What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 639

Until the Day We Meet Again (1)

“Ugh.”

I tried to quickly get up, but the squishy floor was extremely unpleasant.

Blinking, I groped around below.

The place we had fallen into was perfectly round, as black as if it had swallowed all the light and color in the world.

The jelly-like flooring was clearly not from this world.

The sensation of my whole body sinking downwards was also unsettling.

“…The gravity is still too strong.”

Could it be that His Majesty Romero’s power hasn’t disappeared? Did we fall into the wrong place after all?

How did such an error occur?

“Your Grace, what is—”

“Who are you people?”

“Shh. Shh.”

The young voice held innate authority. I hurriedly put a finger to my lips.

It took only a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dim light, and Gain’s expression turned serious as soon as she saw my face, and she shut her mouth.

She looked very tired, but thankfully, she didn’t seem to be hurt.

The vast, flat space was entirely dark, not like a place where people lived, but if you listened carefully, you could hear faint breathing.

Before ‘that child’ approached, I hurriedly checked on our situation.

The Cardinal was leaning against the wall with the Crown Prince’s head on his lap.

Half-closed mint-colored eyes, with powerless eyelashes drooping.

“…Sir Johan.”

“…”

I felt the blood in my whole body rapidly freezing.

The Cardinal gave a faint smile, but I could easily tell that he had reached his limit.

He had already consumed a large amount of Ether [magical energy] during the confrontation with the Ark in Evelyn—and of course, he hadn’t had enough rest even before that—and then he had poured tremendous power into opening the Rainbow Bridge.

He was the one who helped Gu-gu, who had no master.

After that, he broke through the interstellar space with his bare hands without properly resting or eating, and even carried me and ran at full speed.

It was a series of situations that would have been difficult for even the Cardinal to endure.

“Don’t worry, just hang in there a little longer. We will definitely return.”

“It’s a piece of meteorite.”

The man whispered, pointing to one spot on the jet-black floor.

I widened my eyes and followed his finger.

Indeed, in the middle of the spot where we had been rolling around, there was a thumb-sized piece of metal embedded.

The way it emitted a subtle light hinted at an ancient dignity.

“It’s a material for the sacred sword Durendal [a legendary sword in French epic literature]… They say the Chief God sent it down from the sky.”

“Ah…”

I see.

As I had vaguely expected, His Majesty Romero’s will was still guiding us.

I squeezed Sir Johan’s arm once and then checked on his fallen disciple.

Until an hour or two ago, I seemed to be quite tired too, but now my vision was just clear.

I had to keep a firm grip on my mind.

“Your Highness. Your Highness?”

[This guy’s consciousness seems to be fading. He had his eyes open until just now…]

The Phoenix sat beside him and whispered. Gain clicked her tongue softly.

I placed the back of my hand on the man’s pale cheeks and forehead in turn.

Fortunately, he didn’t have a raging fever like before, and there were no signs of him turning into a child.

To think he’s only this much after pouring out so much Ether, he’s grown amazingly in the past few years.

The Crown Prince fluttered his eyelids, feeling the touch.

Soon, the irises that reflected me flickered with fire even in the darkness.

“…Where is this?”

“Not yet. But we’ll be back where we were soon.”

I whispered quickly and asked my brother to take care of the two of them.

The Phoenix nodded and gently stroked the Prince’s torso with its wings.

A low whisper like a lullaby followed. ‘It’s okay. Everything will be okay, so get some sleep.’

And perhaps I heard such words too.

‘…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.’

“Your Grace, I feel the same energy as His Highness the Crown Prince over there. But it’s much weaker. Really much weaker.”

Gain whispered next.

I turned to where her fingertip was pointing and nodded.

“That’s probably right.”

“And that child’s voice from before. Could it be…”

“It seems we’ve fallen into the past this time.”

“Pardon?”

The teal eyes widened. I answered, keeping my voice as low as possible.

“This is probably… the basement of Romero Palace.”

The sentence dredged up old memories and reminded me of a story my teacher had once told me.

I had come here that day to meet Sir Johan, who was trapped here.

To tell him the news that his precious son, Herrit, would soon be coming to the Empire.

The end room of a luxurious corridor without even a single frame or a small window.

‘-Creak…’

‘When Cedric was very young.’

Opening the door as black as a night that doesn’t flow…

‘If the Ether flow became unstable and caused a runaway, we had to put restraints on him and lock him up here.’

The room was darker and lonelier than a child’s nightmare.

‘Light, color. Warmth and noise. Those things didn’t help calm the soul.’

‘What about now?’

I asked, forgetting that it was a rude question.

‘Do you still have to come here in secret?’

‘It’s been 12 years since I used this place.’

“…”

“No, why is a child alone in the basement? It must be scary.”

-Rustle!

The knight’s face hardened in an instant, and a presence was felt not far away.

We crouched down as much as possible and focused all our attention on that side.

We must never reveal our identities, but we had to prepare for that possibility, so my head was spinning.

It was then.

-Kkyaa!

-Kkiwoo!

-Kkiheo!

-Aeuk!

-Waeeng!

“Ugh!”

