What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 828

Gemini (11)

At that hour.

The Crown Prince Liester’s residence was swarming with outsiders.

It was safe to say that Romero Palace had never been so crowded since its construction.

The staff, forgetting their exhaustion from welcoming guests after so long, were beaming with bright faces.

Every table in the spacious first-floor reception room was laden with delicious snacks and drinks.

The younger guests were on the verge of bursting from trying every dish offered by their elders, and the servants wore contented expressions as they watched them eat heartily.

-Clap clap clap!

“Alright, gather around! If everyone’s done with greetings and tasting, please come over here and sit down! Thank you!”

“Yes, Lord Rambouillet. Brother, stop lounging around like a loafer and come over here.”

“What? Who’s lounging……”

“Let’s go, Herrit.”

“You little troublemakers, follow the bespectacled commander over there. That’s right.”

-Weu

-Kkia

“Little brother, stop picking at the food and come on. Did the Imperial Guard starve you or something?”

“I will escort you, Madame Rambouillet.”

Whether the noble host frowned, cursed under his breath, or mentally ordered a servant to prepare poison (“Your Highness, Lord Rambouillet is a national hero. Please consider carefully…”), Gae-in proceeded with the meeting without paying any attention.

It was the first social gathering since the end of the war, which had lasted about a year.

To catch up with friends they hadn’t seen in a while and achieve the purpose of today’s meeting, even dividing the time into minute-by-minute segments wouldn’t be enough.

These people were all incredibly busy.

It had only been two days since the Crown Prince’s return.

The whole country was in a festive mood, and in fact, banquets were held every night in various parts of the capital.

“Now, then……”

Soon, the friends comfortably settled into the prepared chairs and sofas.

Gae-in glared once at the Crown Prince, who was sitting at the head of the table, propping up his chin with a dissatisfied expression.

That bastard thinks he’s done his part just by providing the venue and refreshments for free…

“……”

“……Your eyes look hostile. Do you desire a duel?”

“Your Highness, I will bring you fresh coffee.”

It was David, the head of the servants, who once again defused the atmosphere that was about to turn into a fight.

He seemed to have lost a little weight since the end of the war.

Francois, who had brought his siblings, thought he should boil some superior-grade monster bones to send to the middle-aged man for recuperation.

If Elizabeth had been here, the situation would have been quite different, but she was still busy assisting His Majesty Frederick in the royal capital of Venetian.

By the time she returned to the capital, she would surely be wearing titles and medals like a string of candy.

“Ahem. Then, I’ll just call out the names of those who are here and get straight into the meeting. If anyone needs more snacks or drinks, please quietly raise your hand and call David.”

“Meeting? What meeting?”

“Maria. Shhh.”

Antoinette, quickly grasping the atmosphere, grabbed her sister’s arm to stop her.

Gae-in, sending a nod, unfolded a large piece of paper and read.

“First, Prince Djibril Diop and Princess Marguerite Diop.”

“Hey, my sister is a princess, so why am I just a prince?”

“Attendance checked. Marquis Francois D’Huem and Lord Herve D’Huem, Antoinette, Maria, and Princess Therese.”

“Yes.”

Francois raised his hand, representing the D’Huem family.

The paladin nodded and immediately called out the next name.

“Lady Eva Blanquer and Sir Herrit Haines.”

“Yes, we’re here.”

“Baron Joan de As.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I heard that these three, in particular, made significant contributions to the ‘Collapsing Babel’ operation. They even shot up the Divine Bow of the Trees and destroyed the Venetian Royal Castle, right? A thunderous applause!”

“Wow!”

‘Clap clap clap!’ A warm applause erupted.

This time, even Cedric Liester slowly clapped his hands together.

Herve whistled, sending praise to the heroes.

Eva, holding Herrit’s hand, curtsied to everyone while holding her dress.

Joan shrugged, taking off and putting on her headscarf once.

“Thank you very much, please be seated. Next, Commander Modeste Bakari of Fleur de Lis [Lily Flower].”

“Yes.”

“Princess Berenice Mendy.”

“Yes.”

“Ms. Agnes Ricciotti.”

“Yep, I’m here.”

The woman sitting next to Isabel carefully raised her hand.

Lynn, hugging a rag doll, kept sniffing, as if she liked the scent of grass coming from the mountain dweller’s body.

“And there’s me, David is here, Mom, Lynn, and the troublemakers are all here……”

-Awoong

-Pippi

“The bossy homeowner is here too, for now. Everyone’s here! Thank you.”

‘Click.’ Gae-in put down the pen and paper on the table and began to gulp down her Café Crème [coffee with cream].

Lynn, Herrit, and Perry watched the gulping sound coming from her throat with their mouths wide open.

Herve, surprised by the sight of her drinking coffee like water, warned his siblings, ‘You guys shouldn’t imitate that.’

-Thwack!

“Okay! Let’s cut to the chase. Everyone who came today is busy, and it won’t be easy to gather like this again starting tomorrow. You’ve taken precious time out of your schedules, so I won’t waste it recklessly.”

Gae-in roughly wiped her mouth and put her hands on her hips. And there was a moment of silence.

Cedric and Djibril changed their postures at the same time.

Soon, a serious sentence flowed from the cardinal’s lips.

“……Recently, the King of Venetian surrendered, and the moon of the continent has disappeared. Since tides no longer occur, I’ve heard that small and large problems are already occurring in coastal areas.”

“That is correct. It was expected.”

