What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 858

If It Can’t Be Done, Do What Can Be Done (8)

‘The Prince’ was definitely different from ‘The Princess.’

With his refined speech and gestures, he captivated the market merchants in an instant.

He knew how to haggle without raising his voice, and he generously added extra for those who were kind and good-natured, which made the other merchants watching eagerly shine their eyes and become more active.

He bought not only newly brewed fruit wine but also leather containers to hold the wine in large quantities, so the wine merchants and taverns near the temple market had a bonanza today.

The big spender in the purple smoke-filled flea market was a mysterious and welcome presence, like an oasis in the desert.

-Clang!

“Thank you. May the blessing of the Chief God be with you.”

『Oh, thank you for your kind words, young master. Which lodging are you going to? Would you like us to lend you our mule to carry your things?』

“It’s alright. My destination is very close. I appreciate the thought.”

『Young master, are you holding a big feast? We have plenty of precious and special ornaments here. How about them as gifts for your guests?』

The merchants, wearing masks to avoid the smoke, diligently approached him.

Gain, who was feeding Doria clean water droplets, looked at his profile and thought to himself.

Yeser Penetian was the only being who could communicate with everyone on the continent all day long, and perhaps the only one who knew the whole story of the great disaster when the moon disappeared from the sky.

He knows everything and hears everything, but how can he look so lonely?

『Hey, did you hear? The Penetian royal capital is in an uproar… About Princess Eliser.』

『Huh? Wasn’t she said to be dead?』

Wince. The smile disappeared from the prince’s lips, which had been smiling under the veil.

At the same time, Gain and Jibril’s expressions hardened.

Cedric Riesterer pretended to look at things a few steps away from them, listening carefully.

Of course, he couldn’t understand the content, but there were proper nouns and names that particularly caught his ear.

For example, ‘Princess’. ‘Eliser’.

『You know the Iran fruit, right? The legendary Iran fruit. They say that the spirit of the Chief God who protects it has made the princess his seed this time.』

『…What? A corpse into a seed?』

『That’s right. They say the round and pointed shape is exactly like a seed. This is what my brother-in-law, who went to the Penetian border this time, told me. A royal capital merchant who used to work with my brother-in-law a long time ago saw it with his own eyes when he stopped by the Pantheon. They say it’s about this big.』

Then the merchants exchanged glances and buzzed.

It seemed like they were talking about the princess, but he couldn’t understand what it meant.

Gain was now admiring Prince Yeser, who was receiving change with an indifferent expression.

How on earth does he endure it?

Whatever the content, she would never have been able to stay so quiet.

『How terrible! If that’s true, it’s a terrible thing!』

『No, how could they make a corpse into a seed without holding a funeral? The deceased should be sent to the Chief God as soon as possible!』

『Wasn’t the funeral held? There was a state funeral a while ago. Some of the funeral items used at that time have flowed all the way here.』

『Ah, I remember. I remember.』

『A dead person’s seed, I’m afraid it’ll appear in my dreams. I can’t understand the Chief God’s will at all…』

“Prince, buy this too. It’s so pretty.”

Gain, unable to watch any longer, suddenly intervened and whispered.

The prince turned to her with a clearly surprised look.

The eyes under the dark veil were a little bigger.

The paladin gave a bright smile on purpose.

“Little Princess, Princess Cornelise. She’s still young, so I think she’d like something sparkly. How about a knife like this? Maybe it’s too dangerous. Or maybe a necklace or ring would be nice.”

“······.”

“Ah, I’m sorry I can’t see the colors right now. If I could distinguish the colors, I would have picked out something that suits the princess perfectly. You know, when I worked at a clothing store in the imperial capital, the customers’ reactions were great. If I had worked a little longer, I would have received an award for excellent employee of the month.”

“······.”

“Really, really. No lie. I swear on everything. This is definitely organic memory [genuine recollection].”

“······Hahahaha.”

When Gain added with a serious face how she interpreted his expression, the prince burst into laughter.

