What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 129

#129 The Village Chief and the Angel (3)

Before I knew it, the sky had turned as dark as the deep sea.

A large full moon peeked out from the east.

“Ttuk-ssim, you’re really good. The best divine object.”

-Flap, flap!

As I showered it with praise, Bangju flapped its wings coolly, as if pleased.

In an instant, we were dozens of meters away, whoosh!

It was so fun and exhilarating that I couldn’t help but laugh.

The sensation was on a different level from the zero gravity of a Gyro Drop ride.

I enjoyed the cool breeze and looked down below.

After passing over a tall, dark mountain and a basin tinged with green even in the darkness, the Imperial Palace was beneath our feet.

It was absurd, even after thinking about it again. It was this close.

“This must be your first time seeing the Imperial Palace from the sky.”

“······.”

Crown Prince Cedric didn’t answer, but he didn’t seem displeased either.

His jet-black hair fluttered softly.

Thanks to Bangju’s divine power, he was clinging to me with very little air resistance, half-flying.

Thanks to that, the Crown Prince’s body, connected by vines, felt like a small dumbbell.

It would be hard if we flew for a long time, but it was okay since it was just for a moment.

“There! Divine Lanterns are flying up.”

I was so excited that my voice grew louder. It might have been my imagination, but it sounded like the Crown Prince sighed.

The approaching orange lanterns circled around us as if to greet us, then slowly disappeared over the back mountain.

I blankly stared at the scene and discovered something unique.

“There are letters written on the lanterns. Did you know that?”

The Crown Prince seemed to consider my words.

Regardless, I carefully grabbed one of the lanterns.

A sentence written on the surface in crooked handwriting caught my eye.

“It says they hope Your Highness is always healthy. They also congratulate you on becoming the Crown Prince. They say they’re still young, so they don’t really know what that is.”

The corners of my lips curved into a smile. It seemed like a young child had written it.

I looked down at the Crown Prince, but his sunset-colored eyes showed no emotion.

I released the lantern I was holding and gently grabbed the next one.

This time, the handwriting was quite mature.

“‘I was very impressed when Your Highness drew the Hyegeom [a legendary sword] during the ‘Great Monster Subjugation.’ You got a good spot. I didn’t see it though,'” I muttered. The Crown Prince lifted his chin and gave me a look of disdain.

Hey, man. Do you know how hard I worked back then taking care of you and Christel?

“The next story is,”

The breeze revealed my forehead, making it feel cool.

I entrusted the self-driving to Ttuk-ssim, the best driver, and read the Divine Lantern.

‘After seeing His Highness from afar once, I, who used to sell wine, now keep bees. How can I help it when honey drips from his eyes?’

What is this? Pass.

‘I’m a 20-year-old noblewoman, and all my peers are risking their lives for His Highness.’

“······Let’s keep it moderate.”

I pushed the Divine Lantern away forcefully.

The content was getting worse and worse, perhaps because it was written on the premise that he wouldn’t see it.

Who doesn’t know that the main male lead is handsome?

“Was there any insulting language?”

“It would be fun if there was.”

I retorted. The Crown Prince snorted briefly, as if he understood.

As Bangju flapped its wings once, the two bodies ‘popped’ out of the Divine Lantern crowd.

It felt like squeezing out of a gap in shining balloons.

The last lantern I saw had only one line written neatly.

‘Happy birthday to you.’

“Hmm.”

······What should I get him for his birthday?

I was so distracted by returning to the palace in the forest path and Aitz village that I didn’t even think about it.

I had already received something, and now that we were friends, I couldn’t just let it pass. I glanced at the Crown Prince.

At that moment,

-Whoosh!

“Ugh!”

Ttuk-ssim suddenly plummeted. A chilling drop of sweat ran down my spine from the dizzying fall.

Captain, is this turbulence?!

“Ttuk-ssim, heuh.”

I made a gasping sound. Before I knew it, the city of the Imperial Capital was spread out on the ground.

It couldn’t compare to the night view of Seoul, but it was bright and pretty with torches and magical lights lit everywhere.

I blankly stared at the scenery beyond the sporadically floating lanterns. It’s really cool······.

“Wait.”

My voice suddenly dropped.

“What is it?”

“Are those all people?”

I asked the Crown Prince, feeling a tightness in my chest.