Good heavens! Even if you were riding the KTX [Korean high-speed rail], you could hear the sound of the troublemakers falling.

I was truly shocked and hurriedly got up.

The little ones had clearly been moved here together belatedly.

Gain immediately tried to escort me, but I waved my hands to stop her. ‘Please wait a moment.’

It would be difficult if two unfamiliar adults approached.

The boy who was somewhere here now was a child under the age of twelve.

Also, a child who was very sick, very scared, and full of self-loathing and dissatisfaction.

“What is this…? Is it a demon?”

The child, encountering the divine beasts, spoke in a flustered voice.

“It’s not a demon. A fairy?”

When I also answered loudly, there was a surprised sound from across the darkness.

The young breath was pitifully trembling.

But since there wasn’t even a small magic light, I couldn’t show him my appearance and reassure him.

It was hard to imagine how great the fear the child was feeling right now.

After much deliberation, I took a deep breath and focused my mind.

…It’ll be okay if it’s just a little. I can handle it.

“Hoo.”

-Saaaaa…

Soon, from the tips of my fingers, golden Ether particles bubbled up.

A slight dizziness arose, but this was bearable.

The dark room became softly lit, and the outline of the child sprawled on the floor gradually became visible.

The orange eyes that found me widened as if they would spill over.

“You… Huh, you are…”

“It’s okay. I’m a priest, and I didn’t come to hurt you. You can rest assured.”

I spoke in a soft tone and lowered my posture.

‘Kkieee!’ As soon as I reached out my hand, the divine beasts rolling around beside the boy rushed towards me.

Lopi bit the neck of Tete, who was much bigger than himself, and dragged him along.

With hasty movements, I picked up the baby and checked his condition.

Fortunately, Tete and the little ones were unharmed. Thank you, such murmurs flowed out reflexively.

“…What are those? You’re not a palace priest.”

“Yeah, my friends. Fairies. We were separated for a while, but we met again.”

“…”

When I answered that way, the young prince was confused, unable to find a place to put his eyes.

I continued to emit Ether and carefully checked the child’s condition.

Wet hair and a sweaty forehead, red and swollen eyes.

Shoulders trembling…

And very thick winter clothes.

“Did you get that as a gift? It’s big and pretty.”

“…”

“The Chief God’s Advent Festival is not far away.”

The ten beautiful fingers were clutching a large sock with gold and purple stripes as if it were a lifeline.

It was full of small toys and snacks, and I recognized it at a glance as tulip cookies.

Because I had seen such decorations in the Liester Imperial Palace sometime.

Above all, the period when all the streets of the Empire are decorated with gold and purple was only two weeks out of the year.

“His Majesty the King Consort must have taken care of it. Right? Secretly.”

“Heut…”

The surprised boy made a hiccup-like sound. A bitter smile hung on my lips.

How old would he be?

He seemed a little smaller than Sadie, whom I had often seen, but had he passed his sixth birthday?

“…It’s okay.”

“I am…”

“You’ll be okay, Sadie. Because you’re not alone.”

It was just a banal consolation from a stranger, but the tired boy’s eyes were getting wet.

I carefully reached out and gently touched his white forehead.

Then, I slowly released even more Ether.

Thankfully, the child didn’t push me away.

Knowing that unnecessary touch or warmth would not help recovery, I seemed to know the heart of the person who had dressed him in a fur robe and packed him with sweets and toys.

Your heart must have been breaking and you must have cried a lot. Like your son.

“Your Grace, I think you should come soon.”

“Ah…”

“It looks like the black hole is about to start working again. It’s vibrating!”

Around that time, Gain’s warning was heard from behind.

The divine beasts, who had been watching us quietly, perked up their ears.

I looked down at the little leader and asked.

For a moment, my vision was dizzy and blurred, but I somehow managed to support my body with strength.

“…Take your brothers and go first, Demi. I’ll follow you soon.”

-Kieung

The divine beast raised its tail and jumped into the shadows.

The good little ones hurriedly followed behind. The prince frowned, looking up at me.

“The one who hid in the darkness… Who was that?”

“That’s also a fairy friend.”

‘A clear and blue fairy.’ When I added in a small voice, the red and hot boy frowned as if he had heard all sorts of strange sounds.

That face was no different from now, so I laughed. Now, slowly… I have to say goodbye.

I took my hand away from the child and gritted my teeth.

-Paaaaa…!

Suddenly, when a dazzling sanctuary appeared, the boy was startled and looked at me.

I deliberately made a bright voice to reassure him.

[If you sleep well and wake up, your body will be very light. My Ether is the best on the continent, so you’ll be fine for a while. You can trust me.]

“You…”

[And you won’t remember us.]

“What…!”

The child, who had been sitting down, reacted with a sob.

I took out something that had been wandering around in the Gaga bag for a long time and finally returned it to its owner.

I was sorry that this was all I could give right now.

-Saaaaa…!

[See you in the confessional.]

Instead, I smiled brightly. This was a promise.

[Happy New Year!]

“Your Grace! My hand! Grab me!”

Hugging Tete tightly in one arm, I immediately turned around and jumped into the darkness.