What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 897

Work, Faith, Balance?! (10)

Yeah, if a person has the will, there’s nothing they can’t do.

So, awkwardness and discomfort can be overcome with willpower.

Maybe I should think of it as my first company dinner after joining? All I need to do is start a conversation.

“Um, I’ll formally introduce you before we eat. This is my older brother, Jung Hyun-seo. And this is my younger sister, Jung Eun-seo. She’s a college student and just turned nineteen. And this is…”

“……”

“……”

“……”

I stopped talking and turned to Cedric, who was wearing a light sky-blue dress shirt.

The man sitting at the table met my gaze directly.

Fortunately, the shirt fit him well, and he looked good enough to go to work at any company right away.

Eun-seo suddenly demanded, ‘Put my eldest brother’s wool coat on him too. The black one. And put my eldest brother’s watch on him,’ but I politely refused because I had no plans to take Cedric out of the house.

The Hwaseong’s Hyegum [a traditional Korean sword], which he had taken off with its leather strap, stood neatly against the living room wall.

Gugu, perched on the end of the sword hilt, nodded as if he found the situation interesting.

“This is Cedric Liester. You both know him well. He’s the Liester Empire’s… Crown Prince. And my friend.”

“……”

“……”

“……”

Silence crawled between the plates.

Eun-seo rolled her eyes, looking at her brother and Cedric.

They glanced at each other briefly, but only exchanged a simple greeting and didn’t say anything special.

I was starting to wonder if I should say, ‘Let’s eat,’ or not.

Come to think of it, I’m not usually a very sociable person. Oops.

“…That…”

Oh no, my will was good, but my execution is the problem.

But it’s not really a situation where Eun-seo, the youngest, can step in.

“…I’m in your debt.”

“Gasp.”

While I was racking my brain, Cedric spoke first!

“…I’ve heard a lot.”

“Hukk.”

Then Jung Hyun-seo replied quietly. Eun-seo made a sound similar to mine, like she was out of breath.

I quickly raised the corners of my mouth and winked at Cedric.

Don’t pick it up now, don’t pick up your spoon now. You grab it when the adults do first.

It doesn’t matter if you’re with friends, but not today! Just wait until my brother tastes the Cheonggukjang [a pungent Korean stew]…

-Clatter

Seidi, no! Wait!

“…It’s okay for my taste. I put plenty of well-fermented kimchi in it, so mix it with rice and eat it.”

“Thank you for the meal.”

“Looks delicious! Thank you for the meal. Yay.”

I quickly picked up my spoon and greeted them, and Eun-seo quickly added her words.

Cedric seemed to vaguely understand the ‘custom of elders picking up their spoons first’ only then.

He watched what I did, slowly took a bite of multigrain rice, and also picked up a piece of ketchup-covered egg roll (he raised one eyebrow at me as if he liked the taste).

Fortunately, he was quite skilled with chopsticks because I had taught him when I was on the continent.

Since he had received royal education from birth, his table manners were neat and tidy, and he was surprisingly interested in various side dishes…

“This is delicious. Recommended. It’s sweet and salty, so it’s perfect as a side dish.”

“……”

“…You’re eating well. Do you like it?”

“Not bad.”

It seemed like he had succeeded in gaining Eun-seo’s favor, at least.

Of course, Eun-seo seemed to like Cedric’s appearance very much from the beginning.

I raised the corners of my mouth and put some more braised burdock strips on his rice bowl.

Then Cedric chewed and swallowed the side dish and multigrain rice heartily again, and took his cleanly emptied spoon to the Cheonggukjang soup bowl.

He seemed to be in high spirits, as if he was satisfied with the progress so far. This is a little nerve-wracking…

“……”

“……”

“……”

The man’s Adam’s apple moved!

“…It’s unique, but… as you said, it has flavor.”

“Hahaha.”

He tasted the Cheonggukjang soup a few more times as if he were drinking soup, and was a little wary of the tofu in the stew.

This time, I laughed out loud and explained what tofu was.

Cedric was a man with numerous monster subjugation and war experiences before he was a precious royal grandson.

Contrary to his seemingly picky first impression, he didn’t have strong preferences about food and had a personality that allowed him to eat whatever was given to him in large quantities, regardless of the time or place (David once said that he had never worried about Cedric’s meals when he was young).

Maybe my worries were unfounded…

“It’s good to see you eating well. So, how did you end up here?”

“Ahem.”

“Cough.”

“……”

God help me, Jung Hyun-seo made a surprise attack!

“Jung Ye-seo has to go to work tomorrow, and you’re His Highness the Crown Prince, so you must be busy right now. I was wondering what brought you all the way here.”

“……”

“……”

“……”

I can’t breathe well.

No, I was curious about that too, but why do I feel so distant when my brother asks?

“It’s absurd to send Liester’s Gungju [Princess] without any guards.”

“……”

The man answered bluntly and looked at me.

“The royal family should prepare for the worst.”

“The worst being?”

My brother asked back while eating with his chopsticks.

In an instant, I was sincerely relieved that Cedric was a magician with metal abilities.

No, Jung Ye-seo. Why are you thinking such ominous thoughts?

“A situation may arise where I have to take Serenite back.”

