What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 174

The Crown Prince’s sword made a swift, whooshing sound as he sheathed it.

What a psycho. It’s like he maxed out his personality stats and just plastered them all over his face.

“Ha…”

I let out a sigh of relief, gathering the Lesser Pandas, who were about to scatter in all directions, into my arms.

Even if they were uninvited guests, they were still guests, so I had to show some courtesy.

Calmly, I asked the most pressing question first.

“Can I put the little ones down?”

“……”

Crown Prince Cedric glared at me intensely.

Others might take it negatively, but I was used to his way of speaking and gesturing by now.

Since he didn’t say, ‘Does it look like you can?’ it meant it was okay.

As soon as I put the little ones down, Leah and Perry toddled over to the Crown Prince and clung to his knees.

They seemed incredibly happy to see him.

I smiled at them, then looked up to see the man watching me with a calmer expression than before.

Still doesn’t seem like he’s planning to treat me like a guest, though.

“Let’s sit down for now, Your Highness.”

I said, slowly getting up from my seat.

My eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and I could see my surroundings fairly clearly.

The fireplace still had embers, and there were cups and a teapot… I could manage to put something together.

*

-Pour, pour…

I carefully poured tea into two cups.

Luckily, there was a box of dandelion tea on the mantel in the side room, so I brewed it myself. Thankfully, I didn’t make any big mistakes.

I’m glad I paid attention to what Benjamin and Ganael do every day.

It would be nice to have some snacks, but unlike my room, there were no treats here at all.

Well, it’s not good to eat late at night anyway.

I lifted my chin and met the Crown Prince’s gaze.

He had been sitting quietly the whole time, as I lit candles around the room, brewed tea, and warned the divine creatures to behave.

Even to my non-holy knight eyes, he looked somewhat sensitive and unstable.

I wonder if he’s getting enough Aether [a magical energy source in this world].

“Um, well.”

While warm steam rose from the cups, I glanced towards the balcony for a moment.

I needed to organize my thoughts before speaking.

The cloud bridge I had crossed was hanging on the railing.

The Lesser Pandas had painstakingly made it out of vines, and thanks to them, I didn’t have to set foot on the ground to get here from the Juliette Palace balcony.

It was precarious, but I wasn’t caught by the guards.

For the record, Dduk-sim’s contribution was crucial in getting the vines to reach this far.

Thanks to the wren quietly carrying the ends of the vines and moving them, I was able to successfully build the bridge without trial and error.

No, that’s not it.

“I’m sorry.”

“……”

I apologized immediately. The Crown Prince stared at me silently.

“I didn’t mean to run away or leave without a word. I still don’t. Back then… I just did it without thinking.”

A bitter smile escaped my lips. That was really the only way to explain it.

It was a moment when my homing instinct took precedence over all calculations and thoughts.

“But I never forgot that I am Your Highness and Sir Sarnese’s partner. Or that we agreed to work together.”

Then, the Crown Prince’s irises darkened to a color closer to night than day. I emphasized again.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“A ridiculously crude bonsai.”

He said bleakly. I blinked, not knowing what he meant.

“A chair the size of a palm, with bars.”

“……”

“Is that the kind of place you wanted to go back to?”

The man challenged me.

I wondered what he was talking about, but after thinking about it, he seemed to be referring to the flowerpot with the grass doll and the fishing chair.

My mouth slowly opened. Did you see my veranda too…?

“I see what kind of treatment you received in the royal palace.”

“Wait a minute.”

“The luxury and freedom of the imperial palace must have been unfamiliar to you.”

“That’s true, but.”

I’m going crazy. I muttered.

I wanted to tell him that he was caught in a swamp of misunderstandings, but knowing that Prince Yeser was the black sheep of the Holy Kingdom, it was strange to deny it.

It wasn’t like my family was struggling financially, but to the Crown Prince of the Empire, my house must have looked like a barn. Hmm.

“You’re not entirely wrong. But,”

-Creak, creak.

“Demi. You shouldn’t touch things in a friend’s house without permission.”

I glanced at the Crown Prince and quickly got up.

