Favorability Skyrocketed After the Broken Engagement

The reception room door burst open violently. In that instant, my breath caught in my throat. Hair of a vivid purple so stunning it almost hurt to look at. Eyes the color of purple ice, cold as a sculpture, with a chin lifted in haughty arrogance. It was an overwhelming beauty that looked as if the artists of every erotic anime and game had poured their very souls into her creation. Even the slightest movement of a fingertip overflowed with elegance. She radiated from every inch of her being that she was fundamentally a different species from a newly sprouted extra like me.

The maid Ria I’d seen earlier was already a stunning beauty, but this woman matched her in every way. And those breasts—true to form in this erotic game world, was the default chest size set to massive or what? Just how beautiful were the other heroines supposed to be, then? It suddenly made perfect sense why the hero kept acting like a dog in heat. But my admiration lasted only a moment.

She—Iliana—swept her gaze over me like I was a cockroach crawling across the floor, then turned to the family head and opened her crimson lips with merciless precision.

Her icy voice froze the air inside the reception room solid.

Wow, this woman is ruthless. She went straight for the vitals the second she walked in. Hey, read the damn room! I’m about to die here—can’t you see the blood-stained ashtray shards on the floor?! Just how much of a trash human being had this Evan bastard been on a daily basis?

A bone-chilling silence fell. The family head clutched his face with trembling hands. The killing intent that poured out of him a moment later hit me like an icy tidal wave. I used to think the whole “killing someone with nothing but murderous aura” thing in martial arts novels was pure bullshit, but today I learned the truth of it down to my marrow.

Fuck. I’m shaking. Before the hero can chop my head off at the academy tomorrow, it looks like I’ll die by my own father’s hand today. The family head stared at me with eyes full of pity and despair. It was a look begging me to cling to her, to grab her skirt if I had to. Even if I had ten mouths, I wouldn’t know what to say. The family fortune had already collapsed, and the son was a gambling degenerate who’d blown 2,300 gold. Who knew how much more debt was hidden? No wonder the Count was losing his mind. The household was in such a sorry ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠state that calling it a Count’s family felt embarrassing.

A resolute declaration. Iliana stood with her arms crossed, glaring straight at me. Inside those purple eyes tinged with blue swam obvious contempt and the arrogant certainty that even if I clung desperately to her skirt, it would be pointless.

Wow, shit. The way she’s looking at me is actually terrifying.

Only a few hours after possessing this body and I’d already faced death twice. I parted my lips, trying to say something. Honestly she was beautiful, but I had zero connection to her. And yet—

Huh? Wait a minute.

My frozen brain suddenly began spinning at full speed. I hadn’t seen the erotic game, but I’d watched a similar erotic anime. Let’s look at this from an omniscient point of view!

If I enter the academy tomorrow, the hero will kill me. Why? Because I’m the fiancé of Iliana—one of the women that damn hero keeps hitting on! True to his erotic-anime-protagonist nature, he sleeps with every woman he meets and uses me as an excuse to take my head. It was funny when I was just watching, but now that I’m the victim it’s driving me insane. Why the hell did the developers even include a scene like this?!

But.

If the engagement is broken here… that crazy bastard loses any reason to kill me, doesn’t he?!

Eureka! This wasn’t a death flag—it was a lifeline. A perfect chance to save my neck!

I stroked my chilled nape and certainty flooded through me. This engagement had to stay broken forever. I could survive. No—I had to survive.

The words left my mouth without the slightest hesitation. The family head’s jaw dropped even further and Iliana’s brow twitched faintly. Ignoring their reactions, I turned around.

…But where the hell was my room? I’d been dragged here in such a hurry I hadn’t gotten a proper look. If I wandered around lost, it would be a massive loss of dignity and invite all sorts of strange misunderstandings. Time for my ultimate technique.

When I exaggeratedly staggered, Ria rushed over and caught my arm. The faint scent of soap and the soft warmth of her body. As expected of a supreme beauty—the sensation was on another level. Hmm, she’s heavier than she looks. Amazing. Truly amazing.

…Huh? They’re giving me fifty whole coins? As expected of an erotic anime system—they really do sprinkle gacha currency like this? It was ridiculous, but I couldn’t stop the corners of my mouth from twitching upward. A single ray of light in this garbage world. Ria, you really are a lucky charm.

Mother? I don’t even know what my mother looks like right now. I almost told her not to bother, but I kept my mouth shut. Acting out of character would only raise suspicion. I had no idea how the erotic game had gone, but the original erotic anime never bothered describing an extra’s family relationships anyway.

Once I reached my room and Ria left, I was finally granted time alone. My head was a mess. Sudden possession, a weird erotic-anime gacha as my special perk, and my life was already on the line. Why am I the only one suffering like this, damn it? According to standard possession tropes, shouldn’t the heroines start liking me even if I just sit still? Why is everyone in this world hostile? Even my own maid has negative favorability. At this level of negativity, isn’t she basically an assassin?

The world that looked so arousing through a screen had become literal hell the moment it became my reality.

My head hurts. Let’s organize this first.

I sat at the desk and pulled over a blank sheet of parchment. I dipped the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠quill deep in ink and began scribbling furiously. Fortunately the characters of this world came to me naturally, both for reading and writing.

