Prologue

"Anastasia von Nibelheim... I am breaking off our engagement!"

The voice of Sahara von Baronia, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Baronia, echoed through the ballroom of the party he was hosting.

As her own fiancé pointed a finger at her, Anastasia was so shocked that her vision blurred and her legs gave out... and then, all of a sudden, her past-life memories came rushing back.

Wait, no way... Isn't this the world of Princess À La Mode?!

The dating sim RPG Princess À La Mode, commonly known as Pri-Ara, was a classic otome game.

Set in a fantasy magic academy, the story depicted the romance between the princes and the protagonist, Kasha—a commoner who possessed overwhelming magical talent.

At first, the love interests would mock Kasha for her lowly status, only to eventually be drawn to her innocence and end up together with her.

It was an otome game packed with all the beloved tropes that made players think, Yes, yes, this is exactly what I wanted.

In her past life, she had played Pri-Ara to death. She loved the game so much that she'd even enjoyed comparing the differences between the original and the console ports.

And I didn't reincarnate as Kasha, but as Anastasia von Nibelheim—one of the main sacrificial rivals...

Indeed, in this world, she had reincarnated not as the protagonist, Kasha, but as Anastasia von Nibelheim.

As a duke's daughter and the fiancée of Sahara von Baronia—one of the capture targets—she was destined to stand in Kasha's way, spewing endless venom, only to be spectacularly crushed.

She had reincarnated as that textbook example of a sacrificial villainess.

Well, actually, that part was fine.

Honestly, it wasn't fine at all, but there was something far more important to worry about right now.

Both Sahara and I have already graduated from the academy. In fact, I'm already twenty-two... This isn't an individual route, it's Kasha's reverse-harem route!

In Pri-Ara, the narrative branched during the characters' second year.

The player would choose one target and overcome various hardships to reach a happy ending before graduation.

However, the special route unlocked only after completing every individual character's route—commonly known as the "reverse-har route"—was a different story entirely.

In order to force a development where the heroine ended up with all the capture targets at once, the timeline and event flags were a total mess.

Ignoring the targets' traumas and leaving gaping plot holes just to bundle everyone together, this route was so chaotic that even a hardcore fan like her couldn't defend it.

Since Anastasia was having her engagement broken off now instead of during her third year, it meant Kasha was involved with Sahara, but his route hadn't concluded by graduation... which made it absolutely certain they were on the reverse-har route.

"Heh, what's wrong, Anastasia? Collapsing to the floor all of a sudden... Was my declaration of annulment really that shocking to you? Did you love me that much? ...Ah, I truly am a sinful man."

Snapping out of her deep thoughts, Anastasia looked up at her fiancé standing before her.

Blonde hair, blue eyes, tall, and virtually guaranteed to be the next king.

Staring at this narcissistic prince who also boasted top-tier magical talent, Anastasia thought...

Wait, before I got my memories back, why on earth was I in love with this guy?

Sure, he was handsome, rich, and powerful... but that was it.

In the game, his domineering attitude and leading-man energy had seemed charming. But in the real world, marrying a man like Sahara would utterly ruin her life.

An egocentric guy who couldn't stand not getting his way would undoubtedly end up being emotionally abusive. Besides, he was a cheater who fell for another woman while engaged—he was completely out of the question.

Before regaining her memories, Anastasia had loved him with single-minded devotion. But looking at Sahara now, who was wearing a smug grin despite being the one unilaterally breaking off their engagement, she instantly got the major ick.

Still... what should I do?

If it were Sahara's route where the engagement was broken off in her third year, she could easily have rebuilt her life. But Anastasia was currently twenty-two.

In this world, she was already past her prime marriageable age.

She had assumed they were just letting the engagement drag on, only to be suddenly cast aside.

Being thrown out like this, what on earth would become of her life?

But after pondering it for a moment, a realization struck her.

Wait, isn't being single totally fine?

After all, in her past life, she had been an ordinary single office lady in her early thirties whose only joys were going to the gym and having an evening drink.

She knew exactly how comfortable being single could be.

To the Anastasia before her memories returned, Sahara was her entire world. But looking at things rationally, it wasn't the end of the world if she didn't get married.

If she willingly accepted the annulment, the game changed entirely.

It seemed Sahara wanted to wallow in superiority by rejecting her when she cried and begged him to stay, telling her it was too late... but she was absolutely not going to play along with his little fantasy.

"Very well, I shall accept the annulment. However... since you are staining the reputation of a woman of my age, you will provide suitable compensation, yes?"

"C... Compensation?"

"Yes. Please compensate me for putting a black mark on my pristine record. As a duke's daughter, I have no need for monetary compensation. Instead, would you mind giving me a written pledge regarding certain rights or tax concessions?"

