I became a Male Lead in a Romance Fantasy Novel

Bella Taylor.

She was standing there.

The corners of her mouth lifted up, showing both of her dimples.

'Bella...?'

As a fan of the original work, Owen naturally immediately recognized her identity.

Silver hair and silver eyes.

The appearance that was exactly like the cover illustration brought to life.

Kyle tilted his head and asked, "Who are you?"

His expression was puzzled.

As if wondering why an ordinary person had come this far.

'Eh?...Wasn't he supposed to fall for Bella at first sight?'

Owen felt a bit perplexed. But instead of deeply pondering, he waited for Bella's response.

The most problematic thing here was not Kyle's reaction but the sudden appearance of Bella.

This wasn't just a minor deviation from the original work.

It was a complete destruction of the original work.

"Oh, I got lost..."

As Bella answered, Kyle looked bewildered.

"Lost...?"

His expression seemed to question how someone could end up here even if they were lost. Owen also couldn't help but agree.

In the original work, Bella awakening as a saintess was due to being chased by the debt collectors and mistakenly stepping into the forest.

It wasn't the abyss.

No, before that.

It should have happened in the 'Foggy Forest' of the Viscount Taylor's territory, not in the 'Forest of Eye' of the Count Caleb's territory.

Bella lowered her head and cautiously replied, "Yes..."

Kyle's reaction of disbelief seemed to have hurt Bella. As she seemed almost on the verge of tears, Kyle stiffened up and finally he shut his mouth.

Owen watched their exchange and pondered seriously whether he should step aside, considering their situation. He was still pondering until Bella initiated the conversation with him.

"Um, do you happen to know the way out of this forest?"

It was strange that she asked him instead of Kyle, with whom she was just talking, but Owen simply nodded. And upon Bella's question, Owen gestured towards Kyle and spoke.

"This friend here will take you."

"Me, me?"

Kyle asked in a flustered tone, but Owen shamelessly nodded.

"Yeah. Didn't I mentioned that I have an appointment."

Having a promise with Lucia, he couldn't spare any time for Bella. If they arrived at headquarters together, Lucia would naturally not be pleased. The other option is to arrive together while avoiding Lucia's gaze, but this wasn't a good idea since he didn't want to hide anything from Lucia.

That's why Owen feel fortunate. Since the supporting lead was here, there was no need for him to go out of his way.

"...Yeah, that's right."

In response to Owen's words, Kyle nodded in agreement. He took a short breath and spoke to Bella.

"Come this way. There are horses in the entrance of the abyss. We could ride together."

Ignoring Kyle's gaze turning towards her, Bella looked at Owen again.

"Aren't you coming?"

In response to her puzzled reaction, Owen curtly replied.

"I still have things to do."

Owen's voice was endlessly indifferent. His eyes went beyond indifference to being cold.

Bella stiffened under his cold, dark eyes.

Seeing her reaction, Kyle interjected, "His words are quite blunt. Don't take it to heart, he's known to be that way."

Despite Kyle's reassurance, Bella remained resolute. Kyle exhaled shortly and brought up another topic to change the mood.

"More importantly, how did you manage to come here? It must not have been easy in the forest teeming with monsters."

After Kyle asked the question, Bella's gaze moved away from Owen. She looked at Kyle and pursed her lips.

"I gained a strange power."

"A strange power, you say?"

"Yes."

Bella nodded, then conjured up a white aura from her hands.

"When the monsters were about to attack me, I gained this power."

Owen, who had been silently listening to Bella, remained silent.

'I was afraid this would happen.'

It seemed like the original plot was twisting as expected.

'Is it because of me?'

There was only one reason why the original plot was twisting.

It was because he made things that should've not happened, happened.

Like hanging out with Lucia and becoming friends with Kyle.

'But that has nothing to do with Bella.'

Perhaps it was just a simple butterfly effect.

Or maybe it was for some other reason.

'...It's giving me a headache.'

As Owen furrowed his brow and sighed, Kyle, with wide eyes, muttered in surprise.

"Power, huh."

"...Power?"

Bella looked at Kyle with a puzzled expression.

"Yes. The force of light is called power. However... you said you faced those monsters with this?"

"Yes...."

"...That's amazing."

Kyle muttered as if finding it hard to believe.

His reaction was expected. It had been centuries since people were helplessly unable to use power. But suddenly, someone claiming to have faced monsters using her own power.

It was unbelievable.

"It's true."

Bella spoke out, sounding unjust at Kyle's reaction.

Her position was understandable as well. She was truly a saintess who had appeared after 200 years, capable of using her power infinitely.

"...If what you say is true."

Owen listened quietly to the conversation of the two and then slowly opened his mouth.

Both Kyle and Bella turned to look at him.

"Kyle, we might need to check the 'distortion' you mentioned."

