What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 24

#024 Handling (3)

I couldn’t come up with an answer quickly.

My mind raced as I reviewed the clues Eunseo had given me.

But no matter which memory I pulled out, I couldn’t find the phrase ‘Holy Knight Christel.’

I wanted to say that Christel’s abilities weren’t bad, so I mentioned Holy Knight first, but I didn’t expect things to turn out this way.

I’ve never read ‘Toegye Gong’ [a prominent Korean Confucian scholar], but I was sure that at least the beginning wasn’t like this.

With the annulment of the engagement and the protagonist’s declaration of changing jobs, the distortion grew as the Blessing of the Azure Sea disappeared.

Then I wondered what power in the original work had granted the Duchess’s wish.

The most likely thing was the sacred object stolen from the Temple of the Boundary.

If that had been intact, the Duchess might have been able to save her daughter and keep the Blessing of the Azure Sea as a dowry.

Christel wouldn’t have gained the power of water either.

Then the remaining question is: Who stole the sacred object from the temple, and for what purpose?

“Then······.”

The moment I opened my mouth,

-Knock, knock, knock, knock

A familiar knock was heard. It was the same rhythm as the cheering chant, ‘Dae, Han, Min-guk!’ [a popular Korean cheer meaning “Great Korea”].

Prince Cedric reacted first.

Knowing who it was, he sighed through his nose and raised his gloved hand to draw a horizontal line in the air again.

-Click

The sound of the lock being released was heard. It was amazing to see, even for the second time.

The balcony door slowly opened, and a familiar person walked out with a smile.

The Duchess and I immediately stood up.

“It’s a place where my favorite people are gathered.”

Cardinal Aurelia Boutier said softly.

She was wearing the Cardinal’s uniform, and both the clothes and the mitre [a type of hat traditionally worn by bishops] were several times more splendid than mine.

There was a lot of added fabric, and the embroidery was very dense.

With a gentle wave of her hand, the attendants standing behind her all stepped back.

“Hello, Your Highness.”

“We greet Your Eminence, the esteemed Cardinal.”

“Your Highness.”

The Duchess, the Prince, and I greeted in turn.

The Cardinal responded, ‘I’m glad to see you too,’ then tilted her beige eyes to carefully look at Demi on my shoulder.

“You’ve tamed it well, I’m glad. I heard the story a little while ago.”

-Squeak

Demi made a short sound as if answering.

Come to think of it, Benjamin had instructed the guard to ‘report the situation to His Eminence the Cardinal.’

I was about to say that I should send this guy in the morning, but the Cardinal spoke first.

“You did a good job with the confession, Prince. Not forgetting what you were taught.”

She looked very proud. My thoughts paused for a moment and then continued.

“······Did you hear everything?”

“The soldiers said it was urgent, so I left Frederick behind, but the balcony door was locked. I was waiting inside, and that’s how it happened.”

There wasn’t a grain of regret in her face as she added, ‘Sorry.’

No matter how you look at it, it seemed like she was actively eavesdropping, but her impression was so innocent that it was hard to doubt her.

She slowly approached us and reached out to Duchess Sarnese.

“You must be dehydrated from crying so much, Isabelle. Shall we have some tea?”

It was a gentle voice, like singing a lullaby.

The Duchess’s face crumpled at her suggestion.

It was like seeing Eunseo when she was little.

Even though she had fallen and scraped her knee, she bravely got up, and when I approached her and asked, ‘Are you okay?’ my sister would finally look at me and burst into tears.

“Hngh······.”

The Duchess buried her face in the Cardinal’s shoulder.

I realized anew how much she had suffered and how depressed she must have been.

While the Prince and I stood silently, the Cardinal patted the Duchess’s head and back, leading her inside.

To where her partner, the Emperor, and the Duchess’s partner, the Duke, were waiting.

“Oh, Cedric.”

The Cardinal turned around as she was about to leave the door. The Prince waited for her to continue.

“I heard that the Sarnese Duchess’s carriage has arrived. Shouldn’t you go out and see her?”

“······.”

“The scheduled engagement announcement will have to be canceled, but you are her partner today.”

She smiled brightly without waiting for the Prince’s answer and started walking again.

She was really strangely headstrong, but strangely, it was hard to disobey her.

Is this charisma or something?

“······.”

The Prince didn’t answer.

He was staring intently at the Cardinal’s receding figure, but his mind seemed to be elsewhere.

Looking at his serious face, the fatigue and anxiety that I had forgotten rushed in all at once.

“Then go in.”

I greeted him roughly and gently pulled down Demi, who was gnawing at my collar.

It was time to go back.

“Was what you said earlier genuine?”

A fine baritone voice struck the back of my head. I turned my head and saw the Prince looking down at me.

I thought he liked omitting subjects, but now it seemed like he was just cutting off the beginning and end and only saying what he wanted to say.

“What do you mean by genuine?”

His orange eyes reflected me perfectly.

“······That you don’t think it’s a curse.”

“Lady Christel de Sarnese is entering!”

A thunderous voice echoed from the hall where the ball was being held, cutting through the Prince’s voice.

The interior, which had been constantly bustling, became quiet as if cold water had been poured on it.

The music that had been playing continuously stopped abruptly. I felt a chill run down my spine.

Indeed, the protagonist’s debut in society was different from the start.

I couldn’t resist the sudden surge of curiosity and approached the balcony door.

Apart from wanting to avoid the two protagonists, I also clearly wanted to see Eunseo’s beloved character in a bright place.

I had to remember well at once to tell her what the real thing was like.

“Are you interested?”

“No, I’m just watching.”

I only slightly poked my head out of the door.

Fortunately, the guests showed no interest in me.

