What Happens When the Second Male Lead Powers Up

I experienced something like this when I was working for a company.

I resigned while stating that I would never work for a company like that ever again. I never expected to have a similar experience after transmigrating into a Romfan.

It was still early in the morning, but I couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.

“Then the border inspection should proceed as planned.”

“Yes, there’s no reason to push it back.”

I tried to catch my breath while looking at the two people in front of me.

Empress Frédérique and Cardinal Boutier were walking while quietly chatting about the Empire’s affairs.

The Empress had her hands behind her back, holding a bouquet of flowers while the Cardinal had nothing.

I had two red pandas on my shoulders and held a third with my left arm. I had a large picnic basket in my right hand as I followed behind them.

Attendants were not allowed to approach the Bell Tower, as that was where the Grand Duke's tomb was said to be located.

I didn't want to make the old people suffer, so I offered to hold the stuff, but this was heavier than I expected.

Furthermore, the red pandas didn't want to leave me for some odd reason.

I didn’t know what was going on, since they should be getting excited about the divine item that is nearby.

“They told me it was a light trek, so that’s what I expected. I got on the bus to find out that they were all mountaineers.”

– Screeeech

I mumbled to Demy. It was the story about that company I used to work for.

It was a decently large corporation that had been around for a long time, so I wanted to stay there and build up experience if possible. Unfortunately, it was quite a brutal place for a new employee who was straight out of college.

“There were about 27 people in the department, but they wanted me to prepare all of the snacks and drinks for the hike. They told me to send an invoice to the company at the end of the month for the cost. I had to spend my time and money every two weeks doing that.”

The slope of the forest became steeper the closer we got to the Bell Tower. My voice and my breath were mixed together whenever I opened my mouth.

Demy must have understood what I was saying since he was whining in a slightly pitying voice.

The company hike happened every other Saturday. I had to pick up food for people and carry it since I was the newest employee.

“That’s all in the past. The company I moved to was better. I just suddenly thought about it.”

I smiled and tapped my forehead to Demy’s head.

This bit of exercise is nothing compared to that time.

The wine bottle was heavy but there were quite a lot of things for me to eat and drink as well.

“Is it very heavy, my little prince?”

A warm voice entered my ear. I turned my head and looked forward.

The Cardinal and the Empress, who had stopped walking, were waiting for me at the boundary of the forest.

“I'm okay, your Eminence.”

I responded back with a smile. The prince’s physique was similar to mine.

He lacked any sense of athletic ability and struggled quite a bit in the heat, but his stamina and strength weren’t too bad.

The Cardinal still came down toward me and picked up one of the red pandas.

– Squeeeee.

“Thank you very much, your Eminence.”

“That wouldn't be enough even if he increased his stamina some more. Why are you helping him?”

The Empress grumbled.

‘Lady, isn’t it enough that I walked an hour from the Summer Palace like this?!’

“Our little prince is not Cédric. We can’t let him struggle when he came here to rest.”

The Cardinal smiled warmly toward me and started walking again.

I became distraught again after thinking about the Imperial Prince. We slowly started to exit the forest.

“Oh right, what happened with that issue? The swindling of imperial gifts at the inn the children stayed at.”

“I told Simon to deal with it. The investigation seemed like it would go on for a while.”

“Why?”

“The owner of the inn buried the money in the mountain, but the report said that it was already gone when they arrived.”

“How troublesome. Do you think it was a bandit?”

The Cardinal asked.

Simon was probably Duke Simon de Sarnez, Christelle's father.

He must be taking care of the incident from before in Lucas Village.

It made sense that the Empress of an Empire would not have the time to personally lead a long-term investigation.

“We're here.”

The sky became visible as soon as the Empress said that. The forest ended and everything became bright.

I raised my head and looked forward.

"Wow……”

I couldn't help but be mesmerized. It was a white coastal cliff with bright green grass.

Blankly, I stored this sight into my memories.

The cool and salty ocean breeze made the grass wave back and forth.

The North Sea and the sky beyond the cliff were splitting the world in half.

There was a small temple and a large Bell Tower at the center of this scenery.

It was an extremely exotic and beautiful image.

“That must be it.”

“Yes. You should be able to let the divine beasts go now.”

