to the throne, he’d once been considered a likely contender to replace Cedric.

Though never officially announced, they were cousins in a potential survival competition for the continent’s most coveted seat, regardless of what anyone said.

And as for Gain and Jibril….

“……What? Why don’t you and I get along?”

“Don’t say it like it’s news.”

“No, but seriously. Was there any reason for us not to get along?”

“……”

“……”

-Squeak

After a brief silence, they both realized: there was no plausible reason.

Because they ‘didn’t remember’ one.

“……”

-Screech

“Oh, so pretty, our Peri. So, so pretty. Who did she take after to be so pretty?”

-Squawk!

The divine beasts, awakened from their deep sleep, were especially glossy and plump, so lovely that just looking at them filled you with warmth and happiness [serape effect is likely a mistranslation, replaced with a more fitting phrase].

Peri made Gain laugh with her somersaulting antics, folding her soft waist, and Demi was busily sniffing around, looking for something.

Leia quickly settled into Cedric’s arms, and Ropi naturally took his lap.

A little while ago, Gain had gone to check on Isabel and Lynn, just in case.

‘-Awoo’

‘Ah……’

Tite, lying next to them, was also flapping her flippers in greeting.

She must have been very tired, because she almost shed tears when she saw the baby.

However, not wanting to show such a sight in front of the imperial men, Gain returned only after drying her eyes sufficiently in the dawn breeze.

She had a hard time calming down the inexplicable emotions that kept rising up and choking her.

-Woong, woong

“That’s right, good job. That’s right. Is Tite’s favorite thing her sister’s water droplet toy? Is it the best?”

-Ang!

“Oh my, she answers so bravely. Did you sleep well during the winter? Did our baby wake up after sleeping through the winter? Huh? Did you have a hard time?”

“Ugh……”

Then Diop retched as if he had seen something unpleasant.

Gain thoroughly ignored him and adored only the divine beasts for a while.

She felt a sense of relief that allowed her to breathe for a moment.

*What if they never woke up? What if I never got to see our darlings running around?*

She must have been quite anxious with such worries without even realizing it. *Maybe that’s why I had strange dreams and couldn’t sleep well….*

Uh? Wait a minute.

“‘Darlings’?”

“What?”

“……”

“Darlings. Did I originally call the divine beasts darlings?”

Gain asked, wrinkling her brow.

Jibril made a face as if to say, ‘Why are you asking such an obvious thing?’ then suddenly became serious.

Cedric’s brow, who was listening to the conversation, was also furrowed in an unusual way.

Exactly the same feeling of discomfort rippled through their minds and spread.

One drop, two drops, three drops….

‘Drip!’

“……”

“……”

“……”

As always, there wasn’t even a common bonfire lit between them.

But the night light was useless to them, who had lost the moon, so it didn’t matter.

As always, Gain was the first to take courage.

“……Let’s be honest. I’m not the only one feeling this weird, am I?”

“……”

Her voice was rough, and at the end, it creaked slightly.

“My memory is a mess. Half of it is twisted, and half of it is gone, from what I can see. Isn’t it?”

“……”

*At least I am.* Then the two men looked at Gain at the same time.

Hugging Tite tightly, she was spitting out sentences like someone who had made up her mind.

Her watery gaze was firmly fixed on somewhere on the dirt floor.

“At first, I thought I had a temporary problem with my head because I had experienced the war too hard. The healing priest also told me that. He said there were many soldiers in the military camp whose memories were erratic. He said it could happen if the injury or shock was severe. At that time, I was like, oh, I see. Post-traumatic stress disorder, or something. I thought it would be okay over time.”

“……”

“Everyone knows my eyes are messed up. Everything looks black and white, so it’s incredibly uncomfortable to live these days. But even the priests say there’s no solution. It seems to be related to the Blessing of the 창해 [Changhae, likely a divine entity or concept], but there’s not enough information about 신물 [shinmul, divine objects or relics], so they don’t know the exact cause. They just tell me to eat well, sleep well, and relax. I only heard that it would be good to see His Highness Oreli separately later. I just thought this was because of the war….”

