What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 93

#093 Head-On Clash (1)

The next day was peaceful as well.

“You may leave now.”

“Yes, yes.”

At Benjamin’s words, the servants of Count Mute’s residence stirred in surprise and began to move.

I smiled and looked towards them.

Some of them, meeting my gaze, hesitated and even bumped into each other.

Feeling like I was becoming a hindrance if I watched any longer, I turned my attention to my notebook.

Thanks to the wide-open balcony, the summer air of Hwangdo flowed in.

It was a hot day, but it was perfect to take a bite of the sweet and refreshing Peach Melba.

I meticulously reviewed the contents of the notebook I had been keeping.

“Hmm.”

First, I know about the abilities I possess.

I absorbed the power residing in the sacred artifact, ‘The Chalice of Wishes,’ and as a result, I possess a large amount of ether in its purest form.

However, like other priests, overusing it at once leads to ether depletion, and similarly, if I cause an ether surge, my body cannot handle it.

I fainted in both cases.

I drew a long arrow with the tip of my quill.

The reason I was possessed as ‘Duke 퇴계 [a high-ranking noble title]’ was because someone had made a wish upon the Chalice.

So, I tried praying to another sacred artifact, ‘The Hyegeom Sword of Mars,’ to send me back home.

Of course, nothing happened.

The author probably doesn’t intend to let me go until Prince Yesuh’s survival is confirmed.

Another arrow emerged from the pen tip, heading in the opposite direction.

Christel and Prince Cedric. From the first day of my possession, I decided not to get involved with these two.

They are the official couple of Duke 퇴계, and Prince Yesuh is a character who sacrifices himself for their love.

To survive, the top priority was not to form relationships with the main characters. But…

“It seems you are curious about the adventures of the Prince and his friends.”

Ganael said, closing the door. I gave the boy an ambiguous smile.

Unlike the thoroughly trained imperial palace servants, the Count’s servants seemed eager to talk to me.

Eyes mixed with fondness and curiosity followed me all day long.

So, that was the problem. Friends.

I ended up becoming friends with the main characters without meaning to, that’s what I mean.

“Umm…”

I filled my cheeks with peaches soaked in syrup and vanilla ice cream.

When my mouth gets cold, the back of my head should tingle and I should snap out of it, but when I think of them, even that doesn’t happen, and it’s just delicious.

This was the result of my efforts to avoid them in my own way.

I even tried to be rude, but the Prince’s position as the best in this field was too solid.

It was difficult to abandon the personality I had lived with my whole life.

I tried to live by only taking care of the people I cared about and those around me, but when I came to my senses, this was the situation.

“Do I seem close to them?”

“You’ve actually become very close.”

“Yes! Very much so!”

Benjamin and Ganael reacted instantly, even though I didn’t say who ‘them’ was.

I couldn’t find a suitable answer.

I knew best that it was troublesome to become attached to the people here, especially the main characters.

I have to go home someday, but I didn’t want to hurt each other.

But I seemed to be just an ordinary person, so there was no way around it.

A normal human being without the mental fortitude or the skill to block emotions.

“It’s difficult.”

I muttered.

I have to go back home where Jungeunseo and my brother are, but I can’t think of any other way.

But I couldn’t give up either.

I emptied the spoon cleanly and opened a new page in my notebook.

Anyway, I had promised to be with the two main characters until the annual prayer meeting.

Then it would be better to prepare for what would happen next, even a little.

“Benjamin. Could I get what I asked for now?”

“Yes, here it is.”

Benjamin took a piece of paper out of his inner pocket.

“Thank you.”

“Please call me anytime if you need more detailed information.”

I nodded and inserted what he handed me between the pages of my notebook.

It was nothing special, just a table with the main events scheduled for the second half of the year.

As a hostage, I naturally had no set schedule.

However, knowing the publicly announced imperial schedules or the empire’s annual events in advance would be helpful in some way.

And who knows? As I read, the contents of Duke 퇴계 that Jungeunseo told me might suddenly come to mind.

“Then shall we go down now?”

I said brightly.

