What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 588

#588

Prince of Unrivaled Valor (1)

Everything was progressing with unbelievable speed and smoothness.

But complacency was out of the question.

The corridors of the massive mothership were surprisingly narrow and dimly lit.

“This way, please.”

-Tap, tap, tap…

The servants of the Bacari baronetcy bowed deeply, almost ninety degrees, as they guided Prince Yeseo into the depths of the cabin.

Ahead of him walked Desire Bacari, the young baronet and his betrothed, and Duke Devi Andre, side by side.

Their parents had decided to remain in the ballroom to greet the Crown Prince and other distinguished guests.

In a way, the Prince had successfully distanced himself from the crowd.

I gathered his luggage and precious belongings, quietly following behind.

-Cluck-cluck—!

“Ah, goodness!”

-Squeak!

Occasionally, a noble’s rabbit or chicken would pop out from unexpected places in the corridor.

Startled, Perry stumbled backward and fell on her bottom.

Because this event allowed pets, there were many unpredictable elements.

The Imperial Guard knight, who was protecting the Prince, kindly helped her up.

I picked up Perry and offered my thanks.

“Thank you. The little one was startled…”

-Whimper

“It’s alright, it happens. I heard a puppy came with Lady Juliette, so these must be some of them.”

“…Yes.”

“You have brought truly adorable creatures, Your Highness.”

As she spoke kindly, the Prince responded with a gentle smile.

Between the two of them, there was an air of intimacy and familiarity that I hadn’t been aware of, lingering like a subtle perfume.

I tried not to get too flustered, glancing at the young knight.

“Why aren’t you with Lady Christel today? She came beautifully dressed as well.”

“She’s not feeling well. She wanted to spend some quiet time, but I felt I should at least thank the Baron for his consideration.”

“Indeed, you are like the moon of the Divine Kingdom, illuminating even the darkness of the Empire.”

“Don’t tease me so much, Sir Mute.”

“Hahaha.”

Her hearty laughter made me involuntarily squint.

She had no qualms about mentioning her friend’s fiancé in front of another man.

My heart was pounding; I couldn’t even predict what would happen in the next five minutes.

People say you can never know what will happen, but how could Elizabeth possibly appear here?

The variables are overwhelming; it feels like everything is conspiring against me!

Cedric Liester, you quick-witted rascal!

“This is the VIP room, Your Highness. If there is anything lacking or anything you need, please do not hesitate to call us.”

“Thank you. However, by the grace of the Main God, offering sincere prayers and blessings does not require many resources.”

“Oh…”

“Ah…”

The servants bowed once more, deeply moved.

Duke Devi, who had been diligently following, was so touched that his eyes welled up with tears.

Soon, the knights entered the room and thoroughly checked every corner.

Unlike the cozy and rounded lounge beyond the curtains, this was a suite with a proper bathroom and reception room.

Only after a long while were we granted permission to enter.

Elizabeth here was also the sharp and efficient Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard.

“Shall we go in, then?”

“I apologize, but from here, it seems I only need myself and this child [referring to Serenite].”

“Yes?”

The knight blinked.

Prince Yeseo rattled off lies with a face so innocent you couldn’t draw a drop of blood from it even if you stabbed him.

“As I mentioned, prayer and blessings do not require much. All that is needed is a quiet, sacred environment and clean water.”

“Ah.”

“I intend to perform a special ritual passed down in the Venetian royal family, so one helping hand and one watchful eye are sufficient.”

“Oh…?”

Lady Elizabeth stretched her philtrum [the vertical groove between the base of the nose and the upper lip] with a ‘what’s going on’ expression—it was obvious she had learned it from Ms. Gain in this neighborhood—and Baron Desire and Duke Devi seemed surprised in a positive way.

Thus, it took less than ten seconds for the Prince to receive the reliquary from the Baron.

He was a man publicly known as the ‘playboy of the Divine Kingdom’ and had received countless flirtations all the way here, but separately from that, his sacredness did not seem to waver in the slightest.

He must manage his image really well usually… I should have paid attention to that too.

