What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 121

#121 100 Meters from Becoming Crown Prince (1)

My confinement was lifted as soon as Elysee left the Imperial Palace.

*

The August sun was dazzling. Recently, the Imperial Palace had a party atmosphere every day.

Nobles freely came and went, touring the gardens and greenhouses.

For a limited time, even commoners were allowed to enter the palace, provided their identities were clear.

Everywhere was filled with lavish decorations and tea sets for the guests.

Well, it was D-3, after all.

“Wow! It’s summer!”

Christel cooed at Demi in a very excited tone.

I was surprised and looked at her, then chuckled and shifted my gaze back to Dduk-shim on the table.

Sant and Eva, who had become close in the meantime, had gone far into the Imperial Palace garden and were out of sight.

They seemed to be walking Leia and Perry. Sant was definitely less shy than before.

He even said he missed people during his confinement.

Across the table, Lord Elizabeth and Marquis Francois D’Huem were talking about portals and armies.

“Your Highness, please eat while you talk.”

Ganael put a delicate cream puff on a plate and pushed it towards me.

It seemed to be from the croquembouche [a type of French dessert tower made of cream puffs] placed throughout the garden.

I took a sip of savory thistle flower tea and a sweet pastry alternately, continuing my conversation with Dduk-shim.

I held a notebook tightly in my hand.

“When are you going to transform? Only when hyung [older brother or close male friend] is in great danger?”

– Chirp.

“I’m not going to do much. I’m just going to talk.”

– Chirp, chirp.

“Okay… It’s okay. Do it when you want to.”

Dduk-shim primly puffed up its chest.

I stroked its head with my index finger and gave up trying to persuade it.

Crown Prince Cedric, who was drinking espresso next to me, frowned.

“Do you understand the words of the sacred beast?”

“Not really, but there’s nuance.”

“…”

“There are times when it seems to dislike something, and times when it seems to like something. It’s the same with divine beasts.”

As I answered, David brought a luxurious box and presented it to the Crown Prince.

My and the Crown Prince’s gazes moved simultaneously. Sparkling jewels came into view.

Each one was the size of a child’s fist. This is no joke.

“These are brooch candidates to fasten your cloak.”

“How bothersome.”

The Crown Prince expressed his dissatisfaction.

With the Crown Prince’s investiture ceremony only three days away, he was often called away somewhere and had to constantly check on things big and small.

He would often leave even while receiving Aether from me, and his expression was really bad at those times.

Only Christel was very happy.

“I think this one is the best. It matches your eye color, and you’re fire attribute.”

She approached us while holding Demi and doting on her.

What Christel pointed to was a lavishly crafted red diamond.

David praised her for her excellent taste. The Crown Prince was firm.

“Exclude that one.”

“Ah.”

Christel let out an annoyed groan.

I quickly added, worried that she might have been heard muttering, ‘I pick it for you, and you still complain.’

“I also think this one is the best. Red looks good on Your Highness.”

I didn’t know what colors suited him, and he could pull off anything with that face, but I said it to defuse the situation.

Would it make him feel better if he wore what Christel picked?

The Crown Prince was silent for a moment, then turned his head and started drinking his coffee again.

“Then I will prepare the red diamond.”

David bowed and stepped back. A low chuckle was heard.

Benjamin, who was at the table, was smiling at us while taking a break from editing.

Seeing him, my mind wandered for a moment.

But I hadn’t reached any meaningful conclusions in the past two weeks.

The pages of the notebook in my hand were messy with scribbles and ink stains.

∙ Nikki and ‘Clues’

– Beings containing the principles and secrets of the world

– Christel, the Crown Prince, Benjamin, Eunseo’s chair

– Can I open the Ark from my side? (X)

What I learned inside ‘Bireom’s Ark.’ The second line was the key.

First of all, Christel was the protagonist of ‘Toegyeong’ and the Crown Prince was the main male lead.

It was enough to see them as containing the principles and secrets of the world. But Benjamin was the problem.

He was the sub-male lead’s aide, and Eunseo had never mentioned his name.