The Cardinal gently responded.

I looked at the white building and its dark blue roof before slowly putting the red pandas down by my feet.

However, they showed no signs of leaving my side.

It made sense since I tamed Demy, but the other two looked as if they couldn't detect the divine item.

‘What’s going on?’

“It looks like I need to go closer to the Bell Tower, your Majesty.”

I addressed the Empress.

The Empress looked at the divine beasts who were twisted together like a twisted doughnut and nodded her head.

Her complexion did not look very good.

*

“……Is that the divine item?”

“Yes. It is the air attribute divine item, the Ark of the Wind Deity.”

I frowned slightly while listening to the Cardinal's explanation.

There was a large dull thing floating at the top of the Bell Tower.

In the book, the Blessing of the Blue Sea was a beautifully cut sapphire and the Sword of Wisdom from the Flaming Star was a magnificent sword that had manifested on the plains.

But this……

“It looks like a rusted almond.”

I shared my honest thoughts. The ark looked like a crumpled piece of aluminum foil at best.

The only thing I could make out was was its long shape.

This seemed completely different from the images I saw in the book about the divine items that Ganael got for me or even in .

The divine beasts were busy playing and pulling at each other’s tails. I couldn't feel any ether coming from the ark either.

It was odd.

“Let’s first go in and check.”

The Cardinal smiled bitterly. The Empress silently pulled a key out of her pocket and unlocked the Bell Tower’s door.

– Click

– Screeeech……

The large door opened easily.

They must have done something special to it as the wood hadn’t rotted or shriveled despite being hit by the ocean breeze for so long.

I followed the two adults into the Bell Tower.

“Wow, Demy. Look up there.”

– Whimper

There was nothing blocking our view of the ceiling all the way at the top of the tower.

The stairs that spiraled up against the wall seemed to connect all the way up to the bell and the divine item.

The inside was quite bright.

It was because sunlight was shining through the small gaps of the Bell Tower’s stone walls.

There was a wide rectangular slate board at the center of the large round floor.

A bouquet was placed on top of it. The flowers had withered, but they weren’t completely dry.

It seemed as if they had been there for about a day.

“……”

The Empress walked toward it. She then placed her bouquet next to it.

This was Grand Duke Yvelines’ tomb.

“It’s okay, our little prince. You can come close.”

The Cardinal, who had grabbed the Empress's hand for a moment, called me over in a warm voice.

I carefully walked toward the two of them.

I placed the picnic basket by the door so that it would not seem disrespectful and whispered to the red pandas to be good and stay there.

I could soon see some writing engraved onto the flat tomb.

‘Loving husband, considerate father, great mage.

Alexandre Nicole Riester

1564 -1600.’

“Huh?”

My eyes felt as if they would burst out.

My mouth opened and closed as too many thoughts suddenly rushed into my mind.

The Empress chuckled after seeing my face.

“Yes, Grand Duke Yvelines is my husband.”

“That……”

I quickly said the first thing that came to mind. Thankfully, I did not bite my tongue.

“My apologies, your Majesty. I should have prepared a bouquet as well.”

“It’s fine. The only people to place flowers here are my son and I.”

She really didn't seem to care, but I felt the tips of my ears turn hot.

“It was quite fun to tease you. You could have snuck into the Grand Duke's study to find out.”

“I would not dare to be so disrespectful when I am being allowed to stay here, your Majesty.”

“You didn’t threaten the attendants either.”

“Making threats is no joke, your Majesty.”

I responded to question after question. I was so anxious that I looked toward the Cardinal.

I felt as if sweat was pouring out of my head.

‘She could have told me I was right when I guessed it correctly last night. Then I wouldn't have only brought food with me!’

“Will you give a short blessing?”

“Excuse me?”

I did not expect the words that came out of the Cardinal's mouth.

“Alexandre never met a royal priest before.”

She gently smiled. I quietly blinked a few times.

It sounded as if she just wanted me to greet him.

I looked toward the Empress who moved her chin to tell me it was fine.

I slowly knelt down on one knee in front of the tomb.

Alexandre Nicole Riester. The engraving even had his middle name.

‘Was the Grand Duke the Nikky who appeared in the series?’

I felt emotional after having that thought.