I thought the dark parts were roads, but now I saw that they were densely packed crowds.

Thousands of handkerchiefs and bouquets were waving, making my eyes dizzy in a different way than before.

No, I thought it would be at most the level of the Great Monster Subjugation. That’s······.

“Since it’s also the eve of the investiture ceremony, there are more people than usual,” the Crown Prince said calmly, as if saying, “I’d like a cocotte egg for breakfast tomorrow.”

I could feel Ttuk-ssim slowly lowering its altitude. I made a face and took a deep breath.

I couldn’t back out now, and my determination to take the Crown Prince back hadn’t changed.

I felt nauseous, not from the flight, but from the tension.

The noisy cheers of the people were slowly becoming audible.

“Waaaaa!”

I’m going crazy. I’ll just drop this guy off and quickly return to Juliet Palace.

That thought filled my head.

*

“Hah!”

-Clatter, clatter!

Elizabeth spurred her horse and galloped. The lights of the village were visible just ahead.

The corners of her lips lifted slightly. She was certain that she would be able to find her friends this time.

She had only lived for twenty-four years, but she had a unique intuition as someone who had traveled the country subjugating monsters and training with swords.

The viscountess led the Imperial Guard through the dark entrance of the village.

The closest village to the destination of the damned wartime portal, ‘Aitz’.

-Neigh!

“Whoa, whoa!”

The fine horse stopped abruptly, raising its front legs.

Elizabeth and her subordinates all looked in one direction.

The smell of roasting pork was strong.

The front yard of a small house located at the entrance of the village was bustling with familiar faces.

She thought they would be here, but she was flustered to meet them so quickly.

Confusion and joy filled her gray eyes at the same time.

“······Princess Christel?”

“Lady Elizabeth!”

“It’s Lady Elizabeth!”

Christel and Eva, their cheeks stuffed with meat and lettuce, jumped up and ran towards her.

Their bulging cheekbones were filled with joy. Elizabeth smiled brightly and got off her horse.

The three of them huddled together, hugging each other.

The guards who had suffered for several days applauded from behind.

Elizabeth found it funny and burst into laughter. What was this all about?

“Lady Elizabeth, you’ve worked hard. I knew you’d find us,” Christel said, chewing on meat, deeply moved.

“Yes, Uncle Francois did a great job. You all worked hard too, taking an unscheduled overnight trip,” Eva giggled at the viscountess’s reply.

Both the princess and Christel were dressed in simple commoner’s clothes.

She was checking to see if they had been hurt when she heard a gentle voice like a breeze.

“Welcome, Lady Mute. You’re a little late.” When she raised her head, the mint-colored eyes curved slightly. Little Haines, hidden behind him, was also visible.

Elizabeth bowed to the father and son and asked back, “Lord Haines, what do you mean?”

“Their Highnesses have already left for Claire Square. With the help of a divine object.”

“A divine object······.”

The viscountess’s eyes widened. Eva, who was being held in her arms, chattered, “It’s Biryeom’s Ark. Ttuk-ssim!”

The purplish divine object that had protected Prince Yeseo from Lord Haines, which she had seen in Evelyn’s bell tower, came to mind.

It must have helped him this time as well, since it had accompanied the prince in the form of a small wren.

Elizabeth chuckled. A warm sense of relief and resignation spread from the pit of her stomach.

“We’re planning to leave at dawn, so rest and go with us. Everyone must be so tired,” Christel said, stroking her back.

Tomorrow was the Crown Prince’s investiture ceremony, so they would have to stay up all night to find new work.

But Elizabeth nodded readily.

It felt like she had met her friends after many years, and all the tension in her body was gone, and she just wanted to lie down.

Since things had worked out well, her fiancé would soon be able to meet the prince as well.

She looked back at the subordinates who had followed her and nodded once.

The empty-headed guys cheered.

“Of course, alcohol is prohibited. Don’t forget the watch.”

“Ah······.”

Their shoulders drooped at the strict order. Christel smiled brightly and waved her hand towards the front yard.

“We have new guests, elders! Don’t worry, they’re not scary at all. Just add more meat!”

“They’re our friends!” Eva added, taking Herritt with her.

A woman who had been frozen with the unfamiliar old men finally bowed to her.

On closer inspection, it was Agnes, the Imperial Palace mountain keeper, holding meat tongs.

