What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 595

The Dream of a Midsummer Night (2)

The attic of Madame Schu’s single-story house.

The baby, wrapped in layers of swaddling clothes, wiggled its flipper-like feet towards the window.

Its black eyes momentarily flashed a bright blue.

-Saaaah…

-Awoo, awoo.

“Tete?”

It suddenly seemed restless, trying to wriggle free.

I quickly checked outside, but there was nothing out of the ordinary, just the alley leading to the main road in the distance.

It was dark, so there wasn’t much to see.

I busily patted the Divine Beast, carefully checking if it was in any discomfort.

I fed the precious ones Ether Beads regularly and tried not to overwork them, but you never know.

With the ‘shoot on sight’ order looming, we had been camping out for days in tension, so it wouldn’t be strange if their health was suffering…

Umm, no fever. Still full. Eyes are black again.

-Aiu, aiai.

“Why is it like this? Tete, do you want to go out? Should I let you float around a bit?”

“Huh? The baby is leaking Ether?”

“Yes?”

I was startled by those words.

Ms. Gain, huddled in the corner of the attic, had a serious expression.

This was very rare.

Divine Beasts didn’t usually use Ether unless they needed to show their presence, and they were smart enough to know when to hide their energy.

But the baby is emitting water energy right now?

Why now of all times?

-Tap, tap, tap…

“Madam. What is this ladder?”

“What do you mean? It’s a ladder to go up.”

“Where does it lead?”

“Ah, just the attic. A space where I stash my magical tools and experimental equipment.”

“Then…”

From under the square door in the wooden floor, the voices of the Imperial Guard and Lord Schu could be heard.

My fingertips tingled, and my heart was pounding.

It was almost a miracle that none of us broke or knocked over a dish as we grabbed our utensils from the table to come up here.

I quickly handed the baby to Ms. Gain as she spread her arms.

Then, the Crown Prince, who was near the entrance, frowned as he looked at the Divine Beast.

He seemed to clearly feel the power of water.

The prince, holding Leia and Perry, looked somewhat surprised.

“…Can Divine Beasts get sick?”

“They haven’t been sick so far, but I’m always careful. It used its power to hide us while coming here, so I’m worried about that.”

“Ah.”

I quickly whispered and forced a smile.

The prince returned the smile.

Of course, he had only learned that the precious ones were Divine Beasts a few days ago.

He seemed quite impressed when Demi was sprouting trees in the forest.

Meanwhile, the conversation outside continued.

“What, do you want to see the attic too?”

“Yes, Madam. His Majesty the Emperor has ordered us to turn over every stone of the villa of anyone who attended the ball.”

“…I understand. I must follow His Majesty’s orders. Wait a moment. I’ll get the key.”

“Yes.”

“…”

My heartbeat seemed too loud. I briefly covered my mouth with my palm and then removed it.

The reason we embarrassingly had to rely on the little ones’ help was that the escape that night was not easy.

Flying would have been much easier, but that would have revealed Sir Johan’s power to the world, and that was too risky.

In the end, we were left with only the land route.

Fortunately, the ‘Lake of White Magic’ was surrounded by thickets resembling green bracelets.

The Lesser Pandas ran as fast as cheetahs, and quickly created jungles whenever the Imperial Guards got close.

Lopi extinguished many of the guards’ torches, and Tete created several small swamps at their feet.

Crunch, crunch, another forest was born in the forest, whoosh, whoosh, the embers died out, and splash, splash, the knights fell into knee-deep mud.

-Awoong.

“Shh, shh. Sister is here? Good girl. Let’s close the vessel a little. That’s right.”

Thanks to that, we arrived here safely, but…

That experience might have been very difficult for Tete.

I gently stroked the baby’s cheek with my index finger.

At that moment.

-Click, click! Clatter!

The door, which hadn’t been properly locked in the first place, finally began to open with Lord Schu’s pretense.

I swallowed hard and quickly extended my empty arms.

Lopi, who was clinging to the Crown Prince, and GuGu, who was sitting on Sir Johan’s head, quickly ran to me.

Ms. Gain immediately turned the swaddling clothes behind her back and readjusted her whip, and the two men were ready to pierce the wooden floor at any moment.

I carefully took care of the little ones and sat in front of the prince.

His breathing stopped, and the swollen back of the Crown Prince took its last breath—

-Thump, thud! Thunk!

The attic door opened.

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“Nothing here, Commander!”

*

The Imperial Guards thoroughly searched the attic.

Most of them were tall, so they had to bend over a lot, but none of them looked tired.

That was natural.

The current Emperor was a man of his word, and the commander of the guard was obsessed with power.

Not only did she have connections with various noble families, but she also dreamed of rising to prominence by achieving great feats, so she drove the guards day and night.

To stay ahead of the Imperial Knights or the Grand Rouge [elite military units], she had to push her people harder than they did.

However, after more than twenty minutes in the attic, the homeowner’s face finally turned red and pale.

“Look here, if you’ve seen enough, now…”

“Nothing unusual!”

“There’s nothing special on the roof either.”

“These eight boxes are all magic tool storage, Commander.”

“These nine are experimental tools. The floor is clean too.”

“Hmm.”

“Hmm, what hmm. Ugh, just do enough and leave!”

‘At this rate, all the dinner will rot.’ She grumbled, shaking a broom that was leaning in the corner.

Then, a young man standing far away approached.