The troublemaker, who had been loitering near the table, was showing interest in the holy stone bead he had dropped earlier.

The creature was tapping the gold plate containing the mineral with its round paws.

Hugging Demi’s chubby belly, I apologized.

“I’m sorry. As you know, Demi is very curious…”

Then I stopped speaking.

Now that I looked, all the holy stone beads on the tray contained flames, water flowers, or wind flowers.

The red, blue, and white special Aether were clearly the power of the Crown Prince, Christel, and Sir Johann, respectively.

I hadn’t noticed it when I accidentally dropped it earlier because I was flustered.

I stared at the man with wide eyes. My voice faltered.

“Did you figure out the secret to stabilizing the holy stones while I was passed out?”

“You’re not entirely wrong.”

He repeated my words. I glared at him slightly, and a chilling voice came out.

“Your blood.”

“Pardon?”

“Holy stones imbued with the blood of a priest seem to preserve the power of a holy knight stably.”

A chill ran down my spine. I remembered the image of the bead absorbing the blood I had vomited that day.

I had expected that the role of the priest would be important since the holy stone accepted my Aether without leakage.

However, I had only thought about pre-coating the holy stone with pure Aether or simultaneously injecting both Aethers through physical contact. I had never considered the terrifying idea of using blood.

Even the Emperor of the Empire hadn’t made such a suggestion. I barely managed to open my mouth.

“Isn’t this a test bead? I believe the holy stones used as weapons in Venetian during the war were much larger than this.”

There were records of throwing holy stones, some as small as a person’s body and some as large as a carriage, loaded onto catapults.

Despite boasting an overwhelming force, Emperor Romero’s imperial army was quickly unable to gain the upper hand, pushed back by divine weapons imbued with Aether.

The Crown Prince met my gaze for a long moment before answering.

“They would have absorbed more blood.”

Even if it meant killing a priest if necessary.

He didn’t say it that far, but I could easily guess the rest.

The Holy Kingdom would have had difficulty avoiding defeat or surrender without harboring such dark intentions.

Lilianer, the queen at the time, was called the ‘Iron-Blooded Puppeteer.’

She was a ruthless strategist who sent her fifteen-year-old only son to the front lines to boost the morale of the army.

Lilianer would have been capable of conceiving the idea of making weapons by pouring the blood of priests.

It was a gruesome setting.

Moreover, the cause of the war was not political or religious conflict, but a love affair between lovers.

“What does… His Majesty say?”

I asked cautiously. Holy stones were being mined in Aitz Village, which happened to be imperial territory.

I knew that the Emperor hated war, but I wondered if he would be willing to make weapons in preparation for the worst.

One of the reasons for accepting Sir Johann’s exile was the ability to recruit a cardinal-level holy knight.

“He despises it.”

The Crown Prince replied. It was a sentence short enough to be unkind, but I immediately brightened.

As expected, the current Emperor was different.

Even if he was a person who considered many options as a politician, he seemed to have a clear line that he would not cross.

The scent of dandelion tea swirled around my nose, calming my mind.

Hugging Demi, I sat down and smiled.

“I still like Liester the best.”

A place with a wonderful ruler and a cardinal to assist her, a cheerful protagonist, and good friends.

“……”

“If possible, I want to keep staying here. As I said before.”

“Flattery won’t work.”

The Crown Prince answered sharply before bringing the teacup to his lips.

He seemed to think I was praising the Empire to curry favor with him. But I was being sincere.

“Can’t you let me meet my other friends?”

I probed slightly.

It hurt my pride to have to get permission for an audience from someone who was only four years old.

But wasn’t this not the first time I’d had this experience since being possessed?

I waited for an answer, looking at Leah, who was climbing onto the Crown Prince’s neck, with pleading eyes.

I hope she doesn’t fall and cry.

“Aren’t you afraid?”

He asked back. What was he talking about?

“You don’t have any power right now.”

“Ah.”

Is that what you meant? I chuckled. Conversely, the Crown Prince frowned.

“As you may have heard from Princess Aurelia, my Aether appeared suddenly one day. You already know that I was called a hollow bishop in the Holy Kingdom.”

