What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 565

Sub-Male Lead’s Strike – Episode 565 (565/920)

#565

I Want to Go to the Ball (1)

“…Why are you here…”

– Swish, swish, swish…

The sunken voice didn’t reach the old woman’s ears.

“Yeser, wait a moment!”

“…”

She hurriedly left the bell tower as if being chased by something.

Cedric stared blankly in that direction before slowly turning his head.

His orange eyes captured the sunlight seeping through the cracks in the rocks.

The lack of reality was overwhelming.

The clear sound of waves was nearby, and the scene before him was all too familiar.

The bell tower, with its ceiling soaring high, and the staircase spiraling up the inner walls like a conch shell.

The scent of old stones, the fragrance of wood, and the salty sea breeze mixed like perfume—

“Ha…”

Evelyn.

The unique, nostalgic atmosphere of this place was engulfing him like a tidal wave.

– Swish, swish…

The man’s large hand covered his pale face.

The Crown Prince composed his briefly erratic breathing.

Then, something small and warm wriggled in his arms. ‘Rustle, rustle, rustle…’

Peek!

– Awoo.

“…You came too.”

Ropi, the fire-attribute divine beast, poked its head out from his chest and cried.

Judging by its actions, it didn’t seem hurt or uncomfortable.

Only then did he finally feel the ‘heat’.

Cedric was naturally resistant to heat, but he could easily tell that the current temperature was significantly different from where he had been.

The man slowly raised his body, which felt weak.

After checking the Hye Geom sword [a powerful magical sword] tied to his waist and finally standing in a posture befitting royalty, the memories of ‘that time’ came back to him vividly.

The voice of Djibril Diop, who had sensed something.

‘Just a moment, Your Highness. What are you looking at?’

‘Halt!’

‘-Heeheeheeing!’

‘Damn it! Cedric Licester!’

Cedric eventually turned Charlemagne’s horse around and returned to the center of the tent village alone.

He left the aftermath to Diop and Admiral Emma Corleone.

Francois, who was evacuating the ground forces, saw him and approached in astonishment.

In the middle of a red magic circle scattering pink mana particles, the man dismounted, aiming at the high sky.

Then, he immediately drew the Hye Geom sword of Mars. ‘Clang!’

‘Your Highness! Why have you returned instead of heading north? Surely—’

‘Isn’t it enough to just get rid of that warning window?’

‘-Haa!’

Suddenly, he growled like a beast intimidating its prey.

The feline on his shoulder bared its teeth as if not to be outdone.

The magician was momentarily taken aback, only moving his lips. What he said was true.

The operation itself was a surprisingly simple war of attrition.

It was just that there was an order to it, and there were pre-agreed details.

Of course, if another Holy Knight helped, everything would be much easier…

‘That’s right. But Your Highness is not part of this operation. So please calm down and—’

‘The Palace Master asked me a favor.’

‘Yes?’

‘What?’ There was no time to ask back.

The Crown Prince immediately showed action instead of words.

Francois simply etched one thing into his mind to impress upon his friend the Marquis.

Never, ever, speak carelessly to His Highness the Crown Prince.

‘Is there any reason I can’t grant it?’

‘-Whyooo!’

‘-Whoosh!’

The fire bursting from the Holy Sword and Ropi summoning a large fire lion happened almost simultaneously.

The Crown Prince immediately climbed onto the lion’s back and grabbed its mane. The Marquis felt the familiar wind and widened his eyes.

He was neither a Holy Knight nor a priest, but he knew exactly whose dominion the air he was breathing was under.

Such perfect control does not occur naturally.

But does he still have this much energy left?

The magician hurriedly looked up at the sky.

The sensation of cold sweat evaporating was not refreshing at all.

‘Sir Haynes?’

-Kugugugugu…!

But no one was visible anymore.

Only the shadow of a giant sea, the unbelievable miracle of the Lord God, was blackening the sky above.

The soldiers’ exclamations echoed like a dream in the distance.

Francois felt breathless and gripped his mace tightly.

