What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 446

Devil’s Claw, Wreck of the Abyss (10)

Dangerous.

-Clatter, clank! Rattle, rattle!

“…….”

Instinctively, I felt it.

This person is dangerous. I don’t know if they’re a bad person, but it’s certain.

“If it’s not too much trouble, may I join you?”

It was a strangely eerie voice.

It sounded like a polite question, but I sensed the murderous intent lurking behind his elongated, upturned eyes.

Under the dim magical lighting, his half-tied long hair fluttered.

The handsome man, whose age was impossible to guess, even gave off an inhuman impression.

Lopi wiggled and shifted in my arms.

I couldn’t move a muscle, afraid that the little one’s presence would be discovered.

The massive wagon was now rumbling through the mansion’s garden.

I hid myself as much as possible behind Sir Johan’s back.

First of all, everyone, including me, had to be safe.

I promised everyone that I would be safe no matter what.

And I vowed to return home healthy.

-Meow.

“Shh.”

So this is, in a way, my best course of action and my duty.

“……What business does a paladin [a holy knight] have at a black magician’s mansion?”

Sir Johan asked in a grim voice. Now that I looked, the other man was a paladin!

I hurriedly put a rubber band around the already tightly closed ether faucet [a source of magical energy], just in case.

Meanwhile, Jibril Diop had taken out a knife the size of his palm from behind his back.

When did you get a weapon, sir?!

“Well, I wonder if there’s anyone who can overlook you guys being ‘fake’ saints.”

-Rattle, rattle……

“But you seem to know me. Have we met before?”

He narrowed his eyes and scanned us.

Even though he was wearing magic stone glasses, I felt like his gaze was piercing through me.

I quickly averted my eyes. His persistent gaze lingered on my cheeks and eyes before falling away.

Soon, white wisps of wind gathered around Sir Johan.

Then the man opened his mouth as if surprised.

“Ah. It’s not easy to meet someone with the same attribute in a place like this. Nice to meet you.”

……Are you also an air attribute? I’m starting to get prejudiced against the air team!

“What’s your business?”

“I have business at Madam Morgan’s mansion. What about you?”

Madam Morgan. The head of the black magicians.

A person who has been sweeping up the magic stones of the black market for the past few days and melting them down to create something huge.

Behind her, there must be Werner Fenetian.

Because he wants magic stones instead of mana [magical energy].

Because Kina and Willem said they saw black magicians going to offer magic stones to him.

Surely he promised her a reward and decided to receive something.

“Similar.”

“…….”

Sir Johan was consistently brief.

While his back muscles swelled like a soufflé, neither I nor Duke Diop said a word.

Then the uninvited guest glanced at Alika, who was walking ahead, and then looked down at us again.

The tilting of his head was chilling. His long fingertips began to rummage inside his cloak—

-Swish!

-Whoosh!

Ugh! I almost lost my breath!

Sir Johan’s translucent sword and the man’s silver coin were trembling, facing each other with only a few strands of hair between them.

I couldn’t see anything, but when I came to my senses, this was the situation.

Pale with fright, I tried to step forward immediately, but—

“Don’t act rashly.”

The lightning magician pressed down on my chest like a pancake! Hey, I’m not acting rashly!

“I have no intention of causing a disturbance. And I don’t think it would be good for your group either?”

“…….”

“If we have similar goals, wouldn’t harmony be better than discord?”

With those words, the man gave a smile like a work of art.

Wow, we really need to gather all the air attributes and give them a personality test!

“What do you want to do?”

At that moment, Sir Johan turned to look at me. Me? Do I have the final say?!

-Thump, thump, thump……

I guess so. Come to think of it, I was Juliet, the Princess of the Palace.

If you criticize me for forgetting something like that, I have nothing to say!

“……You don’t intend to harm us, do you?”

I swallowed hard and cautiously asked the man.

Then he widened his eyes so much that the color of his iris was revealed. It was fleeting, but I saw his hair-colored, gray-violet eyes. Why are you surprised?

“You……. You have a good voice. I promise. Neither of us wants a disturbance.”

“And you don’t intend to interfere?”

“I can’t guarantee that.”

He lowered the coin and whispered as he silently slipped it under the leather cover.

I wondered why he was suddenly doing this, but before I knew it, the surroundings were getting dark.

The wagon, having passed through the wide garden, was passing through a brick tunnel towards the back of the mansion.

From here on, the noise wasn’t too loud because it was a smooth dirt floor.

I craned my neck and checked outside.

Behind the strange man, bone-like metal pergolas and benches were receding.

