What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 48

#048 The Prince Can’t Sleep (1)

“Is that all you have to say?”

“Yes, that’s all.”

Cristel replied crisply to the Prince’s curt question.

They looked like members of a secondhand marketplace who had just completed a brisk transaction.

It wasn’t as romantic as I had imagined…

Well, the two protagonists of the romance fantasy probably know better than I do, a born solo.

“Then, I will take my leave.”

Prince Cedrick lightly tilted his chin.

Cristel quickly bowed and moved away from the carriage.

I almost went back with her, but then I remembered that I also had something to say to the Prince.

After confirming Cristel’s receding figure, I moved closer to the carriage.

“Your Highness, I also have something to tell you.”

He raised one eyebrow without a word. He was truly skilled in body language.

I continued calmly.

“Cardinal Boutier probably told you, but I thought I should let you know with my own mouth.”

The Prince probably knows that I have decided to cooperate with him.

Although I don’t know if I can be of significant help, I declared that I would help him win the ‘Great Demon Subjugation’ and obtain the ‘Comet Sword of Mars’.

But I had never said it directly to him.

I thought it would be good to clarify my motives and intentions this time.

First, I glanced at David, the attendant sitting across from the Prince.

“It’s about Sadie, but is it okay for David to hear it too?”

“Cough, cough! Cough! Ack!”

David started coughing violently.

He took out a handkerchief from his pocket with a very embarrassed face, covered his mouth, and continued coughing.

“David, are you alright? Should I call a royal physician?”

The middle-aged man made a gasping sound, and I couldn’t help but worry.

At my question, he shook his head and struggled to speak.

“I choked on, cough! My saliva, cough cough! Don’t mind me, cough!”

“David knows, so you don’t have to be conscious of him.”

The Prince said quietly.

Well, he has been assisting the Prince for a long time, so there was no way he wouldn’t know he had an illegitimate child.

I nodded and looked around.

Everyone was busy preparing for departure, and there was no one near the Prince’s carriage.

My voice became even smaller.

“I am participating in the Great Demon Subjugation as a confessor in name only, but I hope you obtain the Comet Sword. Because you will use that sacred object… for Sadie.”

He immediately frowned.

The Prince looked like he wanted to say something, but he couldn’t open his mouth easily, like someone who didn’t know exactly what to point out from where.

I became anxious and added a question.

“Am I wrong?”

“…Theoretically, that’s correct.”

He answered in a low voice after a long time. If it’s right, it’s right, but what’s theoretically right?

I clicked my tongue at his insincere answer and said the most important sentence.

“Then I will help in any way I can. I don’t want your son to be sick anymore.”

“What did you just say?”

“Prince Yeseo?”

At that moment, I heard the coachman calling me from afar.

It seemed like it was really time to leave.

I didn’t want to hear that I was late again because of me, so I quickly bowed to the Prince and moved away.

The last time I saw David, he was burying his face in a handkerchief, and I felt a little uncomfortable, wondering if he was really okay.

*

“Your Highness, I can see the Lord’s castle over there!”

– Creak

Ganael exclaimed in a bright voice.

I supported Demi’s black belly, who was crawling up the window, so he could see outside.

Benjamin also turned his gaze, following Ganael’s fingertip.

“Wow…”

“It’s very different from the Imperial Palace. Marquis Dhiem’s castle boasts a very long history.”

Benjamin explained kindly.

It was a landscape that evoked admiration.

The lord’s castle of Marquis Francois Dhiem, draped in a subtle mist like a cloak, boasted a noble and dignified appearance.

Behind the overall gray-brown castle, there were pointed and huge mountain ranges resembling the fangs of a beast.

The shape of a few scattered clouds hanging on the top was like a magnificent folding screen.

After running for three days from Luca Village, we finally arrived at the Marquis Dhiem’s territory.

“The Imperial City is mostly flat, but there are many mountains in the east.”

“Yes. There is a large mountain range in the direction of the border. Except for the southern end of the empire where the river flows, most of the east is this kind of terrain.”

