“Congratulations. You should be happy now, Miss Yuli.”
Hearing this, Yuli had finally gotten her wish. She should be happy, but she felt so awkward!
She could only force the corners of her mouth into a faint smile, but she couldn’t laugh at all.
‘Isn’t this what I wanted?’ Yuli thought.
‘Then why can’t I feel genuinely happy? And why is there a dull ache and a sense of shame in my heart?’
She felt like everything was out of order.
What was the process supposed to be like in the first place?
Yuli quickly figured out the issue.
‘No, this isn’t right! I was the one who was supposed to go to his house to break off the engagement. So why did it turn into him coming to my house to break it off with me?’
It was as if a voice inside her head was tempting her.
‘No, no way! That’s not right! The correct steps should be—’
“No! You’re not the one who dumped me. I was the one who wanted to break the engagement with you!”
Yuli pointed weakly at Lauren, but she couldn’t meet his eyes.
Instead, she collapsed onto the floor, panting, staring at the ground as she spoke, as if all her strength had left her.
What the hell?
Was Fate’s Correction Force activating?
Lauren frowned when he saw Yuli suddenly like this.
‘Whatever, it’s none of my business. As long as my quest is complete, you can say whatever you want.’
Lauren nodded and said casually, not caring at all.
“That’s fine, Miss Yuli. As long as you admit that we’ve broken off the engagement, it’s all good!”
But there was one problem—Lauren still hadn’t heard the “ding” notification for the quest completion.
It seemed that the system required the other party to acknowledge it for it to be judged as successful.
‘I need to provoke her a little more.’
Lauren continued:
“Don’t be so down, Miss Yuli.”
“Wh-who’s down! I’m not sad over someone like you!”
Hearing such a provoking remark, Yuli clenched her teeth and lifted her head to glare fiercely at him.
Lauren walked toward Yuli, step by step, pressing in on her.
“Then what’s with this pathetic loser act?”
“I-I-I…”
Yuli covered her flushed face, stammering.
She didn’t know what was wrong with her emotions today.
Ever since she saw Lauren, everything seemed to have gone off track.
Everyone, even herself, had become so strange.
‘Damn it, I hate this feeling!’
Young Master!
Boss!
What was he doing?
Everyone’s eyes were glued to Lauren as he slowly approached Yuli.
‘Whoa, is this that legendary “playing hard to get”?’
‘Boss, we don’t need this, meow!’
‘As expected of the Young Master. He sure knows how to handle little girls.’
‘Hehe, things are getting interesting, aren’t they? As expected of you, Lauren.’
A playful expression gradually spread across his face, as if he were coaxing a child.
“Come on, Miss Yuli. Say this with me: ‘I agree to break off the engagement.’ Then we’ll both be free.”
“I… I-I challenge you to a sword duel!”
Lauren slowly typed out a: “?”
What did that mean?
‘Enough with the childish tantrum. Don’t mess around, little sister Yuli!’
Yuli’s mind was a mess.
So she steeled her heart and decided, ‘Forget it, let’s just have a good, thorough fight!’
Throw away any rational thought and let her muscles take over.
That’s how we do things in the Thornflower Empire.
An ancient sword-fighting tradition—whenever there’s a conflict that can’t be resolved, let the sacred sword duel decide!
Whoever’s sword is stronger, whoever wins, is in the right!
The winner is right, the loser is wrong!
Though Yuli didn’t realize that her engagement probably wasn’t something covered by a sword duel.
Sword duels didn’t meddle with trivial matters, nor were they a ceremony for twisting right and wrong.
But Yuli’s reason had clearly burned out.
Her head was spinning, and she didn’t care about such details.
She thought that if she could just win, she could break free from this awkward situation and turn her predicament around.
Beating Lauren with her own skills seemed easy enough, or so she believed.
So, gritting her teeth, Yuli said:
“Lauren Scotmart, I challenge you to a sword duel!”
“Whoever wins is the one who breaks off the engagement!”
“Yuli, stop messing around, will you?”
“If you want to break it off, then break it off. He’s already going along with it. Let’s just end it here, okay? Stop pestering Young Master Lauren!”
Kaer, standing nearby, was at a loss for words with his daughter and quickly tried to stop her.
‘This is too immoral. It’s outright bullying. Everyone knows Lauren has no talent for swordsmanship since birth, and she challenges him to a duel? Does she have no shame?’
‘How did Yuli turn out like this?’ Kaer began to wonder if his years of doting on her had spoiled her, leading to such improper behavior.
Lauren raised a hand to stop Kaer. He was getting interested and nodded.
“Fine. But I have two conditions.”
“You have to agree to them first.”
“What conditions?”
“First, we have to break off the engagement now. Say that you agree to it, and make sure you say it clearly.”
Although she didn’t understand the point of this request, since it seemed so simple, she complied.
“Fine. I, Yuli Floren, agree to break off the engagement with Lauren Scotmart!”
The moment she finished that sentence, a “ding” sounded in Lauren’s mind.
That sound was too satisfying. He couldn’t help but revel in it.
“Finally done!”
The light panel, visible only to Lauren, appeared before his eyes.
[Node 1 Quest: Breaking the Engagement (Completed)]
[Rewards: Talent: Sword Prodigy, Flower Crystals ×300, EXP ×1000]
[Player Level: Level 5 → Level 10]
[Level Bottleneck reached. Participate in [Sword Path Trial] to break through.]
[Level Breakthrough [Sword Path Trial] has started. Teleport immediately?]
[No] Lauren was used to this. He chose to decline without hesitation. Now was not a good time for the Sword Path Trial.
The level cap restriction meant he had to complete a specific trial to unlock the next level range—yet another part of this game that required careful consideration.
Among the rewards, the most important was undoubtedly [Sword Prodigy]. In simple terms, this talent allowed him to rapidly increase proficiency in sword techniques and master various sword arts quickly.
With this talent, he now had the confidence to face Yuli’s sword duel challenge.
At that thought, a wave of relief washed over Lauren. He cleared his throat and spoke to Yuli in a solemn tone, stating his second condition.
“Thirty years in the east, thirty in the west. Don’t mock a poor youth!”
It felt so good to cosplay that line.
For such a classic engagement-breaking scene, Lauren had long wanted to deliver this line—a tribute to the youthful spirit he admired.
“I will make a three-year pact with you!”