What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 153

#153 My Partner’s Partner (2)

I barely managed to compose myself.

Although I knew that only a select few could access the Imperial Archive and that there was no one around, a library was still a library.

My voice naturally lowered.

“Does the Holy Knight have a hobby of erasing his presence?”

“Answer.”

The Crown Prince changed the subject.

I didn’t know what he wanted me to answer, but after seeing in his hand, the question came to mind.

I had asked if he was curious about those who died at the hands of his great-grandfather.

“Actually, it’s the opposite.”

I whispered.

Between the tall bookshelves, in a gap where light barely reached, orange eyes narrowed.

When I reached out for the book, the Crown Prince raised his arm to keep his distance.

It must be nice to be tall, you cheapskate.

“…I’m curious if any spies survived without being killed by the late Emperor Romero.”

“Reason?”

I paused for a moment to choose my words.

I knew it was a dangerous topic for the Prince of the Divine Kingdom to discuss, and it could lead to misunderstandings, but I had no intention of hiding it from him from the start.

I wanted to tell this story to Cristelle as well as Crown Prince Cedric, if I had the chance.

Whether it prevents the war or not, there’s no harm in the main characters being aware of these issues in advance.

“Do you remember Joan de As? The prisoner we met in Serenite.”

“The painter you’re exploiting.”

“Exploiting, my foot.”

Only after saying that did I realize he was joking. I chuckled and continued.

“Joan believes his great-grandfather died under the false accusation of being a spy. He was so upset, so I looked up the records and found that Emperor Romero actually executed those accused of espionage without confession. He did so consistently until his death.”

“Are you planning to exonerate the As family?”

“That’s beyond my capabilities. I heard there’s no evidence of their innocence either.”

I said calmly. The Crown Prince tilted his head slightly.

“But if Joan’s statement is true, then there must be a spy family that escaped the late Emperor’s grasp back then. They might still be active.”

“······.”

He didn’t respond. But he didn’t seem surprised or embarrassed either.

He just looked down at me in the dim light with his usual expressionless face.

Silence flowed as our eyes met. Feeling impatient, I spoke first.

“I don’t expect to find a secret agent with just a few books, but knowing the situation at the time might give us even a small clue. Ultimately, wouldn’t it also help Emperor Frederick?”

The Crown Prince chuckled lowly. Hey, my brother is talking about war right now.

“Such people can sometimes be the cause of conflicts or incidents. It would be good if we could cut off the buds in advance.”

“A commendable loyalty, but.”

The man replied. He seemed to be in a good mood.

He handed me the book as if pushing it away and took a step back. Wait, just now······.

Didn’t he stagger a bit?

“It’s surprising that you think His Majesty wouldn’t know about the existence of spies.”

What?

“His Majesty’s hands and feet are active in the Divine Kingdom even at this moment.”

There was no further explanation. But his words were clear.

Just as it was natural for the Empire’s spies to operate in the Divine Kingdom, the Imperial Family already knew that the Divine Kingdom’s spies were also spying on the Empire.

I gaped at the unexpected development.

“So you also know who the Divine Kingdom’s secret agents are?”

“It’s like [a Hong Kong crime thriller film].”

“Ah!”

I was startled once again. My heart pounded because of the voice that suddenly popped out from behind.

I closed my eyes and leaned against the bookshelf, catching my breath, and then I heard a very apologetic voice.

“Oh no. I’m sorry, Your Highness. I didn’t mean to surprise you.”

I lifted my eyelids.

Light blue-gray eyes gathered light even in the dark and sparkled.

At this point, it’s not a library but a haunted house, a haunted house.

“I came to find you after dance practice, but you seemed to be having a serious conversation, so I couldn’t find a gap to join in.”

“It’s okay.”

I smiled and waved my hand.

Although she came in at a great timing considering she got lost, it was a story that Cristelle, the heroine of Toegye, and a member of the Sarnese family, should know.

Cristelle repeatedly checked my expression and then paid her respects to the Crown Prince.

The man was openly showing his annoyance.

How can this guy not manage his expressions like this? How will he be an emperor later?

