What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 88

#088 The Ghost of Padtrois (3)

-Clang!

“Why is a Mana Beast here? No, wait… what is this thing?”

Prince Cedric whispered, his voice low.

“It’s a magical tool that detects the mana signature of Mana Beasts,” I explained.

He reached out towards the bell I was holding, carefully channeling red mana into it while wearing gloves.

Christel and I watched in silence.

Soon, the Prince’s power settled into the magical tool. The bell, which had been emitting a soft white light, went silent as if nothing had happened. It no longer rang or shone. Surprised, I turned to the Prince.

I laughed, perhaps inappropriately for the situation.

“Thank you.”

“……”

“I didn’t realize you gave me such a useful item. I’ll put it to good use.”

I had been meaning to express my gratitude, but it turned out to be even more valuable than I had thought. It was a necessary magical tool for someone like me, who had poor mana sensitivity.

“Did you get it as a birthday present?” Christel whispered, her eyes sparkling in the darkness.

I nodded and changed the subject. There was something more important to discuss right now.

“The Royal Capital Defense Force searched the theater, but they said they couldn’t find any traces of a Mana Beast. It’s eerily quiet, even now.”

I tilted my chin slightly. The curtain had risen, and the stage of the opera house was brightly lit.

Panels with delicately painted backgrounds glided in from both sides.

The theater was peaceful, without any sign of commotion.

“I don’t sense any suspicious mana,” said one of my companions.

“Me neither. If there was a Mana Beast, I would have detected it by now,” added the other.

I frowned slightly.

Just as there was a barrier in the Imperial Palace to prevent Mana Beasts from entering, the outskirts of the Royal Capital were guarded by the Royal Capital Defense Force.

It was said that most Mana Beasts were eliminated before they could even cross the border. Then…

“Your Highness, where did you acquire this bell? Could you have been… scammed?”

Christel whispered seriously.

She pointed to the bell in my hand and offered to accompany me to get a refund if I wanted. The Prince glared at her, his eyes blazing.

“My father made it.”

“Oh. It’s a *really* high-quality scam then. A magical tool with fraudulent abilities.”

She turned away without changing her expression. I looked back and forth between the two.

The bell that rang softly in response to a Mana Beast’s mana, and the others who couldn’t detect any Mana Beast presence.

However, since the magical tool was a handmade item by ‘Alexandre, the Great Archmage,’ it was hard to believe it was defective.

I felt the cool touch of the crystal and spoke.

“Could the Mana Beast be too weak to detect?”

“Huh?”

I carefully put the bell back into my coat pocket.

Since it was my father’s keepsake, I felt like I should take better care of it. Even though she’s my friend, I wondered if I should receive something like this.

“If it entered the city without being noticed by the Royal Capital Defense Force, and it’s not being detected by your mana sensitivity, then isn’t there only one explanation? It must be an entity with very little mana.”

Three pairs of eyes met quickly.

The only commotion related to Mana Beasts in the Royal Capital recently was the rumor of a ghost appearing in the theater.

In other words, the Mana Beast wasn’t strong enough to threaten lives or cause a major incident.

I glanced back.

Benjamin, Ganael, and David’s eyes were fixed on us, not the stage.

They seemed curious about what was going on since we kept huddling together and whispering.

“First, we need to evacuate the audience,” I started to say.

“Welcome! We sincerely welcome the audience who came to the opening performance of !”

At that moment, a middle-aged woman rushed onto the stage. I stopped talking and looked at her.

It was Andre, the owner of the opera house, who had guided me to box seat number 5.

Unlike my serious mood, her expression was very bright.

“The Atal Opera Company is doing its best to satisfy your discerning eyes and ears today! Half of the actors are still in the bathroom because they were too nervous. Ah, the other half are still unconscious! It’s so hard to wake them up like this!”

“Hahahaha!”

The nobles fluttered their fans and burst into laughter.

I wondered how much of what she said was a joke. The Countess continued.

“Then, before we meet Daphnis and Chloe [characters in the play], let’s enjoy a wonderful dance from our dancers. It’s from Act 3…”

She flipped through the script she had brought and smiled brightly.

