I, the Female Lead, Ruined the Original

What a messy situation. Selleana couldn’t understand why Theonis so disparaged Rakrensius, a member of the imperial family.

It was when she glared at him with stiff eyes, full of her grievances.

“Let’s stop the wordplay here…”  With a sigh, Theonis’s voice turned solemn as if his real intention was only now about to be revealed. “Lea, you must think I’m over-skeptical and suspicious without reason.”

“I wouldn’t know.”

“It’s inevitable.”

Their unyielding gazes clashed in mid-air.

“Since you decided not to participate in the selection process and spoke unilaterally in front of His Majesty during the birthday banquet without consensus from our family, trust in you has somewhat diminished.”

, Selleana scoffed coldly. What kind of trust when they didn’t even support her choices?

“So, you too must endure distrust until the situation clears up.”

“…Understood,” Selleana replied without blinking, locking eyes with Theonis. “I feel the same way.”

As his younger sister showed no sign of backing down, Theonis’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

“The head of our family has agreed to respect my opinion, but by expressing my honest thoughts in front of His Majesty and being disregarded by Elard for it, my trust in them has also been somewhat shattered.”

“Honest thoughts?”

“Especially I am most disappointed in my eldest brother, who didn’t trust me even a little bit.”

Silence followed. Selleana, who had first brought up ‘disappointment,’ now saw Theonis wear a hurt expression. His inconsistent attitude reignited her irritation.

“If you intend to be wary of Duke Ansi as the fifth prince, treat him with courtesy due as a member of the imperial family. If you’re going to look down on him, regardless of our relationship, think of him as no threat to the crown prince and leave him be.”

Selleana’s sharp retort made Theonis’s brow furrowed for a moment.

“Let’s go, Michi.” Selleana climbed into the carriage and threw one last jab. “Just don’t try touching my friend, okay?”

* * *

After parting with Theonis, Selleana, and Michi returned with iced coffee packed to brighten their mood.

“What’s the occasion, Nesia? So early.”

The lights were on in the living room, indicating Agnesia was there. Friends from the Transmigrators Club were always welcome, so Agnesia lounged on the sofa as if it were her own bedroom.

“What kind of coffee is this?”

“Mixed coffee is the best for stress.”

Two coffees, two creams, two sugars. Though it wouldn’t taste exactly like the mass-produced version, the beverage in the mug had a similar color.

Stress. If Agnesia had one recent trouble, it was just one.

“No way, again?”

“Yes, again.”

“…This is crazy.”

Agnesia’s remark had Selleana pressing her forehead.

“He even asked me to meet him today.”

“What? Really?”

“He really came to see you, then?”

“…XXX.”

After the birthday banquet, Agnesia had acquired a stalker. His name was Karl Gotenfrid. That is Agnesia’s original male lead.

“You said that a few days ago, he came to pray, donate, and pretend to have business at the temple, right?”

“And then he kept glancing at the priests suspiciously… so he really came for you.”

As they spoke, Agnesia, perhaps dizzy from the conversation, hurriedly drank her mixed coffee… with a lot of syrup milk in it.  

“So what happened?”

“What could happen? I told the trainees to lie that I was sick and snuck out the back door to come here.”

“What if he comes again…?”

“I told the kids never to connect me with him again.

, really, I’m going insane… It’s not like I wasn’t careful.”

“…Sorry.”

Selleana sheepishly admitted fault. It was she who had dragged Agnesia, who hadn’t been attending social gatherings, out.

“No, it’s okay. I’ve been ignoring the nobles’ advice to socialize, so I had to attend at least once.” Agnesia, having put down her mug, continued her grumbling. “In a few years, his dying first love will come crawling back after ruining his marriage. Just wait…! Anyway, the men here think they’ll suffocate without a woman to support them.”

“

… Nesia, if there’s anything I can do to help, let me know. If that person asks to be introduced to you or anything, I’ll cut him off right away.”

“Thanks for saying that. I hope it never comes to that…”

While Agnesia was grumbling about her original male lead, she suddenly remembered something. “

, right. I went to Mellisa’s yesterday.”

