What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 30

#030 The Last and Only (2)

Three days passed, and it was Saturday.

In the meantime, Cardinal Boutier had canceled class once.

I didn’t hear exactly what the reason was, but Cardinal Boutier’s attendant, Natalie, came directly to the Juliette Palace to deliver the news.

I guessed he was dealing with the aftermath of ‘The Comet Sword of Mars’ being offered as the prize for the ‘Great Demon Beast Extermination.’

It wasn’t a situation where I would lose much.

I could always make up the class later, and it was better not to meet Christel or the Prince.

“Other than going to confession this afternoon, there are no other schedules. Also, this month’s allowance and pension have been deposited into the vault.”

“I understand… What?”

My voice involuntarily rose at the concept I was hearing for the first time since possessing this body.

I have money too?

“Allowance and pension?”

“Yes, Your Highness. I told you on the morning after you entered the palace.”

Benjamin, standing across the table, answered politely.

I tried to recall the memories of my first day in this body.

But all I could remember was me diligently eating, me enthusiastically eating snacks, and me burying my nose in a notebook.

I must have been so flustered by the possession, which was a first for me, that my eardrums temporarily went down.

To let such important information slip by.

“You mean I steadily… receive money?”

“Yes. The Imperial Family provides one million francs each month for the Prince’s allowance, and another million francs as a pension for the resident priest of the Imperial Palace.”

“So that’s two million each month.”

“Yes.”

‘Franc’ is the French currency unit.

I thought they had only given the names of the people in the Empire a French patch [a superficial or cosmetic connection], but it seemed they had neatly unified the currency as well.

At this point, I wondered if the Venetian New Nation used the Euro.

“I don’t have a sense of how much two million francs is. I think the cost of living is very different from the New Nation.”

Of course, the question was asked for practical reasons. I wondered if it was about two million won [South Korean currency].

It would be easier for the author to calculate if the value of the currency in the novel and the Korean won were the same.

All I do here is listen to people’s confessions, study, enjoy gourmet food, and play with Demi.

There’s no deposit or monthly rent, and the servants take care of the meals, cleaning, and laundry, so two million a month was not just a good deal, it was like winning the lottery.

“Um, um. With two million… you could buy a nice mansion on the outskirts of the Imperial Capital. It would be difficult to get one with a lake, though.”

Ganael’s answer momentarily stunned me.

“What?”

“If you build it yourself, it might be possible near the lake,” Benjamin quickly added, as if he thought I was disappointed that I couldn’t have a mansion with a lake.

I was confused about how to take this.

Frankly, I wondered why they would give so much cash to a hostage who just eats.

Moreover, it was prepaid, so four million francs for two months was in my vault…

There’s nothing to use it for.

Unless I was in a position where I had to run away to a remote territory far from the front lines with the money, or make a big score by investing in real estate before the war, I was a hostage whose goal was to go home.

“…The Riester Imperial Family is really wealthy.”

In the end, all that came out was this kind of exclamation. Then Ganael laughed out loud.

“It’s no exaggeration that His Highness is called ‘the Empire’s top heir.'”

I nodded.

Indeed, the main character of a romance fantasy novel shouldn’t just be tall and handsome.

“Ah, is it possible to transfer my money?”

Benjamin looked troubled at my question.

I immediately understood what he had misunderstood.

“Of course, I’m not sending it to the New Nation. There’s no one to receive it there.”

“In that case…”

“I want to send it to the Berang baronial family.”

Ganael and Benjamin closed their mouths.

I thought of the two twins who had infiltrated from the New Nation disguised as servants to assassinate me.

When I thought about the story of the ‘real’ Berang twins that those guys had killed, my heart felt heavy even in my sleep.

They were children I didn’t even know, but they lost their lives at a young age because of something related to me, so I couldn’t feel comfortable.

“I don’t think you can comfort the hearts of parents who have lost their children with money. I just… The Berang twins were children hired for me, so I want to contribute to their funeral expenses, even if it’s late.”

Benjamin slowly nodded. It meant he would proceed as I wished.

“Please send three million five hundred thousand francs to the baronial couple.”

Ganael, startled, covered her mouth with both hands. I gave a bitter smile.

It was empty money for me, and money that would come in again next month, but it might be meaningful to the baronial couple, even if only a little.

That was enough.

Demi silently approached and rubbed her body against my feet.

*

“How is it? I made the wooden window open wide from the Prince’s seat, as you requested.”

“It’s really seamless, Maxim. Thank you.”

When I added, ‘Thank you for your hard work,’ the Imperial Palace carpenter scratched the back of his head and smiled shyly.

Maxim had also made the ‘Priest Absent,’ ‘Confessions Available’ signs for me a while ago at my request.

He was also a friend of Agnes, who worked in the mountains behind the Juliette Palace.

“It doesn’t make any noise when you open it either.”

“I put a lot of effort into the hinges. Such small parts make the difference between top-notch and high-end.”

He explained proudly.

I kept exclaiming at the wooden window of the confessional that Maxim had neatly fixed.

Indeed, people should learn a skill.

Perhaps because he had some free time after the Spring Ball, Maxim and the other Imperial Palace carpenters had recently been frequently visiting the Imperial Palace temple to repair the confessional.

Even though I made a slightly unreasonable request, saying, ‘I wish I could open the wooden window from the seat where the priest sits,’ they showed a reaction that it was nothing, saying, ‘Just leave it to us.’

They didn’t even seem to question whether the priest could face the confessor.

From my point of view, it was a fortunate thing.