"Indeed."

Kyle nodded with a furrowed brow at Owen's words.

He had dismissed the habitat changes of the monsters they had seen earlier as mere coincidence, but if this was the case, the story had changed. Habitat changes without a clear cause could be considered mere coincidences, but changes with a clear cause had a significantly lower chance of being accidental. And that could lead to very dangerous consequences.

The hunting competition was structured in a way that groups of knights and mages of similar levels were assigned to places where monsters they could handle were located. If a distortion occurred and larger monsters appeared in the central region, it would have brought irreversible consequences.

"If what you're saying is true, several knights and mages might have already been injured due to the distortion."

Owen sighed softly and then spoke, meeting Kyle's gaze.

"Kyle, you take her safely back to headquarters. And if the power that she mentioned is real, we need to take good care of her."

"Got it. What about you?"

"I'll rush back to headquarters first. If the distortion has already occurred, we need to stop the hunting competition immediately."

Kyle nodded at Owen's low and serious voice. There was no mistake in Owen's words, and this was an urgent matter.

"I'll go first."

"Alright."

With a brief farewell, Owen moved on.

Although all three were heading in the same direction, Kyle couldn't ride as fast, as Bella was not accustomed to riding. Therefore, only Owen could swiftly head towards the hunting competition's headquarters.

Owen untied the horse he had left in the entrance of the abyss and mounted it. Then, he rode at full speed towards the hunting competition's headquarters. Unlike the slow journey he had made in sync with Richard's pace, this time it didn't take long at all.

***

"Your Grace, Duke of Verdin. Have you returned already?"

When he arrived at the headquarters, the knights were waiting there to greet him. They were all soldiers of Count Caleb, not the participants in the hunting competition but they were the personnel responsible to ensure the smooth progress of the competition. For instance, they would transport injured individuals or manage the overall situation of the hunting competition.

"I have something to check."

"...To check, you say?"

The puzzled knight's voices made Owen puzzled too.

If Bella had indeed used her power, then a distortion should have occurred. What was the meaning of this indifferent response?

"Have there been any casualties?"

"Casualties? Like what...?"

"If a large monster appeared in the central area or a medium-sized one at the entrance. That sort of thing."

"No, there have been no such reports...."

Frowning at the knight's completely clueless attitude, Owen narrowed his eyes.

If Bella had awakened her power, she would undoubtedly have used that power. But to hear that no distortion had occurred, it was hard to believe. It was even more difficult to believe because he had encountered a medium-sized monster in the wrong place before.

'Was that just a simple coincidence? Or...'

Owen sighed softly and pushed his hair back.

His mind was too tangled.

The sudden appearance of Bella, much earlier than the beginning of the original work, and many parts of the original work that had already been twisted.

And-

Even the heavy responsibility he had suddenly shouldered overnight. As he was the head of a family, a figure highly regarded for his strength across the continent. He was in a position where he had to take responsibility for everything that happened, not just the situation itself but also all his people.

'... My head hurts.'

As his complex thoughts intertwined, his head throbbed.

He thought he had become accustomed to being Owen for a month.

And indeed, he had.

The mountain of documents, businesses, and contracts he had to deal with. After doing all of them, he became accustomed to it. He could handle things at a decent level where even the butler could nod in approval.

The same applied to swordsmanship. As he experienced them, he became accustomed, and as he became accustomed, he could handle them easily.

However, this was different.

It involved another person's life.

'Could it be that there's no reports because it's a situation where contacts can't be made?'

Just thinking of the worst-case scenario made his fingertips tremble. But he knew that if he let fear take over and neglected the situation, the outcome would only get worse.

"...It seems we need to organize a search party."

When Owen muttered softly, a knight threw a question.

"Yes? A search party, you say? Why...?"

"It seems there has been a distortion. The saintess has awakened in the forest."

"!"

Upon Owen's words, the knights initially showed faces of astonishment, then quickly nodded with solemn expressions.

"Understood. I will gather all remaining troops here to organize a search party."

With his words, all decisions and actions were set in motion. Owen couldn't help but to feel the weight of responsibility he carried.

Under Owen's command, a search party was organized. The search party consisted of the knights and mages who had stayed in the camp for protection, as well as the minimal forces left at the Count Caleb's mansion. They were divided into ten groups, each assigned to search a specific area.

"If you find any casualties, report immediately through the communication device. And if you encounter any unbeatable monsters, please make use of the provided teleportation scrolls."

Although teleportation magic was generally illegal under imperial law, a few teleportation scrolls were available for emergency situations during the hunt.

Naturally, all designated teleportation points led back to the headquarters.

"Understood."

As Owen's instructions concluded, the search party dispersed into the forest. Unlike the groups that had entered for hunting, they were prepared for the worst with the possession of teleportation scrolls.