chapter1
Episode 1: Reincarnated… Only to Get My Engagement Broken?!
“Who are they?”
The three people standing in front of me should have been Yudai, Eri, and Yudai’s mother.
But now, the three before me looked completely different from just a moment ago.
“Fantasy...?”
I blinked rapidly, unable to believe what I was seeing.
I love reading fantasy manga on my phone, but these three looked like they’d stepped straight out of one.
Their appearances were more Western than Japanese. One man had light brown hair and wore clothes that looked like a nobleman’s—or perhaps an idol’s costume. With him were a young blonde woman in a fancy dress and an older woman with her brown hair neatly pinned up.
It wasn’t like a manga drawing—it was live action. It felt like I was watching a foreign drama or some kind of video game.
I couldn’t help but laugh, and the three of them looked visibly taken aback.
“Sorry,” I apologized for laughing and tried to stand up—but almost tripped on something.
What the...?
Looking down, I realized there was a long, frilly skirt spread out around my waist.
No, not a skirt—a dress. I was wearing a dress.
Just moments ago, I was wearing a blouse, a skirt, and a cardigan...
While I stared down at my outfit in confusion, the nobleman-looking guy frowned and asked me in a suspicious voice:
“Megan, are you alright? Have you lost your mind?”
Huh?
He was talking to me. But... Megan?
He doesn’t mean me... does he?
“That’s not my name. I’m Misato Yada,” I said, raising my face—and nearly passed out from what I saw reflected in the large window of the unfamiliar room.
My hair, loosely curled, was gathered over one shoulder. It was black, but where the light hit, it shimmered with green. I was wearing a light green dress embroidered with patterns matching my hair, and green accessories that mirrored the brilliant green of my eyes.
No way...
I was Japanese just a moment ago.
Is this... one of those stories where someone gets reincarnated into a fantasy world?
Am I actually in a fantasy world now?
No—this has to be a dream.
After all, I was just at Yudai’s house.
I’d only just visited the home of my fiancé, Yudai—the place where we were supposed to live after getting married.
When I arrived, his mother and my junior at work, Eri, were chatting on the sofa.
“Huh?” I must’ve looked stunned. His mother turned to me and said,
“Perfect timing, Misato. We need to talk.”
Right on cue, Yudai came home—and broke off our engagement.
“Yudai and you... you’re just from totally different worlds, Misato. I really think you’d be better off finding someone more suited to you.”
“I’m sorry, Misato…”Eri murmured, lowering her eyes apologetically behind Yudai’s shoulder. Yudai placed a protective arm around her.
“You’ve done nothing wrong, Eri.”
“That’s right, Eri,” his mother added, stroking her back gently.
It felt like I was watching a bad soap opera.
Then my vision started to blur at the edges, like smoke spreading out, darkening until the three of them faded away completely.
And when I came to, I was here—in a fantasy world.
I probably passed out. I’d been swamped with work lately, sleep-deprived and exhausted. I must’ve fainted and started dreaming.
Maybe I’ve read too many manga... or drank too much of that trendy probiotic yogurt. Or maybe this is just a really bad dream.
A weirdly calm version of myself was thinking it might not be so bad to stay and enjoy this fantasy world for a while.
Even for a dream, the details were incredible.
I looked around the room in admiration. The walls were a pristine white, decorated with paintings of various sizes. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, shaped like a bouquet of flowers. There was a red velvet sofa, and both the table and sofa had elegant, curved legs—I’d never seen such furniture in real life before.
It was exactly like something out of a manga.
I must’ve read too many isekai (another waorld)stories.
I let out a small, ironic chuckle—and once again, the three people around me gave me odd looks.
Clearing his throat, the nobleman-like man said,
“Anyway, please leave. There’s no place for you here.”
“Huh...”
I wondered what kind of world awaited me beyond that door. I’d thought I might enjoy it, but now I was feeling a bit uneasy. Even if this was a dream, I didn’t know what was out there.
But the man had his hand out, pointing firmly at the door.
With no other choice, I passed by the three—who reminded me of Yudai, his mother, and Eri—and headed toward the door.
“She really gives me the creeps,” I heard one of them mutter behind me.
“Is something wrong with Lady Megan’s head?”
Those voices... they sounded just like Yudai’s mother and Eri.
“What did you just say?”
I stopped and turned around, eyeing both women in turn.
