Engage Survivor, He Is My Fiancé

The storm of brilliance reflected by the diamonds is painful to my eyes.

Although my parents had warned me beforehand not to expect anything, I realized in the last hour or so just how truly painful it is to actually remain a wallflower at a party.

In the early spring of 2204, the gala being held here at the Luhan-za Takanawa Gateway is a special event, a kind of coming-of-age ceremony where young people like us, aged fifteen and older, make our debut into high society.

Even at fifteen, the participants range from the bottom to the top in terms of family lineage, wealth, and status. I am from the middle class, classified as a so-called 'Middle B,' and both my grandfather and father are merely presidents of a small space trading company. In other words, I am judged to be a 'quite inferior species as a partner for a breeding briefing.'

The pale cherry-blossom-colored furisode I had tailored at the Nihonbashi Falmouth main store felt like a jewel when it was spread out in our living room this morning, but standing next to the executive-class men and women around me, it looks like cheap plastic. It was Lady Renka of the Kido Group who was wearing a pigeon-blood ruby around her neck, and it was the eldest son of Sanjo Heavy Industries who was dashingly wearing a haute couture suit from Anna Mukaihara, a royal warrant holder.

Since the party began, they have been holding hands as if it were all prearranged, dancing and chatting in the center of the crystal stage. I was on the verge of breaking down and crying, but because I desperately wanted to remain in this special space, I took a third sip of Perrier. Even though the Enisun glitter lipstick, which I was so happy to receive from my father, had been completely wiped away on the rim of the glass.

Like me, the boy and girl who had been standing there without anyone paying them any mind were also being urged to go home by bodyguard robots.

Let's go home...

The base of my thumb had been screaming for a long time from being rubbed by the lining of my unfamiliar silk zori sandals, but I could no longer ignore the pain. If I kept this up, I wouldn't be able to walk to the entrance where the rental limousine was waiting. Just as I tried to swallow the misery welling up from my chest,

Hey, would you like to dance if you'd like?

A voice descended from a space a head taller than me.

Oh, you in the light pink kimono, right. Your feet look like they hurt, are you okay?

I should answer something, but nothing comes out of my dry throat. Even though I drank that bitter water that should have been tasteless and odorless, my breathing has dried up from sadness and loneliness.

The mascara, which I am usually completely unaccustomed to, feels heavy, and I blink repeatedly. This must be what a daydream feels like. On the wall side of the sparkling Diamond Hall, a beautiful person in a jet-black military uniform is smiling softly.

I'm someone who finished my debut a long time ago, but if you don't mind.

A snow-white lambskin glove is extended. The rubies in this person's eyes are more elegant, intellectual, and above all, kinder than any ring or necklace here. Perhaps because of his strong Eastern blood, his skin is like chiffon mixed with custard and fresh cream, and his wavy bangs are a honey-blonde mixed with amber. He has braided them back and tied his hair up with thin black and white ribbons. The earrings in both his ears are likely Diana Drops, which I heard are only unearthed on Venus.

Come on, it's a once-in-a-lifetime dance. Let's enjoy it.

As if being swept away by the waves of a warm sea, I was led by the hand and invited into the center of the dance hall. That elegance is not the skill I had been desperately practicing until yesterday. It is the crystallization of this person's sensibility, feeling, and above all, vast experience. I understand this well now that we are touching.

How wonderful!
Oh my, I envy the young ones.
Look, how adorable they are.

Beyond the slowly rotating mirror world, an elderly woman in a dress and a middle-aged gentleman in formal attire are smiling and blessing me.

Yes, that's it. Instead of crying, lift the corners of your mouth. Good luck will protect you.

Without realizing it, I seemed to be floating on air. Feeling uncomfortable and embarrassed, I looked down at his military boots, and he lightly tapped my back, saying, "Ah, don't look down. Chin up, just like that, and look into my eyes. I won't let you fall, I promise."

This person's dance technique is more careful and wonderful than any teacher sent to our school. Anyone who dances with him would surely feel it.

How many minutes, how many hours? The live orchestra had stopped playing before I knew it, and I, still letting the sweat from my forehead trickle down, had settled back in front of the table where I had originally been standing alone.

Here, rehydrate. You've been drinking since a while ago, are you okay to go to the restroom?
I-I'm fine...

Finally, finally, I was able to let this suddenly appeared prince hear my voice. The sparkling carbonated water in the flute glass he gently handed me had a faint scent of lemon.

I like this herbal soda. I always have this after exercising.
It's delicious...

The platinum blue of his earring resonates with his flashing ruby eyes. It is proof that he has a fiancé. Who in the world could have captured the heart of someone so kind and delicate in his consideration?

I don't have much time, so I'll leave you here, but will your parents come to pick you up?

Yes, I have a limousine reserved.

