CH 1

Chapter 1: My fiancé is brazenly cheating on me

A tall, blue-eyed young man with golden-brown hair is smiling at a young girl. 

The girl has tied up her pale golden hair and hidden it under a gray headband, and is wearing a gray one-piece dress with an apron. 

She is just one of the people hired to work at the Academy, which is only attended by the aristocracy. 

However, the young man is a true aristocrat… and my fiancé.

I stopped in my tracks when I saw them from the high, white hallway of the Academy. 

(How annoying…) 

I grind my teeth inwardly.

It’s annoying enough that I saw my fiancé, Albert, flirting with a servant, but it’s even more annoying that they are in a place where they are likely to be seen by people at the Academy.

Didn’t they consider the possibility that I might see them? Or did they want to show me? 

(No matter how much you don’t like me…)

I know for a fact that Albert doesn’t like my hair color, which can only be described as a dull, slightly gray-brown, and he doesn’t like my personality either because it’s dark. 

I overheard him saying so.

I don’t like the color of my hair.

Many people doubt my birth because I don’t look like my real parents.

I have heard that my father is rumored to have picked me up from somewhere. Although I was born with a doctor present and it has been proved that I am the real child.

Because my father has not particularly argued with anyone, it seems that his credibility has increased even more.

…My father is so cold to me that I also doubt whether he is my real parent.

Such a father completely ignored my engagement, but decided to do so at the request of the other party.

That person was Albert…

I was about to get a blue vein on my forehead, but I tried not to change my expression. Because I was not the only one who witnessed this.

Even the young ladies who passed by nearby, and the noble daughters who didn’t think much of the unbecoming behavior of strolling in the garden with one side of the corridor open, stopped and looked.

One of the noble daughters said, as if to be heard by me.

“I can’t believe the Count’s daughter lost her fiancé to a servant from the Academy.”

“I guess she doesn’t have much charm.”

My lips tightened at the taunting.

That’s too vulgar to say. But I can’t respond to it. It’ll be a hassle.

“It looks like you don’t have the energy to get angry.”

“If you make a fuss with a servant, you’ll be considered quite a fool. There may be one or two mistresses, but if you protest, it’s like saying you’re narrow-minded.”

“How easy would it be for her house to eliminate a single servant? Do you know how many lords and ladies the Count has brought down?

“Last year it was the Marlborough family. On the surface it seemed like they went bankrupt on their own…there’s no proof.”

“But the ship conveniently sinks, the cargo is taken by bandits, a fire breaks out…it’s too convenient for the Elvasti family.”

My stomach is starting to hurt.

My house…no, I’m shunned by those around me, mostly because of my father.

―The devil-like Count family.

It is said that getting involved in business or borrowing money will surely lead to disaster.

That’s why no one will stand up for me, no one will say anything bad about me, no one will defend me. That’s why people laugh at me when I tell them I’m not his biological daughter.

Of course, my father did not protect me.

Even my fiance, Albert, has not helped me.

…The engagement with Albert was only proposed because his family needed money and my father wanted to create a business relationship with him.

Furthermore, my father does not say anything even if I am not on good terms with him, so he probably thinks it doesn’t matter if he just ignores it.

(I don’t blame you for watching this.)

I can’t end the engagement without my father’s nod. It just makes me frustrated.

There is nothing interesting in watching a partner’s rendezvous.

I tried to leave this place quickly.

But when I took a few steps, flowers were thrown in front of me. When I was distracted by the flowers, I tripped on something and fell on the spot.

Suddenly, there was a burst of laughter from around me.

“The Count’s daughter is so embarrassing…”

“That’s why she gets cheated on?”

After the voices of the men, I hear a woman’s mocking voice.

“Isn’t that why Albert-sama gave up on you so early?”

I turn around and see the young lady with platinum blond hair standing next to me as I get up and put my hands together. 

Elena Augren, the Duke’s daughter.

I remember that after our engagement was decided, she gave me a very cold look when we greeted each other. I realize now that she must have had feelings for Albert for some time.

(If that’s the case, then your family should have supported Albert’s family.)

I stand up again, grumbling to myself, and decide to leave this place again.

After I get to a place where no one is, I run as far away as I can from this disgusting place.

I’ll go home from the Academy right now.

I borrow a carriage from the Academy and set off on my journey home.