What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 155

“#155 My Partner’s Partner (4)”

“Welcome, Your Highness.”

As we entered Romero Palace, David greeted us.

Christel and I were immediately led to a side room adjacent to the Crown Prince’s bedroom.

Strictly speaking, Christel was an uninvited guest, but no one pointed that out.

They implicitly understood that she had come with me not just to see a friend, but also to prepare for the Crown Prince’s possible ether runaway [a state where a person’s magical energy goes out of control].

It would have been better if Sir Johann were here, but he did not know the exact ‘condition’ of Crown Prince Cedrick.

“Sir Sarnese, you must have seen another side of His Highness during the Great Demon Beast subjugation,” David asked in a solemn voice in front of the bedroom door. Christel nodded.

I quickly whispered to the middle-aged man.

“His condition wasn’t bad enough to turn into Seidi [a being consumed by uncontrolled ether]. What happened? What about the Hyegeom [a special sword]?”

“He had breakfast and received the final report on the Holy Knight investiture ceremony [a formal ceremony where someone is granted the title of Holy Knight] to be held on Tuesday. Afterward, while he had the sword removed for a bath······”

He trailed off. We listened intently.

“This is just my humble opinion, so please take it with a grain of salt. It seems that His Highness······ feels pressured to formally become a Holy Knight.”

At that moment, a memory from a few months ago flashed in my mind like a light bulb.

It was the Emperor’s voice I heard at the celebration banquet for the Great Demon Beast subjugation victory.

She clearly said this while looking at her son.

‘I know you’re not interested in being invested as a Holy Knight. But don’t even think about avoiding how to use power correctly.’

A belated realization dawned on me. The Crown Prince had never wanted to become a Holy Knight.

Christel’s face hardened. The aide continued in a somber tone.

“The power that His Highness possesses is certainly great and sacred. But you have not thought so for a long time.”

“······.”

He had suffered from ether depletion since he was a baby, and if he were to run wild, he would have to be confined to a solitary room with a restraint collar around his neck.

Having gone through such a childhood, it would have been nearly impossible to like his abilities.

My fist clenched tightly.

The Crown Prince spoke very little and even less about himself.

I couldn’t blame his innate personality, so I just felt sorry for him. No one wanted him to drive himself like that.

I turned my gaze to the balcony.

Only after checking the large glass door and table did I realize that this was the space where I had left the birthday present.

David’s explanation continued.

“Moreover, he has been reviewing a month’s worth of state affairs since August. I have repeatedly advised him to replenish his sleep······ but he has not listened. Perhaps it is to save time to spend with his friends.”

I was so surprised that I turned my head. My eyes almost popped out.

Christel was also taken aback and let out a ‘huh.’ What was he talking about?

“Are you saying he has been overworking himself since the Crown Prince’s investiture ceremony?”

“That’s right, Your Highness.”

“Do Her Majesty and His Highness Oreli know about this?”

“It would be more accurate to say they are holding back. The report that Your Highness has come to Romero has probably already gone up by now.”

The aide said quietly. We tilted our heads, unable to grasp the meaning.

“His Highness the Crown Prince has been unusually stubborn since he was young. He was the type to get up on his own even if he fell while running, and he refused anyone’s help until you asked him first. Therefore, those above······ have been overlooking the reports up to two times.”

“Even if he seems to be having a hard time, they hold back up to two times and step in on the third time?”

“Yes. It’s true that parents can’t win against their children.”

David gave Christel an answer mixed with a sigh.

If the child didn’t want it, and especially with the Crown Prince’s temperament, it wouldn’t have been easy to break his resistance.

The result of the adults stepping back and compromising was the two instances of patience.

I took a deep breath and rubbed my face roughly. The little Crown Prince was really an idiot.

What’s wrong with a child acting like a child? It’s a right and an obligation.

It’s only natural.

“······I’ll go in.”

I said. David added, “Please take care of him.”

Click, the door opened.

*

Christel and I stood blankly for a while, speechless.

