What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 824

Gemini (7)

After a year of arduous war….

“Welcome, Your Highness the Crown Prince. I sincerely congratulate you on your victory.”

“……”

Cedric Liester finally met ‘him.’

“Congratulations, Your Highness.”

“Congratulations, Your Highness.”

All the royals, nobles, and servants residing in the Imperial Palace came out to the front of the Imperial Palace to greet the Crown Prince, who had returned as a triumphant general, and bowed.

Erbé D’huime, the commander of the Imperial Guard, escorted his only grandson to Stanislas Liester, the regent of the empire and the late Prince Consort.

The old man held Cedric’s hands for a long time, crying and laughing.

Hugging the Crown Prince, who would always be a child to him, kissing his rough cheeks, patting his back, and pouring out his sincere gratitude and apology.

Then, the priests who gathered in the palace and offered prayers to God every day, and the great nobles who discussed state affairs with Stanislas all night long, finally burst into tears.

A young royal came forward and offered a bouquet of flowers in welcome.

The Crown Prince stared at it for a while.

Suddenly, his eyes were filled with watercolor-like memories.

‘Y-Your Highness, the Prince… I see you… You shine like the sun….’

In the not-so-distant past, or perhaps—in a very distant past.

There was a girl in a village who handed him a bouquet. And….

-Rustle

‘Huh?’

The Crown Prince looked down at his empty left hand.

He no longer needed the magic tool glove, but he was still wearing it.

That day, he threw away the bouquet.

‘I’m sorry, Prince Yeser. His Highness doesn’t like things that are cumbersome in his hands… If you give it to me, I’ll take care of it.’

“You have worked hard, Your Highness.”

“……”

Flinch. A flash of spirit flickered in his crimson eyes for a moment.

Cedric immediately averted his eyes and looked at the other person.

“The child is still young, so his arm must be heavy. Please take it quickly.”

“……”

A voice as familiar as a breath.

A handsome smiling face, blonde hair shining brightly in the sunlight.

Purple eyes containing the miracle of the chief god.

-Rustle

“……”

It was Yeser Losna Venetian.

Cedric took the bouquet in his hand without even making eye contact with the royal child.

David, who was standing behind him, sighed in relief that he had at least not ‘snatched’ the flowers.

For a while, only dry gazes were exchanged. The prince and the crown prince did not take their eyes off each other.

They were definitely friends.

From the beginning, a large-scale war broke out between the Empire and the Holy Nation, and the reason why the man went to the front line was none other than the man in front of him, so there was no need to elaborate. [The Holy Nation is a theocratic state with significant religious influence.]

Cedric participated in the war as the heir to the Empire on the outside, and to avenge Prince Yeser privately. There were countless memories between them, and even deeper emotional exchanges.

Including his childhood friend, Elisabeth Mutte, as well as Christel Lanbouillet, Johann Haines, François D’huime, Eva Blanquer, Joan de As, Benjamin Girardin, Ganael Calamar, Modest Bakari, their households, and the nameless workers in the Imperial Palace… Everyone who knew the prince writhed in pain at his death.

This was a scar that would never be erased in his lifetime, so there was no need to have it confirmed by anyone.

Every day was like hell. The Crown Prince clearly remembered the loss of the passing seasons.

“……”

“……”

The grief-stricken empire set out to find the culprit who dropped the moon [a metaphor for causing great sorrow or loss].

Around that time, the man wanted revenge more than anything else.

If it was a relationship that could never be returned, then rather….

“……You.”

“Yes.”

No, was that really the case?

“……Your Highness?”

The prince in front of him called Cedric ‘Your Highness.’

However, this was a fact that did not match his memory fragments. Yeser Venetian always….

‘Then please go out to the balcony, Your Highness. Confession is one-on-one….’

‘Congratulations, Your Highness!’

“……”

Omitted honorifics for him. This started with rudeness and eventually became a nickname.

“Baby, all the people of the Imperial City shed tears day and night at the news that Prince Yeser had woken up. Wouldn’t that be a double blessing, huh?”

“……Yes.”

The Crown Prince stared intently at the prince and answered.