Good, take care on your way home. The area is safe, but every year at this party, there are many incidents where young girls like you get lured away. Did you have fun tonight?Yes, very much.Alright then, see you.

After he finished his own soda, the young soldier reached out his hand in the same way to a girl in a gerbera-orange dress who had been standing still next to me.

My feet feel wobbly, as if I'm drunk on lemon soda. My face is hot, my heart won't stop pounding, and the mix of excitement and heartache is painful.

Don't get ahead of yourself.

I turn around, suddenly doused with a cold voice while feeling like I was ascending to heaven. At the entrance covered by the night curtain, four women are glaring at me. They are all daughters of large corporations or high-ranking nobles. They are a group that reigns at the top of the caste in the prestigious academy they have belonged to since kindergarten, consisting of Alpha humans who have undergone generations of elite genetic crossbreeding. Behind them, two boys of the same generation wearing dress suits are smoking and leaning against stools. It must be a bodyguard mission.

Born as eugenic humans, they are generally tall, with slender and beautifully balanced limbs, and even their double eyelids, nose bridges, and teeth are perfect from birth. Their hair colors are jet black or chestnut, and while they are oriental, their eyes have blue, green, or purple pigments.

Yumio-sama is just volunteering to help poor girls like you who wouldn't be given the time of day otherwise.Hey, hey, stop it. Just because you were dumped by Yumio immediately.Watch your mouth, you scum! You're the one who loses to Naturia's Yumio-sama in horse riding, martial arts, and shooting!Oh, scary~, the anger of an ugly personality~.Even if that guy Yumio is a Naturia, he's a Xy-class!There's only one person in the school who has ever beaten him in all subjects.Hearing that exchange, I am astonished. Is there really a case where a Naturia raised by natural birth is more excellent than people born through high-quality artificial genetic modification? And what is Xy...?You, how could you even come here in such a cheap kimono? Aren't you ashamed? You're making Yumio-sama look pathetic!Yumio... sama?That's right, I didn't even ask his name, and above all, I didn't apologize, thank him, or introduce myself. Even though my mind had gone blank, what an ungrateful and rude person I am. The magnitude of that blunder makes the hysterical shouting pass right through my eardrums.

“Shut up, you scum.”

For a moment, I felt as if my heart had been pierced by an ice knife. That was how devoid of warmth, how cold and indifferent, and above all, how noble and proud the kingly presence in that voice was. A calm baritone echoing through the night—yes, the man who had appeared was truly the Prince of Darkness himself.

Is it possible for someone to suppress their vitality, their life force as a human, to this extent? From the shadows of the conifers leading to the path, a tall figure in a cashmere long robe stood beside me without a sound. He was well over 190cm tall, with a refined scent of moonlit toilette. At his waist hung a long sword with a deep blue hilt.

“Are you venting your frustrations by mocking an innocent junior? Is that the attitude of a nobleman?”
“……L-Lord Cardias……”
“Shame on you, philistines.”
“W-we are terribly sorry!!”
“We didn't mean anything by it……”
“Please forgive us! Please, don't tell anyone else about this……”

Unable to do anything but watch the situation unfold in silence, I heard a sigh from the man standing right next to me. He wasn't angry; he was simply tired. When he pointed his long-fingered, leather-gloved hand—which I felt I had seen somewhere before—outside the garden as if brushing away trash, the commotion vanished as if a flock of crows had fled in terror.

“Um, um, thank you, I……”
“Do not let such trivial people soil the beautiful dream of this night. You were not asked to dance because you are miserable. That person is not of such low birth. Please keep that in mind.”
“Yes, um. Lord Yumio, I haven't even thanked you properly……”

The man, who seemed to be draped in freezing rain and swayed by the night candles lit at the entrance, had a tanned complexion, perhaps from Southern Europe, and was a living work of art that one would not doubt if told he was of the bloodline of Apollonius and Queen Auge. He was nearly two meters tall, like an incarnation of the demigod and Prince of War, Euroteca, a beautiful man with long silver hair. In his ears were Diana drop earrings, the same engagement mark I had seen earlier.

Everything about him was intensely striking, but his left eye, deeply set in his handsome, oval face, was the blue of the Earth, while his right was gold—a mutation of heterochromia. I could not believe that such an incomparable human existed in this world.

“Hey, what are you doing here?”

The pitch-black night was suddenly released by that radiance. A voice as soft as the wind changing from winter to spring. And the intense cold emitted by the Ice Prince evaporated instantly.

“I simply came to pick up my fiancé. There is nothing strange about that, is there?”
“That's perfect. I'm going to take these girls home, so lend me your Etrange. You girls, you too! It might be a bit tight for three, but you're all slim, so you'll fit.”
“……”

The kind prince who had been my first dance partner and the beautiful, icy man exchanged familiar conversation. The scene looked like a page from an old Nordic picture book.