The Crown Prince’s bedroom, so wide it was almost vast, was as dark as dusk even in broad daylight.

If it weren’t for the candles lit here and there, I would have definitely tripped.

Black marble floors, jet-black wallpaper, and a dark gray canopy came into view in turn.

It was decorated with gold in places, and the furniture was very ornate, but it seemed like they had tried to minimize the colors of the room as much as possible.

We muffled our footsteps and headed to the bed.

Naturally, our pace slowed down, and we looked at each other.

By the time we pulled back the bed curtains, only the sound of the fabric rustling could be heard.

A familiar face, with a cold towel on his forehead, could be seen. Black hair and white cheeks.

“He’s asleep.”

Christel whispered. All that was on the side table was an elegant water bottle and a glass.

There was only one chair.

I yielded the seat where David had been sitting to her, and I awkwardly straddled the bedside.

I couldn’t put too much weight on it, lest the child wake up.

-Saaaah······

And very slowly, I opened the Sanctuary, reducing its brightness and size.

In my mind, I imagined a thin stream of water flowing to the child.

The area around the bed was tinged with a faint golden color. The boy’s nose twitched. Then,

“Ugh.”

My back bent over. It was because my ether suddenly drained away, causing dizziness.

Surprised, Christel quickly grabbed my arm. We both checked the little one’s complexion at the same time.

“······.”

The closed eyelids remained as they were.

The child groaned almost imperceptibly, then quickly regained stability with even breaths.

I was so dumbfounded that I chuckled.

It wasn’t like taking a rattle away from a baby in its guardian’s arms, but he snatched the ether away so forcefully.

It seemed to be an instinctive reaction, but now he was quiet again. I slowly straightened my upper body.

Thoughts and words flowed out at once.

“Maybe······ it’s related to His Majesty Alexandr.”

The protagonist stared at me silently. I carefully added.

“It’s just my guess, but I think His Highness lost his father at a young age and was deeply hurt.”

Then I closed my mouth. I was not a party involved or a family member.

From here on, there was nothing I could say to Christel.

The story Cardinal Boutier told me in front of the dark room in the basement of Romero Palace lingered in my ears.

‘It’s been 12 years since we used this place.’

That day was before the Crown Prince’s birthday, so based on twenty-four, it meant that he had not used the secret chamber since he was twelve years old.

The healthy and young Alexandr passed away in a sudden accident.

His passing was also when the Crown Prince was twelve years old.

There was something unsettling about dismissing it as a coincidence.

Finally, I recalled the black-haired archmage I met inside the Ark.

Of course, it wasn’t him, but ‘Nikki’ knew something about the King.

‘He was for his son······.’

The jade face that smiled sadly was vivid. After that, the situation became urgent, and I couldn’t hear the explanation to the end.

But looking back, it wasn’t difficult to complete a scenario with the short words he left behind.

······Alexandr Liester may have sacrificed his life to heal his son.

“So he became afraid of his own power.”

I whispered after a long time. There was a high possibility that it wasn’t true.

The Crown Prince was just experiencing poor condition due to fatigue and pressure, and there may not have been a scar on his heart that he had carried throughout his life.

It would be really fortunate if that were the case.

“It’s okay. It’s a power that can save many people. I’ll help you.”

I whispered, putting my hand on the little one’s neck.

He still had a slight fever, but at this rate, it would soon go down.

The cold sweat had stopped in the meantime.

“The Divine Beasts really like your flame. Tete seems like he’ll avoid it because he’s a water attribute······.”

My words were twisted. That’s not what I was trying to say.

I wanted to bring out a good encouragement that friends could give each other, rather than the kind of comfort that the imperial family would have given him once in a while.

But for some reason, my thoughts weren’t turning over quickly. I felt a little sleepy.

When I lifted my heavy head and looked back at Christel, she was looking at me with a bewildered face.

“Are you having a hard time?”

“No, I think it’s because the blanket is so fluffy. I don’t usually take naps······.”

