I Was a Supporting Character

Ares nodded with a bitter smile.

“I didn’t even notice any other ladies.”

“Even though many young ladies have longed to be by your side?”

“I didn’t need that much attention.”

But it was different for Lea.

How do I ask this? He always reacted particularly sensitively when I brought up Lea’s story, so I approached the question with great caution.

As I hesitated, Ares glanced at me and said, “It seems like you have something you want to say.”

“…Yes.”

Wow, it’s really impressive. How does he know again? Even though my poker face is clearly broken right now, isn’t it too revealing?

“I’ll listen to whatever you want to say.” he says.

“Well… I have a question.”

“Why did you allow Lady Saturanos to be by your side?”

I deliberately didn’t say ‘Lea.’ Somehow, I wanted to reveal the fact that she and I weren’t friends in front of Ares.

In fact, she was an amazing woman who truly broke the iron wall of Ares Stanley, a well-mannered man.

Ares’ face became noticeably awkward at my question.

That… it’s probably difficult to explain. There might not be a rational process for how emotions work as set by the author. I, too, had no reason to love him. I just ended up loving him.

I somewhat anticipated Ares’s response in my mind.

He chose his words carefully as he replied, “It seems that Leah’s defenses crumbled from the beginning. Perhaps the first meeting was so dramatic that it happened.”

That was true. It was dramatic. And indeed, it was the beginning of a drama.

“I felt comfortable talking to her. So, I thought it would be nice to become friends even.”

I was surprised that he spoke so honestly compared to what I expected.

Leah’s friendliness was a powerful ability given as a buff by the author for the female lead. With her charm setting, even I couldn’t help but have a motherly smile for her at times, let alone Ares, who was set as her man.

“So, didn’t she have a special meaning to you?”

In response to my calm question, Ares promptly replied, “She was special as a friend. She became my first friend as a peer.”

And becoming lovers after being friends is a common occurrence. It’s a plot often seen in romance novels.

Perhaps, due to today’s carriage incident, Ares accidentally revealed his feelings to me. If a little more time had passed, the situation would have certainly been different. Perhaps, before his feelings for Leah turned into love, he would have confessed to me first.

I, too, should have pretended not to hear his confession.

Ares continued speaking.

“And thanks to her, I could finally approach you. In that sense, Leah is undoubtedly special.”

“…”

“You are completely different from Leah. I’m not so naïve that I can’t distinguish such feelings.”

Is it really possible to distinguish friendship and love so clearly between a man and a woman?

“Bianca, you are not special; you are the only one.”

His last words sounded like an appeal.

I had no words to refute. I didn’t doubt Ares’s words. I could feel that his emotions were genuine.

Before I knew it, the carriage was passing near our family mansion.

Before reaching the main gate, when we were a bit away from the mansion, I requested Ares to let me get off. Fortunately, he complied with my request without saying anything.

“Thank you for the ride, Ares.”

I expressed my gratitude for his kindness. I was relieved that his tone was calm, showing no hint of any emotion.

“…Until we meet again, Bianca.”

He also uttered a very formal farewell. It must have been challenging to restrain his emotions, and I felt a tingling in my heart, knowing that it was his consideration.

As the gatekeeper opened the door, I entered the estate of the Marquis. From afar, I could still hear the sound of the carriage rushing away. It seemed like he had been watching until I entered completely.

Returning to my room, I collapsed onto the bed.

In just a few hours, so much had happened that my mind was left blank, and my head and chest felt completely empty.

＊ ＊ ＊

From the next day, I had to endure two full days of constant groaning. My body was boiling with fever, and I had completely lost my appetite, not wanting anything in my mouth except water.

While lying in bed, unable to move, a letter arrived from Leia, announcing her visit. However, due to my illness, I had no choice but to regretfully decline, as I was in no condition to welcome guests.

Unexpectedly falling so ill was uncommon, which heightened my parents’ concern. However, when the doctor came and examined me, he could only explain it as a common cold.

After two days of suffering, lo and behold! It seemed like I had shed some weight! Well, considering I hadn’t eaten anything except water, it was only natural.

All my favorite clothes became loose, and it seemed like I could tighten the waistband a bit more.

As I got up from the bed and checked my appearance in the mirror, Miranda entered my room with her usual calm expression.

“Oh, Miss. It seems you’re in a condition to move today.”

“Yeah, it feels like the fever has gone down.”

“Aren’t you hungry?”

Only when Miranda asked, I suddenly felt hungry. I nodded immediately.

“True, after not eating anything for two days, I’m starving.”

“Please wait a moment. I’ll bring you some porridge.”

“Thank you.”

As Miranda left, I sat at the tea table and carefully read through the letters that had arrived in front of me during my illness. There were a few letters that required a reply.

First and foremost, I wrote a reply to Metis, informing her of the severe illness I had been experiencing. Then, I picked up my pen and once again apologized to Leia Satornos for rejecting her visit.

