What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 713

-Screeeeeech…

-Rumble!

With a heavy groan, the large warehouse door of the Raso estate opened.

-Clatter, clatter, clatter.

-Clip-clop, clip-clop…

Following behind, prison carriages carrying magical creatures and freight wagons loaded with baby dragons parked side by side in the corner.

This place, where gifts for Maiker Raso’s birthday were piled high, was so dark and deep that even in broad daylight, lamps were needed.

Following the orders of their superiors, the servants guided the carriages to empty spaces and cleared away boxes, but they couldn’t stop their eyes from darting around.

The knights who had come along as escorts were also half-lost in wonder, gazing at the winged creatures.

The tribute, with its hands and feet tightly bound and a restraint around its neck, lowered its gaze as if unwilling to meet anyone’s eyes.

Everyone kept their mouths shut, but the atmosphere was somehow bustling.

-Clang!

“Oh, my!”

-Grrrr…

When Isabella, who had accompanied them to the warehouse, opened the door of the freight car, the knights, who had been staring blankly, flinched and looked at each other.

Oops.

“Um, Isabella, we haven’t called the monster trainer yet. If you open the door right away…”

“I know. But do you think a mere trainer can handle a Myth-grade [a classification of extremely powerful monsters] monster’s offspring?”

“Well…”

“That’s true, but…”

“This man is a monster hunter who has been trading with our merchant group for a long time and has earned the trust of Duke Sarghintini. He has done a lot of dirty work, so leave the dragon management to him.”

The woman said, pointing to a large man.

The black-haired man was stroking the monster’s snout with his back to them, and watching him do that to a dragon without a muzzle made their hearts pound.

The man’s shirt was also stretched so tight it looked like it would tear, making their hearts race in another way.

“…For now, I’ll report that to the captain.”

“Thank you.”

Isabella gave a smile that lacked warmth.

She was as beautiful as Duke Sarghintini, but somehow, her cold and businesslike demeanor made it difficult for people to strike up a conversation with her.

Whenever she asked them to do something, the knights would act as if they were possessed, only realizing much later that it was closer to an ‘order’.

They had often heard that the nobles of the capital were haughty and shrewd, and Isabella was certainly one of them.

“Here are the clothes and shoes for the monster to wear. I don’t know if they will fit… No, more than that, what should we do with the wings…?”

“I’ll take care of the wings, so give them to me.”

“Here’s the bathwater you requested, Madam.”

“Thank you. Leave it over there.”

“I brought the high-grade monster tranquilizer you requested.”

“Thank you.”

“I-I brought the monster’s meal. You said that human food would be enough, so I spoke to the head butler and brought banquet food. I hope it’s alright…”

“It’s a little lacking, but this will do.”

Under Isabella’s swift and precise command, the monster’s basic needs were being taken care of in an instant.

Seeing how efficient she was, she certainly seemed to be from a large merchant group.

Even that noble and picky Duke Sarghintini had entrusted everything to her…

“Then, the preparations are roughly complete.”

“Yes.”

The knights and servants stood awkwardly around the two carriages.

When they came to their senses, everyone had been busy attending to a single monster.

Several of them were out of breath. Isabella looked back at them and said calmly.

“Would you please excuse us for a moment?”

“Pardon?”

Everyone’s eyes widened.

“Madam, that’s a bit…”

“An hour will be enough. The hunter needs to soothe the monster and the magical beasts, feed them well, and groom them nicely so that they can be presented at the celebration tonight, don’t you think?”

“…Well, that’s true, but…”

“Also, I heard that dragons are magical beasts that are greatly affected by environmental changes. If we don’t properly calm it down now, who knows what kind of havoc it might wreak in front of the Duke in a few hours? Even if it’s just a baby, we can’t be careless.”

“…”

“In an hour, I will knock on the door from the inside. Please wait until all the preparations are complete.”

“…Madam’s words are correct. I understand.”

In the end, the situation was settled when the eldest knight nodded.

They were a little concerned about leaving the Duke’s other birthday gifts and outsiders together, but the other party was a member of a famous noble family.

There was no reason for an honorable person to steal someone else’s treasures, and it would be obvious if they opened even one other box.

Their worries were focused solely on the safety of the ‘tribute’.

Soon, all the workers left the warehouse, leaving the lamps behind.

Some of the servants whispered.

“By the way, how can such a great noble travel without a single attendant? I’m talking about Duke Sarghintini. He doesn’t even have any luggage.”

“How would I know? Seeing as he didn’t even come in his family’s carriage, maybe that’s just his personality…”

“…”

Isabella remained silent. No information could be gleaned from her expression.

-Screeeeeech…

-Thud!

Then the door closed, and a dusty darkness descended from the building’s high ceiling.

Only after several tens of seconds had passed…

“…Isabelle.”

“Yes, Master.”

A faint voice flowed from inside the prison carriage.

“I’m starving to death…”

“Good heavens.”

The woman took out the prison key with a trembling hand, and the freight wagon began to rattle like crazy.

‘Crash, crash!’ The sound of Gyu being smashed into pieces was deafening.

Only then did cold sweat break out on Isabella’s forehead.

After all, starving the Master was something she couldn’t do!

*

“Wow, this is amazing. This isn’t the sausage roll I know. The meat is on another level!”

“Demi, look at this. The batter is crispy and refreshing. Did they just fry it in clean oil?”

