The Darkened Second Male Lead Seeks to Rewrite the Original Storyline

“I thought Lady Ria was someone who cared about rank.”

Ernie crossed her arms and sneered. Her words seemed to question why she was drinking tea with someone of a lower rank, like Siklaen.

“We’re childhood friends!”

Siklaen, oblivious to the underlying meaning, cheerfully agreed. Before Ernie could speak again, Ria quickly added,

“Tea doesn’t have to be about rank, right? I remember having tea with Lady Ebon as well.”

“Pardon?”

“Heh.”

When Ernie asked stupidly, Byron let out a short laugh. All eyes turned toward him. With an openly carefree smile, he spoke to Ernie.

“Since you’ve had tea with her, I suppose that means anyone can drink tea with anyone, right?”

It seemed like Byron was quicker on the uptake than his sister. Ria didn’t deny it, instead elegantly raising her teacup and sipping some tea.

Ernie’s face flushed, and Byron continued to laugh, clearly entertained by the situation.

‘Is he enjoying watching his sister get mocked?’

Ria stared at him.

At first, it had felt awkward that Byron and Ernie were siblings, but upon further thought, it made sense. They were both honest with their emotions, whether joy or hatred.

“Lord Byron, I heard you made a great contribution in the war?”

Ernie tried to change the subject before the atmosphere soured any further. Ria had some curiosity about this as well. Byron was the one who had restored his fallen family with his war efforts. The process surely hadn’t been smooth. Perhaps there was more to him than met the eye.

Ria looked at Byron, but the answer came from an unexpected place.

“Yes. My older brother made a great contribution. I also heard that Lady Ria’s brother participated in the war.”

Ernie spoke up, as if she had been waiting for the opportunity.

“Ah…”

‘My brother?’ Ria was momentarily speechless and quickly looked away. She had no memory of her brother from the original story, but she was indeed the youngest daughter of the Cablik family. This meant she had either a brother or sister, someone older than her.

She had only now realized it. After all this time, no one had ever mentioned or even introduced her sibling. And besides her sibling, there were many other matters to worry about.

‘Was the reason I’ve never met him because he’s off fighting in the war?’

Ria remained silent, but Siklaen spoke up for her.

“Yes, he’s a very impressive person. Right, Ria?”

“Uh… well…”

Ria nodded with a reluctant expression.

“Oh my, it seems Lady Ria isn’t getting along with her brother? I’m quite close with mine.”

Ernie hooked her arm around Byron’s, almost as if to show off. Whether it was a deliberate jab or not, it didn’t affect Ria much. After all, she didn’t even know her brother’s face, so whether they were close or not didn’t matter.

In fact, the idea of her brother was more something she wanted to avoid. The unpleasant past she remembered made her frown slightly.

Perhaps misunderstanding Ria’s expression, Ernie continued with a slightly flushed face.

“Recently, His Majesty the Emperor had a private audience with our older brother, you know? He even awarded him a medal.”

Ernie emphasized “His Majesty the Emperor,” and Ria gave an indifferent look. Byron continued to smile, while Siklaen watched them with a worried gaze.

“Lady Ria’s brother must have met His Majesty…”

As Ria remained silent, Ernie seemed to get more frustrated and mentioned “His Majesty” again.

Just then, Ria felt someone approaching behind her.

“Seems like someone’s quite fond of my father.”

Everyone’s attention turned toward the voice. Ria turned around—well, she tried to turn around, but someone had already wrapped their arm around her shoulder.

“What—”

Ria could easily recognize him by the refreshing scent, the low voice, and the silvery hair that brushed against her neck.

“Oh my!”

Ernie let go of Byron’s arm and immediately stood up, covering her face with both hands. Her face turned as red as her hair.

“Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”

Byron, who had naturally stood up as well, gave a courteous bow to Zen.

“Your Highness, Zen.”

Siklaen, who had also risen, briefly nodded.

“Ah… Your Highness, the Crown Prince…! Your Highness, it’s an honor!”

Ernie hurriedly grabbed her dress and bent her knee. Now, only Ria was left sitting at the table.

She sighed deeply and tapped Zen’s arm that was still wrapped around her shoulder.

“Could you let go?”

In a lazy tone tinged with playfulness, Zen whispered.

“No.”

“Ugh…”

Ria flinched at the low voice that echoed right next to her ear. Seeing her reaction, Zen nudged his head against her neck with a playful gesture.

Unable to hold back any longer, Ria pinched his arm with her nails. Only then did Zen release the arm that had been trapping her.

He then pulled Byron’s chair over and sat down next to Ria, crossing his legs. He looked arrogant and intimidating.

“Well then…”

Everyone at the table turned their attention to him.

“Would anyone care to explain why our future empress seems upset?”

A cold silence settled over the table.