Fortunately, there didn’t seem to be any mercenaries in the garden.

In the first place, only a very few people could reach this place, so there wouldn’t even be a need.

I met the man’s eyes with a determined look.

“We came to help the ‘Devil’s Claw.’ We received intelligence that black magicians are exploiting the life force of that tree to support the black market. So the mansion might get noisy.”

“Oh…….”

“Now tell me. Are you going to interfere? If so, it’s the same situation for us whether we fight you here or go inside and fight.”

“If that’s the case, I’m willing to help.”

The man said with a smiling face. We quickly exchanged glances.

No, why did I do that with Diop? We don’t have anything in common anyway.

“Now that I’ve confirmed that there’s no conflict of interest, may I join you?”

“What’s your name?”

“Name?”

“I’m Heineken, this person is Edelweiss, and that person is Klauth. We may not act together, but it would be helpful to have a name to call you, just in case.”

“……I see.”

The man gave a very sly smile and came into the box.

Ugh, it’s cramped! This person is too tall and bulky too!

“Fold your legs a little!”

The box was about to burst!

Alika, the spice shop owner, didn’t slow down even while pulling four adult men.

That person is amazing in many ways!

“Hey, Mr. Heineken. Why do I have to take care of this guy?”

“Call me ‘Lan.’ That should be enough for tonight.”

The man introduced himself languidly.

Sir Johan really looked like he had a lot to say, but he quickly composed himself, so I wasn’t sure if I had seen it wrong.

Sook! Lopi, who had finally poked his head out of the robe, stared intently at the unexpected guest.

I guarded him with both hands, on high alert.

“Nice to meet you too. My wife likes cats.”

-Meow.

……Lopi’s reaction isn’t bad. Is this really just a passing encounter?

*

Around the same time, in the VIP room of a tavern on the ground floor.

Some of the group had gathered again.

“No, really? Princess Marguerite tried to assassinate His Highness the Crown Prince?”

‘I can’t believe it. She doesn’t seem like that kind of person!’ Christel said, making a face.

Ganael drooped his shoulders and nodded.

Cedric, who had received the boy’s lavish hospitality, quietly sipped his coffee.

Elizabeth had gone to imprison the criminals in the room next door.

They were all subordinates of Wilhelmina Sneider, guaranteed by Crown Prince Liester, and were docile under the oracle of Juliet, the Princess of the Palace.

Soon, when His Majesty the Emperor’s army advanced to Yeriho, they would all be taken prisoner.

The tavern owner, who was good at business and had a decent character, didn’t care what the VIP room guests did upstairs.

He just said that as long as they didn’t cause any trouble or break any equipment, it was fine.

Knowing that this was a rough neighborhood, he didn’t ask many questions either.

For a group overflowing with money, he was the best boss.

“How did it happen? Why? What was she lacking?”

“Basically……. I think she had a great need for recognition. She also seemed to have a severe inferiority complex towards her older brother, Duke Jibril Diop.”

“Then why didn’t she take it out on her brother…….”

Christel said that far and quickly shut her mouth.

Saying it like this made it feel like she was defending Cedric.

Of course, it’s not like this guy committed a crime worthy of death, but anyway, there’s such a thing as feelings.

“It seems like bad adults started to gather around her.”

Ganael whispered, drinking his anise milk.

Christel also had white milk foam on her lips.

She sighed as if she knew what he meant.

“Oh my…….”

“There was no one like that when she was young, but as the princess gradually revealed her desire to become a Grand Duchess, people started to encourage her from the sidelines. The person in question testified in front of Count Mute all day today. She’s tired and asleep now.”

The boy peeked into the slightly open bedroom. Then he lowered his voice even more.

“Those adults……. I think they were remnants of the Shin-guk spies. The princess herself suspects them.”

“Crazy, wow. Are those guys still around?”

Christel almost got angry and straightened her posture.

The Crown Prince silently lowered his long eyelashes. The attendant calmly continued.

“Yes. Count Mute said that His Majesty probably knew. Since they didn’t cause any harm to the state affairs and were good to use in reverse, he probably left them alone, but it seems they took advantage of the war to plot something…….”

“Those bastards, really! Besides, the logic is strange the more I think about it? Her older brother is still alive and well, so what difference does it make if she harms His Highness the Crown Prince? What kind of words did they use to coax her?”

“That’s…….”

Ganael’s expression became subtle.

Around that time, Elizabeth, who had come out of the temporary detention center, placed her hand on her fiancé’s backrest.

“Duke Diop wanted to give up the position of head of the family to his younger sister.”