Benjamin, who said that, was like a skilled travel guide.

Whenever he taught me something, he seemed happy, so I would ask him questions and get answers.

“The Comet Sword will be stuck around there. It’s too far to see well.”

He added, pointing to the plains in front of the lord’s castle with his finger.

Plants similar to reeds swayed in time with the rhythm of the wind.

I nodded and diligently looked around the approaching lord’s castle.

Again, I thought it would have been better if Eunseo and Hyung had seen it together.

“You can rest well in the lord’s castle until tomorrow, Your Highness. There is a welcoming banquet hosted by Marquis Dhiem today, but it will be small in scale because His Highness the Prince does not like crowds. The Great Demon Subjugation will begin the morning after tomorrow.”

Ganael told me the schedule in a gentle voice.

“Speaking of the Prince.”

I frowned slightly and opened my mouth.

“Hasn’t he been a little strange these past few days?”

The two tilted their heads at my words. No, there was no way I was the only one who felt this.

“He’s usually like that, but he seems particularly cold these past three or four days. He grilled the owners of every inn he stayed at, and he swung his sword in the yard day and night, didn’t he?”

“Hmm.”

“Well…”

The reaction wasn’t very satisfying.

“I understand that he is looking through the inn ledgers of other villages or pressuring the owners because of what happened in Luca Village.”

Benjamin replied calmly. I agreed with that point.

As someone who would become emperor in the future, the Claudine Green incident would have been unacceptable, and he must have been worried that the same evil deeds were being repeated.

But even so, the Prince’s words and actions were much colder than usual.

Doesn’t the food suit his taste?

“And…”

Ganael carefully brought up the topic.

“His Highness the Prince has always been like that, Your Highness.”

“Huh?”

“Come to think of it, it seems like he has softened a lot since you entered the palace, Your Highness.”

That’s what you call softened? Benjamin added, seeing my expression.

“There were not many people who could say a simple word to His Highness. It would have been His Majesty the Emperor, His Eminence the Cardinal, Lady Elizabeth, and David. Even Marquis Dhiem became docile in front of His Highness.”

“There is also a nickname attached to His Highness in [high society]. It was ‘The Ice Prince’…”

My hands and feet curled up.

I thought it was probably the work of Lord Beliar, who likes to make strange nicknames…

“Just in time, there’s Marquis Dhiem over there.”

Benjamin gestured. I looked out the window again.

There was a man with light pink eyes sparkling like cherry blossoms, waving hello with flamboyant arm movements.

That person is still the same.

*

“Once again, I sincerely welcome His Highness the Prince and everyone to my castle. Thank you!”

“Long live His Highness the Prince!”

“Cheers!”

As Marquis Francois Dhiem shouted coolly and raised his wine glass, thunderous applause and cheers erupted.

The marquis, a master of recreation, created a bright and boisterous atmosphere even with the Prince, who did not say a word, as the guest of honor.

I’ve never seen such an ‘insider’ in my life.

As Ganael said, not many people were invited to the welcoming banquet.

Including me, the Prince’s party, the Marquis family, and their close associates seemed to be less than 50 people.

Sitting at the end of the long VIP seat at the front of the banquet hall, I was enjoying the leisure of the corner seat and feasting.

Lady Elizabeth was sitting on my left.

Marquis Dhiem and Cristel took their seats at the right end of the VIP seat, and the two were already mixing drinks.

Mixing beer with wine…

“Basically, it’s similar to treasure hunting in the mountains.”

“Lady Elizabeth, demons are not treasure.”

“But every time you catch one, your score goes up, and if you get the highest score, you win. It’s no different from treasure.”

The Vice Commander smiled brightly and sipped sherry.

Lady Elizabeth, who finally got off work after arriving at the Marquis’ territory, was enjoying drinking with a face as refreshed as the day after the spring ball.

She said that she had never watched the Great Demon Subjugation since she belonged to the Imperial Guard, but as a noble of the Empire, she knew the rules and methods of the competition by heart.

