I became a Male Lead in a Romance Fantasy Novel

The journey continued, and the group had already reached the edge of the central part of the forest.

Krrr-

Soon, as they approached a region nearing the abyss, monsters began to pour out from all directions. At the beginning of the central area, only one or two monsters had appeared, but now there were swarms of them.

One could be frightened by the excessive numbers, but Owen nonchalantly drew his sword with an odd calmness. He briefly eyed the red ribbon neatly tied around the handle, then leaped forward, landing on the ground.

With his jet-black sword, he began to swiftly cut down the monsters one by one.

The rough sound of tearing flesh filled the space.

How many times did he repeat this?

The monsters that had filled the field of vision all turned into cold corpses and fell.

"...It's truly remarkable."

Richard, who casually witnessed Owen facing an enormous number of monsters alone, offered words of praise. In response, Owen humbly lowered his head as if to deny it.

"No, not really."

"No, it's truly amazing. I thought so when I first saw your sword skills, but this is truly remarkable."

Despite Owen downplaying Richard's repeated praise, he couldn't help but to exhale a sigh of relief.

'It seems I managed to give a convincing performance.'

If it appeared impressive enough in the eyes of a knight, especially one as skilled as Richard, then Owen had successfully imitated a swordsman.

As Owen sighed in relief, the monsters began to creep out again.

"...It's really tiresome."

Kyle sighed and raised his sword again. He then slashed it directly onto the monsters, making them perished on the spot. Watching Kyle vanquish the monsters, Count Caleb, who had been silently observing, slowly spoke up.

"...Forgive my intrusion, Your Highness. It seems it would be better if our group scattered."

When Count Caleb cautiously brought up the topic, Richard, looking puzzled, asked, "Why did you think so?"

Count Caleb politely nodded his head and replied, "Since each of us used to hunt separately... I believe it might hinder dealing with the monsters if we keep stay together."

Count Caleb's words made sense.

Until now, everyone in the group, except for the Crown Prince, had been hunting individually. And that was crucial in a hunting competition since each of them hunted far more monsters than a groups of several people together did.

"I see."

Even before the start of the hunting competition, Count Caleb had vaguely suspected this fact, but he had not dared to refuse the Emperor's command. However, now that they were actually hunting this way, the reality was starting to sink in.

At this rate, the meaning of the hunting competition will be lost. If they did not each unleash their full potential, they would not be able to hunt even half of what they normally did. In that case, there would undoubtedly be an increase in disasters caused by monsters in the north this year.

"Then let it be so."

Unlike the Emperor, who was self-centered and thought of himself first, Richard was quite rational and considerate. And as Richard nodded, Count Caleb swallowed a sigh of relief inwardly and bowed his head.

"Thank you for your understanding, Your Highness."

"It's nothing. It's only natural."

In response to it, Count Caleb nodded slightly and replied, "I fully understand that it's not an easy decision. Hence, I will be at your service, so-."

"No, you were also someone who used to hunt alone, were you not?"

"Even so, I cannot leave someone who is new to this hunting competition alone."

As the ideal 'Lord and his vassal' conversation resumed, the rest of the group averted their gaze. The two individuals, unaware of the reactions of their companions, continued their conversation.

"It's fine."

"No, I was concerned that Your Highness might get lost."

In response to Count Caleb's firm attitude, Richard eventually nodded.

"...Do as you wish."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

"I should be the one thanking you."

As the non-argument ended, Count Caleb turned his gaze towards the group.

"Then... it's better if we scatter from here."

At Count Caleb's decisive tone, everyone nodded their heads.

"Let's do that."

"Until we meet again."

Confirming their positive replies, he turned back with Richard towards the center of the central region. It seemed he intended to continue hunting, matching Richard's level.

Watching them closely, Owen turned his gaze away and slowly began to speak, "Shall we disperse now?"

Louis nodded at Owen's voice.

"It would be better that way. I'll head in this direction too."

"Alright."

As Louis concealed his presence, only Owen and Kyle remained.

"We should also disperse now-."

"Is it really necessary?"

Kyle interjected at Owen's voice.

Owen gave him a puzzled look. To which Kyle chuckled and continued, "It's boring. How about you show me some 'action'."

"...What?"

Owen couldn't help but be taken aback by Kyle's words. He, having read the original work several times, knew what that meant.

"You saw me fighting earlier."

As Owen reluctantly spoke, suppressing his bewildered emotions, Kyle shook his head.

"That was just ordinary swordsmanship."

He continued firmly, "What I want to see is the way you've been handling your swords like magic. That's what I want to see."