I had asked for that design for Sadie, who I didn’t know when she would come.

The day before yesterday, the carpenters took off the broken wooden window and had a conversation, saying, ‘This looks like it was pierced with a knife,’ and ‘Surely it wasn’t a knife?’

I couldn’t manage my expression because I felt guilty even though I wasn’t the one who did it.

I decided that if I met the little one again, I would definitely correct her habit.

“The call decoration rope is not our responsibility, but when I asked the person in charge, they said that the entire rope had to be replaced. It will probably take some time.”

“I understand.”

I answered with an ambiguous smile.

In fact, I had taken care of the cut tassel part, and I couldn’t bring myself to say that if I just sewed it back together, the rope would be new again.

Because then I would have to explain about the little guest who was with me at that time.

“Then, I’ll be on my way. May the Divine Beast be healthy as well.”

-Creak

As Maxim packed his tools into his leather bag and bowed, Demi, who was in my arms, cried softly.

I escorted Maxim with Benjamin and Ganael and returned to the front of the confessional.

It was time to start the afternoon’s confession.

“Demi, stay with them for a moment.”

-Kkiung

I handed the lesser panda to Ganael, who had become quite stable at holding it, and received a picnic basket full of food from Benjamin.

After confirming that the two people and one animal had entered the priest’s room and closed the door, I checked again to see if anyone was in the temple and hung up the ‘Priest Absent’ sign.

And then,

-Creak

I entered the empty confessor’s seat. Not the priest’s seat where I always sit, but the next compartment.

“Where…”

Because the interior was somewhat dark, the seams of the wooden wall were not easily visible.

Instead of a disappointing cell phone flashlight, I deployed a circle.

Golden aether poured out, drawing a circle on the floor.

As I took a slight breath, the area of the sanctuary shrank sharply.

“I think it’s around here.”

I sat down on the floor and checked near the chair where the confessors sit.

My purpose today was nothing grand.

It was a curiosity that didn’t necessarily have to be resolved, so my heart was light.

First, I pressed down hard on the floor directly under the chair, but there seemed to be no secret door.

-Knock knock

I knocked just in case, but it didn’t sound like it was hollow.

So it’s not the bottom.

“Is it in the back?”

Since the confessional was in the form of a huge wooden rectangular parallelepiped attached to the wall, it was impossible to secretly enter and exit from the sides.

Unless it was coming up from the basement, there would be a passage hidden in the back wall.

I slid the chair slightly and pressed firmly on the wall behind the seat.

A scene from a spy movie I watched with Eunseo flashed before my eyes.

If you turn or pull some kind of decoration, a door would open somewhere with a rustling sound, but since this is a temple, there’s nothing like that…

-Creak

“……”

The sound of the confessional door opening came from behind me. I gritted my teeth in embarrassment.

No, even if I put up a sign saying I’m absent, there’s always someone who comes in like this…

“What are you doing here?”

It was a familiar voice. I slowly turned my slumped body.

Come to think of it, I think I got this question from this little one when I first met him.

“…Why are you coming in normally today?”

Sadie scoffed at my question.

The eyes I met were the same orange color as that prince I met a few days ago.

*

“Excuse me for a moment.”

I reached out to the little one’s small forehead to check his condition while sitting on the floor.

Fortunately, it was a mild fever.

Seeing that he wasn’t breathing heavily or sweating, he hadn’t used too much aether [a mystical energy source].

Sadie, sitting in the confessor’s chair, just watched what I was doing without any particular reaction.

“Don’t you need a priest partner?”

“……”

“Or do you already have one and you’re wandering around?”

“……”

I don’t know who he takes after, being so frustratingly unresponsive to questions.

If he doesn’t like heavy questions, I had no choice but to start with light questions and go around.

Like dealing with a six-year-old who doesn’t answer when you ask why he fought with his friend, but answers when you ask what he ate for a snack today.

“Did you come in through the main gate of the temple?”

“I came through a path you don’t know, so let’s stop talking about that.”

Look at this, an immediate answer.

“Did you eat? Do you want to eat at Flognard’s?”

“Did you starve in the New Nation?”

A burst of laughter erupted. I decided to raise the level of the question a little.

“Did you tell your father before you came out?”

“……What?”

Then the boy frowned as if he had heard an absurd sentence.

Just as I lowered my voice and tried to ask in more detail, the heavy noise of the temple’s main gate opening struck my ears.

However, there were no following footsteps.

It seemed like someone opened the door and looked inside once. Sadie’s eyes narrowed.

“It’s okay, I put up a sign saying I’m absent.”

The child let out a short breath at my words.

I didn’t bother to mention that the absent sign had been ignored twice so far.

I deactivated the sanctuary, which might be noticeable from the outside, and carefully grabbed Sadie’s elbow.

As I changed the aether transmission method through physical contact, the boy’s eyes widened slightly.

Certainly, it was efficient, and I could feel the aether draining from me.

I barely opened my mouth, almost whispering.

“Do you want to just receive this much and go today? Other people come and go here, so it’s dangerous for you,”

At that moment.

-Click

“Gasp.”

The doorknob of the confessional moved. I reflexively clung to the doorknob.

Fortunately, the door didn’t open, perhaps because I threw myself.

But what was certain was that there was someone on the other side. My surprised heart was pounding.

“How……”

I muttered thinly. There was no sound until just now.

The temple door did open earlier, but there was no sign of anyone…

“Shh.”

Sadie whispered almost audibly. The boy’s lips clearly drew one word.

‘Magician.’

-Thump

The guest outside twisted the doorknob once again.