It looked like a dark cloud, like an angry typhoon, like the black eyes of the Lord God—

‘-Krrrroooong!’

And the moment the sacred beast kicked off into the air,

‘-Kwaaaang!’

‘Good God!’

‘-Ssaeeeeek!’

With an enormous aftershock, a divine wind carried the Crown Prince and the lion soaring upwards.

Their intense aether [a mystical energy] drew blood-red streaks, piercing the sky.

They stabbed the sky like thugs, ruthlessly tearing and ripping it apart.

And after a while.

‘-Kwakwakwakwang!’

“Here! Have some water first. You seemed to be having a nightmare.”

Startled! Cedric lifted his head sharply and woke up from his reverie.

The old woman, who had reappeared, was taking a water bottle out of an old basket and handing it to him.

She also handed him a tattered magic robe. The Crown Prince looked at her with trembling eyes.

Normally, he would never accept a drink whose safety hadn’t been verified.

He would never touch anything that hadn’t been checked by someone he trusted.

But the old woman was not a ‘stranger’ to Cedric.

“…Don’t you recognize me?”

“Huh?”

The Crown Prince emptied the water bottle in one gulp and stared straight at the old woman.

She scratched her head with a troubled expression, not showing any clear reaction.

Then, finally, her eyes seemed to widen—

“Oh my, you’ve got a cute cat with you! Would you like some bread? Huh? Sweetie.”

-Nyaoo

“…”

She was talking nonsense. Cedric frowned.

‘Shu’, the bell-ringer of Evelyn’s bell tower, was a magician who had known his father for a long time.

To be precise, she was his childhood teacher.

She had only taught his father for about a year.

The reason was that the relatives of the great magician family, the Blancarte family, did not recognize a fourth-class magician from a humble baronet family as the magic teacher of the next head of the family.

But Shu did her best as a tutor to the Duke’s family until the very end.

Until she was kicked out of the Blancarte manor, she secretly taught magic to the young father and aunt, and helped them in every way so that their talents could blossom.

The father never forgot his teacher even after she ‘transferred’ to another family as a tutor.

“Well. The young man is very handsome, enough to make anyone gasp. His face looks familiar, too. Actually, at first, I was surprised to see a statue collapsed here…”

“…”

“Hehehe, I’m getting old and meddling. Here, have some bread. You need to fill your stomach to get your strength back.”

So, as soon as he became the Crown Princess’s fiancé, he invited Shu to the Imperial Palace, and when he later received Evelyn as a gift, he allowed her to enter the summer palace.

The mother tried to give Shu a title, but she politely declined.

The reason was that ‘she had already received immense grace’.

She leisurely traveled between her old house in the Imperial Capital and Evelyn, and spent her life buried in magic research.

The young Cedric had seen his father reading his teacher’s letters several times.

After his father passed away, Shu obtained his mother’s permission to settle down as a servant in the summer palace.

Then, she would occasionally visit the bell tower to do a thorough cleaning or take care of his father’s grave.

She would also take the withered bouquets to the palace and dry them carefully.

Then, from some point on, the people of the summer palace called Shu the ‘bell-ringer’.

No one had ever assigned her the job, but no one took it away from her either.

That’s how she became the bell-ringer.

“…Shu.”

“Oh my! Do you know me?”

Cedric looked down at Shu with a serious expression. The old woman seemed genuinely surprised.

Although it had been a long time, judging by the still sharp eyes, she was not senile.

The always clean grave of his father also came into view.

‘Beloved husband, caring father, great magician

Alexandre Nicolas Licester

1564-1600’

…But why doesn’t she know me?

“How do you know me, young man? Are you perhaps a guest of the summer palace? I haven’t heard of such a thing. Judging by your attire, you seem to be a noble young master… Thinking that way, it makes sense that you were collapsed here.”

“…”

“How did you get here? Did you get lost?”

“That’s right. Even if I can’t do anything else for you, I can guide you out. This is not a place to enter carelessly.”

Suddenly, a premonition washed over him.