* * *

Until just a moment ago, Sahara von Baronia had been at the absolute peak of his life.

He had prospects of marrying Kasha, who said she loved him. His heart danced at the thought of finally ridding himself of the annoying Anastasia—right up until the very moment he declared the annulment.

Anastasia von Nibelheim had been a persistently nagging woman.

"Have more awareness of your status as the future king," she would say, or, "Such behavior is unfitting of royalty." He was utterly sick of her constant lecturing.

He also disliked how she slinked around in the shadows (naturally, it never crossed his mind that she was laying the groundwork for his benefit).

And then, Kasha had appeared.

Despite being a commoner, she overflowed with magical talent and boasted flawless marks in practical magic.

At first, he had thought she was an insolent girl... but he was soon captivated by her innocence. Once he realized she was the only one who truly understood him, no other woman existed in his eyes.

He had wanted to marry her while they were still at the academy, but she had asked him to wait, and he had endured it until now.

To vent his long-harbored frustration, he had planned to watch Anastasia weep and beg, only to tell her that he already loved another woman named Kasha, painting her face with utter despair.

He had timed this party perfectly for when his father, the king, was away.

He had even bribed the Nibelheim house servants to fabricate evidence of Anastasia's infidelity, creating more than enough physical proof to justify breaking off the engagement.

Everything was supposed to be perfect.

Yet, look at reality.

Anastasia wasn't weeping or clinging to him; she looked completely unbothered.

In fact, she was staring at him with cold, contemptuous eyes while dictating terms for the annulment.

"Of course, as the Crown Prince, there are likely limits to what you can authorize on your own. Perhaps you could discuss it with His Majesty first—"

"N-No! You can't do that!"

Naturally, he had not obtained permission for this from his father, King Schild III.

But Sahara was the Crown Prince, the future king. He should be able to force his way through.

And Kasha was a genuine genius who graduated at the top of her class, capable of wielding five elements and even utilizing chant shortening.

She had already begun to distinguish herself by developing innovative magic tools, starting with a refrigerator. It wouldn't take long for her to become a person of great renown.

Once he forced the annulment and created a fait accompli, everything else would fall into place.

Or so Sahara believed.

But...

This is terrible... This is really terrible!

With no way of knowing Sahara's inner panic, Anastasia took a sip of the beer in her hand and, coincidentally, had the exact same thought.

Terrible... This is just terrible.

The quality of the beer she had taken from the table and sipped was utterly abysmal.

Brown dregs floated at the top of the glass, and having them constantly enter her mouth was incredibly aggravating. On top of that, it was lukewarm and flat.

The taste itself was overly bitter, yet the alcohol content was inexplicably high, which made no sense to her.

To Anastasia, who knew the bliss of drinking ice-cold draft beer straight from a tap at a beer garden in her past life, this stuff was completely unacceptable.

"I've decided! I've made up my mind, Your Highness!"

"A-About what?!"

"I am going to make my own alcohol. I would like you to grant an exemption on the alcohol tax for any liquor produced by my ducal house."

(Perfect!)

The Nibelheim ducal house had absolutely zero brewing know-how.

While the family was famous for producing top-class warhorses on their vast plains, their industrial base was practically non-existent.

In a world already dominated by several giant breweries, it would be nigh impossible for a single noble house starting from scratch to catch up.

If that was all she wanted, he could push the annulment through with virtually no repercussions...

* * *

(...Or so you think.)

Anastasia saw right through Sahara's petty calculations.

"...Very well."

Suppressing a smirk while putting on the most solemn face he could muster, Sahara wrote out his pledge, completely unaware that Anastasia was watching him with cool detachment.

Thanks to her love of drinking in her past life, she had toured numerous breweries and distilleries, giving her a solid grasp of the basics of alcohol production.

And in this fantasy world, magic existed to immensely aid the manufacturing process.

Sahara seemed to think Anastasia would stop at brewing beer, but she had absolutely no intention of ending there.

I want to build a still and make shochu, whiskey, vodka, and rum! I want to find rice and brew sake, too, and even make tequila from agave!

At this moment, Sahara had no idea that history books would one day record him as the root cause of the Kingdom of Baronia's decline.

He couldn't possibly have imagined that the kingdom's downfall would stem from their inability to collect alcohol tax from Anastasia, who would later be revered as the Goddess of Brewing.

He had vastly underestimated Anastasia's passion for alcohol... and a Japanese person's sheer obsession with food and drink.

Thus, the annulment of Anastasia and Sahara's engagement was mutually agreed upon by both parties.

And Anastasia, completely unfazed by any of it, got straight to work on brewing beer the very next day.