Owen couldn't easily respond to Kyle's cheerful voice.

Handling the sword like magic.

Owen knew what that meant.

Owen, who emerged as the strongest swordsman in Empire in this decade, could not only use his swordsmanship but could also go beyond that and use the 'aura' itself.

As a result, Owen, without even drawing his sword once in the previous hunting competition, could subdue dozens or hundreds of monsters with his sword energy, leading them to their demise.

However, this was not the case for the current Owen. As he barely managed to wield the sword like a sword master, he surely couldn't handle sword aura like the original Owen.

'Ah. I made a mistake in choosing my friends.'

Owen sighed inwardly, regretting. However, regretting alone wouldn't change anything.

"...Later. For now, let's enter the abyss."

Owen decided to choose the best option available, which is to postpone the situation a bit.

Kyle nodded at Owen's words.

"Alright. Should we tie the horses here and go in?"

"...Let's do that."

The abyss was an area where large monsters resided. True to its name, these creatures boasted a size twice that of a human, and at the same time, they were extremely savage, catching and devouring animals they came across. Therefore, riding horses into the abyss was not a wise choice. It could even result in the horses hindering their movements.

Therefore, before entering the abyss, the two tied the horses to the trees in the central area. Only then did they slowly venture into the depths of the forest that were thick with fog. Moreover, there were many tall trees towering around.

Owen captured the sight of such a landscape in his eyes when he heard the sound of a massive monster approaching, he turned his gaze.

"Haha...."

Owen forced a dry laugh.

The medium-sized monsters he had seen earlier were so cute that even the appearance and size of the large monster were extremely threatening. Ignoring the loud pounding of his heart due to tension, Owen placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Wait. You said you would show it."

At that moment, Kyle blocked him.

"...."

Meeting Kyle's eyes filled with curiosity and excitement, Owen fell silent.

'Was it his instinct to try putting me in danger?'

His conclusion was quite convincing. If it were true to the original, Owen and Kyle should have had a very strained relationship. To have Bella, they would willingly push each other into suffering. So, if it was a case like the not-so-funny destiny in the original, it might be possible. At least that's what Owen thought.

But anyway, it was clear that they had to somehow deal with the situation at hand. Owen released a sigh and let go of the sword's hilt.

'At most, I'll just get hurt.'

If he failed to handle the sword and couldn't kill the monster, he would undoubtedly get hurt. It would hurt like crazy for sure, but there was no other choice.

Anyway, he wouldn't die.

The person standing next to me was an antagonist in the original, but he wasn't so ruthless as to ignore a person dying in front of him. If he got hurt, he would probably stay nearby enough to save him.

'...But if I fail, I'll be suspected, though!'

Whether he tried or not, he would be suspected. In a somewhat hopeful mood, trying something out wouldn't hurt. Owen made that decision and slowly closed his eyes.

He tried to recall the feeling of raising the aura of the sword to his fingertips to spread it in the air.

'It was something that I was used to.'

Owen reminded himself of that fact and took a deep breath. Then, the cold and thin stream of a black aura flowed towards his fingertips.

'...Still, not working!'

But it seemed like something was missing and the aura dispersed.

After trying for several times, Owen opened his eyes and frowned.

Unfortunately, it seemed like he had to give up. 

"Why are you like this?"

Kyle, finding his attitude strange, asked from the side.

As Owen was about to answer,

-Your Grace, thank you very much.

A voice he didn't remember echoed in his head.

-If Your Grace hadn't helped us, we would have surely perished.

Along with it, the owner of the voice suddenly appeared in his mind like a panorama.

As if watching a playback.

-No.

Then, a familiar voice echoed.

This was his.

No.

It was Owen's voice.

-It would be better to leave this place. The darkness will soon consume everything here.

Unfamiliar yet familiar.

Those unknown senses.

Simultaneously, the sight of the forest engulfed by a new black darkness was revealed.

"...Owen?"

When Owen's focus blurred, Kyle, sensing something strange, called his name. But as Owen didn't respond, Kyle urgently shook his shoulders.

"Hey!"

"...Ah."

Only after Kyle shook him did Owen finally snap out of the strange panorama. He blinked for a moment, then stared blankly at his own hand.

Soon, a black aura emanated from there.

It was none other than darkness.

The black aura rising from Owen's hand quickly grew thick enough to seem like it would engulf the surroundings. It was so dense that it was hard to compare with fog.

As dense as to devour all life.

With astonishment in his eyes, Kyle quickly cast a protective shield using magic. In the short moment he took shelter behind the shield, all life around was suffocated by the black aura, except for the one who caused it.