They flinched slightly, but the older one quickly straightened and said,
“How dare you speak like that. You’re no longer a match for the Priest family.”
Her words brought back memories of being told the same in the real world. And the woman, who resembled Yudai’s mother, continued,
“We only continued the engagement out of pity for your ailing father. But now that’s no longer necessary.”
The younger woman nodded emphatically.
“That’s right. Lord Jurgen is so kind—he couldn’t bring himself to push you away.”
The nobleman—Jurgen, apparently—glanced at me briefly.
The older woman looked down on me with a sneer.
“And now that Lord Bonato has passed away…”
Bonato.
Suddenly, an image of an older man with a beard lying in bed flashed through my mind.
No one had explained it, but I somehow knew he was Megan’s father.
He had taken Megan’s hand and, coughing painfully, whispered someone’s name—telling her to rely on them.
Are these... Megan’s memories?
She was born into the Bonato family, raised without want, though her mother died when she was young. Eventually, she became engaged to this man—Jurgen Priest.
The older woman was his mother—Madam Priest. The younger woman was Dorianne, daughter of Count Edou.
She’d once been Megan’s friend.
I closed my eyes tightly, overwhelmed by these unfamiliar memories.
Madam Priest sighed.
“Without a patron, how do you expect to survive, Megan?”
I didn’t know the full rules of this world, but something told me it would be even harder for a woman to survive here alone than in my own world.
Just as panic began to bubble up inside me—
“You don’t have anywhere to go, do you, Lady Megan?” Dorianne looked down and suddenly clapped her hands. “I know! We’re short on maids at our new home after the wedding. Megan can come work for us!”
“Oh my, what a good idea,” Madam Priest beamed. “You’re such a kind girl, Dorianne. Don’t you think so, Jurgen?”
Jurgen nodded. “Yes, that might be best.”
Then he turned to me.
“Megan, you no longer have any support. I don’t know what you planned to do from here on, but you should accept Dorianne’s kindness.”
But Megan was a noble too, wasn’t she? How could she suddenly have no support? Just because her father died?
My memories were clashing with Megan’s, making everything murky.
Megan had come to visit her fiancé’s house—even without a patron, she’d come here hoping for help. But instead, she was dumped and told to work as a maid for his new bride?
And the three of them acted like they were being gracious.
Just like Yudai, Eri, and his mother—putting on sympathetic faces while betraying me.
Megan had it even worse.
“Are you mocking me?”
“What?” Jurgen blinked.
Apparently I’d said that out loud.
Well, whatever. This was just a dream. I was “Megan” in this world—or at least, everyone saw me that way. I didn’t know what the real Megan was like, but surely she had every right to be furious.
“I said, don’t mock me.”
Jurgen’s eyes widened.
“I’ve kept quiet until now, but Dorianne—you steal someone’s fiancé and then have the nerve to say she should become your maid? And you!” I pointed a sharp finger at Madam Priest. “Shouldn’t a mother be scolding her son for this? What kind of parent celebrates that?”
I turned to Jurgen.
“You’re the worst of them all!”
“Wha—?”
“You break off your engagement after chasing another woman—without so much as an apology? At least have the decency to bow and say sorry! What, did Megan suddenly become useless to you without her father’s influence? And Dorianne’s family helps your career, right? If you want to rise in the world, do it with your own strength instead of using women!”
If only I’d said this to Yudai and Eri. I probably hadn’t said a word.
With a deep breath, I lowered my tense shoulders.
“Well, now that I’ve said my piece, I’ll be on my way.”
I stepped past the trio across the thick carpet and reached for the door.
Suddenly, Dorianne burst into tears, and Madam Priest shrieked,
“How dare she! Jurgen, do something!”
“What, are you all hysterical?” I muttered, brushing them off and trying to leave with dignity—until someone grabbed my arm.
Jurgen opened the door with one hand while holding onto me with the other.
“Richard!”
From the end of the hall, an elderly man in a butler’s uniform came running.
“What’s wrong? Is something the matter with Lady Megan?”
“Take her to Mark.”
“Lord Mark Russell?”
“Yes, him.”
Looking apologetic, Richard took my arm and led me down the hall to a waiting carriage.
A carriage?
And who the heck is Mark?
Once again, panic began to rise as I was taken away—to face yet another stranger in this unknown world.