“It won’t take long. I’ll see you again soon.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“I’ll be out soon, Hyung. You can be good with Sir Mute, right?”

-Squeak!

‘Click!’ The door closed behind us.

The sound of Leia sniffing at the crack in the door continued.

The Prince, unconcerned, walked about ten more steps.

At the same time, my mouth slowly opened. Was what you just said for real?

“Is there really such a thing? The ultimate prayer passed down only in the royal family…”

“First, go to the bathroom and turn on the faucet, Serenite.”

“Ah, gasp. Yes!”

Of course, that was all a lie too!

I rushed to the bathroom, noisily turned on the water, and hurriedly entered the bedroom where the Prince was waiting. Gushing!

“Now, check the relic.”

“Jackpot… Thank you!”

I quickly took the reliquary and pressed one of the diamond earrings inside my luggage.

This was a communication magic tool that Marquis Francois had sponsored back then—it was probably when I first met Princess Berenice. I had also used it on the night I kidnapped the Crown Prince—and if there was a necklace made as a pair, short-range wireless communication was possible.

But I heard that Ms. Gain had shattered the necklace at the Temple of Boundaries before…

‘With just this earring, I can only track the location of the other one.’

‘Communication is difficult, then. What is the maximum tracking radius?’

Crown Prince Cedric, who uniquely sparkled his eyes when he saw magic tools, cast several spells on the earring and finally declared.

His red mana fluttered like dancing.

‘It’s hard to get out of this lake [referring to the area].’

‘Hmm…’

In short, with just the earring, I could only find the other one nearby.

The Crown Prince had put a lot of magic power into it, but according to his diagnosis, the earring’s durability was quite low.

Well, I always carry my luggage around, so it couldn’t be helped.

It’s like an object that’s been with me like a friend since I left my house.

The earring is a relic that I luckily found at the bottom of my bag.

“One-time GPS power on… Now it’s Hyung’s turn to step up.”

Jeong Hyunseo, are you watching?

I muttered to the air and then threw open the lid of the reliquary.

A precious green bracelet filled my vision with dazzling radiance. Wow…

-Swish…

“What is it, an emerald?”

“It’s an even more precious gem than that. Even royalty would not easily encounter a green diamond of this size.”

The Prince, who had approached, explained gently.

I forgot that the situation was urgent and admired the relic for a moment.

This treasure, commonly called ‘Biwan,’ was a relic of a Count who was posthumously promoted to a saint.

According to the latest special edition, the Count was a priest working in the Imperial Palace and was highly trusted by Valerie Liester, the Emperor at the time.

Around that time, the late Emperor Valerie began to thoroughly weed out the Imperial Bank, which was reeking with old corruption, and of course, several major merchant guilds and great nobles were involved in this.

This meant a bloody confrontation between the Emperor and the political and business circles.

However, Valerie’s power was not yet fully ripe.

This was because she was the second Imperial Princess who suddenly became the monarch due to the sudden death of her older sister, who was the Crown Princess.

The late Emperor’s close aides were divided exactly in half over the bank purge.

Half asked her to clean up after she had gained more power, but the other half warned that the corrupt forces would consolidate their power even more if she did so.

The late Emperor accepted the latter’s advice.

About a month after the large-scale search and tax investigation began.

A potent poison from a high-level magical beast was dropped into her favorite black tea.

“He drank the Emperor’s poison and died instead… That’s the priest’s accessory.”

“Yes. However, the relic’s abilities are said to be unknown. The Bacari baronetcy has not publicly revealed it for a long time, and before that, it had been active in wartime, but the records of the historians remain only in the Imperial Archives.”

“You’ve studied hard, Yeseo.”

The Prince praised me with a gem-like smile. I felt a little shy, and the tip of my nose tickled.

Without hesitating any longer, I quickly grabbed the bracelet. Snatch!

-Swish…!

-Crackle! Crackle! Static!

At the same time as the relic poured out light, purple sparks began to fly in the air.

My mouth widened with joy. The Prince wouldn’t be able to see it—

-Flash…!

It was my Hyung [term of endearment for an older brother or male friend]!