I had lunch and organized my notebook, so it was time to go give Sir Haines some healing power.

After coming back, I would rest for a while and then memorize a new healing circle, or so I thought,

-Tap tap, tap tap

Suddenly, I thought it was raining. It was the sound of knocking on the open balcony door.

We quickly turned our heads.

“Dduk-shim, what are you doing there?”

A small wren was fluttering its wings and pecking at the glass door with its beak.

I put the notebook in my arms and quickly approached the balcony.

I thought it was in the garden with the red pandas.

-Tap, tap tap

“No, the window hurts. If it breaks, you’ll get hurt too. Come here.”

I petted it a lot this morning, why is it suddenly like this? I reached out a hand to it.

Dduk-shim tilted its body and landed on my index finger, then fluttered down to the ground.

Its mood was as fickle as boiling water…

“Huh?”

I blinked. I saw a row of imperial carriages lined up right in front of the mansion, and,

“Why is he there?”

An excessively handsome black-haired man was looking up at the balcony.

The orange eyes that met mine were even more brilliant in the early summer sunlight.

Dduk-shim, sitting on his head, chirped, looking like it didn’t know anything.

Was he calling me out on the Prince’s errand?

I was about to open my mouth, wondering if he wanted me to return to the palace right away, but his lips moved first.

‘Shopping.’

…What?

*

In the ‘Reugo General Trading Post,’ which was so wide it was vast, we were the only four customers.

It was because the Prince had rented the entire place for the afternoon.

According to the explanation of the attendant David, he used his private funds, but it was truly a jaw-dropping expenditure.

Christel marveled quietly, saying, ‘This is worth the name [This is what you’d expect from someone of his status].’

I never thought I would meet a personal shopper here, whom I had never actually seen in Korea.

Is this what they call VVIP shopping [Very Very Important Person shopping, a luxury shopping experience]?

“Give me everything from here to there!”

“Good job, Eva. You learn ten things from teaching one.”

Christel gently stroked Eva’s curly hair.

Eva seemed very pleased with the compliment, and she continued to direct the trading post with her hands on her hips.

The employees couldn’t stop packing for a moment at the command of the high-ranking young lady.

Eva, unable to suppress 2% of her villainous instincts, would say things like, ‘Why are you so slow? Did you eat escargot [snails] today?’ and ‘If you don’t have string, you can tie it with silk, right?’ without any malice.

Mostly, apologies and amends were my responsibility.

“This is for the Prince. Because the Prince is white and blonde.”

“…Thank you. I will use it and wear it well.”

Eva, who had finished paying at the fifth store, handed me a large paper bag.

One of the employees following behind would end up carrying it, but she said that the item must be checked directly.

The young lady then handed a large load to the Prince as well. He looked very troubled.

“And this… is my small token of sincerity to His Highness. Because His Highness shines enchantingly like Betelgeuse [a bright star] in the night sky, and possesses eyes like a sunset lake.”

Isn’t the difference in modifiers too much?

I thought so for a moment, but I gladly opened Eva’s gift.

There were several gold-colored formal dresses studded with glittering diamonds, and white silk shirts.

There was also a pile of various accessories.

I wouldn’t be able to show it to the head of the costume department even if I took it to the Imperial Palace as it is.

“Then shall we look at those shoes and boots over there now?”

“Yes, good!”

Eva answered cheerfully at Christel’s suggestion.

The child said that she had never been shopping before in her life.

In the Blancar family, it was mainly her brother, the young duke, who spent money, and the Duke and Duchess always bought what Eva needed first.

She was known as a little villain in the East and had not made her debut in high society, so she had not made any friends to give gifts to until now.

The two young ladies moved away towards the shoe store. I spoke to the Prince next to the long sofa.

“Thank you for not telling Eva about the Imperial Vault.”

“……”

He frowned slightly and looked at me. He always does this even though he knows what I mean.

“You wouldn’t normally be able to receive such gifts, would you?”

It was obvious.

So far, all the items and letters that the nobles had sent me had gone into the Imperial Vault.

The Prince didn’t say such things openly, so I was able to pretend to receive them in front of Eva today.

