Chapter 1: I Agree to Annul the Engagement
"Elara, I'd rather die, or be banished to a desolate star, than form a mate bond with you!"
Elara had only just processed her situation when she heard this declaration.
She fell silent.
The speaker—well, the male speaking—was Kael, her original self's fiancé.
The original owner of her body shared her name, Elara, and was a female from Planet X92 in the Federation. In this Federation where the female-to-male ratio was a staggering 1:100,000, she was a precious treasure, doted on wherever she went.
To protect its rare females, the Federation had established a dedicated Marriage Center, tasked with finding only the most worthy males for them.
Elara and Kael's engagement wasn't arranged by the Marriage Center; it was a childhood promise made by their mothers.
Females were so scarce in the stars that countless males begged for their favor, yet Kael had never had to worry about that.
But he was ungrateful, convinced that Elara was standing in the way of his "true love," and constantly demanded an end to their engagement.
The Federation Marriage Center was unwaveringly biased toward females. As long as Elara refused to agree, their engagement could not be dissolved. So Kael would show up at her place time and again, insisting he wanted out.
Females in the Federation were raised to be spoiled and cherished. The original Elara had lived twenty-one years without ever encountering a male who dared to defy her.
She'd thought Kael was different from all the other "flashy, shallow males" out there. So desperate was she to keep him that she'd even promised to take only him as her mate.
Elara thought the original owner must have lost her mind.
For the sake of this deadbeat Kael, she'd turned down an entire galaxy of eligible single males.
"Elara," she muttered to herself, "you were such an idiot."
After mentally roasting the original self, she finally opened her eyes to look at the male she'd once found so "refreshingly unique."
First impression: Yep, definitely a deadbeat.
Kael wasn't exactly ugly—he was slightly above average in looks, and his physique was top-tier. But a good body was a required course for all males in the Federation, a core subject at the Interstellar Male Academy. So his physique gave him no edge, and his looks paled in comparison to the premium males in the original Elara's memories.
He didn't even appreciate being born into such luck, yet he dared to look down on her?
Elara couldn't wrap her head around it.
She tilted her head. "Kael, are you insane?"
Single males were a dime a dozen in the Federation. One deadbeat guy? He really thought he was irreplaceable?
Kael didn't understand why Elara was speaking to him this way, but he knew he'd just been insulted.
Prideful of his "good breeding," he chose not to retaliate. "So you'd better file for annulment with the Marriage Center immediately. Otherwise, even if you get my body, you'll never get my heart!"
Elara: "..."
Was this some ancient alpha male novel's cringey line?
Kael really was insane.
She laughed in exasperation, pulled up her holo-computer right in front of him, and said, "Fine. Since you've begged me so nicely, I agree to annul our engagement."
Kael, who'd been about to say more, froze.
What did Elara just say?
She agreed to annul the engagement?
No matter how much he'd ranted and raved in the past, Elara had always refused to end it. She'd even promised to take only him as her mate just to keep him.
Kael had heard it all before. He'd never understood why she was so fixated on him.
He'd come prepared to be rejected again, even had a whole speech ready to change her mind.
But now?
He'd barely said two words, and Elara had agreed?
Kael stared at her, dumbfounded, unsure how to react.
Then his nearly transparent holo-computer—so thin it felt like nothing on his wrist—beeped, and a holographic screen popped up before his eyes.
[Federation Marriage Center: Kael, your engagement with Lady Elara has been unilaterally annulled.]
This was the very thing he'd spent years chasing after.
But now...
Kael was completely thrown off.
On Elara's end, her annulment request had been processed in less than two minutes, and the Marriage Center sent three consecutive messages:
[Federation Marriage Center: Dear Lady Elara, your engagement has been successfully annulled. You are now single.]
[Federation Marriage Center: Dear Lady Elara, there are countless eligible males in the Federation. Don't let a short-sighted male ruin your mood.]
[Federation Marriage Center: Dear Lady Elara, should you require it, the Federation is ready to match you with new mates at any time.]
"Short-sighted male"?
Elara snorted. The Marriage Center's flattery was so obvious it was painful. And just moments after she'd annulled her engagement, they were already offering to find her new mates—proof that the number of single males in the Federation was so high even the Marriage Center was stressed.
But matching... that sounded fun.
Elara was about to dive into the details when she noticed Kael staring at her with a deeply confused expression.
She rolled her eyes. "Unit 001, see this guest out."
The robot butler, Unit 001, which had been on standby in the corner, moved into action. It escorted Kael out of Elara's villa and politely closed the door behind him.
Satisfied, Elara settled onto the sofa and began researching the mate-matching process.
The Federation practiced a polyandrous marriage system. If a female desired more mates, the Marriage Center would immediately assist in finding suitable candidates—sometimes two or three, sometimes... no upper limit.
Elara's eyes widened at the last three words. No upper limit?
Was that what she thought it meant?
Whoa—how had the original Elara not jumped at this?
What a waste of such an amazing resource!
She tapped the holographic screen and pulled up more detailed information.
Mate matching was based on genetic compatibility. The Marriage Center prioritized males with the highest genetic compatibility first, then considered other factors: age, appearance, even graduation grades from the Interstellar Male Academy.
Males who were too old, too ugly, or lacked the skills to please a female were considered "undesirable" by the Marriage Center, unfit to be paired with a precious female.
"Interesting," she murmured.
Elara thought for a moment. After the original Elara came of age, her mother had gone on a tour of the Federation with her eight mates. That meant she was living alone now.
The Federation provided every female with the finest accommodations. The original Elara's villa was a sprawling five stories, each floor hundreds of square meters—pure luxury.
Such a big villa, all to herself? She definitely wasn't just curious about the polyandrous system...
Elara rubbed her hands together, opened the Marriage Center's official website, and submitted her matching profile:
Name: Elara
Age: 21
Gender: Female
Marital Status: Single
The genetic information was automatically uploaded by her holo-computer, no effort required on her part.
But she noticed something intriguing: the marital status field didn't just have "Single"—it also had "Married."
That meant even females who were already married could apply for new mates if they wanted.
Wow, the Federation really spoiled its females.
Elara grinned. After reading so many reverse harem and pampered female lead novels in her past life, it was finally her turn to star in one!