At some point when Owen casually raised the darkness, he finally looked at his fingertips in astonishment.

'Was it because of earlier?'

Owen recalled the strange vision he had just seen, probing his memory.

It was not something from the original novel.

He could say with certainty that it wasn't a part of the original work.

Then-.

'...A memory?'

There was only one remaining possibility.

Owen's memory.

For some reason, it suddenly resurfaced.

If it had been like this since the first possession, it would have made sense.

But now it had been a month since the possession.

To have Owen's memory suddenly at a time like this was immensely confusing.

While Owen looked bewildered, Kyle, who had been hiding next to him behind the shield, spoke up.

"...Incredible."

Looking quite surprised, Kyle then quickly took in the surrounding scenery. What was engulfed by the black darkness was not just the approaching monsters or those hiding around. But all the trees, grass, and animals hiding from the monsters in the vicinity had lost their breath too.

"...True."

In response to Kyle, Owen agreed as if in consent. He was also quite taken aback. Not only the fact that he handled darkness like Owen, but also the fact that he recalled Owen's memories...

He didn't know that his power could be so cruel.

Even though this power appeared several times in the novel, it seemed lacking in description.

'Isn't this almost like a disaster...?'

After witnessing this spectacle, Owen finally understood why the royal family feared Duke Verdin so much.

Plants, creatures, everything.

He could probably wipe out an entire city.

If such monstrous humans were to be brought to the Grand Assembly.

Could it be that the Imperial City might vanish overnight?

Or that they might usurp power?

Such thoughts.

Upon seeing this spectacle, such thoughts seemed entirely plausible.

And maybe it would have been strange not to have them.

Of course, Owen was not interested in toppling the throne or the capital.

Owen shook his head and quickly dispelled those complex thoughts.

Having cleared his mind of unnecessary thoughts, he said, "Let's head back to headquarters in a bit."

Due to their repeated hunting in the Abyss, the number of monsters they had hunted was already comparable to that of others. So, it was about time to head back to headquarters after a few more rounds.

"Already?"

However, from Kyle's perspective, who usually enjoyed hunting for quite a long time, it was not something he could easily accept.

"I have a promise."

In response to Kyle's question, Owen curtly replied.

Kyle seemed puzzled by his answer.

"A promise? You?"

Owen nodded his head in disbelief at Kyle's tone, which seemed to completely disregard him.

"Yeah. A promise."

"I once heard about the rumors that the Duke of Verdin was a lone wolf. I thought you didn't have friends though?"

In response to Kyle's question, Owen slowly replied. It was true that he didn't have many friends, but hearing it like this didn't feel pleasant.

"...It's not wrong, but it feels a bit unpleasant."

"You said it yourself. Anyway, who is it? The person you made a promise with."

At Kyle's question, Owen turned his gaze elsewhere and pursed his lips slowly.

"...A confusing person."

At Owen's response, Kyle narrowed his eyes.

"A confusing person...? What does that mean?"

"It's just that... they're like that."

Explaining it would be long and complicated. Expressing all of his thoughts and feelings about Lucia and making them clear was a difficult task.

As Owen exhaled and replied, Kyle narrowed his eyes even more.

Looking at Kyle like that, Owen let out a faint laugh.

"You'll soon find out yourself. You, yourself would also meet someone who confuses you. That person will show up and you'll realize it on your own."

Owen added with a gentle touch to his chin.

Kyle's expression became even more peculiar.

"What are you saying? Speak a language that I can understand."

Struggling to follow the incomprehensible flow of words, Kyle demanded an explanation. However, Owen responded with a smirk instead of an explanation.

"It would be cheating if I told you now."

There was no other choice. Because revealing the answer now would truly be cheating. And as the supporting male lead, Kyle would surely realize it even without this word being spoken.

The moment he laid eyes on the female lead, Bella, he would feel fate.

And in that instant, he would come to understand what love truly is.

"Cheating? What on earth is this strange talk about..."

But to Kyle at this moment, everything sounded like nonsensical gibberish.

As Kyle was getting frustrated and trying to continue speaking, a rustling sound was heard from one side, followed by a voice echoing.

"Ah. Finally found you!"

At the sound of breathing coming from a place where there should be no sign of life, the gazes of the two involuntarily turned towards it.

When the gazes of the two met that place, the person standing there smiled and spoke, "I've been searching for quite a while. For people."

A silver hair that seemed crafted from the moon.

And clear silver eyes as if holding the moonlight.

An appearance that perfectly embodied the description in the novel.

The only female lead of

Bella Taylor.