TCBUP 05

Chapter 05 — Broken Engagement

“Father, Mother. You called for me?”

I spoke cautiously, but the Count and Countess didn’t even spare me a glance.

The one saving grace was that the hot-tempered Count wasn’t flying into a rage. Instead, he was making a visible effort to suppress his anger.

Otherwise, everything breakable in this drawing room might already have been reduced to pieces.

“Sit.”

“Yes.”

Like a criminal awaiting judgment, I lowered my head and quietly took a seat in front of my parents.

As I kept my gaze down, it landed on the scattered documents lying across the table.

The crest of the House of Ortiz was stamped across the top page. There was no doubt Damian had sent them.

Is it the engagement cancellation document?

But it seemed too thick for that.

With his personality, there was no way he’d write a lengthy explanation about why he wanted to end the engagement.

Don’t tell me… he’s demanding compensation for emotional damages or something?

The thought doubled my anxiety.

“The House of Ortiz has sent an engagement cancellation notice.”

“……”

Considering the gravity of the matter, the Count was surprisingly calm.

Yet the restrained fury in his voice felt like the eerie silence before a storm, making my shoulders tense even more.

“Siena. You know how this engagement came to be, don’t you?”

“Y-Yes. Damian’s grandfather borrowed money from our family and couldn’t repay it, so the debt was secured through a marriage contract.”

“That’s right. The marriage between you and the Duke was essentially collateral held by House Hargreaves.”

Collateral…

A sudden realization struck me, and I quickly picked up the stack of papers on the table.

They contained detailed records of the market interest rates from the day Damian’s grandfather borrowed the money up until now, along with meticulous calculations of the accumulated interest.

“Damian repaid the debt… including the interest.”

“Exactly. Which means the collateral has lost its value. And thanks to the trouble you caused, they now have a perfectly valid reason as well.”

The Count pushed the engagement cancellation document toward me.

There was no need to read it carefully.

It simply requested the dissolution of the engagement between Damian Ortiz and Siena Hargreaves, stating that unless there were legal objections, it would take effect immediately as of today.

“But… this was sent a week ago.”

“So what? Was I supposed to just say, ‘Certainly, I accept,’ and hand over the engagement without a fight? I had to see if there were any grounds to challenge it!”

His sudden roar made me instinctively flinch.

“Do you have any idea how much time and money I spent over the past week? I barely slept! I hired the Empire’s best lawyers and accountants to dig through everything from the past to the present. All because of you! I wanted to make something out of my useless daughter by turning her into a Duchess!”

“……”

“And what exactly have you accomplished?”

“……”

“If your grandfather’s wealth gave you the chance to become a Duchess, then instead of just lying there and accepting it, you should’ve at least made an effort!”

“……”

“You chased after him for years! The least you could’ve done was wrap the Duke around your little finger! What exactly are you capable of?”

The Count had exhausted himself from shouting.

He took several deep, ragged breaths before glaring at me with blazing eyes.

Even after venting for so long, his anger hadn’t subsided. He grabbed the back of his neck and inhaled deeply once more.

“Honestly… I wonder who you took after to turn out this hopeless.”

“I’m… sorry.”

“You think an apology is enough for this?”

“……”

“I don’t even want to look at your face. Get out! Until I decide what to do with you, don’t let me see you!”

“Yes.”

Keeping my head lowered, I quietly stood and left the room.

The moment I stepped outside, Mary rushed over with tears welling in her eyes.

“My Lady… is it really over? Did His Grace really call off the engagement?”

Apparently, while I’d locked myself in my room for the past week, even Mary, my personal maid, had been kept in the dark.

Though I had no trouble walking, she looked at me as if I might collapse at any moment.

She gently supported my arm and slowly escorted me toward my bedroom.

“That’s what happened.”

“Oh, my Lady…”

Large tears rolled down Mary’s cheeks.

Covering her face with her apron, she broke into loud sobs.

“Waaah… what will happen to you now, my Lady?”

“What can be done? It’s over already.”

I smiled as though it didn’t bother me and gently patted Mary’s shoulder while she cried uncontrollably.

The other servants merely whispered among themselves as though they had expected this outcome.

But Mary’s tears were sincere, and they warmed my heart.