Thank goodness I was a story junkie. If I’d only skimmed the sex scenes I would’ve died without knowing anything. Feeling rather proud of myself, I tore the parchment to shreds and stuffed the pieces into my pocket. Then I took out a fresh sheet and wrote the official annulment declaration without hesitation.

Just then—creeeak.

The sound of the door opening behind me. I quickly set down the pen, sprawled sideways on the sofa, and pretended to close my eyes. The owner of the approaching footsteps was a graceful middle-aged noblewoman.

Is this my mother? Wow, even the middle-aged ladies have insane art quality here. Now I get why this story is popular despite its trash plot.

A warm green mana flowed from the noblewoman’s hand and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wrapped around my head. It felt like being held in a mother’s embrace—pure tranquility. It was the first warmth I’d felt since possessing this body. This peace, this kindness… no matter what anyone said, this person was definitely my mother. Because the setting hadn’t been properly explained, I had no way of knowing she was actually a healing mage.

As the mana seeped in, the throbbing headache vanished completely.

I answered with a bright smile. But both the noblewoman and Ria, who had escorted her in, widened their eyes in shock at the same time.

Huh? What’s with that intense reaction? Is calling your mom “Mother” not allowed here? Should I have said “Mommy” instead? The heavy atmosphere made me barely hold back the urge to try it. No matter how I thought about it, I hadn’t done anything wrong. I felt like I’d been stranded on a deserted island.

In the suffocating silence, Ria spoke up urgently.

Huh? I just said I’m fine? And wait—Teacher? What kind of development is this? Why does everything only happen to me?

Bang!

The door flew open again. This time a truly glamorous noblewoman in a lavish dress came rushing in.

……?

Wait, what the fuck. Weren’t you the one who said you’d bring my mother?! Is this some kind of delayed attack?! So the one you brought first was the healer, and my actual mother came running late?!

I felt cold sweat running down my back and quickly pressed my forehead, letting out a groan.

In the end, after receiving three more mana treatments from the healer amid my real mother’s wailing, I was finally able to leave the room clutching the annulment papers. It was a minefield in every sense of the word. Still, I’d somehow made it through safely.

*

Clatter, clatter.

Inside the carriage racing away from the Count’s estate, kicking up clouds of dust, Iliana silently stared out the window at the receding, dilapidated mansion. In her hand was the crumpled annulment document Evan had handed her.

The noblewoman sitting across from her—the very healer who had treated Evan earlier, Iliana’s master, and one of the continent’s greatest healers, Helena—spoke up.

Iliana frowned as she fiddled with the annulment paper.

Helena looked at her disciple with a strange glint in her eyes.

“What? That information is widely known, and every time I investigated through the information guild—”

Iliana shook her head in confusion.

“D-don’t tell me you mean the Prophet of Absolute Foresight?”

“Moreover?”

“Excuse me…?”

Helena let out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a deep sigh.

“But why would he do such a thing?”

At her master’s assertion that seemed to pierce straight through the human heart, Iliana’s breathing trembled faintly. Her gaze unconsciously fell to the annulment paper in her hands.

“A code?”

Helena leaned forward and took the paper. Because Evan had written the annulment over the sheet he had torn up earlier, the pressure from his pen had left clear indentations on the page beneath.

At first they struggled to understand the meaning. Then both Iliana’s and Helena’s eyes flew wide open. Their gazes collided in midair.

“Monster invasion and destruction!”

The air inside the carriage froze in an instant. Iliana’s fingertips trembled as they clutched the hem of her dress.

Iliana’s mind went blank. All the pieces were falling into place. The reason he had thrown away the annulment without hesitation even though he should have clung to it to save his house. He had deliberately made her despise him so that House Crosswell could be severed from the coming catastrophe of destruction. All while bearing the stigma of being absolute trash himself!

“Even without this, our Crosswell information network recently received reports that monster activity in the north has become unusually ominous. Father dismissed it as a common border skirmish, but…”

Iliana’s voice shook. In her mind flashed the image of Evan’s hollow eyes as he coldly pushed her away while tossing the annulment paper. That had not been hatred. It had been a gaze full of tender sorrow—the look of someone forced to cut away the person he cherished most, a sacrifice that carved flesh from bone.

Iliana hugged the annulment paper tightly to her chest. Her purple eyes began to shimmer with an unknown heat and deep guilt.

*

“……Huh? What the hell?”

Wasn’t Iliana supposed to hate me? Why did it go up?

I sat on the sofa, staring at the notification floating in the air, completely bewildered. She had definitely looked at me like I was vermin earlier. Shouldn’t her favorability have dropped even further?

This is weird.

Rising favorability is good, but why is the system giving me—

“What the hell is this?”

I shot up from my seat. So raising favorability gives me gacha coins? I stared at the system window and let out a dry laugh.

“Just because I casually wrote one annulment paper, my favorability rises this much?”

In this insane, chaotic erotic-anime world where I could die at any moment, I seemed to have found a sliver of hope. The way to survive was to target the heroines. Of course it was an extremely thin thread of hope, but still!

Then shall I spin the gacha?

With trembling hands I swiped at the empty air.

R-right. Surviving tomorrow comes first. System! Spin the gacha! Give me a survival skill right now!