What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 385

Discovery (3)

I must have slept for hours.

When I woke up, the sun was high in the eastern sky!

“Wow, seriously? Am I crazy?”

I jumped up from the warm straw.

I quickly wiped my mouth and looked around.

Someone had covered me with several layers of blankets while I was asleep.

The little kitten was snuggled up to me without any fear, and my heart dropped, worried it might have suffocated.

I finally sighed in relief at the sight of its gently moving white belly.

I carefully pulled my legs out, trying not to crush it. Or, at least, I tried to—

-Squish

-Squeak!

“Oh, sorry! I didn’t know you were there!”

Right next to me—surprisingly—I was really surprised—there were sleeping red pandas!

Demi, whose tail had been stepped on, waved its legs in dissatisfaction.

I held the little one in my arms and apologized repeatedly.

I definitely locked the Aether [magical energy] tightly before going to bed, but it was amazing how they knew and found their way here.

The autumn sunlight streamed brightly through the window.

My cheeks and neck, touched by the light, quickly warmed up. As always, time passed without fail.

-Neigh

“Oh, good morning.”

Charlemagne, with his mane neatly combed, nodded in greeting.

I patted his back and carefully observed my surroundings.

I noticed things that were different from what I had seen in the dim dawn light.

Steam was rising from a mana stone washbasin placed on one side.

There was soap, a toothbrush, and even a thick towel.

I also saw a basket filled with a hearty breakfast, thick new clothes, and comfortable shoes. There was even a container of ointment for wounds. My mouth dropped open.

Someone must have seen me fall. Who could it be?

Of course, it must have reached His Majesty’s ears? What was he thinking, just leaving me here?

I never thought I wouldn’t be discovered, but I didn’t expect it to be this elaborate…

-Grumble

Ugh.

“I’m hungry. Let’s eat first and then think. Charle, what about your food?”

I asked as I put Demi down. The black horse snorted and flicked his tail once.

*

-Clang!

The practice sword, broken in two, rolled across the floor.

Cedric Liester finally snapped out of his reverie.

Beneath his black gloves, he was left holding only the hilt of the weapon.

He belatedly realized that his breathing was ragged.

The fire within him was raging uncontrollably. An inexplicable anger arose.

The healing priests’ diagnosis that he had fully recovered must have been a blatant lie.

They know nothing.

“…”

His mind wouldn’t focus.

“Your Highness.”

The man silently closed and opened his eyes.

But he was too powerless to erase the lingering afterimages.

Indeed, it had been like this ever since Juliette had been filled with warmth.

The events of last night flashed through his mind like a dream.

‘This is inside a novel!’

The desperate cry still echoed in his ears.

‘This is a novel, and I was possessing the body of Prince Yeser Venetian, a character in it.’

Incomprehensible sentences.

‘The title is… The title is called . My younger sister Eunseo’s favorite novel.’

‘…’

At first, he thought it was a bad joke. Or he thought it was nonsense to defuse the situation.

It was strange because the Marquis never intentionally made others uncomfortable.

But his expression was unusual. The priest’s Aether was changing rapidly and tragically.

Guilt, sadness, loneliness, and darkness swallowed the clear soul in an instant.

An ominous instinct shook the man’s brain.

His words felt so bizarre and impure.

That was why the priest often emitted longing Aether toward a distant place, and why he sometimes talked to him without looking him in the eye.

The moment of realization also brought a terribly twisted pleasure.

‘Ms. Ham Gain is the main character in this novel.’

If there was treason made only of words, it would be like that.

Poison made of honey, freedom born of subversion.

‘Your Highness the Crown Prince is the second most important character in the story.’

Brown eyes shed tears. And so, the paladin could not help but sense.

In the midst of an unexpected storm…

-Flutter!

‘Marquis!’

‘Mr. Yeser!’

The priest ran away in a hurry, like someone who had committed the most terrible crime in the world.

His face was as painful as if his heart had been torn.

Cedric and Christel lunged out to grab him, without knowing who was first.

