What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 97

#097 The Royal Family’s Counterattack (2)

The sleeping Divine Beasts breathed evenly.

Ether also began to circulate gently through the boy’s body.

“I was surprised at how much larger the Count’s estate was than I thought. I regret hurrying back to the palace a little. I don’t think I properly greeted Sir Michel.”

Prince Yeseo chattered.

‘Sayid’ let him say whatever he wanted across the table.

His tone wasn’t unpleasant, and right now, she was the one who needed something from him.

It was true that she had been short on pure ether all day.

The prince had only taken on a young appearance to facilitate the ether supply.

“But he liked the housewarming gift. I’m glad.”

And the effect was better than expected.

The royal priest was smiling faintly, looking down at his golden sanctuary.

He couldn’t raise his voice or get angry at a child.

Moreover, the current prince knew her identity.

She wondered how long he would keep up the ridiculous pretense of ‘not knowing’.

The idea of a housewarming gift was also absurd.

If he wanted to commend her, he could have just given her a reward.

Why was a royal thinking like a commoner in the street?

“Thanks to Sir Michel, Eva is living comfortably. Sir Haynes has also recovered completely.”

At his words, Sayid frowned and warned,

“Distance yourself from Sir Johann Haynes.”

The prince blinked his blessed eyes with a slightly surprised expression.

“Why? What happened?”

“…He’s not to be trusted.”

Sayid stopped there and closed her mouth.

The scene she saw at the opera house that day was clear.

However, that alone wasn’t enough to interrogate the paladin, as there was no concrete evidence and the situation wasn’t ideal.

The teacher was a patient who was injured trying to protect the prince, and after fully recovering, he was receiving the favor of both the prince and Lady Sarnese.

Moreover, he had already passed the Grand Duchess’s internal investigation when he entered the palace.

On paper, there was nothing suspicious.

That’s why she requested information about Count Mute from Elizabeth.

She thought that she, who guarded the borders of the land and sea and frequently contacted the Holy Nation, might have obtained new intelligence.

“I was suspicious of Sir Haynes at first too.”

The prince started. This was unexpected.

“But these days, he seems like a good person. He takes good care of Lady Santana Sarnese, and he’s kind to the Divine Beasts and servants.”

…She still didn’t like it. Couldn’t he guess that he was wearing a mask?

“Not everyone is like you.”

Sayid retorted. It would be difficult for him to make such a guess with his personality.

To the prince, Sir Haynes was a benefactor who had saved his life.

He smiled slightly, interpreting the boy’s words in his own way.

“He even touched my teacup once. To check if there was poison.”

“What?”

A spark briefly lit in the little one’s eyes.

“I’ll send a royal physician soon.”

Then his purple eyes widened.

“That was already a month ago. If he had poisoned me like that, I would have died a long time ago.”

“Get a checkup.”

The child ordered as if scolding. The prince nodded with a look of defeat.

It was frustrating that he tried to trust others rather than suspect them, and that he was always so gentle.

“Would you like some warm milk?”

The prince asked, getting up from his seat. This kind of attitude was the problem.

Was he going to treat Sir Haynes, who might have ulterior motives, the same way?

Harsh words flowed out of frustration.

“You’re acting like a nanny.”

“Did you have a nanny?”

But the prince didn’t seem to be affected at all. Rather, he seemed to be holding back a laugh.

A mumble was heard, ‘Well, wouldn’t it be strange if you didn’t?’

He picked up the kettle that was keeping warm with the candle, poured milk into an empty glass, added honey, and stirred.

Warmed milk at night. He hadn’t had it since he was nine years old.

Wait.

“Does that mean you didn’t have a nanny?”

The child asked, narrowing his eyes. Only then did the prince look taken aback.

Sayid clicked her tongue inwardly.

She had heard rumors that the prince was hated by Werner, the Duke Consort, from birth and was not treated properly in the Holy Nation.

But she never imagined that he would have grown up without a nanny.

“That, um. Fleur de Lis, I mean.”

The prince changed the subject.

His gaze wavered slightly, as if the changed topic wasn’t comfortable either.