“……Eek?”

Her blue-gray eyes wrinkled. It was an expression that she didn’t understand even more.

Cedric let out a long sigh.

“Don’t tell me there’s a twist that he deliberately lived like a scoundrel? I really hate that.”

“It’s not that bad. According to the princess, Jibril Diop was born with that kind of nature. He was seducing young ladies from noble families since he was six years old. However, it seems that he noticed early on what his sister wanted, and that was probably one of the reasons why he didn’t stop his libertine life.”

Elizabeth explained heavily. There was fatigue in the fingertips that swept back her bobbed hair.

Ganael held her hand tightly, and Christel tapped her front teeth together for a while.

Then—

“They deliberately approached someone who was bitter about not being able to become the head of the family……. and said, ‘We’ll lend you our strength, so let’s kill the Crown Prince’? Then that position will return to Duke Diop, and the Duke will give it to the princess? To create a future Empress?”

‘Isn’t that too foolish of an idea?’ She roughly got the gist, but the paladin still had a face that she couldn’t understand.

Those are just moths flying into a flame, right? Anyone can see that it’s not going to succeed, right?

“It may seem like an absurd plan at first glance, but even if the operation fails, they haven’t failed. It’s a golden opportunity to destroy a respected imperial family. From the moment she ran her horse here after being deceived by them, the princess fell into a clumsy trap. If Diop collapses, His Majesty will be hit harder than when he lost Simon de Sarnese.”

“Ah.”

“……As you know, there are many imperial family members in the Empire. But the core of them is always a minority.”

The vice-captain of the guard smiled bitterly as he straightened Christel’s hair.

Among friends, ‘Sarnese’ was a kind of taboo.

Gain was more afraid of touching Isabel’s wounds than her own shock, so she avoided the topic.

Finally, Cedric opened his mouth.

“Did the princess have depression?”

“Serious. I’m not a healing priest or a doctor……. I just knew. She tried to commit suicide in front of me. After that, she starved for more than a day and didn’t even drink water, and she kept crying. It’s amazing that no one knew about this condition. It’s also shocking that she hid it so well.”

“…….”

“……She said that this was the only way out for her. She said something like that.”

The Crown Prince swallowed his nth sigh and looked at the open door.

Elizabeth and Christel’s eyes followed him.

In the distance, Marguerite Diop, who had fallen asleep with a pillow, could be seen.

Her fair face was swollen, which she hadn’t seen in a while…….

‘A harmless relative.’

“It seems like the family didn’t talk much. Well, it’s not uncommon.”

Christel Rambouillet, ‘Ham Gain,’ muttered. The words sounded somehow lonely.

The Crown Prince glanced at her for a moment.

“Cedric, you are no longer the First Prince, but the Crown Prince.”

“…….”

“You know without me telling you, but you have the authority to summarily execute. You witnessed the scene, and you have secured the suspect’s statement. It seems that Sir Haynes has taken care of all those who followed the princess in the rear. When he returns, we will be able to secure additional evidence.”

Elizabeth’s calculation was to mention His Majesty’s summary judgment and get a statement in advance.

She was just deceiving the suspect in order to secure as many options as possible. As usual.

“……I’ll prepare as you order. Think about it and tell me.”

The vice-captain of the guard said matter-of-factly. It wasn’t that she had no feelings.

Cedric knew him too.

However, there were matters in the Imperial Palace that required the exclusion of personal feelings.

For the sake of the safety of the Liester Imperial Family and the great Empire as a whole.

He had to judge.

“…….”

The man silently looked down at the sacred stone in his hand.

It was emitting a particularly cheerful energy, as if the owner of the power had infused it when he was feeling very happy.

A hollow breath flowed into the ether that was out of sync with the atmosphere.

But there was a clear warmth in the sensation that climbed up the peripheral nerves.

What would you have done?

“……There’s a saying that when you’re worried about whether to do it or not, just do it.”

Suddenly, Christel opened her mouth. Her crimson eyes immediately turned to her.

“But if it’s something related to a person’s wounds, I personally think it’s better not to do it. And I think our partner would think so too.”

…….

“If he’s in a position to give a chance, he’ll definitely give it. He’ll probably create opportunities that don’t even exist. You all know that.”

I know that. I know his troublesome and cumbersome nature. Just—

“So let’s go see Noe soon! Don’t worry for too long. Why is someone who used to be boiling suddenly so lukewarm?”

Just, I just needed someone to say that.

“…….”

Cedric met her watery eyes for a long time.

He didn’t glare at her.