What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 896

#896 Faith, Belief, Balance?! (9)

Arghhh! You crazy bastard!

Why are you here—!

“Cedric Liester! What are you doing, mmpf!”

Mmph! The man covered my mouth with a hand as big as a pot lid!

Even as I couldn’t tell if this was a dream or reality—and anyone in my situation would feel the same—I frantically pounded my fist against his hot hand.

Cedric narrowed his crimson eyes and looked at me as if I were the crazy one. This is for real!

“Do you want to be discovered?”

“······Hiss?”

The man whispered secretively.

He was dressed in all black, from his coat to his boots, as if he were filming a spy movie, making him look extremely suspicious just standing there.

Is today’s concept a child of darkness? Are you out of your mind?

If you were going to follow me, you should have said something! No wonder Charles was alone in front of the Spirit’s house!

“Be quiet if you don’t want to be caught.”

“Mmmph······.”

······Okay, I get it. I answered quietly for now and stopped punching.

The man finally seemed satisfied and lifted his sharp chin, looking around.

His sharp gaze pierced through the veranda like an awl.

Eunseo’s lawn gnome, Hyunseo’s kalanchoe [a flowering succulent plant], thyme, rosemary, lemongrass, oxalis [a genus of flowering plants in the wood-sorrel family], hoya pots, and watering can.

The blinds still half-open, the apartment complex outside the window······.

“······.”

“Mmph.”

Hey, wait a minute.

“Stay still.”

“Mff mph! Mgg wha wha zhing!”

You crazy bastard! This is my house! Why shouldn’t I be caught—!

“······Twelfth floor.”

“Mmm?!”

I suddenly stopped struggling.

The man looked down at me with eyes as cold as the Grim Reaper.

His gaze felt so calm that I got goosebumps.

Even if I were on the TGV [a French high-speed rail service], I could tell this is my house, so why am I acting like I’ve been kidnapped······.

“Too high to jump.”

“······.”

Ah······.

For a moment, I lost the will to resist and just blinked, and the man finally slowly took his hand away, freeing me.

Phew! As soon as I escaped the heat, cool air filled my lungs—

-Thud!

“Aaaaargh!”

“Ah, you scared me!”

I’m doomed—! Eunseo and Hyunseo are here!

“Aaaaargh! What is that?!”

“Hyung! Calm down! Both of you calm down!”

“Bae, crazy! Hey! Are you okay?! What did that bastard do to you!”

“Oppa, why is your face so reeeeed!”

Eunseo, who had thrown the grocery basket on the floor, screamed from beyond the veranda door, and Hyunseo jumped up and down like a farmer who had lost his calf, cursing.

The year’s first watermelon fell from Hyung’s hand and rolled across the floor.

Gugu, who had rushed out of Eunseo’s room, was also startled and jumped in place.

I was hearing swear words like ‘that bastard’ for the first time in my life, no, not the first time since Ms. Gain is here—anyway, Cedric, who was being greeted with curses instead of greetings, was also frowning with subtle sparks in his eyes.

I hurriedly knocked on the veranda glass door and gestured to him.

You’re the uninvited guest right now, so why are you frowning! Can’t you put away your aether [a classical element thought to fill the region of the universe above the terrestrial sphere] right now!

“Hyung! I’m okay, so open the veranda door! I’m really fine!”

“What! Huh? Did that bastard lock you in here?!”

“No! Hyung closed it and went out!”

Get a grip, Jung Hyunseo!

I did my best to return the half-crazed look in my brother’s eyes to normal. But······.

-Screech!

“Why is your neck so red, huh?”

“I told you I’m fine, I just couldn’t breathe properly for a second!”

“Are you crazy?! Why couldn’t you breathe!”

“Hyung, calm down!”

Goodness, the sound is ten times louder now that the door is open!

I hurriedly pulled Cedric, who was standing tall in the middle of the veranda, into the room.

He entered the living room, somehow following me even with a very dissatisfied expression (I almost forgot to take off his shoes, but thankfully I didn’t make that mistake).

The house, which I had never felt was small, suddenly felt cramped with the large, dark man entering.

It was fine when Sir Johan was here······.

“The ceiling is too low.”

“What, are you already criticizing our house as soon as you come in?”

“What are you talking about? Is it all because you’re handsome? It is. No, is it? If it’s uncomfortable, bend your knees and walk around. Hey!”

-Chirp!

“Good Lord······.”

I closed my eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.

Yes, there are such things as ruined first impressions in the world. It’s not uncommon.

······I never imagined that it would be Cedric Mercedes Liester.

About thirty minutes later.

Our Crown Prince was in the bathroom washing his face.

Of course, you have to wash your hands before eating.

It was our family’s long-held belief that we couldn’t send a guest away hungry.

Even if he was an unwelcome guest who almost got turned away.

-Swish, swish, swish, swish······

“How can he understand what we’re saying?”

“Huh?”

I looked up, startled, from next to Jung Hyunseo, who was preparing dinner.

He stopped cutting kimchi and turned to me with fierce eyes.

“How can that guy Cedric speak Korean?”

I thought he had been sighing a few times since earlier, but surprisingly, that was the most curious thing.

