What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 37

#037 The Playboy of the Divine Kingdom (3)

“······.”

“······.”

The aide, David Capuson, briefly entertained a disloyal thought.

He felt a desire to leave this place immediately, abandoning his master.

As the person who had served the Prince the longest and as the chief steward of the Romero Palace, he possessed the ability to remain calm and cope with any situation.

However, today was a first even for him.

Prince Cedrick was clearly uncomfortable with Lady Christel de Sarnese, but he couldn’t understand why.

The problem was that the other party also seemed to find the Prince very unpleasant.

A suffocating air swept through the side room of the reception hall.

“His Highness’s coffee and the Lady’s coffee.”

“Thank you.”

Lady Sarnese politely greeted the aide.

The Prince also nodded to him. After that, there was only silence.

David wondered if he should leave them alone.

The only reason he could think of for the two of them being on bad terms was the broken engagement.

However, it wasn’t as if they had exchanged marriage proposals out of affection, and he had heard that the discussions with the Sarnese family were going quite well.

Didn’t they even dance together at the spring ball when they first met?

Of course, the Prince was skilled at acting as a member of the Imperial Family, but······.

– Clink

The sound of ice moving in Lady Sarnese’s coffee cup.

David snapped out of his thoughts and habitually looked at his master.

The Prince’s expression had become even more rigid.

“David.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Go and rest.”

It was a signal to leave.

The day the two of them had turned the indoor training ground into a terrible mess flashed through his mind, but this was the Imperial Palace.

Moreover, Sir Sarah Belliare was in the reception room right next door.

Surely they wouldn’t cause such trouble again. The aide bowed deeply and withdrew.

“······.”

“······.”

The room fell silent again, as if suffocating.

Christel de Sarnese, or rather, ‘Ham Gain,’ barely managed to hold onto her involuntarily frowning facial muscles.

The expression management skills she had acquired over her 31 years of life, especially during her long working life, were quite useful here as well.

She was very displeased with the man sitting at the head of the table, but she maintained a smiling face on the outside.

After the ‘possession,’ everyone she met was a first encounter and new, but this was the first time she had been bothered for no reason.

“Hoo.”

Christel took a small breath. She tried not to be conscious of the Prince.

The reason she didn’t return to the Sarnese mansion in the capital immediately after parting ways with Prince Yeser was not to engage in unnecessary *nerve wars* with that man.

Even without much concentration, she could clearly feel the Prince’s Ether in the next room.

She had only used her abilities during ‘class’ since she had not yet been formally appointed as a Holy Knight, and she had never experienced Ether deprivation.

So this was more like aromatherapy. Like ASMR [Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, a tingling sensation] in terms of sound.

Being exposed to the Prince’s Ether made her feel relaxed, and the waves in her body calmed down.

The other priests she had met had Ether control like a knife, and the Ether itself was not so pure.

Rather, like the Prince······.

Wait. The Prince?

“······.”

“Do you have something to say?”

When she stared at him with her large eyes, Prince Cedrick showed a displeased expression.

He didn’t frown outright, but there was not a trace of goodwill to be found on his handsome face.

The reason for her annoyance was beginning to take shape.

Christel opened her mouth, filled with a strange sense of victory.

“Your Highness is not a priest.”

“······.”

“But it feels like you have Ether.”

Cedrick Liester was silent at the sharp remark.

So far, there had been no Holy Knights in the Empire.

Therefore, there was no one who particularly resonated with his fire-attribute Ether.

Even the healing priests had to open a special circle and release Ether to check his condition.

But Christel de Sarnese was different.

As expected, the woman was sensitive to his flame.

It became troublesome.

*

“The armed conflict at the border was a solo act by Princess Elysee?”

“I have a hundred birds that bring me news.”

To my question, Sir Belliare smiled and talked nonsense.

I drank the dried lime tea brought by the Imperial Palace attendant and composed myself.