“You must have seen the large mountain range on the way. There is a large cave on the lowest peak, and we call that place the ‘Dhiem Dungeon’.”

Dungeon… This is a world with everything.

I chewed on the soft duck roast and waited for the next words.

The juice was juicy, but the accompanying Bigarrade sauce [a sauce made with bitter oranges] was so delicious.

“The demons in the dungeon come out and attack the lord’s castle and surrounding cities around this time of year. Different types of demons appear every year, so it’s useless to put up barriers. Some of them must escape the mountain. That’s why the competition that starts in the mountains eventually ends in the plains of the lord’s castle.”

I knew this too.

Even if the imperial family and nobles rushed in droves, there were demons who took the opportunity to run away, and they always approached the Comet Sword of Mars at least once.

It was to feel a instinctive revulsion to the sacred object and attack it.

“People who catch a lot of demons are also at an advantage, but usually, people who catch the biggest and most ferocious demons get bonus points. It’s more about quality than quantity.”

“I see.”

I answered that way and glanced at the Prince sitting on Lady Elizabeth’s left.

There was not a single smile on his handsome face.

The guy who was already in a bad mood came south and seemed to be turning into a tropical depression [a low-pressure weather system].

“Do you think the Prince can win?”

“Of course.”

Lady Elizabeth replied immediately.

“It hurts to admit it, but His Majesty the Emperor is the only person who can beat His Highness in terms of force right now.”

“He doesn’t seem to be in good condition these days.”

“His Highness?”

She opened her gray eyes wide and looked back to her left.

The Prince, feeling her gaze, stared at us.

His eyes were still fierce, and no matter how I looked at it, he looked nervous due to the pressure of winning.

Otherwise, his recent sharp attitude could not be understood.

I lightly ignored his orange gaze and quenched my thirst with orange juice.

Geez, he’s showing his twenty-four-year-old self.

*

“…They believed I was their son.”

“Ack! Did you finally find out! Hahahaha!”

Elizabeth let out a scream and a laugh at the same time.

She roared with laughter so loudly that the VIP reception room was about to collapse, then buried her face in the sofa cushion that David had quickly handed her.

If the sound was too loud, Marquis Dhiem might come over asking what was going on and wanting to laugh together.

Elizabeth was almost crying as she slapped David’s arm, who was standing next to her.

The attendant endured her hand with his years of hardened resilience.

“David, how did you hold back? Why did you keep this fun thing to yourself?”

“Lady Sobaek, I am confident that it was the greatest challenge of my life.”

“Ah! What should I do! Prince Yeseo!”

“George.”

Cedrick called her middle name in a boiling voice.

It meant to do it moderately, but Elizabeth couldn’t hold back and buried her face in the cushion again.

She almost fainted from laughing when Prince Yeseo had such a misunderstanding, but now that the person in question finally knew the whole story, she felt like she was going to die.

This, this was really too much. Tears finally came out.

“I, sob, I told you. If it were me, I would confess the truth rather than be misunderstood like that.”

“…Why don’t they think it’s the same person?”

“What are you talking about! Would you rather get caught?”

Elizabeth was now sobbing as she pointed her finger.

The Prince looked down at his friend with complicated feelings.

In fact, his feelings had been turbulent for the past three days.

He didn’t know whether to be angry with Elizabeth for hiding this misunderstanding until now, or to treat the Prince, who dared to speculate that he had an illegitimate child, coldly.

It was he who had not listened to her hints, and it was also he who had bet on the Prince’s favor.

Such an uncertain amorphous state.

At this rate, it was no different from when he turned into a child.

“Hmm, hmm. But don’t you understand the Prince either? Although the symptoms of ether depletion are diverse, what you are experiencing is a unique case. It’s not in the books.”

Elizabeth barely cleared her throat and continued.

“Besides, it’s a secret that you use ether. It makes sense that they believe it’s someone else.”

“So it’s all my fault.”

“Ehehe, hehe. Heuhuek.”

The Lady Sobaek began to wipe away tears on the cushion again. The Prince sighed softly.