Gain forced him to buy souvenirs for Cornelise until the end so that he wouldn’t gloss over it with laughter.

Cedric and Jibril appropriately overlooked the two’s stalling.

The prince eventually bought a few toys with Herrit’s advice, and finally bought a fishing rod that a craftsman had carved himself.

The short length and the round handle carved in the shape of a pig were clearly for children. The crown prince met his eyes and explained willingly without being asked first.

“If I ever get to travel with Cornelise.”

“······.”

“······A secluded place. A small cabin with a view of the lake would be nice. The child splashes around and fishes, and I wait for my sister and do housework······.”

The man, who trailed off, faintly raised the corners of his lips.

The crown prince did not respond to his words, but Gain knew that he was considerate of the prince in his own way.

The conversation did not continue.

The group, having bought what they needed, slowly hid in the shade of the market, and the prince secretly whispered to the three nature-attributed divine beasts gathered there.

Perry’s black ears fluttered slyly. Soon, several weeds were in his hand.

To Gain, who was Korean to the bone, it looked exactly like water parsley and chamnamul [Korean vegetables often sold in markets].

What is that? I used to see grandmothers in the market selling it in basins when I was young.

Umbrella plant? Is that right? And this is······.

“Huh?”

“Shh.”

The prince lifted his veil and pressed his finger to his lips.

The way he closed and opened one eye was indeed the appearance of a trustworthy court survivor with a plan.

Young Herrit didn’t know anything, but he quickly pressed his lips following him. ‘Shh.’

“Shall we go into the evil cardinal’s main camp now, D’Artagnan?”

“Good idea, Aramis.”

“I didn’t know you were still doing that.”

“Let’s go, Richelieu! Let’s go, Athos!”

‘Whether Porthos comes on his own or not!’ Gain, wearing a black robe, whispered grimly.

Cedric chuckled lowly, taking off Charlemagne’s golden reins.

-Whoosh······

“······.”

If you raise your eyes above the land of believers filled with purple smoke, you can see the inviolable building that seems to pierce the shadow of the moon.

The temple, which had been half-destroyed by Cedric and Eliser’s brawl, had been almost completely restored and had escaped its hideous appearance.

The outline of the thick World Tree looked like a boa constrictor trying to swallow the moon and even crumple the night sky into its mouth.

Perhaps because he had reached the heart of the continent, or perhaps because the desert sky was too wide······.

The shadow of the moon looked as small as a crouching beast today.

The eyes of the man who had lost his partner here once darkened.

*

Flinch. I opened my eyes with a shudder.

‘If I ever go on a trip with Cornelise, the accommodation can be a small cabin.’

Huck.

In the darkness, I heard Prince Yeser’s voice.

I tried to turn my head and find him somehow. But even if I gritted my teeth and gave strength, my damn body wouldn’t budge.

To make matters worse, the air was so cold and my hands and feet were so numb that my chin was chattering.

I gasped for breath, submerged in the pitch-black twilight, or stuck, or crushed and trapped.

When I closed my eyes, everything was black, but nothing changed even when I opened my eyes, so I was overcome with fear.

Even in the midst of that, the voice echoed like a curse.

‘I do the housework, and the child fishes in the lake······.’

‘I hope my sister catches monster fish for me. Just like you did on the way here.’

A kind voice, the same as mine but clearly different, echoed through the space.

I writhed to give him an answer, but I couldn’t even twitch the root of my tongue in the end.

Get a grip, this is sleep paralysis. I’m having sleep paralysis right now. This kind of problem is nothing.

It’s not real that affects me.

Answer the prince. Right now!

“Keuh······.”

‘Ma, Mak······.’

Thump!

It felt like all the organs in my body had fallen to my feet.

My surprised body gave so much strength that my eyes seemed to burst.

It was no longer the voice of the prince I knew.

Much weaker, helpless and mournful like a dying flame······.

‘Oh······.’

It was Eliser Penetian’s last words. I couldn’t not know.

“Ah, ah······.”

All the heat seemed to be concentrated on my neck and face.