The sweet and sour taste seemed to clear my head a little.

“About twenty of them were chattering like that. The commotion was a unilateral decision by the Princess, not discussed at all with National Preceptor Werner.”

“Even if the information you mentioned is true, and the incident is the responsibility of the Princess, nothing changes.”

I replied. That was the truth.

Even if the National Preceptor didn’t order her to act, the Princess broke the treaty, so I was taken hostage.

So, as a result, the two father and daughter acted with the same goal.

So what if they didn’t work together once?

“That may be so. But five of the birds······. Said differently. Or was it six?”

She lowered her voice, saying, ‘I’m getting old, so the numbers are getting blurry.’

The following words were almost inaudible.

“They say the Princess does not share the same mind with the National Preceptor.”

“You’re saying dangerous things.”

I felt a slight thrill, but I deliberately answered bluntly. This was also new information.

It was just a rumor, but it was different to know that ‘these words are circulating’ and to know nothing.

Princess Elysee was two years older than Prince Yeser.

I don’t know exactly what kind of relationship she and the Prince had.

But as Eunseo described Prince Yeser’s family like a *makjang* [Korean slang for over-the-top drama] drama, I didn’t think the three siblings of the Divine Kingdom were close.

Like the step-siblings in *palace intrigue dramas*, they were only *haha hoho* [laughing and joking] on the outside.

At least that’s how it was in the Chinese dramas my brother watched.

“National Preceptor values the Princess more than his own life.”

I rattled off something everyone knew.

“But does the Princess think so of the National Preceptor?”

Sir Sarah Belliare asked meaningfully.

Her green eyes seemed to see through people.

But there would be nothing to *glean* from me.

“I don’t know.”

Because I don’t know anything. I said indifferently and put my lips to the teacup. No, I was about to.

– Clatter······

The surface of the water in the teacup moved strangely. I was startled, but I gritted my teeth to hold back the sound.

“······.”

“You don’t know that part either.”

“Sir Belliare, I think you should stop asking questions about the political situation of the Divine Kingdom. It could affect the relationship between the two countries.”

Benjamin intervened solemnly.

Sir Belliare let out a light exclamation and shrugged her shoulders.

Even at that moment, I couldn’t take my eyes off the cup.

Sir Belliare had refused a drink, saying that she didn’t drink anything during interviews, so I was the only one who witnessed the *strange phenomenon*.

It wasn’t because my body or the floor was shaking.

The tea water clearly rose suddenly in front of my eyes, then sank sharply, revealing the bottom for a moment.

It was quiet now as if nothing had happened, but a moment ago, it was like something out of a movie······.

– Crash!

The sound of glass breaking came from beyond the wall. I quickly raised my head.

Sir Belliare, who was turning the pages of her notebook, and Ganael and Benjamin, who were standing behind her, were also surprised by the unexpected noise.

“It seems that the *tidying* of the side room is not finished. It seems that the attendants made a mistake.”

Benjamin said calmly. I looked up at him with a puzzled face.

Then Ganael kindly explained.

“The place that the Prince used as a preparation room in the morning is right next door. This reception room and that room share a single fireplace.”

I glanced at the fireplace that Sir Belliare was sitting with her back to.

The other side of the fireplace was not blocked and was open to the next room, so the sound from the other side could be heard well.

I mean, there was no way the soundproofing of the Imperial Palace would be so poor.

“Weren’t we much further away this morning? I don’t think His Majesty’s office was as close as it is now.”

“That’s because we moved through the east stairs. If you come up the central stairs like a little while ago, it’s definitely closer, and the scale looks different.”

“I thought it was a different floor altogether.”

“Um, Prince······.”

Ganael looked at me with a really pitiful face. Benjamin sighed softly.

“No, I’m not good at memorizing roads, but······.”

“This is another interesting story.”

Sir Belliare’s eyes lit up at my words. I belatedly closed my mouth in a straight line. This isn’t it.