“Damage is also being reported in inland mountainous areas. Nocturnal animals and monsters that rely on moonlight to hunt…are showing various abnormal behaviors.”

“We almost had an accident in our territory once or twice. Territories that are not properly prepared for monster attacks will surely suffer great damage.”

Commander Bakari, Marquis Francois, and Princess Antoinette replied in succession.

Gae-in nodded, wiping the tip of her nose.

“I heard that national support will be provided by His Highness the Crown Prince, and urgent measures will be taken through the Aristocratic Council… I won’t say anything since I don’t know much about politics. But another problem has arisen here. Sniff.”

“……”

“……”

“Anyone here with a clear memory?”

Gae-in suddenly asked, leaning on one leg. The Crown Prince immediately rolled his eyes to observe the guests.

Agnes, who was quietly picking up a calisson [a traditional French candy], blinked her eyes.

“Yes?”

“Well, Lady Elizabeth and Francois already told me when they were in the military camp. Both of them definitely had memory problems. Of course, the same goes for our side. I feel like almost half of my memories are gone, and I heard that our Crown Prince is similar.”

“When you say abnormality, specifically……”

Marguerite cautiously asked back.

Other friends also seemed to be gauging each other’s reactions.

“A sense of unease.”

Suddenly, Djibril answered instead. The eyes of the audience turned to him.

“It’s obvious that everyone is forgetting something very important, but even I can’t figure out what it is. It’s a dirty feeling.”

“……”

“For example, I have a memory of carrying out a certain operation… But I have a frustrating feeling that I can’t remember something or someone who was there.”

“……”

“It’s like a hole has been punched in the middle of the past. Something like that.”

“That’s accurate. Anyone else experiencing similar worst-case scenarios? Would you be brave enough to raise your hand?”

‘It’s okay. The three of us are similarly crazy right now,’ Gae-in asked, twirling one hand around.

The Crown Prince frowned once again but did not bother to correct the facts.

Then, Isabel, Commander Bakari, and Francois slowly raised their hands.

Starting with the three of them, a small ripple arose among the guests.

Soon, Eva, Joan, the D’Huem siblings, as well as Agnes and David, raised their hands.

When Berenice and Marguerite finally raised their hands, the only one left was……

“Ah……”

Herrit blinked, not knowing what to do.

Only then did Gae-in look as if she had suddenly come to her senses and covered her mouth.

“Oh my, that’s right, our Herrit! We said that he hasn’t been able to communicate since the victory, right? Does he know sign language……”

It was then.

“There’s no need for that.”

‘Because that child has already finished talking with me.’ From beyond the tea room adjacent to the reception room, a very familiar and beautiful voice flowed in.

Everyone’s shoulders stiffened in surprise.

The face of the Lord of Romero Palace was immediately clouded over.

“……Who let the prince in here?”

“Your Highness, if you would give me a moment……”

“Everyone is gathered here. This will make the conversation faster.”

Softly, softly. Yeseo Venetian’s footsteps entering the reception room were as light and elegant as a butterfly.

The sunlight pouring through the curtains seemed to meticulously caress each strand of his golden hair.

The white gown embroidered with gold thread fluttered like the tail of a spirit.

On the other hand, Pierre, who followed behind him, was pale blue from his face to his neck, an expression that anticipated the terrifying reaction of his superiors.

Instead of urging the boy who knew nothing, David lowered his eyelids. A sigh escaped his throat.

What power did that child have to block the path of such a precious person?

Right now, even Benjamin, the head of Juliette’s servants, was absent.

He opened his eyes again and spoke softly.

“Prince Yeseo, if you have urgent business, please tell me……”

“The reason why you have lost some of your memories is because the Chief God’s archangel has embraced the moon and flown far away.”

“……”

“……”

“……”

Eh?

“……Excuse me?”

Gae-in froze with both arms raised above her head.

Most of the guests were showing a similar reaction to her.

The prince smiled faintly, looking back at his secret lover.

“……Cardinal Johann Haines’ disappearance during the battle was also to capture the moon, so if you retrieve the moon, the Crown Prince and the lost memories will naturally return as well. I am not speaking of unfounded rumors or baseless theories.”

“……”

“……”

“……”

A silence like that of a dead mouse swept through the reception room.

The divine beasts quietly moved and began to take their places beside the prince.

Cedric glared at him with a very uncomfortable look.

However, Yeseo Venetian had a reason that he could never back down from.

For example, even at this moment……

“……”

The prince silently brought his palm to his heart.

The vessel of another that had saved him was writhing with terrible loss and longing.

Undoubtedly, this was not his emotion.

They were as similar as twins, but never the same as his own.

The prince had the privilege of measuring the angel’s sorrow even from a distant world.

“……Gather clues and hunt the moon, Your Highness.”

“……”

“By doing so, both public and private disasters will be resolved.”

The eyes containing the grace of God were shining sharply.

Cedric and Gae-in looked at each other at the same time.

*

That night.

I invited Jung Hyun-seo and Johann to my room.

“Ahem, I have something to say.”

To be exact, Johann originally shared the same room as me, but anyway, today there was going to be a major announcement.

I stood in front of the two with a laptop turned on on a small desk.

Just take a deep breath for a moment. Hooo……

“……I’m not sure, and there’s no guarantee that this will succeed… But I had a good idea. Finally. For me.”

“Yeah. Tell me.”

Hyung sat on the bed with his arms crossed and replied.

I glanced at Herrit’s father, wet my lips with my tongue, and declared solemnly.

“……I’m going to bring the Chief God back to that world.”