I Became The Male Lead’s Female Friend

 

To which I stared at her blankly.

 

‘What, do you mean?’

 

I stood there for a moment, stunned by the word I hadn’t expected to hear.

 

Then I glanced over at O’Neill, who was still bewildered and gasped.

 “What do you mean, a partner? We’re not in a relationship!” “What? No? No, that can’t be…” 

Then she suddenly said,

“Are you two not hooking up yet?” 

‘You’re the one who needs to be hooked up, not me!’

 

Unable to answer, I looked at her in disbelief. I hadn’t expected to hear that from her, the original heroine, let alone anyone else.

 

Somehow, I managed to calm my astonishment and replied in the calmest voice I could muster.

 “Is it possible that the rumors in the capital have spread that far, then it could be mistaken? But really, His Excellency and I have nothing to do with each other, it’s just…” “Rumors?” “That… that we’ve been in love since childhood, that we’ve promised a future together, that I haven’t seen anyone because I’m waiting for him to return from the war…” “Well, they weren’t always like that.” “Yeah, that’s right! What?” “It’s nothing.” 

O’Neill just smirked at me, watching me huff and puff as I blurted it out without pausing to catch my breath, and then added, shaking her head as if genuinely puzzled.

 “But I’m surprised nothing is going on between you two…” “Well, I mean, we’re not exactly getting anywhere….” “You’re a little late this time.” “What?” 

I frowned at her as she continued to ramble on.

 “O’Neill, if you keep talking to yourself like that, I’ll…” “Then.” 

But she didn’t give me a chance to finish.

 

O’Neill gazed at me, a strange expression on her face. It was resolute as if she’d come to a decision, but with a strange glint in her eye, as if she were excited.

 “I guess I have a chance, huh?” “What?” 

I repeated, not understanding the implication.

 “So you’re telling me that you two aren’t in a relationship?” “Yes?” “And you’re never going to be together?” “Um, that’s….” 

Despite my inability to answer properly and my stammering, O’Neill didn’t seem to mind. 

 

In fact, she blushed profusely and continued to say something meaningful.

 “There comes a time in a person’s life when they need to be brave.” “What?” “I think it’s just right now.” 

The original heroine turned to me with her trademark adorable smile.

 “Is that alright?”  “What?!” 

I sat in the reception room in a daze, and soon afterward, my head snapped up.

 

My mind started spinning rapidly after being still for a while.

 

Then the events of just a few moments ago came rushing back to me in a panorama, and I slowly realized what O’Neill had said.

 

‘We were intercepted.’

 

Intercepted…

 

What–

I was holding back the heroine!

 

Unbelievable.

 

Ever since I realized that this was a fictional world, I thought that as long as I remained good friends with the male lead, this would never happen.

 

And now here I am, and why?

 

‘Why did this happen?’

 

I couldn’t understand why O’Neill would say something like that to me.

 

After all, no matter how unlikable I come across, the existence of a female friend seems inevitably off-putting.

 

Or did I come across as too close to Rudrick, jealous?

 

But when I arrived, we’d only exchanged a quick greeting in front of O’Neill. Was it because Rudrick was so casual in front of me?

 

‘That could be.’

 

But it’s not like I have any control over that.

 

I mean, we’ve known each other for years, and it’s not like he’s just going to start acting like everyone else just because the original heroine showed up.

 

And O’Neill has only been here a few days, and she’s already falling for Rudrick?

 

They’re not that young, and nothing’s happened in the last few days to warrant a new rumor.

 

…No? Did it happen?

 “Stop being crazy, Dahlia!” 

What the hell am I doing wondering that?

 

Shaking my head hastily as my mind wandered further and further off course.

 

This was not a good premonition.

 

If I kept this up, willingly or otherwise, I was going to end up like the poor female friend who got her head busted off by the male lead and heroine like in the original.

 

The only difference was that I wasn’t in love with Rudrick.

 

But the thought of sitting still and suffering the jealousy of others was troubling enough.

 

‘I’ve got to brace myself.’

 

Of course, as a friend, I could help them with their relationship affairs, but strangely, I didn’t want to.

 

Especially since I didn’t know Rudrick’s true feelings right now.

 

I had no desire to impose myself or get between them in the first place.

 

The thought of Rudrick laughing happily with O’Neill made me cringe…

 “I’d rather get some fresh air.” 

I stood up quickly.

 

Yes, sitting in one place thinking about things like this keeps my mind wandering to useless places.

 

If I go outside, or anywhere, and get some fresh air and clear my head, I’ll be able to think more rationally…

 

‘Well, I’m going to find His Excellency.’

