What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 96

#096 The Royal Family’s Counterattack (1)

So, they think they’re the main characters, no matter what.

They make decisions among themselves, and I’m just a supporting character who gets notified after the fact.

Even the next day, my mood didn’t improve. I couldn’t sleep well until dawn.

“Your Highness, are you alright?”

“Yes? Yes, I’m fine.”

I looked up at Lady Elisabeth’s voice.

She was sitting across the table from me, looking worried.

More precisely, she seemed startled by the notebook that had turned black at the tip of the quill I was holding.

I gave a casual smile and turned the page.

At some point, the picnic area in the Imperial Palace’s outdoor training grounds had come to be used for me and my guests like this.

The training grounds were still noisy even after Sir Haines’s class was over.

-Krrr!

“Demi, wait! Are you trying to torture your sister? Ack!”

-Squeak!

That was because our main characters, Christel and Prince Cedric, were playing the role of ‘play sitters’ for the lesser pandas for the past two hours.

Vines as thick as telephone poles, grown from the ground, were wrapped around the two men and women.

Christel was weak against earth attributes because she was water attribute, and the Prince was helpless against Leia and Perry’s affection offensive.

You guys need to reflect a little.

“Are you very angry?”

“I’m not angry. It’s just…”

I trailed off at the viscount’s question.

If you ask me if I’m in a difficult situation because of them, that’s not really the case.

Because the clever and intelligent Christel never mentioned my name once at yesterday’s annual prayer meeting.

‘His Highness the Prince and I will be paired with him, not the bishops here.’

That’s right. She only said ‘him’ and didn’t specify me.

She announced that she and the Prince had appointed divine partners and declared that she would not be interfered with on the same topic in the future.

Thanks to that, the bishops were confused but couldn’t say anything more about me.

I thought it was too much to cover up like this.

But Cardinal Boutier’s words, whom I met this morning, were different.

‘The counterattack was quite effective. The bishops who attended yesterday’s dinner meeting were also confused.’

‘……Confused, you say?’

‘Yes, Christel didn’t mention the name or position of her partner. Of course, there’s talk that it’s the Prince, but there are also many opinions that it’s an anonymous priest.’

My mouth opened on its own. I didn’t know the opinions would be so divided.

I imagined that they would know it was me but keep it quiet.

‘The Holy Knight instinctively tries to protect the priest, so they speculate that he is protecting a partner of low status by using anonymity. It was fun.’

Protect. Yes, the two of them caused such a mess to protect me.

They intended to prevent me from being talked about and to take legal steps behind the scenes.

The part that pisses me off is that I can understand their psychology even in this situation.

I wouldn’t know if I couldn’t communicate with them at all, but it was hard to push them because I vaguely understood their principles of action.

I stared intently at the map that David, the Prince’s attendant, had given me.

It was a version with some of the Empire’s vast territory highlighted in red.

“The Prince told me to consider naturalization. He says to choose one place here.”

“Gasp, good heavens.”

At my words, Lady Elisabeth, who was drinking kiwi juice, covered her mouth with a napkin.

Her face as she scanned the map was filled with shock and understanding. See, that’s how it is.

“Indeed… It’s the most perfect way to protect the Prince.”

“That’s right.”

“If you give up your citizenship of the Theocratic State of Fenetian and become a noble of Liester, not only the two Highnesses but also His Majesty will actively protect you.”

Lady Elisabeth said. I nodded.

If I only thought about survival, it wasn’t a bad option.

No, maybe it couldn’t be better.

If I received a rural estate far from the border and lived there, it would be peaceful even during the war.

But I had a lot to consider.

After taking a sip of cool chamomile tea, I turned to the first page of my notebook.

∙ Avoid vs. Get Involved

– Good points of getting involved: It will be easier to get information

– Good points of avoiding: I can live until the war

This was what I had written down when I went on vacation to the summer palace. Among them, the second line was important.

I was sure that if I avoided the two men and women and didn’t get involved in the main plot of the original story, the war would break out as planned.