He looked very young and delicate to be doing guard duty.

With his slender shoulders and short pink hair, he looked like a nobleman.

Beside him was a bespectacled old man with a physique that seemed ready to break through the roof.

This is a strange combination. Are they classmates? Or father and daughter?

“Excuse me, sir.”

“Uh huh?”

His voice hadn’t even broken yet. Schu frowned.

Do they hire children as guards these days?

“Here… A guard who accompanied me said he felt magic here. Do you have any magic cast on your house?”

“…Are you saying that now?”

Finally, the old man became serious. The boy reflexively took a step back.

“Good heavens, I’ve cooperated as much as I can! Does a house where an old wizard lives alone not have magic cast on it? Alarm magic in case of thieves, alarm magic in case of a fire in the fireplace, alarm magic in case the reagent goes wrong at night, another alarm magic to send to the neighbor behind, and what else…”

“I’m sorry, Madam. These are rookies, so they have many shortcomings.”

‘If it’s a wizard’s house, they usually have some household magic cast,’ the commander, who quickly approached, separated the three.

Then, the bespectacled old man retorted in a low voice.

“There’s a lot of food for an elderly wizard living alone.”

“Watch your mouth.”

Noon immediately swung the broom like a cane.

Then, the commander gently grabbed her arm to stop her.

She was very nervous, fearing that Schu, who had connections with Evelyn, might complain to the Imperial Palace.

The wizard continued in a trembling voice.

“Today is a very special day for me. Four days have passed since the birthday of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Do you know what that means?”

“…”

“I, I first saw his son with my disciple on that day! It’s an anniversary no less important than a birthday for this old man.”

“Oh, my.”

“I personally had an audience with that young life whose eye color hasn’t even fully developed yet, and poured mana into him—”

“Madam, we will withdraw now. I hear that the garden search is also over.”

Just as Schu was about to burst, the commander cut her off, gasping for breath.

The pink-haired boy and the bespectacled old man frowned at the same time, but she didn’t care at all.

“Thank you for cooperating with the search. We will contact you again later. Let’s have a meal together sometime, Madam. My husband is an excellent cook.”

“…I’ll think about it. If you’re done, please leave today. My vision is blurry because I’m hungry.”

“Yes, we will. You two, come here and escort Lord Schu down. The ladder might be dangerous.”

“Yes! Commander!”

Just like that, the guards began to leave the attic like a receding tide.

The two largest men supported Schu and carefully descended the ladder, and the remaining guards checked the magic tool and experimental equipment boxes for the last time before leaving the scene in an orderly manner.

And…

“…”

“…”

And there, only the pink-haired pretty boy and the bespectacled old man remained.

The boy, looking around the empty space, pursed his lips and hardened his expression.

“There’s really nothing here. We should check the next noble’s house.”

“…Annoying.”

“I know what you mean, but isn’t it common for wizards to cast magic on their homes? I don’t know about me, but how could Your Highness not know that?”

“…”

“Oh, it’s okay. I don’t have any friends except for Lady Elizabeth and the prince anyway.”

The other person, who chuckled, looked up at him for a moment and then walked steadily and disappeared under the attic door.

It was a joke that could have been unpleasant, but for some reason, it didn’t feel bad.

The man stared at the place where he had disappeared for a long time, then finally stood under the roof and took off his glasses.

“…”

Eyes as red as the heart of the sun stared intently at one point by the window.

If he strained all his nerves, he could feel a very subtle presence.

However, he couldn’t be sure about its origin.

Maybe it’s just a delusion. Ticklish like spring pollen, faint like fluff…

“Is everyone gathered!”

“Yes!”

“The next house is a 20-minute carriage ride from here. Be careful not to block the road…

“…”

But there was nothing Cedric could do now.

Firstly, he didn’t want to suspect Barbara Schu, and secondly, even if there were suspicious parts, he had already completed all the possible investigations.

Forcibly dispelling the spells in this house was clearly violence by state power.

He briefly wondered if Schu had cast a ‘camouflage magic.’ But…

“Your Highness, we’re leaving without you if you don’t come! We won’t escort you to the Imperial Palace?”

Suddenly! Christel’s head, disguised as a man, popped up again above the attic.

Cedric turned to his fiancée with a displeased look.

“…Don’t treat me like a child.”

“If I really saw you as a child, I would have held your hand because I thought you couldn’t come down.”

Christel, who didn’t give in, waved her hand.

The man, who had just turned twenty-five, stared blankly at her white palm.

A strange silence flowed.

“…I’ll go down first. Let’s go find the prince quickly.”

And the pink light flowed down like a stream and disappeared with a whoosh.

The Crown Prince swallowed a silent sigh and put his glasses back on.

Soon, his black figure also left the single-story house.

-Step, step, step…

Camouflage magic was a high-level technique that only wizards of level 6 or higher could attempt.

And Schu was level 4.

It was impossible with her power.

*

Ten minutes later.

“Huuuuh!”

-Kyaaah!

“Wow, amazing! I really thought we’d get caught, seriously amazing!”

-Weooooo!

“Oh my god…”

-Auk, awoo!

We, who had been pouring out of the attic like luggage, simultaneously burst into the breaths we had been holding back, and collapsed on the floor.

At once, hearty laughter erupted.

Wow, we really succeeded! I didn’t think it would happen, but it really did!

“…Amazing, Lord Schu’s ‘Hide-and-Seek’ magic!”