It meant he didn’t play a big role in the original story.

Why had he suddenly become so important?

I stared at the August 15th manuscript of that Benjamin was holding.

‘Author.’

Benjamin was the third son of a count’s family and a popular romance novelist before he was someone who assisted me.

That seemed to be a hint.

But I couldn’t get my thoughts to branch out from there.

No, they did branch out, but the direction seemed completely wrong.

Could it be that Eunseo’s dining table chair was listed because he was the author of Toegyeong?

That couldn’t be.

Looking back on the year since Toegyeong’s serialization began, it was impossible.

Then, is Christel actually a romance fantasy writer who entered the novel she wrote?

But being an office worker is the official setting. Maybe she’s doing both?

– Rustle, rustle.

The quill danced at my fingertips. Or how about this?

We are now in a romance novel written by the future Crown Prince.

He lived happily ever after with Christel and became a grandfather, and he wrote down his past love stories to leave as a record…

“Seriously?”

The mutter came out on its own. I stopped the pen.

It was good to get a clue, but there were too few stepping stones to logically connect it.

If Christel was the original author, it didn’t make sense that I had been confused for months about adapting to the world and worrying about my career path.

Even if the Crown Prince became an author in the future, I had no idea how that could help me now.

Isn’t this just a MacGuffin [a plot device that drives the story forward but is ultimately unimportant] that only gives me a headache and has no practical benefit?

“Oh, so pretty. Who does our Demi take after to be so pretty? Huh?”

– Squeak.

“Oh, she looks like her noona [older sister]. She’s a beauty like Christel noona?”

– Squeak.

“Oh, smart. Our Demi is a genius. I should give you a prize, a prize.”

Christel kissed Demi’s nose. Demi smiled and enjoyed it.

The Crown Prince sighed deeply.

Looking at the beauty and the divine beast, I recalled the other information that ‘Nikki’ had given me in the Ark that day.

‘Eunseo isn’t here, is she?’

‘You are the only outsider here.’

That was a remarkable statement.

Christel was also a transmigrator, but she was counted as a person from this world.

Maybe that meant she was part of the Toegyeong world.

Unlike me, who came from the outside world, her ‘Korea’ was a setting belonging to the work.

“Did you choose a territory?”

The Crown Prince’s voice woke me from my reverie. I blinked.

This was an excuse, and I couldn’t possibly answer that I was actually organizing something else in my notebook.

“I recommend a place with few forests, Your Highness. There are fewer monsters and portals.”

Lord Elizabeth said with a playful voice.

“I know about monsters, but portals?”

Marquis D’Huem added to my question.

“We’ve had frequent rainfall nationwide until last week. As the soil in the forests was washed away by the rainwater, old, abandoned portals are appearing.”

“That’s amazing.”

“Yes! They are beautiful and mysterious ruins. Most of them are broken and can’t function properly, but recently, three or four have been activated, causing headaches for the lords. Your Highness wouldn’t enjoy surprise portals…”

He smiled. I vaguely raised the corners of my lips.

“Then, well, a place with few forests… I hope there’s a lake.”

Benjamin and Ganael nodded as if I had thought well.

We had a common romance about ‘a house with a lake view.’

Even if we couldn’t build a mansion, a small country house would be fine.

I wondered how many times I could go.

“Among the imperial territories, this would be it.”

Eva, who had returned to the table, reached out and pointed to the southwest of the empire.

The child’s dark brown eyes sparkled.

“Since you’re a prince, I’ll build you a villa.”

The young lady raised her chin with a confident face. I was surprised and waved my hand.

“Eva, you don’t have to go that far. I have money too,”

“I’m treating you because I became a duchess.”

“What?!”

All eyes were on Eva. Even Leia and Perry raised their tails.

“Ah, it’s not official yet… But the Duke took my side, and my father too… My brother just said he should be disowned. He said he’s a disgrace to the family.”

The child’s voice got smaller and then louder.

“Anyway, I’m making my social debut next month, so I’ll announce it that day. It’s real!”

Then Christel hugged Eva, very happy, and Marquis D’Huem whistled.

