The Darkened Second Male Lead Seeks to Rewrite the Original Storyline

Disappear.

The primal fear of the word gripped Ria.

“…Ria?”

Siklaen looked at her with concern, noticing how dazed she seemed.

“…Ah, Ria!”

Ria snapped back to her senses, realizing Siklaen had approached and was shaking her gently. Siklaen’s worried face came into focus.

“Ah….”

“Ria, are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“Oh, uh…”

Ria shook her head, trying to clear the fog in her mind.

“I’m fine. Really, I’m fine. Sorry.”

“If you’re not feeling well—”

“No, really. I’m okay. Just…”

Ria glanced toward the maid who had been waiting patiently for her.

Right. She’s been standing there this whole time, yet her presence feels almost nonexistent. Because she’s an extra.

For some reason, Ria felt a strange sense of camaraderie with the maid.

“Sorry, but I’m going to cancel the reservation,” Ria said abruptly.

“Understood, my lady,” the maid replied, bowing deeply before disappearing back into the room.

“I… I have to go.”

“Ria!”

Siklaen called after her, but Ria left the library in a hurry.

Under normal circumstances, Ria would have jumped at the chance to talk to her favorite character, Siklaen. But right now, she wasn’t in the right frame of mind.

Disappear.

The word dominated her thoughts.

Outside the library, Ria walked briskly, replaying everything in her mind.

Now that she thought about it, Siklaen wasn’t the only one. During classes, in the bustling lounge—no one had spoken to her recently.

No matter how much her reputation had suffered, Ria was still the daughter of a powerful duke. There had always been people eager to curry favor with her, hoping to gain something. In her short time at the Academy, she had become painfully aware of this dynamic.

But the past few days had been different.

I thought people were avoiding me because I’d changed after possessing Ria. But that’s not it.

She felt invisible. What she had once joked about had now become a chilling reality.

Since Isabel first mentioned it… Have I been fading all along?

It had been days since Isabel’s unsettling observation. Ria had no idea how much time she had left.

I need to find a solution. If I don’t…

Frowning deeply, Ria headed toward the front gate.

A group of students blocked her path, standing in the middle of the field that offered the quickest route. They were all staring at something, whispering amongst themselves.

Following their gaze, Ria saw Ernie.

Ernie Ebon…

Everyone was focused on Ernie. Some gossiped about her, some envied her beauty, while others seemed to fear her.

That was the role of a villain.

Ria understood more clearly than ever—her role had been stolen. Ernie Ebon was now the villain of this story.

Then what about me? What am I…?

Characters without assigned roles were given no attention. They were just extras—passing students or rude nobles, nothing more.

Extras.

The thought filled Ria with dread.

What if I’d followed through with withdrawing from the school?

What if she’d successfully slapped Siklaen, been caught by Darren, and been expelled for assaulting a fellow noble?

Or if Zen hadn’t torn up her withdrawal certificate and she had left as planned?

Did Ria appear in the original story after she was expelled?

She didn’t need to ask the question to know the answer. The novel’s setting was the Royal Academy.

I might already be dead.

A chill ran down her spine.

She had assumed that leaving the story would simply mean living a quiet life, exiled from society but comfortable in the Duke’s household.

But what if that wasn’t the case?

What if she became something akin to a social ghost—biologically alive, yet socially nonexistent? A person who technically existed but was utterly forgotten by the world.

Wait. What about Zen?

The thought struck her suddenly. By that logic, what about Zen? If she had lost her role, hadn’t Zen also abandoned his when he proposed to her?

Realizing this, she knew there was no time to waste.

Zen.

She had to find Zen.

“Disappear.”

The primal fear gripped Ria once again.

Feeling a sense of urgency, Ria grabbed a nearby student and asked, “Zen. Do you know where Zen Widia is?”

“W-What?”

“I’m talking about the Crown Prince of this country!”

Her voice was sharp, almost frightening.

Suddenly, someone grabbed her wrist and spun her around.

“Who—Zen!”

The person who had stopped her was none other than Zen himself, looking uncharacteristically flustered.

“Why is the Crown Prince of this country being hunted down like someone’s about to kill him?”

“Oh, um…”

Ria quickly scanned her surroundings. All the students were staring at them. She clamped her mouth shut.

I got too worked up.

Zen narrowed his eyes, studying her carefully, and then spoke.

“Let’s move somewhere else.”

They ended up in a library reception room, thanks to Ria persuading Zen to change their destination. She had barely managed to stop him from heading to the gazebo in the garden—already the breeding ground for countless rumors. She had no desire to add more to the pile.

