"Dandelion De Marx, I hereby annul our engagement. I do not need a vicious future queen for this empire."
Dandelion's long-awaited wish had finally arrived. She didn't flinch. Her lips curved into a faint, satisfied smile.
"This subject... abides," she said, offering a small, neat curtsy.
Crown Prince Lebanon was momentarily stunned by her immediate acceptance. He'd expected tears, protests—a scene. "Hmph!" he scoffed, recovering quickly. He turned and strode away, his arm possessively hooked around the slender waist of a blonde-haired girl: Rose.
Rose, the Baron Demian's only daughter, was the center of attention in the Magic Academy. Meanwhile, Dandelion was widely known as a "vicious girl" for the persistent rumors that she tried to ruin the seemingly innocent Rose.
Dandelion watched them go. Vicious? Whatsoever. She finished the thought in her head. I won't plead guilty because I have no recollection of such things. Furthermore, my schedule has been packed with Queen's training—like I cared anyway.
She turned on her heel and walked out of the opulent ballroom, leaving behind the whispering crowd.
At home, in the plush drawing-room of the Marx Marquisate, her father, Marquise Marx, was already pacing, furious about the incident and the endless bullying rumors that had never actually happened.
"Well, let them be," Dandelion said simply, settling into a velvet armchair. She picked up a delicate porcelain cup and sipped her black tea. The brew was bitter and strong, just how she liked it. "They're clearly lovebirds, anyway. I fulfilled my duty as a future queen candidate, yet they ignored me and then accused me of trying to ruin someone else's daughter. What a joke."
"The audacity! That bitch Rose!" Marquise Marx puffed his cheeks out like a scolded child, murmuring darkly about how to ruin the Baron's daughter.
"Save your plotting, Father. I have some news that should cheer you up," Dandelion said, setting her cup down with a light clink. "The King called me aside. To compensate me and my 'pride' as a high noble, my engagement partner has been… changed." She leaned forward conspiratorially. "Guess who, Father? It's the Supreme Commander, Dex Maximilian."
Marquise Marx choked on air, his eyes widening into perfect circles. "Really?"
Father and daughter exchanged a look of sheer, unadulterated glee. They suddenly sprang to their feet, meeting in the middle of the room for a triumphant high-five.
"Yes!" they exclaimed in unison. "Our handsome, muscular Supreme Commander finally arrived!"
This boisterous celebration was typical for the pair, who were close—more like siblings than a traditional father and daughter. Dandelion was not the product of a typical marriage. She had come into being through a unique manipulation of mana—specifically, her father's powerful mana combined with that of another man whose identity remained a secret, even to Dandelion.
"Dad…" Dandelion looked at her father, who was still grinning, "I don't have a mother, do I?"
Marquise Marx was known for his eccentric preferences, but few knew he was capable of bearing a child through his own mana manipulation. He beamed at her.
"Well, I am your mother-father! Hee-hee!" he chirped, never trying to hide the truth.
Dandelion didn't mind; she was merely curious about her other progenitor.
"Anyway… your new engagement," her father said, his expression softening with concern.
Dandelion sighed. She knew the reality. "I can only hope I can be happy like other people. My name is tainted now. An unmarried girl with an annulled engagement to the Crown Prince—who will be brave enough to propose to me, even if the new partner is the Supreme Commander?"
"This is all because of that bitch Rose!" Marquise Marx snarled again, his rage for his daughter's reputation overshadowing their earlier celebration.