What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 554

Sub-Male Lead Goes on Strike – #554

Hold Your Breath and Hell Dive (4)

Ten minutes later.

An emergency military meeting was called in the Crown Prince’s camp. The question hung in the air: How did the fight go?

“Ahem, ahem.”

How did it go… It just fizzled out awkwardly and ended.

I couldn’t even reconcile with him, let alone give my final defense, and everyone scattered.

It was a natural course of events.

With two urgent matters at hand, who would keep yelling in the middle of enemy territory?

Reality always strikes without warning.

“…Why is the atmosphere like this?”

Emma Corleone, the undefeated Navy Admiral, blurted out.

The knights who followed her in—the ones who had rushed out earlier—flinched and exchanged glances.

But they didn’t dare to speak and just did their jobs.

They refilled the guests’ glasses with water, cleaned up the documents and maps scattered on the floor, and hung a pot of black sugar sea cucumber soup (a traditional Korean restorative dish) from the military academy on the hearth.

The Crown Prince glared at them with a displeased look.

The Admiral plopped down on any chair and crossed her long legs in a rebellious manner.

Even that was considered polite because she was in front of the Grand Duke and the Crown Prince, which was a testament to her audacity.

“I have a question, but no one is answering. Did we lose a battle while I was gone?”

“Ah, don’t ask. You won’t like what you see,” Gibreel Diop, who was also slumped in a chair, retorted.

He had been muttering loudly about feeling nauseous and wanting to go to a salon.

The Admiral sighed and snatched a candy from him.

I, the main cause of this atmosphere, scratched my nose awkwardly.

Only Gaine and Sir Johann, seated on either side of me, were my shields. Still, holding a Lesser Panda each made me feel a little more at ease…

“Are you really okay, Gungju [Princess]? Did anything happen? The ether flow seemed very unstable when you came in.”

“…Well, it wasn’t a big deal.”

-Kkiung

“Yes.”

When I lowered my voice as much as possible, Gaine looked at me with sparkling eyes.

Sir Johann was smiling subtly at us.

It’s a strange thing to say, but they were both so pretty and handsome that I felt encouraged.

“I… had a big fight with the Crown Prince.”

“Wow. How big?”

“…Like, grabbing his collar. I was so angry.”

“Wow, crazy!”

Our protagonist momentarily raised her voice and then covered her mouth, and Sir Johann blinked a few times before turning to François in the next seat.

It was a reaction of disbelief.

The mage sighed deeply and nodded.

Then the Admiral looked at us and smirked.

It looked like she was about to jump up and come over to us. Gaine quickly reached out and stopped her.

“Emma, wait a minute. This is a big deal. Then what happened?”

“He suddenly grabbed my wrist, hard.”

“…Did that bastard hit you? I knew the situation was weird earlier.”

“No! Calm down.”

Gaine, who suddenly became serious, was so eerie that I got goosebumps.

She hurriedly examined both of my wrists and muttered like an ancient curse, ‘There are no bruises.’ ‘If there were, I would have given him a black eye.’

Of course, it hurt when he first grabbed me, but later he controlled his strength, so I didn’t feel much.

There were no marks left, and it was actually warm, so I felt less cold.

Sir Johann, who had been listening silently, whispered carefully.

“So… did you say everything you wanted to say?”

“…Yes. I caused such a commotion that the Grand Duke and François were very surprised… But that’s what happened to me.”

“It doesn’t seem like the situation is completely resolved.”

“What did the Crown Prince say?”

“That’s…”

I licked my lips and glanced at Cedric.

I really tried not to show it and only rolled my eyes slightly, but he immediately noticed me like a ghost.

I flinched and quickly turned my gaze away. Demi in my arms seemed surprised and wagged its tail.

I lowered my voice even more and hunched my shoulders as much as possible.

“The point he was angry about was a little different from what I expected.”

“How so?”

“Well, he didn’t seem particularly angry at me, and more than the fact that my brother caused the Crown Prince’s hardship… The most important thing was State Preceptor Alexandre. The person who took his life was…”

“You mean he thinks it was the Divine Power and that it was his brother.”

“Like an irreconcilable enemy.”

“Yes.”

Gaine and Sir Johann echoed my words.

I swallowed hard and quietly continued the sentence.

“And to be exact, he’s worried that my brother might have other intentions… I think that’s what’s hard for him.”

“Other intentions?”

