I Quit Being the Rival of the Strongest Male Lead - Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Desiring Lam*

*Getting away from disaster

I took a deep breath as I opened the closet door to prepare to go out.

Two worn-out gray training suits…

I wasn’t given any new clothes once I stopped growing. Only an old leather braid and a scratchy cotton robe remained.

I knew it was the only clothes I had in such a good mansion, and although I was completely aware of it, my anger rose again.

It was something I accepted without much thinking at first.

“You can’t focus on the sword if you’re so obsessed with grooming.”

That’s what my late mother, Caitlyn, used to say to me.

And of course, I thought I was right.

I couldn’t even defeat Ian, so I didn’t think I deserved anything else other than a sword.

However, as I remembered my previous life, I rationally realized how pitiful my position was.

“Please have a meal, lady.”

The meal brought by the maid was much more irritating. It was a bunch of dry, bland meat and a few withering vegetable leaves.

“You must control your food if you want to lose weight.”

Reid and Caitlyn always ate fancy dinners, but I stayed alone in the room eating just this because that’s what they said I needed to do.

They would occasionally give away their leftovers as though they were generous to me, thus I ate in a hurry.

All this time I’ve been thinking about food just as a body’s fuel for swordsmanship.

But, since this isn’t the only life I’ve ever known, I couldn’t go on living like trash.

“Isn’t there something else? I’m getting tired of eating this every day.”

I grumbled, and the maid replied kindly.

“But, Reid told me to pay extra attention to your meals before the swordsmanship competition.”

Even after the swordsmanship competition, she would give me this meal, saying, ‘Since you, unfortunately, came in second place, they instructed you to prepare for the next swordsmanship competitions, starting today.’

But now since I don’t have the energy to make a fuss, I simply hold my fork in silence.

‘Ugh, this tastes terrible.’

As far as I recall, this was a low-level piece of meat that tasted awful in all of my prior life experiences.

‘It’s particularly awful when the meat doesn’t taste delicious.’

However, because I was going to strain my body today, I had no choice but to chop it up and eat it all.

I grabbed the nicest training clothes in the closet and packed my sword. On my way out of the mansion, I noticed Reid having an afternoon tea set with several pretty ladies.

‘That trash…’

I wanted to have just one sandwich, but I didn’t have the time.

I wiped my eyes and walked to the side of the road. Even though it was the same place I saw every day, the air felt different.

Just remembering my previous life made me understand that I was in a novel. Above all, there were so many gorgeous men as I looked around the street.

Even the store clerk showed his charms.

So, after remembering my previous life, my standard of appearance had considerably decreased. As a consequence, everyone seemed to be a model on a movie set…

‘I can’t do anything about it. I’m simply going to be the best flirt here. And that will be my new thread of life.’

Even though I was born as a supporting character incapable of shooting down a single romance, I believed I might just have to make it.

Even the guys on the street seem like movie stars.

To do so, I had to quickly quit my role.

‘Let’s live a life that has nothing to do with him.’

* * *

Ian Weidross was a handsome man with distinguishing features, a charming man who drew attention from a distance due to his small face and well-balanced body.

His ascetic look, reserved attitude, and neat gesture were highly aristocratic as the sole successor to the Duke of Weidross.

He was now casually inspecting the convoy for an upcoming operation.

It was a privilege to escort the High Priest. Therefore, just a few of the Knights of Weidross who he commanded were chosen.

Aaron, his assistant, was among them, and while he was chatty, Ian had no option but to acknowledge his abilities.

“But hasn’t she been a little quiet these days?”

Aaron followed him around and said.

“Who.”

He laughed in response to Ian’s blunt remark.

“What exactly do you mean by ‘who’? The only person who finished second in the swordsmanship tournament comes every day to challenge Ian, swears at him, and gets kicked out.”

He didn’t even reply, but Aaron kept rambling.

“Annabelle was the only one who dared to criticize you, yet I felt bad for her.”

“Stop talking nonsense and get ready for our departure.”

Ian climbed his black horse without looking at his aide. He replied gravely, although he was aware that she had been unusually silent for the last few days.

Annabelle Nadit, a swordswoman and illegitimate daughter who had officially lost to him twice and informally lost over 2,000 times.

