Chapter 1 – Broken Engagement (Part 1)

“Olivie, let’s break up.”

Olivie, who was poking at her dessert with a fork, lifted her head, leaving the fork pressed into the plate.

“What?”

Her face seemed to say that she must have misheard. However, her fiancé, Louis Caylen, avoided her gaze and repeated his earlier statement like a parrot.

“Please, let’s break up.”

“……”

Only then did Olivie realize that the situation was neither a bad joke nor a trivial jest. She put down her fork.

Clink.

An awkward silence floated between the two of them for a long time.

Olivie was waiting for an explanation for the breakup, while Louis seemed uncomfortable with the current situation, wishing it would end quickly. Watching Louis anxiously hoping for the moment to pass, Olivie broke the silence with a short sigh.

“Are you saying you want to call off the engagement?”

Placing the napkin from her lap onto the table, Olivie asked calmly.

“Yes.”

Louis glanced away but nodded in agreement. Olivie tilted her head to the side.

“Why?”

“…What?”

Louis blinked stupidly.

He had not anticipated that Olivie, with her strong pride, would ask for a reason. But seeing his expression, Olivie suppressed a bitter laugh and looked up with a cold gaze.

“After being friends for 8 years and engaged for 4 years.”

“……”

“I think I can at least ask for a reason for the breakup, don’t you think?”

At Olivie’s words, Louis bit his lower lip and scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

“That’s true, but.”

“But?”

“Just because.”

“Just because?”

“Yeah, just because.”

“……”

“Can’t you just let it go?”

Despite his awkwardness, his words were shameless, and Olivie frowned.

They were bound by an arranged marriage, so deep affection was not expected, but they had been friends for a long time. Yet now, with the wedding just around the corner, he was talking about breaking up with the excuse of “just because.”

It was beyond absurd, and Olivie couldn’t hide her bewilderment at his immature rudeness.

“Please, Lie.”

With his eyebrows drooping as if he were begging, Louis’s reaction made Olivie tilt her head slightly to the right again.

‘If he’s this reluctant to answer, it must be a ridiculous reason.’

Olivie tapped the table with her fingertips.

‘What could it be?’

She had always prided herself on knowing his mind better than anyone else.

Tap-tap-tap.

‘What kind of trouble did he get into?’

Tap-tap.

Her fingers, which had been speeding up and slowing down as her thoughts ran in circles, came to a stop.

Sweat drops, which had been beading on Louis’s forehead, who was fidgeting as if he wanted to escape, ran down his sideburns and settled at the tip of his chin. His jawline was tense and pronounced.

And beneath it, she noticed large and small red marks.

‘No way.’

Olivie, who discovered the suspicious marks, spoke in a low voice.

“Louis, you…”

“Yeah, you’re right. I have another woman.”

“……”

Before she could even question him, Louis confessed freely, his voice relieved. It was as if he had resolved something that had been weighing on him, looking refreshed on his own.

Seeing his absurdly carefree demeanor, Olivie opened her mouth slightly, then closed it with a bitter smile.

“And?”

“…What?”

Momentarily not understanding Olivie’s words, Louis furrowed his brow. But Olivie was equally perplexed by his reaction.

“I have men too.”

“……”

“You know that I have a lot of men.”

Throughout their engagement, she had met so many men that she couldn’t count them on both hands. And Louis was no different.

He had even been away for a year, trading with the continent of Eldora. So it was obvious that he would have enjoyed himself thoroughly before returning.

In the Kingdom of Plen, free love was possible even if you had a lover.

Moreover, even after marriage, as long as there was mutual consent between the couple, open marriages,  or having relationships, was possible in Plen.

Of course, it would attract more public criticism than during the free love period before marriage. Having grown up listening to her mother’s words, ‘You have to let a man loose a little to truly keep him,’ Olivie was cool, almost to the point of being cold, about such matters.

So she was prepared to accept that part if Louis wanted it. 

But to break off the engagement for such a reason.

Honestly, it was absurd.

“What does that have to do with our marriage?”

“……”

“You and I both know the meaning of our marriage.”

A strategic relationship chosen by their parents.

That was the marriage of nobles.

Of course, Olivie hadn’t always been so dry about it.

There was a time when she dreamed of a love for the ages, and she had been excited at the thought of marrying someone she truly loved.

But she was a noble. She was born with many privileges and had many responsibilities. Therefore, she couldn’t talk about something as soft as love in the context of marriage.

She thought Louis felt the same way.

After all, neither she nor he was remotely close to each other’s ideal types.

Especially for Olivie, if she had to choose one person in the Kingdom of Plen who didn’t match her ideal type at all, she could choose Louis Caylen without hesitation.

He was just a little taller than her, with curly brown hair. His eyes were as small as buttonholes, and he had freckles on his nose. A round body that didn’t suit clothes and a protruding belly. Plus, the inadequate small thing dangling between his short, thick legs.

Even rabbits were better at reproducing.

‘Is that it?’

‘I’m sorry.’

So Olivie thought she was saving him, honestly. Who else would take him in?

She thought it would be enough if he played the role of a good partner as much as she was sacrificing.

But…

“I want to marry the woman I love.”

Such a man playing at love so carelessly.

“I’m sorry, but Olivie… no, Miss Elphano. Please, let me go.”

“Hah.”

For the 10 seconds it took to go from calling her Olivie to Miss Elphano, she stared at him intently.

In an instant, he had turned the years they had spent together into nothing.

And now he was asking to be let go?

‘That crazy guy.’

The curse rose to her throat, and it seemed like it would burst out if she opened her mouth. But she wasn’t a reckless teenager, and the wedding was just around the corner.

So she clenched her lips tightly.

She couldn’t call off the wedding over such a trivial matter, so she had to keep her wits about her instead of that foolish guy.

“Alright.”

“Thank you. Really, thank you…”

“Go have fun.”

Louis, who had been wiping his face as if relieved, froze.

“…What?”

He hadn’t expected such a response from Olivie, who was known for her pride. But seeing his stupid face, Olivie let out a short sigh, as if exercising extreme patience, and pulled up the corners of her mouth.

“Go·have·fun and come back.”

She spoke, enunciating each word through clenched teeth, and smiled slightly.

Among the stories she had heard countless times since their engagement was that the Countess of Caylen played a significant role in the family. From managing the household to overseeing the entire family.

The Countess was always the center of the Caylen family

So to inherit that position, she needed to have this level of tolerance.

So she straightened her posture and met his gaze.

“Have your fun and sort it out before the wedding. There’s still half a year, so it’s enough…”

“No, I can’t sort it out.”

But Louis, cutting off Olivie’s words, shook his head firmly.

“What?”

“I love her.”

“……”

Who said anything about that?

Dumbfounded by the sudden love confession, Olivie blinked.

His attitude, as if she were a hindrance to his epic love, was beyond absurd and made her feel like she was going to get angry.

To the point where she couldn’t manage her expression properly.

“Louis Caylen, we have half a year until the wedding…”

“She’s pregnant.”