What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 49

#049 The Prince Can’t Sleep (2)

“Do you like Yeongju Castle? Well, it’s hard not to like it, though!”

*Why are you asking when you’ve already decided?*

“It’s wonderful. It’s like a painting.”

“Hahaha! I hear that often. You have an excellent eye for beauty, Your Highness.”

From midday, I was crossing the front of Yeongju Castle with Marquis Francois Duiem, who was bursting with enthusiasm, in search of the Divine Sword of Mars.

Reeds, or similar plants, filled the view and rustled incessantly.

The Marquis also filled the air with chatter.

The reason for this situation was nothing special.

After the welcome banquet last night, I slept in until 10:30 in the morning, leisurely ate, and enjoyed the rest until…

-Grumble!

*‘That’s right, Demi. I have to go see your friends.’*

I remembered after seeing Demi begging to be carried on the table.

One of my purposes for coming here was to meet Demi’s lesser panda family, the two divine beasts.

I also wanted to create a chance for Demi and them to say hello after a long time and to check if they were doing well.

Of course, Benjamin and Ganael were supposed to accompany me, but I happened to run into Marquis Duiem in the hallway….

After that, well, it was a predictable development.

*‘Would you please bestow the honor upon me?’*

The Marquis insisted that he was the person who had the most frequent contact with the divine beasts and offered to escort me himself, so I let the two rather tired-looking attendants rest in the room.

Thus, the awkward pairing of now was born.

Of course, only I was awkward, and the Marquis seemed very happy.

-Squeak!

“Demi, don’t play on the horse. The horse friend is working.”

-Clatter, clatter······

I quickly grabbed Demi, who was trying to climb the horse’s head, and put him in my arms.

It was my first time riding a horse, but miraculously, Prince Yeseo’s body remembered how to ride.

I almost got labeled as a prince who couldn’t even ride a horse at the age of twenty-eight.

*You know how to do this, but why can’t you throw a dagger….*

“They’re setting up tents, so it would be good to go back this way.”

“Ah, yes.”

The Marquis pointed to one side with a dramatic gesture.

When I left Yeongju Castle, it didn’t seem like there were many people in the plains, but when I got closer, there was barely any room to move because of the people preparing for the ‘Great Monster Subjugation’ tomorrow.

I followed the Marquis’s guidance and moved past the tents.

Soon, a jaw-dropping sight unfolded.

“······Are these all spectator seats?”

“That’s right! Are you surprised? You must be surprised! This competition will be the largest ever.”

The Marquis’s pink eyes curved like crescent moons.

I couldn’t close my mouth as I looked back and forth at the 10-tiered spectator seats that stretched in two long lines across the plains.

The two galleries were arranged facing each other with a gap of about 100m in the middle, and each length seemed to be 300m.

It looked like a huge outdoor stadium to anyone.

The white tents that would block the May sun were designed to clearly cover not only the top of the gallery but also the back and sides.

People stretching the cloth tightly, people hammering stakes, people shouting something, and people drawing circles with their arms were everywhere.

Some of them found me and the Marquis and bowed.

I greeted them back and scanned the mountains and the stadium with my eyes.

“You’re drawing the monsters out of the mountains to the center of both galleries.”

“To be exact, the monsters draw the participants in. Because the ‘Divine Sword of Mars’ is stuck there.”

Marquis Duiem gestured towards the middle of the stadium.

In the distance, something black was shining in the warm sunlight.

I felt a little dazed and steered the horse there.

-Squeak

“Okay, we’re here.”

Demi, who couldn’t stand it any longer, climbed up my chest and settled on my shoulder.

I supported him with one arm and got off the horse following the Marquis.

As I walked with my eyes fixed on the bushes, the divine object soon revealed itself.

For a moment, it felt like my breath stopped.

The sword, stuck haphazardly in the dirt floor, was so black that it couldn’t penetrate any light.

It was buried about halfway, but the visible part was clean without a speck of dust.

The hilt and blade were also matte black, and a blood-red jewel was embedded in the end of the hilt.

