“Lorona is dead?”

Upon receiving the news in his private chamber, Velbutte’s eyes went wide.

He staggered at the news. The shock had pierced his exhausted body, forcing him to sit down and cling to his chair.

“…Why, at such a time…”

Velbutte, clutching his head, clicked his tongue with frustration.

“—She should’ve died sooner!!”

He then kicked his desk, causing the butlers and the maids in the room to tremble.

Not long ago, Velbutte had informed the king and the queen of his annulment.

As a result, he was reprimanded for a long time.

Even if Lorona was his fiancée, Velbutte’s mistake was to annul their engagement without any prior consultation. He was reprimanded because as a member of the royal family, he should had considered his steps more carefully to avoid stirring up any turmoil.

Fortunately, he wasn’t blamed for the annulment itself as he had brought forth evidence towards the serious misdeeds Lorona had commited as a noble lady.

“I ended up making a futile allegation to my father and mother…”

He felt unpleasant due to the fact that his hard work was for naught. Regardless, Velbutte regained his composure once he thought that things would be easier that way.

In truth, the procedure for annulling an engagement wasn’t as simple as it appeared. It required a lot of time and effort.

A political marriage was a contract in a sense. A formal document had been prepared and held signatures confirming permission from both the House of Lords and the temple.

If it was to be destroyed, a document proving the consent of both parties and a certain amount of penalty had to be prepared.

However, the story was different if one of them died. Bereavement wasn’t a breach of contract.

Thus, Velbutte was freed from the paperwork associated with annulling his engagement, and the obligation to pay a large sum due to the penalty.

“…Looks like in the end, she was still able to do some good.”

Velbutte’s expression, as he spoke with a smile, didn’t have any of the refinement expected of a crown prince.

Lorona was the fiancée of Velbutte, but he never held any special feelings for her.

Lorona’s family, the Count of Ruth, had a long history, but they were a mediocre family and lacked any significant impact.

The only reason why Velbutte had been engaged to Lorona was because of a battle against the neighboring kingdom, one that had taken place a dozen years ago.

The Count of Ruth had made great achievements in that battle. As a reward, the king promised to welcome Lorona, the daughter of Ruth Family, as the queen.

Velbutte was 5-years-old when he became engaged, while Lorona was 4-years-old.

For Velbutte, who had but few opportunities to interact with children of the same age, Lorona was his only playmate.

He escorted her during her Debutante Ball and they danced together.

She was a friend who had spent 14 years of his life as his fiancée.

“…”

For a moment, there was bitterness in Velbutte’s chest.

Not knowing what his feelings were, Velbutte arrogantly frowned at the thought of her.

Ever since he was young, he had been aware that he’d eventually get married. He thought he could take good care of her.

But as they grew up, he became fed up with Lorona’s uptightness.

He’d become the king anyway, so what was wrong with playing around a little? Lorona’s surveillance only overwhelmed him.

Even his desire, which seemed to be common amongst boys of his age, was rejected firmly by Lorona who said, “You can’t.”

Far from being on her side, Velbutte eventually grew distant from his fiancée who was being praised loudly by his parents and teachers.

Lorona’s doll-like beauty also hurt Velbutte’s pride.

She had a divine appearance that made him wonder whether or not she was truly alive and able to move. Velbutte was afraid of touching Lorona.

The more he worried over accidently breaking her if he were to touch her, the more creeped out he was by Lorona. In the end, the gap between them had become insurmountable.

“…Well, now I can get engaged to Lumina. She’s also a daughter of Count Ruth. I haven’t broken any promises.”

He muttered that as if he was convincing himself. Thus, Velbutte suppressed the emotions that were arising within him.

---

***T/N: On to another reason why these dunderheads cheat and dump their fiancee: “My fiancee is too perfect and beautiful, as if she’s a doll, I got creeped out!”

If Prince Butt turns out to have more depth and facets to his character that made me sympathize with him, Imma salute the author.

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