I Became the Second-in-Command in a Romance Fantasy Novel

“Ughhh!”
Violet was swallowing a scream, supporting her body only with her forehead. Normally, I would have told her to stop by now.

“Does it hurt? I’m in more pain, you bastard.”
The wounds in my heart weren’t shallow enough to heal just like that.
“F- frankly, I don’t think this is my fault!”

Boradori shouted with a voice full of the world’s injustice. Does this bastard even have a conscience?
“If it’s not your fault, then whose fault is it?”
“Uh, um… well…”

Boradori trembled as she tried to think of the culprit, but it seemed she just couldn’t recall who it was.
Feeling sorry for Boradori struggling like that, I put a simple solution right in front of her.
“W- what is this?”

“Can’t you tell? It’s a mirror.”
“I can’t see well!”
In front of Boradori, who was groaning while pressing her forehead, lay a mirror.

“But, why is this…”
“The culprit.”
“Pardon?”

“The culprit is what’s in front of you.”
You don’t remember the culprit because there’s no one but you, you bastard.
“Hey, hey. Say that again.”

“W- what?”
“You messed up the whole plan because of you.”
“Kyaaaah!”
She really felt wronged.

“First, Prince Ellen became someone else.”
“S- stop!”
Seriously, what did I do?

“The original story got totally destroyed!”
“Aaaah!”
Eventually, Boradori, who had been pressing her forehead, sank down. She collapsed to the side, covering her face with both hands and rolling on the floor.

“I, I’m not at fault. I just wanted Daisy to be a little happier!”
“She got so happy she even blackmailed someone into becoming her boyfriend.”
“You like it too, don’t you? Even if fake, our Daisy is flawless!”

“She seems to lack some personality.”
“Well, you’re the same, so aren’t you a perfect couple?”
“A couple from hell, you bastard!”

“Ugh!”
I kicked Boradori like a soccer ball as she rolled on the floor. Violet, sensing the mood, started rolling vigorously too. After that fitting WWE ended, Violet got up cautiously and said,
“But one thing’s certain.”

“What is it?”
I frowned at the mention of certainty. Someone who already wrecked the original story claiming they’ll keep it faithful? I didn’t trust that.
“……”

Seeing me frown, Violet shrank her neck and carefully spoke her thoughts in a crawling voice.
“Even if Daisy has become more perceptive, I think °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° there won’t be any big changes!”
I nodded at Violet’s opinion—not as the original-story-obsessed Violet, but as agent Boradori.

“Why?”
“No matter how much Daisy changes, the fact that the male leads are trash won’t change!”
“Hmm.”

Thinking about it, she was right. For those relationships to change, someone would have to confess to Daisy. No matter how much Daisy changed, unless those romance fantasy male leads changed, the relationships wouldn’t.
“On top of that, I think those annoying matters include the romance fantasy male leads!”
“What do you mean?”

“Since they have lovers, some of them might give up.”
“They’re fake.”
Whether or not someone knows they’re fake, I had already promised to inform the romance fantasy male leads ahead of time to avoid any annoying trouble. Daisy got influenced by Boradori and went a little off track, but she hadn’t changed her essence as a romance fantasy female lead and saint. She might blackmail, but she wouldn’t lie. Actually, the moment she lied, I could just break the contract.

“The fact they’re fake doesn’t matter. It’s about choosing someone other than yourself. Even if they call outsiders ‘fake,’ they’re still chosen as lovers.”
“Is that important?”
“It is. Didn’t you watch that manga ‘The Keymaster’? They always say the promised child, but the keys are scattered everywhere. Then when the real promised child is revealed, the fake lover gets together with them.”

I hadn’t read it but had heard of it since it was quite famous. But…
“Don’t bring manga into reality…”
That’s manga, this is reality. Projecting manga onto reality is the kind of idea only a hardcore otaku would have. Does that make sense?

“What are you talking about? This is a romance fantasy.”
It does make sense. At that moment, I got chills all over my body from Violet’s sharp comeback to broken Violet.
“Hey, even so, Daisy was the one who told me not to fall first.”

“She told me not to say anything first, but her story about falling first is so delicious in romance fantasy~”
“…We already agreed to meet only once a month.”
“The female lead waits more and more eagerly for the date as the month passes. That’s unbearable~”

“If I confess to the imperial princess, not Daisy.”
“Next year, the half-sibling of Prince Esid will enroll! A love triangle like this is the most delicious thing in romance fantasy!”
“…Do you think I’ll die alone?”

At Violet’s teasing, I answered with full resolve.
“...W- what?”
The sudden change in atmosphere made Violet avert her gaze with an ‘oops’ expression.

“If the imperial princess doesn’t work, I’ll confess to you to knock you down.”
“Hey, damn! If you want to die, die alone!”
“You and Daisy hold on and die!”

This was no joke. The moment I got caught in the romance fantasy female lead’s fishing net, we’d all just die.
Despite all this, it didn’t take long to realize Violet’s prediction was true.
“Adam.”

Afternoon, swordsmanship training ground.
The usually serious junior swordmaster held his sword and said.
“One match today too?”

