What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 579

Sub Male Lead’s Strike – #579

Finding the Rainbow (4)

The man took a step closer.

Overwhelmed by his presence, I flinched and looked up.

“I’m not sure whether to be relieved you didn’t let any assassins into the Imperial Palace.”

“Well, it seems those kinds of people get in on their own, even without my help.”

“Are you implying the palace security is poor?”

“I’m simply stating facts. If Your Highness interprets it that way, is it a sign of insecurity?”

“Haven’t you concluded that your own country’s royal family is a disgrace to its bloodline?”

“Ah, I’ve been a stain on their reputation since birth.”

“Uh…”

The two men stood close enough to devour each other.

I stopped my invisible struggle with the status window and awkwardly lowered my arms.

They were lowering their voices, locked in a silent battle without even blinking, creating a strange atmosphere.

The startled lesser pandas also got off the ice cart and clung to me.

Even amidst all this, the purple window mockingly flickered.

【Find the rainbow, anyway.】

【I’ve devised a device so you can return to your original world line.】

【Wouldn’t it be better to go over there first so we can solve something, and then you can go home?】

【…Ignoring me?】

“…”

Since Jeong Hyun-seo is going to die by my hand when I get home anyway, I decided to focus on the situation at hand.

It didn’t seem like this damn status window was going to disappear anytime soon.

It wouldn’t give it to me even when I asked nicely, seriously.

“…I asked if you’d seen a priest.”

The prince threatened as if he would bite the king’s neck off any second.

He seemed much wilder than our crown prince.

“Hmm, I don’t quite remember… If you want to be technical, wouldn’t I be the priest closest to Your Highness? Even if I’m just a nominal bishop.”

“Do I look like someone who enjoys wordplay?”

“I doubt you’d be enjoying swordplay at this hour.”

“Wow…”

-Squeak…

Our prince’s words are amazing.

No, no. Why are they fighting as soon as they meet…?

The cheek of the Fourth Prince Sali Moon was hardening.

I thought they were quite friendly since they bet as often as they ate, but it seemed rivals in love couldn’t be friends after all.

It was becoming increasingly difficult for me to intervene.

Of course, I shouldn’t dare to as a servant. I’m a small person who values their life.

【That’s what a guy who jumped off the 12th-floor balcony says? You’re dead when you get home, you punk.】

“…I was wrong.”

He’s scolding me for that again. It seemed like my brother had figured out the whole situation.

I glared at the status window and glanced back and forth between the two men.

A chilling feeling washed over me for a moment. Wait a minute.

…How did my brother know what I was thinking?

【How are you going to win against that prince?】

The status window suddenly started using polite language again. I chuckled in disbelief.

It seems like it’s still confused about its concept. Pick one, just one.

【That guy is no joke. Even I have a hard time with him. I don’t really know what he’s thinking.】

How proud! Then you should have told me in advance. Why didn’t you tell me he was the Toegye Gong writer sooner? [Toegye Gong is likely a reference to a famous strategist or writer, implying the prince is similarly cunning or skilled.]

If it was a secret from Jeong Eun-seo, you could have secretly whispered it to me!

【…There are circumstances. Let’s just call it even.】

“What?”

-Squeak?

Is my brother crazy? He’s saying balcony diving and secret double serialization are even?

Even to me, that seems seriously unbalanced…

“You.”

Flinch! A straight-up voice sent shivers down my spine.

I stopped glaring at the status window and hurriedly bowed.

Then the prince commanded in a very overbearing and heavy tone.

“This way.”

“Yes, yes. Your Highness.”

Reflexively, I let go of the cart handle, left the troublesome ones in their place, and hurriedly moved my legs.

Even in the midst of all this, I didn’t forget to quickly check the ether faucet [likely a magical energy source or point]. I was well-locked as usual.

Also, considering the prince wasn’t aware of the divine beasts, his vessel was definitely covered to some extent.

He collapsed in the form of a child last time, so it didn’t seem stable.

If ether control is difficult, it wouldn’t be easy to sense the ether of other beings…

“What are those?”

“Yes?”

My head snapped up. Our eyes met directly.

“…”

“Ah…”

For a moment, I felt like my mind was fading.

There were eyes as red as rubies, as eerie as blood, and throbbing like a heart.

Without any fear, I stared blankly into his irises.

It was a color so different from the orange I knew so well.

Unlike Cedric Mercedes, who often exuded the atmosphere of a mature heir to the throne, this one definitely felt less refined.

The man was like a gem that hadn’t been finished, and like a treasured sword that the blacksmith god hadn’t finished forging.

I couldn’t feel even a sliver of composure from his slightly rising and falling shoulders.

Hair as black as a lump in his chest added to his dark impression. I…

-Shine!

【Why are you staring at that dark-hearted guy’s face like that?】

“Cough.”

