"Angelina Schteizen, I'm hereby breaking off our engagement."
The one who'd summoned the Duke's daughter, Angelina, and announced that the annulment of their engagement, was her fiancé.
The Crown Prince, Leonhardt Beltsuri.
There were three other men beside him, all glaring sternly at her.
The Prince's escort knight, the son of a marquess, Freed Marcot.
The son of the Prime Minister, and the third son of a marquess, Dennis Colden.
Angelina's older brother, the son of a duke, Carlos Schteizen.
There was one more person at the scene: a female student.
A girl with black hair and ruby-red eyes, the daughter of a Baron, Merc Schliegen.
It was one week before the graduation party. This place was the stage for Angelina's "condemnation."
Angelina was being denounced by Leonhardt and the others as the "ringleader" who had oppressed Merc.
It was Merc who had orchestrated this situation; and she was a "reincarnator."
The Kingdom of Beltsuri that they all lived in was the setting of the otome game, "The Night that Dawns When Flowers Bloom."
Merc Schliegen had used her knowledge of the game from her past life to achieve a happy ending with the Crown Prince, Leonhardt.
The only one with a past life and knowledge of the game was Merc.
The "villainess," Angelina, had no memories of a past life.
That was something Merc had verified again and again, so it was a certainty.
Up until today, Merc had poured all her efforts into capturing Leonhardt's heart.
To Merc, Leonhardt had been her favourite character in her past life.
The condemnation scene came to an end.
The talk of the engagement annulment had already been settled between the royal family and the duke's house, and Angelina was not permitted to object.
Faced with her ruin, Angelina did not lash out the way they had feared.
Towards the ones glaring at her, she only directed a cold gaze of "disappointment," swallowed down her words, and chose silence.
Then, led away by her brother Carlos, Angelina took her leave.
Watching her retreating back, Merc finally felt that it was over.
This was a happy ending for Merc, who had held memories of her past life since she was a small child.
She had been united with Leonhardt, the one she'd adored since her past life, and so the "game" was over.
The others, too, smiled as they condemed the wicked woman and celebrated the union of their lord-to-be Leonhardt and Merc.
They were content. They were happy.
Yes, it was a happy ending where everything had fallen into place.
... or so it should have been.
"Prince Leonhardt. Good morning."
"Mn...?"
Morning came. A happy morning. Leonhardt had finally found true love.
But as he sat up in bed, he felt something off.
(... What is this?)
The scene before his eyes was certainly his own room, but...
The "viewpoint" was somehow lower. And the furnishings in the room had been swapped out at some point.
What's more, they had been swapped for ones Leonhardt had some recollection of.
"What is... this?"
Leonhardt stood in front of the mirror, and was stunned.
His height had shrunk considerably compared to what he remembered in his "memory."
After that, he continued to sense that something was amiss within the palace. The people around him had grown younger.
And the events occurring around him were all somehow familiar.
"How old am I right now...?"
He asked the maid who served him.
The answer that he received was five years younger than he remembered.
"Why? Time has... turned back...."
Leonhardt had travelled back through time, and woken up five years in the past.
This was before the otome game "The Night that Dawns When Flowers Bloom" had begun.
Before he had met his true love, Merc Schliegen.
... and before he and Angelina had become engaged.
"Prince Leonhardt. I hear His Majesty will choose a fiancée for you soon."
"...!"
Hearing that, Leonhardt broke into a run. He thought he could still make it in time.
There was no need to enter into an engagement with Angelina, who was already destined to have her engagement broken off.
If time had truly rewound...
Then this time, he should just get engaged to Merc Schliegen from the very beginning.
Leonhardt already knew that Merc's bloodline was a noble one.
If he revealed Merc's true identity while she was still young and made her his fiancée...
She could begin her queen education right away.
That way, their true love would blossom without any problems.
Thinking along those lines... Leonhardt petitioned the King to call off his engagement with Angelina.
And so his wish was granted. In the world where his second life had begun.
Leonhardt and Angelina were never to be engaged.