-Rustle…

“…Hmm?”

I was happily enjoying it for a while before slowly hardening my expression.

Until now, when Hyung appeared, a long horizontal streak of light would appear, and a scroll-like status window would pour out, but the current sparks were somehow growing like flour dough.

In other words, it was not a flat two-dimensional shape but a three-dimensional shape.

I had a strange feeling for some reason. Why is it suddenly like this?

Is this how it appears when you succeed in finding a rainbow…?

-Wobble, wobble…

“Yeseo.”

-Flash!

“Heok!”

The lump of light instantly grew larger and larger, and then suddenly spread out huge wings on both sides.

Flap, flap! Flap, flap!

“What is this… What? What is this?”

-Kkirururu—!

“Yeseo?”

‘Kkirururu’…? I was momentarily stunned by the cry I had heard somewhere before.

Not only the cry but also the appearance was so familiar.

I felt like I had to explain something to the Prince, but I didn’t really know the situation, so I didn’t know where to start or how to say it.

So, I was just blinking blankly like a fool.

-Flutter, flutter, flutter!

A purplish-crimson body, tail feathers mixed with gold, green, and red.

Long blue fur more extravagant than the headdress of any great noble.

Two eyes that seemed to have breathed life into a lavender crystal…

It was definitely a guy I had seen in Claire Square in December when the first snow fell.

At that time, it was the form that Ttuksim had transformed into.

“…Phoenix?”

-Kkiruruk!

At the same time as the guy answered vigorously, a familiar screen appeared in front of me.

【Please wait a moment…】

【Fragment of Vessel is in offline mode.】

【Fragment of Vessel is currently watching another world line.】

【Summoning the clone system.】

【Summoning…】

…What, is he out of office?

I glared at the phoenix, giving strength to everything I could grab in my hands.

But the guy was just grooming his wing feathers with his beak as if he didn’t care.

The calculator in my head was frantically pressing all sorts of buttons.

So, Hyung can’t answer directly right now because he’s watching another world line?

He’s daring to do something else at this point when every second is important?

Is that what you mean?

“You look serious, are you alright?”

“…I don’t know yet, Your Highness. Our informant is not very friendly.”

I tried to twitch my lips and answered.

Fortunately, our informant was a phoenix, not a snail.

The reaction speed was fast.

-Kkiruru—!

【Summoning from the last conversation…】

【87%】

【92%】

【96%】

【99%】

【♡Hidden Quest Achievement Status♡

Red: Acquired

Orange: Acquired

Yellow: Acquired

Green: Acquired (NEW!)(Details)

Blue: Acquired

Indigo: Acquired

Purple: Not Acquired (More)

You will need a lot of help to complete this quest. Good luck!】

…Waaaaa!

“It’s done, Your Highness! This relic was the green rainbow!”

I raised my voice in excitement, then realized that what I had been squeezing like laundry was the hem of the Prince’s clothes, and I was horrified and stepped back. ‘I’m sorry.’

But the man didn’t seem to mind at all.

He even laughed softly, and his expression looked genuinely satisfied, which made me feel excited too.

Taking advantage of the momentum, I quickly pressed the ‘Details’ button. Press!

-Kkirururut!

【Name: Biwan of Count Saint-Pomphily

Classification: Relic

Type: Wearable, Cursed

Alias: The Cursed Poet’s Sadness

Details: This bracelet has amazing power! Perhaps this is what will unleash unimaginable superpowers that your divine object cannot provide. An old resentment and forbidden love mixed together…】

“…Wait. Wait a minute?”

I stopped reading the phoenix’s explanation.

The Prince tilted his head and looked back at me.

No… This is a bit ominous.

Why are the words like this?

Shortly after.

-Click!

The door to the suite opened, and the Prince and I walked back into the hallway.

It took more than ten minutes just to clean up the disheveled bedroom and the flooded bathroom.

Lady Elizabeth, Baron Desire, and Duke Devi, who had been standing neatly and waiting, looked at us with eager eyes.

And finally.

“…I regret to inform you, Baron.”