“……”

“I hate it the most when people make a fuss and whine when everyone is having a hard time. I’m really okay with others doing it, but I can’t forgive myself for doing it. But……”

‘Haa……’ A sigh followed, as if spitting out her entire lungs.

Instead of gathering her knees and hugging them, Gain buried her forehead in the belly of the baby divine beast.

The more she spoke, the heavier and more tired she felt.

But she still couldn’t sleep.

“……Something’s wrong, now. Don’t you all think so?”

-Awoo?

“I agree.”

*I feel terrible.*

“Damn it, something’s seriously wrong.”

“I sympathize.”

“Whatever we’ve lost, forgotten, or whatever, we’re all screwed!”

“Langbuillet. Lower your voice.”

“Sh……!”

-Auk!

Gain raised her voice and then quickly regained her senses.

The two men who met her eyes were looking at her with quite similar expressions.

Her breathing was wildly erratic, like someone who had just finished a full sprint, and the excitement that had risen to the top of her head could not easily subside and bubbled near her forehead.

And so, she was sharing foolish glances with the royals for a long time.

So…… So.

“……You all have the same opinion as me? I’m not the only one who’s crazy?”

“……You could say that.”

“Well, it’s similar.”

The men responded bluntly. Gain quickly pointed to Cedric’s staff.

“Your Highness, then one question. Why are you so obsessed with the magic staff these days? You didn’t even use it as a weapon before.”

The man readily tilted his head.

“……There is someone who gave this to me.”

-Whyoong

“But you don’t remember who it was, do you?”

“……”

Silence was affirmation. Ropi wagged his tail down.

The young cardinal immediately turned to Diop.

“Why do you go around the well or spring every dawn? Are you a 약수터 아저씨 [yaksuhteo ahjussi, a middle-aged man who frequents mineral springs]?”

“I’m upset, why.”

“……”

“……It doesn’t seem like everyone feels the same discomfort as me.”

“……”

It was a strangely sharp answer. And the three of them became quiet again.

Only the sound of Demi rummaging through the bushes from time to time tickled their ears.

After a long time, Gain opened her mouth, sweeping back her hair.

“……Hoo. Then let’s do this.”

“……”

“……”

“No matter how you look at it, the three of us are the most serious, so let’s help each other out, the craziest ones.”

“How?”

“What’s the method?”

-Kkiuoong?

Leia craned her neck, buried in his flesh. The cardinal raised his index finger.

“If there’s anything that doesn’t quite add up, say it no matter what. Don’t ever keep it to yourself. We might be able to find the answer by matching the pieces we know.”

Before the two men could make a sullen face, Gain quickly took the lead. ‘Clang!’

“This necklace. It’s a 성유물 [seongyumul, holy relic] that shows what I truly desire, right? Lately, I’ve been seeing the back of a man in it, and only this person’s colors are clear. Everything else is black and white, but only this person shines in full color.”

“……Something’s suspicious.”

“Tell me about it.”

The three heads moved simultaneously. 까닥 [kkadak, a slight head tilt]

Diop rubbed the back of his neck for a moment and then spoke with an uncomfortable face.

“……I have one too. ‘주신의 천사 [Jushin-ui cheonsa, Angel of the Lord]’, or something?”

“Ah, I’ve heard the rumors.”

Gain frowned fiercely and rummaged through her pockets.

She was starting to get hungry from staying up all night, talking, and getting hit by the morning dew.

*I wonder if there’s any jerky.*

-Rustle!

“What, this? ‘Medicine to stop 급똥 [geupddong, sudden diarrhea]’?”

“……I should go back to my seat.”

“Ah, sorry. I just found something I’ve never seen before in my pocket. Hey, 주신의 천사, does it actually exist? Or is it just an exaggerated rumor?”

Gain asked, stuffing the medicine, or poison, into her pocket.

Cedric swallowed a sigh and straightened his posture.

Ropi, who had grumbled briefly, curled up again.

