Wilhelm, sitting on the other side of the table, looked anxious.
It was a pretty awkward expression for him, who had just gotten engaged just last week.
"Thank you for coming all the way here today, Karina."
"Yes."
At Wilhelm's words, I spoke as if it was no big deal.
He was speechless. A teacup was placed in front of us, and silence continued until the people at the surrounding table changed.
Finally, being impatient, I asked.
"So, why did you call me here?"
Wilhelm raised his head at my question. Even the determination was young in the red eyes that looked at me.
"Actually, I called because I have something to confess to you."
"Confess?"
Now all of a sudden?
We have been dating for over two years. And recently, after a long love affair, the promise of engagement was concluded.
If it's important, shouldn't he have said it before the engagement?
I had an ominous feeling.
"No matter how hard I tried, there was something I couldn't do."
"What does that…mean?"
"I tried to forget her, but it wasn't easy."
Her.
I opened and closed my mouth at the words that flowed out of my fiance's mouth.
He didn't say the name of the woman he was referring to, but I seemed to know who it was.
The protagonist of this world and your first love.
"Are you talking about the Grand Duchess of Gloucester?"
"What about Tatiana…?"
"You have to be precise, Wilhelm. She is of a higher rank than you, since she married the Duke of Gloucester and became the Duchess."
Wilhelm's face hardened at my point. But he didn't care.
I was more concerned that her name was suddenly drawn out than that.
Isn't the ominous premonition still wrong?
"After all, you can't replace Titi."
Nonsense came out of Wilhelm's mouth. Who is replacing whom?
I've never, never tried to take the place of Tatiana.
I put strength in my hands to contain my anger. I wondered what that cheeky man would even say.
"I still love Titi."
"Yes, so?"
Wilhelm's face contorted at my indifferent reaction.
What did he want me to do?
To my fiance who suddenly summoned me and confessed that he had never forgotten his first love, I spoke with anger disguised as a cold one.
"What do you mean by telling that story only after the engagement ceremony is over? If you had said it a few weeks ago, it would have been a lot easier for me to end the relationship."
"I want to get married."
What kind of bullshit-
You love Tatiana, but you want to marry me?
What?
"Anyway, it won't be easy to go and find another man. I'm confident I'll give you anything you want. Except for one thing, my heart."
"I'm sorry, but I don't want that."
"Think about it, Karina."
At this point, there was no reason to listen to such low-level stories.
"For me to get married like this? So you're talking about becoming Tatiana's paramour? With the name of my family?"
Wilhelm was the second son of Marquis Hunt.
Our engagement was arranged by my father, who cherished his excellent sword skills.
He was going to join our family as his son-in-law.
But shamelessly, he confessed to me that he would become Tatiana's paramour under the name of my family.
"I won't disappoint you in any other way. After all, aren't we in an arranged marriage? I think you'll understand this. I wouldn't mind if you let in man yourself…"
Was he such a man?
I said to him with a mean laugh as much as I could.
"I'm sorry, but I can't tolerate such absurd behavior. I'm sure Duke Gloucester would have the same idea."
It meant that if he did something stupid, I would immediately confess his wish to the Duke of Gloucester.
Wilhelm's face wrinkled in an instant as if he understood what I meant.
"You'd better not threaten Titi."
"Does she even know about this? The woman I know isn't prodigal or stupid enough to have a paramour."
"I don't know about Titi. It's just something I personally want…"
"So, you want to get married now, and become a paramour without the other person's consent?"
Wilhelm kept his mouth shut at my sarcasm.
Alas, you are the same.
I got up without a word. I picked up the now-cooled teacup that was in front of me.
And poured it over his well-groomed blue hair.
The beautiful face realized the situation late and was horribly distorted.
"Karina!"
"Let's pretend we never got engaged. I'll send the alimony-related information to the Marquis of Hunt."
He backed away at my cold words. I opened the door without hesitation and left.
It wasn't very difficult.
Because it wasn't the first time I was with a man like Wilhelm.
"Tsk."
Still, I thought it would be different this time around.
That belief came back.
Thinking of Tatiana gave me a headache.
The culprit behind all of this, and the heroine of this world.
I thought this could happen over and over again until I die.
~*~
[Her men]
A reverse harem game set in an academy in a fantasy world.
It was a fairly popular dating simulation game that targets several male protagonists.
Choose an option, raise your liking for each, and see the ending.
There, the Karina Pioneer I possessed was a friend of the female protagonist, Tatiana. It was written in the character description that she was wealthier and prettier than the self-proclaimed average-looking Tatiana, but the reality was not that.
Tatiana, who received her heroine buff, was as beautiful as a fairy. In the first place, if a girl with silver hair and blue eyes was normal, it would be funny.
Anyway, while the original work was in progress, and had nothing to do because my role was just a bridesmaid to make Titi stand out, nothing more and nothing less.
I studied moderately at the academy, and had a good time playing. The problem was love.
My love business was terrible.
The first boyfriend was Daniel, the Duke of Malphyrion, whom I was engaged to.
Handsome, well-mannered, and good-natured. He was, unsurprisingly, one of the candidates for the male lead.
'It seems difficult to marry you at this rate.'
So when he told me that, I knew roughly what had happened.
The game will revolve around Daniel being chosen. Without deep affection for Daniel and no will to change the original, I readily agreed to break up with him.
'Karina, I don't want our friendship to be shaken by this.'
The story of the original ended with me holding her hand, comforting Tatiana, who was crying, and wishing the two of them a blessing.
I only knew that the ties to the original work would come to an end.
Left alone, my father wanted to introduce me to a new person.
'Nice to meet you, Miss Karina.'
My second fiance was Raymond Cassel, who was introduced to me by his mother. This handsome man with gorgeous pink hair was one of the original male protagonists.
I didn't pay much attention to that fact because Tatiana chose Daniel, my ex-fiance, to support her happiness.
That's how our meeting began, and surprisingly, this relationship was also broken thanks to Tatiana.
'The master of my heart is Tatiana.'
I was a little tired of Raymond's passionate confession. I pointed out to him that Tatiana had a boyfriend, but he said he didn't care.
The next day, Tatiana showed up, smiling innocently, and she looked at me as she talked about how squeamish Raymond had been with her.
'I didn't put you in trouble, did I?'
Again, I agreed to understand her.
As Tatiana is the heroine of the original story, she had a fate where the male protagonists continued to twist toward her even when she was still.
'I know it's not your fault. Don't worry, Titi.'
With her being relieved, I sent her back and I had a different opinion. By the end of the original story, Tatiana would have been by her men throughout her life.
And all the handsome and successful men in this world were candidates for the male lead.
I wrote a letter and sent it home.
[I'll date freely while I'm at the academy. You don't have to introduce me to men anymore.]
Fortunately, my father respected my opinion.
And as much as possible, I hung out with guys of the extra level. I pretended not to be, but it was also because I got tired of the things that were happening around Tatiana.
Then I fell in love with the eldest son of an ordinary noble.
He was an upright man who didn't even care about the weight of my family or the fact that I was Tatiana's best friend.
We had a real love affair.
He dragged me down to the ground, who had not been able to settle down in this world, floating as if I was waiting.
I was happy.
He seemed to be able to overcome the opposition of my family.
Then one day he confessed to me.
'I'm sorry, Karina, I'm actually being swayed by Tatiana.'
That was the day I realized that this world was strange.