Are You Going to Break off the Engagement and Expel Me at the Same Time? ~I’m an Alchemist Who’s End

Chapter 1: A broken engagement and an expulsion?

“Amelia, I am breaking off my engagement to you effective immediately.

The parting words came so suddenly and so easily.

It was while I was working on developing a new potion for the court.

My fiancé Caius, the legitimate son of the Duke of Faust, came to visit me and suddenly said to me.

“Oh, um… Master Caius?”

“You don’t need to ask any questions. I’ll explain everything to you now.”

He smiled confidently.

I stopped what I was doing and listened to his words for a moment.

“You know what? I had very high hopes for you. You are the eldest daughter of the Alster family, a distinguished family of alchemists. You were the youngest alchemist at court, developed new potions as soon as you arrived, and made a great contribution to your country. A true genius.”

His story occurred about five years ago.

As an orphan, I was taken in at the age of five by the Alster family, a distinguished noble family.

I remember thinking, ‘Why me, a stranger?’

But when I heard that the Alster family was a famous alchemist family, I was convinced.

I had a talent for alchemy, and the Alsters had no children at that time.

Therefore, they took me into their family and trained me to be an alchemist…

That’s how it was supposed to be.

In reality, however, it didn’t work out that way.

I was only trained in the Alster family for the first two years.

“Many people, including me, expected you to be one of the future leaders of our country. But what did you do? You only excelled in the beginning and haven’t done anything noteworthy since.”

“That’s…”

“You don’t need to apologize. It’s a fact that you let us down.”

Fact… That’s true, but there’s a reason why that happened.

It’s not an excuse, it’s a valid argument.

But I knew he wouldn’t listen to me if I said it now, so I kept quiet.

Then he sighs, shakes his head, and mutters, “Oh dear.”

“You don’t even have an excuse, do you? I’m horrified.”

You’re the one who told me not to make excuses.

I’m sure you’d just be mad if I said it back, right?

“Silence is the same as affirmation. You’ve admitted your inadequacy.”

“That’s not the point of…”

“Then what is it about? Are you telling me you’re better than her?”

“Her?”

The door to the room opens with a bang.

A woman enters the room and hides behind it.

Not a stranger.

Rather, it’s someone I know better and closer than anyone else.

“…Rivera?”

“Hello, Big Sister~.”

My sister, Rivera Alster.

She smiles kindly, greets and stands next to Master Caius.

There was a lot of space, but they stood shoulder to shoulder.

It was as if she claimed the space next to him as her own.

“Allow me to introduce you. This is my new fiancé, Rivera.”

“…”

“Are you surprised? No wonder. I bet you never dreamed that I would break our engagement right now and introduce you to my new fiancé right away.”

“I’m sorry, big sister. I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time, but I couldn’t decide because I thought it would make you sad.”

But finally I made up my mind and officially got engaged to Master Caius.

She told me that in detail.

She also told me that he had the approval of the Alster family, so there was no way out for me.

Her parents agreed, and they wanted it too.

Everything she said and her attitude showed that there was no place for me.

Who could blame them when the outer moat was so well filled?

“Are you guys done? Then I’ll get back to work. I’ve got some work to do today.”

“No. That’s only half the story.”

“Half?”

What else is there to say, other than you broke off the engagement and got engaged to my sister?

I look at them both with a grin and realize that this is definitely bad news for me.

But then again, my sister also stole my fiancée.

I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised by what they’re saying now.

“Yes. I’m busy, so please be brief.”

“It’s about this job. As of today, you are no longer a court alchemist.”

“…What?”

What now?

I couldn’t believe my ears and asked back.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Exactly what it means. It has been officially decided that you are no longer a court alchemist.”

“Th-that’s… Why did Master Caius…”

“Oh, have you forgotten? The court alchemists are financed by many nobles in this country. They’re the people necessary to build a new civilization, aren’t they? And more than half of that money comes from the Dukes of Faust. So I have a lot of privileges over you guys.”

As he speaks, he takes out a piece of paper, opens it and shows it to me.

On it was written, “Letter of Dismissal,” and my name was on it.