I Became the Male Lead who was Clinging onto the Female Leads

TL/Editor: Raei

Schedule: N/A

Illustrations: Posted in discord.

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On the second and last day of the comprehensive exams.

After completing all the written exams, Eugene, sprawled out on his desk, woke up to murmurs around him.

“Rumor has it that he subdued the bandits and retrieved the antidote for Marshal.”

"Do you believe that?"

"It's what the commoners are saying, you know?"

"You're trusting it because a commoner said so?"

"What nonsense is this…"

Eugene sat up, glancing around.

Students everywhere in the classroom were whispering and stealing glances at him.

“Some commoner’s dad shared the story, you know?”

"Someone high up from the Florence Merchant Group."

“The branch head?”

“Not quite that high, but…”

Odd rumors filled the air.

‘When in doubt, ask.’

Standing up, Eugene randomly grabbed a student and asked,

“What are you all gossiping about?”

“Huh? Were you asleep? A commoner was gossiping about you in the hallway."

“A commoner?”

“Hey, more importantly, is it true? Did you really suppress some bandits and cure the branch head’s granddaughter's illness?”

“A commoner... hmm…"

“Hey, where are you going? Aren’t you going to answer?”

A student behind him shouted, but Eugene paid no mind.

He briskly walked out of the classroom, spotting the ongoing commotion in the hallway.

“It's true! Eugene really beat those bandits and cured the granddaughter of the branch head!”

“Quit joking around.”

“If he subdued bandits, then I've slain a dragon.”

“Don't speak ill of Eugene. It’s all true…”

“Really? Is it?”

“Of course, it is~”

“...”

Luna bit his lip, holding back tears.

The students ridiculing him didn't let up, whether he cried or not.

‘What's going on?’

The scene was so unexpected that Eugene needed a moment to process it.

Not long, just a brief moment.

Considering what he had seen and heard, he quickly deduced,

‘Not sure how he found out, but…’

Luna must have learned of Eugene's deeds and was now spreading them to repay the favor.

Eugene approached, passing the laughing students, and looked straight at Luna.

“Eugene?”

Luna's eyes widened in surprise.

Eugene simply asked,

“What are you doing?”

It was a straightforward question.

Yet, that seemed to have opened the floodgates of Luna’s restrained emotions.

Luna, tears streaming, cried out,

“I’ve been telling everyone about how good a person you are, but they just won't believe me!”

“...”

Oh.

So, they didn’t believe him.

"Just leave it be... It doesn't matter if they believe or not."

“Why doesn’t it matter?!”

Huh?

Taken aback by his firm response, Eugene studied Luna’s expression.

“Everyone knows how tarnished Eugene’s reputation is, how can I stand by and just watch!”

“Tarnished…?”

That hit him hard.

No one knew better than Eugene how tarnished his reputation had become.

However, hearing about it from someone else felt like a nail being driven into his heart.

"They say your reputation is terrible, Eugene!"

"Terrible...?"

"They say you're ruining your life chasing after women!"

"Ru...ruining...?"

Eugene was stunned.

"So we need to raise that reputation! Eugene, you shouldn't be looked at with such disdain!"

...I also want to be seen in a good light.

But what can I do?

The previous owner of this body left after recklessly messing things up.

Eugene looked at Luna with a defeated expression.

He could see his strong determination to improve his reputation, which seemed to have hit rock bottom.

'It wouldn’t hurt to have a better reputation….'

However, what he wanted and what he could achieve were two different things.

His reputation couldn't be fixed through words.

The quickest way would be to ignore all the detractors and prove himself through actions, not words.

Though he appreciated Luna's efforts, he couldn't help but feel conflicted.

"Why not just ask him directly?"

"That would be faster."

"Hey, that Eugene guy who’s all the talk. Turn around."

What did I just hear?

Mocking voices reached him from behind.

They sounded like the students who had made fun of Luna.

Turning around, he was met with those very faces.

Their sneering expressions and taunting demeanors reminded him of those guys from the rooftop.

"...Are you guys from the Black Flower class?"

"What's with that random question? But yeah."

Ah, I knew it.

Were these Black Flower students destined to be delinquents?

It wasn't their fault.

You couldn't blame beings designed to do wrong...

'Ah, whatever.'

This wasn't the time for such thoughts.

