What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 468

Soul’s Rest (7)

“Do you have to be good at using chopsticks to eat?”

Gain muttered, shaking her chopsticks in an X shape with a casual tone.

I burst into laughter and shook my head. “You don’t have to be good, as long as you can manage to eat.”

Jeong Eun-seo wasn’t perfect with chopsticks either, but my brother and I just let him be.

Of course, we taught him the proper way, but we didn’t harp on him for not mastering it.

Our family’s iron rule – no stress during meals – was paramount.

It was fine as long as he didn’t bother others and could pick up what he wanted.

It seemed Gain was at a similar stage. The Crown Prince glanced at her hands and snorted softly.

“Uh-huh, can’t exactly call you a chopstick master yet.”

“Does eating really require such finesse?”

“It’s quite fun, actually, isn’t it? Once you get the hang of it, you won’t even notice the delicacy. You might even find yourself reaching for chopsticks when you have a fork.” I chuckled.

I then adjusted Bakari’s finger placement.

The teenager pursed his lips, intrigued.

Starting with picking up beans seemed too ambitious, so we decided to begin with the small barquettes [small, boat-shaped pastries] provided by Yeriho Bakery.

They were all the creations of the Imperial baker who had accompanied His Majesty the Emperor.

He apologized for the limited ingredients, but even so, the pastries were filled with jam and smoked fish, making them look incredibly appetizing.

The aroma was intoxicating; I felt like I could easily devour twenty in one sitting.

“Hold them like this, move them like this… Grab your target, secure it, lift it straight up… Right into your mouth.” I demonstrated.

When I popped a mushroom barquette into my mouth in one bite, Bakari and Ganael widened their eyes simultaneously. Hahaha.

“Your Grace, that’s amazing! Incredible!”

“Someone who has no talent for archery or violin handles such delicate objects so well.”

…Bakari knows too much about me. Pointing out facts like that should be considered assault.

“Look at this, I’m doing well, right? Watch closely!” Eva, sitting properly, urged me on.

I chewed and swallowed the delicious snack, then quickly went to the child and showered her with praise.

Only then did the young duchess eat her strawberry barquette with a satisfied expression.

So, how did this situation come about again…

‘Ah, I wish I had chopsticks.’

At the previous Saturday dinner, I found a bone while eating fish and instinctively reached for chopsticks.

Even though I knew there weren’t any here, my ingrained habits as a Korean who had lived for nearly thirty years kicked in.

Of course, His Majesty, who was dining with me, offered a completely different solution.

He had never heard of or seen ‘chopsticks’ and had lived his entire life as a member of the Imperial family.

‘Just call the chef and have a new dish brought out. It’s not as if you’re limited to a single course.’

…Hmm. That would seem like I was criticizing the chef, and I didn’t want to do that.

He was already working tirelessly to procure and manage precious ingredients for the front lines during the war.

I could remove a few bones myself.

Above all, throwing away such delicious and perfectly good food was absolutely out of the question!

‘That’s true, but having chopsticks would give me more options. It’s easier to pick out small bones or foreign objects from food than with a fork. They’re often more useful than a knife for tearing or cutting food.’

‘…The Princess is certainly enthusiastic. It sounds like she’s going to raid the kitchen if she gets her hands on those.’

‘Besides, using chopsticks helps develop not only hand-eye coordination but also the brain. It’s especially beneficial for young children. Now that I think about it, it would be good to distribute them to the soldiers and teach them how to use them.’

‘What?’

‘François, what do you think? The method of making them is simple. The shape is also very basic.’

The Emperor and Empress looked at me with furrowed brows, but I was too excited and pulled the Marquis into the conversation.

The eccentric wizard listened to my proposal with sparkling eyes.

Looking back, I wonder what I was thinking…

I was resting and eating well in a safe place, so I guess I felt more relaxed.

I was also receiving soul healing every day.

“Your Grace.”

Hot.

“Yes?”

