Chapter 21: 19

Leah’s expression became sad. “I didn’t have any manners…?” She said in a weak voice.

Ugh, maybe it’s because of the female lead’s halo, my mouth seemed to spontaneously want to say, ‘Oh my, it wasn’t that much!’ 

I managed to control my expression and replied, “Yes. Needless to say, be sure to learn the etiquette so that you can mingle with the nobles.”

Leah was aghast, her eyes widened and she protested, “Since we are close friends, why do we have to be so formal? I actually came here because Bianca is my friend.”

Although she had just made her social debut, she’s also an adult now.  And yet, she still has such a childlike view of friendship. In a good way, it was pure, in a bad way, it was ignorance.

I have no intention of teaching Leah everything one by one. It wasn’t that I hated her, and it wasn’t that I was particularly fond of her either. Well, there were times when I smiled like a mom without realizing it when she was cute.

However, her pure eyes like now were more frustrating than cute, enough to make me sigh. “Okay. I’ll be honest, I don’t think I’m close with you yet.”

I’m going crazy. I had to repeat what I said to Ares yesterday. How can this couple be so ignorant and pretend to be so friendly with me! Then she will answer the same way as Ares.

“But we call each other by our given names!”

… Yes, just like that. How come her answer is the same as Ares!

“It’s not as though everyone becomes your friend simply by addressing them by their given name. Besides, I haven’t had enough time to become acquainted with you as a friend. And above all else, I prefer to befriend someone who is well-mannered.”

“Ah……” Leah flinched.

Ah, Leah Saturnos. In the end, I think I am destined to become a villain. There’s no way I can speak kind words to you.

“The question isn’t whether it is necessary to be formal with your friends or not. When I visited my best friend Metis Nereid, I always contacted her in advance,” I explained. Leah’s face flushed red. Is it because she’s angry or is it because she feels ashamed? “It is not polite to point out each of the rules that you broke while coming to see me. So, I recommend that you must meet the etiquette teacher and learn a bit more.”

Leah lowered her head. She remained quiet for a moment, then answered slowly in a weak voice. “If Bianca says so, I will. I’m really sorry. I only thought of myself and did not consider your position.”

Thank God she’s a person with common sense.

“I heard that Bianca is the best lady in high society. There’s probably nothing wrong with what you’re saying. Thank you for being truthful to me,” she added.

I kept my mouth shut and listened to her. I was greatly relieved in my heart. It was fortunate that she wasn’t an emotionally charged person who would ignore an advice. As long as Ares guides her well, she seemed to be able to become a great companion for him.

“Truly… I made a lot of mistakes.” With her shoulders drooping, she apologized to me and tried to get up.

Hmm. If this is the case, it seems that my will has been conveyed to her, so let’s not criticize her any longer. The more I pointed it out, the more horrible I would appear to be. I chuckled and held her back.

“I’m going to reflect on my actions today.”

I asked, leaning my back on the chair, “Why did you suddenly come? There must be a reason why you wanted to see me…”

“Ah, the thing is……” Leah’s face brightened a little. She was indeed a really easy-to-understand person. “Actually, I went to the slums today to serve food. Last time I came to Lady Nereid’s salon, I heard that Bianca was also sponsoring it.”

Whoa, it appeared Metis had properly appealed to the difficult situation of the slums. Great. Mimas’ burden would lessen.

“So I went early in the morning, and there was a huge line of people. I didn’t know there were so many people starving for food in this city.”

I had a smile on my face. I hoped that she would become a noble woman with a noble obligation.

“ I heard from Mimas, who is in charge, that Bianca was there yesterday. So, I started thinking about you. Oh! Right. While we were serving food, Ares also stopped by.”

What? Ares? He returned so casually after being hard at work yesterday? He has incredible stamina.

“So after the service, I asked him to go with me to visit you, but he refused because he was busy. He must have just come to see Mimas.”

I got a headache. Ares rejected Leah’s offer? Why? If he had deliberately rejected Leah’s request like that because I always linked him to Leah, I would feel bad! I mean, I don’t want to interrupt their romance!

My heart started pounding. Why does this world keep trying to drive me into becoming the villain?

Not knowing the fifty thousand thoughts running through my head, Leah continued her story, “That’s why I came to see you alone. Actually, I really like Bianca. I want to be a wonderful woman like you!”