“What?”

‘Heeik.’ Eun-seo’s eyebrows rose to the top of her forehead, with a little exaggeration.

I kept my eyes on the two of them while mixing the tofu and well-fermented kimchi from the Cheonggukjang with rice.

My brother’s dark eyes were aimed at Cedric like a gun, and the tension was as clear as if it could be grasped. Gulp…

“Is there any guarantee that the Gungju won’t do something more foolish than jumping off this veranda?”

Delicious… The seasoning of the Cheonggukjang is truly fantastic.

“It sounds like you’re saying it’s our fault for not stopping her.”

“I can’t deny that.”

“Ha, then let me ask you one thing. Whose fault is it that she got stabbed alone in the Shinseong and died once?”

“Cough.”

Wow, I almost choked while drinking Dongchimi soup [a type of radish water kimchi]!

I quickly got up from my seat and got water from the water purifier.

Eun-seo gestured to me, ‘Mine too! Mine too!’ so I took out three more cups.

Whether it was unfortunate or fortunate, the topic had already passed its peak when I came back with the water cups on a tray.

God, thank you!

-Clatter!

“Water, drink if you need water.”

“…You know well. Jung Ye-seo can’t be controlled by either of you, and she’s not a child who needs to be controlled. So, let’s each keep an eye on her.”

“I agree.”

It seemed that the conversation was finally coming to an end with Cedric’s answer.

Soon, my brother, who had left his seat, took something out of the kimchi refrigerator and took it to the cooking table.

He must be in a good mood because the guest ate well, and he seemed to be trying to serve a new side dish…

“Holy…”

“Oh my god.”

-Clatter

Hey, crazy! Jung Hyun-seo brought out fermented skate salad!

“Eat deliciously. You seem to like the food since you’re talking back so well.”

“……”

“If you come in the winter, let’s eat boiled pork with oyster kimchi together. Oh, do you know that Jung Ye-seo eats Gwamegi [half-dried herring or mackerel] well?”

You’re only picking things that Koreans are divided on.

Mister! Just say you hate me to death!

“I wonder if he likes live octopus.”

“……”

My brother added in a terrifying voice.

I whispered, ‘You don’t have to force yourself to eat it,’ in case Cedric would overdo it.

But even though he was a crown prince born and raised in another world, he seemed to know that it wasn’t polite to refuse the food prepared by the host.

He stared at the blood-red raw fish salad like the Pisces of Hyegum for a long time, and finally—

-Grab!

“Wow, he really ate it!”

He put skate, cucumber, and water parsley all in his mouth!

“Ooh…”

“……”

“……”

Our three siblings instinctively slowed down our eating speed and watched him.

We were staring at him so intently as he chewed and swallowed that we were all embarrassed.

Is he going to say ‘Not bad’ again this time? Or is he going to dislike it because it’s raw fish?

It’s not fermented skate, so it might be edible…

“…Spicy.”

“Pfft.”

I burst out laughing at the unexpected two words.

Eun-seo, as well as Jung Hyun-seo, burst out laughing, as if it was quite an impressive reaction.

The man with a frown glared at me with a hot gaze, but I couldn’t comfort him properly for a while because I was giggling.

All I did was hand him a cool glass of water and say a few words of praise.

That’s right, a seasoned side dish with a lot of red pepper powder is too spicy for a beginner in Korean food.

“You did well. You worked hard. It must have been unfamiliar since it was your first time eating it, but you really tried. Hahaha…”

“……”

Cedric glared at me while gulping down water.

Why is he drinking water so well today? Now, if I want you to drink water, I just have to give you spicy food.

I patted his back again with a smile.

Then the man frowned even more.

*

That night.

-Rustle, rustle…

In the end, it was decided that Cedric would spend the night at our house.

It was a combination of our family’s philosophy that guests should be treated properly once they come, and the inevitable ‘dimensional circumstances.’

He came from a place farther than a foreign country, so it felt a little wrong to just feed him one meal and send him back, and even though he bickered with my brother, Cedric was like a child to him anyway.

I was now skillfully laying out a blanket under the bed and placing pillows and cushions.

I wondered if I should just give him the bed, but it would be too narrow anyway, so I decided to make a large space on the floor.

“…I couldn’t have imagined this just last month.”

A murmur of admiration flowed out.

At that time, Sir John was here, and I was terrified every night that he would never see Herit again.

Will we ever be able to reunite?

If not, can we at least exchange a short greeting, even just once?

I was scared and frustrated, and my heart pounded easily, and then I kept falling to the underground parking lot with the bowl…

-Knock knock

“……”

It feels like it was really just the other day, but my best friend crossed the dimensional door and is in my house.

I keep chuckling at the dreamlike situation…

“Serenite.”

“Hmm? Your Highness?”

I turned to the man standing in the doorway.

His hair was wet as if he had just washed, and he had a white towel around his neck.

In his hand was a glass of cool water that I had poured for him earlier…

“This place… The water tastes strange.”

“Yes?”

What? I blinked and straightened my back.

That’s just plain water from the purifier? Not barley tea or corn tea…

“I feel uncomfortable.”

“…Huh?”

…Wait a minute. I had a strange feeling.

Are you having water trouble?