Everyone except the Crown Prince offered congratulations.

Lord Elizabeth got up from her seat and approached Eva.

“Congratulations, Eva. You’ve been through a lot.”

“Yes, I’ll definitely build villas for Viscount So and Lord Michelle too. And for Lady Sarnese.”

Eva, hugged in Christel’s arms, chattered. I smiled because the child was so admirable.

It seemed that what she had said solemnly a few days ago about having dinner with her mother, Duchess Blanquer, meant this.

The lowered level of border security after Elysee left was also a boon for Eva.

The Duke had returned to the capital and met his daughter.

“But why a villa of all things?”

Lord Elizabeth asked, fixing Eva’s hair ribbon.

“Ah. Our family has decided to build a small castle for His Highness as a gift for his birthday and investiture.”

My mouth dropped open. Is that possible…?

“And to ask for forgiveness for the rudeness my brother committed to the Imperial Family and His Highness.”

Eva glanced at the Crown Prince. He showed no particular reaction.

Even if it was meant as an apology, receiving a castle as a gift, I realized once again that the Crown Prince was indeed the Crown Prince.

The Blanquer family’s wealth also seemed considerable.

“I’m intimidated because it’s a much better gift than mine, Lady. I presented His Highness with a magic stone crystal panel!”

When the young lady’s face clouded over at the Crown Prince’s silence, the Marquis changed the subject, pretending to joke.

Crystal panel, is that what I’m thinking of?

“It’s a magic tool that projects the image of an object onto a flat, large panel. It will be demonstrated at His Highness’s investiture ceremony, with all the people watching.”

“Wow.”

I chuckled in vain.

The romance element of the original story that I couldn’t use during the last polo match seemed to be making its debut on a grand scale.

Eva and Sant’s eyes sparkled, whether they interpreted it as a new thing in the capital.

I wondered if that’s why the two of them became close.

“Your Highness, have you prepared a birthday gift for His Majesty?”

The young lady suddenly turned her head and asked. I flinched.

Maybe it’s because she’s young, but the topics in her head change in an instant.

“I…”

“You’re not going to get away with tears again, are you?”

The child’s big eyes grew long horizontally.

This time, all eyes were on me at that problematic question.

I was flustered and couldn’t think of anything to say. When did I,

“Your Highness.”

At that moment, a breeze-like voice rang in my ear. We turned around.

“Did you wait long?”

Johann Haynes was looking at me.

He gently curved his drooping eyes and came down the stairs of the Imperial Palace.

That was why we spent time in front of the Imperial Palace, not Juliet’s Palace, as usual.

Now he was dressed in typical imperial attire.

His neatly shaved and neatly tied white hair and jade-colored thin summer coat suited him very well.

His expression was also good.

“Do you even need to ask? I waited a very long time,”

“I didn’t realize time was passing because it was my first time in the Imperial Palace garden. Did you have a good audience?”

I gently cut off Eva’s words and asked.

The young lady pouted and kneaded my arm. It was refreshing.

“Yes. Now I can go pick up Herit…”

Lord Johann answered in a slightly choked voice. My and Christel’s faces brightened.

That meant he had made a promise to Emperor Frederick, and the Emperor had accepted him and recognized him as his own.

Somehow, my heart was full at the thought that all the promises had actually been fulfilled.

“There are many celebrations today. It’s a beautiful day!”

The Marquis stood up, scattering flower petals from his arms.

I didn’t know when he had prepared this performance.

Led by him, everyone offered congratulations and encouragement to Lord Johann. Except for the Crown Prince.

I glanced at him sitting with his arms crossed.

It would take three hours round trip to bring Herit, who would arrive on the outskirts of the capital soon.

“Your Highness.”

I called him softly. He immediately looked at me.

He had been suffering from investiture preparations and state affairs since August, so I thought he could go out for some fresh air for about three hours.

It was obvious that he would be busier after becoming the Crown Prince.

“Eva will like it if you go with her. And Lady Sarnese.”

Take it or leave it. I ended the conversation with that feeling. He snorted lowly.