"I've had enough of this!"
An angry shout echoed through the lavish party hall celebrating the end of the semester. It was so completely out of place that the young ladies present fell into stunned silence.
As everyone held their breath, straining to understand what was happening—
"Catherine Monvoisin, as of today, I am breaking off my engagement with you!"
"Buh—wah!"
—
At that long-anticipated declaration, one young man spectacularly sprayed the contents of his mouth into the air.
The red-haired youth, still coughing out a series of "kh—kh—", hunched over with a cocktail in hand. His name was Arcus Victor.
(Breaking off the engagement…? He just said he's breaking it off, right?)
Arcus took a small, careful breath to calm himself. Once his breathing—and his thoughts—settled, he cautiously glanced toward the source of the voice.
What he saw were several suspicious gazes still aimed straight at him. Worse yet, even the people at the very center of the commotion were looking his way.
Startled, Arcus quickly averted his eyes and shrank back even further. Lamenting his unnecessarily large frame—taller by a head than most—was pointless at this stage.
Just as Arcus resolved to become background scenery—
"C-Catherine Monvoisin! As of today, I am breaking off my engagement with you!"
—
The engagement was broken. Again.
The second declaration was noticeably weaker than the first—and from Arcus's perspective, that was entirely his fault. Still, announcing something this stupid in a place like this was far worse.
Having already blended into the atmosphere, Arcus decided to steal another look at the Engagement-Breakup Theater unfolding before him.
This time, he could see it clearly:A woman in a dazzling dress standing out among the crowd—and in front of her, a pompous man puffed up with triumph.
(That woman is… the marquis's daughter, right? Her name was—)
"Catherine Monvoisin! Do you have nothing to say for yourself?!"
(—Right. That was it.)
Beautiful platinum-blonde hair. Deep blue eyes like the sea itself.
Rarely seen smiling, she was better known among minor students like Arcus not by her name, but by her nickname—
The Ice Princess.
Even now, under countless eyes, her expression didn't change in the slightest. A perfect iron mask.
And standing arrogantly before her was the crown prince of this kingdom—
Prince Enrique Loa Alexandros.
With his entourage lined up behind him, the prince casually held another girl close while Catherine stood alone, facing them all.
(She's not backing down an inch.)
You could call it nerves of steel. In this situation, Catherine didn't so much as flinch—and that earned a small spark of interest from Arcus.
Just a small one.
After all, both Catherine and Enrique existed far above Arcus's station—like clouds in the sky.
Catherine, living up to her title with unwavering composure.Enrique, rumored to excel in both intellect and combat—though clearly in the middle of a reckless spree.
The tension between them shattered when the girl clinging to Enrique spoke.
"Enrique-sama~"
The pink-haired girl pressed herself against him, her voice cloyingly sweet.
A frilly dress with a scandalously low neckline.Her body shamelessly rubbing against the crown prince.
Every bit of it screamed improper for a noble lady.
Cold stares from other young noblewomen stabbed into her—and for some reason, Arcus was the one breaking into a nervous sweat.
(What is with that idiot woman?)
While Arcus felt nothing but exhaustion, Enrique clearly adored her, even shielding her as though to protect her from Catherine.
And his entourage? They didn't reprimand her in the slightest, even as she teared up theatrically.
(Honestly… seeing this in person is just ridiculous.)
Arcus swallowed his sigh along with the rest of his cocktail.
An end-of-term celebration.A foolish prince and his followers.A clinging, airheaded girl.
A scene he'd seen more often than his own parents' faces.
And—
—I hereby break off my engagement with you.
Stories that started exactly like this had once been all the rage.
Arcus couldn't help thinking so—because he'd heard this kind of story countless times in his previous life.
Now that he recognized this as a real engagement-annulment scenario, there was no reason for him to stay.
Grabbing a nearby sandwich, Arcus quietly slipped away—step by careful step—from the increasingly heated shouts of "your many crimes" and "I'll have you exiled!"
A guard at the entrance looked startled as Arcus passed, but he merely offered a polite smile and quickened his pace toward the carriage parked nearby.
"Oh? Young Master Arcus, back already?""Yeah. Got caught in a bit of a storm."
Arcus shrugged. Harrison—the driver and his attendant—tilted his head and glanced back toward the party hall.
"Don't overthink it. We're outsiders. Worse, we're low-ranking nobles from a small country. Getting dragged into a great power's mess would wipe us out."
"Fair enough," Harrison replied, snapping the reins as the carriage rolled forward.
That was right.
Arcus had no intention of getting involved.
No—he couldn't.
He was merely a foreign student, the son of a minor noble from a weak country.
If someone like him interfered, things would only get worse. The other party was a great noble of a powerful kingdom—and the crown prince's former fiancée.
If suspicions were raised—foreign minor noble conspiring with her—it would endanger her position, and his family as well.
So the only thing Arcus could do…Was leave before the situation spiraled any further.
From the carriage window, Arcus glanced back at the venue.
It was so quiet now that you'd never guess a scandal had just erupted.
"Status… Open."
As he murmured the words, a small window appeared before his eyes.
A world just like a game from his past life.
A man who died of overwork…Reincarnated into a world like a game he once loved.
A common story.
This time, I'll enjoy life.A slow, easy life.
That's what he thought—
"…It's a game, sure. But an otome game?!"
Arcus collapsed back into his seat with a long, heavy sigh.
"Figures."
Arcus Victor. Age seventeen. Summer.The moment he realizes he's been reincarnated as a background character in an otome game.