Mellisa was referring to Count Rondel’s residence, Michi’s old workplace. Agnesia met once a month with her most fervent supporter, Mellisa Rondel, and her group.

“The third prince of Laten. He’s Michi’s male lead 1, right?”

Michi’s azalea-colored eyes froze at the sudden mention.

“He’s still not returned to his kingdom. He’s staying at the Count Rondel’s estate.”

“What? Not only has he not returned… but why is he staying at a noble’s house instead of the imperial palace?”

“According to Mellisa, the official delegation has returned, and he stayed behind for personal reasons.”

“Personal reasons?” Selleana furrowed her brow. “I know Prince Laten III is involved in various businesses due to his low position in the line of succession…”

“I felt strange about it too, so I prodded Mellisa about it, but she doesn’t seem to know much either. Maybe Doli would know something?”

“Now that the original story of Doli is finished, maybe we have to use the guild to find out something…”

“That’s right.”

As Selleana and Agnesia were tossing around guesses, Michi, who had been silent, cautiously spoke up. “It might have something to do…with me.”

“With you?”

“Why? What happened?”

“On the day of the birthday banquet…” At the mention of the birthday banquet, the two friends’ eyes froze.

“No, it can’t be.”

“Right?”

“…Yes, we ran into each other.”

, Selleana and Agnesia sighed deeply. Michi began to share the story she had been agonizing over alone for days.

“We were outside having a drink, and we went in briefly to get more wine, right?”

That would have been when Selleana was spending a moment with Rakrensius. According to Theonis’s overly suspicious description, when they were having a ‘secret meeting’.

“At that time, Nesia, you briefly greeted Lady Rondel and…”

“

, you said you’d choose the wine yourself and told me to wait… That time?”

“That’s right.” Michi nodded. “Then the Ranteta waltz played, and that’s Rosi’s favorite dance, right? So I was looking for her and got distracted, then I bumped into a pillar and fell…”

Michi’s voice was almost a whimper. “My glasses fell off, and people thought I had fainted, causing a commotion.”

“And that’s when… Prince Laten III saw you?”

“

… Our eyes met.”

“Oh no…”

“Really,

.”

Listening to their friend’s worried sighs, Michi let out a deep breath.

Could even the former female protagonist’s fall attract everyone’s attention, as people rushed to assist Michi, the personal maid of the Lady of Elard, offering their kindness? Why was a distinguished guest there, bending down to pick up her glasses from the feet of the crowd?

The distinctive purple eyes, the slightly parting lips… At that moment, Michi could think of nothing but to flee from the spot. Then, hoping it was a mistake, that even if their eyes really met, it would be nothing significant, she spent a few quiet days.

“I should have been more careful. As Doli said, there were many people that day; I should have been extra cautious.”

“No. There was no need to be so cautious about such things. Besides, no one knows the real reason why he hasn’t returned to his kingdom yet.”

“Right. Even if it turns out to be true, it’s not your fault that some guys act like stalkers just because they saw your face once.”

Agnesia, deeply empathizing, grumbled fiercely as Selleana nodded firmly.

“Plus, there’s been no issue so far. We’ve run into the young master of Rondel often enough but always managed. We’ve brushed knight commander Orelli’s son and heir to the Marderung business group in the past a few times, but nothing happened.”

“That’s true, but it’s the first time I’ve shown my face to him…”

Over time, the friends had done their best to prevent Michi from getting entangled with any men. Especially her original male leads. And now, unprotected, she had encountered one of the most significant original male leads…

“There won’t be any trouble, right?” Michi grabbed Selleana’s arm in desperation.

Years ago, the moment they saw their friend’s capital, which could advertise on vegetable sacks distributed across the empire, Michi had entrusted her fate to them. Even going as far as falsely accusing the family she served of plotting treason. All to escape a reverse harem that seemed to revolve solely around her.

Knowing her situation, the friends consoled Michi.

“It’ll be okay.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just when all our marriageable ages coincide, these guys show up…”

“It can’t be that the two of them conspired about anything… Right?”