“Thank you for worrying about me, Mary. But I’m really fine.”

“B-But… h-how c-can…”

Her words were so broken by sobs that I couldn’t make them out.

Still, her concern came through clearly.

Grateful, I wrapped my arms around her and gently rubbed her back to comfort her.

By the time I was practically helping the sobbing Mary back into my bedroom, a cheerful chime rang out.

Ding-dong.

The status window I had grown sick of seeing appeared behind Mary’s back.

[SYSTEM]

The third capture scenario for Duke Damian Ortiz has been completed.

Please leave your honest review!

Your valuable feedback will help improve the game.

Hmm… I guess this really is the last review.

Siena, who had her engagement broken, would never appear again.

My role was over.

Soon, I’d finally return to being my real self.

So this time, I decided to write the review with complete honesty.

“Mary. I’d like to be alone.”

“Y-Yes, my Lady.”

Putting on my most pitiful expression, I spoke softly.

Mary wiped away her tears with her apron and forced herself to smile.

Even as she turned to leave, she looked back at me several times with worried eyes.

Right until the moment she closed the bedroom door.

I kept waving reassuringly until she finally left, then locked the door behind her.

Whew.

Taking a deep breath filled with solemn determination, I turned to the status window.

▶ Since this is my final review, I’ll be completely honest.

Pros:

Ha…

Pros.

I should write at least one out of courtesy.

But I honestly couldn’t think of anything.

After agonizing over it while practically pulling my hair out, I finally forced something onto the page.

▶ Pro: The visuals?

It wasn’t exactly free of sarcasm.

But it was true.

The first time I saw Damian as “Siena,” I had stared blankly at his face for a full three seconds.

Even the background characters were ridiculously handsome and beautiful, so at least the game was pleasant to look at.

Even that random passerby who thought I was some crazy woman…

Suddenly, I remembered the jacket I had carefully washed and neatly hung inside my dressing room.

How am I supposed to return that?

I’d rather give it back before I disappear.

If only he’d told me to throw it away…

Or bring it somewhere…

Or mail it…

Any of those would’ve been easier.

Instead, he insisted he’d come retrieve it himself, leaving me stuck waiting indefinitely.

Well… once I’m out of here, it won’t be my problem anymore.

Let’s finish this.

▶ Cons: Rewrite the entire game. Actually, don’t release it at all.

The choices themselves are fundamentally flawed, filled with childish dialogue and repetitive actions.

Seriously, have the developers ever been in a relationship?

Do they honestly think love happens just because someone says cringeworthy lines and acts fake?

The male lead’s route isn’t realistic in the slightest.

No wonder it was so boring.

I even skipped through parts while half asleep.

And every episode is just cafés, restaurants, and banquets over and over again.

The conflicts are painfully cliché.

Whenever someone like the villainess Siena bullies the heroine, the male lead dramatically appears out of nowhere to save her.

Is that all you’ve got?

What’s next?

If the heroine gets mugged while walking down the street, is the male lead going to magically appear and rescue her again?

And my biggest complaint.

Seriously.

Throwing people into a game without their consent and forcing them to play it?

No matter how I think about it, that’s a crime.

The moment I get out of here, I’m suing.

I’m demanding compensation for emotional damages, plus every financial loss I suffered while trapped in this place.

Got that, you bunch of eighteen-colored-nephew crayons?

Think I won’t do it?

I’m the kind of woman who follows through.

You might think Korean law is a joke, but you’ll learn how terrifying it is once you’re on the receiving end.

You’ll feel like you’re picking watermelon seeds in the middle of the Siberian plains, you idiots.

…

Sigh.

After venting everything, I felt much lighter.

With a refreshed heart, I closed what was hopefully my final review window.

Praying that when I woke up tomorrow, I’d be back in my real room…

My real bed.

The days that followed were unbelievably peaceful.

For everyone except me.

“Why am I still here? Why am I still here?!”

I screamed while tearing at my hair, but nothing changed.

For the first few days, I was terrified that I’d be trapped here forever.

Now I’d moved beyond fear.

All that remained was anger, frustration, and resentment.

The status window never appeared again.

Growing increasingly anxious, I sincerely prayed—to God, to Buddha, even to whatever unknown deity ruled this world.

But no answer ever came.