Cedric quickly raised his eyes, not caring that the old woman was grabbing his sleeve.

The pupils, like black spots, widened as if swallowing light.

“That is…”

Far away, beyond the ceiling separating the interior and the top of the bell tower.

The ‘Ark of Biryeom’ [a powerful artifact], which had concealed itself in the form of a rotten silkworm cocoon, hung in the air, reflecting a rusty light.

In the form of a time that did not welcome any warmth.

“…”

Ropi nonchalantly fluttered its ears.

“I told you. I’m sorry, but you can’t stay here any longer. Just eat this and get out quickly.”

“What year is it in the Holy Calendar?”

“Hmm?”

“Exactly, down to the date.”

He snapped, lowering his chin.

The old woman was startled by his sharp demeanor and shrank her shoulders.

“Holy Calendar 1613, today is… August 2nd.”

“Where is Cedric Licester and what is he doing?”

“…Suddenly, you’re talking about His Highness the Crown Prince? Well, I don’t know. He’s probably doing well with his fiancée in the Imperial Capital, I suppose.”

Finally, an answer came, and the Crown Prince’s eyes rapidly darkened.

Numerous possibilities and countless theories flashed through his mind like sparks.

“…”

Of course, as always, there was only one truth.

“I must go to the Imperial Capital.”

He had to find his party immediately.

“The Imperial Capital? Did you really come from the Imperial Capital?”

“If you help me, I will reward you handsomely. Come with me.”

“No, what? A young man like you… Are you perhaps a pirate…?”

The old woman put the bread back in the basket, not knowing what to do.

Cedric glanced at her and rummaged through his pockets, taking out a top-grade magic stone.

It was a sample that Francois had recently collected from the magic stone cave in the spruce forest.

The amazing place that had hidden the mythical beast Griffin pack.

– Swish!

“Ouch!”

‘Clatter!’ And the magic stone slipped into her basket.

Shu stared at it blankly for a long time, then reached out her wrinkled hand and carefully touched the surface…

“Oh, my goodness! Young man! Where on earth did you get such a good magic stone?”

‘Is it imported? Huh?’ She shouted, following the Crown Prince in a voice that sounded twenty years younger.

‘Nyaooo.’ Ropi, who had once again taken his shoulder, cried happily.

Cedric began to descend the bell tower hill, his cloak fluttering majestically.

– Swish…

Then, the Holy Stone in his pocket also scattered cheerful golden light.

*

It had already been three days since Prince Yeser went to have a showdown with Crown Prince Cedric while eating (?).

Now, it’s D-7 until that guy’s birthday.

– Thwack!

“I want to go to the ball…”

– Creak…

As I muttered while wiping the window frame with a wet cloth, the lesser pandas who were pushing the mop bucket next to me slipped in unison.

In the meantime, Demi seemed to find it fun to push the hallway with his belly, moving back and forth little by little.

I smiled at the little one for a moment, then sighed again and carefully removed the dust from the window frame.

In fact, looking at the situation, there was no reason for me to be dissatisfied.

Prince Yeser was a very kind person, just like I had read in the novel.

He always tried to take care of me without being too overbearing, and even provided Demi with plenty of snacks.

Besides, everything seemed to be flowing as in the original.

As expected, the foundation of ‘Toegye Gong’ [a Korean philosophical concept emphasizing self-cultivation] was unshakable as long as outsiders did not interfere recklessly.

That day, the Prince really did get something from his meeting with the Crown Prince.

‘-Commotion!’

‘Amazing news! The Prince is going to the upcoming shipboard ball!’

‘Amazing, is that really true? Wasn’t the Prince practically under house arrest?’

‘He went to spar with His Highness the Crown Prince earlier. He got an invitation there!’

‘Wow! Did the Prince beat His Highness again?’

‘Really? Again?’

‘Again’…?

I couldn’t even guess what had happened between the two in the meantime (even though I had read the novel), but the people of Juliette Palace seemed to know something for sure about the relationship between the two men.

It was absurd.

Anyway, the problem is that I can’t go.

To that important and huge ball.