Jeong Hyun-seo, you crazy bastard! I quickly buried my head and covered my mouth with my fist.

Next to me, Prince Yeser let out a sound that was somewhere between a sigh and a groan.

It seemed like he was holding back a laugh.

A voice boiling like a furnace flowed from the top of my head.

“I asked what those beasts are.”

“Th-They’re the dogs I raise. They came up with me from my hometown, and the benevolent Prince Yeser and Benjamin accepted them as part of the family along with me. I apologize for the late reply.”

“Dogs?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“…”

The man was silent for a moment.

He seemed suspicious, but he couldn’t clearly sense the little ones’ ether.

That was the best thing that could have happened to me.

“They were even in charge of entertaining in the garden.”

“Ah, yes.”

【What is he, a stalker…?】

How does he know that? Does that kind of report go up?

Brother, please be quiet!

“You must have read the posters. Have you seen a priest leaving Romero late at night?”

“No, no. I haven’t seen any other priests in the palace besides the prince.”

“Anyone else suspicious?”

“I don’t know anything. I just… I only did what I was told, Your Highness.”

“…”

The prince closed his mouth again.

Prince Yeser, catching the end of the conversation, interjected in a soft voice.

“It seems like it’s been sufficiently proven that he’s not crazy, so I’ll take my child now.”

“…”

“I pray that you meet the noble you’re looking for. Although I don’t know if my prayers will be answered.”

“You have a habit of adding unnecessary words.”

“Hahaha.”

Yeser Venetian smiled sweetly, and the prince glared sharply at him but didn’t add any more words.

I swallowed hard and slowly raised my gaze.

The man’s white shirt was thick at the chest. It was a moment that made my heart sink.

“Gasp…”

【Why are you so surprised by that again?】

No, don’t add unnecessary interjections!

The prince is carrying my sacred stone necklace in his pocket!

“Let’s go to the bedroom.”

“Ah, yes! Yes, Your Highness.”

The prince called me in a slightly sharp voice, and thanks to that, I was able to return to reality in an instant.

I gave a hasty greeting and stepped back, grabbing the cart.

Then the lesser pandas, who had been waiting patiently, raised their tails in unison.

It was almost the attitude of welcoming back a comrade who had returned alive.

-Squeak!

-Squeak!

-Squeak!

“Uh, uh, let’s go. Let’s go inside and talk…”

After answering roughly with clumsy ventriloquism, I diligently moved the ice, following the prince who was walking ahead.

I felt like my stomach had shrunk in the meantime.

Somehow, the back of my head was tingling, but I ignored it with all my might.

-Rattle, rattle, rattle…

Could it have been obvious? Did I make a face like, ‘That’s mine,’ as soon as I saw the necklace?

No, it couldn’t be that obvious.

I’m someone who’s worked in society, there’s no way I would have acted so foolishly…

【It seems like you’ve been caught, what are you going to do now?】

“Ah!”

I couldn’t bear my anger and stopped abruptly in my place.

But when the prince turned around gracefully, I quickly pulled the cart and ran again.

How is this a status window?

It’s no different from having a KakaoTalk room with my brother! [KakaoTalk is a popular messaging app in some regions, implying constant and intrusive communication.]

*

It was only two days later that our group was able to gather in the Imperial Palace.

The prince’s birthday and the shipboard ball were D-1 [meaning one day away].

Why did the reunion take so long?

“Excuse me. Your ordered drinks and snacks are here. One espresso, six café crèmes, two hot coffees, freshly baked boule [a type of French bread], and sweet and sour lemon marmalade…”

Well, we’re not ‘precious people’ anymore.

If we wanted to put our heads together and discuss something, we desperately needed the invisible help and support of our superiors.

It wasn’t easy to coordinate schedules, and it was even more difficult to pretend it was a chance encounter.

First of all, I was the prince’s servant, so I couldn’t freely go in and out of the Imperial Palace.

But thanks to him constantly entrusting me with hospitality, it was easy to meet as long as my friends came in from outside.

Just like right now.

“Oh, the aroma is wonderful! I’ve heard that the Juliette Palace’s chef is amazing, is it true? Actually, this is my first time in the Cold Palace.”

“Is that so? Please take a lot, Duchess Antoinette Diem. I had a wonderful tart here last time…”

And Duchess Antoinette Diem and Ms. Barbara Schu entered the palace, each bringing Sir Johann and the Crown Prince.

Ms. Schu is the tutor of the Crown Prince and a mage, so she seemed to have a connection with the Diem family as well.

However, how Herrit’s father won over the Diem family was still a mystery.

He hadn’t even met François here yet.

The Marquis was scheduled to come up from the southern territory this evening.

If so, Sir Johann had charmed the three young ladies of the mansion entirely with his own abilities…

-Clack!

