What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 92

#092 He Has a Secret (3)

It took about 20 minutes for the situation to settle down.

I had to promise the Prince that I would never pass on the ether supply to another priest until the annual prayer meeting was over.

I reminded Christel several times that I was a homebody with no political ambitions.

It was understandable that she was acting like a child, since she was in a teenager’s body and being treated like one.

But I was worried that the Prince, who was already twenty-four, was sometimes too immature.

Could ‘Saydie’ be the main body?

“I also want to help Countess Blanquer. The Young Duke, that bastard… I don’t think the current Young Duke should be in that position. Besides, he did that to his younger sibling, so he should be punished no matter what. We have to take away what he values most, right in front of his eyes.”

Christel spat out the words through her teeth.

She seemed to be trying not to curse her brother, the Young Duke Blanquer, in front of Eva.

I guess she already did enough of that on the day of the duel.

“But I don’t know how to help you.”

“I have a letter that I wrote to my parents.”

Eva replied with a nervous face. I rummaged through my clothes and took out a neatly folded letter.

I had received it from Eva before the opera, but I hadn’t opened it until now.

Prince Cedrick, who received the letter from me, glanced through the contents and immediately handed the paper to Christel.

It was difficult to grasp his impressions because he had no change in expression.

“What do you think? Is it enough to persuade the Duke and Duchess?”

“Hmm. Just a moment.”

Christel replied, examining the letter at my question. Her blue-gray eyes shone carefully.

“We need to decide on a route. Whether to send it as certified mail, or in the form of an appeal that stimulates the parents’ tears. The sentences are a bit disorganized right now.”

“What is certified mail?”

Eva tilted her head and asked Christel.

I was a little nervous and looked at the Prince.

I wondered if there was a concept like certified mail in this world.

The Prince also had a slightly puzzled look. I guess there isn’t.

“Well, um. It’s like an official document. Official mail has a different format than private mail.”

It was a plausible explanation. Then Eva carefully spoke to us.

“My parents and my siblings aren’t that close… They do listen to me when I whine, but this time I want to find my place like an adult.”

It was a dignified attitude. I smiled softly and poured lavender tea into the young lady’s cup.

The child smiled brightly at the fragrant scent spreading through the air.

Christel stroked Eva’s red curly hair.

“Then trust your aunt, no, your sister. Your sister is good at writing official documents.”

“S, sister…”

Eva blushed and rejoiced.

Since the only brother she had never acted like a brother, it must have been the first time she had received such warm treatment as a sibling.

When I handed her the quill I had brought, Christel began to write new content on the back of the letter paper.

I pushed the opera cake closer so that she could eat comfortably while writing.

I gave Eva a dessert spoon along with a Poire Belle Hélène [a pear poached in sugar syrup and vanilla, served with chocolate sauce].

The first sentence was completed in an instant.

‘1. I wish you and your territory endless development.’

No, it’s a real official document.

I held back my laughter and placed a chouquette [a small, round pastry] on the Prince’s empty plate.

Unlike Christel, who liked spicy food, this guy preferred bland flavors.

“Is it okay to send it as it is?”

“No.”

The Prince answered immediately at my question. He was staring at the chouquette. I didn’t put any poison in it.

“After becoming the Young Duke, he must have planted his people in the family.”

I nodded. That was right.

Even if it was the Duke and Duchess’s territory, there was no way the Young Duke’s henchmen wouldn’t be inside.

There was a high possibility that Eva’s mail would not be delivered to her parents immediately, or that it would be taken away altogether.

I racked my brains while looking at the two concentrated young ladies.

“The Crown Prince’s investiture ceremony.”

The Prince, who was chewing on the chouquette, met my gaze.

It used to be hard to feed him even a piece of jerky, but he has grown a lot.

“I heard that the invitations for the nobles will be sent out this week. What if we use that?”

“…”

“It’s a precious mail sent with the imperial crest. The servants or the Young Duke won’t be able to open it. The Duke and Duchess will be the first to check it. What if we enclose the young lady’s letter there?”

He seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, then swallowed the chouquette and replied.

“The imperial family might think they are manipulating the young lady.”

“But it’s also true that the Young Duke insulted Your Highness and brought great dishonor to the family. Since the Duke and Duchess don’t have equal affection for their siblings, they won’t particularly try to protect their son if they know Eva has a good reason.”

“…Not bad.”

“Thank you.”

I smiled brightly.

Although the words were short, the Prince’s words contained the meaning that he would use his crest as I wanted.

It was clear that helping Eva and replacing the Young Duke was a worthwhile deal for him to calculate.

Things worked out well. Now the decision is up to the Duke and Duchess.

I started eating the rice pudding with caramel on the surface.

The people at the Count’s residence also had good skills.

…Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve come to a friend’s house since I possessed this body.

I was too distracted to bring a housewarming gift.

“After finishing this, shall we have a pajama party tonight? Just the three of us, including Elizabeth.”

“What is a pajama party?”

“Oh my. It’s when you wear pajamas and play together at night. Chatting, drinking, and having pillow fights?”

“Wow. That sounds fun!”

Eva’s eyes sparkled as Christel explained. It was a good sight.

I’m glad I connected them.

“Let’s go shopping tomorrow. The F/W [Fall/Winter] new arrivals have already arrived at the Leugau General Trading Post. I’ll teach you how to overspend.”

“Okay!”

What are you teaching the child! I choked on the pudding in my throat.

“Young Lady, please guide Eva so that she can become a good Young Duchess.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll teach her the joy of spending money on others too.”

Is this okay? I smiled bitterly.

I can’t separate them now, so I should just get help from the middle.

“That… If you don’t mind, could you buy one for me too?”

“Oh my. What’s wrong, Prince?”

Christel rejoiced with a bright face.

I remembered that Ganael and Benjamin had a hard time preparing birthday presents because I usually didn’t want anything.

But this time, it wasn’t my stuff that I needed.

“It’s my first time coming to the Count’s residence, and I couldn’t prepare a proper gift. I’ll give you the money.”

“Ah, you’re looking for a housewarming gift.”

She instantly had a ‘I knew it’ look on her face.

Eva looked back and forth between me and Christel and asked.

“Can’t Your Highness go shopping yourself?”

“I can’t go outside the Imperial Palace.”

I replied. Eva’s face became even more subtle.

“This is outside the Imperial Palace too. I heard you’re staying here for a few days. Wouldn’t it be okay to go out together?”

“Well. That’s…”

I ambiguously raised the corners of my mouth and looked at the Prince.

Christel and Eva’s gazes also gathered on him. He was silently eating the last chouquette.

Whether I can go somewhere or not was a matter only the Riester imperial family could decide.

It would be nice to see the items in person, hear the explanations, and buy them, but since there was a high possibility that it wouldn’t work, I asked for a favor.

The Prince wiped his mouth elegantly with a napkin.

“I’ll get up first.”

Then, he suddenly opened his mouth and got up. It was the attitude of someone who was done with his business.

Our three eyes widened at the sudden words.

Ttuksim, who was on his shoulder, flew up and landed on Christel’s crown.

“Suddenly?”

“…”

The man ignored Christel’s question and walked towards the entrance of the greenhouse.

Leia and Perry, who had woken up from their nap, slowly came down from the stone.

It seemed like they were going to follow the Prince after a long time.

I stroked the backs of the guys passing by my feet once each.

It meant not to cause too much trouble.

“I guess the saying ‘The Ice Prince’ is true.”

Eva muttered in a slightly dejected voice.

The gap between personality and face is big, but it’s good that he doesn’t get angry for not being able to go out.

“I’m okay. I like being indoors. I’m uncomfortable with crowded places.”

-Squeak

As I said to soothe her, Demi, who had approached, rubbed her body against my calf.

The young lady pouted her lips slightly. I should organize my notebook tomorrow.

*

“Eva considered His Highness the Prince as a marriage partner? Not a duel?”

Christel, who had a lot of alcohol in her, said loudly.

