Why Are You My Fiancé?

“An… engagement…??”

I told Yura, whom I’d just met again, what I’d heard earlier from that obnoxious bastard.

Yura looked dumbfounded and asked me again if it was true.

It was hard to believe, so her reaction was only natural.

But what could I do? It was true.

“It’s true. I was surprised when I heard it, too.”

It hadn’t come up in the story, but Yoo Seol-a herself must have gone through this.

I didn’t know how Yoo Seol-a had acted at the time, now that I’d possessed her, but I thought she must have endured it as well.

She was cautious by nature; she wouldn’t have rashly told that obnoxious man to his face that she refused.

But as someone who’d originally been a man, having a man for a fiancé was problematic in a number of ways.

I hadn’t even properly looked at or touched Yoo Seol-a’s body myself yet.

Since I’d possessed her, I couldn’t treat my precious favorite’s body carelessly.

But it was troubling to think that a complete stranger, some man, would get a good look at my favorite.

I might lose my temper and gouge his eyes out, after all.

“Are you all right with this, miss? No matter how much the head of the family dislikes you, how can he arrange an engagement without even discussing it with you? The previous head of the family—your grandfather—would have been furious if he were still alive.”

In the story, Yoo Seol-a’s grandfather, whose story was told only through hearsay, was an S-rank Hunter who represented South Korea.

He cherished his family more than anyone and deeply loved the country where he was born and raised.

And yet, his death came suddenly.

A Hunter’s work centered on clearing Gates, where their lives were constantly at risk, so it was never strange for them to die at any time.

Yoo Seol-a’s grandfather, ‘Yoo Jin-seong,’ was such a powerful ability user that he was known as the ‘Sword Emperor,’ but he died while clearing what was known as a ‘Red Gate,’ a Gate more difficult than even the S-rank Gates that appeared in South Korea.

He entered the Gate determined to protect the country he loved and ultimately succeeded in clearing it, but suffered a fatal, incurable injury and died on the operating table at the hospital.

According to the hearsay in the story, it happened when Yoo Seol-a was only five years old.

His death was said to have been a tremendous shock to Yoo Seol-a, because he was the only one among her blood relatives who cherished her as his own granddaughter and family.

They also said that her grandfather was the reason she loved South Korea.

That was why Yura said that.

If her grandfather had been alive, he would have used force to rein in her obnoxious father’s tyranny.

“I told you not to talk about Grandfather in front of me, Yura….”

“Ah. I’m sorry… I spoke without thinking….”

But talking about her grandfather was taboo in front of Yoo Seol-a.

The sudden death of someone who had cherished her deeply had left a deep wound in her heart.

So, whenever possible, no one should talk about her grandfather, ‘Yoo Jin-seong,’ in front of Yoo Seol-a.

Because it brought back what happened back then—.

“It’s all right. You only said it because you’re worried about me. But I’ll be mad at you next time.”

“Yes, miss. I won’t make that mistake again!”

◈

The next morning came.

With my prospective fiancé coming, I began getting dolled up that morning by the maids under the direction of my personal maid, Yura.

Since I couldn’t bear to watch my precious favorite’s body being washed and dressed, I kept my eyes fixed on the ceiling, as if gazing off into the distance.

Someday I’d eventually see her, but I wasn’t mentally prepared yet, so I had no choice but to do this.

And my behavior must have caught Yura’s eye—

“…Miss, you really don’t want to get engaged, do you?”

Apparently, I looked like I didn’t want this engagement.

Of course, I didn’t want to get engaged, but Yura made me realize that my gaze had been so vacant it was obvious.

“Of course I wouldn’t like it. This engagement came out of nowhere. I’m only accepting it because it’s the head of the family’s order.”

“I hope the prospective fiancé is someone the head of the family doesn’t like.”

That was probably how it would go.

If that guy was the sort to consider first whether something benefited him, then he’d cancel the engagement if it offered him no benefit and look for another candidate.

A little while later, my makeover was complete.

“Wow! You look so cute and beautiful, miss!”

At Yura’s words, the other maids who had helped get me ready nodded with satisfied expressions.

Seeing my favorite’s reflection in the mirror, my heart pounded, too.

A ponytail that looked like rabbit ears.

She was already beautiful and cute without makeup, but with makeup that suited her, her looks shone even brighter.

And a dress with a harmonious black-and-white design, too.

She looked like a rabbit princess from a fantasy world who had descended into this one.

Knock, knock.

Just as we finished getting ready, I heard a knock at the door.

“Are you ready, miss?”

It seemed to be the person who’d come to escort me right on time.

Their punctuality was razor-sharp.

It was amazing how they’d arrived exactly on time.

“I’m off, Yura.”

Rising from the chair, I gracefully gathered the sides of my dress in both hands.

“Take care, miss.”

And so, I headed for the reception room.

To meet the prospective fiancé I hadn’t expected to meet.

◈

“He’s waiting inside. Please go in, miss.”