“……”

“So the current me is actually closer to the real me. I guess you could say I’m a hollow high priest. I have no combat power, and my defense is zero.”

I smiled brightly, watching Leah successfully board the Crown Prince’s neck.

The creature grinned, following me. She’s excited to meet her favorite older brother.

“It’s a little scary that the probability of being in danger has increased. I have to be careful. But I’ve lived without Aether for almost 30 years, so I’ll be fine. And there are many people around me who help, including Your Highness.”

This was the same in reality. Our three siblings had many good people around us.

Aunt and auntie took turns taking care of us and became best friends, and our parents’ longtime friends also contacted us regularly.

We lived in the same neighborhood, so we had many close neighbors.

Even without superpowers, we were able to get through difficult times with the care of warm people.

“……If your Aether doesn’t recover.”

The man said lowly. His orange eyes were glowing darkly.

“Then I’m worried about Your Highness.”

I replied. I was worried about him, who had only grown taller, while I was fine.

Unlike Christel, the Crown Prince had a fatal weakness.

“You’re one of the Empire’s only two holy knights, but your partner isn’t doing their job.”

“……”

“I’ll diligently cultivate my soul, study hard, and try my best to get my Aether back while protecting myself as much as possible. Your Highness, you should also look for a new priest in preparation for an emergency.”

-Thump!

He got up from his seat. The chair fell over and rolled across the floor.

Leah and Perry, terrified, quickly climbed down from the Crown Prince and climbed up my thighs.

I looked at him in surprise.

His fierce gaze was so hot it felt like it would burn me if I touched it.

“I will confine you until you regain your power.”

“Why are we back to square one…”

“Don’t even think about escaping the life of royalty.”

Sparks flew from his fingertips. The three Lesser Pandas raised their tails warily.

I hugged them, dumbfounded.

I think I’m finally starting to understand the points that the disciples of Toegye [a Korean Confucian scholar] are criticizing.

There’s nothing wrong with the main character’s hearing, but he’s not communicating.

The fact that the protagonist has to fix this makes me feel hopeless.

“I don’t mean… to quit being your partner.”

Let’s stay calm. It’s because he wasn’t socialized enough when he was young.

If I correct him even a little bit here, Christel will suffer less later.

“You need to make rational judgments as the heir to the throne. Especially if you want to get a religious partner, you should look at the high priest as the center,”

“I will allow limited walks and audiences.”

The Crown Prince spat out. Before I could add anything, the next order fell.

“Take the prince to Juliette Palace.”

“I will obey your command, Your Highness.”

“Ugh!”

Hugging the Lesser Panda group, I was horrified. David was already standing at the door.

The middle-aged man bowed politely to me.

“How long have you been standing there?”

“I’ve been here since ‘Can I put the little ones down,’ Your Highness.”

You were there from the very beginning!

*

…Even though I was kicked out like that, I was really able to take walks in the garden from the next day.

Moreover, I was able to receive guests ‘on a limited basis.’

Anyone who applied for an audience with the Crown Prince and received permission could come to see me.

I strolled through the garden in a good mood, waiting for the only guest who had passed his screening.

Benjamin and Ganael knew who the other person was, but I asked them not to tell me. It was fun to guess.

“Is it a woman or a man?”

“It’s a man.”

“Is he a holy knight?”

“No.”

“A wizard?”

“No.”

Ganael grinned, matching his steps to Dduk-sim.

I enjoyed the colorful autumn leaves and the fresh air before stopping.

If it’s a man who isn’t a holy knight or a wizard, is it Sant?

Sant seemed to be the limit of who the Crown Prince would allow….

“A guest is coming over there, Your Highness.”

Benjamin said softly, pointing to the garden entrance. I quickly turned my head.

I burst out laughing because I was so happy and surprised by the unexpected person.

“Herrit! Did you come to see your uncle?”

The little boy, who was holding Sir Johann’s hand tightly, came running with a large backpack.

I lifted the child up and hugged him tightly.

The young, large mint-colored eyes sparkled with the same emotion as mine.

Looking back, Sir Johann, who had not been granted entry, was standing far away, curving his eyes.