I wondered if he was considerate of the child’s feelings.

“……Take care of it yourself.”

“Yes?”

“There’s not enough space in the vault.”

He said that and turned his gaze away.

I was surprised and looked at the Prince once, then looked at David behind him.

The middle-aged man bit his lip tightly and shook his head.

Wow, the vault must really be full. It’s good that the Imperial Family is wealthy.

“I understand.”

I replied.

I don’t have much greed for money, but being able to keep gifts is a welcome thing.

I felt good and spoke to the Prince again.

“Was the reason you got up like that at the tea party yesterday to prepare for shopping today?”

“……”

That’s right, that’s right. I smiled and examined the Prince’s face.

He doesn’t show it on the outside and even seems to dislike it, but he was clearly getting quite close to Christel on the inside.

So he wouldn’t have rented the entire trading post and given her a ride in the Imperial carriage to help with shopping.

I heard that he had also invited her to Romero Palace separately.

I felt proud to see him steadily making progress like a male lead in a romance fantasy novel.

It was worth pushing him all this time.

“If I may offer a piece of advice, Your Highness lacks presentation skills.”

“What?”

“You’re doing so well… but I’d say the part where you express it in words is a bit lacking.”

It must have been one of the reasons why Jungeunseo cursed this guy every other day.

This was also why the main characters of [romance novels] were frustrating.

“……”

The Prince seemed to have difficulty accepting the criticism, and he glared at me as if he would boil me, then got up from his seat and went somewhere else.

I said it because I thought it all through. Was I too much of a 꼰대 [an older person who is condescending or preachy]?

*

“I really enjoyed today. Thank you, Your Highness. Prince Yesuh. Lady Christel.”

Eva, standing in front of the building, bowed politely.

The trading post employees and the servants who followed from the Count’s residence were busy loading luggage.

All of them were items purchased today.

When the Prince nodded once, Eva got on the carriage first.

I ordered a custom-made uniform with flame resistance under the name of Elizabeth, and also bought a magic stone sprinkler that could be installed in the Count’s greenhouse.

The former was something I came up with because the young count, who spars with the Prince, seemed to burn his clothes often, and she said that if she came to measure her size when it was convenient for her, she would start production right away.

The latter was an item for Michelle Mute, who likes gardening in the greenhouse.

I hope both father and daughter like it.

“Then shall we get on too?”

Christel said amiably.

She had been walking around for more than four hours, but she didn’t seem tired at all.

It was when I opened the carriage door, shaking my head.

“Grandma, I told you not to do this here. There are precious people here!”

“Don’t push me. I can’t see.”

A thin old woman’s voice pierced my ears through the noise.

Christel, the Prince, and I turned to look at each other at the same time.

The first to move was Christel.

The Imperial Guards, who were guarding us in a circle, stepped aside a few steps as she approached.

I quickly followed behind.

“Grandma, are you feeling unwell?”

Christel asked. The old woman in front of her seemed to be well over ninety years old.

The small, cloudy gray eyes were staring blankly at the air.

It was difficult to know exactly where she was uncomfortable because she was wearing an old, long robe.

The trading post employee who was confronting the old woman saw us and bowed in surprise.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. This person is an old woman who sets up a mat and tells fortunes nearby…”

“And?”

The employee flinched at my question.

If the main character meets a mysterious fortune teller or prophet, I had seen it in other media as well.

“That is, I gave her a daily wage to take a day off, but she didn’t listen. Please forgive me.”

In short, it meant that they were trying to remove ‘something unsightly’ from the street before the Prince’s party arrived.

I frowned at his explanation.

I gently grabbed the arm of the staggering grandmother to support her, and she suddenly opened her mouth.

“You are not from here.”

“Yes?”

I was startled for a moment.

Well, of course.

If anyone knew that I was a prince of the 신국 [Shinguk, a foreign nation], they could say that.

Nevertheless, her words sounded very strange.

The old woman slowly raised her head without answering my question.

Her empty gaze was directed at the Prince.

“And the noble one will lose another relationship. What a pity……”