Speak of the devil.

Right on cue, François, whose younger brother was as fierce as a tiger, appeared.

He smiled as he watched his friends engrossed in the wooden chopsticks, then approached me and whispered cautiously.

“Bishop Blaise requests an audience.”

“Ah, it’s already that time. My healing session.”

“Indeed. Please grant me the honor of escorting such a precious person.”

The man gave a quick wink and offered his hand.

Perhaps because he was so handsome, even strange actions seemed natural and charming.

I laughed it off and went with him.

I told my friends to keep practicing.

“Your Grace, ah! His Highness the Crown Prince keeps teasing me!”

“Your Highness, you shouldn’t tease your partner like that. It’s okay if your chopstick skills aren’t perfect.”

Instead, you should practice harder.

So that later you can tear kimchi [fermented spicy cabbage], pancakes, and kimchi pancakes for Gain!

*

After a while.

-Tap, tap, tap…

-Swish, swish, swish…

The Marquis and I walked slowly down the wide corridor.

Everyone was reluctant for me to go anywhere alone, so these days I gratefully accepted any escort.

The long winter sunlight streamed through the castle windows, scattering light here and there.

This lord’s castle also seemed to have a different architectural style from the fortress in Liester in many ways.

I don’t know enough to describe it accurately, but there seemed to be differences in the roof shapes and the curves.

“Come to think of it, I don’t see the Divine Beasts.”

“The troublemakers are playing with the spirits outside. Tete is napping. He went to Lady Elizabeth with his aether [magical energy] belly full.”

“Oh. It’s his nap time.”

He replied casually.

I tilted my head, watching the workers scurrying around.

Yeriho was a temporary base for the Imperial Army, so everyone was bound to be busy, but they all seemed particularly hurried today.

What’s going on? It doesn’t feel like a battle has broken out.

“…Your Grace, Lopi has thoroughly investigated the piece of cloth he brought from the black market in various ways.”

“Ah, yes.”

I was startled and snapped out of my thoughts. I immediately met the handsome man’s eyes.

“After Your Grace testified that… it exhibited the ability of ‘transparency’ some time ago, this analysis involved not only non-combat mages from the military camp but also many high-ranking combat mages.”

François was trying his best not to upset me.

I waved my hands to reassure him.

“I’m fine, François. Yesterday, I managed to revisit more than half of the memories from that day with Bishop Blaise. I didn’t stop midway either. As the Bishop said, I know that that moment doesn’t harm me in any way now.”

On the first day of treatment, the Bishop simply meditated and breathed with me for 50 minutes.

It was to relax my body and reinforce the feeling that I was in a safe place.

I was definitely getting better day by day. Really.

“That’s a relief.”

“Yes. The day before yesterday, he tried hypnosis for the first time, and I was surprised by how comfortable it felt. I guess it was because the Bishop didn’t force the door open.”

“The Bishop is a natural healer. I once received help from him too.”

Ah…

I looked into his eyes silently. We smiled at each other for a moment.

That was enough.

The topic shifted back to the present.

“Um. How was that piece of cloth?”

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t possess the ability to become transparent. As His Majesty Han confirmed, it doesn’t have any special aether signature, and it’s definitely not a magical artifact. We also considered the possibility that it was simply subjected to transparency magic…”

His beautiful voice dropped even lower. His pink eyes were filled with a hint of embarrassment.

I instinctively leaned closer and brought my ear nearer.

“…The originator of that magic is the late Grand Duke Alexandre. It’s a high-level technique requiring nine circles [a measure of magical proficiency], and he never attempted to commercialize it during his lifetime.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Yes. Werner Fenetian is an ordinary person with no talent for mana or aether, so he couldn’t have created such a thing himself. Also, if there were a mage with that much power in the Divine Kingdom, it’s hard to understand why they aren’t actively involved in this war.”

“It sounds very suspicious when you put it that way.”