‘Future empress?’

Ria stared at Zen in shock. He smiled at her, but his beautiful blue eyes had no trace of humor in them.

Siklaen, Ernie, Byron—everyone blinked, clearly unable to understand the situation.

Unperturbed by their reactions, Zen continued to gaze at the Ebon siblings.

“Now that I see it, there are some new faces in the rumor mill.”

‘New faces?’ While Zen likely hadn’t meant it that way, to Ria, it sounded as though he was speaking as if he knew the plot. Of course, that couldn’t be the case. Ria was the only one who knew these two were newly introduced characters.

Still, no one answered, and Zen casually took a sip of Ria’s tea, then picked up the teaspoon and pointed it at Ernie.

“You, first.”

“Y-Yes?”

Ernie trembled.

“I’d like to hear more about what the Emperor did,” Zen said.

Ernie’s face turned pale as she alternated her gaze between Byron and Zen.

Ria suddenly realized the gravity of Zen being the crown prince. Despite his light-hearted demeanor, he exuded an unsettling pressure that sent chills down her spine.

Moreover, she couldn’t understand the situation. Zen seemed angry.

‘Why?’

“Are you going to speak for him?” Zen turned his attention to Byron, tilting his head.

“War hero?”

Byron dropped to one knee.

“I am Byron Ebon of the Imperial Guard, 1st Division.”

“From the Imperial Guard, huh? Bold.”

Zen mocked, and the atmosphere grew even more awkward. Siklaen appeared utterly confused by the situation, and Ria felt the same.

‘What is going on here? I just wanted a quiet, peaceful tea time with Siklaen.’

Ria sighed heavily. That was when Darren appeared from the side of the garden.

“Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”

With a polite bow, Darren strode toward them.

‘Why is he here…?!’

Ria mentally screamed. Her head throbbed.

Six. The six main characters of this novel were now all gathered in one place.

Darren Slanders.

A man whose instincts had never been wrong in his life was now facing a shock that seemed to turn the world upside down.

“You’re the one who should stop climbing.”

“I regret ever liking you.”

“Ha.”

Just thinking about yesterday made his blood boil.

He had even spent the night restless. For someone like Darren, who meticulously planned his day down to the minute, this was not a usual occurrence.

‘What happened to make her change so drastically?’

Darren rubbed his head. He knew that recently, Ria had stopped tormenting Siklaen, even going as far as helping Ernie.

‘What’s her game?’

It had been ten years. Ten years that Ria had spent bullying Siklaen.

‘And now she’s suddenly changing her mind?’

It was nonsense. Darren couldn’t trust Ria. His belief was that people never changed.

‘That can’t be true.’

And, in fact, it would be troublesome if she did change. Ria was a useful tool.

‘I’ve only just started gaining some favor by rescuing Siklaen from Ria.’

Yes, Darren needed Ria. More precisely, he needed a foolish villain who would torment Siklaen.

‘She won’t change. People don’t change that easily.’

Darren nodded to himself, reaffirming his thoughts, before frowning as he recalled what happened yesterday.

‘But that tone…’

“If you want to maintain the dignity of nobility and manners, you should start by not showing up at a noblewoman’s house uninvited at this late hour.”

‘How did I get speechless in front of Ria?’ No matter how much he tried to provoke her, Ria remained calm, speaking in a steady voice—something Darren had never encountered before.

The first time.

Darren didn’t like firsts. He hated anything unfamiliar. Lately, he felt like he was living through the worst days of his life.

‘It must be just a coincidence.’

Even a broken clock is right twice a day. Ria was just being fickle. It could be a new form of bullying, for all he knew. One thing was certain: she’d go back to her old ways soon enough.

Darren shook his thick black hair roughly from side to side. His head felt heavy from the lack of sleep. This wasn’t the time to be concerned about such trivial things. There were far more important matters to focus on.

Darren tightened his grip on the few documents he was carrying. His father, Duke Slanders, had assigned him these tasks.

‘If I leave the school now, I’ll arrive exactly on time.’

As he calculated his schedule, he hurried through the garden. At a distance, he saw Zen sitting.

‘Prince Zen…?’

He found himself stopping abruptly, staring at Zen, before his face twisted in frustration.

‘Ria…’

It was because Ria was sitting next to Zen. Even worse, Siklaen was sitting beside them as well.

‘Why does she keep doing this…?’

The foolishly kind Siklaen, without a doubt, wouldn’t suspect Ria’s sudden change. She would naively think that Ria had just returned to her old self, or that her mind had changed. Eventually, it would only be a matter of time before Siklaen was influenced by Ria.

Without even realizing it, Darren turned and began walking away.

‘The only one who can protect Siklaen is me.’

He didn’t doubt for a moment that his thinking was anything but justified.