What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 14

#014 Little Guest (4)

“You…”

I opened my mouth and simultaneously deployed the Circle [a magical barrier or field of energy]. The golden ring illuminated the bright room even more.

The boy was silently looking down at the sanctuary that wrapped around his feet.

“How did you get in here?”

“…”

I asked the question while examining his condition. He definitely looked better than that day.

Although there was cold sweat on his forehead and he was breathing a little heavily, he didn’t seem like he was about to collapse on the floor like before.

“Did you come to steal Ether [a magical energy source] again?”

At those words, the boy raised his eyes and met my gaze directly. It was an arrogant look.

“I never stole anything.”

“You took it without even asking for my consent, so that’s stealing.”

The boy scoffed.

While remaining vigilant, I couldn’t help but think that if his personality was already like this, he would be quite something when he grew up.

“Did you commit some kind of crime? Are you on the run?”

“…”

The boy stared at me for a moment, then lightly sighed and went to sit at the table I had been looking at just a moment ago.

His movements were so smooth, refined, and elegant that for a moment, it felt as if this wasn’t my room but his.

“Release the Ether with the Circle.”

…Is he ordering me right now?

“Why would I?”

“Do you want to faint again?”

“Huh…”

I was so taken aback by the boy’s audacity that I was momentarily speechless.

Even as I stared at him, the boy sat upright as if the seat was his own, not avoiding my gaze.

He was too arrogant for a threat. It seemed like I needed to take a strong stance.

“You better answer my questions before I bind you with a Divine Decree [a magical binding spell] and call the servants.”

“…”

“You’re not in good condition right now either. If you came to receive Ether, you should act politely.”

I said firmly. The boy’s brow furrowed slightly.

Eunseo was generally a gentle child, but around the age of six or seven, he would often throw tantrums to get what he wanted, as children of that age often do.

If I readily granted his wishes, the child would only develop bad habits.

I tried ignoring him and coaxing him, but the best way was to demand order from my younger sibling.

If there’s something you want, ask politely. Then I’ll listen.

That’s our rule.

“There’s no place in the Imperial Palace I can’t go.”

The boy opened his tightly closed mouth.

It seemed to be an answer to the question, ‘How did you get in here?’

It wasn’t a satisfactory answer, but I slowly released Ether through the Circle as if giving a reward.

I struggled to figure out how to visualize it and tried to control it by imagining slowly unraveling a ball of yarn.

Whether it was effective or not, the boy’s complexion improved slightly.

“I’m not a criminal, nor am I a fugitive.”

I released even more Ether.

Roughly, with the feeling of unraveling the yarn about four more times.

“Then there’s nothing harmful to me in helping you.”

“I guarantee it.”

Oh? He reacted seriously to my half-joking words.

Of course, I didn’t believe him.

There was no way an innocent person would sneak into the confessional of the Imperial Palace’s temple and break into the prince’s room through the balcony.

But the fact that he knew the inside of the palace so well made him seem different from an ordinary thief or troublemaker.

“What, are you some kind of noble or royalty?”

“…”

The boy closed his mouth like a clam. His orange eyes stubbornly shone.

Yeah, when a kid reacts like that, even our brother wouldn’t be able to get an answer.

I shook my head and chose another question.

Crown Prince Cedric was an only child, and the only royals currently residing in the Imperial Palace were the Emperor and the Crown Prince, so he probably wasn’t from that family.

Kristel, the protagonist of ‘Duke 퇴계,’ [likely a reference to a popular novel or story] didn’t have a younger brother that age either.

For now, I had avoided two big mountains [major potential problems or entanglements].

“Are you a priest too?”

“No.”

The boy answered immediately to my next question. This was unexpected.

Exchanging Ether was only possible between priests and holy knights.

It was said that there were hardly any cases where someone with the power to manipulate Ether, that is, Divine Power, was not a priest or a holy knight.

“Then you’re a holy knight…”

“Why are you reading books about magical beasts and divine creatures?”

The boy sharply cut me off. His gaze, which had been examining the books on the table, was fierce. He was small, but his presence was formidable.

“I haven’t read them yet. I heard that a magical beast appeared in the back mountains, but they said it might be a divine creature, so I was curious.”

I slowly approached the boy and stood across the table.

I didn’t mention the mountain keeper Agnes’s story.

Even though I was a fake priest, I didn’t take this role so lightly as to spread the contents of confessions everywhere.

“…The conversation will be quick.”

The boy murmured lowly. Soon, an astonishing statement followed.

“I am leading the divine creature that appeared in the Imperial Palace to the Divine Object. That’s why I needed your Ether.”

‘Since ancient times, when a divine creature appears, a person with Divine Power leads it to the Divine Object.’

A passage I had seen in a book whose title I couldn’t even remember quickly flashed through my mind.

It was an unexpected connection. No, before that.

“There’s really a divine creature?”

“Yes.”

“The one that appeared in the back mountains came down to the Imperial Palace?”

“It wouldn’t have walked in through the main gate.”

I swallowed hard. The mountain keeper Agnes and my carpenter friend Maxim’s deductions were correct.

It wasn’t a magical beast, but a divine creature.

“I thought it was a legendary animal. There’s hardly any information about it.”

“Is the prince of the Divine Kingdom doubting the existence of a divine creature?”

The boy said mockingly.

“You have a prejudice. Not all people from the Divine Kingdom are devout.”

“The Divine Object closest to the Imperial Capital is in the Sarnese Duchy, so cooperate until the divine creature is completely driven out there.”

The boy cut me off sharply.

Wait, wait a minute. Too much data was rushing in at once, making me feel dizzy.

I closed my eyes once, took a deep breath, and then opened them wide again.

Let’s organize it one by one, slowly.

I raised one hand and counted with my thumb first.