He was always serious about sparring, but not like today. How to put it… like facing life or death.
“Good.”
Since rumors had started spreading since the afternoon, I wondered if maybe he heard them because he couldn’t meet Daisy.

“Ugh!”
So after being doggedly defeated, I asked the junior swordmaster who was despairing several times more than usual.
“Did you hear from Daisy?”

“I heard that you two are dating.”
“And about the fake?”
“I heard that too.”

No, the latter part was the important one. Why treat the latter part lightly?
“Je- jealous…”
I could tell from his gritted teeth mumbling. He was just jealous.

Poor guy. If not for Daisy’s schemes, from the second semester we planned to start dating course lectures prepared by the Leon royal family. But thinking about it, since Daisy planned to kick away anyone who confessed, maybe it was better to have avoided that first fish released into the fishing net? If so…
“Adam!”
Maybe because he wasn’t nobility but royalty, Ellen popped out immediately at the thought. Though his eyes were shallow, there was hostility—he seemed to be in a similar state as the junior swordmaster.

“Ah, the injury from the fight earlier during vacation…”
So I pretended to clutch my left side in pain. No matter how much he was a romance fantasy male lead, would he fight someone who got hurt because of him?
“I heard everything.”

But Ellen seemed to be the typical fantasy world royalty who repaid kindness with enmity.
“They say Daisy healed all those wounds this time.”
“Ah.”

Nope. He was just more perceptive than usual because of the romance fantasy female lead situation.
“And the wound wasn’t on the left but on the right.”
“Is that so?”

“I don’t know, I was just guessing.”
…Are romance fantasy male leads leveling up as the female lead’s perceptiveness rises?
Can’t be helped. Defeat Sword technique.

“Uh, Daisy?”
Fabrication technique. Summoning romance fantasy female lead.
“Huh?”

“Why is Daisy here?”
The moment I saw the romance fantasy male leads turning their heads at the speed of light,
“Adam!”

Ignoring the voice of my master from behind, I ran full speed away.
And so the next day.
“Fake?”

Just after Daisy suddenly appeared boasting that I was her lover, the Flame User grabbed my collar and shook me hard. Naturally, I revealed all secrets. It was supposed to be secret, but since we’re allies, it didn’t matter.
“Yes. They know she’s fake over there, but their reaction isn’t normal.”
“……”

The flame user’s face flashed with worries, then disappeared.
And then,
“C- can’t we just keep dating?”

“Got your declaration of alliance break loud and clear. Handle your own mess.”
“Just kidding! My bad!”
Even if someone is joking, there are things you can and cannot say. You don’t sacrifice your helpers for your own love life. No wonder the dark mages are considered the continent’s greatest enemy just by a single sacrifice.

“Senpai, what will you do?”
“……”
At my words, Senior Lorelia frowned.

“If you’re going to date, then date quickly.”
The family had already decided to break the engagement, but suddenly a variable appeared.
“Any thoughts?”

“It’s not the mainstream family opinion, but some want to push the engagement.”
“They say there’s no need to offend the royal family or the saint.”
“They say they have a brilliant solution.”

“Really?”
“…There’s a relative who’s enrolling at the academy next year. That relative is quite famous for their looks… They plan to connect me with Esid and Daisy with that relative, tying the two factions with a strong bond…”
Lorelia blushed and looked away, knowing how absurd the plan was.

“Ah.”
I roughly understood. The villain noble role coming next year was a relative of the Duke Jayka family. Seeing that, I wondered why Lorelia, who overwhelms all romance fantasy male leads combined with her personality, was treated as the villain(?) young lady in the original story. It seemed those minor troublemakers were grouped under the Jayka Duke family. A conceited junior relying on the Duke family despite their own weak clan is a typical villain in romance fantasy.
Of course, just one villain alone wouldn’t be enough to earn Lorelia that villain title.

“Only one?”
“…There seem to be others making similar claims with different plans.”
As expected. Even if I didn’t know Lorelia well, it seemed wise to keep an eye on the Jayka Duke faction. Of course, most would be cut off at agent Boradori’s level.

Boradori wasn’t the only secret agent infiltrating the academy.
“Adam, you bastard! What do you mean dating the saint?!”
Not looking like an academy student before, now looking like one of those teachers among the top nine of another department, Aerin uncle opened the window and entered the dormitory.

“The academy’s been breached again!”
“Shut up, you bastard!”
As soon as I opened my mouth, I cast soundproof magic only in my room. As expected of an agent worthy of being entrusted with royalty in the empire. Even knowing the dorm’s magic circuits, deploying it this fast requires not just skill but repeated practice.

“How far have the rumors spread?”
“The empire’s capital and the Holy Nation already have widespread rumors. When I heard, your name wasn’t out yet, but now who knows.”
For a world without smartphones, this was surprisingly fast.

I was already starting to dread the new semester.
So,
“If you want to know, cooperate a bit, will you?”

“...Don’t you see me?”
Uh, well. Kind of pitiful.
“I’m dating the saint.”

“...Acknowledged.”
Seeing Aerin uncle nod right away, I thought it’s easiest when people in the same line of work talk to each other.