I Was a Supporting Character

“Leia and Ares become closer by volunteering at the soup kitchen together, and Bianca becomes jealous…”
Oh, so that’s how it goes? The three of them volunteering at a soup kitchen together?
But did I really think it would be comfortable for the three of us to go together? Ah, of course, in the original novel.
“In the social circle, Ares comforts Leia when she’s being bullied by Bianca… while confirming each other’s feelings…”
Ah, so Ares and Leia officially became a couple around that time.
But if I don’t bother Leia, when will the two of them become a couple?
As the ‘author’ was retracing the original novel, drawing pictures and arrows on the ground, she suddenly stopped.
“But Ares already liked Bianca? Then why were they going around together with Leia all this time?”
“Hey, don’t mumble to yourself. Explain it properly to me.”
As I intervened, the ‘author’ raised her head, looking at me with surprise.
However, her expression seemed a bit off. It wasn’t one of surprise or confusion, but rather an angry expression? No, it was even more intense than that.
“…Why is everything, including this place, the domain of the privileged?…”
“What? ‘Privileged’? What are you talking about…”
“Why is it always so easy for those who have everything?”
Her face twisted more and more. Suddenly, she began pouring out her words to me with a voice full of anger.
“You have it all! A good family, plenty of money, and you’re even pretty! You’re popular with other guys too, so why did Ares fall for you? And even before my novel started!”
“What are you talking about now?”
“I came here because I hated that, but is it the same here too? Was this the world I created? Insane…!”
Didn’t that ‘author’ say before that the world she created was perfect? But it seemed like it didn’t turn out the way she wanted.
“Calm down a bit. Let’s go through this slowly again…”
“Like this hellish Chosun! Anyway, those born with a silver spoon always enjoy everything without making any effort!”
She was cursing at me, it seemed, but even though I felt a bubbling rage inside, I decided to continue listening for now.
“I made those who flaunt their wealth in my novel suffer, portraying them as privileged, but now it’s not like that?”
So, it seemed like I was included in the group of people the ‘author’ hated, the so-called ‘privileged.’
I finally spoke to the ‘author.’
“So, was it because I didn’t want to have everything that I decided to give Ares to Lea?”
“Yeah! It’s unfair! You get everything so easily without any effort. You probably have no idea how much Lea suffers and works hard!”
I had plenty to counter that statement. Everyone had the prejudice that I became the flower of society without any effort.
“You say I didn’t make any effort, but do you even know about my past life? Do you know what efforts I made to become the most outstanding woman in society? You have no idea!”
“It’s all because of your family background! And your looks!”
“I’ll admit to the family background. But that’s what you set, right? And it looks too; it’s the same. It’s all your creation. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself.”
“Eeek!”
“The family background and my looks are the way you presented them. But diligently maintaining and managing my appearance every day, studying all kinds of culture through the night, all of that was my effort and will.”
“Why did you bring Ares into this? He was supposed to be Lea’s!”
“Get a grip. What’s Ares, some object? Why are you saying he belongs to Lea? Ares loved willingly. It’s not something I did.”
“Heh, the world is truly unfair, isn’t it?”
“That’s your talk. And this world is the one you created.”
The ‘author’ didn’t hide her animosity towards me.
I couldn’t understand. What did I do wrong to make her show hostility toward me?
I sighed deeply and told the ‘author’,
“I’ve been having an unwanted crush because of you. My life has been in your hands all this time. Shouldn’t I be the one feeling wronged?”
“….”
“I have a lot of questions. I’d appreciate it if you answered them one by one.”
“….”
‘Author’ bit her lip and turned away from me. However, I couldn’t back down here with her showing hostility towards me.
“I won’t become a villain. So, tell me how Ares falls in love with Lea. When does it happen? What events trigger it? Everything.”
“…I don’t know.”
“What?”
I looked at the ‘author’ with a face tinged with amazement.
No, why doesn’t the creator of this world know that!
“You said it’s the novel you wrote! But why don’t you know! Wait, are you not the author?”
Then she denied it again, with a sinister expression.
“I am definitely the author! But, I didn’t write about when Ares falls in love! Everything is written from Lea’s perspective!”
“?”
What on earth is the ‘author’ talking about?
“It’s the novel I wrote! I can’t lie anyway! The ‘Ability User’ sent me to this world and told me to live a good life! Saying that I can’t lie from the beginning!”
Ah, so the ‘author’ can’t lie because the ‘Ability User’ sent her to this novel.
“But why don’t you know about Ares’ feelings? You created the protagonist.”
“This novel…!”
She closed her eyes tightly and then opened them. While doing so, she nervously scratched the ground.
“Miss, I shouldn’t have written it in the first person! I should have just written it in the third person for convenience!”
“…?”
As I continued to wear a dumbfounded expression, the ‘author’ spoke in a crawling voice.