It looked as vivid as if it had been stabbed in yesterday, and at the same time, it looked as ancient as if it were the first existence here.

The divine sword that countless people have tried to draw for over a thousand years, but no one has made it their master.

The Divine Sword of Mars.

“······That’s a lot of ether [a magical energy or essence].”

I said my impressions after a long time.

The reason why Demi was so talkative from the morning and why I felt like I was facing a huge bonfire was all because of this sword.

It wasn’t hot, but I could feel the overwhelming presence of fire-attribute ether.

I realized anew that this is what a divine object is.

Things that humans make directly and use for their own convenience are different from the reason for their existence.

The will and manifestation of the ability of the main god.

“All the priests say that.”

The Marquis opened his mouth as if humming.

“Isn’t it beautiful? The monsters go through this place at least once to attack the divine object, and the participants chase those monsters down. The Divine Sword is the centerpiece of the competition.”

Saying that, he gestured to one side of the bushes. Demi’s reaction was faster than mine.

-Squeak!

-Kyuu!

-Kureureu!

In an instant, two lesser pandas appeared.

It seemed that the Marquis’s words that the divine beast always stays close to the divine object were true.

Fortunately, they both looked healthy.

I gently lowered Demi, who was dangling from my right arm, to the ground.

I couldn’t help but smile when I met them again in the distant Marquisate [the territory or jurisdiction of a Marquis].

-Kureureureu······

-Squeak?

-Kureureut!

Like the day we parted, the three became a bunch again and rolled around on the floor.

I was watching carefully in case they got cut by the Divine Sword, but the Marquis continued to speak.

“Come to think of it, I heard you’re participating as a team. His Highness the Prince and the Prince, Lady Elizabeth, and Lady Christel.”

I turned to look at him. This is news to me….

It’s a given that I’m helping the Prince, and Lady Elizabeth is the same, and Christel is an all-purpose extra, so she can fit in anywhere, so it seems that’s how it will end up.

It’s only a temporary alliance that will be dissolved when we return to the Imperial Palace anyway.

“That’s not wrong.”

When I answered evasively, he smiled and changed the question.

“Can I trust you, Your Highness?”

“······What did you say?”

I asked back.

I realized that he had been smiling only with his mouth from some point on.

The pink eyes had a faint light of suspicion. *So he can make that kind of expression too.*

“I’m sorry. I know that the two Highnesses chose you, Your Highness. But······. I am a body sworn to loyalty to His Majesty Frederick. Unless he completely trusts you, Your Highness, I can’t let my guard down either.”

The Marquis smiled brightly and bowed his head. It was an apology.

I looked at him for a long time and organized my thoughts.

*So, unlike Cardinal Boutier or Prince Cedrick, the Emperor still doesn’t trust me.*

Frankly, it was hard to accept that the Prince trusted me, but I felt a little burdened when the Emperor was mentioned.

*What did I do to make the Emperor look favorably on me?*

*It’s best not to attract attention at all in any way.*

“The Marquis is the Emperor’s closest aide, so you must know the Prince’s secret.”

But that didn’t mean I was going to leave any suspicious things unaddressed with the Marquis.

I couldn’t make enemies here.

“If it’s a secret······.”

“You can’t turn a blind eye to a sick child.”

“Good heavens.”

The face of a relaxed adult hardened in an instant.

The Marquis covered his mouth with one hand and looked at me with trembling eyes.

*So this human knows too.*

“I’m not doing this hoping for something from the Emperor or the Prince. I’m just helping because my heart is uncomfortable. You don’t have to think too complicatedly.”

“······I didn’t know you knew, Your Highness. My goodness!”

“It just happened that way. Don’t worry, I haven’t told anyone.”

Then the Marquis quickly knelt on one knee in front of me.

I was startled and took a step back.

“Why are you doing this? People are watching.”

“Indeed, there was a reason why His Highness the Prince relies on you, Your Highness.”

“Who relies on whom? Are we talking about the same Prince right now?”

“Not knowing that you are helping His Highness with pure good intentions······. Please forgive my foolishness!”

