I Became The Male Lead’s Female Friend

A man I had believed to be the best for me all my life came to me out of the blue one day and said,

‘I’m actually in love with someone.’

 

What should I do in this situation?

   

For once, I clenched my fists.

 

Sir River squeezed his eyes shut. And a long time passed.

 

He waited reverently with his eyes closed, but soon he opened them, saddened that nothing had happened, and looked at me with a puzzled gaze.

 

As I was watching the whole thing, I had to laugh in the end.

 

‘Well, here I thought something had happened.’

 

Honestly, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t shocked.

 

But my surprise wasn’t the shock of being told something I didn’t know. Rather, it was the shock of confirming what I had already suspected.

 

As it turns out, I had a feeling this would happen.

 

‘Anyone can guess anything by looking at those eyes.’

 

When he first met O’Neill, he had the look of a man in love, unable to take his eyes off her.

 

There were many signs even before that.

 

From the time he said I reminded him of someone, to the time he said he’d forgotten everything, to the time he kept looking for someone, to the restlessness he felt when he couldn’t meet O’Neill.

 

It was something I was prepared for, but seeing it with my own eyes made me bitter.

 

He fidgeted, still looking at me, and I squinted at him. Then, in a low voice, I repeated slowly.

 “When you look at me, you think of O’Neill.” “Well…” “I know it’s not you, but I’ve been thinking about it.” “…” “For some reason, you couldn’t answer me when I asked you if you had feelings for me.” “That’s…!” 

Lord River, who had raised his head in surprise, soon recoiled at my cold expression and shook his head.

 “I really… I have no words for it, but I can assure you that my attraction to the Princess was genuine…” “Hmm, so you have a crush on O’Neill, and you have feelings for me as well? Are you openly admitting to being a two-timer in front of me, my lord?” “Hey, what do you mean, two-timer… But I am not.” “…” “Please sit down and talk about it again, it’s making me uncomfortable if you keep doing that.” “…I’m sorry.” 

Lord River rose from his seat and staggered back to his place.

 

Plopping down on the couch opposite, he looked as if his soul had been robbed of his punishment.

 

‘I’m the one who got dumped, but why was he like that?’

 

I clicked my tongue, crossed my arms, and looked at him quietly. After hesitating for a long time, he immediately spoke slowly.

 “O’Neill… was my first love.” 

And so began Lord River’s long and bitter love story.

 

How did I end up listening to the love story of a guy I wanted to date?

 

When I think about it, I couldn’t help but feel so lost, but surprisingly, his story wasn’t that interesting.

 “So O’Neill was the one you were beholden to when you were young?” “Yes. That’s right. As a child, I grew up alone in the Goldman estate… ” 

Seeing him hesitate for a while, I sighed openly.

 

At the same time, seeing his body tremble, I gently placed my hand on his shoulder.

 “Are you going to explain what happened?” 

He recited his childhood in succession.

 

Unlike now, he was weak when he was young. His mother died giving birth to him, and his father was also bothered by him being sick all the time.

 

In the end, unlike his family who lived in the capital, he ended up living alone on the estate, and the person who approached him at that time was O’Neill.

 “O’Neill was my maid.” “A maid? I think she was too young to be a maid… Was she your age?” “Well…” 

Lord River’s expression changed strangely.

 “O’Neill was not young even then.” “What? What does that mean…” 

The shocking truth was soon revealed.

 “Because when I was a child, O’Neill was what she was now.” 

My mouth dropped open.

 “The way she was now? Unchanged, all grown up?” “That’s why I was surprised when I saw her after all these years because she hadn’t changed at all.” 

If that was true, I wasn’t merely surprised.

 

From the past to the present, O’Neill hasn’t aged at all. How could she be called a human? Was there any information in the original story that the heroine was an extradimensional being?

 

‘No, not at all.’

 

Then what was she now?

 

If she’s using magic to hide her appearance, what was her true age, and was she really O’Neill?

 

Or, as I suspected before…

 

‘What if it’s someone else pretending to be O’Neill?’

 

While I was lost in thought, replaying the possibilities, Lord River continued.

 “She was the only one who treated me kindly when everyone else shunned me as an outcast, and I quickly fell for her.” “I don’t want to hear that in great detail, so can you summarize it briefly?” “Haha… okay, well, anyway, I rely on her more and more and…” 

His face hardened slightly.

 “And it ended up taking its toll on her.” 

A few years later, Duke Goldman tried to take his son away from the estate.

 

But he was already firmly in love with O’Neill and insisted that he didn’t want to part with her, and so the Duke went behind his back.

 “One day, O’Neill disappeared. My father said she had stolen the valuables from him, but I later found out…” 

Lord River laughed bitterly.

