What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 384

Discovery (2)

I had a dream.

In my dream, I was sitting in a very fancy restaurant.

It was a high-end restaurant, the kind you’d find in Korea, not in the world of “Isekai Noble Lady Who Quit.”

I was wearing a suit for the first time in a while, along with the shoes my brother bought me.

Across the round table sat Kristel and Crown Prince Cedric.

My friends also looked to be in good spirits.

A sophisticated candlestick illuminated their profiles, and beautiful classical music flowed from somewhere.

The two of them were having a rather long and serious conversation.

I quenched my thirst with the water in my glass, feeling confident that now was the right time.

So, I made up my mind.

Let’s talk. Let’s confess.

‘…This is inside a novel.’

At that, the two of them turned to look at me simultaneously.

Their faces were as white as paper, devoid of any expression. I felt a chill.

I was flustered and continued rambling.

‘This is inside a novel, and I was inhabiting the body of Prince Yeser Venetian, a character in the story.’

‘Excuse me?’

‘The title is… The title is called “Isekai Noble Lady Who Quit.” It’s my younger sister Eunseo’s favorite novel.’

They both had eerily indifferent faces.

A sense of dread washed over me, making it hard to breathe.

I tried my best to look okay, but it was no use.

I was silently suffocating alone at the wide table.

The waiter, who had been pouring wine into my friends’ glasses, ignored me and disappeared into the hall.

Looking again, it was Benjamin.

‘Ms. Gain is… the protagonist of this novel.’

Gasp, gasp. Oxygen barely made it past my throat.

I clutched at my Adam’s apple and began to thrash like a beast caught in a net.

Gain frowned deeply at my words.

The usual affectionate gaze was gone, and only my reflection was caught on the surface of her icy eyes.

‘Marquis, did you really have to say that?’

‘Cough, gasp. Ugh….’

‘We were having such a nice time.’

‘Keuh-heuk! Cough, cough! Keul-leok!’

Crash! The table leg screamed as it was kicked by a shoe.

My vision blurred, and the edge of my consciousness slowly faded away.

The Crown Prince, averting his eyes from me, nonchalantly cut his meat.

Crimson blood seeped from the plate.

Kristel pointed at me with the hand holding the knife. A voice as cold as a blade touched my skin.

‘You’ve ruined our date.’

‘Gasp, keok….’

‘It was better when I didn’t know. I’ve lost my appetite.’

‘I’ll take my leave first.’ Squeak. She wiped her mouth with a napkin and left her seat.

I couldn’t see her back, nor could I hold her back.

I twisted my body and desperately looked at the one who remained.

But the man acted as if he had completely forgotten my existence.

He elegantly ate his meat, chewed his vegetables, and soon began to look at the state documents placed on the table.

I gnashed my teeth in sorrow and fear. I squeezed out the last of my strength.

I wanted to reach them with just one word, one syllable. Please.

-Thud! Clatter!

‘Keok, Cro, Crown Prince…! Keuh-heok!’

But nothing went as I wished.

My body, which had been thrashing on the chair, finally fell backward.

A momentary weightlessness made my spine tingle. The fine hairs on my damp cheeks stood on end.

Just as the ceiling came into view in my blurry vision, the Crown Prince looked at me.

The last thing that rang in my ears was his deep voice.

‘You were still here?’

-Crash!

“Heo-eok! Keul-leok! Heo-eok, keul-leok, keul-leok!”

I shot up like a madman.

The cool autumn dawn air filled my lungs.

I was as breathless as if I had run a marathon in my dream.

As the cold sweat on my forehead evaporated, my body trembled.

I could hear the sounds of workers in the distance, but the surroundings were dark as it was before sunrise.

I needed time to think about where I was. So, I….

-Neigh

“Ah!”

I was startled and looked up.

Charlemagne, sitting on a pile of straw, was looking at me with bright eyes in the darkness.

Only then did I remember where I had stumbled into.

I had been wandering around lost for a long time, and I opened the first door I saw because I was cold, and it was here.

The Imperial Stable!

‘…So this is your drool.’

No wonder my face was wet. I chuckled dryly and roughly wiped my cheek with my sleeve.

My deeply sunken voice was the worst. The black horse simply swished its tail in response.

Let’s see. My pajamas were probably folded over there before I fell asleep, and what I’m wearing now is….

‘Oh dear, it’s Audre’s clothes. I’ll have to gift him a new set.’

It was the stable keeper Audre’s work clothes, neatly placed on one side.