He had written these one-of-a-kind fairy tales with boundless affection for Imperial Prince Cédric.

I placed one hand on top of his name.

– Paaaat!

Golden ether came out of my fingertips and lit up like a light bulb.

A simple circle surrounded the tomb and me.

It was at that moment.

– Ooooooong!

– Baaaaang!

I heard a loud noise from the ceiling. An intense shock struck the first floor at the same time.

– Ruuuumble!

“Ah!”

The ground shook, causing the Cardinal to lose her balance and start to fall.

The Empress moved quickly to catch her before she fell.

I hugged the red pandas that ran toward me and flattened myself against the ground.

The ground stopped shaking. It was as if nothing had happened.

‘Shit, what was that just now?’

“……My goodness. Frédérique, I think the divine item woke up.”

The Cardinal said something I could not understand. I slowly raised my head with my Holy Domain activated.

An intense light was shooting down from the ceiling.

– Flap! Flap, flap!

I could hear something flapping its wings.

*

Duke Yvelines was standing on the front of a ship.

He could see the white cliff and the Bell Tower slowly getting closer.

– Shaaaa, shaaa, shaaaa……

It was beautiful to welcome the morning over the ocean. The cool sounds of the waves echoed in his ears.

The transparent rays of the sun shone down against the water and the air was extremely fresh.

It felt as if his lungs were getting cleansed every time he took a breath.

The young man took a deep breath and turned around.

“What kind of idiot thinks about abducting a pirate ship?”

He then asked in an aggressive tone. His fur coat fluttered as if it was angry as well.

It was extremely disrespectful to have a member of the Imperial family spend the night aboard a pirate ship.

He didn’t even try to suppress the intimidating force he released toward the young lady in front of him.

This woman wasn't going to be intimidated by him anyway.

“Please accept my deepest apologies, your royal Highness. I didn't expect them to pull out the helm saying that we would all die together if they were going to die.”

Christelle pitifully blinked a few times as she responded.

Her teary eyes made it seem as if she was reflecting on her actions, but, after taking a closer look, he could see that she was trying her best not to yawn in front of someone of higher standing.

The Duke debated if it would be okay for him to fight against the young lady right here.

She had a pirate's hat on top of her pink hair as well.

"Ah, it’s been so long since I slept aboard a ship. Good morning, Cédric. Did you sleep well, young lady Sarnez?”

Élisabeth, who came out of a cabin at the corner of the deck, was stretching left and right while greeting them.

Cédric Riester, the Duke of Yvelines, glared at her with fire in his eyes.

‘If you're going to be causing incidents like this, you should be doing it in your territory. Why the hell did you bring this person to my territory?’

His gaze seemed to be scolding her.

The young Countess awkwardly smiled.

She was very interested in teasing Cédric and playing with Christelle, but she had no confidence in her ability to arbitrate for the two of them and their issues.

This was a moment where she desperately wished that Prince Jesse was here.

“I explained it to you yesterday. Young lady Sarnez tied this ship down with waves and we got on, but those bastards talked about how they could never lose this ship and destroyed the helm. Pirates sure are vicious these days.”

“So all of you ended up as castaways?”

“Young lady Sarnez’s ether has limits too. It was extremely difficult pushing the ship to land. The sea and the wind were not working with us and your instructor said he was tired and went to sleep. Oh right, shouldn't you change your priest? That person seemed to have too little ether.”

Élisabeth lowered her voice at the end.

The young Duke and the young lady both scowled at the same time.

There were many reasons why they were not satisfied with the priest from the Vatican already.

He was only a Clergy level priest, so his ether plate was small. His ether also wasn’t as pure as Prince Jesse’s.

– Ooooooong!

– Baaaaang!

They heard an extremely loud explosion from the shore at that moment. All three of them looked toward the cliff at the same time.

The top of the Bell Tower with the blue roof was shining as bright as a lighthouse.

– Ruuuumble!

– Shaaaaaaaaaaa!

They then heard the ground shake. The waves became more violent

Cédric and Christelle's gazes moved around before they made eye contact with each other.

Both of their instincts could feel what was within that explosion just now.

It was the Prince’s ether.

—

Translator's Comments

PR: BFF moment for Cedric and Christelle.