The thin corners of her lips and the ends of her voice seemed to tremble subtly. It was a clear stall for time.

“It’s the corps de ballet’s [the main ballet ensemble] ensemble dance. It’s all free!”

With thunderous applause, the orchestra began to play music.

At the same time, dancers dressed in ballet costumes came onto the stage. The Prince stood up from his seat, and, as if by chance, someone knocked on the door of the box seat.

David, who had noticed that something was wrong, quickly greeted the guest.

The light from the hallway illuminated the box seat. A gray-haired employee was standing at the door.

-Sreung!

“Your Highness.”

I was horrified and jumped up from my chair.

The Prince, who had drawn his Hyegeom [likely a type of sword], immediately aimed it at the stranger’s neck!

“You will pay for your sins of mocking the Imperial Family!”

“Your, Your Highness! That, that is…”

The man sat down on the floor, his face pale.

Christel, who had already grabbed the french fries, was diligently eating the sauce-covered parts.

She didn’t seem to have any intention of stopping him, not even a little bit. In the end, I stepped forward.

“Your Highness, please calm down. We should at least hear what the theater has to say. It’s not too late to punish them when the crime is revealed.”

I understood why he was angry.

If they knew about the existence of the Mana Beast and still forced the performance and invited the Imperial Family, then the crime was severe.

But right now, we couldn’t know anything, and that man wasn’t the person in charge here.

“Elizabeth is also outside. Please let the Royal Guards do their job,” I said.

The Prince glared at the employee as if he would burn him on the spot, then slowly sheathed his sword. I breathed a small sigh of relief. It was then.

-Knock knock

Another guest, who knocked on the open door, lowered his head and looked inside the box seat.

My eyes met with mint-colored eyes.

“Sir Haines?”

“Hello, Prince. Your Highness. I came to bring Princess Christel’s bag.”

His white hair fluttered. He smiled and shook a small handbag.

Christel, who had swallowed the fries, finally made a ‘That’s right!’ sound.

…Can we even catch the Mana Beast with this team?

*

Of course. I nodded, thinking so.

Elizabeth, who had hurriedly entered the theater after hearing the message, deployed most of the Royal Guards she had brought into the audience.

We didn’t need escorts anyway.

The audience was laughing and enjoying the dancers’ dance, completely unaware of what was happening.

Frederic’s reign was said to be a time of peace and prosperity, so it was good that they had no worries.

“It’s all my fault, Your Highness.”

In the back of the theater, the theater owner knelt on one knee on the floor of a spacious office.

The white cravat folded in the shape of a butterfly fluttered.

It was Elizabeth, the Deputy Commander of the Royal Guard, who spoke instead of the Prince.

“Countess Judith Andre. Is it true that there is a Mana Beast in the theater?”

“That is… We don’t know either.”

The middle-aged woman raised her waist slightly and answered.

The Countess was sweating, but she was very calm.

I could sense the experience she had gained from running the theater and dealing with various incidents.

Of course, today was the first time for her to be in such an… *honorable* situation.

“The reason why the performance was postponed was because both of the lead actors lost consciousness. But whether that’s because of the Mana Beast…”

Both of them? This is really suspicious.

“Wasn’t there a rumor? The rumor that a ghost appeared and stole the souls of the actors.”

I asked. Countess Andre swallowed dryly as she looked at me.

“Your Highness’s point is valid. In fact, some actors lost consciousness during rehearsals. But we just thought that those who failed to control their condition had fainted. It can happen if you’re under a lot of stress. Later, when they came to their senses, they were all fine without any pain.”

The theater owner explained. Christel chimed in.

“Then why did the rumor that there was a ghost spread? Was it just for promotion? I heard that the performance is sold out every year without that.”

“That is…”

The Countess took a handkerchief out of her black jacket pocket and wiped her forehead.

“When the actors lost consciousness, there were never any witnesses. That’s why I think such nonsense spread.”

“Countess. A little kid at that time–”

“Eric!”

