The Arrogant Male Lead
Ah, I'm sleepy. Honestly, at my age, having to get to school on time in the morning is already a chore. Of course, staying up late training yesterday didn't help either.
With a creak, I opened the still-unfamiliar classroom door and stepped inside. Every student's gaze immediately snapped toward me.
"Hey." "Good morning."
I gave a half-hearted reply to the greetings and made my way to my seat. Most of the students who had spoken were guys… actually, all of them were guys. It was a little depressing. The fact that I didn't have a single close female friend with this face was proof of just how ruined the original owner's relationships had been.
At least there was one silver lining.
"Ah… good morning, Felice."
"Good morning, Silvia. You too, Cain."
I could now greet Silvia normally. Well, it might still just be my own wishful thinking.
After returning Silvia's greeting, I naturally greeted Cain, who was sitting beside her. Silvia smiled more comfortably than yesterday and waved at me, while Cain merely gave a slight nod.
Back when I first realized I'd confessed to her, I never imagined I could treat her this casually. Silvia also seemed far more at ease than when we'd first met.
Many eyes watched us with complicated expressions as we greeted each other, but I brushed them off without a second thought. I had no desire to give proper answers to thoughts like "What should I do…?" or "Isn't confessing just a case of 'nothing to lose'?"
"Good morning, Helena."
"Oh… yeah, good morning."
Helena, her pale blue hair shining as usual, looked oddly gloomy today. She startled at my greeting before replying. I naturally took the seat beside her and stretched my stiff neck. Training with a sword for so long yesterday had left me sore—not so much physically as mentally.
"Um, Felice."
"……Yeah?"
"What happened?"
"What do you mean?"
Helena asked with trembling eyes. Unable to grasp her intent, I simply asked back calmly.
"You know… with Silvia."
Ah. Come to think of it, I hadn't properly explained anything to Helena. I'd just said it was fine and moved on. I nodded. No wonder she was confused. After all, it was strange to see someone who'd been rejected and the person who'd rejected them greeting each other peacefully first thing in the morning.
Of course, explaining it was tricky. Even if I said I wasn't actually Felice, that I'd transmigrated into his body and had no feelings for Silvia at all, no one would believe me.
After a moment's hesitation, I answered casually.
"Since I confessed and got rejected, my feelings are neatly sorted out. So I decided we'd just be friends."
It was a clean, precise explanation. Even if it wasn't the truth, as long as it was believable, that was enough.
"……Is that even possible?"
Helena didn't seem convinced. At her incredulous tone, I shrugged lightly and rested my head on the desk.
"I'm going to sleep for a bit. Wake me up before class starts."
I didn't actually intend to fall asleep, but the stares from everyone else were too prickly, so this was my way of avoiding them. If I really did doze off, well, that couldn't be helped.
"……What the heck is wrong with you?"
Ignoring Helena's muttered confusion, I quietly closed my eyes.
@
"………."
The surroundings were noisy. Or rather, the classroom was strangely quiet, yet it felt like only one person was making a racket.
I opened my eyes and slowly cleared the fog from my mind. Even a short nap hadn't been enough to shake off the fatigue; my head still felt fuzzy.
As I gradually woke up and looked around, I could still feel everyone's gazes on me.
……What?
Something felt off. Following their stares, I realized they weren't directed at me, but at the person beside me.
When I turned my head, I saw someone unfamiliar yet strangely recognizable standing there. Behind him stood Silvia, lips pressed tightly together as she glared, and Cain, running a hand through his hair with a long sigh.
And in front of them—
"……So you finally woke up, you insolent fool."
A man with strikingly silver hair and piercing blue eyes stood looking down at me. As I stared blankly at the subtle contempt and arrogant irritation in his gaze, I soon realized who he was.
At the same time, I naturally rose to my feet, placed my right hand over my left chest, and bowed slightly.
"I offer my gratitude for the boundless grace bestowed by the shining stars, the brilliant sun, and all that lies between. The second son of the Astria Count Family greets the radiant Third Prince of the Empire."
I delivered the lengthy greeting and waited for Leonhardt's response, but no voice came. Since I couldn't raise my head without the prince's permission, I remained bowed in silence.
With my head lowered, my thoughts continued.
Leonhardt fil Hamen Ulais. The Empire's Third Prince—and one of the main male leads of this novel. At the same time, he was the one I disliked most among the three.
Born a prince, he'd never faced a single hardship in his life. He was arrogant to the core, convinced that the entire world existed beneath him. That personality had driven him to commit all sorts of outrageous acts in his obsession with Silvia, earning him plenty of hate in the early parts of the story.
Of course, after some time passed and he genuinely fell in love with her, he became a devoted character who respected and cherished her feelings. Even then, that change only applied to Silvia—everyone else still saw him as the same rude, insufferably arrogant man.
That was why he was the only character I couldn't bring myself to like.
"……Leon!"
"Hmph. You may raise your head."
After some time, Silvia, unable to watch any longer, called out to Leonhardt. At her voice, he spoke to me in a displeased tone. I let out a long breath and slowly lifted my head.
He treated even the second son of the prestigious Astria Count Family—one of the top swordsmanship houses among the counts—this way. How must he act toward everyone else?
Staring at Leonhardt while suppressing my irritation, I couldn't help but wonder what was so appealing about such a broken personality.
"That gaze is rather insolent."
"My apologies if it seemed that way. It wasn't my intention."
I replied carefully to Leonhardt, who was frowning at me in displeasure.
"Your Highness, what brings you to grace us with your presence today?"
"Isn't it obvious? You've displeased me."
Arrogant. Self-centered. No amount of flowery language could fully capture Leonhardt's nature. Well, characters like him existed because there was demand for them…… But when a novel became reality, it was only natural that such a character would be universally hated.
"I apologize, but could you tell me what exactly has displeased you?"
I looked him straight in the eye and asked calmly. No matter how much I disliked him, he was still royalty. I couldn't afford to be openly rude.
Of course, there was that academy rule claiming everyone was equal within its walls…… but it was just empty words.
"Are you truly asking because you don't know?"
Even after my careful question, Leonhardt raised an eyebrow in irritation. I let out a deep internal sigh at his attitude, swallowed my frustration, and replied.
"This humble one cannot recall any offense against Your Highness."
"……You've grown quite bold in just a few days, Felice."
"If that is how you feel, then I apologize, Your Highness."
I bowed my head slightly at his words. Of course, I knew exactly what he was referring to. There was only one reason Leonhardt had suddenly appeared and was acting this way—Silvia, who was fidgeting anxiously behind him.
He must have heard about my confession to her, and then learned that Silvia and I were still speaking normally afterward. Unable to contain his anger, he'd come straight here.
In the original story, this was around the time Leonhardt had briefly left the academy and just returned. He must have heard the news the moment he got back.
"You dare covet what is mine, yet don't even understand your own wrongdoing…… I have no words for your stupidity."
"……My apologies, Your Highness."
"Leon…! That's enough!"
Unable to watch any longer, Silvia stepped between us and glared at Leonhardt. From her perspective, he was ruining the first comfortable relationship she'd had in a while.
Leonhardt, of course, didn't care about her feelings in the slightest. He simply did whatever he wanted.
"……Hmph. Don't ever loiter in front of Silvia again. Know your place, Felice……"
"Leon!!"
Silvia was impressive in her own way—timid as she was, she could still raise her voice so boldly in front of Leonhardt.
Watching him snort and turn away at her shout, I shook my head.
I really couldn't understand why romance fantasy novels always had guys like this following the exact same pattern.