I Will Break Off the Engagement Because I'm Jealous - The Untalented Villainess Who Rejected the Prince Searches for a Safe Haven with the Cheat Heroine - Chapter 1.3

I’m not good with gambling—Emilia swallowed that whisper as she headed toward the ball. It had been some time since that day at the university. Emilia had been summoned by Sieg.

Walking cautiously, Emilia touched the brooch at her chest, let out a soft sigh, and bowed her head. She stopped before the door. Her pinned-up hair and layered dress felt heavy. Secretly checking that her fastenings hadn’t come undone, she waited for the door to open.

“I gave up even being the villainess. I’m a talentless girl. I have no redeeming qualities. This outcome was inevitable.”

Unable to suppress what rose in her throat, Emilia let out a soft voice. Carefully, so no one would hear. Mixing in a slight tremble.

Shaking her head as if to dispel her weakness, Emilia stepped forward into the open doorway.

(I adore you, Lord Sieg. Please…)

Making way for young lords and ladies, leaving the servants behind, Emilia headed straight for the center of the dance hall. The grand chandelier on the ceiling shimmered with swaying light, but it vanished from sight as she walked. Glancing at the edges of her vision, she saw people watching her secretly and whispering about something. Lowering her gaze, she saw an exquisite carpet spread beneath her, embroidered with intricate patterns and then the tips of her target’s shoes entered her view.

(Please believe in me. Let me believe in your love.)

Emilia clenched her white-gloved hands tightly below her chest. Her heart pounded like a rapid bell, its beat threatening to leap from her mouth. Clenching her back teeth to hold back voice and breath, she carefully raised her gaze. What met her eyes were slender legs, a chest and shoulders wrapped in dazzlingly decorated attire. His sweet lips were now drawn tight. His clear blue eyes were narrowed as if glaring.

“Lord Sieg. Emilia has come.”

Sieg, the Second Prince of the Oren Kingdom. He tilted his face upward slightly as if brushing back his hair, looking down at Emilia. The sway of his golden threads stilled.

The finger of the prince’s beloved fiancée.

(Ah… This is, as I thought. I really am not good with gambling.)

It was thrust straight toward Emilia.

“Lady Emilia Clemence of the Persicam Dukedom! I annul my engagement to you!”

Those were words she had been certain, since the day she was chosen as his fiancée, she would never hear. The condemnation that should never have come had arrived. Trying to compose herself, yet on the verge of losing control, Emilia’s eyes welled with tears as she opened her mouth. But her lips only trembled, her throat only stiffened, and no words would come.

(It’s over. My love, my game. So easily, so simply. What were those days, then?)

The murky feeling deep in her chest, smothering her affection, was in the way.

She couldn’t say anything.

“You have no objections, do you? Emilia.”

To the repeated question.

Or perhaps, looking at the sycophants surrounding him.

(Yes… In the end, to him, others are just that. Then I should properly say my farewell——)

Emilia’s shoulders suddenly relaxed.

(Let’s bring this to an end.)

The hand that had unconsciously been gripping her brooch.

Let go.

“Your Highness, I envy you.”

“What?”

A single tear streamed down, but Emilia was smiling. In contrast, the prince furrowed his brows and twisted his cheeks.

“To be able to freely break off an engagement with the daughter of one of the kingdom’s foremost ducal houses. Even as the Second Prince, to enjoy such benefits… The prosperity of the Oren royal family is truly a joy.”

“Is that sarcasm? What problem is there with me annulling my own engagement?”

(Ah, as I thought. It seems no groundwork has been laid with the adults after all.)

At the back of the hall. Near another exit, she could see several people flustered, rushing out through the door. Emilia took a shallow breath and smiled gently.

“Sarcasm? Perish the thought.”

Yes, it wasn’t sarcasm. Sieg had a high need for approval; he was easily stirred by envy or praise. So, she had merely said she “envied” him.

Since he had chosen “rejection,” Emilia had no intention of holding back.