“He seems to think it’s suspicious from the very beginning that I was possessed. So, he seems to want to distance himself from me.”

“…How did his thoughts jump like that?”

Gaine frowned. Sir Johann spoke in his usual calm voice.

“Of course, an ordinary person wouldn’t think that far. But a person in pain feels even the spring breeze blowing on them as a whip.”

“…”

“Even if a passerby points out that it’s a gentle breeze, the person in pain can’t hear it. Their eardrums are already sore from the sound of the wind.”

“…”

Gaine and I closed our mouths at the same time.

In any case, we didn’t know much about the Crown Prince’s past.

The original work, , often showed his point of view, but the man never specifically described his memories.

We could only guess that his childhood trauma was significant through his guilt when he thought of his father.

Every time that happened, the readers would split into two sides and fiercely confront each other. The comment section sometimes became quite extreme…

‘No, say something!!! If you don’t say anything, how is our baby supposed to know your pain!! Are you just expecting us to know without telling us? Seriously, this is the most frustrating thing ever… Just reading it is draining me ㄹㅈㄷ [real legit deal]’

‘? Are you guys psychos; Do you think a twelve-year-old who saw his father die (and it was clearly stated that it was murder by a god) in front of his eyes can live normally? It’s a miracle that Cedric is even functioning properly in his daily life;; Does Hamga [a derogatory term for readers] think he’s a psychiatrist? Of course, it will take a long time to open up;;’

‘I would understand if it was 100 chapters, but it’s been over 200 chapters and the male lead’s past still hasn’t been revealed properly and it’s dragging on. Why should I waste my money and put up with this in real-time? If it were another romance fantasy, a childcare side story would be out by now.’

‘Then please drop it and go read that…’

‘ㅋㅋㅋㅋYou’re telling me to drop it right away. I’ve seen the fandom being extra again today’

‘If you can’t even handle this much build-up, just give up reading. What’s the point of the protagonist giving you cider [satisfying resolution] if you’re just picking out the sweet potato toppings [unsatisfying plot points]?’

“…”

-Kkii?

“No, I was just thinking about something else.”

…But those people wouldn’t say that if they knew this was a real situation.

Everyone would sincerely worry about Cedric and wait for him.

If it were a close friend’s problem, everyone would definitely do that.

They would be more considerate and caring. And above all…

Didn’t we make a promise while facing the sea, welcoming the new year? I did, myself.

‘We can wait forever.’

‘You can talk whenever you want. No one will force you. You don’t have to feel pressured at all.’

“…Sir Johann is right.”

“…”

“Avoiding me unilaterally without saying a word, having such extreme thoughts and suffering alone. Honestly, I resent it, I’m frustrated, and I’m angry…”

I trailed off and looked back at the Crown Prince.

He had been glaring at the lightning mage, but he quickly turned his eyes towards me.

This time, I didn’t avoid his gaze. His pale face made my stomach ache for no reason.

“Because there must be a reason, I want to wait for him more. He’s a friend. Even if it were Elizabeth, she would have made the same choice.”

“…Well. I can wait too.”

Huh. I was surprised and looked at Gaine.

She shrugged her shoulders while pressing on Leia’s paws. Her face was very nonchalant.

“If I just forget about it and live my life, the day will come when I hear it someday, right? If he keeps his mouth shut even when he’s an old man, there’s nothing I can do.”

“…Yes. There’s nothing we can do about that.”

“I’m thinking a little differently.”

As I answered with a bitter smile, Sir Johann added softly.

Our eyes turned to him.

“It won’t be that far in the future.”

“Really?”

“How do you know that, Sam?”

“Well.”

The moment the Cardinal folded his eyes,

“Agathe! Give it here. I’ll give it to His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“Ah, yes.”

A certain name pierced my ears like a dart. I suddenly raised my head and looked around.

Even soldiers had come in to serve, so the room was quite busy.

Gaine blinked.

“Gungju, are you looking for someone?”

“That, a priest named Agathe. I heard she was coming here…”

“Ah! I know Agathe too. She’s famous. I received a lot of help when I was in the Navy because she’s very capable.”

“…Is that so?”

Gaine too? Already?

“Yes. With that kind of talent, I think she’ll probably be able to enter the Imperial Palace later? I guess His Highness heard the rumors too.”

“…”

‘There she is!’ She pointed to one place with her finger. I automatically widened my eyes.

Next to me, Sir Johann cleared his throat for no reason.