Elizabeth gasped. How did they all end up here?

“Lady Mute. I have something to tell you,” the holy knight who had not left her side said gently.

Elizabeth patted the horse’s neck and looked at him.

Lord Haines held out a transparent pebble.

“This is,”

“It’s a Holy Stone. My son and Princess Blanquer found it near here.”

Elizabeth frowned slightly.

The ‘Holy Stone’ she knew was something that only appeared in history books, and it had never been found in the empire.

She wondered if it had another meaning and stared at him, but the answer that came back was simple.

“Yes, it’s what you’re thinking of.”

*

‘All the tombstones in Liester have a middle name engraved on them.’

Romero Claire Liester.

It was the name of the late Emperor Celine Liester’s father, the murderer of a tragic lover, and the warlord who erected his statue in the central square.

Sarah Belial sat alone in the carriage and wrote in her notebook as the platform came to mind.

She had of course been invited to the investiture ceremony tomorrow, but there was a reason why she had come to Claire Square herself without assigning another reporter from .

-Knock knock

The servant of Baroness Belial knocked on the carriage.

Sarah knocked back, and the door opened immediately.

The noise of the 20,000 people gathered in the square poured in indiscriminately.

She looked at the servant over her glasses.

“Not yet?”

“Yes, Lady Belial! The Imperial carriage procession is also quiet. It seems like they won’t be coming this year!”

The servant shouted. She replaced the answer with a gesture. The door closed quickly.

“······Is it a health problem?”

The old man muttered to himself.

The fact that the Crown Prince had not participated in the morning rehearsal had spread outside the Imperial Palace, and most of the great nobles already knew about it.

Adding background knowledge to this made it easy to form a hypothesis.

He had been very sickly as a child.

There were times when he could only stay awake for a few hours a day, trapped in the ‘Crown Prince’s Sleep.’

His condition had improved a lot after the king died, but Sarah’s journalistic intuition denied it.

The Crown Prince might still be under a curse,

‘It may sound presumptuous, but I hope you don’t think of it as a curse.’

Suddenly, the words of a certain prince echoed in her head. She twisted her lips bitterly.

It was then.

“Waaaaaa!”

Sarah flinched and turned her head. It was an explosive cheer that was deafening.

The square, where nobles and commoners were mixed together, seemed to be about to collapse.

She reflexively threw open the carriage door. Everyone’s eyes were on the sky.

Thousands of hats thrown up by the spectators crossed her vision.

“Waaaaa!”

“Liester! Liester! Liester!”

It was the wings of the guardian deity.

-Flap, flap!

Two figures appeared in the grace of the full moon.

The blonde hair and clear purple eyes, shining in the moonlight, seemed as if they were not of this world.

Prince Yeseo Venetian, with huge purplish wings, was leading the Crown Prince with a splendid vine and descending upon Claire Square.

Sarah recognized the flowers in full bloom on the vine even from a distance. They were tulips.

“Crown Prince! Crown Prince! Crown Prince!”

“Grace! Grace! Grace!”

A frenzy was in the crowd’s shouts.

The prince smiled faintly with a white face, but the experienced reporter knew that it was a mask hiding his embarrassment.

The amethyst gaze wandered around as if looking for a place to bless, and soon led the Crown Prince, as beautiful as a statue, to one place.

Sarah finally threw off her glasses.

“Good heavens······.”

“Long live His Highness the Crown Prince! Long live!”

The place where the prince lowered the Crown Prince was the place of the late Emperor Romero’s statue, which the Imperial Guard was guarding.

The loosened tulip vines decorated the Crown Prince’s feet.

The ebony-like hair and flame-like eyes emitted a dazzling glow as he stood next to his great-grandfather.

Sarah shuddered at the thunderous thrill.

-Flap!

Soon, the prince flapped his wings and moved away from the Crown Prince. It seemed like he said something.

The Crown Prince looked at him as if he would shoot him down immediately, but he never did.

The prince smiled dazzlingly at him and soared into the night sky in an instant.

The crowd was now shouting his name.

“Yeseo! Yeseo! Yeseo!”

Sarah Belial desperately searched for her notebook with trembling hands.

Then, she scribbled with the quill as if it would break. A benevolent gaze and a single wing······.

‘A Fallen Angel in the Crowd.’