What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 126

#126 100 Meters from Becoming Crown Prince (6)

“Indeed… it seems effective.”

I said. Sir Johann smiled serenely and sat on the sofa opposite me.

The village residents, fewer than twenty in total, willingly offered us an empty house.

It was dusty and cramped, but it had the basic furniture we needed.

We fetched water from a nearby well and took a much-needed bath.

I was worried about what to do with our torn and muddy clothes, but the village elders took care of it.

What we’re wearing now are shirts and pants left behind by young men who left the village years ago.

Eva, dressed in simple commoner clothes, was playing in the yard with Herrit and the animals.

“Commoners are the same everywhere. If we reveal our identities, half the residents will distrust us, and the other half will be terrified.”

Sir Johann maintained an indifferent expression even after his ‘commoner act’.

What kind of life has he lived?

“It’s even more pronounced in places where only the elderly reside. Gaining their active cooperation becomes difficult. When a high-ranking person appears, rural folk are so intimidated they can barely eat. They become very wary.”

Thud. Christel plopped down next to me, drying her wet hair with a towel.

Our new clothes smelled faintly of old drawers.

Christel was still unhappy with the ‘runaway love’ scenario, but Sir Johann continued his explanation, unfazed.

“But if you ask for help, their reaction changes. They become even more eager to assist with everyday matters.”

I nodded, sipping water from a chipped teacup. It was true.

Earlier, an old man looked at Christel and encouraged her, saying, ‘Yes, you did well. You have to experience passionate love while you can.’

He gave rough bread to me and Eva. We must have looked very pitiful.

“ is a masterpiece that understands such human psychology.”

“Excuse me?”

I blinked. Where did that come from?

“Not only is one of the three main characters from a commoner background, but the setting is also a small country founded by a minority. It’s easy for ordinary people to empathize with.”

Was that the intention?

I had wondered why English names like Catherine and Jane appeared in ‘RED,’ but it seems that was the language of a minority group here.

I admired this newfound knowledge and Benjamin’s insight. Just then,

“Is there another shirt?”

With a dissatisfied grumble, a beast-like man emerged from the bathroom.

He was already large, but the space was small, making him seem even bigger.

Prince Cedrick stood before us with a towel around his neck and water dripping from his hair, holding a shirt.

I was shocked and gaped. Why isn’t he wearing a shirt?

“No… is that even a human body?”

“Your Highness, your inner thoughts are showing,” Christel pointed out. The prince narrowed his orange eyes.

I snapped my jaw shut and shook my head.

The thought that Toegye Gong [a renowned Korean Confucian scholar] might be suitable not for all ages but for 15+ popped into my head.

Call me a boomer if you want. This novel with illustrations is too suggestive.

How can elementary school students read this!

“The princess shouldn’t be looking.”

I calmly covered Christel’s eyes. Or should I? Would it be better to let her see?

“I’ve already seen it all,” she grumbled.

“She doesn’t wear a bra either, so why should I…”

“Put on your clothes, Your Highness,” I urged, cutting off the protagonist’s increasingly inappropriate soliloquy.

However, the main male lead didn’t budge.

“It doesn’t fit.”

I frowned. The elders gave him the biggest clothes in the village, so why are they too small?

May the buttons hold strong!

“Haha.”

Sir Johann, who was watching us, chuckled softly.

It seemed I was the only one taking this seriously. Just then,

-Bang!

“Why are you taking off your shirt! Is it hot?”

The old woman who first greeted us, Grandma Marlene, burst through the door without knocking.

Grandpa Remy, who gave us bread, was with her.

The prince frowned, and Christel and I stood up.

Sir Johann also rose. Grandma handed me a heavy basket.

“Bread and cheese collected from the village. There’s also ham. This is milk squeezed at dawn. Feed the puppies first.”

“Thank you so much, elders,” I said, smiling brightly as I greeted them.

The grandmother clicked her tongue as she looked at me and sat next to Sir Johann.

