What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 499

#499

The Secret Benefactor (2)

Good heavens. I think we’re just going with the flow without any real plan!

I know I’m not one to talk, but that’s really how I felt tonight.

My heart sank at the thought of Harriet coming to such a dangerous place.

It’s one thing for us to mess around and score own goals (though it still stings a little), but it’s too risky to have a child in this kind of environment.

I made eye contact with the wren that had fluttered over and quickly whispered,

“Ttuk-ss, you have a grand plan, right? You just can’t tell us for some reason. Right?”

-Chirp chirp.

He replied as if I was talking nonsense.

No, I’m serious, not just saying it. Is this okay?

My gaze involuntarily drifted to the white ceiling.

I don’t know who to ask, but is this really alright?

Really?

“Hehe!”

“Oh, Harriet.”

I smiled brightly and embraced the approaching boy with one arm.

Of course, I couldn’t pass my worries onto a child.

Harriet smelled of sweet mint chocolate and fresh bedding.

The familiar and pleasant warmth made the tip of my nose tingle.

Everyone here is precious to me, but I want to protect the little ones at all costs.

“I missed you too, Uncle. How have you been?”

“Yep!”

Nod nod. Oh, so cute.

“You’ve grown taller again.”

“Yep!”

“You’ll be taller than Uncle soon. Maybe even taller than your dad?”

Smile, nod nod.

“Did you eat?”

“Yep.”

Patted his belly. That meant he ate a lot and was full.

Even though he’d been asked the same questions many times, Harriet answered each one with care.

His cheeks were as red as holly berries, probably because the inside of the Ark was warm.

He had his favorite polo player wooden doll in his pocket.

Francois was currently sleeping in his room, and I wanted them to meet soon.

A smile naturally appeared at the sight of him in his thick, luxurious winter coat—

“Seriously! Out of all people, why Joan de As? It must be making your head spin, right?”

Clang clang! A welcome voice rang out in the air.

That made me burst out laughing in the end.

I really like Joan!

“To be honest, I felt the same way. I was worried something would happen to Harriet because of me, you know? I wondered if this was okay.”

Joan, who came as his guardian, said with her hands on her hips.

Her cheeks were marked with pillow creases, showing how well she slept in the Ark.

Her headscarf and robe were wrinkled, and her lemon-colored hair was flattened at the back of her head.

Sir Johan looked at her with an absurd expression—it was the first time I’d seen such a look.

The young baron quickly looked away and cleared his throat.

Meanwhile, His Highness Stanislas shook hands with Harriet and greeted him softly.

“You seem to be doing well, little one. Any good news yet?”

Shake shake. Harriet, sitting on my lap, smiled and shook his head.

His eyes were full of joy and affection as he looked at the elder.

‘Good news’? I guess it’s a secret just between them.

“Okay, everyone, focus. Listen up. Both of your Highnesses too. Of course, I wasn’t a strong candidate at first, you know? Her Highness Aurelia’s top priority for a guardian was definitely Baechang. I mean, Sant. He’s a priest, and he’s really close to the kid. Plus, Harriet is Sant’s assistant.”

“And?”

Djibril Diop asked with his arms crossed.

His attitude was so natural that I thought they knew each other for a moment.

Meanwhile, Harriet was fascinated by the flattened lizard stuck to my palm.

Ttuksim, who had quickly flown over, chattered something to his owner.

Then the child’s eyes widened, and he quickly moved away and hugged Gain tightly. Huh?

…Could it be that Harriet shouldn’t approach him either?

“But Ttuksim spat Sant out. Ptooey.”

“What?”

The Crown Prince frowned immediately. I was startled and looked at the wren.

Joan shrugged and made a ‘crack’ sound.

“Ugh, I slept too sweetly. What is it, there’s a super beautiful angel inside the Ark, enough to make your eyes pop out, you know? It’s hard to believe, but it’s true. And they even look exactly like the Crown Prince—”

“I think we can skip the story about that person, Joan.”

I hurriedly cut her off. The guide ‘Nikki’ is a secret to the outside world!

“Oh, okay. Anyway, that angel said. The Ark now serves its master, and it’s already using a lot of power to protect its master…? So it’s a bit much to handle the aether [a hypothetical medium believed to permeate space] of another being. The words were too difficult.”

Joan scratched the side of her head as she explained.

I was covering the lizard with a handkerchief when my mouth dropped open. Huh?

“Is that true?”

“Yeah, what did they say? Right, ‘vessel’. It’s using most of its divine power to protect Harriet’s vessel! So it can’t hold too big of a vessel in the Ark. It can hold it if it really tries, but it would have to overexert itself that much.”

“Ah. So a clergyman is out of the question?”

Gain asked keenly. Joan nodded right away.

“Yeah. And the less faith a person has, the easier it is for the Ark! Like me.”

“……”

The Crown Prince stared at her silently. No translator was needed for that.

It was a blatant ‘I’m so proud’ look.

“Since Sant is out, what else can we do? Her Highness Aurelia can’t leave the palace because she’s taking care of state affairs, and she’s a clergyman. And Sir Ervé Duhem is busy protecting her.”

“That’s true.”

“But our Highness didn’t give up until the end. Agnes, Uncle Benjamin, and even Princess Berenice were considered, but I beat them all again. My vessel is the lightest because I have no faith! I’m the best!”

“……Congratulations.”

“Thank you, Palace Lord!”

Joan wiped her nose and wore a triumphant expression.

Harriet seemed very proud of her. Hmm…….

“It’s good that you two look happy.”

Gain patted the child and muttered. I agree.

-Chirp chirp, chirp chirp, chirp.

Around that time, Ttuksim was talking busily.

The narrow dormitory room became eerily quiet.

Harriet listened carefully to the divine creature’s story, then stood up again and wrote on Joan’s palm.