But now that things have turned out like this, I had all sorts of thoughts.

Is the war breaking out because of me?

It’s too late to back out now, and what if the fight breaks out because I’m naturalized?

“……Ew, no.”

“Yes? Are you talking about Princess Eva?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

I waved my hand and smiled.

Lady Elisabeth, who smiled back, resumed watching Christel and the Prince struggle.

I could hear Demi’s happy cries and the dying screams of the two.

-Squeak

“Sister, it’s too hard, Demi… Let’s rest for 5 minutes and play.”

-Squeak, squeak!

“Yay, bring out the watering can!”

-Splash!

A war breaks out because of me.

This is a huge ego trip and contradicts what Jeong Eun-seo told me.

As far as I knew, the Prince and Prince Yesuh were typical rivals.

‘It would be nice if handsome guys got along well, but it’s just as pleasing to watch them fight. So I have no complaints.’

My sister’s voice echoed in my head.

I don’t know what it means to be good to watch them fight, but I guess it’s similar to how I feel proud when I see Christel and the Prince.

Anyway, the two men of Toegye-gong [a figure known for his rivalry] were not close enough to recommend or consider naturalization.

So the cause of the war in the original story wouldn’t be this either. There must have been some political issue.

∙ Naturalization

– Is it the cause of the war?: Probably not, at least the original didn’t

– Then is it okay to be naturalized?

This is… I tapped the paper with my quill.

Prince Yesuh’s family could not be said to be harmonious, even as a compliment.

It was a family where a crazy royal consort sent assassins to other countries to kill his adopted son.

Princess Eliser, who assigned a bodyguard to my sister and even sent letters in secret, seemed like a good person.

However, as long as the royal consort exists, the entire Theocratic State is a danger zone for me.

I am safe now in the Imperial Palace, but if I become naturalized, I will surely enjoy a different level of security.

Even if I go back home in the future, the Prince will be at peace here.

“Hmm.”

Still, changing my nationality seems like too big of a change.

I was worried that the Prince would never see his sister again.

And with the young Princess… I wonder if they were close.

It’s difficult. There have been big and small difficulties since I possessed this body, but this is really difficult.

“Demi, Leia, Perry.”

I called the children.

The lesser pandas, who were playing with the two men and women like dolls, jumped towards me without untangling the vines.

Christel, who was pale, and the Prince, whose hair was disheveled, were also dragged to the table.

“Are you having fun playing after a long time? Do you like it?”

-Krrr!

I wiped their feet with a wet towel.

The divine beasts are very smart and knew that my body couldn’t handle their power.

So they only showed me affection by blooming flowers or hanging on thin vines.

It must have been a long time since they rolled around while fully releasing their power like today.

I looked at Christel, who was gasping for breath. She flinched.

“Your Highness, I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”

It’s very automatic, automatic.

“Do you know what you did wrong?”

“I was so happy that Your Highness said you liked us and that we were qualified as partners, so I announced that we had a partner without prior consultation with Your Highness. Besides, this has happened before. When I set fire to the ‘Le Ciffre’ inn. The Prince and I planned the operation alone, so Your Highness, who found out later, was upset. I’m sorry for making you feel disrespected again.”

Wow…

I was momentarily stunned by the clear apology.

I didn’t even know why I was upset, but she pointed it out properly, and my heart was as clear as first-class water.

In these cases, the conversation flowed without any blockage.

I did a dry wash [a metaphorical expression for feeling speechless] and suppressed a hollow laugh.

“How could someone who knows so well do such a thing?”

I was a little annoyed.

“I won’t do it again. I really mean it.”

Christel said urgently. Then, she lightly kicked Leia’s vines that were wrapped around the Prince.

It was a gesture to tell him to apologize quickly. Then the Prince frowned.

“……I’m short on ether [magical energy].”

“Ah!”

Christel looked at the sky and was furious. I bit my lip tightly.

This time, it was so funny that I felt like I was going to explode.

So I quickly bent down and hugged the lesser pandas one by one.