I tried to grab her somehow, to not let her go this time—I bit my tongue and struggled to save her no matter what.

However, the soul’s struggle was not reflected in the body’s movement even by an inch.

The tightly sealed vessel did not spill a single drop of ether.

A bitter taste of blood rose from beyond my throat. Keuh······!

‘Yeser······.’

“Keok, Keuheuk······! No!”

An unpleasant cry. A shrill sound between ‘No!’ and a scream.

The blood in my whole body rushed upwards, and I felt like my forehead and head were swelling and about to burst.

A hot liquid flowed down my Adam’s apple.

‘Kuluk······.’

‘Our Yeser······.’

“Euk······. Keuheuk······!”

Please, please!

‘······Didn’t you promise to let me meet him again?’

Saaa······! The blood that had been boiling suddenly cooled like ice and fell to my feet.

Coldness once again gripped the body that had been covered in heat until just now.

I blinked like a broken magic tool. Ah······.

‘When you held onto me as I was dying and swore······.’

‘-Tzzzz······’

From the middle of the pitch-black void, like the back of the moon, the crown of a knight slowly rose.

I gaped in shock. It was already a corpse that had stopped breathing and turned pale white. It was the pale face of the princess who couldn’t even close her eyes, leaving her younger siblings behind.

Eliser, covered in black liquid flowing like blood, slowly revealed herself above the darkness.

The same ink was flowing from the large hole in her stomach.

Her chapped lips did not move at all, but her voice mercilessly crushed, tore, and rushed into my eardrums.

‘You buried my corpse so carefully in the corner of your vessel······.’

I shuddered.

“No······.”

No, no, no······.

‘Now there are only thoughts about your life.’

‘Have you already forgotten me?’

“Don······.”

‘Dare you try to escape?’

No, no, no······!

“Heok, Keuheok······!”

With the fear and guilt rushing in like a tidal wave, breathing felt like a punishment. The breath going back and forth through my throat was as sharp as a blade.

Princess, Prince, Cornelise. There was no way I could have forgotten the story of the three of them. There was no way I could have erased the story of the pitiful three siblings.

However, there were too many real-world problems rushing at me to be suppressed by sadness.

I had to live the life under my chin, and I had to understand the current situation.

I had to realize my abilities and estimate the limits of the help I could receive. Otherwise······.

‘-Thud!’

“Keok!”

A hand as cold as a glacier and as hot as lava grabbed my throat.

In an instant, my body was pulled up.

‘Your loss was greater than my death.’

Fear put my conscience in its mouth and crushed it.

I crumbled under the huge molars and screamed silently.

‘-Kkkkk······’

‘Isn’t that so?’

I met the eyes of the dead. The unfocused eyes were a faded blue.

“Heoeok―!”

-Grasp!

Someone grabbed my arms tightly.

“Aaaah!”

“Princess. Princess.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I ran away! I couldn’t keep my promise······!”

“Jeong Yeser.”

Hueok!

“Haa, haa······.”

Only after a few seconds had passed did I manage to come to my senses.

It was my room.

I had visited my mom in the hospital during the day, had dinner with my family and Sir Johann in the evening, and now it was probably night.

I had been taking a break while lying on my desk, and I must have dozed off.

While breathing heavily, I hurriedly rolled my eyes to check the item in my hand first.

Old cell phone······. It’s my phone with records of my friends saved.

The laptop is also turned on here······. What time is it······.

“It’s past three in the morning.”

“Haa······. Sir Johann?”

“Oh my.”

‘You’re bleeding from your nose.’ He pulled out a piece of tissue with a calm hand and blocked my nose.

Only then did I realize that hot blood was flowing down my chin.

But the important thing was not a nosebleed. What’s more important than anything right now is······.

“I······. We decided to write our story······ as fan fiction.”

“Yes.”

“Because Mom, Eunseo, and Hyung all agreed······. Because I got permission this time······.”

“Yes.”

The cardinal looked at me with sunken eyes and answered.

I looked straight up at him.

“······I’m going to write it starting today. Every single word.”