“Ah.”

At that moment, the man quickly snatched Therese’s fan that was falling under the table.

The youngest lady shyly accepted the fan from him.

Sir Johann slightly bowed his head and gave a soft smile.

I was about to put down the plate when I opened my mouth wide.

I felt like I could hear Eva’s clear voice from somewhere.

‘Sir Haynes is a white fox!’ [Likely an idiom meaning cunning or charming.]

“Hmm…”

-Click

Next, I placed an espresso in front of the Crown Prince, who had re-entered after pleading with the Imperial Guard.

Of course, the ‘pleading’ was Ms. Schu’s job.

I knew she was an eccentric, but I wondered why she was going this far, but the Crown Prince had already offered her two of the continent’s top-grade magic stones, which couldn’t be bought with money.

Moreover, he was providing her with his superior mana…

“Hey, Dior, read the formula on the fourth line here. My magnifying glass is acting up again.”

“…Tsk.”

In short, is he something like an assistant to a non-combat mage? I was glad he didn’t seem to be completely unemployed.

Finally, our Gain was—

“No, it suits you so well, customer. The color combination of the two of you is so stable and beautiful? Since the young master accompanying you has an overall calm color palette, it suppresses the popping light a bit. Naturally. Thanks to that, the wedding dress doesn’t seem too excessive at all, and it doesn’t feel like you’re being overshadowed either. It’s the best right now. Thumbs up.”

“Thank you, Bam. Thanks to you, I even got an evening dress. I don’t think I’ve ever bought so many clothes…”

She was smiling while taking care of Lady Berenice Mendy’s appearance at the table next door.

I heard that Gain had completely stolen the hearts of the young lady and her older sister.

Upon learning this fact, Duchess Mendy formally requested her business trip to the clothing store ‘La Debutante’ and even prepaid half of the travel expenses in a large wooden box.

Thanks to that, she’s on a business trip for a few days.

“She’s really amazing…”

At this point, shouldn’t we just worship Gain? How is she so versatile?

“Ah, and this is coffee for Commander Bakari.”

“…”

As I carefully put down the last coffee cup, Camille, who was sitting across from Berenice, twitched his eyebrows.

It seemed like he was pretending not to know me, so I let out a short laugh.

According to what I heard in our world line, the two of them had known each other distantly since they were young.

They were attending this shipboard ball together as dance partners. It’s going to be so cute.

“…Then, I hope you have a pleasant time. If you need anything, please ring the bell at any time. Welcome to Juliette Palace.”

After bowing to the two tables, I sent signals to my friends using winks, nose twitches, hand gestures, and foot movements.

After conveying my intentions appropriately, I hurriedly hid in the shrub maze in the center of the garden.

The lesser pandas who had arrived in advance were huddled together and sleeping, so I had to move carefully to avoid waking them up.

Rustle, rustle, rustle…

“Hoo. Everyone will be here soon if I just wait a little longer…”

-Shine!

【How are they going to come with that? Have you been living like that all this time?】

But this human being.

“…Brother, are you really my brother? You’re picking fights too often. You’re not being any help.”

He’s telling me to find a rainbow when it’s not even raining.

When I squinted, the status window answered by shuddering once.

It was truly absurd.

“Give me proof that you’re Jeong Hyun-seo. Then I’ll reconsider.”

…It seemed like that was an impossible request.

The status window, which was somehow more splendid than yesterday, was silent for a long time after that.

I shrugged and looked beyond the maze. Well, I was half-joking anyway…

-Shine!

【When you were in the first year of middle school, you were asked to go out by a third-year bully sister you had never seen before. I think it was White Day [a holiday similar to Valentine’s Day]. You came home that day and shed tears like chicken droppings because you were scared…】

“Ahhh! Stop, stop it! Are you crazy!”

How old are you talking about, you bastard! I get it, so stop!

-Rustle!

“Lord!”

At that moment, pink hair popped out through the bushes!

“Gain!”

I smiled brightly and grabbed her arms.

I felt my heart melt with joy.

The dry body that had parted the dense bushes momentarily lost its balance and poured forward.

Ugh, there are little ones sleeping underneath…!

-Thump!

“Ugh—!”

-Thud!

Puh! The thick grassy smell of the shrubs stung my nose, and a few strands actually poked and prodded my nose and cheeks.

It was only after a long time that I realized we were standing upright thanks to the force pulling us from behind.

It was a great relief that I didn’t fall, but I was pulled so hard that my face was buried in the bushes…

“Ouch, thank you…”

“Ugh, let go of my collar. Huh?”

Gain, who was grumbling and shaking off the Crown Prince’s hand, suddenly stopped moving.

Then she blinked her big eyes…

“Lord, you’ve brought something new. What’s this again?”

She pointed at the status window.

What?