The grandfather also sat down.

As the prince approached, pulling the shirt over his arms, I quickly moved to the side.

I usually sat between the two, but I didn’t want to today.

I felt an inexplicable duty to uphold Toegye Gong’s rating.

The grandfather spoke first.

“I went around the village, but it seems our village doesn’t have a map.”

Ah….

“There are no literate people, and everyone has lived here their whole lives, never venturing out. There’s no need for a map.”

A brief silence followed the grandfather’s words. Sir Johann spoke up.

“The carriage…”

“There isn’t one. About 20 years ago, a son from someone’s house took it to do business and never returned.”

Damn it, you bad guy. I didn’t give up and asked,

“Do you know where this is?”

“Aitz. That’s our village name.”

“That’s a nice name. Then do you know the location? Whether it’s far from the capital or close. Which direction is the village from the capital?”

“That’s… we’ve never been to the capital. But it’s probably north. The young people said they all went south.”

North of the capital. The grandfather laughed heartily.

I smiled with him and asked the next question.

“Have you ever heard of the lord’s name?”

“Lord?”

Grandma Marlene, who was taking an apple from the basket and peeling it, asked back.

The two old people frowned, looking at each other.

“Does the lord… exist?”

“He must exist, Marlene. We pay taxes.”

“Is that so? You have to see it to know!”

The grandmother made a loud noise and focused on the apple again. ‘Aitz’ village north of the capital.

But since I didn’t know the lord’s name, I couldn’t determine whose land this was or how far it was from the capital.

This time, Christel spoke up.

“When you pay taxes, who collects them? Is there a village head… I mean, a representative?”

“Representative? There is a representative!”

The grandmother’s face brightened, and she brandished a knife.

Sir Johann gently took the fruit and knife from her hand.

“Come to think of it, yes. The capital won’t be very far. The most educated child in Aitz works in the capital.”

Finally, positive news! Christel and I leaned toward the grandmother.

“He can read and write, and he said he meets important nobles there. He comes and goes every month and acts as the village representative. He’s so kind and admirable.”

“Where is he now?”

The prince asked sharply, bluntly. I poked his side with my elbow.

“Ouch.”

Then he immediately recoiled. My arm stung. What is he made of, rebar?!

“…Where is he?”

Understanding my fierce gaze, the prince reluctantly rephrased his question.

The two elders looked at him.

Even to them, who knew nothing, the prince seemed noble.

“Well, he comes in the middle of every month. The exact date isn’t fixed.”

“No, Remy! He’ll be here soon!”

Grandma Marlene, who had nothing in her hands, now waved her arms.

“What is it? He said the Prince is going to a high position. Because of that, he said he would be busy until the end of the month, so he would come early.”

“Was that so… Oh! I remember. That kid will help you diligently!”

Grandpa Remy nodded. I opened my eyes wide. The Crown Prince’s investiture ceremony was the day after tomorrow.

If he comes earlier than that, it meant I could meet the village representative today, or at the latest, tomorrow.

When I looked back at the prince on the left, his gaze had turned dark.

“What are you going to do?” I asked. But in the end, there was only one option.

There wasn’t even a horse in the village, let alone a carriage, and I didn’t know how far south I had to go to reach the capital.

To deliver the news to the Imperial Palace and the Lord’s Castle, it made sense to wait for the village representative.

If I stayed here, there was a high probability I would encounter the Imperial Guard searching near the portal.

Although it would be difficult to attend the rehearsal tomorrow….

“…”

“Looks like the handsome young man is going to stay here,” the grandmother said.

It took me a while to decipher his expressionless face, but it was amazing that she understood it immediately.

Is this what they call experience?

“Yes. Take care of three meals here until our representative comes, and take care of the puppies with your lover.”

“It would be nice if you could chop some firewood too. It would be even better if you settled down here.”

“Oh my, you’re being rude! Get up now!”

