What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 74

#074 It’s Okay If It’s Not Me (4)

[To be gluttonous…]

“It’s exactly as it sounds. You request Aether [magical energy] frequently, and you want too much at once. It’s reaaally hard… When I said I couldn’t do it anymore, Lady Cristelle asked, ‘Why can’t you?’ and Duke Cédric just sighed. Hmph…”

Sant finally buried his face in my handkerchief. I couldn’t find the words to say and closed my eyes for a moment.

So, Cristelle and Prince Cédric were mistreating a young acolyte-level priest like a public charging station.

I couldn’t believe it.

They were acting like that and still had the nerve to look so confident when I ran into them at the palace?

[Have you, um, spoken to Cardinal Boutier about this?]

Only after asking the question did I realize my mistake.

There was no way Sant could have said anything.

Cardinals are called ‘Princesses or Princes of Faith’ and are powerful figures leading the Vatican, but Aurélie Boutier was, before all else, the Prince’s godmother and the Emperor’s partner.

Even setting aside the vast difference in status between a priest and a cardinal, there was no way Sant could go to her and say, ‘Your godson is a psychopath.’

“Huuung, how could I possibly…”

Sant looked at me, his eyes drooping sadly, as if he was upset.

Feeling sorry, I awkwardly patted his shoulder.

[I understand. But did Sir Haines just stand by and watch?]

I asked. Sir Johann Haines was the two’s Holy Knight instructor.

If they were acting in a way unbecoming of Holy Knights, he was the one who should be at the forefront of correcting them.

Holy Knights and priests are equal partners, not in a structure where one exploits the other.

“Sir, Sir Haines isn’t very dedicated during class…”

Sant quickly averted his gaze and trailed off.

In that moment, my conversation with Ganael in the Juliette Palace drawing room flashed through my mind.

‘It’ll be fine since it’s just sparring. And there’s a teacher from the Vatican. He’ll take care of it.’

‘I thought so at first too, but it seems he can’t handle it.’

The situation quickly came into focus. With a sense of disbelief, I spoke.

At this point, it really felt like no one else should hear, so I canceled the Divine Protection and lowered my voice.

“So, the two of you just spar every day, extract the necessary Aether from the priest, and Sir Haines just watches?”

“Kheuung, yes…”

Sant sniffled and answered quietly. My face involuntarily scrunched up.

I couldn’t understand how no one had said anything until now with them teaching like that.

“I haven’t heard any rumors like that in the Imperial Palace. Haven’t the Duke or Duchess raised any objections?”

“Sir Haines and I haven’t been here long… They seem to think that he’ll teach us when the time comes. And somehow, they both seem to enjoy the sparring…?”

The priest, who looked like he was barely twenty, tilted his head and dabbed at his eyes with a handkerchief.

I barely swallowed the sigh that was about to burst out.

I don’t know what Sir Haines is thinking, but he can’t just leave their behavior like this.

As someone working in the same field, I also felt uncomfortable with the way the priest was being treated.

“Ah, Your Highness… The reason I came to confess is… I want to run away. I even packed my bags last night. Khuk. I know I shouldn’t…”

Sant changed the subject, wanting to be faithful to the sacrament [religious rite].

I quietly nodded and listened to his story.

But I couldn’t stop the rising unease.

If I had lived forever with my ears closed, maybe, but now that I knew, it was hard to turn a blind eye.

There seemed to be a limit to ignoring things, saying it’s okay if it’s not me, that it’s not my problem.

After taking Prince Yeseo to the temporary confessional, Cristelle de Sarnes wandered around the detached palace without a clear destination.

It would be fun to chat with his attendants, but today she felt a strong desire to get some fresh air.

That’s why she turned her steps towards the small forest behind the detached palace.

Thanks to leaving the attendant who had accompanied her from the Duchy in the territory of Count Mute, she was enjoying a sense of freedom more than ever.