“This novel… It’s in Lea’s first-person perspective. I didn’t write a separate story from Ares’s point of view!”
My mouth fell open.
So, this novel right now is a first-person romance novel written from Lea’s perspective!
Ha, hahaha. So that’s how it is…! So, the ‘author’ couldn’t accurately describe Ares’s feelings!
This novel was exclusively written from Lea’s point of view! Emotions and everything else would have been accurately described only from Lea’s perspective. Ares’s feelings were portrayed solely through his words and actions, leaving Lea to speculate.
Judgments of good and evil, as well as the perspective on the world, would have all been shaped by Lea’s subjective view. Since the narrative was limited to Lea’s eyes, there would have been many areas the author couldn’t accurately describe.
That was the reason Ares and I could enjoy a considerable degree of free will in this novel’s world.
Most importantly, I didn’t move like a puppet under the ‘author’s’ control.
…Really, I was relieved. And happy.
Now that the identity of this original work, which was written in the first person, had been revealed, there was one peculiar thing.
Why am I not as free as Ares and trapped in a predetermined, unrequited love?
If you’re curious, just ask.
“What happened to my emotions, my heart? I’ve been secretly in love with Ares even before Lea appeared. If the narrator in the novel is Lea, how did she know about my feelings?”
Then the ‘author’ looked at me and said, “There’s a scene where you become close friends with Lea and confess your innermost feelings. Lea confesses that she fell in love with Ares at first sight.”
Oh my goodness… Was I described as doing such a stupid thing…!
“I’m not friends with Lea.”
“Anyway, nobles call each other by their names; isn’t that what friends do?”
“If I didn’t know my fate, according to what you wrote in the novel, I would have become close to Lea. But in the end, I changed the course. I’m not that close to Lea now.”
The ‘author’ had mentioned before that the parts she didn’t describe in writing allowed the characters in the novel to act freely, and even if she wrote about it, it could change enough depending on how much I influenced the flow.
I tried hard not to become a villain and eventually succeeded in twisting the narrated villainous actions in the novel.
And Ares’s feelings, due to not being directly described in writing, escaped the interference of the ‘author’.
At least until the scene where Ares says ‘I love you’ to Lea, I can freely love him according to his will.
… ‘Author,’ you made it difficult to handle this novel.
In the novel, the progression of their romance occurs solely from Lea’s perspective. In simpler terms, it means that Lea might have mistakenly advanced the romance on her own, interpreting Ares’s feelings based on her own emotional state.
The narrator in the novel is Lea alone, and the ‘author’ could only write the story and settings in Lea’s perspective!
The ‘author’ in front of me seemed incredibly frustrated with her own situation.
“This is why you shouldn’t casually write a first-person novel! I came all the way here, and I can’t do anything as I please!”
Sigh. I seemed to understand why the ‘author’ approached me in the first place.
If it’s a first-person perspective novel, the narrator Lea most likely reflected a character that closely resembled the ‘author’s’ true identity. The ‘author’ would have projected a considerable part of her real self onto Lea.
However, if I became a villain who tormented Lea too much, just like in the original novel, the ‘author’ observing Lea in this novel’s world would be quite uncomfortable. After all, Lea was essentially no different from the ‘author’ herself.
So, the reason the ‘author’ came looking for me was probably to make me torment Lea a little less. Since she wrote the novel only from Lea’s perspective, Lea had to take action for me to move unnoticed.
This darn ‘author.’ She spoils the protagonist, pampers them with a flower path, and treats me like a disposable supporting character since I’m not the main character!
Even so, as the creator of the novel, she wanted to avoid her story from completely falling apart. So, she established what she called a novel ‘pillar’ and made a contract with the so-called ‘ability holder’ to ensure it wouldn’t crumble!
Ah…? Come to think of it, there was one important question.
I asked the ‘author,’ “If Ares doesn’t like Lea, then what happens to the novel’s ‘pillars’? You mentioned that they are absolutely unchangeable, right?”
The crucial ‘pillars’ in the novel are supposed to emerge as the romance progresses. Currently, Ares has not abandoned his lingering feelings for me from before the start of the novel until now. Moreover, he strongly insisted to me that he doesn’t have any romantic feelings beyond friendship for Lea.
Doesn’t that mean the novel won’t progress at all? The romance between the two main characters is blocked. Therefore, the important ‘pillars’ of the novel will never appear!
In that case, could the scene where the villainous supporting character, me, dies also be avoided if handled well?
However, the ‘author’ immediately shook her head.
“The novel’s ‘pillars’ will never change. They will all appear as planned.”
“But Ares and Lea’s romance hasn’t progressed at all.”
“Wait and see. One of the ‘pillars’ will soon emerge. During the cherry blossom festival, Lea realises her feelings as she enjoys the festival with Ares.”
The cherry blossom festival? That’s happening in less than a week!