“But that courage to proceed with annulment without reason. I truly envy it.”

“Without reason, you say?”

As Emilia continued, just as expected, the prince’s expression sharpened with anger.

“There is a reason! A woman who bullies the talented Iris, a talentless girl like you! It’s unforgivable to include you among the royal family!”

“I envy you… That story—it wasn’t something you investigated directly, was it, Your Highness? You have so many friends who whisper things to you. I truly envy that.”

Staring at Sieg as he lost his composure, Emilia whispered coldly. Looking at the young lords on either side of him, she saw they held tattered books and a dress.

“Unlike talentless you, we merely use our abilities for His Highness’s sake.”

“That’s right, we have evidence! These are things you discarded! There’s no mistake!”

“So, you attempted to destroy evidence. You can’t talk your way out of this, Emilia…!”

Emilia let her gaze drift over the three agitated men. Striving to remain calm, she breathed slowly and deeply. If she didn’t, her emotions might burst forth.

“It’s true I disposed of those things. But Your Highness, that book—don’t you remember?”

“What?”

The prince made a suspicious face, glancing briefly at the book. It was tattered and slightly dirty, but not torn. Upon closer inspection, it should have been clear that it was worn from being read repeatedly, frayed from long use.

“I recall it belonged to Iris. No mistake.”

“What about its contents?”

“Its contents?”

(This person… only cares about appearances, has no interest in others. Always only about himself.)

Emilia straightened her back and nodded deeply.

There was no turning back now.

She had resolved herself.

“That’s a book on plant life. Speaking of which, Your Highness, your presentation at the Royal Magic University two months ago—it was splendid. It was well-received as a fresh perspective on the relationship between flowers and spirit blessings, wasn’t it?”

“Hmph. Flattering me now won’t make me revoke the annulment.”

“Yes. However, regarding that presentation, I would like you to retract it.”

Perhaps sensing the ominous shift in the atmosphere, the hall began to stir. Emilia smiled faintly, watching Sieg’s agitation.

“What do you mean? What right do you have?”

“Your Highness has no right either—that is what I’m saying. That manuscript—you had Lady Iris write it, didn’t you?”

Emilia showed him the sheaf of papers a servant had brought, holding it out to him as he gasped and froze.

“These are copies, but I have secured the original she wrote. The manuscript you used for your presentation was a verbatim copy of this. The university is currently conducting a thorough review.”

“Wha——”

Sieg was at a loss for words, took half a step back, his eyes darting.

“Wh-why would you do such a thing?! What’s enjoyable about defying me?!”

“Enjoyable?”

Looking at him as he shouted, Emilia remembered that day. The day the “murkiness” reached its limit. The day the person she loved stood on a grand stage. She felt both proud and left behind. Carrying that emotion of being unable to rejoice honestly, unable to fully support him, that was when Iris mentioned receiving “Dragonbird’s Tears”—and then, suddenly, Emilia had sensed the truth.

Could it be that he doesn’t love anyone?

(It was only painful.)

After that, Emilia’s affection became blurred by the “murkiness.” Even when she tried to forget what she had realized, she remembered every time she saw his face. When she tried to look back on her longing, a throbbing pain got in the way.

Because of it, for a while, she couldn’t sleep. Assailed by something like dread and anxiety, she could no longer face Sieg. Realizing she would fall ill if she remained still, she busied herself with various activities, trying to eliminate the source of her unease.

Emilia had wanted to believe in Sieg.

“I liked you, Your Highness. I always thought you were intelligent, kind, and even had military exploits. That you were a strong, sincere person.”

“O-of course. I am a man who will one day be king.”

(Yes, always about yourself. You won’t touch upon my feelings, will you?)

Emilia had run around.

Starting from recent events, she had investigated everything about Sieg.

Her desire to believe grew stronger and stronger.

The information gathered with surprising ease.

In the end.

That murky feeling, it had merely been given a name.