The Marquis' Daughter, a Research Enthusiast, Fails to Notice Her Junior's Devoted Feelings After Her Engagement is Broken. - Chapter 1.1

“Lady Frederica! Please marry me!”

“…Huh?”

This was the first thing my junior, Emil Fitz-something, blurted out the moment I arrived at the research lab this morning.

Dressed in full formal attire, he knelt before me, dramatically flipping open a ring case—where had he even been hiding that?—and held out a pink gemstone ring with an earnest expression.

“Yesterday, you broke off your engagement with Prince Ernest, didn’t you? Please consider marrying me instead!”

His hand trembled as he held out the ring, and his voice wavered slightly.

A research lab… Is this really an appropriate place for a marriage proposal? Even I was momentarily caught off guard. But after a brief pause, I managed to regain my composure.

The large, dog-like man kneeling before me—Emil Fitz-something (I’m terrible at remembering names, so the fact that I even recalled part of it deserves some praise)—was supposed to be two years older than me. However, since he joined the research lab later than I did, he technically counted as my junior. His research focused primarily on visual-related fields.

He was a tall and slender man, at least a head taller than me, with slightly blue-tinged hair. Like many researchers, his hair had grown out a bit, and he had loosely tied it on one side.

As for his appearance… Hmm. I never particularly cared about people’s looks, but judging by the number of women who had stormed into our lab, enamored with him, I suppose he was considered attractive.

In fact, the influx of admirers had become such a problem that we had to implement an authentication gate to keep unauthorized visitors out. That system was actually a fascinating piece of technology—it worked by analyzing the mana wavelength unique to each individual. But if I start explaining that, I’ll end up talking for days, so let’s save it for another time.

My name is Frederica Lorenz. Born into a ducal family, I was completely captivated by magical engineering. After skipping grades and graduating early from the academy, I immersed myself in research at the Ministry of Magic’s laboratory, where I now spend my days.

As for what happened yesterday—well, I was abruptly dumped by my fiancé, the First Prince.

I had attended a summer party alone, as was expected of a duke’s daughter. As usual, I stood quietly by the wall, lost in thought as I worked through magical engineering formulas in my head.

That was when a loud voice suddenly called out to me:

“Frederica Lorenz! I am breaking off our engagement!”

Turning around, I saw a man, lavishly adorned in excessive decorations, shouting something at me.

…Who was that again?

After a moment of consideration, I noticed his gold-tinged blue eyes, a distinctive trait of the royal family. It dawned on me that this might actually be my fiancé, the First Prince. Quickly, I curtsied and offered him the appropriate formal greeting.

“It is an honor to stand before the young sun of our kingdom. You wish to annul our engagement, correct? Understood. I will sign the dissolution documents and submit them by tomorrow morning.”

For some reason, the prince’s face turned red with fury, and he glared at me with intense hatred.

“How insufferable… I just remembered how much you’ve always irritated me! And last week, you even pushed Sophie down the stairs! Is this your desperate attempt to cling to the position of Crown Princess?”

“Sophie…?” I tilted my head in confusion. “I apologize, but I have no recollection of such an event.”

“Don’t play dumb! The woman standing beside me—this is Sophie! Don’t pretend you don’t know her!”

Beside him stood a young woman with fluffy, pink-gold hair. She looked up at me with teary eyes, seemingly frightened by his outburst.

I had no memory of her whatsoever. But considering how often I forget people’s faces and names, it was possible that we had met before. And as for this Sophie, who was supposedly pushed down the stairs… well, she looked perfectly healthy to me.

“Lady Frederica…! How can you deny it?! At the academy… you bullied me constantly!”

“The academy?” I asked. “Are you referring to five years ago?”

“Huh?”

“I was enrolled in the academy five years ago, but I graduated early and have been studying at the Ministry of Magic’s research lab since then.”

I had entered the academy at thirteen, skipped grades, and graduated at fourteen.

Sophie blinked in confusion. Her reaction made me pause as well.

“Wait… but you always ordered people to torment me, didn’t you? That’s the truth, isn’t it?! I’m not lying!”

“Y-Yes, that’s right! Sophie would never lie. On the contrary, it’s you who must be lying. Honestly, it’s disgusting how you’d resort to such deceit when the truth is so easily verifiable. There’s no way someone who tried to kill my dear Sophie could ever be fit to be the nation’s queen! Our engagement is over!”

I wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but at the very least, I understood one thing—he wanted to break off our engagement.

I simply reiterated my willingness to submit the annulment paperwork and swiftly exited the hall. Just as I stepped outside, I ran into my father.

“Oh… Father, I didn’t expect you to be here. I was just about to head home. Ah, could you accompany me to the royal palace tomorrow morning? His Highness just annulled our engagement.”

“I know. You’ve been through a lot. Forgive me for making you attend tonight alone without any explanation.”

“Been through a lot…? Hm?”

“No matter. Everything is already prepared. Let’s head to the palace now and finalize the annulment before he can make any excuses.”

Without delay, we proceeded to the royal palace, where I signed the necessary documents and completed the verification process. Afterward, my father remained for discussions, while I returned home early and had a much-needed, uninterrupted sleep.

By morning, Father had yet to return, likely still at the royal palace.

And now, back to the present.

“Emil, did you just… propose to me?”

“Yes!”

“Ah… Well, I don’t have the authority to decide on marriage. Being a duke’s daughter, I have to abide by my parents’ wishes. If you’re serious about this, could you bring it up with my father—the Duke of Lorenz—instead?”

“Of course! But, um… Lady Frederica, do you dislike the idea of marrying me?”

He looked up at me with anxious eyes, reminding me of the dog I once had as a child.

After a brief moment of thought, I answered,

“Dislike…? I’ve never really considered it. No, I don’t dislike you.”

At my response, Emil’s face lit up instantly. Yes, he really does resemble a dog. I can almost see his tail wagging.

“Lady Frederica! I have admired you for so long! Please accept this!”

He once again thrust the ring case toward me, his enthusiasm unwavering.

“No, like I said, you need to—”

“You don’t dislike me, right? This is just a token of my intentions, so if you don’t object, please accept it!”

“Ah… Alright.”

Before I could think too much about it, I found myself responding.

Emil took the ring from the case and slipped it onto my ring finger before placing a kiss on the back of my hand.

“I’m off to formally request your hand from Duke Lorenz! Even if you only ‘don’t dislike me’ now, I’ll make sure you truly fall for me! I’ll be skipping the lab today—please inform the professor!”

With that, Emil hurriedly dashed out of the research lab.

The other researchers, who had been sneaking glances throughout the entire exchange, quickly returned to their work, pretending as if nothing had happened.

As for me, I stood there, staring blankly at the door Emil had just exited through.

Somewhere deep inside, I could feel a faint warmth lingering on the back of my hand. Surely, that was just my imagination.