What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 597

#597

A Midsummer Night’s Dream (4)

Was this a coincidence? Or…

“……”

The man who had climbed a few rungs of the ladder stopped dead as soon as his eyes met mine.

He looked a little awkward, unsure whether to come up to the attic or go back down.

I, too, stood there with my hands raised in an ambiguous gesture, the status window open.

Unfortunately, our troublesome companions were away, so there was no one to fill the awkward silence between us.

It was even more embarrassing because we had barely spoken to each other since our big fight in the military camp—or rather, since I had unilaterally lashed out at him.

A moment of silence passed.

“……Dinner.”

“Ah, yes.”

So, that’s what he came to tell me. It’s already that time.

He would never normally be the one to deliver such a message, so Ms. Gain must have forced him to do it.

Or maybe he lost at ‘One Minus’ [a game] or got caught during a 007 bread game [a game involving bread as a reward or penalty]… I shook off the random thoughts and got up, dusting off my backside.

However, the thoughts that had been occupying my mind until just now hadn’t completely disappeared.

Stubbornness, His Highness Alexandre, and Sir Shuu’s tag magic.

And…

【……You will need a lot of help to complete this task. Good luck!】

Even the last words in the status window left by Hyung [term for older brother or close male friend].

After a train of thought, that sentence no longer seemed like ordinary encouragement.

It didn’t even feel like a line from a typical NPC [non-player character] in a game.

I glanced at the Crown Prince and slowly moved my feet.

I wanted to talk to him, but I guess I shouldn’t. It would be a great discourtesy.

It’s a difficult topic to bring up even if we were on good terms, and we haven’t even properly reconciled yet…

-Thud!

“Huh?”

At that moment, my foot caught on a floorboard that popped out. Ugh!

“Crap!”

A sensation of goosebumps erupted as my upper body lurched forward.

Wow, I’m falling! I’m going to hit my head!

-Thump!

The wooden floor echoed loudly once, and my heart dropped like a gyro drop [a type of amusement park ride] before quickly returning to its place.

My terrified chest pounded like crazy, and goosebumps covered my arms and calves, but miraculously, nothing hurt.

I lowered my arms, which had been covering my head, and barely managed to open my tightly shut eyes.

Well, I instinctively twisted my body to the side as I fell…

“Cough, Your Highness.”

Ah, me! I got grabbed by the collar again!

“Watch where you’re going.”

Cedric glared at me, holding my collar with one hand, his voice terrifying.

No, he wasn’t really scolding me, just giving me a warning, but it looked like he was threatening me to anyone who saw it.

The orange eyes, full of anger, were bubbling like a shaken Fanta bottle.

Clearly, everything below my collarbone was still below the attic door, but I couldn’t even calculate when he had rushed over here so quickly.

How can a person’s body move like that? Huh?

“Thank you for saving me. But please let go of this……”

“Do you have no muscles in your lower body at all?”

“I don’t think you’d be happy with anyone’s lower body……”

At that, fire blazed in his eyes. I swallowed hard.

It wasn’t a figurative expression; this guy really sparks flames from his skin when he gets angry, so I had to be careful not to provoke him.

He must not like the fact that I eat more than him but exercise less and have less muscle mass.

Still, I never tripped and fell like this when I was working at the company.

Do you think I’m pathetic? Yeah, sorry I’m the average Korean office worker…

“I’ll exercise when we get back. So please calm down.”

“……”

They say you can’t spit on a smiling face, so when I spoke with a smile, he readily softened his expression.

My collar was already free.

I straightened my shirt and glanced at him.

I thought he would go down first, but he was leaning over, staring at the innocent magic tool box—of course, the attic has a very low ceiling.

Now that I see it, the attic door was completely closed.

Hmm……

“……”

Seeing him still here, it seems like he wants to talk to me (though he might just want to look at the magic tools).

Should I bring it up now?

When it’s time to sleep later, the others will gather here again, and then the opportunity will pass.

Without going too deep, just testing the waters…

“Hey.”

“You.”

Oops.

“Yes?”

“What?”

Oh no, the audio overlapped twice! I quickly shook my head.

“Please, speak first.”

“……Yield to Juliette.”

“……”

My shoulders tensed at the sighing reply.

It might sound a bit awkward at first, but that was a typical way of speaking for a direct descendant of the Liester imperial family.

To put it plainly, it meant, ‘I, the imperial family’s elder and the master of Romero Palace, yield the order to Juliette, the master of the palace.’

It’s not like I knew it well from the beginning; I naturally learned it through Benjamin and David’s education while living in the imperial palace.

You always remind me that I’m the master of the palace at times like this. Maybe it’s not intentional…

“Ahem, thank you. Um… It’s about the status window.”

At that, the ends of his charcoal-black eyebrows twitched slightly.

It wasn’t a rejecting reaction, but rather an indication to continue. I quickly gained courage.

“Everyone looked over the general content of the Rainbow Finding quest together, but after hearing Sir Shuu’s explanation about the tag magic a few days ago, I had some concerns. So, if it’s okay, before talking to the other friends……”

“……”

“I wanted to discuss it with Your Highness.”

“Speak.”

He said, propping himself up against the ceiling with one arm. It looks like an uncomfortable position that would hurt his back.

