What Happens When the Second Male Lead Powers Up

Chapter 181: The woman who will steal the prince (1)

The Imperial family’s carriage for undercover use did not have any crests on it.

We left through the main entrance of the Imperial Palace and then rode around the city a few times until we confirmed that nobody was paying attention to us.

Crown prince Cédric was in the carriage in front of us.

“Your highness, I want to take a look too.”

Ganael commented in an extremely excited voice.

The young boy’s cheeks were red even in the carriage while wearing a thick coat.

I looked disgusted as I handed him a piece of paper.

The neatly folded parchment was moved toward Benjamin and Ganael.

Both of their mouths dropped in shock.

“My goodness. Joanne de Haas truly has devilish talents.”

“It is truly an amazing portrait, your highness. It seems to contain about seventy percent of your beauty, your highness. I thought it would be impossible to do that!”

“Thanks.”

I answered in a shrinking voice. That was all I could say because I was so embarrassed.

Joanne, who was currently donating her talents to the beautification of the Sérénité March, was apparently about to finish the last piece.

I commissioned her for the art at the start of September, so she finished most of it in three months.

The two attendants were looking at the rough sketch that Chantal had sent from the Lord’s Castle.

‘Why did she have to put my face in the front area of the territory……’

I was at least relieved that there was no bad news in her letter.

‘A bizarre thief is running amok lately in the nearby territories, but this place is as relaxed and peaceful as its name. The stone walls and fences are full of beautiful and holy paintings. The March was quite packed throughout the harvest festival with visitors coming to see the art from the free city of Haas. Furthermore, the livestock have not gotten sick, and the harvest yields have increased significantly, making all of the residents praise your name, my lord. They are all full of admiration for your magnanimous care and your deep insight……’

I awkwardly smiled.

That was something anybody could have thought of. Chantal was so nice to phrase it like that.

She also mentioned that some wealthy nobles were inquiring about purchasing the wall art.

‘It’s not like I can let them take the wall.’

‘Should I send Joanne to those territories to draw for them and use the money for welfare projects? Is that okay?’

“What are you going to do with this esquisse, your highness?”

Ganael asked with a sparkle in his eyes as I sat there deep in thought.

I had received the sketch Joanne had drawn of me using crayons.

“I was thinking about putting it in between two thick books…… Do you want it, Ganael?”

“Thank you so much for your benevolence, your highness! I will cherish it as a family heirloom of the House of Callamard!”

I had cautiously asked, making the young boy so excited that he looked ready to jump up and down. Apparently that was the right answer.

I felt even more awkward because Benjamin had a disappointed look on his face.

I looked out the window following his gaze to see people enjoying the festival with all sorts of street foods in their hands.

‘That looks fun.’

– Clack, clack……

“We will be arriving soon, your highness. Please prepare your disguise.”

“Yes sir.”

I immediately nodded my head at the middle-aged man’s words.

A disguise was the top priority for an undercover trip.

The < I quit my job and ended up as a noble young lady in another world > world did not have pictures or videos, but there were paintings and mass media.

The crown prince had even used a crystal board during his succession confirmation ceremony to show his beauty to the citizens of the Empire, giving them a memory they would never forget.

Celebrities like Christelle and Vice Captain Élisabeth had detailed descriptions and paintings in the < Biweekly Riester > as well, making disguises a necessity.

“It reminds me of Lucas Village.”

I put some magic tool dyes in my hair and eyebrows as I said that.

Ganael chuckled in agreement.

Christelle, our party supplies fanatic (which is completely different from a party fanatic), bought some items from the Legault Central Commerce Center at least once every two weeks.

Transformation-related items were her number one choice of things to buy. The dye and eye color disguises were all things Christelle gave me as well.

– Shaaaaaaaaaaaa••••••!

I could hear the twenty-four hour transformation magic happening in my hair.

Red powder fluttered in front of my eyes.

I successfully placed two drops of the magic eye drops in each eye and then blinked.

Ganael tapped his feet and watched me transform while Benjamin pulled out a mirror.

“Oh no, what should we do? His highness might get stolen like this. He’s too handsome!”

It was a completely unexpected reaction.

I barely managed to swallow my embarrassment and looked at the small mirror in Benjamin’s hand.

Black hair and blue-gray eyes…

It was a combination of the crown prince’s black hair and Christelle’s eyes. I looked nothing out of the ordinary.

