My Engagement was Cancelled so I will stop Pretending to be a Fool

Also, this series doesn’t have chapter’s name

-Mr.Graverobber

The 2nd Prince Cyrus is 20 years old—-2 years younger than his brother, Alan.

In contrast to Alan who has maroon-colored hair and a slightly darker shade of skin, Cyrus is a fair-skinned young man with bright blonde hair.

Due to his love for books, Cyrus was often reading something in the castle’s library. Olivia, who is a bookworm herself, also met him quite frequently in that library. However, she only remembers having small talk with him there.

Why did that Cyrus suddenly propose to Olivia then?

“Was it an order from His Majesty?”

Being told that she’d like to have a talk with him first, Cyrus invited Olivia to his room. Fragrant tea was prepared for her and one after another, delicious sweets were served.

As he puts the sugar in his tea and stirs it, Cyrus has a puzzled expression on his face. Unlike his fearless-looking brother, Cyrus is a man with a gentle demeanor. His image is that of a gentle prince who always smiles.

“What?”

“I am talking about your proposal earlier……”

Hearing that, Cyrus looked slightly hurt as he set the spoon aside.

“Well, I can see why you would think of it that way…….given the situation.”

“Am I wrong?”

“You are.”

Standing up from his seat, he moves to Olivia’s side and kneels down while clasping her slender hands.

“Sorry, I went and did things in the wrong order. I love you.”

“Eh……”

“Is it that much of a surprise?”

Cyrus smiles as Olivia’s eyes went round.

“No, I mean, you’ve never……”

“Well, you were my brother’s fiancee after all.”

“But……”

Seeing Olivia still doubtful about his confession, Cyrus thought to himself for a moment before looking up.

“Hmm, then let us change the subject. This room, what do you think about it?”

Following Cyrus’s line of sight, Olivia raised her face and replied.

“I think there’s a lot of books here.”

“Is that all?”

“…..Umm.”

Wondering why there are so many books here, Olivia tilted her head to the side. Then she immediately realized.

The bookshelves along the wall of this room were filled with books. As a prince, no matter how rare a book is, he would be able to obtain it if he so desires. In fact, some of the books she can spot on these shelves are so rare that Olivia herself still hasn’t read them yet. In other words—-

“Why, the library…….”

Every time Olivia visited the library at the castle, Cyrus was always there. Despite the fact that he can obtain any kind of book he desires without ever visiting such a place, why was he always there? Realizing the [Reason] behind that, Olivia’s face gradually turned red.

“That’s right. I was there only for you.”

Cyrus appears to be happy with Olivia’s reaction. His hands are still holding hers.

“I have always loved you. Still, because you were my brother’s fiancee, I thought that I had to give up. But when I heard that he was planning to have his engagement with you annulled…….”

He hurriedly went to consult the King and surprisingly, he easily received permission to propose to Olivia. Explained Cyrus.

Olivia felt dizzier and dizzier as his story went on.

She’s happy about Cyrus’s feelings but Olivia has only seen him as Alan’s younger brother. Besides, with her just being abandoned by the Crown Prince, what would others think when they see her immediately getting together with the 2nd Prince? If this is handled poorly, not only Olivia’s own honor but the honor of the Royal Family will also be tarnished.

“Of course, you don’t have to give me your reply right away. I will do everything in my power to persuade you. So, if you feel like you don’t mind becoming my wife, you can give me your reply then.”

“…….and what if I won’t ever feel that way toward you?”

“I will do my best that you will, I assure you.”

Saying so, Cyrus dropped a kiss on the back of Olivia’s hand and winked at her like a mischievous child.

The reason Cyrus became interested in Olivia was very trivial.

The 6 years old girl who was introduced to him as his brother, Alan’s fiancee, was a clever girl whose emerald eyes shined with the light of curiosity and intelligence.

In fact, his impression of Olivia was that of a smart girl. The reason he felt that way was when he realized how a 6 years old girl understood the content of the conversations of the adults around them.

‘I see, so my father found a girl who possesses the qualities to become the future queen huh.’ Cyrus was convinced so. However, back then, that was the extent of his feelings for her.

It was around 2 years later that Cyrus noticed the change in Olivia.

Despite being brothers, Cyrus and Alan did not get along well. They rarely met each other even though they lived in the same castle. Still, since he actively tried to avoid Alan as much as possible to not get into trouble, some faults also lied with him.

Perhaps because of that, he rarely meets Olivia who regularly visits the castle as Alan’s fiancee. At best, he would only spot her reading her books in the courtyard from a distance.

Apparently, Olivia likes reading. They share the same hobby but it’s a shame since she’s his elder brother’s fiancee. If she was not engaged to his brother then they might have been able to spend their time together chatting about their favorite books.

That’s what he thought.

Until one day.

Cyrus was walking down the corridor on his way back from his sword practice when he heard the castle maids gossiping something among themselves.

It is not uncommon for castle maids to gossip about rumors here but when the name [Olivia] was mentioned, he immediately stopped his feet.

——I wonder why Prince Alan chose Olivia-sama of all people?

——It seems that she has refused to take her education seriously you know.

——With an ignorant girl like that as his fiancee, will His Highness Alan be okay?.

Cyrus doubted his ears at the maids’ words.

‘What is going on…….?’

Even though their interaction was limited, the person they described did not match the Olivia Cyrus remembers.

If what the maids said were true, it would be dangerous to leave Olivia like this. After all, he cannot leave the kingdom in the hands of fools.

Cyrus is the 2nd Prince who will eventually be in a position to assist his brother, the next king. However, he can only assist his brother as the King’s younger brother. If the king and queen do something wrong and refuse to listen to reasons, he doesn’t know how this country will turn out.

Thinking so, Cyrus wanted to confirm the truth. Fortunately, Olivia is only 8 years old. He can still correct her since she’s still young. If she’s an adult then it would already be too late.

One thing that he remembers about her was that Olivia likes to visit the library.

The two-story library made of brick was built behind the castle. It houses a large collection of books from old to new ones. There are many picture books that children like to read there as well. Cyrus suspected that Olivia might have skipped her classes and spent her time reading picture books there.

Changing out of his sweaty clothes, Cyrus headed to the library. There, he found Olivia reading a book by the window.

He was about to call out to her but he immediately stopped himself the moment he saw the title of the book she’s reading.

The book that Olivia is flipping through is very thick. It was a book about the law of this country.

Cyrus’s eyes opened wide. It was a law book that even the 11 years old Cyrus found very difficult to understand. He’s currently studying law from his tutor but he has only read the first 6 pages of that book. It took him a month just to comprehend the content of those 6 pages.

Yet, it seems that Olivia has already read more than half of that same book. Moreover, there was no hesitation to be seen when she flipped through its pages.

‘……a rare talent huh.’

Come to think of it now, he does remember someone evaluated her like that when she got engaged to Alan.

At the time, he thought that it was an exaggeration but now such words were revived vividly in Cyrus’s mind.

If Olivia truly is a genius that is qualified to be called [A rare talent], how did such rumors about her circulate among the maids?

Deciding to observe her, Cyrus sat down a little distance away from Olivia.

When Cyrus thinks back on it now, at that time, Olivia might have already become a special existence for him.

It would be years from that moment until Cyrus realized how special she is to him but it was no exaggeration to say that it was at that moment that Olivia was no longer only his elder brother’s fiancee.