 

Suddenly, I remembered O’Neill’s words before we parted ways.

 

She said he hadn’t seen him like that in a long time, that he was taller than he looked, and that he looked great with a sword, O’Neill, complimenting Rudrick, realized how much time had passed and stood up.

 

Then, before heading out the door, she turned back to me and said with a stern look.

 — ‘You have to be proactive to win love.’

 

I stood there, unable to move, and muttered to myself,

 “Shall I… go?” 

At that point, I let out a long sigh at the self-doubt that quickly followed, as I tried to think of 100 reasons to visit Rudrick again.

 

‘Well, we’d better get moving.’

 

So, back to the room or… to the two of them. I need to get out and think.

 

‘Huh?’

 

Pushing the door open with such force, I stopped dead in my tracks.

 

On the other side of the door stood an unexpected figure.

 “Lord River?”  

‘How did I forget.’

 

I pretended to sip my tea, trying to hide the corner of my mouth that quivered.

 

Come to think of it, it wasn’t O’Neill or Rudrick I should have been concerned about. 

 

It was Lord River. Or at least I had been, until I met O’Neill, disturbed by her behavior.

 

I kept trying to figure out why he looked at her the way he did, and if she was really who he said she was.

 

But meeting the original heroine for the first time distracted me. I had forgotten about the problems until now.

 

I had even promised myself that if I ever met O’Neill, I would ask him if she knew Lord River.

 

But I didn’t think it was necessary to ask now.

 

Somehow, I knew the answer.

 “…” “…” 

A heavy silence had fallen in the sitting room since earlier.

 

I swallowed dryly. I found Lord River in the doorway, his hand raised.

 

As if he was about to knock on the door. But he hesitated, taking a step away.

 

His eyes widened in surprise at my sudden appearance. Then he turned his gaze away from me and towards the nearest window.

 

Right behind me, into the sitting room.

 

‘Like he was looking for someone else.’

 

And it was obvious whom he was looking for. The woman he couldn’t take his eyes off, O’Neill, who had just been with me.

 

But out of politeness, I asked

, “Can I help you with something?” 

I honestly had no idea what he was thinking with his silence, but I knew that if we continued this uncomfortable silence, I would be the first one to storm out.

 

At my calm question, he suddenly glanced up, a puzzled look on his face as he realized where he was.

 “Oh, that’s…” “…” “I… sent my regards… ah, I heard you were in Hessen, so… I was wondering if you had a good trip.” “I had a good trip, but you don’t know by now that I went to Hessen, do you?” “…” “No. Maybe you’ve been busy.” 

Saying that, I put down my teacup with a grimace.

 

Come to think of it, he had been away the day I went to Hessen, too.

 

Perhaps he had been looking for O’Neill even then.

 

I wondered what he was thinking when he saw the person he was looking for appear out of nowhere in a magic circle.

 

However, I didn’t bother to ask.

 

Instead, I gave him my usual smile and simply greeted him.

 “How are you, my lord? You look a bit battered, you must have been through a lot.” “What? Oh, no, I’m fine. I just finished up some personal business.” “Really? I’m glad to hear that.” “Yeah.” “…” “…” 

And then silence again.

 

I wiped my sweaty hands needlessly.

 

Normally, I would have found something else to talk about at this point, but I couldn’t think of anything.

 

‘What do they usually have to talk about?’

 

At the time, I was too preoccupied with wooing Lord River.

 

I was so desperate to get him to talk that I would ramble on and on about nothing in particular.

 

Eventually, I gave in to the urge and opened my mouth.

 

He lifted his head at the sound of my voice and looked into my clear eyes as I barely opened my mouth to speak.

 

A voice came from outside. 

 Knock, knock— “Princess, I have a letter for you.” “If it’s not urgent, it can wait…” “It’s an urgent messenger from the capital, and I think you should see it first.” “…Come in.” 

I answered, suppressing a sigh secretly.

 

As soon as I finished speaking, a servant entered the room and handed me a letter.

 

Ripping open the sealed opening with the paper-knife he handed me, I quickly scattered the letters and remarked nonchalantly.

 “Shall we arrange a time for this later anyway? When we’re both free, we can catch up on all the things we haven’t been able to…” 

But I didn’t finish my sentence.

 

Instead, I stared blankly at the letter. I couldn’t take my eyes off a single paragraph, and my grip on the letter began to tremble.

 

Reluctantly, I let go of the letter.

 “My father… collapsed?” All advance chapters after this can be purchased in Ko-fi~ Hope you continue to support this series, chapters will still be updated as scheduled.

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