 “When I found out the truth, I tried to find her, but it was too late. Later, word came that she was dead.” “…” “Even if that wasn’t true, I realized that I would never see her again, so I gave up and moved on…” “And then you got word that she was alive.” 

He didn’t answer, but I could tell enough that he was affirming.

 

I finally nodded.

 “I understand the situation, and why you were attracted to me.” “I’m glad you understand…” “So you’re saying that you found another love to get over your first love, but you couldn’t get over your first love, so you ended up in this situation, am I right?” “…” 

Lord River closed his eyes tightly.

 “This was so disgraceful…” “Hmm, well…”

I said, sounding disappointed, but in truth, I didn’t blame him.

 

Because, in reality, I didn’t mind.

 

Was it because I knew this situation would come and was mentally prepared, or was it because my feelings towards him were only limited to that level?

 

‘Well, this was…’

 

Although I felt a little bitter, I wasn’t furious, and I felt like I could accept his apology.

 

But I couldn’t part ways like this.

 

Unlike him, I hadn’t really gotten to the point, and there was too much at stake for me to just go off on a whim.

 

I took off my watch and said.

“It’s a bit of a shock.” “I understand,”

he said.

 “I’m a little disappointed, a little betrayed…” “I’ll take it whatever you want, whether it’s yelling at me or hitting me, as long as it makes you feel better…” “You’d do anything?” “What?” 

I asked coldly, and his eyes rounded. I relaxed my stiff face and leaned back against the couch.

 “Actually, I don’t intend to blame you now. It’s a little absurd, but beating and swearing at you doesn’t bring your heart back, does it?” “What? Yes. That’s true, but…” “And that’s not my point today.” 

Lord River looked at me with an unintelligible expression, but his face quickly hardened at the next words.

 “The Duke of Goldman.” 

I said and quickly continued,

“Your father, what is he up to? “…!”  

Yes, in truth, it wasn’t Lord River’s sincerity or his apology that mattered to me.

 

‘It was whether he could help me or not.’

 

I’d worked so hard to set up this place to tell that story, and all I got was a ridiculous scene of him falling to his knees.

 

But I had come this far, and I couldn’t let the little things get away from me.

 “So what happened was…” 

At this point, I told him everything. Because this just made me more certain.

 

He disapproves of his father.

 

I’ve always had that feeling, but it was only a premonition until I heard about his past and his involvement with O’Neill.

 

From keeping him in the estate because he was weak and useless, to manipulating him and kicking out the maid when he wouldn’t listen to him.

 

Due to a series of events, he would not be able to automatically develop good feelings toward his father.

 

‘And it’s probably the same now.’

 

And as if I were right, Lord River’s face darkened as he listened, and he muttered.

 “My father… I had a feeling he’d be overly greedy someday…” 

Again, I hid the smile that threatened to leak out and asked softly.

 “Do you know anything about that?” “I don’t know the details, but… I do know that my father runs a gambling house, and I’ve seen him visiting the imperial court frequently for that matter.” “To the imperial court…” 

I see the connection there.

 “And he seemed to be trying to give my brother the job, but he’s a bit stubborn about that sort of thing…” “By your brother, you mean Goldman’s eldest son?” “That’s right, up until now he seemed to be running things quietly by himself, but this time he’s looking for someone to take over as if he’s trying to grow the business, so I wondered what was happening…” “I guess you know it’s going to be legalized and want to expand, but you’re looking for someone? How does the Lord know that?” ” He once told me, briefly, though, of course, I pretended not to hear.” 

Lord River chewed his lip.

 “I’m glad you did.” 

‘Is that so?’

 

I pondered for a moment. Then I asked him outright.

 “So, legalizing gambling, what does your lordship think?” 

He replied without hesitation,

“It’s nonsense. Some may call it entertainment, but it’s gambling. People would be ruined, and the empire would be thrown into chaos.” “You’re saying it should be stopped?” “Of course.” “Even if your family suffers in the process?” “Duke Goldman was already too deeply involved, and stopping the legalization would inevitably damage the family, not to mention the Duke.” “…” “Would you be okay with that?” “…” 

He was silent for a moment. I waited nervously for his answer, and when he finally looked up, he spoke calmly.

 “I’m ashamed to say, I don’t have much family pride, especially if it goes the wrong way.” “…” “It doesn’t matter.” 

He was the Lord River I knew, after all. A man who, like the original, would act for what he thought was justice.

 

‘Though I didn’t expect him to love O’Neill like the original.’

 

I swallowed a bitter laugh and stood up, then turned to him, extending my hand.

 “I’m going to stop the legalization somehow, and I need your help for that.” “…” “Can you help me?” 

He stared at my hand, but then he turned to face me and asked. 

 “What can I do?” 

And so Lord River and I formed an unspoken alliance.

 

A few days later.

 

Word spread throughout the Empire that he and I were engaged.