The reception room where my prospective fiancé was waiting was on the second floor, just below the third floor where my room was.

The old man from yesterday guided me there, and I entered through the door he opened.

Then I saw the face of my prospective fiancé, who had arrived first and was waiting.

But—

“Ah, welcome. It’s an honor to meet you like this.”

It was a face I knew.

He just looked younger than I remembered, but there was no doubt it was him.

“I’m ‘Kim Hye-seong,’ the second son of the Myeongun Guild Master, Miss Yoo Seol-a.”

Why are you my fiancé?

Those words nearly slipped out of my mouth.

And for good reason: ‘Kim Hye-seong,’ the second son of the Myeongun Guild Master, was none other than the male protagonist of the story I’d possessed a character in.

“Hm? Is something wrong, Miss Yoo Seol-a? Why are you frozen?”

“Ah… I never expected the second son of the Myeongun Guild Master to be my fiancé.”

“I felt the same way. Until I came here, I never expected the daughter of one of South Korea’s most prominent Hunter families to be my fiancée. I guess we’re alike, huh? Haha~.”

Honestly, I wanted to punch that bastard in the face as he smiled.

To me, the man in front of me was no different from the damn enemy who killed my favorite.

But it wasn’t his fault.

The one who wrote the story and made the character act that way was the author of this work, after all.

These feelings of mine were no more than an unreasonable desire to take out my anger on him simply because he was right in front of me.

Thinking that way was no different from insulting my favorite.

So it was a thought and an action I must not indulge in.

However, that only applied to Kim Hye-seong.

But Yoo Seol-a’s father was different, even if the author had created him.

Although he was a fictional being, the person in those memories had been real, not fictional.

“Would you like to chat until your father arrives, Miss Yoo Seol-a?”

“…I’d be happy to, Mr. Kim Hye-seong.”

Until that obnoxious man arrived, I continued chatting with Kim Hye-seong.

Most of what Kim Hye-seong said was the sort of thing that made me think, ‘That’s so like him.’

He talked about the efforts he was making to become a hero.

He talked about how much he respected his father, the Myeongun Guild Master.

He talked about how many villains there were in South Korea and how he would definitely catch every last one of them himself.

And so on—what he said was no different from what the male lead said in the story.

That was only natural, since this was the male lead as a child, as seen in the story.

“So, the gist is—”

“You two seem to be having a nice chat. I hope I’m not interrupting, Mr. Kim Hye-seong.”

As I listened intently to Kim Hye-seong, a voice I didn’t want to hear reached my ears.

‘Tsk. What an obnoxious guy.’

Looking at the guy I honestly wished hadn’t come, I stood up from the sofa.

Then I gathered the hem of my dress and greeted him gracefully.

“You’re here, Head of the Family.”

“Yes, Seol-a. Did you have a good conversation with Mr. Kim Hye-seong?”

“Yes. Mr. Kim was considerate, so we had a pleasant conversation.”

Playing along with his behavior—treating me, Yoo Seol-a, like a precious daughter in front of other people—I treated him like a respected father and head of the family.

I felt like I was going to vomit, but rumors about this household couldn’t be allowed to spread outside, so I matched his attitude as much as possible.

“Is that so? That’s a relief.”

His false, warm expression was disgusting.

“More importantly, I’m curious what you two were talking about earlier. Could you tell me?”

“Of course, Father! What I talked about with Miss Yoo Seol-a was… First…”

I also hated his contrived act of pretending to be curious about what we’d talked about.

He was going to call off the engagement whether I liked it or not if it didn’t benefit him, anyway.

“I see. You already have that kind of mindset, Hye-seong. Ha ha.”

“My dream is to become a great Hunter like you, Father!”

I thought my favorite was admirable for growing up to be such a fine person under a father like this, despite enduring all kinds of abuse.

Even in an environment where she could easily have gone astray, Yoo Seol-a followed in the footsteps of her grandfather, whom she respected, and worked hard for her country.

She punished villains, cleared Gates that threatened the country, and became an S-rank Hunter who loved South Korea more than anyone.

What a commendable and admirable person she was.

But her end was not an honorable death, but an unjust death at the hands of vile people.

That was why I made my declaration right here and now.

I would make the most of this possession, which might one day come undone, and ensure that Yoo Seol-a never met such a death.

And I would punish every last person who would bring about such a death.

—That was how much I loved my favorite.

“Let’s bring this meeting to a close, Hye-seong. It’ll take some time to get back home, won’t it?”

“Yes. Let’s do that. I had a wonderful time today, thanks to you, Father. And you too, Miss Yoo Seol-a.”

The meeting came to an end.

And whether the formal engagement went through was entirely in the hands of that obnoxious bastard.

Since the story never mentioned Yoo Seol-a and Kim Hye-seong being engaged, the engagement should have been called off.

Right.

It should have gone exactly like that—

“That boy… I like him. You two should get along well from now on.”

The engagement, which had seemed to offer the head of the family no benefit, went ahead as planned.