“······Your Highness, are you unwell?”

“That’s none of your business.”

The Crown Prince reacted sharply to Cristelle’s question. I immediately turned to look at her.

Wasn’t that just my imagination?

“Is something wrong with the Crown Prince?”

“The ether flow is strange. He’s sweating cold sweat. It might not be visible to the Prince.”

She said seriously. I immediately deployed the Sanctuary.

-Paaat!

The golden circle lit up the floor.

Golden light filled between the bookshelves and the spines of the books, and I could see the Crown Prince’s pale cheeks and wet forehead.

I couldn’t help but be shocked.

“Are you lacking ether? Why didn’t you say so sooner?”

“That’s not it.”

He cut me off. I released ether for now.

The Crown Prince seemed a little hesitant, but fortunately, he didn’t reject the power I was giving him.

However, as he said, ether deficiency wasn’t the cause, so he didn’t gulp it down eagerly.

Is it just a cold?

······But does a male lead in a romance fantasy novel also catch a cold?

I said I would call a royal physician, but the Crown Prince stubbornly refused.

When I said I would bring the Grand Duchess, he sharpened his eyes even more.

In the end, we laid him down on the large sofa in the center of the archive and pulled up chairs to sit in front of him.

I didn’t release the circle to help him stabilize.

Why is he acting like this when he’s not a child? No, he sometimes becomes a child, but······.

“Lady Sarnese, we need to check if the Crown Prince has a fever.”

“Yes.”

Cristelle answered clearly to my words. Then a few seconds of silence flowed.

No one put their hand on the Crown Prince’s face. I looked at her in embarrassment.

“Lady Sarnese?”

“Yes?”

“You need to check if the Crown Prince has a fever.”

“Yes. Please check.”

“······.”

I meant for you to do it······.

Cristelle was just staring blankly as if she hadn’t even considered herself as an option.

A bitter smile hung on my lips.

I had no choice but to bring the back of my hand to his face, but the Crown Prince, who had been closing his eyes, suddenly opened his mouth.

“The Imperial Family doesn’t even know the names or identities of the secret agents.”

“······.”

I stopped moving abruptly. It seemed he had been thinking about the topic that had been cut off a little while ago.

He continued to speak.

“So the Emperor must rule them as the same citizens. Managing them so that they don’t act like a squeaky wheel even while knowing of their existence.”

“······.”

“That is the weight of governance, he said.”

A long breath was attached to the end of his words.

It wasn’t a lesson that Romero would have left behind, so it was probably a teaching from the Crown Prince’s grandmother, the late Emperor Celine, or Emperor Frederick.

A life of constantly reminding oneself that a human who swore allegiance to oneself could be a spy······.

I don’t know for sure, but it seemed incredibly tiring.

In the end, what I was trying to do was nothing new to the Emperor.

She would always test the nobles while dealing with them, and if necessary, she would investigate them secretly without anyone knowing.

I wonder how many cases she handled quietly.

“So is your ether unstable because of that? Because of overwork?”

Cristelle whispered, bending down.

I quickly put the back of my hand on the Crown Prince’s forehead and took it off. I felt a slight fever.

The man was silent.

“Is it common for this to happen when you’re physically exhausted?”

I asked Cristelle.

Even though the body and soul are constantly interacting, it was unheard of for ether to become so unstable due to physical condition.

The Crown Prince trains with his sword every day and has an incredibly good body······.

‘Ether depletion was severe from birth.’

‘When Cedric was very young. If the ether flow became unstable and caused a rampage, he had to be restrained and locked up here.’

“Ah.”

I let out a short exclamation.

Cardinal Boutier’s voice was vivid, and I remembered Sir Johan’s explanation that the Crown Prince seemed to have a ‘fundamental depletion.’

Cristelle, who was in the same place, also seemed to have remembered those words, and her face was quite serious.

She was also the one who watched the Crown Prince turn into Sadie during the Great Monster Subjugation.

“······The Crown Prince is not ordinary, after all.”

Cristelle summarized the situation in one line.

I barely nodded, and the Crown Prince was still silent.

It seemed that even if you don’t use ether, you can become like this if you overdo it.

