"――Because of that, Alme, I am annulling our engagement." In the workroom of a large library in a big city. Alme Titi was told this by her fiancé. Alme, unable to hide her agitation, choked back her words as she responded. "Shouldn't we... take a little more time to talk this out...?" "Talking for a long time is just a waste, what's the point? I've already found true love. I've decided in my heart to marry Cambelina, not you." Furio Beatos, who was stubbornly trying to break off the engagement, embraced the woman sitting next to him with passion, his brown hair swaying and the heat of determination in his green eyes. The woman whose shoulder was embraced seems to be called Cambelina Desmond. She is the daughter of a merchant, and it seems her father recently obtained the title of a baron. In society's terms, she is a nouveau riche aristocrat. She has peach-colored fluffy hair and a petite, extremely cute appearance. It seems she's wearing a dress with a design that generously showcases her chest area. Indeed, she has a glamorous appearance that seems to be favored by men at first sight. That was a stark contrast to Alme... It seems that Cambelina, with her privileged appearance, has captured the heart of Alme's fiancé, Julio. Alme has her jet-black hair parted in the middle and neatly tied up in a bun. Her eyes are also jet-black, and she is wearing a plain gray one-piece dress. It seems like I can't compete with Cambelina like this... I understand it well myself. That's why I ended up being cheated on by my fiancé. As if in pursuit, her fiancé Julio snaps at her. "Alme, to be honest, women like you are not my type. You're like an uninteresting middle-aged home tutor. I want a wife who dresses stylishly and is more feminine." Alme deeply sighed at the merciless words. ■ That incident happened just about half an hour ago. Alme visited her fiance Julio's workplace—the library, as usual, to help him with his work. Julio's job is book restoration. His family has been in the business of restoring not only general books but also magical ones for generations. In the quiet library, day after day, diligently and silently, dedicated to his craftsmanship. Alme admired Julio for this. She had always seen him as a serious and traditional craftsman. However, in reality, he seemed to be a completely different type of person. On that day, when she arrived at his workshop in the library, she frowned as she heard a high-pitched woman's laughter coming from the usually quiet room. “Come on, Julio! You shouldn't touch that during work!” “Haha, it's because you tempted me.” “Hee hee, you really love me, don't you~” “Ah, I really do. Is that a problem?” Pressing her ear against the door, Alme's eyes widened at the conversation she overheard. “Julio and an unknown woman's voice... Is this a joke? No matter how you think about it, this conversation...” Her head spun at the thought of infidelity... Could this really be happening? Surely, it must be some kind of mistake. Hoping it was just a misunderstanding, she hesitantly reached for the door handle. But the scene that met her eyes in the next moment shattered her hopes. In the middle of the room, Julio and an unknown woman were passionately kissing. It was an unmistakably intense scene. Unintentionally, she widened her eyes and let out a gasp. “J-Julio...!? W-What are you doing...” “Alme!? W-Weren't you supposed to have the day off today!?” “Huh, Julio, you didn't break up with your fiancee...!?” Alme, Julio, and the affair partner. Each of them was surprised and speechless. ―― And so, gradually, it became a discussion, which led to the beginning of our story. The so-called discussion turned out to be mostly Julio's excuses and Cambelina's tantrums, and it continued in this unproductive manner from start to finish.

With agitation, astonishment, and fatigue, I address Julio with eyes like those of a dead fish. "... I understand. For now, I will accept the cancellation of our engagement. No matter what I say, it seems your feelings won't change, right...?" "Ah, don't think badly of me. It was originally an arranged engagement decided by my uncle, and you were urged by your late grandmother. It was a reluctantly formed engagement, right? It's for the best that we end it, isn't it?" Julio's words, spoken with a mocking tone, caused me to fall silent. Surely, there could have been a better way to word it... I have no family left. Since as far back as I can remember, I have been raised by my grandmother alone in this town. My grandmother was kind and extremely affectionate. Thanks to her, I have been able to lead a fulfilling life up to my twentieth birthday, even without my parents. This only family member of mine, my grandmother, passed away a few months ago. In the last year, she spent time peacefully both mentally and physically at the temple's hospice, so I was able to say goodbye without carrying much pain and sorrow. Of course, I feel great sadness, but... My grandmother's final wish was for my happiness in marriage. "So that you don't end up alone, I found a good partner for you. May you laugh a lot, share a lot of love, and become a happy couple." My grandmother smiled and brought a marriage proposal as a final gift, so that I wouldn't be left alone. The partner she introduced was a serious young man with a rather quiet personality, which made him a perfect match for me, who is also of a quiet type. He was a handsome and gentle young man who was one year older than me at 21. I remember feeling quite nervous during our first meeting. I had been thinking about gradually getting closer emotionally and eventually building a household filled with love with him. I never expected things to end up like this... I feel a tightness in my chest, not from my own hurt, but from the thought that I would hate it if my grandmother in heaven was sad. Grandma, I'm sorry... It's a shame, but it seems like things didn't work out for us. I'm truly sorry. The regret of not being able to fulfill my grandmother's final wish and the helpless emptiness make my eyes moist. Crying in front of Julio and his mistress feels like admitting defeat, so I force myself to hold back. Ignoring Alme’s stern expression, Julio continues the conversation. "—Right. About the money I’ve been giving you, I'm thinking of waiving it as compensation for breaking off the engagement. What do you say? Will that make things amicable? The financial support he mentioned was for my grandmother's medical expenses. Getting treatment through the priest's magic at the temple's hospice costs a considerable amount of money. Since my grandmother was hospitalized for a year, it was quite a large sum. In addition to what my family contributed, Julio's family also provided some funds because we were engaged. In short, it was a debt to Julio, but it wasn't supposed to be considered a debt since we were going to be married. I’d like to settle the money issue before our relationship officially ends. "Wasn't it around 300,000G?" "... No, it was 700,000G." "I see, that's quite a bit... Well, let's consider the 700,000G debt cleared as compensation." "Yeah... thank you..." I ended up thanking him, even though it didn't feel appropriate... Another part of me inside scoffed, 'Why are you thanking him for compensation from an affair?' The conversation comes to a pause, and silence fills the room. Campbellina, the mistress, clings closely to Julio, who has his arm around her shoulders. (...I wonder if things would have worked out if I had been able to rely on Julio like that. ...No, even before that, he seemed to dislike my appearance, so it was probably hopeless no matter what...) I let out a deep sigh and lift myself off the sofa. "Well then, I’ll take my leave... Um, thank you for everything up until now... Your help with my grandmother's medical expenses was really appreciated. ...I hope you find happiness." "Yeah." Julio responded with just a single word. I walked out of the room with my head down, trying to avoid seeing him and Cambelina. I heard the sound of touching lips, and I knew they were exchanging smiles and kisses... I didn't need to look to know. Leaving the workroom, I walked briskly down the hallway. Without even having the time to greet the familiar library staff, I hurriedly left the building.