Then she nodded with a serious look, like when she was drawing.

The artist suddenly looked like a seasoned and experienced simultaneous interpreter. What’s going on…….

“You can find out the lizard’s story through her. Harriet just told me what Ttuksim said.”

“Wow, really?”

Amazing! She’s a real interpreter!

-Chirp chirp chirp, chirp chirp.

“Wait a minute……. Yeah, that’s right. It’s true that the lizard is a divine creature……. Oh my gosh, that lizard is a divine creature?”

Joan the interpreter’s only flaw was that she inserted her personal feelings in the middle of relaying the words.

But other than that, her speed was quite fast and her accuracy was high.

Harriet kept smiling and nodding, so it was certain.

Joan is a genius in all fields of art, but I never imagined that it would apply to interpreting Harriet’s handwriting.

I think she’s as fast as Sir Johan?

“Um, but I don’t feel the essence of a divine creature right now. What does that mean?”

‘Tell me more easily.’ She went back to being an artist and made all sorts of faces.

The group’s gaze shifted up and down to my palm.

The vermilion lizard had already closed its eyes and was sleeping soundly.

Now that I see it, this guy’s pattern looks like the boss lizard I met last time…….

They’re so similar that I’m confused. Is the little one who disappeared in soot okay?

What was that all about?

-Chirp chirp, chirp chirp, chirp.

Scratch scratch. Harriet borrowed Joan’s palm again.

Her eyebrows crumpled like a sketchbook.

“Huh?”

“What’s wrong, Joan?”

“It’s a divine creature and not a divine creature at the same time? It’s just pitiful. And pitiful again.”

……Huh?

-Peep.

Ttuksim chirped briefly for the last time, then fluttered and landed on his owner’s shoulder.

At his signal, Harriet fluttered and hugged her dad.

“……I think we should stop here for today and rest. Ttuksim seems tired.”

Sir Johan, who was holding his son, calmly wrapped up the situation.

We looked at the lizard and nodded silently.

……Yeah. Let’s take a break and think.

*

The next day was December 31st.

The last day of the Holy Calendar 1614.

-Swoosh—!

“Waaaaah! It’s cold! I’m freezing to death!”

-Whoosh whoosh, patter patter!

“Ugh! This wind is crazy!”

‘We can do it! We can do it!’ The military academy students shouted loudly and marched forward in formation.

The sharp sea breeze slapped everyone’s cheeks and ran away.

Today, half of the third-year students would spend the night on the coast.

They would pitch tents on the beach, immerse themselves in the ice-cold seawater, cultivate their minds, and make new resolutions while watching the rising sun…….

I heard it was a terrifying schedule.

It was an annual event without any special martial arts training, so we didn’t really need to accompany them.

Nevertheless, the reason we insisted on coming along was—

“Wow, Guild Master! I can see the sea over there!”

“Yes. It’s much closer than I expected!”

-Whoosh whoosh—!

To get a good look at the Barun Territory’s waters.

The request we received was to protect the good people of the territory from the attacks of demonic beasts.

Protecting the young students and helping the teachers who were determined to fight to the death.

To succeed in that, we needed to carefully look around this place, where more than 90% of the territory was made up of islands.

If we were with the school people, we could do everything legally and safely, so there was no better opportunity.

-Thud, thud, thud……

-Beep beep!

“Oh, it’s really cold!”

Ttuksim, hidden in the Crown Prince’s hood, beeped in front.

I diligently answered, feeling the saltiness all over my face.

The wren, who had rested well overnight in Sir Johan’s bed, swallowed Harriet and Joan again as soon as the sun rose.

In the end, Francois only got to greet his godchild for 5 minutes.

However, he didn’t want to show Harriet his sick appearance, so maybe it was a good thing.

I was worried about what to say to the school about the existence of the two, but it was all useless.

As expected, our Ttuksim had a plan. He’s not a divine creature, he’s a goblin, a goblin…….

-Beep beep beep! Beep beep!

“Ttuksim, you’re going to burst Pilsner’s eardrums!”

I warned him. Gain, who was following behind, laughed cheerfully.

According to Joan’s explanation, Harriet was decorating the inside of the Ark with his imagination.

Right now, all there was was a big bed, a toy drawer, a dining table, and a bathroom.

On the other hand, Sir Johan’s portrait, the toys we bought, and the Crown Prince’s allowance pouch were hung in a row on the wall.

Among them, Francois’s polo mallets were crossed in an X shape and hung in the highest place.

Every time I saw Ttuksim, I thought about that and laughed like an idiot.

“Hehehehe.”

He loves his dad the most in the world, but anyway, his dad isn’t a cool polo player or a great magician.

Children’s minds are really cute.

“You’re smiling really lecherously. Are you a pervert?”

“Ahem! No, I’m not. When did I ever do that?”

Duke Diop, who was walking next to me, looked at me like I was crazy.

This was quite unfair. Do you think I’m you?

“I really didn’t think that.”

“What about the lizard?”

“Ah.”

He quickly lowered his voice and asked.

I quickly put my hand inside my coat. It was still there.

“It hasn’t woken up yet. It’s the same as last night.”

“……It’s taking longer than I thought. Tsk.”

He clicked his tongue briefly and looked forward again. I agreed with that too.

I thought it just needed a break before I told you the situation, but it hasn’t opened its eyes all day.

There wasn’t a single sign of life in the ‘lizard dormitory’…….

-Heeheeheehing!

At that moment, the sound of a horse neighing came from beyond the coastline.

The students who were marching diligently were horrified and turned their heads. It was an unusual reaction.

Our eyes rolled all at once.

-Neigh!

-Clatter, clatter, clatter……!

A huge horse, with a noble’s crest emblazoned on it, was galloping towards us.

Who is it?