“Some of the 해병 [haebyeong, marine] kids saw a four-headed angel. Some of them were so scared that they fainted. But when I heard the stories from the 페네티안 [Penetian, likely a nationality] prisoners, they said it looked like a chariot carrying the moon…? That’s what they said. How can an angel be a chariot.”

“There’s a saying that the angel flew away with the moon in its arms.”

Jibril calmly took the words. It was at that moment.

-Rustle!

-Squeak!

-Thud!

Demi, who had jumped out of the bushes in a hurry, stood in front of the group with small leaves dangling all over his body.

The divine beast’s small eyes were sparkling very solemnly.

Gain and Jibril blinked in surprise.

“Our Demi, why? What’s wrong?”

“That guy’s been rummaging through the forest since earlier. Did he find a 마수 [masu, magical beast] corpse or something?”

“……”

-……Kkiut!

Then Demi stood up, balancing on his hind legs.

The little one waved his front paws in the air for a moment as if swimming, then toddled east and collapsed.

Soon, a purple rose of Sharon bloomed from the end of the divine beast’s tail, which was curled into a ball, and the flower stalk bent its back in a circle as if it were in sorrow. ‘Saaa……’

Soon, the group’s eyes sank seriously.

“……Are you hungry?”

“……Are you hungry because you woke up from sleep?”

“……I should call a priest.”

-Kkiuuut!

Demi jumped up and down, complaining of frustration, but the situation did not change much.

However, the fact that they had begun to put their heads together was a major step forward.

A new sun was rising in the sky.

*

For a while, Choi Seon-ah stood leaning against the window.

Watching the scene of a small car, disproportionately small for the children’s size, crossing the hospital parking lot.

-Vroom……

“……”

Soon, the eldest child’s car exited the main gate of the nursing hospital and turned the corner.

At the same time, the sigh that she had been desperately suppressing burst out of her mouth.

“Haa……”

-Thud!

“Oh my, Seon-ah!”

The moment she lost strength in her whole body and collapsed, Lee Jong-hee, Seon-ah’s resident caregiver, hurriedly ran into the private room.

The Hallabong oranges [a type of citrus fruit] and drinks that she had brought from the lounge fell to the floor with a thud.

But there was no time to pay attention to such things right now.

Jong-hee was horrified and grabbed the patient’s shoulders, looking at her complexion here and there.

“Seon-ah, look at me, okay? Should I call the nurse? Are you dizzy?”

“No, no…… I’m okay, I’m really okay. I’m just a little……”

*Relaxed……* Seon-ah whispered with difficulty, moving her lips.

Along with the words, hot tears poured from her eyes.

Jong-hee, who was startled, jumped up to press the call bell.

But Seon-ah’s hands were one step faster than her.

‘Grasp!’ The middle-aged woman looked down at the desperately held sleeve and didn’t know what to do.

“Seon-ah……”

“Our child…… Our, our Ye-seo, said she came to see her mom. I’m so grateful for that……”

Seon-ah smiled, wrinkling her eyebrows.

Sentences were 이어지고 드문드문 [ieojigo deumundeumun, fragmented and spaced out] between the flowing streams of water.

“She’s bad at finding her way…… Heuk, I’m so relieved that she came back well…… So……”

“……Yes, how glad you must have been. Oh my, it’s okay……”

*She said she’s coming again next week, so you can see her again.* Finally, Jong-hee, who had whispered kindly, hugged her friend with her wide arms.

For a while, Seon-ah sat in the corner of the hospital room and sobbed quietly.

“Heuk, 으윽 [eueuk, sobbing sound]……”

“Sh……”

That day, her lover, who had gone to heaven first, was deeply embedded in her heart.

Seon-ah thought that he must have protected Ye-seo.

*

After that, time passed without much gain, and before she knew it, it was Wednesday.

I almost dropped my cell phone on the way home from work on the subway.

“Gasp!”

I habitually opened the gallery app to check the photo album…….

“No, no, why is this……”

The photos I took with my friends were strangely blurred.

I couldn’t see Gain and Cedric’s eyes anymore.