“……If the topic I mention makes you uncomfortable or is difficult to hear, please let me know.”

“……”

No matter what, I didn’t want to hurt him with this conversation.

But considering the situation we were in, it was an unavoidable topic.

We had to confirm at least once whether this path was right or wrong.

Even with those words, the Crown Prince just stared down at me.

……It was a sign of affirmation. Okay.

“First, Hyung…… I mean, the status window said this: ‘You will need a lot of help to complete this task.’ If you read it lightly, you might pass it without much thought, but if you look at it differently, there’s a small clue here. The subject of the Rainbow Finding that the status window is talking about is not ‘you’ but ‘you all.’ Even in the introduction to the Bihwan, it specifically emphasizes ‘you all’ to the reader. So, the subject of ‘a lot of help’ here is……”

“Not our group.”

“Yes. It’s likely referring to outsiders.”

As expected, we understand each other well. I smiled and raised a finger.

Then, secondly.

“The reason we’re pushing ourselves to find the rainbow, even at the cost of disrupting the peace here, is because that’s the only way we can return to our world. If we add this to the previous proposition, we can conclude that returning to the world line is only possible with the active help of outsiders, as well as the rainbow.”

“And?”

“And Sir Shuu is skilled in space magic.”

“……”

The faintly relaxed expression instantly lost its vitality.

The darkness of the summer night was descending on his profile. I hurriedly added.

“I had the opportunity to see his notebook in the Juliette Palace garden, and even to an amateur like me, his research skills were extraordinary. Hyperspace, anti-space, and so on……”

“……”

“He even writes with both hands simultaneously. He seemed like an undeniable genius.”

“……”

“Moreover, the magic principle of distorting space to create illusions seems to be a method that even Your Highness didn’t expect, if my guess is correct.”

Einstein of the theory of relativity is called the genius of the century, so wouldn’t Sir Shuu here be similar?

“……To cross two worlds with the power of a 4th-grade mage?”

“To be exact, it might be possible with the power of the rainbow and his help. If you look at the explanation of the Bihwan’s abilities that we acquired……”

I hurriedly pressed the status window.

The Crown Prince glared at my fingertips as if he would melt them, but I pretended not to notice.

“I read it to you once before, but it says here: ‘This bracelet contains amazing power! Perhaps this is what will unleash unimaginable superpowers that your sacred objects cannot provide. Old resentment and……’

【The curse of Count Pompili, created by the mixture of old resentment and forbidden love, resonates with the vessel’s most powerful will. Someone’s talent explodes into near-mad genius, and someone’s sorrow transforms into near-torturous agony. The priest warns everyone who did not love him, and everyone who tried to harm his love.

‘Pain into death, tears into tragedy.’】

“……”

“If Sir Shuu helps us, or if he somehow knows how to help…… the ‘amplification’ of power will be possible. We have five sacred objects and the Bihwan.”

I whispered like a dying candle. But there was no answer.

Rather, the Crown Prince looked at me intently, as if searching for any clue.

Soon, a thin line appeared on his brow.

“……I don’t understand.”

“Yes?”

“There’s something you’re not saying. What is it?”

“……”

I gulped, my Adam’s apple bobbing.

“Barbara Shuu’s space distortion magic is shocking, but you’re talking as if you already know what the teacher can do.”

…….

“Sereniteit.”

“……”

My eyelids couldn’t withstand the tension and closed tightly. He was too sharp.

When I opened my eyes again, Cedric Liester was waiting for me, supporting the darkness of the sky with one arm.

For a moment, I felt dizzy.

In the black spots that had dyed the attic black, only he looked red.

My lips twitched on their own.

“I overheard you talking in the kitchen the other day…… It seems like he has an unresolved past.”

“……”

“Maybe he lost someone precious while using his specialty, ‘tag’……”

“……”

“I was wondering if someone…… someone desperate, had suggested this research to Sir Shuu.”

Our eyes tangled. The Crown Prince stood there, looking as if he would swallow me whole.

His black eyelashes resembled a butterfly engulfed in flames.

I clenched my fists tightly. My vocal cords trembled terribly.

I have to say it.

“……‘Let me meet the god.’”

Clang— A crack appeared in the jewel in front of me.

And frost began to form.

I finally gained a sliver of realization.

“In any way, please build a bridge. Please distort space so that I can meet her.”

“……Mouth.”

……You didn’t know either. You didn’t know this far.

“……It would have been a far-fetched request to others, but it wouldn’t have been theoretically impossible for the two of them.”

“Shut it.”

Or maybe you didn’t want to know.

“His Majesty the King already had a piece of God’s space, and the sacred object loved him and would have wanted to help him with anything. If the great mage’s desperate mana was added to that……”

Thump! The man growled like a beast and grabbed my shoulder.

I groaned lowly and looked up at him.

Excruciating pain, as if my bones were breaking, covered my entire arm.

The distance was too close, and the focus of the sun blurred messily.

A shiver ran down my spine.

“Yesuh.”

“Huck—”

I reflexively turned my head, but my chin was immediately grabbed and turned back.

The temperature, as if I was about to get burned, snapped me back to my senses.

It wasn’t me who was crying.

“……Your Highness.”

The whites of his eyes, which had always been like porcelain, were red as if flames had been transferred.