How to Survive as a Supporting Male Lead

Yes, this was the kind of chaos that suited Iann. Rather than being tangled up in serious matters like romance or marriage, he was better off stirring things up, much like a small-town puppy causing a ruckus.

“Ah, you little menace!”

Despite only a five-centimeter difference, snatching the ring from Kallian’s hand was no easy feat.

With Kallian’s role as second commander of the knights, Iann’s hand didn’t even graze the ring as he seethed with frustration.

“Hey, let’s get this straight, yeah? You stole it, didn’t you?”

Grinding his teeth, Iann waved his hand in the air as if sketching a scene.

He moved closer, so close he was practically in Kallian’s face. Kallian instinctively tried to step back, only to realize he couldn’t move his feet—a spell from Iann, cast in an instant.

Still, Kallian was confident he wouldn’t lose the ring to Iann, even with him standing right in front of him. As both the second commander of the knights and an accomplished swordsman on the verge of becoming the youngest Swordmaster, Kallian wasn’t about to be bested in physical strength by someone who’d spent their time studying magic.

“I picked it up…”

“No, how did you pick it up? Make it make sense. Where exactly did you find it, huh?”

“In your room.”

“What? Are you insane?”

Iann’s shout rang so close that Kallian’s ears began to ache. He grimaced and raised his hands to cover his ears.

“Is it okay for the second commander of the Empire’s knights to break into someone else’s room? Instead of catching thieves, you’re actually stealing instead?”

“You invaded my room first.”

“That was…”

Iann fell silent, begrudgingly acknowledging the truth in Kallian’s words. But he wasn’t about to let it slide.

“I may have messed it up a bit, but I didn’t steal anything. Besides, I was just trying to cure your obsessive neatness.”

“Don’t lie. Did you think I wouldn’t notice that five boxes of chocolates from the Kingdom of Subia were missing?”

“Hey, I was just having a snack while working! Ever heard of a snack break? Are you really that petty?”

Iann said this shamelessly, to which Kallian just as shamelessly replied.

“Oh, is that so? Well, I was just cleaning up your filthy room. I found the ring tucked away with the dust under your bed. You should be thanking me, shouldn’t you?”

“Excuse me? I had that organized in my own way! Do you even know how much trouble I went through after you cleaned up my room without permission? And for your information, I knew exactly where that ring was! I was going to retrieve it later.”

“Who organizes a room like that?”

“I do! And, seriously, who arranges everything in such exact lines?”

“Me. I do. It’s perfectly natural, don’t you think?”

“You’re so inflexible.”

With an exasperated sigh, Iann stepped back. Hearing Kallian’s words sparked a faint memory.

It had all happened about four years ago, back when their spats were practically a daily occurrence.

Out of frustration with Iann, Kallian had been practicing swordsmanship and ended up slashing close to the mage tower, inadvertently wrecking Iann’s research lab in the process.

While no major harm was done, the incident revealed the chaotic state of Iann’s lab to the entire tower. The elders at the mage tower had been horrified and scolded Iann, and ever since then, he’d had to undergo regular inspections to ensure his lab was kept clean.

Getting his workspace inspected like a child? Iann had thought it was unjust; he had his own method, even if it looked like a mess to others. He knew exactly where everything was—a kind of organized chaos, in his mind.

‘I’ll never forgive you for this, Kallian.’

Grinding his teeth, Iann had sworn revenge and ended up sneaking into Kallian’s mansion. He’d only slightly—just slightly—disrupted Kallian’s meticulously ordered room. To be fair, he felt it was justified. After all, Kallian had started it.

“Oh, come on. You know this was your fault in the first place.”

“Is there any point in assigning blame between us?”

He had a point.

“Anyway, this ring is in my hand right now…”

Kallian casually swept his hand through his hair, the ring now glinting on his finger as the gemstone sparkled in the light.

“Ha…”