I can’t handle any more stares… wait.

Ria suddenly realized something. Despite her supposed fading presence, she had been attracting a lot of attention just now. If her theory about losing her presence was correct, no one should have even noticed her.

Why?

She turned to look at Zen, who was now lounging on a sofa with his eyes closed.

“Have you calmed down a bit?”

Zen asked without opening his eyes. Startled, Ria cleared her throat and replied, “…Yes.”

Zen propped his chin on his hand and said, “So, why were you so desperate to find me? Have you decided to accept my proposal?”

“Proposal?”

“Ha… Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten.”

“Marry me.”
“The only thing I can gain is my life.”

Oh, right. There was that issue too. Ria frowned. But that wasn’t what mattered right now—her fading presence was the pressing concern.

“Judging by that expression, you really did forget. Then why were you looking for me?”

Ria stayed silent. Now that she had found him and they were seated face to face, she didn’t know how to start.

What do I even say? ‘Hey, do you feel like you’re disappearing too?’

Even for someone as erratic as her, such a question would only earn her strange looks. People might even suspect she had succumbed to dark magic.

And even if Zen was losing his presence, what could they possibly do about it? Joining forces wouldn’t suddenly restore their importance.

Wait. If Ernie has taken my role as the villain, then who has taken Zen’s role as the secondary male lead?

Ria stared at Zen intently.

It had to be someone who, like Ernie, had appeared suddenly and carried the presence of a main character. The answer didn’t take long to surface.

Ria let out a low exclamation. Among the new arrivals, only two people stood out: Ernie and her brother, Byron.

“It’s Byron, isn’t it?”

“What?”

She finally understood the source of her strange familiarity with him.

The sunlight catching his hair, his harmless smile, his overflowing confidence, and his striking appearance. His easy approachability, even with strangers, and his lack of discomfort when rejected.

Byron bore an uncanny resemblance to the Zen described in the original story. He was the replacement secondary male lead.

“Byron? Who’s that?”

Zen’s brow furrowed, irritation evident.

“Byron Ebon. You don’t know him? They’re calling him a war hero.”

“A war hero?”

Zen genuinely seemed clueless. Ria’s expression turned quizzical. It made sense for her not to know since he wasn’t in the original story, but the other students had been buzzing about him.

But how could the Crown Prince not know about a young knight trusted by the Emperor?

“They say he’s starting at the Royal Academy today.”

“Why would a knight attend the Royal Academy?”

“What? That’s…”

Ria hesitated. It was indeed strange. Byron was reportedly part of the knights and had already proven himself in war. He had no reason to train alongside students.

If the Ebon family wanted to flaunt their newfound status in high society, sending only Ernie to the Academy should have sufficed.

Ria recalled Ernie’s declaration that she had fallen for Darren at first sight.

If Byron’s actions follow a similar logic…

Is it all orchestrated? Were Byron and Ernie added to the story just to fit them into ‘Throbbing Royal Academy’?

A chill ran down her spine. The thought of Byron’s existence being fabricated for the story was unsettling.

It felt as though this world was willing to bend any rules as long as it didn’t disrupt the overarching plotline.

“Hey.”

Zen tapped his fingers on the table, snapping Ria out of her thoughts.

“So, why were you looking for me? And what does this Byron guy have to do with anything?”

“That’s…”

Ria hesitated. Should she ask Zen about the fading presence? She wasn’t even sure if he could give her a useful answer.

But there wasn’t much else she could do. As far as she could tell, Zen was the only person who might understand her predicament.

Maybe it’s because I feel a sense of camaraderie, like we’ve both been pushed aside.

“That Byron guy… he’s been spending a lot of time with Siklaen lately.”

Ria decided to make up a story.

“And what of it?”

“…Doesn’t that bother you?”

“Why would it?”

“Because you like Siklaen!”

“How many times do I have to tell you? She’s irrelevant to me.”

Zen’s tone was firm, his brows knitting in irritation. It wasn’t the reaction Ria had hoped for. He truly seemed indifferent toward Siklaen.

“We used to be close, the four of us. But recently, we’ve barely seen each other.”

Of course, half the reason was that Ria had been avoiding them.

“Doesn’t it feel like your place is being taken?”

“It doesn’t.”

His blunt response left Ria speechless.

“What are you trying to say, exactly?”

When her attempts to probe him failed, Ria couldn’t hold back any longer.

“Don’t you feel like… your presence has been fading lately?”