I Became the Second-in-Command in a Romance Fantasy Novel

A sudden strike that pierced through my defenses left me momentarily speechless. No, for someone like the Sword Master to launch a sneak attack...

“I gave it my all.”
I was sincere.
I truly used the ultimate form of the Defeat Sword. Even the Captain would have acknowledged it.
However, it seemed that even the Sword Master, who was a master of swords, had difficulty understanding the Defeat Sword. It was a bit complicated.

“In my opinion, it looked like you were trying not to win.”
That was a sharp remark, getting to the heart of the matter. But, just because you win, doesn’t mean it’s a victory, right?
For my future, the Sword Master’s growth was necessary.
Hadn’t Violet, the fellow transmigrator, said?
The madly obsessed Princess Heastia in the original story had abandoned the sword.
Even though I claimed I wasn’t concerned with the original work, I couldn’t afford to miss the opportunities that would arise from handling the events that would unfold in the future.

If you give up, everything is over.
It really would be.
“I’ve never tried this hard in my life.”
That was true.
And it would remain true moving forward.
Our Sword Master would grow stronger and be able to take on the challenges that Prince Ellen couldn’t handle.

Of course, I wasn’t saying this just by chance.
I would use the kingdom’s full training curriculum to help him stay focused on the sword, not lose interest. And, I would push him to succeed in the romance business as well.
Prince Ellen?
When he returns to the kingdom, he’ll be surrounded by noblewomen falling all over him.
There are probably a few at the academy as well.
Since first loves rarely work out, I should make sure that the female lead has an unforgettable first love with him.
Of course, this was all in the context of a romance fantasy world.
Our poor Prince Ellen, caught in the web of romance fantasy tropes as a secondary male lead... it was true.
From what I’d heard, he would be portrayed as a villain up until the academy part.

But, that only accounts for about 50% of the story.
Violet had mentioned that a cheetah was already running, suggesting that the original plot might change.
So, what’s wrong with the other 50%?
It was about common sense.
No, Daisy. She’s a noblewoman from a marquis family.
The Sword Master or the son of the Duke, even the future merchant lord could marry anyone without issue.
Even Prince Asid could cover it up as a transcendent romance, but...
The issue with Prince Ellen and the magician side was a national problem.
Romance may be fine, but if a prince from another kingdom tries to marry a noblewoman from a foreign land, there are so many complications.
Of course, it’s not impossible, but...

If the Imperial Prince loses in the romance front, and others try to interfere, it would quickly escalate into a diplomatic problem.
Thus, I had to block Prince Ellen’s first love.
This wasn’t my judgment, but the Captain’s.
It was a ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) task assigned to me by the royal family.
“...I see.”
Was my sincerity conveyed?
The Sword Master still wore an expression full of suspicion, but he nodded.

“If you say so, then it must be.”
Honestly, the Sword Master wouldn’t be able to argue.
Unless I had deliberately thrown the match, I had won.
In fact, to outsiders, it looked like a narrow victory.
Prince Ellen even saw it that way, and someone as knowledgeable as the Sword Master could only doubt it.
If you only look at the Defeat Sword, it was the power of a genius who even surpassed the Captain.
“Then, I’d like to make a suggestion.”
He said “suggestion,” but it didn’t seem like something I could refuse.
No, more accurately, he was certain I wouldn’t turn him down.

“I’ve become the advisor of a club.”
“Oh...”
A club where the Sword Master was the advisor?
This was new information I hadn’t heard from Violet.
Had fate changed? Or was it something I had skipped over because it wasn’t important?
“I’m going to teach some people swordsmanship there.”

A swordsmanship club.
It was a club I had actually considered.
But, aside from this year, I had heard that the academy’s swordsmanship level was a bit lower.
I thought it wouldn’t benefit me much, so I planned to focus on personal training instead of joining any clubs.
But if the Sword Master was the advisor, that changed things.
“So, I want you to join the flower arrangement club.”
“I’m not doing it.”

Shit, I knew it.
I had hoped that since the Sword Master was going to teach swordsmanship, it would be a swordsmanship club, but...
“What?”
He seemed taken aback, clearly not expecting his request to be refused.

“I need some time to myself.”
Even if the Sword Master was going to teach swordsmanship, the flower arrangement club was still out of the question.
No, wait... thinking back, even if he was going to be the Sword God, he would still be there.
“Anything else?”
“No, I guess not.”

I left the office and headed back to the dormitory, still feeling that same disbelief from the Sword Master’s expression.
And then...
“Emergency!”

Was the emergency communication code used?
I immediately contacted headquarters.
The Captain, frowning from my emergency call, sighed deeply and spoke.

Isn’t today the regular meeting day? You could have waited a little longer. Why the emergency line?
This was bad for my heart.
I wanted to calm the Captain, but life never goes the way you want it.
“The Sword Master is becoming the advisor of a club, and he’s going to teach swordsmanship to the members.”