“Ah, the snacks that Hyung and Eunseo packed······. He went and shared them with his friends. Maybe it’s thanks to that. Cedric is surprisingly good at eating doraji jeonggwa [candied bellflower root].”

“······.”

······Did I say something unnecessary? Was it unnecessary information? But it’s true that he started speaking after eating doraji jeonggwa······.

“Wow, now that I think about it. Areum, who ate rock candy, would understand Korean if she came here too.”

“Little oppa.”

Flinch. I gasped as I saw Eunseo, who had suddenly appeared from behind without a sound. Why?

“······Is that what he always looked like? Cedric.”

Why is she breathing so heavily again? Where did she suddenly run from?

“······I guess so? His vibe has matured a bit since we first met, though.”

“No way, that’s crazy. So he was even more youthful in the beginning? You’ve been living with that kind of visual all by yourself all this time?”

“Eunseo, you didn’t really like Cedric······.”

“Don’t say such nonsense. That kind of face is historically universally appealing. If you put him up as the ambassador for the Visit Earth Year, aliens would do a swingby just to see him. And I didn’t dislike Cedric, I just critically read his unique personality.”

“Oh, I see.”

She spoke so fast that I only heard about half of it······.

“Did you take a lot of selfies with your friends this time?”

“Now that I think about it, I was too busy to even think about taking pictures.”

“You’re so spoiled. When you go back, take videos instead of pictures. Pictures can’t capture that three-dimensionality anyway.”

“Okay······. You’re spitting on the eggs, Eunseo. Put down the spoon and serve the side dishes.”

I soothed my sister, who was excited to the top of her head, and started making the egg rolls.

This is Cedric’s first time having such authentic Korean food, so I should make it look nice and serve it to him.

Sir Johan has praised my egg rolls as top-notch many times.

“······Serenite.”

“Huh?”

I turned my head at the low voice······.

-Riiiip

“No, why is that shirt tearing!”

“Oh my! Jesus Christ Superstar!”

While the shocked Eunseo raised her voice, I hurriedly ran to Cedric and dragged him into the room.

The T-shirt, torn in a circle from the neck, looked like it was smiling, making me feel very uneasy.

This might be a funny thing, but, aigoo······.

“Jung Yeseo, tonight’s dinner is cheonggukjang [fermented soybean stew]!”

“Gasp! Okay······!”

I let out a hollow laugh and answered my brother with a serious face.

Then, the Crown Prince trapped in the cotton T-shirt looked at me and narrowed his brow slightly.

I calmly took the towel in his hand and thought of a solution first.

First, I should go to Hyung’s room and get the dress shirt that Sir Johan used to wear. I bought it a little bigger from the start anyway.

“······Your Highness, cheonggukjang might smell a bit. Some of my coworkers don’t like it sometimes. But the flavor is excellent. The deep taste of Koreans.”

I can’t bring myself to say that you seem to have incurred the displeasure of my brother······.

“Please enjoy your meal. Okay?”

“······I’ll try.”

“Trying isn’t enough. Here, eating heartily is the best. What do you think is the reason why my brother got close to Sir Johan so quickly?”

“······.”

The man, who had never been compared to anyone else since birth (except for Ms. Gain), finally looked down at me and made an unpleasant expression.

Yes, that’s it. Let’s compete with your pride, your competitive spirit!

A few hours later, in the neutral zone.

In the courtyard of Gigolt Karabalshar.

“······Oh, so that’s what happened? A demon was about to cover this place?”

Cardinal Aurelie Boutier blinked her surprised eyes under her monocle.

Behind her, attendants and knights who had come with their superiors from the Venetian royal capital were densely lined up.

Gain smiled as brightly as possible. Calm down, Ham Gain. Calm down.

“Yes! That’s right, Your Highness. Oh, maybe just like this······.”

Cedric, that crazy Liester, left a note and ran away, and you came all the way here······. Geez······.

“······Crown Prince has left alone to subjugate the demons, and Marquis Serenite has returned home through the dimensional gate that opened in the sky. The Spirit of the Divine Object Iran is willingly acting as the gatekeeper, so he will return here safely in a few days.”

“······.”

“Welcome, Your Highness Boutier.”

While Gain acted like a sly comedian, Prince Yeseo, who had his hands clasped together demurely, showed a brazen performance of serious acting without batting an eye.

Cornelise and Iseol, who were standing close to their brother, also politely paid their respects to the adults.

Martier, who had left the royal capital with the children, leaving only a letter, and Karme, who had accompanied them, were also gathered here.

Aurelie slowly looked around the group and seemed to be lost in thought······.

“······I see. Our prince must have suffered a lot.”

“······I am honored.”

Finally, she took the prince’s hands and lightly kissed him on the cheek.

The young man’s face flushed slightly, as he had not expected to receive such a greeting.

The Cardinal also gently stroked his lovely younger siblings several times, then turned to Jibril, Johan, and Benjamin.

“Jibril, has there been anything unusual with Cedric lately?”

It was no different from asking a child how they were doing, but the Gongja clearly knew the meaning hidden in her sentence.

This meant, ‘Is what those children are saying about Cedric’s recent situation true?’

The Cardinal was originally a perceptive and thorough adult.