I didn’t forget to gratefully receive the branch that Dduk-sim had brought from somewhere.

I guess he’s short on ether. He’s been dealing with the energy of three divine beasts for two hours.

“There’s no ether today. The partner is also temporary.”

“Yes? But,”

“I never said I would do it. If you respect me, you will follow my opinion.”

Christel closed her mouth when I said firmly.

The Prince’s orange eyes narrowed in dissatisfaction.

“I’ll think more about the naturalization issue and tell you. It’s not something to decide right away.”

“Why,”

-Thud!

Christel kicked the Prince’s vines again for talking back.

I bit my tongue to hold back the sound.

I saw Lady Elisabeth, who was crying while lying on the table.

“Demi, go play with your friends again. Then, goodbye.”

“It’s not Pororo…”[a popular children’s cartoon character]

Christel muttered blankly.

As soon as I finished speaking, the lesser pandas ran out into the middle of the training grounds.

As the vines moved, the two people’s bodies disappeared from sight in a flash.

……I guess I’ll need a notarization when I get married here too.

Should I fill out a marriage registration form, hide the contents, and get the two people’s signatures to get them married quickly?

I smiled slightly as I thought of the revenge that would not be achieved.

“Hmm, hmm. Thank you so much for the housewarming gift, Your Highness.”

At that time, Lady Elisabeth, who had barely recovered her smile, changed the subject.

“I’m glad you liked it.”

“The uniform I’m wearing now was tailored by Your Highness. I received it yesterday and started wearing it today.”

She stretched out her arms to show that it really didn’t catch fire when she experimented in the mansion’s kitchen. It had already been nine days since she ordered a special uniform with fire resistance from the trading post.

I felt good when I saw her happy that there were two sets so she could alternate wearing them.

The viscount continued.

“My father was surprised to see the magic stone sprinkler working. He’s getting old, so he doesn’t know much about the things that come out these days. I was shocked when I found out that it was Uncle Francois’s work.”

“Who?”

“Didn’t Your Highness know either?”

Lady Elisabeth blinked her gray eyes a few times, then raised the corners of her mouth.

“I’m talking about Marquis D’Heim. Since he specializes in teleportation, he is very interested in portal research and development. Recently, he has been inventing these household items. He never misses a corner where money comes out.”

She continued to explain.

The magic stone sprinkler developed by the Marquis was also like a small portal.

If you put one of the two parts in the water tank and the other in the greenhouse, the water in the water tank would be transferred and sprayed into the greenhouse every time the magic formula engraved on the part was activated.

I heard a simple explanation of how to use it at the trading post, but I didn’t know it was the Marquis’s work. Is he a genius?

“The Marquis is really… He has a wide range of activities.”

“Don’t even mention it. He’s here and there in a flash. I met him in the Imperial Capital a few days ago, and now he’s making some kind of crystal plate.”

“Crystal plate?”

“Yes. It’s a set with beads made by carving magic stones… Anyway, he says he’s going to display people’s faces on a large crystal plate. I don’t know where he can use it.”

My eyes widened. I swallowed hard.

Jeong Eun-seo said that… Kiss time. Kiss cam. Is that this?

*

That night, an uninvited guest broke into my bedroom.

I hurriedly hid the notebook with the ‘operation details’ written on it inside my pajamas.

“How long are you going to be sulking?”

“……”

And I stared blankly at the child who was entering the room from the balcony without hesitation.

Do you think I’ll fall for you if you come in this form?

“I’m short on ether.”

Little brat, Sadie looked up at me and said the same thing she said during the day.

Her forehead was all wet with sweat. There was no blood on her white cheeks and neck.

When I didn’t give any answer, the little girl dropped her head as if she was upset.

Her small body staggered.

“You,”

I quickly sat down and grabbed her. Oh, really. This…

“Fire fox.”

I grumbled. She acts like a fox, and she uses fire, so she’s a fire fox.

I grabbed the child’s arm and slowly began to release ether.

I sighed deeply, but I couldn’t help it because her breathing was unstable.

It sounded like she was smirking.