One of the Black Flower guys started speaking in a mocking tone.

"Is it true that you subdued a bandit group and treated the granddaughter of the branch chief?"

While half-listening to the question, Eugene eyed the emblem on their uniforms.

Just like before, he couldn’t identify which family they belonged to, but the design suggested they were slightly above average in rank.

'So, they're just a bit above the 'infected*'.'

Pretty much nobodies.

Having assessed the situation, Eugene replied to the question.

"It's true."

He didn't feel the need to put on an act or beat around the bush with these guys.

It wasn’t a secret, and everything was true, so he simply confirmed it.

And yet.

The faces of the Black Flower members swelled up like pufferfish, and then they burst into laughter.

"Hahaha!"

"A guy obsessed with girls defeats bandits and cures the granddaughter of a branch head? Oh my, I must be going insane!"

"If that's true, then what am I?"

The Black Flower members chuckled boisterously, their jeers growing louder.

Their noisy ruckus drew the attention of surrounding students.

With biting sarcasm, they went on,

"Just how weak were those bandits to lose to someone like you? huh?"

"Ah, I think I get it. So, the bandits were just kids living in the mountains? Even you could beat kids, right?"

"That makes sense. So that dying old man's granddaughter’s illness was what? A common cold?"

Such baseless mockery.

The bandits that Eugene had defeated were belittled as mere mountain-dwelling kids, and the granddaughter's grave illness was likened to a mere cold.

Any reasonable student would dismiss such slander.

If it weren't directed at Eugene.

Because it was Eugene, the students lent their ears more to the taunts of the Black Flower members than to Luna's words.

"This... this isn't what I...”

Luna's face seemed on the verge of tears.

He had tried to boost Eugene's reputation with his story, but it seemed to be backfiring.

"I'm so sorry, Eugene. I didn’t mean for it to turn out like this…”

Luna apologized, holding back tears that threatened to spill.

Eugene, with a stoic gaze, laid his hand on Luna's head and turned away,

"It's fine. You did nothing wrong."

His cold eyes locked onto the Black Flower members.

'They asked, and I answered. If they won't believe it, well...'

He'd make them.

Eugene didn't care about having a virtuous reputation for curing a rare disease.

Right now, he just wanted to prove that he had indeed subdued all those bandits.

His method of proof?

'They'll understand once they experience it.'

From Eugene's fist, a vein throbbed like a streak of lightning.

Those lacking in character needed a good beating to set them straight.

If they died or became crippled during the lesson, well, it would be unfortunate.

Crack!

Eugene put pressure into the ground with his foot charged with mana, caving the hallway floor.

His waist rotated outward, his fist poised for a mighty swing.

At that moment.

"Who do you think you are, speaking like that?"

A fiery voice imbued with mana echoed down the hallway.

Every student stopped in their tracks, turning towards the source of the voice.

Luna, on the brink of tears, and Eugene, with his fist raised, did the same.

A young woman was confidently approaching.

Seeing her, the faces of the Black Flower members turned ashen.

"Ti... Tina?"

Glorious golden hair as if an angel descended, elongated double eyelids highlighting her dense lashes, and ruby-red eyes shimmering with intensity.

Capturing the attention of all just by her presence, Tina von Elia Florence stood before the Black Flower members.

"Why... Why is Tina here...?"

"What's gotten into you all of a sudden...?"

The ones who were so full of themselves in front of Eugene, where had they gone?

When Tina appeared, they were completely lost, looking like mere specks of dust before her.

What if they were seen in a negative light by her, the future head of the esteemed Florence family?

It would have been better for their house if they had bet all their wealth on gambling instead.

Because earning Tina's disdain was an unthinkable misfortune.

The Black Flower class students scrambled and bowed before Tina.

However, she didn't look the slightest bit appeased.

"Do you even realize what you've been saying?"

Tina had been nearby and had heard their entire conversation.

She spoke coldly,

"Shall I repeat what you just said?"

"Wha... What did we say?"

"Dying old man."

"…!"

"And his granddaughter's illness was 'just a cold.'"

"I, I never said..."

The color drained from the faces of the Black Flower students.

They had thoughtlessly belittled Eugene, but hearing their words from Tina's mouth, they realized they were disrespectful to the entire Florence family.

"The Florence family values everyone who has worked for our house, regardless of their status."

