Damien flipped through the notebook. He searched for a specific entry near the beginning.
"When I first woke up here," Damien said,
"I made a list of every character I remembered. I wanted to know who to avoid and who to leverage."
He found the page. He spun the notebook around so Marcus could read it.
The handwriting was neat but cramped. There was a list of names.
Theodore Aldridge. Seraphina Ashwood. Catarina Roselle.
Halfway down the list was Marcus Aldridge.
Next to the name, there were only two sentences.
Eldest Aldridge son.
A disappointment who squandered his inheritance on drink and women.
Dies unremarkably in the vanguard of the demon war's first battle.
Marcus stared at the words.
He read them again.
Dies unremarkably.
Silence stretched in the room. The only sound was the ticking of the clock on the mantelpiece.
"I was a throwaway," Marcus whispered.
"Worse," Damien said.
"You were flavor text. You existed solely to make Theo look better by comparison.
The useless older brother versus the destined hero.
You weren't even a stepping stone. You were background decoration."
Marcus sat back. He felt a strange sensation. It wasn't fear. It wasn't anger.
It was relief.
He let out a long breath. "I don't matter."
Damien raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"I don't matter," Marcus repeated.
A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "My character has no destiny. I'm not supposed to save the world. I'm not supposed to be important. I'm just supposed to die off-screen."
"And you find this comforting?" Damien asked.
"Don't you see?" Marcus leaned forward.
"I've been terrified that I'm ruining some grand destiny meant for me. But there is no destiny for me.
The original Marcus was trash. Everything I do... every kind word, every successful business deal, every person I help... it's all bonus points."
Damien watched him closely. "That's a very optimistic way to look at being cannon fodder."
"I was a life coach, Jason," Marcus said, using Damien's real name for the first time. "Reframing is what I do. If I'm off the script, then I'm free. I can write my own lines."
Damien leaned back and tapped the pencil against his chin.
"You're right about one thing. You are off-script. The Marcus Aldridge in the book was a lazy, selfish scumbag. You..."
Damien gestured at Marcus.
"You're helping widows with their grief.
You're giving career advice to duchesses.
You're treating elves like people.
You're completely rewriting the character."
"Is that bad?" Marcus asked.
"It creates a glitch," Damien said. "The world doesn't know what to do with a background character who suddenly has SSS-Rank charisma."
"I do not have SSS-Rank charisma," Marcus protested.
Damien gave him a flat look. "Marcus. Four of the most powerful women in the continent are trying to get into your pants.
You have charisma. You just use it like a blunt instrument because you're obsessed with helping people."
Marcus flushed. "I'm just listening to them. People like being listened to."
"Exactly," Damien said.
"In a world full of posturing nobles and arrogant mages, 'listening' is a superpower. And that brings us to the disaster we need to manage."
Damien turned to a fresh page in the notebook. He wrote Current Status at the top. Underneath, he wrote The Harem.
"Let's assess the damage," Damien said. His tone was clinical. "Target One: Seraphina Ashwood. Status in Canon: Theo's mentor and lover. Current Status?"
Marcus winced. "She... thinks I'm a deeply sensitive soul who needs her protection. She's aggressively supportive."
Damien wrote: Targeting Marcus.
"Target Two: Duchess Catarina. Status in Canon: Saved by Theo, political ally. Current Status?"
"We're pen pals," Marcus admitted.
"We discuss philosophy and leadership. I helped her with a burnout intervention. She sends me letters. A lot of letters."
Damien wrote: Targeting Marcus.
"Target Three: My mother. Vivienne Blackthorn. Status in Canon: Impressed by Theo's fighting spirit. Current Status?"
Marcus looked at the floor. "I... might have given her a pep talk about finding her identity outside of motherhood. She looked at me like I was the only water in a desert."
Damien sighed. He rubbed his temples. "Great. My mom wants to date my friend. I'm going to need so much therapy when this is over."
He wrote: Targeting Marcus (Gross).
"Target Four: Iris Silvermoon. Status in Canon: Observing Theo. Current Status?"
