What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 843

O! My Divine Power (5)

Several hours later, in a drawing room of the Imperial Palace.

The night air seeped over the red carpet.

“…Your Highness, I am deeply grateful.”

Countess Amelie Roth, her face swollen with tears, curtsied to the Crown Prince, holding the hem of her dress.

Cedric, seated at the head of the table, gazed at her silently.

To the man’s sides sat Prince Yeseo Fenetian, Duke Jibril Diop, Lord Christel Rambouillet, and Commander Modest Bakari.

The Countess glanced at the dignitaries before opening her mouth with a trembling voice.

“I was sure… I would be dragged off to prison. Even if I had to suffer, I wished Your Highness to understand the pain of our territory and the sacrifice of my husband. Someone…”

“……”

The woman’s neck bulged with veins as she mentioned ‘sacrifice.’

She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again.

Her voice was damp and submerged, but no more tears flowed.

“I believed that someone with the will to save the people had to risk their life before Your Highness. That was the teaching I had learned since I was young, so I acted accordingly.”

“Thanks to the Countess, His Highness the Crown Prince was able to clearly understand the situation on the West Coast.”

Gain replied in a reassuring tone.

The Countess lifted her head, surprised.

Commander Bakari nodded, adding to the words.

“That is correct. The Riester Assembly of Nobles is originally called the pinnacle of political strife and intrigue. I did not expect that they would be engaging in such power struggles so soon after the war ended…”

“No wonder the officials working in the Bansell Palace were all groaning. The work is piling up, but the budget isn’t coming out, so that’s why.”

‘Tsk.’ Jibril clicked his tongue and picked up a licorice candy from the table.

Cedric, who had announced the ‘Moon Hunt’ in front of the seasoned great nobles and forcibly obtained their unanimous consent, did not deny his fault in front of the Countess.

The Assembly of Nobles was the Emperor’s advisory body, so it was his advisory body now that Frederick was absent.

“Your territory has suffered longer due to the Regent’s lack of virtue.”

“Oh, Divine Power. No, Your Highness. You are too kind.”

The Countess hurriedly lowered her head. The Crown Prince continued in his usual baritone.

“The Imperial Family will send Gran Rouge [elite knights] to help search for Count Moncef Roth. I and Lord Rambouillet will personally retrieve the missing moon.”

“The emergency budget will be executed immediately by the Imperial Family’s authority, so please put your worries aside.”

“We will definitely find the moon, Countess. Please don’t worry too much. Your husband will be safe as well. I heard that there are many sturdy stilt houses in the Roth territory.”

‘He must be hiding in one of them, waiting for his family,’ Gain, who had risen from her seat, held the Countess’s hand tightly, comforting her.

The woman’s eyebrows furrowed, but she managed a smile.

A few hot tears eventually fell.

After David escorted the Countess out of the drawing room, a light silence lingered.

The Water Knight, who had walked to the window, looked up at the night sky, which had already turned black.

With the moon absent, only stars that had lost their companions were scattered, emitting a stubborn light.

The room was brightly lit by magic lighting, but she and Cedric knew of a brighter light source than this.

“…By the way, what’s with the moon shadow again? How does that appear in the sky, not in the water?”

Once again, it was Gain’s sharp wit that broke the silence.

Gain turned around and faced the men.

The quietly seated Prince Yeseo was shining his eyes like a child anticipating a story.

The Cardinal, with a smirk, decided to meet his expectations.

“So, how many people are going? Shall we decide on the members now?”

Yes, that’s the most important thing right now!

*

The Divine Power’s greatest fragment, the Great Eunseo, worked tirelessly to rebuild the world even on weekends.

Of course, from Sunday afternoon, the speed at which she read our story noticeably slowed down as she tackled school assignments, but I was infinitely grateful that she still made that much time amidst her busy freshman life.

So, until Monday morning, everything was going smoothly….

“Crazy, Jung Yeseo―!”

Huh!

Eunseo screams in her room.

I hurriedly slung my backpack around and instinctively protected my back!

“This is bad, I think there’s another part where I’m going to get scolded. Hyung [older brother]! I’m leaving now!”

“Be careful of cars. Be careful of people. Be careful of aether [magical energy].”

“Okay! Tell Eunseo I went down first! I’ll be back, Sir Yo Han!”

“Have a good day, Palace Master.”

After bowing once more to Sir Yo Han, who handed me a pear and bellflower juice pouch with the organic processed food mark on it—he could now recognize all sorts of agricultural and food certification marks at a glance—I hurriedly closed the front door and pressed the elevator button.

I have to run, quickly. I have a feeling that from now on, all that’s left is getting scolded by the youngest…!

‘11▼’.

Ugh, of all times, it’s going down from the floor right below!

-Bbiririk! Dalkadang!

“Little Older Brother.”

“Heok……”

At the same time as the sound of the front door opening, the youngest’s chilly voice echoed in the elevator lobby.

I swallowed hard and turned around millimeter by millimeter.

Truly, no horror movie was as terrifying as this.

What is it this time? Jumping off the 12th-floor veranda was something I got scolded for a lot last night, and after that, it’s probably the part where I went over to Honing Village.

What happened there? All I remember is running around the Riester military camp’s relief center day and night.

“…You……”

The kid’s complexion was very pale, either she had applied too much sunscreen or she had read something too shocking.

I quickly glanced at the elevator button. It’s still going down from the 4th floor!

“Did you get a subscription from Cedric?”

Ah?