From Tina, an aura befitting the future lady of the Earl house emanated.

"Marshal, the head of the Luciana branch under the Earl of Florence, is a man everyone respects. What makes lowlifes like you think you can demean a cherished member of our family?"

"What did you say?"

Tina stared at the students of the Black Flower class with a twisted expression.

"You insane.. because of you..."

"Shut him up. Shut this fool up!"

Two students from the Black Flower class forcefully pushed down their classmate's head, repeatedly apologizing to Tina.

"We're so sorry!"

"We really are! Please, just overlook this once!"

Yet Tina, with her still angry gaze, responded,

"There's something that's been bothering me since earlier."

"What is it? Just tell us!"

"You've insulted Marshal and Eugene, not me. Why are you apologizing to me?"

"Eu, Eugene...?"

The Black Flower students glanced between Eugene and Tina.

Seeing Tina's expression, it was clear she wanted them to apologize to Eugene.

Yet, even in this situation, due to their noble pride, they didn't want to bow their heads to Eugene.

One of them, his voice trembling, began,

"Look, we get that we were in the wrong. We'll make it up to you in any way we can! But!"

He shouted with narrowed eyes.

"This doesn't make sense! How could that fool defeat bandits and cure the branch head's granddaughter? All I know is that the guy's an idiot! And he actually is an idiot! I genuinely don’t understand why we have to apologize to him!”

Bowing his head to Tina, who was stronger than him, never caused him any discomfort or shame.

But apologizing to Eugene, who was inferior, was something his pride would never allow, even if he was at fault!

'Why should our noble house apologize to that lowly baron?'

The Black Flower class students assumed that Tina would side with this noble way of thinking and looked up to her expectantly.

But Tina's face was cold, and her eyes held a hint of disdain.

"That such fools claim to be nobles leading this nation..."

They're nothing more than worthless trash.

Hearing their self-justifications, Tina realized that exchanging opinions with them was meaningless.

If they weren’t worthy of conversation, she would resort to other methods.

Tina spoke,

"If that's how you all feel, so be it. Honestly, I don't have much power. All I can do is either have a good opinion of you, or a bad one."

That bad opinion was something all the nobles deeply feared.

"But I can't simply dislike you without reason. There must be a proper cause to dislike someone."

So,

"Eugene."

Tina looked seriously at Eugene,

"Is everything Luna said true?"

She wasn't aware.

She could have known if she had asked Marshal once, but, busy with her studies and training, she unfortunately hadn't met with Marshal.

So, she had to ask.

Is everything Luna said true?

More precisely, can I trust you?

Eugene slowly opened his mouth,

"It's all true."

Tina stared intently into Eugene's eyes.

They were unwavering.

Just by that, Tina felt she could trust him.

More specifically, she wanted to trust him.

If she believed Eugene now and openly sided against those unseemly young noblemen...

If she showed support for him...

Not only would she gain his favor, but she would genuinely be of great help to him.

In front of so many students, if she, the only daughter of the esteemed Earl, openly sided with him, then no one would dare spread rumors or hassle Eugene so casually in the future.

His reputation would naturally rise, whether they liked it or not.

Although siding against certain families could lead to problems later on, especially for someone who's not the head of a family.

And yet, precisely because of that...

This was a pivotal moment for someone destined to lead a great merchant family.

Would she side with Eugene, trusting the potential she had witnessed in him, even if it meant siding against some noble families?

Or would she simply let things pass?

'I want to believe in Eugene.'

She held Eugene's talents and potential in high regard.

If she could seize the opportunity to invest in him, she was willing to face the consequences, even if it meant facing repercussions from her family.

And so...

At that very moment, she declared with all her might before everyone,

"I, Tina von Elia Florence, guarantee here and now that all the rumors circulating about Eugene are true. I have seen and verified them with my own eyes."

The surroundings fell silent.

No one could speak, struck by her shocking statement.

"And once I, Tina von Elia, become the head of my family, I declare that we will sever all ties with the families who have insulted our Marshal and the innocent Eugene von Lennon Grace."

"W-Wait a minute!"

"What on earth are you saying?"

"What are you talking about?"

"As the successor of the Florence family, I promise this. With all of you here as my witness."

With that, Tina closed her mouth.

And no one, absolutely no one, dared to utter a word.

It took them a long, long time to come to grips with what had just happened.

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