Sayid took a long breath through her nose.

It was because the prince’s appearance, constantly watching her complexion after hearing the old woman’s nonsense in front of the trading post, overlapped.

He seemed to be trying not to show it, but he couldn’t hide his feelings of gratitude or worry at all.

It had been like that from the moment the little one first met the prince.

“Would you be satisfied if I banished all the fortune tellers in the capital?”

“No, why would you want to create unemployed people?”

He quickly shook his head.

“I’m just curious. I can’t see the related records, but I’ve heard that the prophecies of the wizards are sometimes overturned.”

He was asking about the ‘Fleur de Lis’ [a wizard advisory group], in general terms, but what the prince was curious about was clear.

He couldn’t just ignore her story of being foretold to die.

Pain flashed across his white face as he got the answer. Even though it wasn’t his own business.

“Irresponsible. Then what about the people who are hurt by the prophecies?”

“They’re just doing their job.”

Sayid answered and got up from her seat.

Golden particles were already rising from her small body.

The boy stared at the milk in front of him for a moment, then fearlessly picked up the glass and emptied it.

The Fleur de Lis’s prophecy accuracy rate was 80%.

“And I survived.”

The prince was in the 20%. He would just make such unpleasant prophecies false.

The chief god was fickle, but perhaps his flame wasn’t an ominous power.

He strode towards the balcony.

It was time to return.

*

The little kid with milk all over his mouth left, and the next day dawned.

The Juliette Palace’s summer garden was bustling with guests. Sir Haynes’s class had just ended.

Prince Cedrick was busy with work and hadn’t shown his face since morning.

“Lady Elizabeth, you must be happy.”

“Yes, I’m happy. I thought it would be a miracle just to be alive after the annual prayer meeting, but to even receive a reward vacation…”

Lady Elizabeth replied with a deeply moved face at Christel’s words.

Ganael, who was sitting next to her, also offered congratulations, and Benjamin smiled kindly and poured cider into her glass.

It was very rare for her to drink alcohol in the imperial palace in broad daylight like this.

Yesterday she was the commander of the imperial guard, but today she was able to enter the palace as the Young Countess of Mute.

“I heard about it beforehand, but when I actually went, the scale of the prayer meeting was enormous. It’s late, but thank you for your hard work, Lady Elizabeth.”

I also offered my greetings.

I remembered when she was assigned to guard the annual prayer meeting at the summer palace.

It was because of the pirate ship kidnapping incident led by Christel.

‘Elizabeth, I’m entrusting the security of the event to you. That’s your punishment.’

‘Your Majesty, please just kill me.’

There was a reason why Lady Elizabeth’s reaction at the time was unusual.

The annual prayer meeting was the first event where the Young Countess challenged herself alone without the help of the Diem Guard Commander.

I knew that the imperial guard’s mission to protect Cardinal Boutier, the prince, and even me in the heart of the capital was important.

But I didn’t know that I would have to control the friction with the capital garrison, which was in charge of guarding the central temple.

It turned out that the guard and the garrison were subtly checking each other even in peacetime.

She had to pay close attention to prevent unnecessary friction between the soldiers.

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

“Have you made any vacation plans?”

I asked. Lady Elizabeth was a capable knight and had excellent leadership skills.

It was a great achievement that the event was completed without any of the two thousand bishops being injured.

I was secretly sorry that she wore her uniform to work the next day, but today the emperor gave her a surprise week-long vacation.

I was relieved.

“I plan to rest at the Count’s estate for a few days. And next week…”

“There’s a polo match by Marquis Diem. Lady Elizabeth also got a ticket!”

Christel’s blue-gray eyes sparkled. A strange premonition swept down my spine.

Sir Haynes, who had been listening quietly, opened his mouth.

“Is that the marquis who was in charge of Prince Your Highness’s duel? He seems to be very interested in sports.”

“That’s right, but this time he’s participating himself.”

Lady Elizabeth replied. I immediately asked.

“Are you participating as a rescue worker like during the monster subjugation?”