The middle-aged man who had collapsed in front of the Prince in the box seat a little while ago carefully intervened, but was scolded by the Countess.

I narrowed my eyes slyly. There’s something going on.

“Did you say Eric? Please explain what happened.”

Elizabeth said calmly.

Her eyes were sharp, and her voice was about half a tone lower in Deputy Commander mode, creating a very solemn atmosphere.

The man bowed in front of her.

“Yes, that is… There were three incidents in which the actors fainted during rehearsals. There were no witnesses in two of them, and one of them… A newly hired errand boy said he saw a scary sight.”

“Continue.”

“He went to the dressing room to bring costumes and saw a man and a woman kissing. The atmosphere was so private that he hurriedly closed the door… Through the crack in the door, he said he saw the actress collapse and the actor transform.”

“What does that mean?”

I tilted my head, adding a comment. Eric hesitated.

“…I know it sounds ridiculous. The actor who kissed the actress is said to have transformed into the same appearance as the actress. The errand boy screamed and ran down the hallway to me.”

“Where is that child now?”

“He quit three days later and went back to his hometown, Prince.”

The Countess, who was listening, sighed deeply.

It was certainly a secret story that wouldn’t be good for the theater’s image.

Elizabeth, who looked at the Prince’s face, gestured, and the Royal Guards took Countess Andre and Eric out of the office.

The three servants quietly took their seats on the sofa.

They seemed to sense that our conversation would be long.

Me, Christel, the Prince, Elizabeth, and Sir Haines stood in a circle.

“It’s better to assume that there is a Mana Beast,” Elizabeth said. I nodded in agreement.

“It’s so weak that you can’t feel it, and only the magical tool can barely detect it. Judging from the fact that it kissed and changed its appearance, it seems to absorb mana and make it its own.”

It wouldn’t be Aether [a type of pure, holy mana]. Holy Aether is like poison to Mana Beasts.

But whatever the purpose, the mana in the body of an ordinary person who is not a wizard would be far from enough.

“It might be hungry. Or injured, or young.”

I listened to Christel’s speculation and pondered.

I had recently seen a similar Mana Beast in the compendium [referring to a book or database of Mana Beasts]. It was when I was searching through the book, wondering if Stubborn [likely a pet or animal companion] was a disguised Mana Beast.

There were very few Mana Beasts that could change their appearance, and one of them, a Pokemon-like creature, was roughly similar to this one.

“I feel like I remember it. It’s a black, round Mana Beast that floats in the air and absorbs the mana of living things. I read that it lives deep in the forest.”

What was its name? It was frustrating that I didn’t have a status window or memory skills for the first time in a long time.

Author, if you really want to help the Prince, give me something too!

“It’s ‘Esprit’. It’s a Mana Beast that is often found even in the mountains of the Divine Kingdom. The main body is very weak, so even ordinary people can catch it,” Sir Haines said kindly. I opened my eyes wide.

“That’s right! That’s what I saw. I heard that it also eats the leftovers left by other Mana Beasts or the corpses of Mana Beasts.”

“Why is a Mana Beast that lives in a deep forest in the Royal Capital?” The Prince, who had been silent, opened his mouth. *You* don’t know either, so how would *I* know?

“It’s highly likely that its habitat was destroyed or it lost its group. Has there been a major subjugation in the mountains recently?” Saying that, Sir Haines smiled. Four pairs of eyes simultaneously turned to the Prince.

The orange eyes narrowed.

“It’s my fault.”

I smiled bitterly.

It was definitely a good thing that the Prince had scorched the mountain range in the south in the Great Mana Beast Subjugation, but I didn’t know that such a backlash would occur.

I didn’t know that the surviving Mana Beast would come to the capital alone from there.

“It’s a relief that it doesn’t harm people, but how can we catch it?” Elizabeth asked. This time, the eyes of the four of us were focused on Sir Haines.

Even when he smiled and gave his answer, I had no idea what the future would hold in 30 minutes.

I had no idea that the Prince and Christel would almost kiss, or that they would finally make a lot of progress.

I should have had a camera! Jung Eun-seo!