What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 154

#154 My Partner’s Partner (3)

“That’s right. Should we call Pinkie Noona [older sister or close female friend] too? Let’s do that. Herrit, you can come closer and play.”

Standing near the pond, Christel smiled faintly at Prince Yeser.

He might not think so himself, but he truly looked like a ‘prince’ from a fairy tale.

For example, the way he lovingly cared for children and animals, and his tragic background.

Even so, seeing his kind face to everyone sometimes made her feel strange.

How could he smile with such a face?

“Sir Sarnese, Tete is looking for you.”

-Awoo!

“Yes, I’m coming.”

Christel answered lightly and approached the prince.

The warmth of the comforting aether felt even more intense.

Her mood, which was already good, relaxed even further.

She recalled herself from six months ago, when she had become curious about him because of this.

Even then, the prince was kind and generous to everyone.

He didn’t find it strange that she didn’t act or speak like a noble, but accepted her as she was.

He was surprised but didn’t reject her, and he was embarrassed but didn’t hate her.

So it was inevitable.

That she would come to like him as a person and consider him a friend.

“Let’s see, should Noona freeze the water for you? Tete likes ice, right?”

-Awoo!

The harp seal cried out energetically. Christel reached out to one side of the pond.

‘Crack!’ A short, sharp noise sounded, and a white ice sheet froze.

The water-attribute divine beast excitedly dove into the water and quickly climbed onto the ice.

Eva, who had accompanied them after finishing her dance practice, was holding onto her dress and didn’t know what to do.

She wanted to help, but she seemed confused about whether she could.

“She’s adapting well. I’m glad.”

“Yes. It’s because the Prince takes care of her with such sincerity.”

“It’s thanks to everyone’s help. This place used to be where golden carp were raised. But His Highness Aureli…”

The prince continued in a pleasant voice.

It was a story about how many people were working hard for Tete and how grateful he was.

The purple eyes, bathed in the autumn sun, sparkled beautifully.

Christel had met many people since her possession, but she had never found eyes like his anywhere.

The bishops said it would be hard to see them again in this life.

“Demi and Leia like Tete very much. Perry is still a little shy…”

But even if the prince’s irises had a common color, Christel wouldn’t have been able to take her eyes off him.

Yeser Venetian was the most vivid and vibrant person here.

Whether this was simply due to psychological factors, or whether there was something special about him, she still didn’t know.

However, what she had learned from spending six months here was that the more saturated and vivid a person was in her eyes, the more ‘important’ a role they played.

At first, she couldn’t figure out the criteria and was confused.

She even wondered if she had been possessed by a body with an eye disease.

Christel de Sarnese had been a bedridden girl for three years, so it was a plausible guess.

Her parents, the Duke and Duchess of Sarnese, had ordinary color saturation, while the prince of the enemy country, who had nothing to do with her, looked more vibrant than anyone else.

That was strange and interesting.

But if she thought about it with one variable changed, everything fell into place.

“So, if you don’t mind… I’m curious who Sir Sarnese will be attending the masquerade with.”

“Ah.”

Christel snapped out of her thoughts.

The topic had somehow shifted to the Blancar ducal family’s ball.

The prince was looking at her with a very expectant face.

Just in time, Benjamin brought cushions for the two of them.

‘Thank you.’ The man and woman said at the same time.

Servants walked around peacefully with towels.

Sitting on a rug lavishly decorated with silk and embroidery, Christel tilted her head.

“Well, I was actually going to ask the Prince to be my partner…”

“I’m going as Princess Eva’s partner.”

He replied in an overly confident tone.

Eva, who had approached in the meantime, listened to their conversation.

The prince came down to the bare ground as if it were natural, and the young princess sat down heavily on the cushion, her lips twitching.

Being treated like a younger sibling seemed immensely happy and cute.

“Yes, so I was thinking of mentioning it to the Instructor.”

Christel said, watching the Haines father and son playing in the water with Tete.

Through the case of Johann Haines, she realized that her ‘eye disease’ was a kind of judgment criterion.

The wind-attribute paladin had boasted a decent saturation from the first meeting, but not as clear as now.

“Pardon?”

He had definitely become ‘clearer’ after the day he tried to assassinate the prince.

It sounded crazy, but that was the only way to explain it.

It was hard to express someone whose presence had become thicker and more vibrant in a more appropriate way.

Christel added.

“But I heard that the Instructor is going as the Prince’s escort that day. I heard he’s not going to dance.”

Then the prince seemed relieved.

Christel’s gaze turned to Ganael, who was brewing the prince’s tea.

“Yerang is going with Lady Elizabeth.”

“Yes, Ganael is also making his social debut at this ball. His partner must be his fiancé.”

While the young page was gaping in surprise, the prince said firmly.

There was something defensive about his attitude.

“I guess so. Now I’m wondering if I should talk to Benjamin.”

At Christel’s words, the prince made a troubled expression.

She smiled and looked at the large sofa next to the pool.

More precisely, at the man sitting in the shade there, scanning documents.

Cedric Liester. A man with an impressive middle name.

He, along with the prince, was the brightest and clearest person here.

Being next to the two of them maximized the feeling of being alive.

After sparring roughly with the Crown Prince, she also felt a strange catharsis.

However, he was the opposite of the prince in every way.

His fire-attribute aether always scratched her gently and made her express her power in a negative direction.

It wasn’t pleasant that the Crown Prince’s emotions were often conveyed to her.

Especially when he was exuding ‘fear’ like he had been for the past few days, she was confused about what to do.

What are you so afraid of?

“…”

In an instant, his orange gaze fell from the paper and turned towards her.

His condition had improved somewhat after an hour of sleep in the study.

He still had a slight fever and his complexion wasn’t normal, but with the Prince’s help, he seemed to be completely healed by Monday.