‘Swish—!’ Blocking the two was none other than their teacher.

Christel, grabbed by the Cardinal’s arm, screamed to let go.

She punched his abs and chest wildly, but he didn’t budge.

The Crown Prince also growled and threatened the teacher like a beast.

But what came back was not an answer but a question.

Eyes that were neither green nor blue warned with a sharp light.

‘Argh! Get out of the way! The Marquis is crying!’

‘What are you going to say?’

‘…’

‘My disciples seem as confused as the Marquis right now. I have no choice but to stop you for your sake.’

At those words, Cedric immediately retorted.

‘You speak like a cunning snake. Isn’t all your actions only for the Marquis?’

‘No, Your Highness.’

The Cardinal replied. His expression was eerily calm.

He hated the way he was so flexible all alone, it was disgusting.

The Crown Prince glared at him with eyes that had surpassed the boiling point.

The eyes of the two men met sharply at a distance of less than a hand span.

‘This time, it’s for everyone. It would be good for each of you to take time to sort things out.’

“Your Highness the Crown Prince?”

Cedric paused and looked up at the man in front of him.

His white hair, always tied back, was fluttering in the wind, as always.

The black swords of Aether that had been used for the sparring disappeared into the air.

The man still had a detached look on his face.

He didn’t seem to be as caught up in doubt or lost in a swamp of instability as he was.

Silence flowed through the training ground for a moment.

“…”

“…”

‘One! Two! One! Two!’ The shouts of the soldiers circling the parade ground could be heard in the distance.

The workers carrying luggage and the hands preparing meals shouted something here and there.

The entire military camp was busy and noisy with movements preparing for the resumption of battle.

But all of that didn’t reach Cedric at all right now.

It shouldn’t have happened.

The Crown Prince opened his mouth after a long time.

“…How should I accept him?”

Thump! The left hand that had thrown the sword clenched into a fist. Johann Haynes was the ‘teacher’ of the royal family.

Then he should be able to provide an answer.

“The God killed my father.”

“…”

“But if that is only his ‘story’. And the Marquis is her ‘reader’.”

The Crown Prince muttered in a voice as hot as lava.

He groped for the sight he had seen in the dim dawn air.

Tear-stained cheeks, huddled body. Dry wrists and trembling eyelids were unpleasant.

His priest, who had hidden and fallen asleep in the stable, had been suffering from nightmares all along.

He seemed to have hidden his Aether, but the unconscious screams finally broke his will.

Cedric, who had sensed his desperate vibrations and came to find him, had guarded the stable for hours.

Even though he was disgusted, he didn’t want to see his partner trembling, so he called David.

He instructed him to take care of what was needed, and told the divine beasts who followed to watch over the Marquis.

Even in the midst of all that, Christel Rambouillet, who was huddled in the corner, was annoying.

She, who had arrived before him, was clearly awake but as silent as death.

In the end, he left her there and came out alone.

No one wanted to talk right now. They needed time to think.

“Then is Jung Yeser an accomplice of the God?”

‘Flash, flash!’ A bright red flame licked at his glove and crawled up.

The conversation he had with Modest Bacari one day struck him like a boomerang.

Every scene he had overlooked until now was a clue.

‘I asked him directly. If he came to this land as an agent of the God.’

‘He would have said no.’

‘He said he didn’t know.’

…If that was true, would Juliette, the Duchess, have realized the will of the God without even knowing it?

“Did you make my life, my family’s pain, a game?”

“You felt his Aether, Your Highness. You probably already know the answer.”

“What if you don’t know?”

“Of course, I don’t know anything either. But this one thing…”

‘I can say with certainty.’ The drooping eyes curved.

The man continued in a reverent voice, as if reciting the Bible.

“He is not that kind of person. Absolutely.”

‘Whoosh—!’ The huge flame that surrounded the Crown Prince soared into the sky.

‘Good God!’ Those who were sweeping the floor from afar were shocked and prostrated themselves on the floor.

*

-Whoosh…

Under the setting sun of the autumn sky, Gain sat blankly.