*No, wasn’t the atmosphere a bit chilly until 3 minutes ago?*

*I knew it, but why is this person so extreme?*

“You said you doubted me earlier,”

“I’m going to go to confession today. If you ask me what my sin is, it’s meeting the Prince······.”

“While you’re reflecting, I’ll touch the Divine Sword.”

*Oh well, I don’t know.*

Leaving the man who doesn’t know the middle ground, I hurriedly grabbed the Divine Sword of Mars.

I was going to check it out with some leeway, but I couldn’t help it because of that human’s nonsense. *Damn it.*

*

“But the sword wouldn’t come out, so I kicked it. I’m sorry.”

[I see. That’s Sophie’s fault.]

I answered as softly as possible.

Then I heard the sound of the child stomping her feet across the wooden window.

I barely held back my laughter and chose the next words.

I’ve done a lot of confessions so far, but this is the first time I’ve had such a cute confessor.

I am now fulfilling my ‘duty’ in the Duiem Marquisate.

My job as a priest was to listen to the confessions of those participating in the Monster Subjugation, and the schedule was moved up by half a day when the Marquis opened the Yeongju Castle confessional during the day.

I’m going to be busy tomorrow, so it’s a good thing.

But the Marquis is really… a person with a normal face but a brain that isn’t.

Thanks to that, the small confessional was crowded from early evening.

The nobles who came to Yeongju Castle as guests flocked and lined up for a long time.

And the guest who currently occupies the confessor’s seat was Sophie, who will be five years old soon.

She came with her mother, who is a participant in the competition, and she must be about six years old in our age.

Eunseo was about this age too.

“Am I going to be punished now?”

[It’s not a big punishment. Sophie is still young, so you have to receive a small punishment.]

“I don’t like small punishments either······.”

[Actually, Uncle tried to grab the Divine Sword earlier, but it didn’t work out.]

“Did the Prince kick the sword with his foot too?”

[No, some guy was watching, so I couldn’t kick it.]

The child laughed at my words. I smiled bitterly.

To be exact, I wasn’t trying to draw the sword, but I was wishing on the sword.

I prayed to the main god first because I was worried that the divine object wouldn’t understand my words, and I even put in ether with the hope that it would work.

Then, holding the sword tightly, I prayed very earnestly in my heart. *Please let me go home.*

Result? It was this shape and this form.

*Yeah. There’s no way I could go home that easily.*

[Sophie has to eat all the vegetables without leaving any from today for a week. And when you kick the ball, make sure to kick it outside, only in the direction where no one is. This is the atonement.]

“Ugh······. I don’t like bell peppers······.”

The child made a very discouraged voice at my seemingly stern attitude.

Sophie rustled for a while and then left the confessional,

-Clunk!

“Goodbye, Prince!”

She hurriedly opened the door again and bowed to me.

It was clear that her mother asked if she had greeted me before leaving.

In the end, I said goodbye to the child with half a laugh and half an answer. Immediately after, the outside became very noisy.

It seemed that a new guest had arrived.

I thought I should just receive one more person and go rest.

-Clunk!

At that time, the next compartment opened roughly again. I heard the sound of someone’s clothes brushing.

“Sophie?”

“Who’s that?”

A familiar low-pitched voice pierced my eardrums. I was embarrassed and turned my eyes involuntarily.

“Your Highness?”

“Did you tell that to Sophie too?”

*What is this sound again?* I quickly leaned over and looked over the wooden window.

Between the dense patterns, I saw orange eyes burning hotly as if they were going to burn.

A large body was torturing a small chair.

I didn’t understand for a moment why this guy was here. Is it because of the Monster Subjugation tomorrow?

“Did you come to confess? But did you cut in line?”

“Even the Marquis knows now.”

“Know what?”

“······.”

Prince Cedrick shut his mouth tightly. Even four-year-old Sophie spoke clearly.

*If you came to confess, confess, and if you have something to argue about, argue properly. The Prince acted just like his son.*

This was a clear obstruction of business.