Chapter 58: The Male Lead [Part-1]

Neo couldn’t help the tension coiling tight in his chest as he stared at the last person he ever expected to run into tonight, appearing out of nowhere in the middle of a ball.

Standing there, awkwardly apologizing with a rag still clutched in his hand, was Kael. A commoner from the countryside, or so the story had always claimed. But Neo knew better than anyone in this entire ballroom exactly who, or what, this boy really was.

He was the male lead of the very anime Neo had once hated with his whole heart.

In the original story, Kael’s first real appearance came from a small, unremarkable village, where he’d fought off a monster attack to save the family of his very first heroine, awakening his infamous ’Infinite Affection System’ in the process and claiming his first harem member almost immediately afterward. That particular event wasn’t even supposed to happen for another year or two, given that Kael, coincidentally, shared the exact same age as Neo.

’This is way too early. He shouldn’t even be here yet.’

Neo watched Kael carefully, noting the boy’s obvious embarrassment over spilling wine across Nora’s expensive gown, his voice tumbling out in a rapid, apologetic stream. Nora, meanwhile, stood completely unaffected, her eyes narrowed slightly in quiet suspicion, as though his little display of guilt meant absolutely nothing to her.

"I apologize, my lady," Kael said, offering up his usual charming, practiced smile, the exact same one that had melted the hearts of countless girls throughout the anime.

Nora remained entirely unmoved, her expression as blank and unreadable as ever.

Kael’s confident smile faltered slightly, clearly unsettled by her complete lack of reaction.

"I’ll help clean it up," he offered quickly, pulling out a fresh napkin and reaching forward toward the stain on her dress.

Before his hand could get anywhere close, Neo stepped smoothly between them, pulling Nora protectively behind him, his eyes narrowing sharply at the stranger.

"Do you not know how to behave at a formal ball?"

"I—"

"How dare you try to touch her without asking permission first."

"I didn’t mean—!"

"Just stay quiet and mind your own business. Don’t you dare get any closer to her."

Kael’s mouth snapped shut, his golden eyes flickering with something unreadable as he watched Neo pull Nora away without another word.

"Let’s go, Nora."

Neo took her hand firmly, leading her back toward their table, deliberately ignoring Kael entirely. There was no way he was going to let Nora stand anywhere near someone like him, regardless of how harmless the boy might look on the surface.

Once they reached their table, Neo pulled out her chair, settling her down before taking the seat beside her, carefully dabbing the napkin against the stained fabric of her dress.

Nora watched him quietly for a moment before suddenly reaching forward and squeezing his cheeks.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Neo asked, blinking at her in confusion.

"You didn’t ask my permission either."

Neo frowned, gently pulling her hands away before returning to cleaning her dress. "I don’t need permission. I’m your... well, close friend. Besides, you never actually said no, even if I had asked."

"Close friend?" Nora repeated, tilting her head slightly.

"Hmph," Neo huffed, pulling back once he finished cleaning the worst of the stain, sliding half his pastry over onto her plate without another thought.

"But, we’re going to get married."

Neo froze mid-motion, glancing up at her with obvious surprise, his lips pressing into a thin line as he stared blankly down at the pastry between them.

"Well, maybe. Or maybe not."

Nora studied his lips carefully, reading each word with quiet precision. "What do you mean by that?"

Neo picked up his spoon, cutting a small piece from the pastry as he answered slowly. "I... back at my birthday, years ago, I just said that in the moment. To get out of a political trap the Second Prince’s mother had set up. I didn’t really... mean it. Not seriously, anyway."

Nora went quiet after hearing his words, her gaze dropping toward her own portion of pastry, her fingers curling slightly into the fabric of her gown beneath the table. Something inside her chest felt suddenly, inexplicably hollow.

Neo, misreading her silence as acceptance, picked up another spoonful and offered it toward her without another thought.

Nora accepted the bite quietly, her expression remaining perfectly blank, giving no outward sign at all of the quiet ache steadily settling deeper inside her chest.

...

Kael’s POV:

Just a few weeks earlier, while passing through the winding road along the forest’s edge, the same stretch of woods I always trained in, I stumbled across something I never expected to see.

A group of mercenaries had surrounded a carriage.

It wasn’t just a handful of them either. Nearly two hundred armed men had the vehicle completely encircled, more than enough to overwhelm even a full contingent of royal knights. And judging by the crest painted along the carriage’s side, a golden lion wrapped around a crown, whoever was hiding inside definitely belonged to the royal family.

I climbed higher into the nearest tree, watching silently from a safe distance as the battle unfolded below. The knights assigned to protect the carriage fought valiantly, but the sheer number of attackers made the outcome painfully obvious from the very start.

Within minutes, the road had been stripped clean of resistance. Bodies littered the churned, blood-soaked earth, and the last remaining knight finally collapsed, his sword slipping uselessly from his weakened grip.

I knew I should have run. Any sensible person would have. Whatever this was, it was clearly far beyond anything a single countryside boy with barely any real training should ever get involved in.

But something inside me refused to just sit back and watch.

I dropped down from the tree, drawing the worn hunting knife I always carried, and charged straight into the fray without any real plan beyond simply trying to help.

It didn’t take long for me to realize just how badly I’d miscalculated.

The mercenaries turned on me almost instantly, their numbers swallowing me whole within seconds. I managed to drop maybe three or four of them before a heavy blow caught me across the ribs, sending me crashing hard into the ground. Pain exploded through my entire body as more attackers closed in, blades flashing dangerously in the dim forest light.

I remember thinking, quite clearly, that this was probably how I was going to die. Not saving anyone. Not becoming anything important. Just another nameless body left rotting on some forgotten road.

Then, just as one of the mercenaries raised his blade for what would have surely been the final blow, something inside my chest shattered open.

[Ding!]

[Host has reached critical survival threshold.]

[Emergency Protocol Activated.]

[Awakening ’Infinite Affection System’...]

A blinding rush of golden light exploded outward from my body, and suddenly, impossibly, strength flooded through every inch of me, sharper reflexes, faster healing, raw physical power I’d never once possessed in my entire life.

I caught the descending blade with my bare hand, the mercenary’s eyes going wide with shock as the weapon shattered instantly against my newly reinforced grip.

[Congratulations! You have successfully awakened the ’Infinite Affection System’!]

[First Login Reward Generated!]

[Reward: Beginner’s Heroic Package]

[Contents: Basic Swordsmanship Mastery (Instant), Passive Regeneration (Tier 1), Charm Aura (Passive), Starter Weapon: "Flamewrought Blade"]

A gleaming sword materialized directly into my open palm, its blade humming faintly with contained heat, while an overwhelming surge of knowledge flooded straight into my mind, decades of swordsmanship compressed instantly into pure, usable instinct.

I didn’t fully understand what had just happened to me. I didn’t have time to.

I simply moved.