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She fell for me really easily. All I did was give her some kindness. The ‘author’ had made a lot of really useless scenes In order to make the female lead pitiful.

Think about it. 

How great the sense of betrayal would be if a friend you like had a crush on the man you loved, and at the same time plotted to take him away.

Anyway, I knew why Leah was here, and since she said she had come to see me, I must treat her well.

“I don’t know how to thank you since you think so highly of me, Leah.” First of all, I need to politely express my gratitude for her affection. “I did a little bit of work yesterday, so I was a bit tired. I need to go back and rest.”

“Oh, yes…! Then I will take my leave. Get some rest and I’ll see you again later.”

I smiled and bid her farewell. “If you visit me according to the etiquette, I will welcome you.”

Leah smiled brightly and left the mansion. Since she came in a public carriage, I had my family carriage take her to her destination.

Come to think of it, even the way she acted is the same as Ares. I thought of Ares as I stared blankly at the carriage she was riding in. I didn’t know what she was thinking.

Was I twisting this novel right now? Was I steadily avoiding the path of the villain?

… It seemed that I had to meet the ‘author’ again.

After the day Leah Saturnus visited, I went to Aphrodite tea house almost every day. It was to meet the ‘author’. I had to know the original content of the novel she had written. At first, I thought it would be fine if I just acted nicely and not interfere with the romance between Ares and Leah, but I guess it couldn’t be like that.

What is the standard for a villain? The things that defined me as a villain can be broadly divided into three groups. First, common sense, then the ‘author’ herself, and finally, the female lead, Leah Saturnos. Objectively, if I act evil, I will naturally become a villain. But I can assure you that I have never committed such an evil deed.

However, was that alone enough to free from the villain role in the novel?

The ‘author’ said that I turned into a villain because I was jealous of Leah. Perhaps, the villain that the ‘author’ had in mind is not the same as mine.

Following my train of thought, in order for me to not become a villain, I had strongly supported the main couple. I also advised Leah and stated that she would become a person worthy of the Jupiter family in the future, which might have been considered an evil deed in the eyes of the ‘author’. To put it bluntly, what I thought of as not evil, might be evil according to the ‘author’

And the last person who would define me as a villain was Leah Saturnos. If Leah feels my existence only gets in the way of their love, wouldn’t I turn into a villain? If I tried to ruin their relationship due to jealousy, Leah would think of my existence as an obstacle! Those ‘obstacles’ will always be considered bad.

I wish she could have told me that if I do nothing and just stay still, I can avoid the bad ending. But this might be the wrong answer.

I really didn’t want to have any contact with Ares and Leah. However, I ran into Ares unexpectedly and became friends with the two couples according to the setting of the ‘author’. We could see from how Ares chased me in Metis’ tea party, and Leah, who came to see me as soon as she thought of me and invited Ares. The two main characters should always be together at the beginning of a romance, but it couldn’t happen because of me.

… Because Ares also did unexpected actions.

Yes! The source of all my confusion was Ares Jupiter.

Leah’s pattern of behavior was obvious. The ‘author’ was just a bystander. So how could they deviate from the plot? 

The answer is Ares, the male lead of this novel.

Obviously the last time the ‘author’ told me, on the parts that were not written by her, the characters could act freely according to their will. Even if it was something she wrote herself, she said that it could change depending on my actions.

The only thing that doesn’t change no matter what I do is the important ‘pillar’ of the novel. The setting that makes me fall in love with Ares must be clearly described in the novel. So, it meant that there would be a sentence saying, ‘Bianca fell in love with Ares at first sight.’

It is of course a written setting that the two main characters fall in love with each other. There must be a scene in a romance novel where they confess their love! At the very least, wouldn’t there be a narrative that says, ‘They fell in love with each other’?

In my experience, it was almost impossible to overcome the emotions set in the novel. Knowing that my love for Ares was the setting of the ‘author’, I struggled to shake it off. It was no use though, so I decided to just accept it.

In my opinion, the two will never be able to overcome this setup, considering that they don’t know the truth of this world. Then, as described in the novel, Ares and Leah shouldn’t have developed a relationship with each other by now.

In the first stage of a love that is just beginning to sprout, wasn’t it about wanting to be together and doing everything together somehow? 

Wasn’t it only after a long period of boredom that they become indifferent to each other?

But why does Ares keep acting out of my expectations?

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