“…You’re leading that divine creature?”

“Only those with Divine Power can tame a divine creature. You should know that too.”

Right, this kid has Divine Power. I nodded slightly and bent my index finger.

“His Eminence the Cardinal is also in the Imperial Palace. Why are you doing it?”

“His Eminence cannot leave His Majesty’s side.”

The boy replied firmly.

The Emperor and the Cardinal were said to have a contract to become ‘religious partners.’

Benjamin’s explanation that the Cardinal was residing in the Imperial Palace as the Emperor’s partner came to mind.

The two soulmates couldn’t be separated beyond a certain distance.

“Third. Sarnese Duchy, are you talking about the hometown of Lady Kristel de Sarnese?”

The boy only slightly tilted his chin as if he couldn’t be bothered to answer.

I felt a sense of crisis even in that small gesture.

The name I should never be involved with popped out, so I couldn’t help but look up at the sky.

Is this the author’s trick?

Is this an implication that no matter what I do, I can’t escape from her, from the original story?

No, there was no need to panic. There were still plenty of loopholes to escape.

“Instead of driving the divine creature all the way there, can’t we just raise it in the Imperial Palace?”

It’s said to be very attached to people. There are many web novels with animals these days.

I sincerely thought that switching to that route wouldn’t be so bad.

If only I could avoid encountering Kristel.

“…I see why the Divine Kingdom abandoned you.”

Then this kid cursed with his eyes and mouth at the same time.

“No, I just don’t want to get involved with the Duke of Sarnese. I plan to live quietly.”

“Ha.”

The boy let out a short breath as if he had heard something absurd.

I briefly looked back on my actions so far.

I admit that I made the situation a bit bigger by offering to receive confessions, but if I didn’t create an escape route like that, I would be forced to stand at the ball.

I couldn’t risk showing my face at an event that the main couple would likely attend.

If I was faithful to the priest’s duties, there would be fewer unnecessary love calls from Liester society.

“I’ll do the driving, so you don’t have to worry about the duchy.”

The boy spat out. I woke up from my thoughts and looked down at the boy.

“You just need to provide me with Ether.”

“…I’m fine with that. But are you really okay? Are you doing this alone?”

“My compatibility with the divine creature is good, so help is unnecessary.”

Compatibility, does Ether have that too?

There was no end to what I had to study since I fell into this strange world.

I shouldn’t even joke about abandoning Korea and immigrating in the future, damn it.

“Still, if there’s anything else you need, tell me anytime. You seem to be in really bad condition when you run out of Ether. Is the consumption that high for driving the divine creature?”

“…”

I slowly brought my hand to the boy’s forehead, where the cold sweat had stopped. He didn’t have a fever.

His complexion was a little pale, but the boy was definitely calmed down after receiving my Ether.

I didn’t feel comfortable with such a young child roaming the Imperial Palace and the Imperial Capital alone, and even going to the Sarnese Duchy.

“Is there really no one I can tell about your story?”

“I told you to keep it a secret.”

“I thought it would be okay to tell His Eminence the Cardinal. If he knew you were doing something like this, I thought he would help in some way.”

The boy silently reached out and opened the lid of the wooden box placed on one side of the table.

He seemed to be avoiding answering again by doing something else.

The box was full of sage tea leaves that Crown Prince Cedric had sent as a gift a few days ago.

“You haven’t touched it.”

“I heard it’s precious. So I’m going to share it little by little with the palace people.”

The boy frowned slightly at my words that I couldn’t drink it all alone anyway.

“Should I give you some too?”

The boy’s orange eyes seemed dissatisfied.

It was then that I realized I was thirsty, so I brought a water bottle and poured water into an empty cup.

“Are you eating properly? You need to eat well to grow tall later, like your brother.”

“…”

I couldn’t tell if he was ignoring me or just not answering.

I grabbed a handful of Dariol [a type of sweet or candy], which filled the glass bowl next to the box, and wrapped it in a clean handkerchief.

“Eat this when your sugar drops.”

Ghanael had individually wrapped them in paper so that I could eat them deliciously anytime.

The boy received the bundle from me and made a strange face.

“Huh?”

At that moment, firefly-like golden particles began to float from the boy’s body.

I was flustered and immediately released the sanctuary. My heart pounded a little, wondering if it was my fault.

“It’s time to go.”

The person in question didn’t seem to care at all.

The boy moved silently, opened the balcony door, and quickly jumped onto the railing.

It was a movement that I wouldn’t have even noticed if I hadn’t seen it directly.

I quickly moved my feet to the balcony entrance.

“If I’m going to see you again, you should tell me your name before you go.”

Then the boy turned his head and stared down at me.

It was a face that gave a different feeling when looking up at it.

Black hair bathed in moonlight mingled with the stars, endlessly noble, while the orange eyes were as red as the sun in the night.

The gazes crossed for a long time.

“…Saydi.”

After saying that, the boy threw himself into the darkness.

*

“What is all this?”

The next morning, I was dragged to the main gate of the Juliette Palace and had to face the fuss of the servants.

A large cart was full of unknown luggage.

“These are gifts bestowed by His Highness Crown Prince Cedric. As a token of appreciation for the hard work of the Juliette Palace servants, he is gifting everyone with a box of precious tea leaves each.”

Benjamin explained with a subtle smile.

Seeing it in Ghanael’s hands, it was about 1/10th the size of the box I received.

When I opened the lid, a cool and tingling scent, like mint, wafted out.

It seemed to be sage tea again.

“He must be hooked on it these days.”

Ghanael laughed loudly at my muttering.

They say that if a person does something they never used to do, they die, but since the Crown Prince is the male lead, I thought he wouldn’t die and headed back to bed.

It was nice to see everyone gathered together and beaming.