Male Lead, Don’t Push, Pull!

Kyle’s rejection didn’t stop Sienna. Instead, she untied the tattered piece of cloth that covered the back of her hand.

“You…….!”

Kyle frowned when he saw the markings on the back of Sienna’s hand.

The markings on the back of her hand looked brutal, like a tattoo someone had artificially applied.

It was like a scar on the back of her hand.

After a moment’s speechless pause, Sienna stepped toward Vivian, took hold of Vivian’s hand that rested precariously on one of Kyle’s shoulders, and muttered something like a prayer.

Then, to everyone’s surprise, a stream of golden light shot out of Sienna’s hand.

“……!”

Kyle’s eyes widened.

It wasn’t magic. It wasn’t like the imperial mages he’d seen before.

They didn’t emanate this kind of warm power.

Of course, the power Sienna manifested was tiny and insignificant. But it couldn’t hide the faint sense of wonder that she exuded.

And as if to prove it, Vivian’s scowl softened ever so slightly.

“Who are you?” Kyle asked.

Sienna opened her mouth to answer, but then bit her bottom lip in an unpleasant way. She didn’t answer Kyle’s question after all.

Instead, she cradled Vivian’s sagging right side. It was a gesture of support.

Kyle hated the idea of a girl he didn’t know touching Vivian’s body, but for once, he couldn’t resist her.

After all, Sienna’s strange power seemed to have made Vivian’s body feel a little better.

Eventually, Kyle relented.

“Tsk.”

Together, the two of them made their way towards the crowd, supporting Vivian as they went.

*** 

A world within a novel.

Some might say that this place is nothing but fiction.

But I don’t think of where I live as anything like a lie.

Vivian has parents who love her. She has a brother who seems to care about her, even though he’s a prankster, and everyone in the manor is kind to her.

I’ve spent more than a decade in such a loving place with people who love me.

There is a bond that I have formed with people here.

In comparison, my past self…….

‘Now that you’re in high school, you can live on your own. What, money? How can you be a kid and ask for money?’

I lost my parents and was kicked out of my aunt’s house when I was barely in high school.

‘Ha, report it? Yes, report it. If a high school student says she needs a part-time job, and I give her a job, why would she complain that her pay is a little late?’

I had to work under a boss who wouldn’t even pay me the overdue salary.

‘I have an appointment today, but can I ask you to do this for me? You don’t work in the evening anyway, so please.’

In my adult life, I had been working unfairly at a company where I had to work hard to get a job, only to have my colleague take all the credit for my work.

Life as Vivian was better than before in every way. That was an undeniable truth.

I don’t want to remember what I was like at the end. Just thinking about it makes my heart clench and my breath quicken.

In fact, even if I could go back, I didn’t want to.

I don’t want to be alone. I don’t want to be lonely.

I want to keep my life as Vivian.

Maybe that’s why I was so obsessed with being Kyle’s best friend.

I thought that if I stayed by his side, where a happy future was guaranteed, I would be able to keep my life as Vivian.

I guess I had that hope.

I didn’t want to miss out on a humanized life where I had people who loved me and didn’t have to worry about making a living.

I was a fool in my previous life who didn’t have that.

I wasn’t going to get any greedier than that. I was already happy enough being Vivian.

I thought I was doing so well.

Have I ruined everything?

The two bewildered protagonists flashed in and out of my sleepy mind.

It must have been strange. A complete stranger suddenly grabbing you and pretending to be friendly. And Kyle was getting upset at me for being out here now.

I didn’t want to seem suspicious.

‘Vivi, wake up.’

Somehow, I thought I heard Kyle’s voice, and my mind snapped back to reality.

*** 

The unconscious Vivian was quickly taken to a cool room by her escorts, who rushed to her aid.

The doctor examined her carefully and made a diagnosis.

“Sunstroke. The temperature is high. Is the young lady sensitive to heat?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“Let’s keep her body cool. Use a wet towel to bring her temperature down, and she’ll wake up in no time.”

After untying the ribbons of her suffocating dress and giving Vivian first aid, the doctor recited the precautions to be taken.

Fortunately, Vivian’s condition was only temporary, the doctor said, and she would wake up after a little rest.

Lisa immediately went outside to find some cool water. The two children clung to Vivian’s unconscious side.

“Vivi.”

Vivian, whose face was still burning hot, looked better than she had since she collapsed, but she was still unconscious.

Kyle put his hand on Vivian’s cheek. The heat in his palm felt quite hot.

Kyle pushed the hair away from her face, unable to hide his concern.

“Wake up.”

Vivian lay there, and he felt so helpless, unable to do anything about it. When he was alone in the palace, she had saved him.

For a brief moment, he was free, away from his mother, from whom he thought he would never escape.

When he graduates from the Academy, he will have to return to the palace, but by then he will be an adult. Maybe once he was an adult, he wouldn’t be afraid of his mother anymore.

Kyle was grateful for Vivian’s help. He wanted to be the one to help her when she needed it.

But when the moment came, he couldn’t do anything.

He struggled to carry a passed-out, limp Vivian back to the workshop.

Still young, Kyle was shorter than Vivian, but he’s still a boy. He couldn’t even say that he was practicing swordsmanship every day.

Kyle clenched his fists tightly.

‘I need to get bigger and stronger.’

So he could protect Vivian.

And just as he was saying that to himself.

“Ugh…….”

Vivian opened her eyes for the first time since collapsing unconscious.

*** 

The heat on my forehead faded, and when I opened my eyes, the first person I saw was none other than Kyle.

“Vivi, are you okay?” he asked urgently. 

I closed and opened my eyes briefly, feeling dizzy.

What was going on?

After a moment of disorientation, I remembered that I had passed out in the hot sun.

My whole body was soaked with sweat. 

In a weak voice, I asked Kyle, “Where am I?”

“It’s the workshop owner’s house. It was the closest place, so we moved you here for now.”

“I see,” I sighed. I kept feeling hot and dizzy, like I had sunstroke.

Kyle brushed my hair away from my face, which was soaked with sweat and sticking to my skin.

“Are you okay? Are you feeling dizzy?”

“Ugh.”

“You must be thirsty. Here’s some water.”

“Thanks.”

Kyle handed me a cup of cool water. As the cold water slid down my throat, I finally woke up a little.

Seriously, how out of it had I been?

Not only Kyle, but my maid, my bodyguard, and the people in the workshop were all watching me with concern.

Come to think of it, I was definitely with Sienna at the end….

It was like I was holding on to the child who was uncomfortable.

She probably disappeared while I was down.

I sighed and looked up, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw a silvery blob on the other side of the bed.

“Huh?”

Upon closer inspection, I realized that it was not a cotton blob, it was hair.

I jumped to my feet in surprise.

Sienna was still with me!

I thought she would have disappeared long ago.

“Sienna… ugh.”

“Vivi!”

I staggered, anemic from the sudden movement, and Kyle caught me quickly.

Kyle’s face was full of concern.

“Don’t move. You still need to rest.”

“That’s right, Young Lady. Go ahead and lie back down.”

“It’s okay, I don’t need to lie down.”

I tried to smile and reassure him that I was okay, but Kyle was adamant.

“No, you can’t, Vivi. Now lie back down.”

At Kyle’s insistence, I finally plonked my butt back down on the bed. My gaze was still fixed on Sienna.

Our eyes met, and she blushed and ducked her head.

Then she poked her head out again, cautiously, and asked, “………Are you okay?”

Did she really stay this long because she was worried about me?