The problem was…

“What.”

Christel muttered so quietly that only she could hear it.

It was because the Crown Prince frowned as soon as their eyes met.

Hey, is it my fault you’re scared? If you don’t want others to sense it, hide it yourself.

A guy who’s over 190cm tall is such a drama queen.

“Look at this, Sir Sarnese. David bought street food from outside the Imperial Palace. He’s a regular.”

“David’s spending has increased these days!”

“Did you get a bonus?”

The prince, Ganael, and Eva chattered in turn.

The Crown Prince’s chief aide was humbly handing out snacks.

He added that it was safe to eat because the poison test was over.

The prince handed Christel a fork and a bag of food. A friendly smile was a bonus.

“It smells spicy. I think you’ll like it.”

As he said, the freshly baked, hot merguez sausage gave off a spicy aroma.

The Parmesan truffle fries that came with it were also plentiful.

Even while she was saying ‘Thank you for the food,’ the prince was busy.

He asked Herrit twice if he could eat spicy food, wiped Dduk-simi, who was wet from the water, with a towel, and even took care of Eva’s napkin.

He opened his food only when Ganael had eaten about half of a sausage.

He looked pleased even though he was doing what a servant would normally do himself.

“It looks so delicious. Thank you, David.”

…It wasn’t awkward to assume that he, who was kind and warm, was the ‘protagonist’ here.

Rather, when she thought about it that way, everything fit together like a well-organized puzzle.

It was easier to judge based on the prince, not herself.

The more influence he had on him, or the more important a role he played by his side, the clearer and fresher he looked to Christel.

She still didn’t know where this was.

She was often confused about what she should do and how she should live.

Even so, one thing was clear.

If the ‘hero’ of this world was the prince, and if someone was indirectly telling her that…

“My hands won’t stop. I think I can eat two bags.”

“Liar. You’re going to eat three bags.”

“Hahaha.”

She wanted to protect him. Him and everything he liked.

“…”

Across the pond, the sun-like gaze repeatedly reached her.

This time, Christel stared at the Crown Prince as if she would freeze him.

It was a short staring contest that the prince and his friends didn’t notice.

She didn’t like him being so weak.

If he was going to be the paladin who would protect her only clergyman, he had to become stronger than he was now.

*

Today, Sunday, was also quite busy.

It was thanks to the fact that after I received the title of Marquis, the Imperial Family began to allow external guests to enter the Juliette Palace in a limited manner.

Eva, who had come to see me in the morning, was walking around like the mistress of the house.

The young princess was horrified to see ‘Je-yuk’ [a type of Korean dried beef jerky] sitting on the mantelpiece of the drawing room, or hurt her toes on the furniture, but she managed to control her expression like the next Duchess.

Christel, who had come with her, encouraged her, saying ‘You’ve grown up a lot.’

“The masquerade ball is different from a costume ball. In particular, the Blancar ducal family’s masquerade ball is famous for being colorful and luxurious. It’s a precious event where entry is strictly limited to invited guests and partners. It hasn’t been held since the late Duke passed away, but this year will be different.”

Eva stood in the middle of the drawing room and declared.

She held her neck straight and placed her hands on her waist.

“And the flower of the masquerade ball is, of course, the masquerade.”

I picked up the lesser pandas that were circling around the child and looked up.

“Isn’t it just that you can’t see your face?”

“Idiot!”

The young princess shouted in frustration. Then, realizing that I was a prince, she hurriedly covered her mouth.

Christel, who was sitting on the sofa and listening, muttered, ‘Wow, cider [refreshing or satisfying].’

The attending servants bit their lips. The divine beasts in their arms stuck out their tongues and enjoyed it.

…Was that just now cider, that is, a cider remark?

Even the Juliette Palace family knows what that means?

“I, I’m sorry. But I said you were an idiot because I heard you say something idiotic, but if you ask me why I thought you were an idiot…”

“It’s okay. I guess my statement was ignorant.”

When I said with a bitter smile, Eva quickly said, ‘That’s right.’

Then she brought her bright black-brown eyes close to me.

“I will officially become the Duchess that day, and the Prince will come as the Duchess’s partner. So you have to make the masquerade the most wonderful and beautiful. A half-assed masquerade is worse than not doing it at all.”

Umm…

“Don’t worry. I’ve already thought of everything. No one will recognize the Prince. You just need to provide me with the measurements.”

That was a great relief. I wasn’t good at picking out clothes or decorating myself.

When I went to work, I often wore what my brother and Eunseo had chosen for me, and these days I absolutely relied on the advice of the servants.

I trusted Eva’s help.

“I also read diligently . The Prince is famous as the epitome of an angel in the capital these days,”

“Cough! Cough, cough!”

I was so embarrassed that I choked on my saliva. I looked at Eva with my mouth buried in my arm.

No way, right?

-Knock knock

Then someone knocked on the door.

I thought Benjamin had already prepared refreshments, but it was Ganael with empty hands.

The boy said in a serious voice.

“Your Highness, they are urgently looking for you from Romero Palace.”

My and Christel’s eyes quickly met.

The only reason the Crown Prince would meet me on the weekend was one.

We were supposed to have lunch and see each other in the afternoon, but it seemed like his condition had worsened since he was calling me right away.

Eva, who didn’t know the situation, blinked her eyes. I put down the lesser pandas and bowed to her.

The surprised young princess quickly returned the bow.

It didn’t take even 10 seconds for Christel and I to leave the door.

“I’ll be away for a while, Eva. If you’re hungry, eat first.”

“Will it take long?”

“That’s…”

I vaguely raised the corners of my mouth.

“My partner is also an idiot, so I don’t know what will happen. If it looks like it will be very late, I will send a servant.”