What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 6

#006 “What’s going on, kids…?”

Huh.

In that instant, I felt suffocated. I grabbed my neck in a hurry.

There’s nothing there. Clearly, there’s nothing there.

“Cough…”

I couldn’t breathe. Not even a proper breath, let alone a voice, would come out.

I slowly collapsed, watching the blurry children before my eyes.

The faces of the Verang twins, bathed in moonlight, were unfamiliar.

The faces that always smiled at me were as cold as ice sculptures. What on earth is going on?

“Sinky, prepare the ritual.”

“You focus, Peter. He’s resisting.”

“Huff, cough…”

‘Sinky’, ‘Peter’? Those weren’t the kids’ names.

At least, they were completely different from the names I knew.

Even as a metallic sound came from my throat and my face turned red, I struggled to stay conscious.

“Don’t rely on magic. Draw out more divine power.”

“Got it.”

“Ugh!”

‘Sinky’ advised ‘Peter’. Then, my windpipe narrowed even further.

These kids are killing me. That much was certain.

I don’t know what method they used, but the two acolytes were committing murder without laying a finger on me.

“Gasp, hic, sob!”

“He’s quite resilient.”

“Your Highness, accept it. This is the will of the Main God and the choice of His Majesty the King.”

Terrifying words flowed from the mouths of those who hadn’t even gone through puberty.

I could feel veins popping out on my forehead. I gritted my teeth and shook my head.

Accept what? Accept, my foot.

“Cough, ugh…”

“Almost there.”

I felt dizzy. My vision was blurring from the lack of oxygen.

I couldn’t help but realize anew that this, this world, was the ‘present’ and ‘real’.

There was no way that such a chilling shadow of death could be a fabrication.

I’m scared. Eunseo, my brother, and my mom’s face flashed before my eyes.

“Ugh…”

“Good, good.”

Renault Verang, or rather ‘Peter’, uttered a gruesome sound with an innocent face.

I glared at the boy and desperately recalled what I had read in .

My mind was foggy, and my memory was uncertain. There was no guarantee of success anywhere.

But still. Even so.

“I’ll start the ritual.”

“Okay.”

It was a hundred, a thousand times better to grab at straws and struggle than to die so helplessly.

I gathered my wits as much as possible. I had to concentrate.

The moment a small golden circle rose beneath ‘Sinky’s’ feet was the same moment I began to pray.

‘I pray to the proud Main God of the great continent.’

I don’t know if you’ll accept my prayer, but please. Please save me.

“Wait, Peter. Now…”

“You can do it. Quickly.”

“Idiot, that’s not it!”

Help me.

-Zzzzzzzzzzt!

-Clang!

[Get lost, you bastards!]

“Aaaagh!”

A golden circle exploded from my body.

The two boys were flung away like bullets by the power of the ‘Divine Decree’. Finally, I could breathe.

The walls cracked, and all the windows in the bedroom shattered.

The chandelier swayed precariously, and the ground trembled.

The pages of the books scattered everywhere flipped back and forth like reeds.

In the darkness, only the golden circle beneath my feet scattered a massive radiance.

[Cough, cough, don’t come closer!]

My cracking voice echoed as the Divine Decree.

Then, the feet of the two boys, who were getting up, stuck to the floor as if glued with superglue.

“H-How could this…”

“Huff, huff… Whew…”

I quickly inhaled and exhaled repeatedly. The lingering cough wouldn’t stop easily.

Tears welled up in my eyes from the suffocation.

“No way… There’s no way you could have this much divine power!”

“Did you really steal a divine artifact?!”

[Shut up.]

The two brats yelled.

When I got annoyed, the Divine Decree was applied once more, and the boys’ mouths clamped shut in a straight line.

I took a deep breath and looked under the bed.

It was as I had read in the book. The form of a perfect circle, shining brilliantly in gold.

The smallest unit of the Ether Circle that protects the priest from all power, the ‘Sanctuary’.

The one that appeared when I swore to Benjamin.

As long as the circle is open, everything I say can be activated as a ‘Divine Decree’.

The coercive power of the Divine Decree varies greatly depending on the divine power of the priest who opened the circle.

And if the other party with stronger divine power refuses, the Divine Decree will not work.

In other words, the divine power of those guys who are helplessly affected by my Divine Decree is far below mine.

[Don’t bite your tongue. Don’t think about killing yourself.]

“Ugh…”

Whatever these guys are, whatever their purpose was in trying to kill me, I had to keep them alive for now.

If I didn’t figure out the whole story and come up with a plan, the same danger could come at any time.

They called me ‘Your Highness’ a while ago, and they said that taking my life was ‘His Majesty the King’s choice’.

Could it be from the Divine Nation…?

-Bang!

“Prince Yeser!”

“Royal Guard! Drop your weapons!”

The door, which had been tattered due to the opening of the circle, finally fell off with a loud crash.

Knights, led by Elizabeth, rushed in with their swords drawn.

The already messy room instantly turned into a chaotic marketplace.

A few guards, who appeared to be elite, stood in front of me as if to protect me.

Benjamin, who had followed behind them, quickly supported my staggering body.

His face, which I glimpsed, was pale.

“Get down! Now!”

“Ugh! Ugh!”

The other guards restrained the two criminals.

The boys, with their lips stuck together, frowned and struggled.

One of the guards, who was forcibly dragging out Steve Verang, or rather ‘Sinky’, looked flustered.

The boy’s feet were stuck to the floor and wouldn’t move.

“Your Highness, you must withdraw the Divine Decree. It will be difficult to escort them like this.”

Elizabeth, who had grasped the situation, said quickly, looking at me.

But I couldn’t even bring myself to open my mouth.

