I’m a Second Male Lead in a Romance Fantasy, but I Don’t Like the Female Lead

Hestia’s expression hardened. I tried to move my body but couldn’t move at all. Mikhail’s mouth wouldn’t separate, as if glued. It feels like I’ve been separated from Mikhail. Like having an out-of-body experience, watching from a third-person perspective.

Both Hestia and Mikhail looked a bit younger than now. They’re still in their growing years. Looking more closely, their age is exactly 15. Somehow, I could tell.

Hestia was eagerly saying something to Mikhail, but he didn’t even pretend to listen. It was thorough ignorance in the true sense. The more Mikhail ignored her, the more Hestia’s expression hardened. She tried her best not to show it, but she couldn’t fool my eyes.

After that, it was strangely repetitive. Only the background changed slightly, but the same scene kept flowing before my eyes. Hestia talks eagerly, and Mikhail ignores her diligently. As the scenes repeated, Mikhail and Hestia grew. Hestia’s expression hardened progressively, and Mikhail’s reactions grew colder. From some point, Hestia stopped speaking as well. Her expression also remained unchanged.

The two just sat, quietly drank tea, and parted. Without any conversation. And at the end of the repeated scenes, Hestia finally spoke.

“Let’s break off our engagement.”

I shouted vehemently.

“No!”

-Bang!

I rolled off the bed. My back feels like it’s splitting.

Ah, shit. A dream.

What kind of harsh dream is this? It was strangely realistic, which made it feel worse.

‘What kind of stupid dream is this?’

I clutched my back and recalled the dream I just had. Dreams are supposed to evaporate and disappear instantly after waking up, but strangely, the more I think about it, the more vividly it remains in my mind.

Hestia trying hard to make conversation alone and me not even responding. And finally, seemingly tired, she declares the breakup. Except for the final breakup declaration, it feels like recalling something that actually happened rather than a dream. And judging from the facts I’ve learned so far, it probably did happen. Hestia trying somehow to continue the conversation and me ignoring her. We were probably destined to break off our engagement, just as Seol-ah said.

I felt unnecessarily uncomfortable. I don’t know why I’m seeing this in a dream now. I had a nice date with Hestia yesterday and returned in a good mood. Was I unconsciously concerned about Seol-ah’s words?

“Is everything alright, sir?”

“Nothing happened. You can go back.”

The noise from my shouting and falling from the bed must have been louder than I thought, as a maid rushed over to check on me. I groaned as I answered.

I sent the maid away in a state mixed with equal parts pain and embarrassment. Finally getting up, I checked the time. It’s a bit early to prepare to go out, but also an awkward time to go back to sleep. Plus, after having such a dream and falling out of bed, I didn’t particularly want to go back to sleep.

Since I was up early, I decided to take a dawn walk. It wouldn’t be a problem as some students who exercise in the early morning would already be out.

The Academy’s dawn was more lively than I expected. Though the sun hadn’t fully risen, giving the campus a bluish tint, there were quite a few service staff preparing for the day and students who had come out to exercise.

I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with the dawn air. I had heard somewhere that the morning air is bad for the body because dust accumulates overnight, but I didn’t care much. As long as it feels refreshing and clean to me. I took another deep breath.

While enjoying the dawn air, I heard a familiar voice from behind. I turned to the voice calling me.

“Oh, Mikhail? What brings you out at this hour?”

Cordelia spoke to me, dressed in gym clothes. She was dripping with sweat despite the still chilly weather, probably from jogging. Her long hair was tied up and pulled back. I was suddenly reminded of peeking at Hestia’s nape when I offered her a massage last time, and felt strangely guilty. I tried to avert my gaze from her nape.

“My eyes opened strangely early, so I was just taking a walk. Are you exercising?”

“Yes. I’ve been running at this time every day since coming here.”

“That’s impressive.”

Cordelia looks genuinely happy, as if she truly enjoys running in the morning. Getting up early to run sounds easy, but when you actually try it, it’s hellish. Yet she shows no signs of suffering.

“You seem to enjoy movement, both in class and in clubs.”

Cordelia is almost the only noble lady taking swordsmanship class, having been raised in privilege. For clubs, though I don’t know exactly which one she joined, I heard she spent all day interviewing for clubs that involved physical activity. And on top of that, she’s jogging from this early hour. I wonder how she managed to hide this passion before. Or is she now exploding with all that she used to suppress?

“You think so? Hehe, how about it? Do I seem like a female knight?”

“Why suddenly a female knight?”

Cordelia laughed confidently at my words and then asked an unexpected question. Female knight? Why suddenly a female knight?

Faced with her question about whether she seemed like a female knight, I fumbled for an answer. That’s partly because I’ve never actually seen a female knight. Moreover, her body is too slender to be a knight, appearing quite fragile. She honestly doesn’t look like a female knight, not even as a white lie. But she looks so excited, it would be awkward to tell her the truth to her face.

“I practice swordsmanship, exercise, and even ride horses! Don’t I seem like a female knight?”

Sensing my hesitation, she began advocating for her female knight-ness. “Female knight advocacy”—what an absurdly silly term.

“Horses? Ah, did you decide to join the equestrian club?”

Cordelia seems to have decided to join the equestrian club after poking around here and there. I imagined her riding a horse in equestrian attire. Despite her unpredictable and fiery temperament, I think it would suit her quite well.

“That’s right! I was torn between the Sword Dance Club and the Equestrian Club until the end, but I thought riding horses would be more fun.”

“Don’t you already know how to ride horses?”

Horseback riding is basic education for nobles, and she’s a duke’s daughter. Yet she spoke as if she had never ridden a horse before.

