TLWFL 01

Chapter 01

When I first possessed this novel, I thought I was lucky.

There were no longer any family members who tormented me, nor a grandmother who was desperate to marry me off.

To be precise, it was a grandmother who was frantic to sell me off to a 45-year-old widower.

So, even if they were indifferent to each other, this world where my father and mother were alive and there was no grandmother trying to marry me off was much better.

Plus, my position was stable.

My role was to help the female lead, exhausted from her husband’s coldness and constant communication breakdown, to abandon her husband and run away, support her so she could settle down well in her new place, and finally, help the male lead and female lead resolve their misunderstandings and reconcile.

I was the male lead’s genuine childhood friend.

There was no need to do anything special to survive; it was just a role where I had to support the leads from their side and cheer for their happiness. There was no danger of dying.

Besides, this world wasn’t one where wars broke out or anything.

Given all that, it was a really good possession.

“Since I possessed so comfortably, maybe I should try to live even more comfortably.”

That kind of greed wasn’t strange, was it?

The only misfortune my role experienced was that, because I helped the female lead escape, the male lead withdrew all the funds he had invested in the family’s merchant guild.

Though stability returned later, during that time, the Loterua Earldom suffered severe financial difficulties and faced major problems. Then, the female lead returned, reconciled with the male lead, and thanks to her request, the Loterua Earldom regained its former standing.

What the male lead said to Rozelle back then was a real gem.

*’Be grateful this is the end of it, Rozelle. Don’t do anything to draw attention from now on and live quietly. Do you understand me?’*

What a bastard. Is that how you talk to a friend? Even if I’m an extra, that’s too hurtful.

Wait, isn’t my life actually super happy as long as I don’t get entangled with the leads? Especially the male lead. In this age of communication, he can’t communicate. Just from that, you’re eliminated.

I pressed my temples firmly.

Let’s think about other routes.

Do I really have to be friends with the leads? I don’t have to. I’ll just live my life as I am. To do that, first I need to throw away the title of ‘male lead’s childhood friend’. I’ll go for a lead-avoidance route.

“I should just tell him I don’t want to be friends anymore. That’s probably the best. Anyway, he cares more about women than friends. He’s practically a woman-obsessed jerk. Whether his friend’s family goes bankrupt because of a woman, he couldn’t care less.”

Alright, from now on, we’re done.

***

It was a peaceful mealtime. Until the topic of the male lead came up.

“Today is Reston’s birthday, isn’t it? The ducal family must have sent an invitation. Did you prepare a birthday present?”

My new father asked kindly.

So today was the male lead’s birthday. But now that I’ve decided to cut ties, celebrating his birthday is just ridiculous.

“I’m not going, Father.”

“What?”

Father and Mother exchanged glances. Glancing at them briefly, I put some meat in my mouth and chewed. Wow, this is really delicious. It was grilled to absolute perfection, and the sauce was fantastic.

Back when I lived at my grandmother’s house, I never got to eat my fill.

*’A girl can’t be fat. Eat moderately.’*

Sometimes she’d snatch away my rice bowl, and other times, she’d restrict my meals for a week because I gained weight. I’d go to school starving and barely manage to eat there.

*’You should be slim like your mother. If your appearance goes downhill, how can you marry properly? Look at your mother. Because she had a pretty face, she met your father.’*

My mother had what you’d call a Cinderella marriage. Though she was kicked out later for not being able to bear a son and becoming infertile. After my mother and father, who had run away with me, died in a traffic accident, I ended up at my grandmother’s house.

When I became an adult, started earning money, and could spend it freely, the best thing was being able to buy and eat whatever I wanted.

It’s nice that I don’t have to worry about that here.

“Please give me another serving.”

“Before that, Rozelle.”

“Yes, Father.”

“This evening, you absolutely must attend Reston’s birthday banquet.”

“Pardon?”

“I trust you’re old enough now to understand this. Our Loterua is currently receiving the help of the ducal family. In the past, it was because of the friendship between your grandfather and Reston’s grandfather, and now…”

The Count hesitated, and the Countess spoke.

“Now, the Grand Duchess of Cheskant has you in mind as a potential Duchess. This is an incredibly important opportunity for us, one we as Loterua cannot afford to miss.”

This… this was completely unexpected.

I quickly swallowed the food I had in my mouth. No matter how much I reviewed the contents of the novel I’d read, there was absolutely no mention of me being in that kind of relationship with Reston.

Even though the novel itself was from the female lead’s perspective, within the story, Rozelle acts as a really good friend and supporter to the female lead.

The female lead is a distant relative of the Loterua Count, and the Count, upon request, debuts his niece’s daughter into central high society.

She then spends some time with Rozelle, and in the novel, Rozelle is always kind to the female lead.

No, wait a minute.

What if the female lead was completely clueless?

What if Rozelle actually hated the female lead, bullied her…

*’That dress doesn’t seem to suit you, Aileen. Wouldn’t this one be better than that? That one looks too revealing.’*

A scene flashed through my mind suddenly. In the end, Aileen goes to the banquet wearing the dress Rozelle recommended, only to be pointed at for being frumpy. But Rozelle comforted her, saying people were just jealous of Aileen…

And then, also.

When she was running away…

*’I’ll help you, Aileen. This is your chance to fix Reston’s bad habits. You know how he is, right? I’ve known him since we were kids, and Reston can be really mean. You wouldn’t know, of course.’*

Wait a minute, hold on.

What if Rozelle was actually trying her best to provoke and drive a wedge between them, but it just didn’t work? What if Rozelle was a two-faced bitch pretending to be kind…

I felt like I’d been hit over the head.

“This marriage has been promised for a very long time, Rozelle. You are going to become the Duchess. You were excited about it yourself not long ago. It’s something you’ve been preparing for a long time. We will announce your engagement at Reston’s birthday this time.”

“Ugh.”

Startled, I bit my tongue. Announce?

No, there was no such story in the original. Why is this happening all of a sudden? I’m not prepared! The female lead hasn’t even appeared yet. If something like this happened before the original story began, shouldn’t you have given me a heads-up? Instead of suddenly sticking a marriage flag with the male lead like this. What did I do wrong to deserve this?

Anyway, is this just parallel theory in action?

In that world, I was almost sold off for money, and now it seems to be the same thing again.

My life. There’s no doubt my soul has accumulated bad karma.

Let’s think about it some more.

If Rozelle truly was jealous of the female lead and harassed her, it would make sense why Reston destroyed Rozelle’s family.

Still, I’m confident this engagement won’t be announced here. There was no such story in the original. If it’s an engagement that will break off even if I stay quiet…

I guess I should attend for now. I need to assess the situation, right?

“I’ll go.”

I’ll go and think about it more. Think about how I can protect my safe and happy future plans.

To know your enemy, you must know yourself.

I need to understand Reston and myself.