Yeser was now passing him and greeting Lanbouillet.

The profile of his face, kissing the back of the paladin’s hand, exuded an unfamiliar atmosphere.

Cedric suddenly thought in a torrent of memories that he himself could not be sure of.

“It’s nice to see you again, Sir Christel.”

“Oh, yeah… It’s nice to see you too. Hahaha….”

His demeanor is overly elegant, his expression exudes a dignity that I have never seen before, and his speech does not have his unique accent.

As expected, it was completely different from the pieces he was holding [referring to Cedric’s fragmented memories]. So this was one of two things.

His memory device was completely broken due to some kind of shock—for example, the aftereffects of the war, or if not….

“It’s been a while, Madam. I don’t think I’ve seen this child before.”

He has changed.

“Ah, this is Lynn. Christel’s younger sibling, Your Highness.”

“I see.”

“……”

The baby, born from a puddle of water, was very shy and burrowed into Isabel’s arms.

The prince smiled with an understanding expression and turned to the other side.

Immediately, Gibril Diop, who made eye contact, frowned.

At the same time, he didn’t even understand why he frowned.

The royal who was looking at him gently closed and opened one eye.

“……”

“……What?”

Damn it, what was that just now? Goosebumps rose and an unpleasant feeling soared.

However, before Gibril could react any further, the divine beasts stepped forward this time.

Demi, who entered the palace sitting on the Crown Prince’s saddle and receiving the love of all people, was the first to set foot on the land of the Imperial Palace. ‘Tododok!’

-Kki

“Yes, nice to meet you. How have you been?”

-Kku

“Hello, Leah.”

-Kka

“Perry. You are so lovely.”

The animals approached the prince with a fairly polite and businesslike attitude, and the prince touched each of their noses with the tip of his index finger as if it were natural.

Lopi did not do a nose greeting, but instead wagged his tail once in front of the prince to show his respect.

Prince Yeser, who greeted Tete last, seemed very satisfied.

Cedric observed him and felt a causeless twisted emotion.

“……”

It wasn’t that he suddenly felt resentment towards him.

It was not because he was wearing Holy Nation-style clothes, nor was it because it was difficult to read his mind.

Rather than such shallow reasons….

“Don’t just stand here, let’s go in and catch up. Before the things to come torment you, your grandfather must feed you well first.”

“……Yes, Halba Mama [Grandfather in a term of endearment].”

Cedric, who had suddenly snapped out of his thoughts, answered.

François, who was spending time reuniting with his younger brother Erbé, volunteered to lead the great nobles and began to move to the Stroda Palace.

As a matter of course, a grand banquet was scheduled to be held tonight.

And from today onwards, the time of the Imperial Palace would be recorded as the most political days in the reign of Frederick Liester.

-Rustle!

“Ah, why are you throwing this at me? Is he crazy?”

“Shh, Ollie.”

Before the paths of the royals and nobles diverged, Cedric threw the bouquet away with a rough hand.

Gain, who happened to be standing there, frowned and took the flowers.

Gibril, who did not want to enter the Imperial Palace and chose this group, raised one eyebrow and looked back.

There were nobles who captured the fleeting scene.

“Oh my, just now….”

“I saw it too. His Highness gave the bouquet to Sir Lanbouillet….”

“Oh, it’s certainly a rare sight.”

“Maybe there will be good news soon….”

“Well, the war is completely over, after all.”

“……Ha.”

Of course. The magician, who snorted, put his hands in his pockets and walked.

The leader of the Fleur-de-lis also clicked his tongue at the chattering people and followed.

*

The atmosphere is unusual.

The expression of the doctor looking down at the seriously ill patient was calm and solemn.

“Customer, it seems that there is definitely a problem with the LCD screen.”

“Haa……”

“This phenomenon may occur if water gets inside the device or if it receives a major impact, but since the device you are using is more than six years old, it seems that during that time….”

It seems the time has come.

I decided to humbly accept reality in front of the service center technician who said that there is no phone he cannot fix.

“……Or it could be a problem caused by alcohol seeping in due to play.”

“Yes……”

Did I disinfect my phone too much….