“I know how to ride a horse, but it’s a bit different from what you’re thinking.”

“Different how?”

“Do you know about side saddles? It’s where you sit sideways like this.”

Cordelia went to a nearby bench to demonstrate what she called a side saddle. She sat with her legs modestly together, twisted to the side.

“Ah, I think I understand.”

It was the way ladies ride horses in movies.

“Usually, daughters of noble houses like ours ride horses with side saddles. I did too.”

“Why is that?”

Without thinking, I asked, and Cordelia blushed.

“Th-there are reasons! Are you a pervert?!”

She suddenly hurled an insult. I felt wronged. Why should I be called a pervert for such a question?

“A-anyway, it’s my first time riding a horse properly, so I decided to join the Equestrian Club.”

“Congratulations.”

She glossed over the side saddle topic and brought up the Equestrian Club again. I also decided not to probe further. If I dig deeper here, I won’t get the answer I want and will only have to listen to her tantrums. Although it hasn’t even been two weeks since I met her, somehow I feel like I’m quickly learning how to deal with her.

“So, what do you think? Do I seem like a female knight?”

What on earth is her obsession with female knights about? I suppressed my curiosity and decided to go along with it. There’s no need to ruin her mood by saying things like “I’ve never seen a female knight” or “you’re too thin.”

“Yes, well. You do.”

“Really?”

“Yes. You completely look like a female knight.”

“Hehe. Great! I’m going to run some more!”

Cordelia seemed very satisfied with my answer, giggling before dashing off without looking back. I was startled by her sudden acceleration but soon decided to ignore it. Asking her is not a particularly good choice. It would probably be faster and wiser to ask Hestia later.

I absentmindedly watched Cordelia’s retreating figure as she happily ran off, then decided to just return to my room and start preparing.

“Ah, Hestia.”

“You’re out early.”

Hestia’s mornings are early. Today seems even earlier than usual.

Originally, I adjust to her schedule and join her in front of the student cafeteria much earlier than the regular school time, then we head to class together. Today, having gotten up early, I finished preparing quickly and headed to the cafeteria 15 minutes earlier than usual, but Hestia was already waiting for me.

“My eyes opened a bit earlier today. But aren’t you out too early, Hestia?”

I wonder how long she had been waiting.

“I just felt excited at the thought of going to the Academy after the weekend.”

“…”

I don’t understand how much she loves studying. This is the first time I’ve seen someone excited about going to school on Monday and arriving early. My expression unconsciously hardened.

Seeing my expression, Hestia added a belated excuse.

“Well, it’s not just because of studying… I was also a bit excited about seeing Mikhail and Miss Cordelia.”

“We saw each other yesterday.”

I unconsciously rebutted her unconvincing excuse. We had seen Cordelia on Saturday, and she and I had dinner together just yesterday before parting.

“Aish! Whatever! In the first place, why should a student feel self-conscious about wanting to study!”

Hestia got adorably angry at my rebuttal. In truth, Hestia’s point is the orthodox one. If anything, she’s not strange but an exemplary student.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“How could I not know when you look at me like that?”

“Alright, alright. I won’t look at you with that expression.”

Hestia and I headed to the classroom, bickering.
-slide

We flung open the classroom door and entered.

“There’s no one here.”

“I told you we came out too early.”

“I like it this way.”

As expected, the classroom was empty. Hestia surprisingly liked this empty classroom for the peace of mind it gave her. She says she can study better here than alone in her room.

She sat down and began previewing the subjects for today. I also briefly took out my textbooks to preview but soon put them away. With no one around, I intended to ask about Cordelia and her connection to female knights.

“Hestia, is there some connection between Lady Deneb and female knights?”

“What? What are you suddenly talking about?”

I told Hestia about what happened at dawn. How my eyes opened a bit early so I went for a walk, how I met Cordelia exercising and chatted briefly, and how she showed a suspiciously strong attachment to female knights. I deliberately didn’t mention the side saddle and pervert talk. That’s something I’ll have to find out for myself later.

“Ahah! Cordelia said that?”

Hestia laughed out loud after hearing my story. She seemed to have some idea.

“What? Do you know something?”

“Well, I do know something…”

Hestia seemed to be deliberating whether to tell me this fact.

“Cordelia, unlike her appearance, likes romance novels. I’ll say only this much. Hear the rest directly from her.”

Hestia spoke to me with an unusually playful voice. Romance novels? It’s certainly unexpected, but considering she’s a girl at the age where she would like such things, it’s not that unusual.

“Romance novels? What does that have to do with female knights?”

“Ask her directly.”

But what on earth does that have to do with female knights? I tried to probe a bit more, but Hestia was immovable. She only repeated that I should ask directly without giving a proper answer.

I pondered for a while about the triangular relationship formed by Cordelia, romance novels, and female knights, but no plausible answer emerged.

And one by one, other students began entering the classroom. Looking at the clock, it was about time.
-slide

Shortly after, the classroom door opened, and I tensed up. Even she, who had been concentrating hard on her preview next to me, put down her pen and quietly watched the person who entered the classroom.

It’s Seol-ah. This is the first time I’m seeing her again after parting in that way on Friday. I recalled her significant last words.

‘The original story has already begun.’

What did that mean?

Seol-ah entered the classroom looking no different than usual. Wilhelm followed right behind her. She approached me very naturally.

I tensed my body, waiting for her next action. She came right next to me. And then,

“…?”

She just passed by me without a word. Then she went straight to her seat and sat down. Wilhelm, following behind, looked at me and smiled unpleasantly.

What’s going on?