Elizabeth couldn’t hold back her laughter and buried her face in the pillow.

Her new friend said something so funny every time she opened her mouth.

Some people occasionally pointed out that she wasn’t like this before she got sick, but Elizabeth liked the ‘new’ Christel very much.

The young lady was a hero who had defeated the demons, and she was a down-to-earth and cheerful person.

“Because she’s a cousin, she can’t get married anyway.”

“Still, sixteen and twenty-four? She’s a daughter, a daughter!”

“Puhuhut.”

And she would make her laugh with words that didn’t suit her age, like now.

Elizabeth sobbed, completely forgetting that the number also applied to her.

A pleasant buzz was going around. Christel sipped the cognac warmed by her body temperature.

On the huge bed, two people sprawled out and one girl who had gone to dreamland were enjoying a pajama party.

“The baby drank a glass of mulled wine and fell asleep.”

“She must have been tired from writing a letter to her parents.”

“I think I taught her pillow fights too intensely.”

Christel said.

While Elizabeth was tucking Eva’s hair behind her ear, the young lady poured dry gin into the young countess’s empty glass.

“When you’re sixteen, you should do everything you want to do. You can consider marriage later. If you want power, you can have power, learn what you want to learn, and travel. Make a lot of friends.”

It was another adult-like tone. The young countess chuckled as she received the glass.

But Christel raised one index finger.

“Of course, my fiancé is an exception. He’s different from the start. How can I beat a kid who’s been thinking about marriage since he was six years old.”

Elizabeth laughed loudly and got off the bed.

As she was talking about age, saying what sixteen was like, she suddenly thought of something she wanted to show Christel.

She stood barefoot on the floor and began to rummage through the bedroom drawers.

Christel, who was tilting her glass and admiring the various colors of cognac, looked at her friend who wasn’t coming back.

“Lady Elizabeth?”

“I found it. Look at this, Young Lady.”

Elizabeth, who had returned to the bed, handed over a small bundle.

Inside were old and faded cards and papers.

“What is this?”

“These are letters I exchanged with my friends when I was young.”

“Wow.”

Christel opened each of the colorful pieces of paper one by one.

The crooked handwriting and ungrammatical sentences were cute and funny.

As befits children’s writing, the contents were all trivial.

Still, as children of noble families, it was cute that they wrote their names as cool as possible at the end.

“This is what Cedrick sent. Let’s see, he was eleven years old.”

“Does that person even know how to ask after someone’s well-being?”

“Hahahaha.”

Elizabeth laughed loudly. Christel chuckled along and read the card.

Perhaps because she had drunk quite a bit of high-alcohol liquor, the letters were slowly not entering her head.

She squeezed her eyes shut once and looked down to the bottom.

Really, she did it without thinking.

“…Is this His Highness’s middle name?”

“Huh?”

At Christel’s words, Elizabeth’s gray eyes slowly widened.

The two felt the alcohol clear in an instant. The young countess quickly examined the card.

The word that was wonderfully placed between ‘Cedrick’ and ‘Riester’ was visible.

“…”

“That’s right.”

“Ah, it’s a secret…”

Elizabeth rubbed her face and lay down on the bed. Then she started groaning.

Christel couldn’t believe what she had just seen and gasped.

This was information that could not be known unless it was a close family member, best friend, or lover.

I’ll buy a brain that didn’t see it.

“The middle name is very ironic.”

“Yes?”

“It’s so funny that he has this name with that personality. Is it like ‘Open Church Closed’ [a humorous way of saying someone is hypocritical]?”

“Huh?”

Elizabeth asked with half-closed eyes.

She was so surprised that she opened her jaw wide, but she seemed sleepy when her head touched the bed.

Well, she was someone who had worked full-time today.

Looking at that, Christel’s eyelids also became heavy.

She was laughing in disbelief, but apart from that, her head kept tilting.

She didn’t resist and lay down right away.

The last thing she saw was Elizabeth’s glass on the drawer.

I left that there…

But is that really his middle name? The Prince is a confining bastard.