He’s not pulling a month’s worth of state affairs, so how on earth does he work that the main male lead is on the verge of a KO [knockout] ?

“That’s a big problem. Isn’t the Holy Knight investiture on Tuesday?”

“I’ll be better by tomorrow.”

The Crown Prince responded immediately to Cristelle’s words. I asked carefully.

“How long have you been like this?”

“······The night before yesterday.”

He said after a long time.

No wonder he skipped class yesterday, it wasn’t because he was busy, but because he was sick.

Cristelle clicked her tongue softly.

“Shall I call a healing priest?”

I can also do simple treatments and healing, but the Crown Prince seems to be suffering from a kind of chronic disease, so I wouldn’t be enough.

Then, garnet-like eyes flashed open. He spat out with an annoyed look.

“Those guys only mess around with the vessel.”

“······.”

“I don’t want to see them unless there’s severe bleeding.”

Then he closed his eyes again. I can see Sadie’s hallucinations.

[······Please sleep. I’ll wake you up in an hour.]

In the end, I gave a divine message.

He seemed to resist, but he willingly accepted my divine power because he wanted to rest.

Soon, his handsome brow smoothed out and his breathing became even.

The Sanctuary rotated gently like a music box at our feet. I finally felt a little relieved.

“Ah, a wet towel.”

I wondered if I should put something on him.

I know that a cold wet towel is not effective for fever patients, but since it’s body heat caused by ether, it might be different from a normal fever.

He might have a headache, so if his head cools down, he might feel better.

I got up to ask Benjamin and Ganael for a towel. It was then.

-Clang!

A clear sound of water rang out.

Turning around, I saw a large drop of water moving on Cristelle’s palm.

She smiled brightly.

“It’s not an affectionate sign, but you do have a sense of humanity.”

At the same time as she spoke, the water moved.

A water flower that resembled her eyes slowly flew and landed gently on the Crown Prince’s forehead in a square shape.

I felt like that scene was playing in slow motion.

It was a sight that was so beautiful that it was touching. A thrill ran down my arm.

The handsomely sleeping main male lead and the heroine who is kindly taking care of him.

“There’s no need for the Prince to suffer in vain when I’m here.”

Did the official couple just make progress in front of my eyes? Uh.

“This is just my guess. Perhaps the marriage proposal was exchanged for a similar role. If His Highness only had the ‘Blessing of the Sea’ without the Hyegeom, the fire attribute ether in his body would be completely suppressed by the divine object······.”

I can’t hear you. The two of them look so good together.

“······Wouldn’t it be aiming for a sealing-like effect? What do you think, Prince?”

Cristelle asked. I smiled contentedly and nodded.

“Lady Sarnese is absolutely right.”

-Splash!

I slapped the surface of the pond.

I couldn’t stand it because my cheeks were twitching and my stomach was tickling just thinking about the two main characters.

That’s why Jeong Eun-seo sponsored the writer so diligently.

That’s why she was hitting the cushion with her fist and tormenting it every time Toegye was uploaded.

I’ve become a romance fantasy reader too!

-Awoo

Surprised, Tete swam towards me from afar.

Only then did I come to my senses and apologized, waving my palm in the water.

I gently rubbed the little guy’s cute eyebrows.

As soon as we left the Imperial Archive, we headed to the harp seal-only kindergarten, which was prepared smoothly thanks to the Emperor’s active neglect.

Every detail, from the tiles to the decorations, was extremely extravagant.

The pool, which was more like a large seawater pool than a pond, was full of friends.

“Do you like it? Do you like it? Shall we make this Tete’s?”

-Auk, awoo

Tete cried, putting his head in and out of the water.

Judging by the way he was bending his eyes, he seemed quite satisfied.

I slowly opened the circle so he wouldn’t be scared, and the little guy wiggled his white body and showed his affection.

I quietly met Tete’s gaze and tamed him by calling his name with all my heart.

[Tete. Your name is Tete. How is it?]

-Aeuk!

The harp seal immediately rubbed his chin on my palm.

When I made a circle with my thumb and index finger, he put his black nose into the hole.