“Romnica.”
“At your service.”

From behind the tall man, a shadow emerged that also seemed to have no breath of life. Its head was covered by a cell mask to hide its expression, so it was likely a cybot serving the family. It was the latest RX-86 youth-type model from Delhyde, the kind of stylish VM currently popular in the city.

“Take them in my Sedora and see them home, each of them. And do not forget to convey my most polite greetings to their families.”
“Yes, Sir Cardias.”

Clearly, the other debutantes in dresses and kimonos, who had been wallflowers just like me, were stealing glances at the honey-blonde prince. I understood their feelings all too well. I wanted his address, too. No matter how much of a middle-B debutante I was, we were human females with healthy reproductive capabilities. We were of a status high enough to attend society events as valuable egg donors. But the icy young nobleman was blatantly silencing their pink-tinted gazes with his overwhelming presence. With absolute zero, in two different colors, watching over us, I couldn't possibly voice such ulterior motives.

“New ladies, I am Cardias Tutankhamun, head of the Imperial Guard SRR. Please allow my attendant, Romnica, to escort you home. I have the duty of a last dance with my fiancé remaining, so I shall take my leave.”

The moonlit nobleman, his jet-black cloak fluttering, half-forcibly supported the sun-like prince and headed toward the floor.I shouted in a panic.

“Yumio-sama! Um, thank you so much! I will definitely return the favor...!!”

The dark-skinned young nobleman twisted his handsome face in a glare, but I couldn't yield on this point.

“Don't worry about that! Good luck at tonight's debut!” I burned the memory of that beaming smile, which I saw as I turned back, deep into my mind.

“A double-decker... limousine, isn't it...”
“It's my first time in my life.”
“As expected of Lord Cardias...”

The interior of the car was the ultimate environment, with silk sofas cradling and supporting our bodies. Even the living room in my own home didn't have this level of celebrity. The “Sedora” he mentioned was a float-type autonomous limousine, of which only a few exist in the country. It was the car my grandfather and father had always admired.

“Oh, I apologize for the late introduction.”

The three of us, having grown quite close, introduced ourselves in turn and exchanged contact information. Although we were all the same age, we weren't students at prestigious private schools in central Tokyo; we were all returnees from lunar cities or colonies.

“But I was happy. That Yumio-sama danced with me.”
“Truly, I was so happy I could have died.”
“Um, Yumio-sama is... the honey-blonde person from earlier, right? I'm still not very familiar with Tokyo's social circles.”

Perhaps we had entered the Roppongi district, as the view from the window shifted to vibrant, glossy colors. Living in mansions in the suburbs, we would transfer from here to the “Kaiou” toll expressway to head home. There should still be plenty of time for chatting.

“Lord Yumio Rafiel is the heir to a branch of the Reizei family.”

When I turned toward the mechanical voice, the cybot attendant known as “Romnica” was arranging teacups with a programmed smile. There were even beautifully served sandwiches and muffins on the tray. It was impeccable service.

“Um...”
“There is no problem. I have been instructed by my master to explain. Both Lord Yumio and Lord Cardias have another true name, but those are titles permitted only to their parents, their grandparents' ducal families, and those to whom they have pledged their future.”

I was stunned, wondering if stories of such an elegant world could truly exist. The other two seemed to know well, and they wore complicated expressions as they said, “So the rumors that the two of you were engaged were true...”

“That is correct. It is still a confidential agreement between the two families, but it is also the long-held, strong wish of Empress Rinko, who is the grandmother of Lord Yumio... Lord Rafiel. Therefore, I have been entrusted with a message from my master asking you young ladies to please bless the two of them.”

“Please make yourselves comfortable until we arrive,” the artificial lifeform butler said, descending to the lower level with elegant poise.

“That's right... Yumio-sama and Cardias-sama are second and first in their class at the academy, respectively. They look as perfect together as cherry blossoms and mandarin oranges, or the sun and the moon...”
“Besides, Lord Cardias is a descendant of King Tutankhamun, even if born of a concubine. There is no one more suitable to be Yumio-sama's guardian knight.”

Having just returned to Japan, there were still many things I didn't understand about the Empress's family affairs or their marriage contracts. But even so, the reality that those two shared such deep mutual trust was driven home to me in just a few minutes of conversation.

“They must be dancing their last dance by now.”
“I wanted to see it... what a shame.”
“I'm sure someone will post a video of it.”

Weakly, we all smiled at each other. This was likely the night we all experienced our first heartbreak at the very moment we fell in love. Even so, we were grateful for this moment. Because, without a doubt, we had met friends with whom we would walk into the future together.

[Engage Survivor. Prologue, End]