45 – Yandere After the Broken Engagement

No matter how much feelings Freesia might have for me, I’m still, at the end of the day, the idiot prince in Fortune Engage.

Even though one of Freesia’s other suitors hasn’t yet appeared, the four main super darlings—Siegfried, Alex, Leon, and Maximilian—are all assembled now. Though Leon has turned into a zombie, he can be revived by Freesia’s powers. 

So, with all four being alive, the story appears to be progressing somewhat according to the original plot. This means I’ll inevitably face my first death flag: the broken engagement event.

But if I can push things toward Freesia’s reverse harem ending, it should guarantee my survival. To that end, I’ve devised a plan that will hopefully keep Freesia from suffering too much.

All I have to do is make her think I’ve wronged her…

“Aha! What’s this? You’ve got me sitting here for…?”

Lily sat on the edge of my bed, exactly where I’d instructed her to meet me. I’d only told her I needed to talk about Freesia, and she’d rushed over, arriving even earlier than we’d arranged. With her leg crossed and her peacock-feather fan open in one hand, her smug, condescending air seemed completely natural.

I grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her down onto the bed. Her fan slipped from her hand, tumbling onto the bedspread.

With her twin tails of soft pink hair and a face that seemed built for playful mischief, Lily gave an unexpectedly innocent reaction. Her cheeks reddened as she looked away in embarrassment.

“If…if you don’t go gentle with me, then I…I won’t like it…”

Seeing her nervous expression, one hand on her chest, something tugged unexpectedly at my heart.

But she was forgetting one important thing.

This is all just an act to make Freesia let go.

“Bear with it, just for a moment!”

“What?!”

I buried my face in the crook of Lily’s neck. Freesia has a fresh scent about her, while Lily’s fragrance is sweet, almost cloyingly so.

“Mm! That tickles…”

Lily let out a small, sweet sound, shivering slightly beneath my touch. Despite her usual defiant nature, her innocence was showing through, and it stirred something sadistic within me. Not that I’d actually hurt her—I’d be gentle, of course.

This was quickly becoming a problem.

If Freesia didn’t show up soon, this pretense could very well turn into something more than an act, and the last thing I wanted was a real affair. So, I could only hope that Freesia would come to my room any moment now.

As if hearing my silent wish, the door to my room finally opened, and there stood Freesia.

“Brad-samaa!?”

She gasped, a hand flying to her mouth in shock.

“Freesia! I am breaking off our engagement.”

But something was amiss. The engagement break was meant to happen at the graduation ceremony, not now. Yet, here I was, declaring it of my own accord—as if the death flag had taken hold.

“Brad-sama…” 

Freesia’s hands covered her mouth, her expression one of profound hurt.

“Haha! See? Brad-sama chose me over you, Onee-sama,” Lily sneered, looking down at Freesia. She placed a hand under her chin, ready to give a mocking, aristocratic laugh—”Ohohohoho.”

After Freesia left my room with tears streaming down her face like pearls, Lily and I straightened out our rumpled clothes and sat across from each other on the sofa.

“Are you really sure about this?”

“With Freesia’s looks and standing, she could have her pick of any man. Nobles and royals from neighboring countries are even making secret visits to catch a glimpse of her. She deserves someone better than me.”

“So, then… you’ve chosen me instead?”

“You’ll be marrying someone else too. But first, make amends with Freesia. That shouldn’t be too hard for you now.”

“What? Wait… you can’t just… huh?”

Freesia, who should have already left the room, was standing outside my window, peering in with a focused intensity. She must’ve been watching us the entire time. Then, as if determined, she moved slowly and effortlessly opened the balcony door, which had somehow been locked. It looked like she had used Miinya to melt through the lock.

Well, I guess I had no choice but to resort to the backup plan I had prepared to dodge the inevitable flags.

“Lily, don’t get the wrong idea. I have no intention of marrying either of you.”

“…What?” both of them responded in unison, staring at me.

Miinya, this is what you wanted, right? I thought as I glanced at her. She simply sat there, casually scratching under her chin with her front paw, as if entirely disinterested in the situation.

“Brad-sama… I suspected as much,” Freesia murmured, approaching the sofa where Lily sat. She wrapped her arms around Lily’s shoulders from behind, as if comforting her, though Lily was visibly trembling under her touch. 

“It’s not nice to lie, Lily,” Freesia continued with a sweet smile. Then, leaning closer, she added, “I think I’ll confirm for myself that Brad-sama hasn’t… cheated on me.” 

Her fingers trailed down to Lily’s crotch, her smile serene, though her eyes as she glanced at me held anything but warmth.