“I already have a fiancée.”
Those words kept replaying in Anna’s head.
Her brain felt like it was buzzing.
Completely lost, she sat back down.
After taking a moment to recover, she finally said, “…Oh, I see.
Congratulations.”
Her body felt stiff, and she had even forgotten how to breathe.
It hurt even more than when she heard Hakamada Sousuke’s confession had succeeded.
She had finally reunited with the white moonlight of her childhood, finally heard him call her cute, yet before they had even spoken for long, she found out he already had a fiancée.
But thinking about it, that was normal, wasn’t it?
After Ren went abroad, Anna had looked into him a little.
He came from a powerful zaibatsu family, one just like the Shinomiya family, which was said to be one of the Four Great Conglomerates.
She did not know exactly what his family did, but they had many subsidiaries, and their influence appeared in all kinds of industries.
So for someone like him to have a fiancée…
Wasn’t that actually pretty normal?
After all, that kind of thing happened all the time on TV.
A young master from a zaibatsu and a daughter from a prestigious family.
Or maybe a prince from another world and the princess of a neighboring kingdom.
After making sense of it, Anna took a deep breath.
She raised her head again and forced a somewhat stiff smile.
“Really, congratulations.”
Just like with the auntie earlier, it had happened very quickly this time too.
But once again, he was still missing [Disgust].
Ren suppressed the impatience rising in his heart and shook his head.
“But I don’t feel happy about it.
Compared to that kind of feudal arranged marriage, I prefer free love.”
“?”
Anna felt like her emotions were riding a roller coaster.
“She and I are in an arranged marriage.
You’ve probably seen it before, the kind that shows up all the time in movies or dramas,” Ren explained.
“It’s a marriage where two families tie their younger generation together to strengthen their business map, integrate resources, or simply maintain social status.”
“So…
Ren, you don’t like her?”
Anna felt like she might still have a chance.
After all, whether it was a zaibatsu heir and a noble young lady or an isekai prince and the princess of a neighboring kingdom, the heroine was always someone with a lower status!
“Can I see her picture?”
Anna suddenly became lively again.
“No.”
Ren rejected her without the slightest hesitation.
“?”
Anna’s eyes went wide.
I showed you one just now, you know!
But she did not really feel upset.
After all, Ren must have his own reasons, right?
Maybe he could not reveal the girl’s information.
Or maybe the girl was too ugly to show anyone.
Yes, yes.
That must be it.
Anna covered her mouth and giggled softly.
What she did not know was that Ren actually had no special reason at all.
And the girl, Shijo Maki, was also very cute.
The only reason he refused was simply because he did not have any photos of her on his phone.
Still, as expected, collecting [Disgust] from an infatuated girl was absolutely not that easy.
Ren decided to take the long route.
Although collected emotions only had a storage period of three months, getting a girl to go from liking him to hating him within that time was still possible.
Giving her the ick could still be done.
In fact, doing it in a single day was not impossible.
For example…
Ren picked up the menu and glanced through it casually before calling over a waitress.
“I’ll have the strawberry ice cream sundae.
A small one is fine.”
“Certainly, sir.”
The waitress bowed, but she did not leave.
She was waiting for Ren to help Anna order as well.
Anna was also looking forward to it.
The ice cream sundae was this restaurant’s signature dish.
The reason she had come here early in the morning on such a terrible day was exactly for that sundae.
“That’s all.”
Ren handed the menu back.
The air froze for one second.
“Sir…
that’s all?”
The waitress asked in confusion.
“Yes, that’s all.
I can’t eat much.”
Ren’s tone was firm.
“And this young lady?”
The waitress turned toward Anna.
Exactly.
What about me?
Anna roared like a lion in her heart.
Aren’t you going to treat me to something too?!
But while she was screaming inside, the words that came out of her mouth were gentle.
“I’ll order for myself.
I’ll have—”
“Her?
Damn it, can you bring me what I ordered first?”
Ren’s sudden cold voice made both women at the table jolt.
Anna in particular went completely pale.
She could not believe those words had actually come from Ren’s mouth.
The waitress’s professionalism helped her recover quickly, but the awkwardness on her face could not be fully hidden.
“S-Sorry, sir.
I’ll prepare your sundae right away.”
She hurried away, leaving Anna alone in her seat, completely confused.
Her childhood memories had long grown blurry.
Even so, Anna still remembered that although Ren, as the heir of a major conglomerate, had been much more mature than ordinary children, and although his expression had always been cold, the words that came from his mouth had never been this sharp.
But Ren felt the irritation was still not strong enough.
With a loud slap, he slammed his palm heavily onto the table.
“What the hell was that?
If she were a server at my house, she would’ve been fired already.”
“If you don’t know how to work in food service, then don’t do it!
With that kind of service, no wonder this place is so empty!”
“Do you know who this young master is?
Believe it or not, I could have this place shut down in minutes!”
Eh?
Anna stared at the aggressive Ren, completely stunned.
So the little boy she had liked in her memories actually had this kind of personality?
Or had he changed after growing up?
Did people change this much as they got older?
He had become unreasonable, exactly like one of those spoiled rich brats from movies.
He looked down on others just because his family had money.
He had not even given her time to order, and even ignored her opinion.
In that case, Anna would rather let her white moonlight die in her memories.
Or rather, it was enough for him to exist only in that one moment.
If falling in love with someone could take a lifetime, then hating someone might only take an instant.
…
The word [Disgust] appeared for only a second or two before quickly vanishing.
Disgust emotion +1.
Ren observed Anna.
After his deliberately “rude” performance earlier, she had kept her head lowered with a complicated expression.
She looked like she was forcing herself to smile, yet could not stop herself from feeling hurt.
“If only I had mind-reading.”
Ren thought expressionlessly.
As the designated heir of his cheap father’s conglomerate, Ren had received an elite education beyond what ordinary people could imagine.
He could handle many things that normal people could not.
But when it came to analyzing a girl’s feelings, he was clearly still lacking experience.
Still, the final piece had been filled in.
The slight sense of pleasure from completing the collection washed away the faint discomfort he felt from playing the villain.
He immediately erased all the harshness from his face.
At that moment, the waitress nervously carried over the small strawberry sundae.
She carefully placed it in front of Ren, ten centimeters away from him, neither too close nor too far.
It was a position almost impossible to criticize.
“Please enjoy…”
“Thank you.
And…
I’m sorry about my outburst earlier.”
Ren’s voice had returned to normal.
In fact, he even sounded polite and refined, as if he were a completely different person from before.
He picked up the delicate little spoon and calmly scooped up a spoonful of pink ice cream.
Then, with elegant movements, he brought it to his mouth.
Both women froze again.
“You’re…
welcome.”
The waitress quickly replied.
Anna, meanwhile, stared at him like she had seen a ghost.
Is this…
A mental illness?
Ren, you really should see a psychiatrist.