The grandfather’s arm was pushed away by the grandmother’s rough hand movements.

The two old people stirred up the living room like a storm and left the house, and Sir Johann placed apples on an old plate.

Four adorably carved adult rabbits and four baby rabbits.

*

“….I understand. Go now.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Your Highness.”

A man who looked like he was between a boy and a young man covered himself with a splendid robe and left the emperor’s office.

Orelly watched his back until the door closed.

The beige eyes were filled with confusion, but in fact, he was feeling closer to joy than embarrassment.

“Unexpected.”

“Yes.”

The cardinal and the emperor exchanged words.

“It doesn’t seem like a lie, and Fleur de Lis [French for ‘lily flower’, often used as a symbol of French royalty] has no reason to deceive us.”

“Orelly, what’s so funny?”

“Isn’t it? We don’t even know where the children are, but the investiture ceremony will be held safely amidst the joy of the people and the blessings of the gods.”

The cardinal replied.

The prophet who had just left the office was the youngest leader of the Emperor’s direct magic advisory group, ‘Fleur de Lis,’ at the age of twenty.

When asked suddenly whether the investiture ceremony could be held well on the prince’s birthday, he affirmed without hesitation.

Knowing the emperor’s hot-tempered nature, he didn’t even question the circumstances that led to the question.

Frederick took off his jacket and threw it carelessly on the sofa. Orelly asked calmly.

“Did Evelyn send a messenger?”

“Yes. He said he wasn’t there either. If they had gone there, they would have contacted us first.”

The emperor replied gruffly.

François Duhem was working tirelessly despite the bad weather, but the report was that the analysis of the portal wouldn’t be available until tomorrow evening.

Around that time, the eve of the investiture ceremony would begin.

“Why does it take so long to read that damn portal?”

“We’re not wizards. The coordinate system in the war era is different from what’s used these days,” the cardinal said soothingly. The emperor’s anxious feelings were conveyed through their soul connection.

He shouldn’t think that his son, who is an 8th-grade swordsman, a 7th-grade wizard, and soon to be appointed a Holy Knight, would come to harm.

She wanted Cedrick to have a perfect ceremony and become the Crown Prince.

So that even if she passed away in the future, no one would dare to slander him.

Even if her son’s ‘weakness’ is revealed to the world someday, his dignity and grace will not be questioned.

“Eve.”

“…”

“Look at me.”

The cherry-colored eyes turned to her contractor. Orelly slowly smiled.

“He’s not alone. You know.”

“…”

“Since the prophecy has been given, he will definitely return.”

The cardinal’s hand covered the back of the emperor’s hand. As if waiting, his thumb intertwined with hers.

“And he will safely hold his own investiture ceremony.”

The last whisper was close to a divine message.

Frederick was silent, and finally, he let out a short breath.

*

-Thump! Crack!

-Cluck! Cluck!

“Ugh….”

I woke up to the loud morning noises. I slowly got up from the old single bed.

Yesterday, after arriving in Aitz village, we were treated to a hearty dinner thanks to the residents’ hospitality and went to bed.

The young man who was the village representative didn’t show up until night, so it seemed he would arrive today.

Did he arrive already?

“Where did the kids go?”

I squinted and looked around.

Not only the prince in the next bed, but also Demi and Ddukshim, who were usually curled up with me, were gone.

I wondered if they went out to the living room because it was more comfortable. Though it would probably be similar there.

-Squeak, creak, thud!

After a moment of struggle, I managed to open the window. Clear air filled my lungs instantly.

I looked out into the yard, being careful not to drop the hinges.

A rather impressive sight was unfolding.

Christel, sitting in the corner, was picking up popcorn with the residents. And on the opposite side,

-Thump, crack!

A handsome black-haired man was chopping firewood with the top three buttons of his shirt undone.

I panicked and stepped back, just like the chickens flapping around.

“Th, th….”

Hey! This is not for 15+!