Chapter 1

The Kingdom of Nebetia is located on the eastern side of the continent. This country, which possesses one of the most fertile lands on the continent, has been attacked by neighboring countries numerous times since its founding. Each time, it has repelled these attacks and protected the nation through intellect, military might, and magic. People often refer to it as the "Kingdom of Swords and Magic."

The capital, Lucia, is home to many buildings that serve as the heart of the country. Among these, there is a significant location. A series of palaces that combine beauty and grandeur. At the center is the Celestial Palace, where the king sits and decides the future of the nation, conducting state affairs. On either side stand the Solar Palace, the headquarters of the Royal Knights who maintain the country's safety and order through military force, and the Lunar Palace, the main headquarters of the mages who use magic to ensure the country's safety and technological advancement.

Lastly, at the edge of the capital, there is a vast campus adjacent to a forest, the highest educational institution that nurtures the next generation of the country, the Royal Nebetia Academy.

This is a boarding school where students from the age of 13 to 16, the age of their debut in society, study knowledge, culture, social skills, and abilities tailored to each individual. The school is coeducational, and students belong to one of three departments: the Knight Department, which trains future knights; the Mage Department, which trains future mages; and the Advanced Department, which develops future civil servants and other talents. The school, which bears the name of the country, is known for producing those who support the nation, and its educational standards are very high. As a result, many students are exceptionally talented, and it is common for the children of nobles to receive education from a young age. However, there are also commoners. The school seeks the best, regardless of social status.

To be admitted to this school, one must be either exceptionally intelligent, skilled in swordsmanship, or possess rare magical abilities. Many aspire to enter this prestigious institution, and the benefits are significant.

Graduating from this school is a testament to one's excellence and a promise of a bright future. The vast campus and prestigious school buildings. The young boys and girls. However, even in this place of the highest education, it might be the worst environment for the conflicting emotions of adolescence.

For example, like this.

"Emilia, I'm going to break our engagement."

He has wavy, flaxen hair that reaches his shoulders and clear, amber-colored eyes. Tall and slender, he wears his uniform with ease. His slightly drooping, charming eyes and sweet, seductive appearance are very attractive to women.

His name is Aloys Warren.

He is my fiancé, Emilia Sedrash.

Born as the third child of the Sedrash Earl's family, he has been my fiancé since childhood. Since we are the same age, we are also classmates in the third year of the Advanced Department. By the way, even though I am in the Advanced Department, I am not aiming to become a civil servant. I am here because of the status that comes with attending this prestigious school, and the pride of the nobility. Incidentally, it is common for noble daughters to be in the Advanced Department, as the school is a place to meet potential partners and prepare for marriage. However, they are not just here to play and have fun. Even if it is for the sake of meeting people and preparing for marriage, they still carry the pride of their families and work hard to improve their abilities. I am no exception and have been working hard since I entered the school.

And it was just a few days before graduation that the incident occurred.

On a certain afternoon, just a few days before graduation, Emilia received a message from her fiancé asking to meet and talk. She made her way to a quiet garden in the school. When her fiancé appeared at the meeting place, the words he spoke made Emilia's eyes widen.

His usual gentle smile towards women was nowhere to be seen. The look he gave me, his fiancée, was stern, and his expression was clouded. His unusual demeanor made Emilia wonder.

Noticing a shadow hiding behind his tall figure, Emilia gently directed her gaze.

A young girl with a worried expression, her body huddled. Her straight, blonde bob hair and a face that even I, a woman, found very cute. Her eyes were downcast, on the verge of tears, and she clung tightly to the hem of his uniform, trembling in fear of my presence. I knew her, though we had never spoken directly. She was a face I had seen often around my fiancé recently.

Her name is Stella Barak.

She is a year younger than me and in the second year. I know a little about her. She is well-known in this school because she was suddenly introduced to the world of nobility after it was discovered that she was the illegitimate daughter of a baron. Despite her humble beginnings, she transferred to this school due to her academic prowess. In a school where most students are the children of nobles, her simplicity and cheerful nature have both confused and attracted people. Many of the young noblemen find her charming, especially compared to the reserved and graceful noble daughters who are expected to behave a certain way. Emilia had often seen her fiancé interacting closely with Stella, who was known as his close companion.

The girl is looking at me with an expression that seems on the verge of tears, trembling in fear of my presence. Her innocent and adorable appearance, on the brink of tears, must surely stir a man's protective instincts. Standing next to her, as if to protect her, is my fiancé.

In front of my eyes, my fiancé is showing me a scene where he respects and protects another woman.

The usually gentle and charming young man is looking at me, his fiancée, with a sharp gaze.

"Emilia, I'll say it again. I'm going to break our engagement."

In a low, cold voice, Aloys told me.

(Ah... I knew this day would come.)

Emilia closed her eyes quietly and resigned herself to her life so far. A fiancé assigned to me for a political marriage in my childhood. Days of effort to get along, which never bore fruit. The appearance of a delicate and lovely girl in front of my fiancé. The two of them gradually becoming closer.

Now, the two of them are standing in front of me, supporting each other.