Soon, a plump woman came into view.

“…It’s rare… You’ve been through a lot. Thank you.”

“I am deeply grateful, Your Highness.”

Agathe, bowing to Grand Duke, was a priest with a cozy and cute impression like a quokka [a small marsupial known for its friendly appearance].

She was busily moving her small hands and feet, handing out documents to the meeting participants.

I was completely mesmerized and stared at her.

By the time I startled and came to my senses, I already had a piece of paper in my hand.

From afar, the lightning jerk clicked his tongue at me. Of course, I ignored it.

“That person, Agathe, is so amazing…”

“Indeed, it’s amazing. With this much ability, I’d like to ask her for a favor too.”

The Cardinal shook the paper with a cheerful voice.

I stopped talking and opened my mouth in shock. Even Sir Johann?!

“Right? Look at this, Gungju. Her handwriting is at the level of being printed in a printing house.”

“…”

Ah…?!

“Besides, she can even do shorthand with this font. She should get at least one silver coin per page, seriously. She’s doing this 3D labor with a priest’s salary. It’s heartbreaking…”

I quickly looked down at the documents Agathe had handed out. And I was shocked.

Really, her handwriting was perfect itself.

It was as neat and artistic as if it had just been printed from the Claire & Adrien Printing House!

The line spacing and kerning were also uniform as if measured with a ruler, and even though she wrote with a quill, there were no ink smudges or deficiencies in each letter.

How is this possible…

“Then, then the reason why Agathe was called today is…”

“I guess she’s in charge of shorthand for the military meeting. She always did that when I was at sea.”

“…”

Both cheeks flushed in an instant.

No one said anything to me, but I was so embarrassed that I wanted to hide if there was a rat hole. My palms and neck were hot with shame.

Demi, who didn’t understand the situation—probably no one would—flapped its ears at me.

Fortunately, Sir Johann was looking at François.

I squeezed the paper tightly, trying to digest the letters with my eyes. Of course, not a single line came to my mind.

“…Since the Admiral’s report is expected to be long, let Kyung speak first.”

Oh my gosh! Give me a trailer before you open your mouth…

“Yes. I will speak first.”

Gaine, who was called by the Crown Prince, stood up in a proper posture.

I calmly took Leia from her. Agathe was a stenographer…

“About 2 hours ago. I, along with my teacher Sir Johann Haines, who is here, left to scout the unidentified ‘spear’ in the sky above the continent. But as a result, the mission was a complete failure.”

I see… What?

“Excuse me?”

“What do you mean, Kyung Rambouillet?”

“Princess Aga?”

“I am sorry to both Highnesses and all my comrades who were waiting for meaningful results, but there was nothing I could do. No matter how high we rose, we could not reach the spear in question.”

“No, how could that be…”

The knights stirred like a group of boats meeting a storm.

I was surprised and looked back and forth between Sir Johann and my partner.

The Admiral raised one eyebrow and looked interested.

Gaine, who made eye contact with the Crown Prince, added in a clear voice.

“That’s exactly what it is. No matter how much the Grand Preceptor increased his speed and consumed divine power, even if I indiscriminately shot water cannons… There was no way to reach that spear. And that was the same for the other paladins.”

“Other paladins?”

“When I went up to the highest place, I could see the situation in the desert. Paladins from the Papal States were soaring towards the spear. Soon, the ether ran out and they fell.”

The Cardinal explained in a refreshing tone, and now even the soldiers began to buzz.

The Crown Prince, who had been listening silently, frowned. But the report didn’t end there.

“Still, with the feeling that we should do our best, we kept going up. Suddenly, the spear flickered.”

“Kyung Christel, flickering means…”

“Exactly, Gungju. To be exact, the small spear in the lower right of the largest spear was flashing with a dark light. At the same time, there was a faint thunder sound, but it didn’t rain.”

…What?

“Ahem!”

“That’s truly mysterious and auspicious!”

“Is that really so? Then did the Divine Power army see that too?”

“They must have seen it, of course! The Papal States are also sending paladins…”

The murmuring of the audience spread quickly.

I recalled the shape of the warning window and slowly hardened my lips.

For a moment, the voices of everyone felt far away.

“…”

‘Would you like to merge this folder with the folder below?’

The small spear in the lower right of the largest spear.

‘No(N)’.

…It’s the ‘No’ button.

“Could it be…”

Could it be.

Brother. Are you watching us from the room?