All the noise in the world rejected her, rising and falling jaggedly.

Leaning against an unfamiliar barracks pillar, she could see very well the people who passed by without noticing her.

Soldiers, porters, doctors. Swordsmen and magicians. Cooks and laborers.

People living hard in the present.

“Hey! There’s one more pot over there! Don’t forget to take it!”

“Wow. Smells great? What kind of meat is it today?”

“A magical beast that His Majesty caught this morning!”

“What? Lies! Why are you teasing me?”

“Hahaha, has that friend only lived being deceived!”

“…”

A refreshing burst of laughter. The clanging noise of pots and lids.

‘Tap, tap, tap.’ ‘Thump, thump! Clatter, clatter!’ Hundreds, thousands of footsteps passed in front of her all day long.

Occasionally, she saw familiar faces.

Marquis Francois, who had awakened from his mana dormancy [a state of suspended animation due to depleted mana], seemed very busy, and Carme was still wearing restraints.

She also found Princess Marguerite Diop, who was exercising with a somewhat haggard face.

She was leaning on a cane, and it seemed that all the toxins in her body had not yet been removed.

Duke Fabrice, chatting with a knight over there, also caught her eye.

Fortunately, the flu had subsided.

Everyone was doing their best in their respective lives.

“…”

But this is said to be not ‘reality’.

Everything that makes up her now.

“Ha…”

Gain buried her face in her knees again. Honestly, it didn’t feel real. It was natural.

Just because she heard those words, the world didn’t turn upside down.

No sudden changes occurred, and no huge gates opened.

Only her head was messed up, covered in confusion of all colors.

“…I worked hard.”

A choked voice came out. She squeezed her eyes shut and counted her own breaths.

Otherwise, even the act of breathing seemed difficult and daunting.

Her overloaded brain complained of pain and fatigue. But she didn’t want to fall asleep.

Even if she wanted to, it was impossible right now. Because this was 100% real.

‘That’s why I said that earlier. The most shining person here is someone else.’

‘…Christel. No, Ms. Gain. That’s you.’

Her Marquis, her Yeser, was not the kind of person to tell such lies.

Knowing it was true, the pain doubled.

Gain bit her lip to hold back the sound.

It was hard. This was really, really hard.

“I really worked hard…”

Even though her heels were red and peeling from the shoes she wore day and night, she clung on, saying that having a job was better than nothing.

Unpaid overtime, weekend work. Abusive bosses and annoying colleagues.

She could endure it all somehow.

She comforted herself by saying that she wasn’t the only one earning money, and that there were many people working harder than her.

When she bought a bottle of soju [Korean distilled rice liquor] and buttered squid on a moonlit night, she could finally breathe.

The warmth didn’t circulate quickly in her studio apartment where her sister wasn’t waiting. But it was still livable.

It was okay if she turned on the boiler and quickly took a shower while the old electric blanket warmed up.

It didn’t matter if it was quiet because there was no TV. The Bluetooth speaker she bought used was better than she thought.

As she hummed her favorite song and tilted her glass, she felt a little relieved.

Maybe she could do well tomorrow too.

“Ugh…”

That’s how she lived. In her own way, she worked incredibly hard.

It might sound like whining to someone, but it was very difficult.

But this was her life, so she had to live it, she thought.

If she didn’t live her own life, who would?

She hated dying more than anything in the world, so she had to try to live with all her might.

-Step

“…Sir Christel? Are you alright?”

But that’s not hers.

“Why are you in a place like this, good heavens.”

“Waaah…”

“It’s me. It’s Elizabeth. Would you like to look up?”

Even in the midst of persistent deprivation, the hardships and experiences that she had believed were entirely hers.

The miserable tears and pathetic time.

Nevertheless, every moment that made her get up…

“Why are you crying? Are you sick somewhere?”

“Hwaaa…. It’s mine…. It’s all mine, it’s mine…!”

Gain, crying out like that, hugged Elizabeth’s neck.

She hurriedly put her in her arms and didn’t let go until she was completely soaked.