Whether it was because the tension had been released, or because the aftereffects of the fear were now hitting me, I couldn’t muster any strength in my body.

My legs gave way, and a severe dizziness washed over me.

“Your Highness!”

The sensation of my body collapsing was unfamiliar.

It was as if my soul and body were separated, my vision was above, but only my body was falling to the floor.

“Summon the royal physician, quickly!”

“Damn it. You there, bring His Eminence the Cardinal!”

The last lines I heard before I fainted were roughly like that.

*

“I wonder if you have any intention of living quietly.”

A strange man’s voice pierced my ears. A refreshing baritone.

It was a beautiful voice, as if a voice actor was performing.

I wanted to lift my eyelids and see who the man was.

But unlike my awakened mind, my body still wouldn’t listen.

“The Ether flow is stable.”

“Does that mean he’ll open his eyes soon?”

The voice that asked back was Elizabeth’s. The man didn’t answer.

Instead, there was a small sound of a chair being dragged.

“Seidy, will you come again?”

She asked. But all that could be heard was the man’s receding footsteps.

Only then did I think that this might be a dream.

Because it wasn’t stuffy or suffocating, but I couldn’t move my body and only my mind was awake, it felt like I was having a nightmare.

As soon as I thought that, I fell asleep again. I didn’t resist.

*

“Are you awake?”

When I opened my eyes, it was an unfamiliar ceiling…

No, it wasn’t. The wallpaper I had been looking at for a week filled my vision.

I’m still ‘Yeser Venetian’. Not Jeong Eunseo.

I regretted not waking up in our house with Eunseo and my brother, and slowly turned my head in the direction of the sound.

“Hello.”

A middle-aged woman was smiling warmly at me.

The hair tied together and draped over one shoulder was purple.

Kind, beige eyes carefully scanned my condition.

It was my first time seeing a monocle in real life, so I was amazed.

“You fainted from an Ether surge. I’m glad you’re recovering faster than I thought.”

“Who, ahem. Who are you…?”

When I asked in a hoarse voice, she handed me a cup that was on the side table.

I felt a sense of déjà vu and took the water and drank it.

The ceiling wallpaper was familiar, but to be exact, it was the same wallpaper, but it wasn’t the room I used.

Well, after that mess, I wouldn’t be able to use it anymore.

I thought of my ‘dormitory’ where the walls were split and all the windows were blown out.

I ruined a room just a week after being possessed [reincarnated].

“I’m Aurelie Boutier. Have you ever heard of me?”

“Ah…”

My mouth opened on its own.

Aurelie Boutier. Of course, I know. There was no way I wouldn’t know.

She was a famous person who appeared in every book I read.

The prince’s godmother. The one who refused the title of duke twice. The emperor’s friend and ‘religious partner’.

“I greet Your Eminence, the noble Cardinal.”

“Nice to meet you too, Your Highness. There’s no need to get up.”

The empire’s only cardinal smiled and greeted me.

When I tried to get up, she waved her hand.

I never thought that such a big shot would appear in front of me like this.

Cardinal Boutier was a key figure of ‘Toegye Gong’ [a fan-made ship name] that Eunseo often mentioned.

‘Oh, the teacher shields Seregi in front of Christel, wow. I almost fell for it too. Her eloquence is amazing.’

‘Oh, teacher’. She was a kind of matchmaker who connected the main character, Christel, and the male lead.

The heart that I was able to calm down at the level of embarrassment when I met Elizabeth was churning as if I was getting motion sickness when I met the Cardinal.

“First of all, I would like to convey an apology on behalf of the imperial family. The empire also has a big fault in what happened. His Majesty the Emperor was unable to come because he was busy with state affairs, but he expressed his deep regret. He promised to provide you with any convenience you want.”

Cardinal Boutier’s eyebrows drooped in a figure eight. I gripped the empty cup tightly.

This person plays an excessively important role in the story and is very close to the imperial family.

There was no good to be gained from getting involved in the long run.

But precisely because of that, the quality of information I could get from her would be different.

I was in mortal danger just before I fainted. Thanks to studying, I barely saved my life…

If I had the vivid knowledge gained from people in addition to the book, and if my practical control over my surroundings had been higher, the situation might have been much better.

The same thing must not happen again. I resolved to return home safely.

To do so, I had to make the most of the opportunities given to me.

“I want to hear an explanation. Everything.”

“I’ll explain. Everything.”

She gently took the cup from my hand, refilled it with water, and handed it back to me.

Then, she filled her own cup as well.

“What are those guys? What happened to them now?”

“If you’re talking about the Sinky and Peter brothers, they are priests and holy knights. They are children sent by the Divine Nation to assassinate you.”

It was what I expected, but it was terrible. They were too young to do such a thing.

“Is that possible? I heard that they were attendants who entered the palace through a difficult procedure.”

“Yes, they even reached out to that procedure.”

She moistened her lips with water. Her expression was miserable.

“The Verang baronial family is a small rural noble family in the southern part of the empire, but their faith is very deep. When the news spread that you were coming to the empire, the baronial couple wanted to send a child to serve you. The first son became the head of the family, so the twin second and third sons were to be put up for the attendant selection test. The parents and children were all happy.”

‘I visited the Verang baronial family when I was young. The baronial couple were kind people.’

What Elizabeth had said came to mind.

“The two children who passed the document screening got on the carriage for the interview. The portal was too expensive to even think about. And while cutting through the rough forest in the south, they were robbed and lost their lives. The coachman also died on the spot.”

Even without hearing more, I could foresee the tragic aftermath.

“Those robbers, they were disguised as the Verang twins.”

The Cardinal nodded.