I Got My Engagement Annulled… Even Though We Were Never Engaged - Chapter 0

“Lady Adrienne Canteloupe! I’m sorry for the suddenness, but I must ask you to break off our engagement! Because I… I love meeeennn!!!”

Ah, ah, ah—the screams of a man whose face I didn’t even know echoed through the high ceiling of the lavish party hall.

The party venue, which had been filled with the brilliant clamor composed of gentlemen and ladies chatting, laughing, and the light strains of a waltz, fell dead silent, as if water had been thrown over it.

The man before me, who had suddenly rushed up with a desperate expression, grabbed my wrist tightly, and made the confession of a lifetime, had dazzling silver hair.

His sky-blue eyes were so beautiful I felt I might be drawn into them.

He was tall, well-proportioned, and his sharp features were flawless.

What I’m trying to say is, he was a terrifyingly handsome young man.

And this handsome young man was, for some reason, breaking off his engagement with me.

After a moment of silence, I decided it would be best to first correct this outrageous misunderstanding.

“Um… I’m Adrienne Cambrelive of the Cambrelive Count family.”

“……………………Huh? Wha?!”

The man before me, who had been wearing a stiff expression, slowly widened his eyes and let his mouth fall open.

Then, flustered, he released my hand and began wandering his gaze anxiously.

His earlier urgency was nowhere to be seen, and his panicked state was almost cute, but now wasn’t the time to be thinking a stranger was cute.

…What am I supposed to do about this?

Today was the party of the Marquis Levesius.

It was a party to celebrate the return of the Levesius family’s eldest son from studying abroad, but right at the start of the party—or rather, before the host, the Marquis Levesius, had even begun his greeting—this commotion had broken out. What was going to happen?

I was the one who’d been dragged into it, but would that excuse even work?

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see my sister and her fiancé standing there with their mouths agape.

I wished they’d help me before being shocked, but neither my sister nor her fiancé had the nerve to come into the center of attention like this.

In other words, I had to handle this on my own.

…If Father had been here, he might have helped, but there’s no use crying over what isn’t here.

Father had been bedridden for the past six months, so today, as his proxy, my sister, her fiancé, and incidentally, me—the unmarried, leftover marriage candidate of our family had come to attend.

…How am I going to get out of this?

Not to boast, but my looks are plain and ordinary.

Unlike my sister, who has a glamorous appearance, I have the kind of looks that blend into the wall. Not to boast, but I’ve never been the center of attention in my life.

The most attention I’ve gotten in my eighteen years of life is this baseless engagement annulment? Fighting back the urge to cry, I tried to think of a way to break through this situation.

The man before me seemed shocked by his mistaken engagement annulment declaration and was just standing there dazed.

…I’m the one who wants to be dazed!

More importantly, who in the world is this guy?

He looks about my age or a little older, but I won’t be satisfied until I complain to his parents, “What kind of education are you giving your child?!”

I made my social debut two years ago, and well, even though I’ve been a wallflower the whole time, I’ve attended enough parties to know the faces of noble sons and daughters around my age.

Even if not all of them, I should know almost all the young ladies and gentlemen from families prestigious enough to attend a marquis’s party.

Furthermore, this man’s face is striking.

It’s terrifyingly well-proportioned.

I’d think it’s a face you wouldn’t forget once you’d seen it, but for some reason, it wasn’t in my memory.

As I was puzzling over this, two people—a man and a woman came running from behind the dazed man, their faces pale with alarm.

Startled, I hurriedly curtsied.

Those two were the Marquis and Marquise Levesius, the hosts of this party.

…Ah, they heard the commotion and came to mediate. How kind of them.

I was deeply moved, but their expressions seemed less like they were coming to mediate and more like… well, panicked or angry, something like that.

The two of them, still young at just under forty, ran straight to us, grabbed the dazed young man’s head firmly, and forced him into a bow so deep he nearly toppled over toward me.

“O-Our foolish son! Our foolish son has been terribly rude…!!”

…Foolish son.

Perhaps because it’s a word you rarely hear in ordinary life, it took me a moment to understand its meaning.

…Foolish son. Foolish child. Um… meaning?

The dazzling silver-haired young man whose head was being pressed down. Was he the son of the Marquis Levesius?

Now that they mentioned it, the dazzling silver hair was the same as the marquis’s, and his features closely resembled those of the incredibly beautiful marquise beside him.

…So that means I’ve been publicly dumped by the host’s son?

I felt a dizzy spell coming on.

I was already the center of attention, and now the other party was the marquis’s son.

Moreover, the Marquis Levesius is the prime minister. The prime minister’s son. This can’t be happening.

There’s no way I could say to the prime minister, “What kind of education are you giving your child?!” and by now I was standing on willpower alone, seriously about to cry.

Perhaps noticing my state, on the verge of collapse, the Marquise Levesius gently placed a hand on my back.

“You.”

At that single word, the marquis seemed to snap out of it, released his son, and nodded firmly.

Then, in a clear, resonant voice, he announced:

“Due to our foolish son’s misunderstanding, we have shown you a most disgraceful spectacle!! We shall take our leave, but please, enjoy the party to the fullest!! Now then!!”

With that, he grabbed his son’s arm firmly and dragged him out of the venue.

As I was led away by the marquise, I found myself thinking something utterly irrelevant: Wait, wasn’t this party supposed to be celebrating that “foolish son’s” return from studying abroad? Is it really okay for the main guest to leave so early?