-Kyaa!

“If I push myself, I could eat a hundred of these. Tete, should I show you?”

-Awoo?

“I don’t think it would be too much of a stretch.”

“Master, please chew slowly and thoroughly. You’ve worked so hard today.”

“Yes. Gain, please eat a lot too. And Crown Prince!”

I offered food to my friends, who had been hiding in the compartment, several times, but they declined, saying they were full just watching me eat.

Come to think of it, I was the only one who had been fasting since last night for this operation.

I don’t think my acting skills are the worst, but our director Ham Gain ordered me to starve to achieve a genuine performance.

Her theory was that ‘the Master’s ultimate skill comes out when he’s hungry(?).’

While I was quickly washing my face, taking off my torn clothes—”Gain, please turn around for a moment.” “Oh, come on, between us?” “…” “Tch.” —and devouring the banquet food, my friends were examining the internal structure of the warehouse and rechecking the route.

Everyone had to hurry because there wasn’t much time.

“Rin, come here. You’re young, so you need to eat more.”

“Uung. I’m full.”

“Cookie. Just one almond cookie.”

“Okay.”

The baby, who had been carried by Sir Johan, toddled over and sat on my lap.

When I asked, ‘Ether, aren’t you hungry?’ he replied with a surprisingly dignified face, ‘I ate in the morning, so I’m not hungry.’

I put a large cookie in each of the child’s hands, devoured four freshly baked, soft pretzels at once, and then dipped the fifth bread deeply into the soup.

The salty seasoning and the taste of the meat broth gently enveloping my tongue seemed to wash away the cold and hunger in an instant.

With my ears perked up in the direction of my friends, I diligently cleared the table.

Sir Johan’s gentle voice stirred a breeze in the warehouse and then subsided.

“Let’s talk while looking at the map.”

“Yes. According to Duke Raso, the building directly behind the warehouse we’re in is the barracks. The knights will be holding out there, so it will be difficult to break through that way. Beyond that are the stables and training grounds, and after that comes the bakery, then the temple. The next building is the banquet hall.”

I also unfolded the map in my head, drawing red lines as I followed my friends’ movements.

All the while, I was biting into the sweetly stewed pears (stoofpeertjes) [a traditional Dutch and Belgian dish].

What? This is delicious too.

“That is correct. However, the main road leading to the estate from the front of the warehouse is too wide, making it difficult to move discreetly.”

Duke Leopold Raso replied in a cautious voice.

I turned to look at him, gulping down cool water.

The man was undoubtedly the top contributor to this operation.

When I opened my notebook and revealed some of Jeong Hyunseo’s information, he rattled off which noble was related to the Raso family and which merchant group was doing business with Raso without hesitation.

As we pieced it together, we could clearly see the cards we could play with.

“In the end, passing through the barracks would be the fastest route.”

Isabella, who had returned to her gentle voice, said.

She looked very tired, as if the ‘Isabella’ act had been difficult for her.

Sir Johan nodded readily.

“What about the roof of the barracks? I’m curious about its general shape and area.”

“Like any fortress, it’s a broad triangle, and you can see the top of the roof from the ground. Unless you’re a very short person…”

“They’ll notice us quickly from below.”

Gain clicked her tongue, tapping the map.

“Instead, all the roofs from the barracks to the banquet hall of the main castle are connected as one.”

“Ah, that’s great. After all, I can’t give up on the barracks side, even if it’s difficult.”

“Where is Djibril Diop?”

Cedric asked stiffly. Duke Raso immediately pointed to one side of the map.

“He will also be in the main castle. The spaces for honored guests are gathered in the east wing, and a family like the Sarghintinis would have been given the largest room…”

-Tap!

His finger made a sharp sound.

“It will be the room at the end of the corridor on the top floor of the east wing. However, as I said repeatedly, I’m not sure.”

“Okay. As planned, someone has to go and check first. That way, we won’t make any mistakes when we do the job tonight.”

Gain crossed her arms and looked up at the ceiling.

Then the whole group raised their heads and looked for a window together.

The main gate was guarded by the knights here, and there was no time to dawdle here.

The person in charge of reconnaissance had to go to the main castle through the window right away.

“…”

“…”

But it seemed like the first problem had arisen.

I put down the cleanly deboned pheasant bones and frowned. Wait a minute…

“Raso, didn’t you say there was a window here?”

“There always was. Even when I was the lord, there was a large window for ventilation over there…”

“It’s blocked now.”

Sir Johan said in an ordinary voice.

The Duke groaned, and I quickly wiped my hands with a wet towel.

To be exact, two long planks were blocking the wide window in an X shape.

There were small gaps left on the top, bottom, left, and right, but even if you roughly estimated it, an adult could never pass through.

Judging from the fact that sunlight was coming in a straight line, fortunately, there didn’t seem to be any other obstacles outside…

-Thud!

“I’ll go.”

“Huh?”

Then, it was none other than Cedric Riester who stepped forward.

I took the Hye Geom [likely a sword] he offered, making the dumbest face in the world.

In fact, my friends’ reactions weren’t much different.

“Crown Prince, how are you, the biggest person here, going to get through there?”

“…”

Then the man raised one eyebrow and looked down at me.

He had a look that said, ‘Is there any other way?’ My mouth opened on its own.

…You, don’t tell me.