He would officially win three times if he defeated her one more time in the next swordsmanship competition.

They were both twenty-two years old, and after this tournament, they couldn’t compete again, thus it might be considered the end.

Although the sight of her sprinting with a sword was rather pretty, he was sick of her.

She came to him all the time and demanded a fight, and she would have used all sorts of cruel methods to win.

She did stuff like smack his head while greeting or attack his back when he turned around.

And after he agreed to duel her a few times and she was severely beaten, she would yell all kinds of curses and swear words.

“You XX, XX FUXX XXX XX You XXX FXX you all!”

The degree of vulgarity and swears was outrageous.

Annabelle, although having half the blood of the marquis, was now a commoner.

She lacked even the most basic decency in treating him so harshly, as the lone heir of Weidross and leader of the Knights Guard.

Ian merely ignored her because he assumed that if he truly refuted her ridiculous curses, he would be the same as her.

“Of course, she is a stubborn woman. It’s ridiculous that she despises people after losing because of her abilities…”

Aaron kept talking despite his master’s clear signal to shut up.

“Then don’t look forward to it.”

“Even so, it was quite a sight in this dreary training ground. The best part was watching you guys fight. Oh well, that event is only around the corner.”

Everyone had become used to seeing Annabel, who always eluded the gatekeepers and flew into the training field, yelling “Fight!” and attacking Ian’s back.

Even the knights who shouted that she was being rude had become accustomed to her.

But, in any case, if Ian completely defeated her in this last swordsmanship match, it would soon get silent, because she would no longer have a reason to fight him.

He knew she wanted to win first place in the swordsmanship competition to gain a title and become a member of the Marquis.

Her desire for first place was undeniably stronger, but he couldn’t simply give in to his opponent and let her win easily.

“In fact, I haven’t seen her in days; don’t you feel lonely, Ian? It’s the first time we haven’t seen her for so long since we were fourteen.”

“Not at all.”

He didn’t feel empty, but rather refreshed as if he had thrown out a bad tooth.

Ian, who thought he was honest and virtuous, couldn’t stand Annabelle, who didn’t seem to be good enough, and insulted him every time she saw him. He truly believed that he was just a regular guy with a lot of common sense, but he couldn’t understand her at all, who was continuously causing problems for others.

“I will never give up on beating you. Because swordsmanship is everything in my life. Accept me as your rival! Don’t belittle me!”

He would have already imprisoned her for insulting him if it hadn’t been for the things she once spoke about.

Because he understood swordsmanship was everything in her life, he just looked at her with pity and let her run amok.

It’s been like that since they were 14 when they first met.

“I hope she’s focusing on the competition and not plotting some dirty trick, like poisoning you.”

Ian gave a chilly reply to Aaron’s comment.

“All she did was carry the sword. She’ll pay if she crosses the line without one.”

He immediately shut his mouth in reaction to his master’s scary remark.

Annabelle, who hadn’t been seen in a few days, appeared as they approached the Imperial Palace’s main avenue, escorting the High Priest.

Her light purple hair tied high was easy to spot among the crowd gathering to see the procession.

“Oh.”

Aaron muttered when he noticed her.

“I hope you’re not going to quarrel. Looking at her, she seems to be ready to rush in and start a fight right now. Her gaze is already on the edge of catching someone.”

Ian, who had never had a good relationship with her, sighed and didn’t respond. Even Annabelle, no matter how dumb she is, wouldn’t rush to fight in front of such a large crowd.

It was because she had always kept the very basic line of storming into Weidross’ training grounds and seeking a sword battle.

At that moment, she, who was in the crowd, jumped up. Naturally, Ian was the first to notice her moves.

‘You’ve gotten as far as you humanly can, Annabelle Nadit.’

If she decided to attack him in front of so many people, she was insane.

As the swordsmanship contest approached, what was going through her head… Ian pulled his blade instinctively towards her.

Even though she couldn’t be compared to him, she came second in the swordsmanship competition. Ian had to deal with it alone since no one in his Knights was stronger than her.

“M-Ms. Annabelle!”

Aaron, shocked, shouted her name.

It wasn’t an exaggeration. As Annabelle covered Ian’s right arm, countless deadly needles were lodged into her back.