“It’s more than suspicious. The ‘robe that obscures presence’ that Your Grace often wears is also a top-tier magical artifact requiring 8th-level magic to create. How much more difficult would it be to make something transparent?”

“Hmph…”

After hearing that explanation, François, who I already considered an amazing person, seemed even more impressive.

I admired his sharp profile and started counting on my fingers.

…There are too many mysteries these days.

First. Herrit opened the sacred chest in the Temple of the Boundary, and when he dropped its contents, the World Tree was injured. By the way, that was ‘Toegye Gong’ [a famous Korean Confucian scholar] setting data. It gives me chills every time I think about it.

Second. Since that day, a white line has appeared in the sky, drawing a ‘ㄷ’ shape [similar to a backwards ‘C’]. But no one knows what it means yet. The spirits said it felt familiar rather than scary, so I guess that’s a relief.

Third. In the midst of all this, the Grand Duke is wandering around in an SSS-class transparent robe that no one knows where he got, and even his life and death cannot be confirmed.

Fourth. Moreover, the Divine Kingdom knight I met in the black market was a cardinal. He was even the one who detonated the Salt Swamp, but at the same time, he’s on Eliser’s side. Does that mean he’s a double agent? How is the Divine Kingdom’s political scene even functioning?

Fifth. On top of that, Wilhelmina Sneider is trying to create holy knights. If there’s any evidence, she sweeps away everything, people and things, so there’s no way to accuse her right now. A demon who wants to become a god. Her conspiracy was reaching out to Yeriho and the underground black market.

Sixth. I think about Prince Yeser, who is waiting for me in Juliette, every day. And I also think about Prince Yeser in that white space, who asked me to take care of his sisters. What exactly is his condition right now?

Seventh. The cursor that appeared in Yuliter’s fake space still appears in my dreams from time to time. It’s not a nightmare because I’m always with my friends. However, there is definitely an entity that wants to protect the order of this world. It’s watching us from somewhere.

Eighth. But at the same time, this world relies on me. It literally collapses without me.

Why ‘me’ of all people? What am I? Just an ordinary office worker.

“What am I really…”

“You are the Princess of Juliette, the Marquis of Serenite, and the one and only disciple of His Eminence Cardinal Orelly. And you will be the consort of His Highness the Crown Prince in the future.”

“…That’s! No, listen.”

“Haven’t you received a proposal by now?”

But this person!

“Shhh!”

‘There are too many ears listening here!’ I said seriously and dragged him to the corner of the hallway.

We had already arrived in front of Bishop Blaise’s residence.

Thump! François, who bumped into the wall, quickly covered his mouth, embarrassed.

I put my hands next to his head, completely blocking his escape route.

Why did you make such an inappropriate remark!

“Your Grace wouldn’t possibly not know His Highness’s middle name, would you?”

Yes, that guy is big and has great fuel efficiency!

“The covenant… that’s on hold, indefinitely on hold. And what I’m telling you is absolutely secret to everyone.”

“Good heavens.”

When I whispered fiercely, the Marquis gasped.

Judging by the glances from both sides of the hallway, it felt like a spy movie.

“On hold? Why?”

“Because I have Christel too!”

“Philip, guardian of chastity. So the rumors that the three of you are in that kind of relationship are true—”

That’s when it happened.

“Princess Juliette! Marquis Dhiem!”

From the other side, a knight in armor hurried towards us.

I quickly retracted my arms and straightened my clothes.

The Marquis also busily rubbed his hair and cheeks, pretending nothing had happened.

The knight bowed but looked at us alternately with strange eyes.

I calmly cleared my throat.

“Ahem, hmm. What’s going on?”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

She wiped her flushed cheeks and soon returned with a clear gaze.

Then she said this.

“A distinguished guest has arrived from the Imperial City. His Majesty the Emperor has ordered that you be immediately summoned to the banquet hall, as His Highness Stanislav, the former Grand Duke, has arrived.”