The Prince’s clear and warm Aether seemed to linger by her side.

Perhaps that was why.

She didn’t notice sooner that Cédric Liester was sitting in the pavilion she was heading towards.

“I greet Duke Ivelin.”

“……”

Cristelle was rarely a little embarrassed in front of him, but she didn’t show it and gave a graceful bow.

The young Duke, as always, only acknowledged her greeting with a nod.

He was a man who always set the highest price for his face value, no matter when you met him.

From the looks of it, he had brought the documents he had been reviewing in his office to examine outdoors.

He seemed to need a change of pace like her.

She had no choice but to turn towards the pavilion on the opposite side.

Neither of them had the personality to suppress their Aether to be considerate of the other.

It was the feeling of, ‘Why should I if they don’t?’

So, it was better to avoid each other unless it was during class to maintain peace.

It hadn’t been long since she had been scolded by the Emperor, and she couldn’t afford to cause another accident.

“Ah.”

I wish there was a long sofa in that pavilion too, so I could take a nap.

Cristelle, who was thinking that, suddenly stopped walking.

Suddenly, the conversation she had with Prince Yeseo earlier came to mind.

She slowly turned her head and looked at the Duke.

The handsome face holding the papers looked very serious.

She didn’t have a hobby of disturbing people at work, but today was a special day for the Prince.

Her curiosity also popped up.

“Your Highness, have you perhaps forgotten that today is Prince Yeseo’s birthday?”

There wasn’t a single grain of malice in her beautiful voice.

However, the Duke ignored her words as if it were natural. Ugh, such a rude bastard.

‘Hamgain’ only cursed inwardly and turned her body again.

She swallowed the vulgar words well, but in the end, a strand of her temper popped out of the tip of her tongue.

“You might end up being hated.”

This time, she subtly included ill feelings. Of course, Prince Yeseo would not hate the Duke.

He was kind by nature and weak to animals and children.

The Duke could turn into a beast usually and a child when he lacked Aether, so it was clear that the day the Prince would genuinely treat him badly would not come.

But Cristelle wanted to say a word to that young man.

It was childish, but she couldn’t help it. That was her.

“Since I’ve caught his weakness, there’s no need for persuasion.”

She was about to leave quickly before she got even more annoyed, but the man gave a strange answer.

No, to be exact, it sounded strange only to Cristelle’s ears.

The Duke’s face, when she turned back, was the same expressionless one as usual.

“Are you saying you’ve caught the Prince’s weakness?”

“……”

The Duke turned his gaze to the documents as if there was nothing more to add.

Cristelle was so dumbfounded that she ended up adding a word.

“You don’t actually think you can control someone with that, do you?”

“I could probably make him submit.”

Wow, damn. Look at the way this guy talks.

Cristelle quickly moved her feet and plopped down on the sofa opposite the Duke.

Cédric frowned at the rude behavior, but she ignored it like water flowing.

“Weren’t you trusting the Prince? Wasn’t he pretty good during the monster subjugation? I thought so too.”

She didn’t want to admit it, but it was fun. She, the Duke, and the Prince worked quite well together.

It also helped that she was always in good condition thanks to the Prince’s Aether.

“I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”

Cristelle clicked her tongue.

This was the reaction she had when she saw something and judged it as ‘hopeless.’

In other words, the Duke trusted the Prince but thought of such a method to get him in his hands.

Honestly, she wanted to leave the Duke alone and leave.

She and the Prince were maintaining a friendly relationship, and the Duke seemed to be on the verge of disappointing the Prince if he continued like this.

But…….

‘About the Ark of Bireom, the ring I gave you at the night market last time doesn’t look anything like it, does it?’

‘But it did seem to be in the shape of wings. I’ll go check in my room.’

‘Did you bring it all the way here?’

‘I attached it to the handle of my travel bag.’

Prince Yeseo was someone who cherished even the cheap trinket he won at the ‘Dagger Throwing Competition.’