I handed the letters to Miranda, who brought the soup, instructing her to send them. Hopefully, the postal workers would complete the delivery by noon at the latest.

Considering how unwell I had been, I initially thought about taking a break at home. However, I changed my mind, shaking my head.

Above all, what was crucial for me was meeting the ‘author’ to confirm the truth. There were a mountain of questions about why Ares was in love with me instead of Leia, how the original novel’s plot was supposed to unfold, and so on.

Each of these questions was related to the truth of the world I now stood in, my identity, and my life. Therefore, I couldn’t simply dismiss and ignore everything as the ‘author’s nonsense.

After finishing the soup without leaving a drop, I instructed Miranda to help me prepare for going out. Despite her perplexed expression, I remained steadfast. I wanted to quickly go to the tea shop and meet the ‘author.’

Feeling that my face looked too pallid, I deliberately put on makeup to appear more lively. I didn’t want to have a deathly complexion in front of people.

At that moment, my eyes caught a small jeweler box placed quietly on the vanity. It was a gift from Ares that day.

With a slightly tense heart, I opened the box to find a pearl-decorated hairpin and a pair of earrings featuring onyx and amethyst. It seemed to be coordinated to match my black hair and violet eyes.

Ares must have imagined my face while choosing these. Imagining me trying on each piece among the numerous jewels displayed in the jewellery store. After repeated contemplation, he might have chosen this pair of earrings and the hairpin.

If Ares were to ask me to choose his jewellery, I would gladly do so. During the meticulous process of selecting jewels, I could warm my heart thinking about him.

However, the day I would wear these earrings might never come. Perhaps in a few days, Ares’ feelings could return to Leia.

The ‘author’s’ settings had a way of inducing emotions without warning or reason. At least, that was my experience.

Quietly, I closed Ares’ box and placed it in the drawer of the vanity.

Dressed appropriately for the warm spring day, with a wide-brimmed hat shielding the sunlight, I walked out to catch a public carriage. It was because there wasn’t a suitable place to hail a carriage in the bustling area.

As if fervent wishes could come true, as soon as I stepped down from the public carriage, I saw a woman with black hair like mine turning the building corner.

A woman of my age, wearing a unique dress with a very practical design, adorned with black hair.

I had finally found the ‘author.’

Before missing the woman presumed to be the ‘author,’ despite the nobility’s demeanor, I ran towards her with the clattering sound of my shoes. As she turned the corner of the disappearing building, a few meters ahead, I spotted the ‘author’ strolling.

“Hey! Author!”

I shouted to attract her attention. In response, the ‘author’ turned around, confirming me.

“Hmm? Bianca?”

What a calm expression!

Without suppressing the rising anger, I approached her briskly and suddenly grabbed her by the collar!

“Do you have any idea how much I’ve been searching for you?”

“Miss, let go of this? Let go and talk, okay?”

In an instant, the ‘author’ turned her face into a wry expression. I may be hot-tempered, but she seemed to have a temperament not to be trifled with as well.

However, that didn’t mean I was going to listen obediently. I tightened my grip on her collar even more and brought my face close to hers.

“Why does Ares love me? Explain that!”

The ‘author’s’ face instantly turned bewildered.

“What?”

“Why does Ares like me? You said he’s the male lead! Wasn’t he supposed to fall in love with the female lead? Is this also part of your novel’s plot? Recite the novel word for word without missing a single detail right now!”

I was so excited that I didn’t even catch my breath, relentlessly confronting the ‘author.’ However, no matter how much I shouted, the ‘author’s’ expression remained consistently clueless.

“Ares said he likes you?”

“Are you going to keep pretending? You claim it’s your novel! You don’t even know the content! Are you really the author?”

At my final words, she finally reacted.

“What do you take me for? Do you think I’d lie?”

Oh, surprise. She’s really getting angry at an odd point.

I released my grip on her collar, which I had been holding onto painfully. Then, with a much calmer voice, I asked again.

“Stop with the nonsense about spoilers or whatever. Right now, tell me your novel properly. Something seems seriously wrong!”

Even though I had let go of her collar, the ‘author’s’ face was still turning various shades of red and blue. Then, she started saying something completely unrelated!

“Does Ares really like you? Why?”

Judging by her expression, it seemed like she genuinely had no idea about the situation.

I quickly regained my composure and calmly said, “Actually, I’m the one who wants answers. Ares said that. He liked me from the moment he saw me. That’s almost a year ago now.”

The ‘author’ sat down under the outer wall of a building, still blushing.

“This is strange…?”

I quietly listened as the ‘author’ mumbled something while drawing on the ground.

“Surely, Leia and Ares had their first kiss…”

My face twisted in response to that mumble, but I decided not to interrupt the ‘author’ for now.

“…and she toured the city together with Ares.”

“…”

“Becomes friends with Bianca and learns manners from her…”

Oh! I found a discrepancy.

But without interrupting, I continued to listen to the ‘author’s’ words. After all, what she was whispering now was part of the original novel.