"She's studying me," Marcus said.
"I asked her what she wanted from life. I think I broke her brain a little. Now she follows me around like a lost duckling."
Damien wrote: Targeting Marcus.
He put the pencil down. He looked at the list. Then he looked at Marcus.
"You realize this is impossible, right?" Damien said.
"Statistically, narratively, logically. This shouldn't happen.
You've somehow activated every romance flag for every heroine meant for the protagonist. You are a black hole of romance."
"I didn't try to!" Marcus defended himself. "I just treated them like human beings!"
"Apparently, the bar in this world is in hell," Damien muttered. "And you stepped over it."
Damien stood up. He paced the small room.
"Here is the situation," Damien said.
"The heroines are following the wrong brother. The prophecy requires them to unite around the 'Child of Destiny'.
Theo is the Child of Destiny. You are the 'Child of Background Noise'."
"So the alliances won't form," Marcus said. The reality of it settled on him like a weight.
"If the Roselle Duchy doesn't back the crown, the eastern front falls," Damien said.
"If the Academy doesn't mobilize the mages, we have no artillery.
If the Adventurers don't join, we have no skirmishers.
If the Elves stay in their forest, we have no magic support."
Damien stopped pacing. He turned to Marcus. His expression was grim.
"If Theo fights the Demon Lord alone, he dies," Damien said.
"And then we all die. The original Marcus dies in the first battle. I die defending the capital. The world ends."
The room was silent.
Outside, the sounds of the city woke up. Carriages clattered on cobblestones.
Merchants shouted their wares. It all sounded fragile.
Marcus stood up and walked to the window.
He looked out at the city of Luminaris. It was a beautiful city.
It was full of people who had no idea they were characters in a broken story.
"We have to fix it," Marcus said.
"Obviously," Damien said. "But how? You can't just tell them to stop liking you."
"We need a plan," Marcus said. He turned back to Damien. "We need to redirect them. We need to show them that Theo is the one they want."
"A pivot strategy," Damien mused. "Rebranding. Market segmentation."
"And coaching," Marcus added. "I need to coach Theo to be... well, dateable. And I need to coach the women to see his value."
Damien picked up his notebook. He looked at Marcus with a mix of pity and camaraderie.
"We're going to play matchmaker for the savior of the world," Damien said. " while actively cockblocking ourselves."
"It's the only way," Marcus said.
Damien held out his hand. "Partners?"
Marcus gripped it. "Partners."
"Just one thing," Damien said, a flicker of his old sarcasm returning. "If we survive this, you owe me a drink. A real drink. Not this tea."
"Deal," Marcus said.
Damien checked his pocket watch. "I have to go. I'm supposed to be 'training' with Theo.
Which mostly involves him hitting me with a stick while I pretend to be jealous."
"Go," Marcus said. "I have some letters to write. And a brother to praise."
Damien walked to the door. He paused, hand on the latch.
"Marcus?"
"Yeah?"
"It's nice," Damien said. His voice was quiet. "Not being the only one who knows the script is garbage."
"Yeah," Marcus said. "It is."
Damien slipped out the door.
Marcus stood alone in the room.
He looked at the empty chair where Damien had sat.
He looked at the notebook left on the table—Damien had left it for him to study.
He picked it up. He traced the worn leather cover.
For the first time since waking up in this world, the panic in his chest receded.
He wasn't just a lost soul in a strange body anymore.
He wasn't just a fraud trying to fake his way through nobility.
He was Marcus Aldridge. He was a glitch. He was a rewrite.
And now he had a co-author.
.
.
.
A/N:
If you are enjoying this novel and want more chapters [BONUS], do these and you will get as much as you want.
[GOLDEN TICKETS]
10 Golden Tickets = 1 Bonus Chapter
20 Golden Tickets = 2 Bonus Chapters
20 Golden Tickets = 3 Bonus Chapters
[POWER STONES]
100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter
200 Power Stones = 2 Bonus Chapters
300 Power Stones = 3 Bonus Chapters