My academy life spent dressed down discreetly so as to blend into the background and stay hidden was finally coming to an end.
Rosie Bellfine, daughter of a viscount family, was lost in thought amidst the graduation celebration party.
She had dulled the luster of her stunning golden hair, tying it up neatly and tightly, and hid her strikingly conspicuous blue eyes behind thick eyeglasses.
She deliberately slouched her posture just a bit, taking care to keep her movements rough and unrefined, typical of a lower-ranking noble.
The five years she had spent at the academy were nothing but stifling.
Now, at long last, it was over.
The party was reaching its midpoint; leaving around now wouldn’t attract any unwanted attention.
Rosie intended to slip away as soon as someone else made their exit.
It had already been decided that after graduation, she would be welcomed as an instructor at a nearby mages’ academy.
She planned to live independently without returning to her family’s estate.
Hopefully, I won’t have to deal with high-ranking nobles, and maybe I’ll meet someone among the commoners…
She was dreaming of such things.
If not for the fool who barged into the center of the hall and raised his voice while dancing was still underway, she would have ended the party without incident and gone home.
“Marie Kenbaum! I am annulling my engagement to you! Step forward, Marie!”
Standing tall with a sturdy build, Second Prince Fred was shouting, though his brown hair and brown eyes made him look undeniably plain.
Despite having a fiancée, he had arrived accompanied by a different young lady, sparking rumors from the moment he walked in. Everyone wondered what on earth the prince was thinking.
His fiancée, Lady Marie, was the second daughter of the premier ducal house and was supposed to have been engaged to Prince Fred since childhood.
Even though they both had brown hair, while Prince Fred possessed only the earth element, Lady Marie was a talented young woman whose hair was partially dyed in green, with purple eyes, possessing three elements: earth, leaf, and non-elemental.
She was beautiful on the outside, possessed a gentle demeanor, and was even revered as a saintly maiden.
Though Rosie had heard that things weren’t going particularly well between her and Prince Fred…
She never imagined he would declare an annulment of their engagement in a place like this.
Clad in a glossy purple dress, Lady Marie slowly stepped forward into the center.
Never rushing, never flustered in any situation—she was the very picture of a perfect lady.
“Prince Fred, I hear you loud and clear. Annulling your engagement to me, you say? If you truly intended to annul it, it would have been better if we had discussed it at the royal palace.”
“It would be troublesome if, by some off chance, you said you wouldn’t agree to the annulment. If I declare it clearly in front of all these people, you’ll have no choice but to agree, won’t you?”
“My goodness. Wherever you had told me, I would have accepted it with pleasure.”
As if Prince Fred’s proposal was a welcome delight, Lady Marie received it with a smile.
Rosie hadn’t expected her to be pleased by having her engagement broken off, but it only showed just how much Lady Marie had disliked Prince Fred.
He wasn’t particularly smart, his magic skills were subpar, and he seemed to detest putting in effort. Even Rosie, who actively avoided getting involved with royalty, knew how terrible his reputation was.
However, she hadn’t thought he was bad-natured as well.
Declaring an annulment in front of so many people could only be seen as an attempt to humiliate her.
No matter how calm the duke’s daughter appeared on the outside, there was no way she wasn’t hurt inside.
Overlapping the sight with her own past memories, Rosie felt a sharp pang of pain in her chest.
Calm down. It’s fine. Here, I’m just a viscount’s daughter. It has nothing to do with me.
Seeing Lady Marie far from shaken and actually looking pleased, Prince Fred’s mood visibly soured.
“Hmph! This is exactly why they say you lack charm! I have no use for a woman with such an ugly, muddy mix of hair color. I designate Carol Monmide as my new fiancée!”
“…Huh?”
Everyone present in the hall widened their eyes in utter shock.
Lady Carol Monmide, daughter of a marquis.
With her black hair and black eyes, she was a rare lady possessing the darkness element.
With slightly drooping eyes, voluptuous, seductive lips, and a sickly sweet voice, her response echoed across the room.
“Yes, my lord~”
Upon being called, Lady Carol snuggled up next to Prince Fred, clinging tightly to his arm.
It was an impossible act for a refined lady, let alone a marquis’s daughter.
When she entered today’s party alongside Prince Fred, everyone had assumed there was some official reason for it.
The Marquisate of Monmide was a family lineage inheriting dark magic, and Lady Carol was famous as its successor, being an only child.
And the reason she was even more famous than that was…
“Prince Fred?! What are you thinking?! Is not Lady Carol the fiancée of your close aide, Lord Julius?!”
Yes.
She was the fiancée of Julius Handwill, who was currently guarding Prince Fred by his side.
Lord Julius served as Prince Fred’s bodyguard while attending the academy.
The Earl Family of Handwill was famous as a line of knights, and Lord Julius, being the third son, was slated to become Prince Fred’s close aide after graduation.
Perhaps hearing this for the very first time himself, Lord Julius widened his eyes in a rare display of emotion. His usually narrow, sharp eyes opening wide showed just how shocked he truly was.
“…Hmm? Ah, Julius’s fiancée… I forgot. Now that you mention it, that was the case, wasn’t it? But Carol and I are in love. It can’t be helped, can it?”
“…I see. As for the two of you, it is not my place to say anything further, so I shall take my leave. Regarding the annulment, I will head to the royal palace afterward to sign the documents. Farewell.”
Looking thoroughly exasperated, Lady Marie took her leave, leaving Prince Fred and Lady Carol in the center of the hall, with Lord Julius standing a short distance away.
Curious as to what would happen next, the surrounding onlookers couldn’t bring themselves to leave.
“Ah—Julius? You heard how it is. I feel bad about it, but we are star-crossed lovers. A guy like you will surely accept our relationship, won’t you?”
“I’m so sorry, Julius. But you see, you hardly ever met with me because of your knight order training and all, didn’t you? In the meantime, Prince Fred was just so kind to me…”
Neither of them showed the slightest hint of guilt as they laughed.
Apologizing while clinging to each other made their words entirely meaningless.
Faced with an apology completely devoid of remorse, the surrounding onlookers began to grow irritated.
Prince Fred had managed to insult both the fiancée from the premier ducal house and his close aide from the prestigious knight family.
Undoubtedly, the fallout from this would soon ripple outwards with disastrous consequences.
Looking at the two who didn’t give a single thought to the trouble they caused the people around them, one couldn’t help but feel they deserved divine retribution.
Yet, without changing his expression in the slightest, Lord Julius gave a quiet nod.
“I understand regarding the dissolution of the engagement. In that case, I wish you both happiness.”
“Thank you, Julius! I knew a guy like you would understand!”
“Fufu. We’re going to be so happy, Julius.”
They wore innocent smiles without a single thought in their heads, but the surrounding onlookers noticed it.
Lord Julius was not smiling. He was quietly furious.
“Therefore, as of today, I shall step down from my position as your close aide.”
“Huh? Why?!”