(It's like a story...)

A trembling, delicate girl by the man's side.

A woman with a blank expression standing opposite.

(Ah, it's like I'm the villain tearing apart a princess and a prince...)

Yes, a story.

A princess and a prince who meet by chance one day.

A villain standing in their way.

The prince protects the princess, and the villain is defeated.

The two overcome their difficulties, deepen their love, and live happily ever after.

A classic love story.

In this story, I am the villain, and Stella is the princess.

Of course, Stella Barak is not a princess, and my fiancé, Aloys, is not a prince. He is a legitimate son of an earl, whose father is a diplomat. (To be fair, the current second prince is in the same year at the school, but comparing him to a real prince might be presumptuous.) However, isn't this the perfect cast for the situation?

I am completely the opposite type from her in both appearance and personality.

If she is a sun that draws people in, I am the moon. A hazy, pale moon.

While she has bright, straight blonde hair, I have long, wavy, charcoal-gray hair.

While she is cheerful, bright, and proactive, I am shy and withdrawn.

I get nervous and flustered when interacting with people, and end up swallowing my words, which others misinterpret as an unfriendly aura, leading them to see me as aloof.

Emilia slowly opened her eyes and looked at the two people in front of her. Stella, realizing she was being watched, clung to his arm and shuddered violently. Aloys, her fiancé, immediately reacted, calling her name in a stern tone, as if to rebuke her.

"Emilia, I can't have you as my wife in the future."

"Aloys-sama, what do you mean...?"

I tried my best to remain calm as he spoke with a stern expression. I mustn't be emotional. After all, he has been my fiancé since childhood. I need to hear the reason.

"I don't understand what you're thinking at all."

"I'm not good with people... I'm sorry."

"Under that expression, I don't know what you're thinking. You've always been like that, even as a child, not showing your words... or rather, your feelings."

"I'm sorry..."

"I understand that your family situation has made you this way."

"!"

Emilia clenched her trembling hands tightly. He was right; my relationship with my family was far from good. In fact, I was deeply disliked and felt like an outsider, which caused me a lot of pain. So, when he pointed out my family, it felt like he was exposing a fact I didn't want to see, and his words pierced my heart even more.

"But no matter what, you never asked me for help. Not even me, your fiancé."

"I didn't want to involve you in my problems."

Aloys sighed.

"You just didn't rely on me. And when we talked, you were always quiet, just listening."

"I didn't know what to say..."

"Even when you did speak, it was always criticism."

"...I said those things for your own good. I couldn't let you do inappropriate or bad things."

"You might think so, but it didn't support me emotionally."

"But..."

Aloys interrupted her.

"It was at that time that I met Stella. Unlike you, she listens to me, her expression changes, and she approaches me with a bright and serious look. It was fun. Unlike when I'm with you."

"...I'm sorry."

"I felt saved by Stella. But you told me to stay away from her."

"You have a fiancée... As a noble, I wanted you to maintain a proper distance from her."

This was a recent memory for Emilia. Lately, her fiancé and Stella had been getting too close, which was frowned upon for a man with a fiancée. If it only caused frowns, it would be fine, but if it became a scandal, it would be difficult for him in the noble world. So, as his fiancée, she had warned him.

Of course, she had warned him, not the women approaching him, but him directly.

"Is that an excuse? Were you jealous of her? Stella is more excellent than you."

"That's not true."

"You can't always be in the top of your class in the Advanced Department. When Stella found out I was the top student in the Advanced Department, she studied hard with me, even though we were in different grades, and helped me with my busy schedule. She is now the top student in the second year. I was moved by her kindness and diligence."

"...I don't feel jealous of her..."

"Excuses are unnecessary. You're not good at building relationships, your academic performance is average, and you don't have exceptional physical strength or rare magical abilities. You have no outstanding talents."

Aloys looked at Emilia with cold eyes.

"...So, that's what you think of me..."

Emilia struggled to keep her voice steady, despite the trembling.

"Emilia, you are not suitable to walk the future with me."

"...If I had some talent, would it have been different?"

"That's a foolish question, Emilia."

Aloys glanced at Stella beside him and smiled at her, a smile he had never shown me.

"Stella, who heals me. Stella, who works hard for me. I've been gradually drawn to her, and it's not strange for that to turn into a different feeling, is it?"

"A different feeling?"

"Yes, an important feeling. A feeling that fulfills my heart more than ever before."

"..."

Aloys gently pulled Stella closer by the shoulder.

"I've found someone I truly love. I love Stella."

"Aloys-sama, I only love you!"

Stella, overwhelmed with emotion, clung to his body and declared her love. She, who had not participated in the conversation between me and Aloys, now spoke as if a dam had burst. She looked at me with a pained expression.

"Emilia-sama, I'm sorry. I love Aloys-sama! Please give up!"

"Emilia, please give up. It's all for the sake of the truly loved Stella."

"We've realized true love!"

"For the sake of the only love."

"Please give up (please)."

Hearing their words, Emilia stared at her fiancé and the girl clinging to him, stunned. Ignoring her state, Aloys continued.