No, it’s true that I used it roughly in that world line, so there’s no reason to be upset that it broke down.

Besides, I didn’t even use a case for the last few years.

“If you replace the LCD screen, the replacement cost is expected to be around 110,000 won if you return the LCD screen, and 180,000 won if you don’t return it. In addition, a repair fee of 25,000 won will be charged separately.”

“Gasp.”

Oh my god. With that money, I could buy a new phone and pay for a few months of service.

I was surprised and opened my mouth, then quickly closed it. Then there was nothing more to think about.

“Technician, then I won’t fix it. I’m just going to change my phone.”

“Yes, yes. Here, take your device.”

The technician answered kindly and returned the phone.

I rubbed the machine that I had been using for a long time several times.

A wrinkled face of worry was reflected on the black screen. It looks even uglier like this.

“But you used it so neatly that there are no major problems with the main board or other hardware. Just check the files in the internal storage and transfer them to a new device and use them. You can easily link them using our Switch app.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you. I don’t put photos or files on my phone… That’s why I used it lightly for a long time.”

At best, there are only a couple of photos that I haven’t been able to move to the cloud, and work files that I urgently downloaded and checked.

I smiled faintly, greeted him, and got up from my seat.

Then the technician’s expression changed subtly.

“……Customer, the internal storage is currently almost full at 32GB.”

“Yes?”

“Since it’s not a device with many apps installed, we recommend that you back up any important files.”

He had a serious look on his face as if he were looking after a child put out on the water.

I nodded with a bewildered look.

*

No, how could that be?

No matter how I think about it, that can’t be the case?

“I’m back… Team Leader, I’m back.”

“Oh, Yedeal! What did the service center say?”

Creak. Team Leader Gu Da-in, who pushed her chair back, greeted me with a bright smile.

She seemed to be in a very good mood after successfully completing this morning’s meeting.

It was about five minutes before lunchtime.

Since the legal team is not a department that produces visible results or achievements, it is not easy to be recognized in performance evaluations unless you work really hard.

I could often see in-house lawyers who self-deprecatingly described their work as ‘doing well is just breaking even, doing poorly is a hole in the wall.’ [A self-deprecating saying about the difficulty of excelling in the legal field.]

Still, there were a few good things that happened to the legal team earlier this year—such as the Supreme Court victory in the patent lawsuit that decorated the headlines of major daily newspapers—and our team’s seniors received a lot of praise from the higher-ups.

There was also good news that performance bonuses would be paid to all team members this month.

I loosened my tie and raised the corners of my lips slightly.

The team is doing well, so I should be happy, but I feel anxious because I can’t seem to settle down.

Sometimes I feel sorry for my existence that feels out of place.

“It’s a problem with the LCD screen, and it looks like I’ll have to change my phone. They said it costs more than 100,000 won just to replace the LCD screen. So I just came back for now.”

“Oh, that damn LCD screen is really expensive.”

“Still, it’s really good that Yedeal is buying a new phone! Please get a new phone!”

“Yedeal, take this opportunity to taste American technology. Let’s switch to our side.”

“American technology? Excuse me, is it also technology to become a brick when you update?”

“Huh? It’s a brick even if you don’t update it. It’s perfect for self-defense, I recommend it.”

“Ahahahahaha!”

The team leader and managers chatted happily.

I smiled in response to the atmosphere and quietly returned to my seat.

Then, I quickly plugged the cable into my phone and connected it to the company computer.

I had to check it now. I felt uneasy for no reason.

-Tudung!

“Folder, folder….”

-Click, click….

The internal storage is full, there’s no reason for that.

No matter how I think about it, there’s no way I can fill up 32 gigabytes.

It’s not like I’m playing heavy games, and I haven’t been reading that many web novels….

I busily clicked the mouse and checked every folder I could see.

I should check for hidden folders just in case. Check hidden files too….

-Click!

“……Huh?”

Wait a minute. Why is there a Korean file here?

I stopped the mouse and blinked my eyes.

The title written entirely in special characters came into view.

‘□□ □□□ □□□□ □□□ □.hwp’ [A file name in Korean, with the actual characters obscured.]