Damn. I thought the Empire Academy was taking all the talent, but now we’ve got a guaranteed blow.
The nobles inside the kingdom had been on edge.
With Prince Ellen going to study at the Empire Academy, other nobles were considering sending their children there as well.
But now the Sword Master, aside from his classes, was going to teach at a club?
For a swordsman, that was the most tempting bait.
“But, Captain, the name of the club is the flower arrangement club.”

Wasn’t the Empire swordsmanship club called the flower arrangement club?
“Don’t avoid reality. You know exactly what kind of club it is.”
No way!
I had to laugh at the fact that he couldn’t even curse.
This world was definitely a fantasy.
Wait, no. It was a romance fantasy. Maybe the platform’s censorship didn’t allow certain words?

“I don’t know.”
That’s the fate of a romance fantasy novel. I wanted to say, but I had just told Violet that I was going to live in reality.
So, realistically, I just had to say I didn’t know.
If I tried to think normally about why the Sword Master would go to a flower arrangement club instead of a swordsmanship club...

“It’s because of his grandson, isn’t it?”
You said you abandoned your family, but you’re still taking care of your grandson?
It was a reasonable guess, so the Captain started thinking seriously.

Isn’t it because of you? You should’ve held back, why did you win?
This was a tragedy caused by the Captain’s lack of research.
I claimed that, and the Captain grumbled.
Who would have thought he’d be this weak? I thought he’d at least be on par with you.

We had created a monster that no one expected to succeed.
Thinking back, Violet had said that if Prince Ellen was a hydrogen bomb, I was an atomic bomb.
Damn it, just recently the talent that hadn’t exploded was finally starting to burst!
“So, I’ve already started my work.”
Work? On whom?
“The Sword Master.”

Really?
Even though the Captain said “really” sarcastically, unlike Violet, the Captain was my superior.
“The reason is...”

Since this was a fantasy world, I couldn’t present a PowerPoint presentation, but I could at least talk about it.
“So, to make Prince Ellen’s first love just a memory, I think it’s best to match her with someone else.”
Why Aslan, of all people?
“Well, even if it’s about romance, it’s impossible for the Leon Prince to lose to Dale.”

Of course not.
Even if we set it up, there was no way the Leon Prince could lose to Dale.
“And it’s not good to create problems with Ilias.”

Right.
Ilias, one of the three major merchant families of the continent.
There was no reason to form a bad connection with them on a national level.
“And the second son of the Rias family has no future.”

Why?
“He’s just digging his own grave.”
Gerard, the second son of the Duke of Rias, was a cheetah Violet recognized.
In other words... he would just waste time during the academy part.
“That’s why I thought the best person to work with was Prince Asid or the Sword Master Aslan.”

The Empire’s prince is hard to touch?
“There’s that, but I could easily create a connection with Aslan.”
It would be easier to create a connection with Aslan, since we would be continuing to work together through the sword.
“But the prince has helpers of his own.”

I could tell from the conversation.
Violet... this girl was on the prince’s side.
Though not as much as female-oriented novels, in male-oriented novels, the comments often debate who the first consort is.
I could tell who Violet was rooting for in this conversation.
“Even if I fail, it won’t matter if I get involved with him. So, I decided to support Aslan.”
Aslan.
Though he wasn’t as good as me, he was an excellent swordsman.
And, while he was excited, he also had a decent face and personality.
His relationships with others in the academy were open, with people who weren’t concerned with their status, so he had a good influence on others to share the sword.

His path as a male lead was clear, and his potential for growth was guaranteed.
“Please approve it.”
...Are you confident?
“Is there anyone in the academy who works harder than me?”

With my bold declaration, the Captain immediately responded.
Daniel.
Damn, he was the cheat code.
In the world of romance fantasy, I could say that I was doing more work than Prince Ellen.
But in reality, I couldn’t defeat Senior Daniel, who was handling all the tasks as the Crown Prince’s aide in the Kingdom of Leon.

“…And after Senior Daniel?”
It’s you.
Even though I was treated as the second in command within the kingdom, it seemed like I was still a big deal.

I felt a bit uneasy, but it was probably just me.
I felt like I was becoming more and more of a side character, but the leader had said,
“Second place still counts as doing well.”
So, trust in the judgment of the field.
It seemed like the Captain acknowledged the decision of second place and supported it.

So, what do we need to help with?
“Ah, for now…”
I recalled the information Violet had given me.
I briefly thought about the scene where she was fussing about not getting cooperation and only extracting information but waved it off with a casual middle finger.
“For now, before the midterms...”

The real events would begin after the promised midterms.
So, until then...
“Let’s start by teaching the remaining instructors flowers.”
Flowers?
“It’s the flower arrangement club.”

Since Daisy liked flowers, I was planning to have flowers, native to the kingdom, delivered directly to her.
“And let’s have the intelligence department get the tickets.”
“What tickets?”
“Theater, performances. Anything in the academy’s jurisdiction.”
Violet had once said, male leads are all duds.
One of the hopeless ones who couldn’t even manage a kiss before graduating from the academy, for the sake of the Sword Master.

“Let’s do it the proper way.”
I was planning to set up a proper date course first.