"Our engagement cannot continue. I have already asked my father to break the engagement."

"...What do you mean?"

"The notice of the engagement break should have already reached your family."

"...What did you just say?"

"Emilia, our engagement has already been broken."

"Already broken...?"

"For the sake of the only love."

I could feel my calm facade crumbling.

(Love, yes, the only love... to him.)

Emilia clenched her hands tightly, so hard that her nails dug into her skin. She didn't feel the pain.

"Aloys-sama"

"What is it?"

"Did you prepare all of this, call me here, and then tell me this...?"

"I wanted to explain the reasons to you properly."

"Properly?"

"The reasons for the engagement break. It's a matter of honor for a fiancé from childhood."

This man is truly cruel.

Pretending to seek her consent for the engagement break, when it was already done.

Bringing another woman in front of a former fiancée.

Showing her the scene where the woman declares her love.

Negating her and comparing her to the woman.

And then, as if to wrap things up, saying it was for the sake of honor? What a joke.

I recalled his words earlier.

"Emilia, you are not suitable to walk the future with me."

Blaming the incompetent me at the end.

An engagement is a contract between families.

Even if it is a political marriage, I accepted it as my duty as a noble and worked hard. A noble lady has pride. Yet, to suddenly be told to break the engagement by her fiancé, any normal noble lady would be furious and humiliated.

Emilia Sedrash would have been furious too.

If she had been a normal noble lady.

And if she had harbored love for the man who would become her husband.

The man who appeared in front of the lonely Emilia, who had been neglected by her family and never known family love, someone she could love and who would love her.

If she had fallen in love with her fiancé, who smiled gently and reached out his hand to her.

In a normal story.

When she found out she was betrayed, she would have gone mad. The weight of love would have turned into madness.

(Engagement break? That's a lie.)

(I only have you, Aloys-sama!)

(Poor Aloys-sama. You're being deceived by that woman!)

(Aloys-sama is so kind. That woman is mistaking his kindness for love!)

(It's that woman... who is getting in the way of our love!)

(Aloys-sama will always come back to me!)

(Aloys-sama, you love me, not her!)

(It's because of that woman. I'll save you, Aloys-sama!)

(I have to get rid of the obstacle, Aloys-sama?)

Enraged and driven to madness, Emilia Sedrash would attack Stella Barak.

Her face would be filled with manic joy, even a smile on her lips.

(Aloys-sama loves only me.)

Sometimes, the silver blade she wielded would flash, blood splattering from the eyes of the girl. The pain in her own chest, the blood dripping from her own body.

Sometimes, the burning flames she thrust forward would flash, blood splattering from the eyes of the girl. The pain in her own head, the blood dripping from her own body.

Sometimes, the thick rope she gripped would flash, blood splattering from the eyes of the girl. The pain in her own neck, the blood dripping from her own body.

Sometimes, the fierce beast she incited would flash, blood splattering from the eyes of the girl. The pain in her own abdomen, the blood dripping from her own body.

Her body would collapse repeatedly, darkness spreading in her consciousness.

The footsteps of death would echo repeatedly.

And in the end, the last thing I would see in all scenarios would be the unharmed, hated woman and the man who protected her, my former fiancé.

The end of a woman's mad love and life.

This was Emilia Sedrash's life.

A broken path to death in the face of the only love.

I don't want such a terrible future.

I've been thinking this ever since I remembered everything that day.

He says, for the sake of the only love.

The man who has sworn his only love to her.

(Do you realize, Aloys-sama, that you're talking about the only love?)

The woman who has been sworn the only love by him.

Then, what about the opposite?

Does the woman he loves swear her only love to him...?

(Do you see, Aloys-sama, how Stella-sama must seem so fragile and lovely compared to me?)

I know.

Her true nature.

Her plans.

(Ah, no, Stella-sama. If you let your guard down, your mask will slip off.)

Her expression seems fearful when she looks at me, but I know it's different.

She's trying to hide it, but I can see the corners of her mouth lifting through the gap in his arms.

It's as if she's smiling.

Is she smiling in relief because her love has come to fruition?

Or is she mocking me, the fiancée who has been told to break the engagement?

Or is she smirking at the steady progress of her plans?

(All of the above, Stella-sama?)

I focused on the arm of the woman entwined with Aloys's. A glint of light caught my eye from the sleeve of her uniform. Three thin bracelets with silver edges. Each bracelet had a different colored gemstone in the center.

Ruby, kunzite, and amber.

Each gemstone sparkled in the light, asserting its presence. Just like the people who must have given them to her.

The ruby, like the red eyes of the arrogant second prince, skilled in martial arts.

The kunzite, like the purple eyes of the genius boy in the Mage Department, already called a prodigy in the first year.

The amber, like the orange eyes of my fiancé, Aloys, standing in front of me.

The most outstanding and popular males in each department of the school.

Stella Barak's close companions, often referred to as her entourage.

I am certain.

(She has already captured the hearts of the three main figures in this school...)

(The bracelets match the hearts of the targets...)

The targets. A term that