Holding a clear glass or their partner’s hand, the lavishly dressed nobles were staring at only one place.

The staircase that stretched grandly from the second floor to the center of the hall.

A noble doll walking down the steps covered with a red carpet without an escort.

Her high-tied pink hair swayed richly, and her blue-gray eyes sparkled like jade beads, reflecting the chandelier light.

The white jacket with luxurious embroidery in blue silk swayed slightly with her movements.

The navy suit and silver boots worn underneath formed a clear contrast.

The expression, mixed with a slight tension and high confidence, looked like an office worker about to give a perfectly prepared presentation.

No, maybe an office worker who has submitted their resignation.

“Huh······.”

It was different.

It was a completely different look from the Christel in the ‘Toegye Gong’ cover, who had her long hair down and was wearing a pastel-toned, flowing dress.

The current Christel looked closer to a young knight.

-Clack, clack

The woman’s boots made a cheerful sound as they crossed the marble floor.

The nobles parted the way for her like a flock of sheep welcoming a prophet.

Christel’s destination, reached without a moment’s hesitation, was in front of the Emperor and the Cardinal.

The Duke and Duchess of Sarnese were standing next to the two.

“Just a moment, Demi. I’ll play with you in the carriage later.”

The nobles’ murmurs grew louder the moment my view was blocked by Demi, who was wagging his tail in front of my eyes as if whining.

It seemed like Christel had done something.

“Excuse me.”

At that moment, Prince Cedric passed me and left the balcony.

He, who had a much higher view than others, found the shortest route to his mother and godmother as accurately as a navigation system.

Meanwhile, I finally took off the mitre and put Demi inside.

The satisfied guy bloomed a small azalea at the tip of his ear.

“Oh······.”

The nobles who had been blocking my view exclaimed.

I stretched my neck and looked at the situation.

I could see Christel kneeling on one knee in front of the Emperor and the Cardinal as if swearing allegiance, and Prince Cedric reaching out to her and saying something briefly.

The conversation was not audible because of the distance, but the atmosphere itself did not seem bad.

-♩♪♬······

At the same time as Christel took the Prince’s hand and stood up, the orchestra began to play a familiar waltz.

Then the nobles clapped and exclaimed.

There were also several people who were moved by something and shed tears while looking for their god.

“Wow!”

“What a wonderful couple.”

Admiration-filled voices were heard. Prince Cedric and Christel were dancing.

She was obviously someone who was not familiar with the waltz, but she did not make any major mistakes because the Prince’s lead was excellent.

His black dress coat with gold-trimmed sleeves went quite well with Christel’s outfit.

“As expected, they end up together.”

-Squeak?

I stroked Demi’s nose as he tilted his head. I felt a little relieved.

I don’t know what Christel said while kneeling, or what the Prince said······.

Anyway, there was no clearer green light than the two protagonists holding hands and dancing at their first meeting.

“That’s good. Let’s really go now.”

When I raised my head while saying that, Christel and I met eyes head-on.

“······.”

No, it must have been my mistake. It wasn’t close, and there was a sea of people.

She may have seen another noble, or her eyes may have just brushed against me unconsciously.

I stepped back, repeating that to myself.

The next moment, the Prince, who turned around one and a half times and turned his gaze to the balcony, looked straight at me.

I was startled and closed the balcony door, pulling my body out.

The last thing I saw through the crack in the door was Christel’s eyes, turning around again and looking straight at me.

“It’s not a horror movie······.”

It was chilling.

It felt like the steering wheel that the writer had broken and pulled out was flying and piercing my chest.

*

“Prince, you worked too hard. What should we do······. Benjamin, you really suffered too.”

What greeted me as I got into the carriage in an exhausted state was Ganael, who looked more like death than I did.

Benjamin, who had been waiting for me in the garden, was also quite tired.

Ganael took out lemon balm tea, eclairs, and snack baskets that she had prepared while waiting for us.

-Knock knock

While I was peeling a boiled egg for Demi first, someone knocked on the carriage door.

The door opened at Ganael’s response. But the person standing outside was not the coachman.

“Duchess Sarnese.”

“Prince Yeseo.”

Her eyes were redder than when I saw her on the balcony, but her complexion was much better. She was alone.

Benjamin and Ganael paid their respects as much as possible while sitting.

When I was surprised and offered her a seat, she smiled slightly and shook her head.

“I came because there was something I didn’t tell you about the sacred object that disappeared from the Temple of the Boundary.”

Then she carefully looked at Benjamin and Ganael.

It was a silent question of whether they could hear it together.

“We will listen together, please tell us.”

Christel had certainly hinted at the confessional that ‘she would talk about that too,’ but I thought the related content had all come out during the confession.

I waited for the Duchess’s story with a slightly bewildered heart.

“It’s not certain. My husband and I continued to inquire about the sacred object, and we heard a story through the Holy Nation’s grapevine······. The high-ranking priests of the Holy Nation interpret that the sacred object of the temple was not ‘disappeared’ but ‘fulfilled its purpose.'”

“Fulfilled its purpose means······.”

“They believe that someone has already made a wish there, and the sacred object has been permanently damaged as the wish was fulfilled.”

She adjusted the shawl that she seemed to have put on in a hurry.

“If His Eminence Cardinal Boutier declared the Prince’s innocence as the representative of the Empire, I heard that the priests in the Holy Nation believe in the Prince’s innocence for that reason. So······.”

The tired brain started to spin again.

A sacred object that may have already disappeared after fulfilling someone’s wish, not stolen.

A novel whose early settings have been completely twisted.

“I thought it would be good for the Prince to know, so I came to tell you.”

She finished speaking in a small voice.

A single ray of light shining brightly through hundreds of thin and weak threads was visible.