‘But there is someone who is absolutely not going to look ordinary.’

I had to bite down on my lips to prevent myself from laughing.

To explain, about a week ago……

‘Your Royal Highness and your highness. I think we should do a random draw for our disguise.’

Christelle had brought it up during a Holy Knight lesson.

Vice Captain Élisabeth, who had come with her, shamelessly claimed that it was a part of her job.

The two of them were saying that they might as well make the disguise selection entertaining if we were going to go undercover to enjoy the festival and see how the citizens were living .

Sir Johann seemed quite amused and happily shortened the lesson.

He was an Imperial Instructor born in the Holy Kingdom, and his fame had increased after protecting the Blanquer Lord’s Castle during the Golem’s Rampage, but he did not need a disguise.

Basically, all of this chaos was not a concern for him.

‘A disguise is top priority for the four of us. So I propose that we mix our four hair colors and eye colors and pull one each. You can get any color except your own.’

‘How frivolous.’

‘It sounds fun.’

The crown prince and I answered at the same time. The surrounding had turned completely silent as if someone had poured cold water over them.

It was an expected reaction from the crown prince as he did not like using any sort of medicine on his body.

All he had done was use magic tool glasses when we went through the Lucas Village night market.

I was debating whether I should just suggest the three of us do it when the crown prince stared at the innocent Vice Captain of the Imperial Guard.

After that…

‘……We will do as the two dames have suggested.’

That was what he had said.

As a result, Sir Johann oversaw the random drawing as it solemnly happened in front of Sand and our little troublemakers.

I was wondering why it needed to be so serious like this but the mood instantly changed as one of us pulled the drawing jackpot.

– Woah, woah!

– Neeeeeeigh!

I heard the coachman stop the carriage. I quickly raised my head.

There was a comparatively small residence a bit away from the central region.

It was the house that Empress Frédérique had bestowed upon Sand after accepting his naturalization.

I could see Sand waving to us in the front yard.

Sir Johann, Gerrit, and Eva were already there.

It was hard to see our young Duchess these days as she was busy receiving her official heir education.

I quickly alighted from the carriage. I was thankful that they were out here to greet us in such chilly weat……

“Ack! Hahahaha! Eek!”

“So funny, oh my gosh! Ahahaha!”

Her loud laughter echoed in my ears. I looked to my side in shock.

I could see the young Countess, currently sporting casual clothes and blonde hair, burying her face in her hands as if she was close to tears.

Christelle, who had her dark green hair braided down, was smacking the ground with her hand as she laughed.

Her orange eyes were not very visible because her eyes were curled up in laughter.

I urgently looked toward the man everybody was focused on. The crown prince’s grey eyes sparkled as he glared at me.

His beautiful pink hair slowly fluttered in the wind.

I felt as if I could hear ‘shalala’ in the background.

Only David, who was standing behind him, looked touched while Benjamin and Ganael were whispering to each other as if they had seen a ghost.

As for me……

“Do you have something to say?”

He asked in an angry voice.

“……No, your Royal Highness.”

‘Did I expect too much? Honestly, it’s not funny at all that I am disappointed.’

Whether it was pink or black, he was so overwhelmingly handsome that it didn’t matter.

*

Sand’s naturalization celebration and housewarming party was quite rowdy from the start.

Eva stared at the crown prince every five minutes because she could not get used to her cousin’s new hair color while Marquis Duhem, who arrived later, was almost sliced apart by the Sword of Wisdom for letting out a quiet chuckle.

We were currently gathered around the kitchen having a serious discussion.

As discussed in advance, Sand’s two servants were given the gift of leaving early.

We were going to prepare all the food on our own!

“Your Royal Highness, do you know how to cook?”

“……”

“Cédric is only good at grilling meat. His temperature control is top notch. Other than that, he is a precious member of the Imperial family who has never gotten a drop of water on his hands.”

The young Countess answered as if making fun of him at Christelle’s question.

Her eyes that were gold instead of purple mischievously sparkled.

She had chosen my hair color and eye color in the drawing, but she chose the color of her fiance’s eyes as they did not sell purple eye drops.

The crown prince seemed discontent but did not say anything.

Sir Johann, who had been silently listening, raised his hand.

“I will do the cooking. I have experience cooking.”

‘Experience?”

Eva poked his side as she asked.

Everybody added a comment while showing interest in his past as a mercenary.