It wouldn’t be anything to a man who grew up as a Prince, but he was surprisingly simple and kind.

Cristelle didn’t think it was right for such a person to be hurt by someone’s clumsiness and immaturity.

That was all.

“Listen carefully, Your Highness. I’ll only explain it once.”

“What?”

Cristelle spat out the words between her teeth.

No matter how young he was, she never thought she would have to teach him how to make friends.

“The Prince is a person. A very good person at that. You can’t win his heart with that kind of method.”

“Are you telling me,”

“The divine object in the bell tower. It wasn’t even human, and it was too difficult to calm down, right? It would have been a disaster without me, right? How much more so with humans.”

“……”

“The Prince is kind and understanding. You know that well.”

The Duke’s orange eyes sank. Cristelle continued the sentence.

“He’s already a hostage. If you threaten him, he’ll only feel anxiety and fear. As a reward for the Prince’s kindness, is that what you want to give him, Your Highness?”

She finished her words firmly.

“Show sincerity. Then you can get closer.”

Then, she flicked her dress once and stood up from her seat.

She felt a bit cool today.

She felt proud that she had given life lessons to a twenty-four-year-old, and she also felt frustrated at how that guy had grown up like that.

“Then, I’ll take my leave.”

Cristelle gave an elegant bow and disappeared quickly.

“……”

The clean wind of the North swept through the forest and grass, and the man’s hair, like black silk.

He looked down at the document in his hand for a moment.

Soon, the paper flared up and burned.

“Doesn’t it feel good after washing? Doesn’t it feel refreshing?”

-Creak

-Beep beep beep

I smiled and spoke to the Divine Beasts.

It took an hour and a half to bathe them and wash myself.

Unlike Demi, who liked water, Leah and Perry had their mouths sticking out a mile.

Dduk-sook had lost a lot of fur and became skinny, but he didn’t seem to have had a very unpleasant experience, as he was busy running around and chirping.

I roughly fastened the waist of my gown and dried them one by one with a towel.

They were clean even usually because they were Divine Beasts, but they seemed to have become even neater after washing.

“Perry, come here. I didn’t dry your tail enough.”

-Kieung

Perry perked up his black ears and ran away from me.

Leah chased after him.

The air is cold at night in the North, so I have to dry them properly so they don’t catch a cold…….

Huh?

“Did I go in with the door open?”

Now that I see it, the balcony door was wide open.

I left the Divine Beasts and approached the balcony where the curtains were fluttering, and locked all the locking devices without missing a single one.

Seeing that Dduk-sook didn’t leave the room, it seemed like he was going to sleep with me today.

Is this a birthday perk?

“……What should I do tomorrow?”

I muttered.

I had a lot of thoughts after listening to Sant’s confession today.

That’s why, after receiving confessions from the people of the detached palace for a couple of hours, I went straight to the Cardinal’s office.

If Sant couldn’t say it, it wouldn’t be bad for me, who knew the situation, to tell him instead.

But,

‘Your Highness, I am very sorry, but His Eminence is currently busy with a lot of work. If it’s okay with you, could you come back in a few hours? I will personally escort you.’

‘I see. No, I’ll visit him separately next time.’

I ended up having such a conversation with the Cardinal’s attendant, Natalie.

She was worried that the Cardinal wasn’t even taking care of his meals properly.

Natalie, who was saying that, didn’t look good either.

I replaced the visit by sending some of the canelés [small, ridged French pastry] I received as a gift to the Cardinal’s office.

She said she was too busy preparing for the prayer meeting next month.

It’s a bit much to say to such a person, ‘The kids are working together to bully someone else’s precious child, please punish them’…….

-Kiee, Kieee

“Why, do you want to go down?”

Demi, who had already climbed onto the bedroom table, whined.

As I familiarly supported his belly and picked him up, I saw a strange box placed where Demi had been sitting.

A small card was also enclosed next to it.