“The person called the *moon* of the Divine Kingdom is *directionally challenged*? Or are you *spatially challenged*?”

She put the glasses she had taken off back on the bridge of her nose and moved her quill. Damn it, this isn’t it.

“······It’s about the same level as other people.”

I wanted to explain that I was a person who had nothing to fear if I turned on the map app, and that I could go anywhere by myself.

I was newly resentful of the fate of not being able to say anything because of the possessed sin.

I was about to get new information, but I was about to have my weaknesses *exposed*.

– Whoosh!

At that time, the flames of the fireplace were seen burning brightly over Sir Belliare’s shoulder.

“Uh······.”

This time, it seemed that Ganael had also witnessed the scene.

The flames quickly calmed down and returned to their original size, but I couldn’t shake off the strange feeling.

As our expressions hardened, Sir Belliare twisted her body to check behind her.

“Did you hear about the *divine beast*?”

I suddenly threw out *bait*.

Then the editor-in-chief of looked back at me with a delighted look.

“Are you talking about the beast that you took in without sending it to the Dium family?”

“That’s right.”

I know it doesn’t make sense, but somehow I had a strong feeling that I shouldn’t be caught by her with a suspicious fireplace or a *haunted* teacup.

The floors and walls of the Liester Imperial Palace, except for the training ground, were *covered* with *anti-magic stones* so that magic could not be used anywhere.

The temple is excluded because it is the territory of the Pope.

In other words, the things that happened just now were not the result of someone’s magic.

“The name is ‘Demi.’ When I come to the Imperial Palace, I let him play in the garden······.”

I succeeded in keeping her attention on me by *unraveling* a *story* that I didn’t even ask to tell.

I didn’t care if they poured oil or alcohol into the fireplace in the *next room*.

However, there was a clear suspect that the tea water had *put on a show by itself*.

And as far as I knew, her abilities shouldn’t have been announced yet.

Why haven’t you gone home yet?

“It must be very cute.”

“Yes, it’s cute. These days, I’m also interested in the meat I eat······.”

I continued the conversation with Sir Belliare, suppressing the force in my chin.

I was trying to extract fresh information, while minimizing the exposure of my private life, and at the same time, I was trying to protect Christel de Sarnese’s secret, so my tongue was *unintentionally bitten*.

I should buy her a meal later to feel better, but I can’t say anything because I’m afraid of getting close.

The world is real······.

*

That’s how the Friday with the burning fireplace passed, and soon it was Monday.

Spring rain was falling *softly* outside the window.

“Welcome, Prince.”

“I greet His Eminence Cardinal Butier.”

11 a.m. I entered the office, receiving a warm welcome from Cardinal Butier.

Two guests who had arrived earlier were sitting on the sofa.

One of them didn’t say anything even after seeing me, and one of them got up from his seat and gave me a polite greeting.

“I greet Prince Yeser.”

“Hello, Lady Sarnese. Prince.”

“······.”

Unlike Christel, who was acting like an adult, Prince Cedrick seemed to be in a very low mood.

It’s nice that he doesn’t pick a fight like usual.

“It’s raining, so my *protégé’s* condition is bad.”

Because it’s raining? Is this *kid getting moody*?

I tried to calm down the expression that was about to become *grotesque* and sat down far away from the two protagonists.

It’s good news that the main male lead of *the romance fantasy* has started to *get jealous*. Now *start dating* quickly.

“And he’s even been *placed under house arrest*, so he’ll be even more depressed.”

“Your Highness.”

The Cardinal laughed lowly at the Prince’s blunt voice.

I blinked at the word I heard for the first time since I came here. The Prince is *under house arrest*? Why?

“I got it too.”

Christel leaned closer to the table and whispered.

The *smiling* face was very pretty and ominous.

“What happened······. Did you two *cause an accident*?”

The Prince frowned at my words. The sound of the protagonist laughing clearly echoed in the room.