Leave the Villainous Second Male Lead Alone - Chapter 7.8

“How much food and water do we have left?”

“We can manage for three days—five if we ration carefully.”

“If we keep heading east, there’s an island within a day’s journey. Just hold on… a little longer.”

His voice was hoarse, every word dragging with a metallic rasp. After a pause to steady his breath, he added quietly, “Please.”

“Yes, Admiral,” Pete replied softly, a lump rising in his throat.

Days passed.

Pete blinked groggily, struggling to lift his eyelids. Night had fallen long ago, shrouding everything in darkness. He realized he had collapsed onto the boat’s floor, still clutching the oars in his hands.

A pounding ache throbbed in his skull, a result of days without proper nourishment. He looked up at the unyielding night sky, gritted his teeth, and rubbed his dry, irritated eyes. Around him, his fellow sailors lay sprawled, too exhausted to move.

And yet, Callisto was still rowing.

Pete found himself staring, his mouth slightly open.

Callisto’s hands were drenched in blood, the oars slipping against his palms as they reopened half-healed wounds. His face, pale and gaunt, had lost all vitality. His lips were cracked and parched, and his sunburned cheeks had grown hollow.

Yet, for all the torment etched into his features, his golden eyes blazed with fierce determination.

Pete had seen that look before—the same unyielding fire in Callisto’s gaze when he’d dragged Pete, bleeding and half-dead, to safety during their bloodiest naval battle.

Pete lowered the hand he had extended to touch Callisto’s shoulder. He returned to his seat and picked up his oars. Around him, the other sailors slowly began to rise, one by one, and resume rowing.

No one spoke. No one had the strength. They moved mechanically, oars dipping into the water in rhythm, as time blurred and all sense of self faded away.

No one knew how much time had passed.

Then, faintly, a breeze stirred.

“Admiral… it’s wind… there’s wind!”

Pete jolted upright, dropping his oar. He turned, and from the Etienne, trailing closely behind, the first mate was shouting and waving his arms.

“Admiral, we’ve made it out of the windless zone!”

“The wind is blowing!” another sailor exclaimed.

The sails, slack for nearly two weeks, began to fill as they unfurled. The ship groaned as it caught the breeze, and the vast sun rose over the horizon, its light spilling across the water like molten gold.

Callisto stood silently, staring out at the radiant dawn. A faint smile touched his lips as he murmured.

“Etienne…”

Then, like a sandcastle succumbing to the tide, he collapsed. The sailors rushed to catch him as he fell, unconscious but alive.

As the ship neared Blast Harbor, Callisto, still asleep, began to dream.

It was a strange dream—of a foreign land where he stood alone among people dressed in unfamiliar attire. At first, he was disoriented, but upon realizing it was merely a dream, he felt relieved. As long as it wasn’t another fiery love triangle with Lawrence, he didn’t care what the dream entailed.

Wandering down streets lined with towering buildings, one caught his attention. Its first floor had an entire wall made of glass—clean and vast, unlike anything he had ever seen. Etienne would have been ecstatic to witness it, likely demanding to know how it was crafted.

Thinking of Etienne, Callisto couldn’t help but smile. Then, through the glass, he noticed something inside the building.

At a sunlit window, a man and a woman sat drinking tea.

Callisto’s gaze locked onto the man. His eyes widened, and he blinked slowly.

“Etienne?”

The man had black hair and eyes, but the rest was unmistakable. The gentle curve of his eyes, the soft aegyo-sal beneath them, the youthful blush on his fair skin—it was Etienne, without a doubt.

Callisto approached the window, his steps faltering as he strained to hear their conversation.

A woman spoke first.

“Why can’t a villainous side character have a happy ending with the main character? Respect the freedom of creation, please!”

“The main character and a side character? Together?”

“Yes, the main character falls in love with the side character instead of the main love interest.”

“If the side character ends up with the main character, are they still a side character?”

“…Why not?”

“That’s what the world calls niche. Or false advertising.”

“Why are you so heartless, PD-nim? The character is modeled after you, doesn’t that evoke even a shred of sympathy?”

“I’m the model? Which part of me resembles that character?”

“…Your face?”

Callisto tilted his head slightly, unable to follow their conversation. However, just hearing Etienne’s calm and measured voice filled him with joy. The black-haired Etienne had a slightly different aura, which intrigued him. Instead of interrupting, he quietly eavesdropped on their conversation.

Etienne shrugged and replied nonchalantly.

“They have silver hair and purple eyes.”

“Except for that part, the rest was based on you!”

“Will you pay me for likeness rights?”

“If I pay, can I change the ending to a happy one?”

“No.”

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