My vision was blurry. Ping, a momentary dizzying sensation stirred my brain.

I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them, and the blanket rustled near my head.

‘Your Highness!’ Christel’s cry faded away.

I didn’t even think about holding on and fell asleep.

*

“You promised not to do this.”

Christel said, glaring at the young Cedrick.

Only the golden candlestick lit the bedside where the Sanctuary had disappeared.

She kicked the chair away and wrapped her arms around the Prince’s back, facing the Crown Prince in a defensive posture.

The boy frowned, looking at the blond hair scattered on the blanket.

Although he had lost consciousness in the form of falling asleep, his priest had fainted anyway.

He must have absorbed too much ether in his dream.

Golden particles were rapidly rising from his small frame.

“······Why are you here?”

“David-nim called us. Your Highness is His Highness’s partner. And I’m Your Highness’s partner.”

It was a clear answer.

She glared disrespectfully at the Crown Prince, then bowed her head to check the Prince’s condition.

Fortunately, there were no abnormal symptoms. Christel grumbled.

“Your Highness is a person, not an ether pouch. It’s difficult if you stick a straw in like this.”

“······.”

“As a fellow Holy Knight, I understand how you feel. You keep wanting to receive it, and it’s hard to stop. But since you’ve become equal partners, you have to make an effort to restrain yourself······.”

She stopped talking as she raised her eyes. Her blue eyes widened.

“Are you perhaps growing up right now?”

“······.”

The boy, though still a boy, was not as small as before.

Cedrick now looked about thirteen or fourteen years old.

Ether beads were rising from his body like soap bubbles.

Christel gaped in shock and horror. The Crown Prince immediately made an unpleasant face.

“Are you gawking?”

“Yes. No?”

She quickly retracted her statement. The little one was even growing up his voice.

Orange eyes lowered their gaze as if resentful. His gaze reached the Prince.

“I didn’t want this.”

The voice that said that was somewhere between a boy and a young man.

Christel clearly understood what he meant.

The Crown Prince had never wanted either the power of fire or the shrinking body.

Everything was so-called ‘God’s will,’ so he couldn’t dare to resist.

She calmly accepted the words.

“I know. I’m the same way.”

“······.”

“I never wanted to have water attribute ether. I never wanted to wake up in a place like this without any memories. Maybe that’s what life is like. It doesn’t go my way, and it gets twisted in strange ways.”

The end of her words trembled slightly. But she didn’t stop.

“Is that why you’ve been acting like that for the past few days? Are you afraid of formally accepting the power?”

“Stop.”

“Afraid that you’ll burn even the Prince,”

-Fwoosh!

The curtain caught fire. The young boy had already become a grown man.

A large gown fit his body perfectly.

-Chwaaa!

-Chiijijik······

Christel shot the water from the side table at the curtain. The embers disappeared with a loud noise.

The Prince, feeling the smell of burning, tossed and turned. The Holy Knight strode confidently to the window.

“You were planning to burn it down just now, too.”

“Shut up.”

“‘It’s okay to be afraid.’ The Prince would definitely say that. He’d say that no one thinks it’s bad or embarrassing, and that you can admit it.”

“Close your mouth.”

“Were you really just scared? There must have been times when it wasn’t after the Prince came.”

“······.”

Chareureuk! Squeak, bang, thud! Christel pulled back the curtains and opened the window with skillful movements.

The cool and clean autumn breeze instantly filled her lungs.

The bright sunlight began to illuminate the bedroom. She stared straight at the two men on the bed.

“If Your Highness starts a fire, I’ll do my best to put it out, so don’t worry. The Prince will never get hurt. Neither will Her Majesty, His Highness Oreli, nor any of our other friends.”

The pink hair tied high fluttered. Her blue eyes shone clearly.

She, who had approached before I knew it, was holding out her right fist to the Crown Prince.

“I promise, as my partner’s partner. So, brace yourself.”

Cedrick stared at her hand without a word.

Several minutes passed, and his left fist slowly touched hers.