“Subscription? Ah, subscription. Oh, I did, right……”

“……I see……”

The conversation ended there. Frankly, that was even scarier.

After that, while the elevator that had returned from the first floor went past our floor and up to the top floor, picked up other neighbors, came down, picked us up, and stopped twice in the middle to pick up people going to work—Eunseo didn’t say anything other than greeting them good morning.

I kept making silly jokes while constantly watching my younger sister’s mood to ease the atmosphere.

Jung Eunseo only looked up at me with a worried face from time to time.

And finally, when we arrived at the subway station…….

“Are you going to have a ceremony?”

“Huh? What ceremony?”

Eunseo suddenly asked as I finished the juice Yo Han had packed and was looking for a trash can.

The kid was making an even heavier expression than before.

What is she thinking about since earlier that she’s acting like this?

“You……. You know the Imperial Family isn’t an easy place, right?”

“Huh? Yeah, I guess. Because it’s the Imperial Family.”

Found it. I threw the juice pouch into the trash can and took out my phone.

In the meantime, my younger sister continued to preach to me about how scary the Riester Imperial Family was.

“Listen carefully, it’s not just Toegye Gong [a historical figure known for his strict moral code]. Originally, the Imperial Family in romance fantasy is, uh? Palace intrigue! Power struggles! Schemes! Conspiracies! Envy! Jealousy! The favored concubine will naturally have enemies, right? It’s not easy to live in peace in a place like this, right?”

Hahaha.

-Bbeep!

“Those stages are already over, though. You know it too, since you read it.”

-Bbeep!

“Wow, look at him acting all relaxed because he’s the Palace Master. Is he the most beloved concubine, receiving all the love of the entire Imperial Palace? The world is going crazy……”

-Bbeep!

Bbeep! Eunseo grumbled as she passed through the subway gate.

There were too many people coming and going, so I couldn’t hear what she was saying, but it didn’t seem like it was anything important.

The kid who came down the stairs behind me kept asking me about every little detail.

“Cardinal Aurelio Boutier, does he treat you well? He seems to treat you well, though.”

“Yeah, he’s my teacher. He’s a really good person and a wise adult.”

“Ha……. Our prince was heavily checked by that teacher……”

“Well, the situation is different now.”

“I guess……. Yeah……”

Eunseo washed her face with her hands in the same pose as her brother.

It was just like the saying, ‘You can’t even drink cold water carelessly in front of kids.’

Wow, sunscreen is smeared white on her palm. She really did apply a lot today.

“Then you……. Hey, but are you mentally prepared? You like Sekri, right?”

“……That’s……”

Pause. I looked around, even though no one was listening. I felt a little guilty for no reason.

“……The two of them really look good together, but I feel sorry for constantly pushing them because it feels like I’m always seeing my friends as characters in a novel. Of course, I don’t think that at all……. The two people involved might feel differently. So, I’ve been refraining from it lately.”

“I can’t ship real people [support a romantic relationship between real people]……. I can understand.”

“But they’re still the prettiest couple. I want to receive congratulatory money at the entrance when they get married someday. If there’s no such culture in Riester, being a bridesmaid would be fine too. Now that I’m a Cardinal, it would be good to pour blessings during the ceremony.”

“Marriage, he says.”

Eunseo openly sneered. I reflexively frowned.

“Sekri is just a corrupt force, teacher. They already hate each other, so what?”

Ah, what are you saying.

“Corrupt force? That’s too harsh, Jung Eunseo. You’re saying that because you haven’t read the second half yet, but the two of them are now soulmates who can even communicate telepathically. I have a feeling there are quite a few stories they don’t tell me? You’d be surprised if you knew how good their relationship is these days. They really can’t live without each other.”

“Isn’t it that they can’t live because they want to kill each other?”

It was hard to manage my expression.

“……Absolutely not. And when you see the two of them in person? You’re bound to like Sekri. If you have normal eyesight, you’ll sincerely support Sekri. Their colors match perfectly. And how attractively their features blend together. One is an absolute beauty with a classic sharpness and modern delicacy, and the other is a relatively soft and bubbly beauty, so when they stand side by side, it’s really……”

“That visual combination, visual combination. The kids who ship Sekri only talk about visuals without any narrative.”

……What?

“Narrative? Are you saying that the narrative between the two of them is lacking right now?”

-The inner circle train heading towards the Sports Complex Station is now arriving…….

“Of course, it’s lacking. Think about it fairly with Toegye Gong. Who is making a life-threatening love? Is it Cedric, is it Yeseo? Officially, isn’t it Yeseo? Their hearts are already different weights, right?”

-Kukung, kukung……!

“Weight of hearts?”

What is she saying right now? My vision went dizzy for a moment.

“Eunseo, you can’t just say things like that. Of course, Prince Yeseo is a kind person and it’s true that he sincerely likes Gain, but Sekri are people who gradually change their feelings for each other and grow……”

“Here comes the growth song again.”

-The screen doors are opening.

We got on the train while arguing like that.

The topic of ceremony or whatever was long forgotten.

*

‘Chuck!’ Gain placed her hand on her chest.

Cedric, who was suddenly struck in the chest, frowned with his hands behind his back.

“Okay, is that the final headcount? Then I’ll be D’Artagnan for now.”

“You still can’t give up that corny alias.”

“Jebi, you’re……. Wait a minute. What was that guy’s name again?”

The young Cardinal frowned, agonizing over it. Then, after a long time, he said this.

“You’re Richelieu. Do that.”

“What are you talking about.”