While that was going on, Marquis Duhem picked Gerrit up and made a proclamation.

“This little young master who adores my polo skills is curious about my cooking skills as well, so I guess I can’t just sit still!”

“That’s right. This mister is very good at cooking. Anything he makes is delicious.”

“The Marquis?”

Christelle’s voice became loud after Vice Captain Élisabeth validated Marquis Duhem’s cooking.

It was shocking that a Marquis was capable of both inventions and cooking.

The man who caught an opportunity to talk started explaining things nobody asked about.

“Madam, I believe that there are no differences between cooking and the science of magic tools. If you approach it with thorough measurements and precise timing, even the tricky Béarnaise sauce can easily……”

“I can’t get out of this explanation now, huh?”

Christelle mumbled in a low voice.

I sighed and peeked at the sun halo weed kimchi that the main character brought over.

She couldn’t properly do a kimjang so she seems to have made small geotjeoris instead, but it looked the part.

‘I want to eat some hot rice and roasted Boudin Blanc with a piece of this kimchi on top……’

“Then it is settled. Mr. François and Sir Geens will be in charge of the cooking, Dame Christelle and I will support them. Young Duchess Eva and Gerrit will be in charge of setting the table…… Cédric and Prince Jesse will be in charge of serving and the dishes. The staff here are all off for the day. Priest Sand, you’ve provided your residence for us to use, so please get some rest.”

“Excuse me?!”

The young Countess’s proclamation made Sand turn pale and shout.

“I appreciate it very much, but please don’t burn down my new home!” he begged in a pleading tone.

The Imperial Crown Prince’s honorary firefighter, Christelle, was there, so we didn’t have to worry about a fire.

*

The sun set outside the window.

The street right outside was full of excitement and cheering for the end of the harvest festival.

We enjoyed our meal while talking about useless things and some serious topics as well.

Benjamin choked on his food when Sand said that < Reason, Sensibility, and Holiness > was one of the reasons he decided to become naturalized, but his secret identity was not revealed.

‘I was so nervous too!’

“Wow, I feel like my stomach is going to explode. Thank you for the delicious meal!”

“It was delicious.”

Christelle and Vice Captain Élisabeth commented one after the other.

I was not done eating yet but I got up because I thought it was about time to bring in some desserts.

Ganael’s butt looked as if he wanted to get up but I made him sit and rest.

It had been about thirty minutes since Marquis Duhem headed into the kitchen saying that he would make some delicious socca.

Everything was simple compared to the food we usually ate in the Imperial Palace, but that made it even more delicious.

Sir Johann’s tartiflette was a gratin that really felt like a home-made meal.

The flavor was amazing despite using whatever cheese and cheap white wine was in the kitchen.

– Step, step

I put Christelle’s sun halo weed kimchi on top of that and……

I was in heaven.

It didn’t have the unique taste of chili pepper flakes and salted anchovies like normal kimchi, but I could honestly say that it was the most Korean dish I had since transmigrating into this world.

The sun halo weed stem that had the extract removed before it was mixed with a red sauce gave off a scent that reminded me of scallions.

It was quite spicy but Gerrit enjoyed it as well. Thinking about it was making me drool.

“Slurp. Maybe I should ask her how she made it.”

“Are you talking about food again?”

“Ah!”

I gasped and froze in place in the hallway.

The crown prince bastard, who had followed without making a noise, stood there in the full glory of his pink hair as he looked down at me.

I glared at him. ‘He’s always like this. Does his instincts tell him to pick a fight with me or something?’

‘Is it because I’m the second male lead?’

“Ask her Majesty for it if there is something you want.”

‘Ah, you’re talking about that?’ I nodded my head and started walking again.

The Empress left the cultivation of the Imperial Palace’s sun halo weed to me last month. She definitely did say something like that when she gave me the order.

‘Think about what you want in return.’

……Honestly speaking, there was something I had thought of, but I had not been able to bring it up yet.

It was completely out of the blue and I didn’t know how the Imperial family would take my suggestion.

I slowly broke the silence as if I was rehearsing it with the crown prince.

“Umm, about Lady Sarah Belliard…”

I could see him scowling. He was very open about not liking her so this was not unexpected.

“I heard that she has a sick grandchild… It’s been weighing on my mind-”

“I don’t want to hear it.”

I was instantly cut off.

‘Mm.’

—

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