Even in my dazed state, I must have thought it would be cold to lie here in my pajamas.

The interior was warmer than the outside, as it was the space where the Crown Prince’s steed resided.

However, it was by no means a suitable temperature for a person to sleep in.

When I pulled my limbs out of the soft straw, my exposed wrists and ankles felt chilly. I quickly hid my body back in the straw.

-Rustle, rustle

‘You must have been very surprised too. I’m sorry.’

When I carefully apologized, Charle laid his head on the ground without much reaction.

It seemed to mean it was okay. Still, I felt bad for waking him up, so I gently stroked his back.

He didn’t have his favorite curry, nor expensive vegetables, but today Charle was very generous.

He shared his warmth with me and didn’t wake people up to cause a commotion.

He was a kind-hearted child, even though he seemed gruff on the outside.

‘Thanks to you, I slept warmly. Thank you.’

-Neigh

‘This place is surprisingly comfortable.’

A burst of laughter escaped at my own words.

I wondered if it was better when I had the funny nickname ‘Heineken.’

I knew that wasn’t the case, but my nose felt cold enough to bring back those memories.

The days when I worked at the stable and volunteered at the relief center seemed like a long time ago.

A summer when no one knew me, I was anxious all alone, but I was still nurturing hope inside.

‘…Couldn’t I have talked in a better situation, in a better way?’

A sigh-like whisper escaped.

‘I’m sorry!’

‘This is inside a novel!’

It’s not like I was drunk. Was blurting it out like that the best I could do?

Was it that hard to create a suitable atmosphere and take things out of my heart one by one?

What kind of emotion doesn’t have context?

Is it something a guy who’s almost thirty should be doing, making all his friends panic and then running away without taking responsibility?

What was I so afraid of?

‘There was a cursor in the sky. It was blinking, like this place is….’

‘Like it’s beyond the screen.’ I muttered to the twilight. It was a very unfamiliar fear.

I felt like I had become a being made of letters and spaces.

‘I guess I just can’t take it anymore.’

I really thought I was okay, and I was confident that I could endure it, but that wasn’t the case.

It turned out that my heart was about to overflow with just one more drop.

Like a glass filled with water to the surface.

Like a light bulb that met oxygen and had its filament broken.

‘It’s hard because I feel like I’m disappearing. And I’m scared because I don’t know what will happen to my family if that happens. But I don’t regret coming here. Because I didn’t want my friends to disappear either. I’m just full of greed….’

‘So, am I being punished?’ I whispered. My palm, scraped by the sand from falling, tingled.

Charle was now closing his eyes.

‘It’s scary that this world relies on me, but what Ms. Gain said… Honestly, it was very shocking.’

‘So, I was sure. Prince Yeser was the protagonist of this place.’

Suddenly, her watery eyes came to mind. A clear gaze that didn’t harbor a shred of doubt.

‘I fell into a world where that person is a hero and a protagonist, and I’m living by borrowing this child’s body.’

The voice ringing in my ears made me lose strength. I curled up again and buried my forehead in my knees.

I have to get up. I have to do something.

To end the war so my friends can be safe, to reunite Prince Yeser with the siblings of the Divine Kingdom, and to go home….

To do that, I have to diligently move my body and head. I don’t have time to be doing this.

‘Ha….’

But I was tired.

My swollen eyes were heavy, and my heart was heavy as if caught in a trap.

My head was empty, and I couldn’t even turn a small wheel.

Above all, a darkness like a curtain was consuming me.

I couldn’t even imagine what my friends’ reactions would be.

I thought it would be better if they thought I was crazy.

Now that the most important secret in their world has been revealed, thoughts will continue to follow one another.

Then, eventually, they will realize that ‘Jeong Yeser’ deceived everyone.

They might guess that I felt a sense of superiority while keeping my distance from them without them knowing.

-Aog

Is there a lie in that?

‘…Let’s just wait. I need to give them time to sort things out. Don’t hide cowardly.’

-Aeog

Whew. I squeezed my eyes shut and took a deep breath. From the outburst to the escape, everything was one-sided.

It was an act that had no consideration or courtesy. I couldn’t even give a detailed explanation.

It’s a time of war when everyone is on edge.

But now, regretting it won’t turn back the past.

A burst of empty breath escaped at my own shortcomings.

‘Ms. Gain has misjudged this time, really.’

