How to Survive as a Supporting Male Lead

Iann mumbled, suddenly deflated.

“Maybe….”

Derrick responded dryly. Iann’s now-sharpened nerves found a scapegoat in Derrick.

“Why are you so calm? Hey, Derrick, if I die, you die too. Don’t you know that a man without loyalty is just a corpse?”

“I know…. But I gave up the moment you charged at the Duke with a sword….”

“…What?”

Iann carefully counted the years.

“That was when I first met Kallian. Eighteen years ago? You weren’t even around then.”

“For me, it was seventeen years ago. I’ve just been living each day grateful that today’s not my funeral.”

“Hey, I can still beat him in a fight.”

“For now….”

Derrick’s muttering left Iann confused. Should he be moved by Derrick’s loyalty, willing to give up his life with him, or should he be insulted by the assumption that he was going to lose? Should he be happy or angry? Iann couldn’t figure it out.

But his pondering didn’t last long. Because of Kallian.

“Duke Kallian Khan Dervel is entering!”

“He’s here. Get it together.”

Derrick muttered, tapping Iann lightly on the back. A show of encouragement. In other words, a signal that he was going to retreat and leave Iann to fend for himself. Good luck.

“Where do you think you’re going? We’re in this together.”

“Save that for your future wife.”

“Come on, let’s show some solidarity for all the lifelong singles out there.”

Iann grabbed onto Derrick’s collar, forcing him to stand by his side. Cursing under his breath, Derrick had no choice but to stay put. As the two bickered, Kallian, who hadn’t stopped walking since his entrance, was now approaching Iann.

‘Sh*t!’

“Sh*t.”

Iann hesitated for a second, wondering if he had just accidentally cursed out loud. But no, the voice was different. The culprit was Derrick, standing behind him.

Oddly enough, Iann felt a little comforted. At least he wouldn’t die alone. With a bittersweet look, Iann shook the hem of Derrick’s coat.

Derrick, in response, simply closed his eyes tightly. ‘I’m just going to die quietly,’ he thought, feeling his legs tremble under Kallian’s intimidating presence.

“…..”

Iann, at least, had the advantage of being an Archmage. He wasn’t about to be easily overpowered by Kallian. Though he seemed soft-spoken and gentle, he was, in truth, more than capable of matching Kallian blow for blow. If anything, if you examined their duels closely, Iann actually held the upper hand.

But Derrick was just a regular person. A commoner who had the misfortune of being stuck with the wrong boss. On top of that, today was the day Kallian was officially inducted into the Dervel Duchy. Meaning Kallian’s mood was at rock bottom.

This fact was public knowledge. But his idiot of a boss, Iann, was completely oblivious—or rather, he didn’t care. The only thing that mattered to Iann was figuring out how to get under Kallian’s skin.

Derrick could only tap Iann on the back again and offer one last piece of advice.

“Win.”

Please.

“Got it!”

Iann’s blue eyes sparkled as he nodded. Clearly, he had misunderstood Derrick’s desperate plea as heartfelt encouragement. Damn it. Derrick muttered another curse under his breath, something he’d learned from Iann.

“Iann.”

By now, Kallian had reached Iann. Iann was brimming with newfound determination from Derrick’s supposed support.

“Kallian.”

Iann smiled, and Kallian lifted the corners of his mouth too. It was a more menacing smile than Iann’s, but still, both of them were smiling.

It was the smile marking the beginning of today’s war.