“No. My uncle has always liked polo. When he comes to the capital, he plays games with his close nobles every morning, but he seems to be thinking of increasing the scale a little this year.”

It’s like someone who used to play early morning soccer is deciding to start a club.

I nodded and pondered.

The voices of the five men and women faded away, and Sant’s figure, playing with the Divine Beasts in the distance among the shrubs, came into view.

He participates in every event in the empire, takes care of his territory, enjoys social activities and exercise, and even invents things in his spare time….

Yes, Marquis Francois Diem was a man who even invented things.

‘He’s making some kind of crystal panel right now.’

‘He says he’s going to display people’s faces on a large crystal panel.’

The marquis’s new invention that Lady Elizabeth explained yesterday came to mind.

That was clearly something that would serve as a billboard or screen in the world of Toegye [a fictional world in the story].

The reason I was sure was simple.

Someday, the image of Jung Eun-seo rolling on the sofa and emitting light was so intense.

‘Kiss him!’

‘You surprised me.’

‘Wow, crazy. They really did it. What should I do, oppa? Our kids were caught on the kiss cam and they actually bumped lips.’

At that time, I couldn’t understand the words ‘caught on the kiss cam’.

Toegye was a medieval European-style fantasy with knights and princesses on the cover.

But the baseball stadium camera catches couples in the audience and encourages them to kiss, that kind of thing comes out in the story?

‘Do you watch dramas?’

‘No, I watch our kids. But Prince Yeseo kissed Chris. Ah! In front of everyone else.’

That’s right.

The point was that Prince Yeseo, not the prince, would kiss Christel.

I didn’t care about Eun-seo’s difficult words like ‘I can’t read it because it’s too good’ or whether it was okay for the ‘second male lead’ to kiss the main character.

Even if the original Christel was managing a fish farm between two men, it didn’t matter.

The kiss time in question… Marquis Diem would start by unveiling the completed crystal panel at his polo match.

“Ah, I don’t feel well.”

“Your Highness, what’s wrong?”

Ganael reacted to my mutterings.

I took a sip of cool lemon tea and waved my hand to mean I was okay.

Christel looked at me and smiled brightly.

“……”

This was really not it. We’re friends.

I don’t have any intention of doing that and I shouldn’t, but I can’t kiss no matter what.

I turned my gaze back to the Divine Beasts as naturally as possible.

Christel’s first kiss was with the prince, not the prince.

And as far as I knew, the prince, who witnessed the kiss between the prince and Christel, felt jealousy for the first time in his life.

That was the opportunity for him to realize his feelings.

You lacking fool. If there’s no stimulation, you can’t wake up, so Jung Eun-seo always curses you.

“Hoo.”

Still, it was okay.

I didn’t know that the marquis’s kiss cam debut would be this fast, but I had a plan prepared in advance after hearing Lady Elizabeth’s story yesterday.

I gently pressed my chest. I could feel the touch of the square notebook and the crystal bell.

“Um.”

I opened my mouth.

The people who were talking about naturalization stopped talking and looked at me at the same time.

“I want to go see the marquis’s polo match. Would Cardinal Your Eminence send me if I told him?”

Perhaps today would be the first time I had ever said that I wanted to go outside the imperial palace first.

*

That evening. A gentle breeze blew through the cardinal’s office.

“So, I requested the dispatch of a cardinal for the paladin investiture examination [a formal ceremony where a paladin is officially appointed]. Since it’s an investiture matter, the Vatican’s response will be quick. The cardinals will arrive here as early as the week after next.”

“I see.”

Johann Haynes replied softly.

His eyes were drooping and his lips were raised, giving him a gentle impression, but there was a strangely cool corner in his mint-colored eyes.

However, it would be absurd if a paladin did not have a sword in his heart.

They were born to be such beings. Aurelie Boutier stared at him for a moment and continued.

“Can you finish the training by then?”

“Of course. As I said, it wouldn’t be surprising if the two of them were promoted to the bishop level right away. Attitude training and vessel cultivation can continue even after the investiture.”

The cardinal smiled like a painting, as if satisfied with the answer.

Johann looked at her and revised the ‘plan’ in his head.