-Aeoooog

‘Now that I’ve calmed down, I know for sure. Whoever put me here in the first place, they made a big mistake. I’m not big enough to handle this….’

-Nyab

…Huh? Has someone been answering me since earlier?

‘Nabi?’

-Nyaa

Along with a familiar cry, a small divine beast appeared from the familiar darkness.

The eyes holding the golden jade were sparkling.

The little guy familiarly climbed up Charle’s neck (you’re going to get kicked in the hind legs!) and hopped over to me.

My mouth dropped open at the different kind of shock.

It was amazing that the picky Charle didn’t care and was sleeping, and it was amazing that this guy seemed to be friendly with the black horse—

‘You.’

-Myaa

I really didn’t expect the little guy to cry for food from dawn!

‘…Hahahaha.’

I laughed because it was absurd. It felt like my nose, which had been blocked all along, was finally opening up.

I staggered and fell over like a drunk, starting to laugh.

The kitten raised its back as if I looked strange, and then, knowing there was no problem, baked whole-grain bread on the straw [a cute way of saying the cat was kneading the straw with its paws].

Even the ambiguously 90cm distance was lovely and brazen.

Thanks to that, I forgot all my worries and lay down for a while.

* * *

Dawn. Venetian Divine Kingdom military camp.

‘Master.’

At the low call, Wilhelmina Schneider opened her eyes.

She was not the type to sleep deeply.

She had excessively sharp hearing and was very sensitive to the sounds around her.

‘Rustle.’ Soon, the curtains were drawn, and the knight who attended to her appeared.

Even though the master was scattering light in the early morning darkness, the woman was not surprised at all.

She simply bowed her head faithfully in greeting.

‘Master. The Fourth Apostle is looking for you outside.’

‘What is it at this hour?’

‘I have not heard the details, but it is said to be an urgent report from the north. His expression was not good. What shall we do?’

‘…Let him in immediately.’

‘Yes.’ The knight answered politely and strode away.

Wilhelmina put on the gown placed next to the bed and simply tidied her flowing hair.

She did not turn on the lights other than the small lamp.

There was no need to show the apostles coming and going to everyone.

She was careful in all her words and actions, and she was a person who hid anything that could be kept secret.

In her head, dozens of scenarios were already building a framework. What could it be?

-Clang, clang, clang

Soon, an old man opened the tent and came in. Wilhelmina whispered, ‘Welcome.’

The beard of the polite old man was trembling.

His armor smelled faintly of blood and smoke.

‘…Duke, it is a sad report from the north.’

‘Is it perhaps about Princess Elissa?’

She prepared herself.

Elissa Venetian was the royal descendant that her younger sibling had raised for thirty years.

Like an older child, she matured quickly and was skilled in learning. She had also put in a considerable amount of effort both internally and externally.

She had thoroughly trained her to never abandon the royal family and her duties under any circumstances, and she had blocked all access to dangerous seeds.

Losing her in this war would certainly be a huge loss.

But if it had already happened, there was nothing she could do.

She had to devise a plan to use this as an opportunity.

She also had to immediately begin preparing to teach the Second Princess.

‘No, thankfully, it is not news of her. May the Lord bless Her Highness.’

But the old man hurriedly shook his head.

Wilhelmina swallowed a sigh and waited for the words to follow.

His eyes were shaking as if they would break.

‘The secret chamber of Statia has been invaded.’

The Duke’s face froze.

‘…What are you talking about?’

‘It is as I said, Duke.’

The old man covered his mouth with his hand and groaned.

The woman felt something similar to a ‘sense of crisis’ for the first time in a while.

‘I do not know how they reached that place… The Riester Empire army attacked the secret chamber. The servants awakened the sleeping golems and waged a desperate battle.’

It was an unbelievable story.

The secret chamber of Statia was located deep beyond the halo grass mist, and even the fact that a castle was hidden there was kept secret.

It was a place built by a prominent family of magicians for seclusion.

It was the ultimate hiding place, not even recorded on old maps.

However, Wilhelmina did not show her embarrassment. She asked calmly.

‘Are there any survivors?’

‘Some escaped and became prisoners of the Empire army. However, as you know….’

‘Yes. I am not worried about that part. What I am asking is about the test subjects.’

‘They say there are none. The castle has collapsed entirely, and the traces of the secret chamber cannot be visually confirmed.’

‘…That is fortunate.’

The Duke, who answered that way, fell into thought. It was a pity to lose Statia.

It was not the only secret chamber, but its location was very good, so it was a sore spot.