Chapter 1

"Aurelia, I'm sorry, but I cannot marry you."

The young lady dropped the fan she was holding at the man's emotionless words.

Beside the man in his evening suit stood a young lady with dazzling blonde hair flowing down her back and a deep crimson dress that accentuated her ample chest. The two of them, standing close together, looked like a perfectly matched couple.

(…Huh? W-What do you mean…?)

The young lady called Aurelia, unable to pick up her dropped fan, could only watch them.

Aurelia Perle is the daughter of the Perle Viscount family in the kingdom.

Her milk chocolate-colored hair, which she usually wears half-up as a sign of her engagement, falls in gentle waves. In the kingdom, unmarried young ladies wear their hair down, those with fiancés tie up a part of it, and those who are married style it elaborately.

Her purple eyes, though not particularly large, exude a gentle and kind atmosphere. Her skin is pale, as befits a young lady, and the young grass green dress she wears has a calm and modest design that reflects her reserved nature.

Tonight, Aurelia has been invited to a ball attended by the nobility of the kingdom. She was supposed to meet her fiancé, Raul, the son of the Gartner Earl, and spend the evening together.

However, when she finally met Raul, he was with a lively and sociable beauty, and he delivered his cruel words.

The introverted and not particularly strong-willed Aurelia trembled as she compared Raul and the beauty.

"R-Raul-sama, why? I've finally turned eighteen, so we were supposed to get married this year, right?"

"No, I'm sorry, but I'm going to call off the engagement. I… can't fall in love with you as a woman."

"Eh…?"

"Raul-sama, it seems he likes bright and sociable women like me."

The beauty, smiling beside Raul, pressed her chest, which was vastly different from Aurelia's, against Raul's arm and said with satisfaction.

"Originally, the Gartner Earl's family decided on the engagement with the Perle Viscount's family for financial reasons, didn't they? Now that the Earl's family's finances have recovered, there's no longer any reason for you to be engaged."

"That's… that's not true…!"

"I will formally inform the Perle Viscount about the cancellation of the engagement. …Aurelia, please be happy."

With that, Raul turned and left with the beauty.

Aurelia couldn't call out to him or chase after his retreating back; she could only watch as his black hair disappeared into the distance.

That day, Aurelia barely remembered how she returned home. When she came to, she was in her room, still in her evening dress, sitting on the floor.

Aurelia and Raul had been engaged for eight years. Shy and with a narrow social circle, Aurelia was so timid that she couldn't even talk to men other than Raul.

To Aurelia, Raul was everything. By marrying him, the Perle Viscount's family and the Gartner Earl's family would form a bond, and her family would be able to ally with a higher-ranking noble family.

Though introverted, Aurelia had mastered etiquette to be a good wife to Raul and had also developed her artistic skills, such as embroidery and sewing, which could be done indoors.

However, Raul unilaterally ended the engagement. He no longer needed her. Moreover, he preferred lively and sociable women like the beauty, not quiet and plain girls like Aurelia.

(I… can no longer be by Raul-sama's side…)

With Raul gone, Aurelia had nothing left. She saw no future in continuing to live. She would only be a burden to her family.

(If that's the case…)

Aurelia stood up unsteadily, took a ribbon used as a decoration for her dress from the closet, and went out to the balcony with it in her hand.

Aurelia, who was introverted, loved to go to the capital's library to read. However, she struggled with difficult content and mainly read novels.

In one of them, a protagonist who had lost hope in life hanged herself with a ribbon. So, she knew how to do it.

She tied the ribbon to the balcony and tested its strength by pulling it lightly. Aurelia, being light, was sure it would hold her weight.

(…If I could start my life over…)

She put her head through the loop of the ribbon and climbed onto the balcony railing.

(I want to become… bright and active like that young lady)

She raised her face.

The night sky was very beautiful.

Gazing at the stars twinkling in the sky, Aurelia recited a prayer in her heart and then slipped off the railing.