I Maxed Out My Luck Stat

WHACK!

The single slap from her mother sent Liliana sprawling to the ground.

Her trembling fingers reached for her reddened cheek, and tears began to form in her eyes.

Despite trying her hardest to control it, she could only delay the inevitable. Her erratic emotions made her body stiff, and she could not move from her pathetic state on the ground.

Standing before her was her mother’s imposing presence.

She wasn’t even allowed to see her father.

"You ungrateful brat! You had a simple task, yet you ended up disgracing our family. Do you have any idea what your shameful behavior has cost us? Do you know what people are saying about you... about us?"

"I... am sorry, mother..." That was all Liliana Winifred Vi Jaune could mutter with her shaky voice.

What else was there to say?

"Not only are the other Families sure to capitalize on this display of weakness, but the Vert Family just sent word about reconsidering your engagement to Jason. Do you know what that means? It means one of our ties to that family has been severed now because of you."

"W-what? My engagement... with Jason is being severed?"

Liliana was shaken to her core.

Her family had long decided on her marriage to the Vert boy before she was even born.

She had known Jason since they were kids, and while she wasn’t initially fond of him, they had gotten so incredibly close. She grew to love him and was even happy anytime she imagined herself as his wife in the future.

They had trained together and would become allies in the Academy—braving all kinds of storms together—before finally tying the knot after graduation.

But to think... all of that was now ruined...

"W-what did Jason say? Surely, he must have been opposed to it!"

"Silence!" Liliana’s mother spat, her disgust in her daughter only rising. "He was the one who suggested it after hearing how you soiled yourself in front of everyone. Now that your Principal Disposition has also been revealed, the tactical advantage of your partnership with him in the Academy is already lowered, so why would he want you?"

"N-no... that can’t be!"

Even after hearing what happened, Liliana could not believe her mother’s words.

’Jason would... he would never do that to me...’ As she sobbed, she thought about the boy she had grown to love and was willing to give everything to. ’It’s his family... they’re the ones using his name like this.’

"I have no idea what you’re thinking in that empty head of yours, but there’s no need to worry too much. After all, your father and I have discussed it, and we’ve made our decision."

"A-ah!"

Liliana looked hopefully at her mother.

She knew her parents were powerful figures, highly influential in noble circles.

If they wanted, they could convince the Vert Household to reconsider the annulment of the engagement. This would surely soothe things between the two families, and she could end up with Jason once again.

Unfortunately for the poor girl, her hopes were fated to be dashed.

"The annulment will proceed, but instead of looking for another potential suitor for you, we’ve decided to make that Blanc boy take responsibility for what he did to you."

"E-eh...?"

Liliana could not believe what she was hearing.

What did her mother just say?

"He was the one who made you pee in front of all those people, and he also exposed your Principal Disposition. It’s only right that he takes some responsibility and forms an engagement with you as reparation."

"B-but he is already engaged to the Noir Household!" Liliana said this out loud, but in her mind, she also had another thought.

’That man? That fiend? That monster?! Never! I can never be engaged to him!’

She had been under his grasp back then.

She still couldn’t forget how he mercilessly choked her, his cold, disconcerted gaze telling her that she was powerless to resist. Even now, she trembled at the thought of him, and the mere sight of Richard was sure to re-enact her trauma.

How could she get engaged to such a man?

Impossible!

’Surely, my parents will consider me at least a little bit and not hand me over to that monster...’

Unfortunately for Liliana, she was bound to be wrong again.

"Hehe... Do you think I am stupid? Of course, I know he is engaged." The older woman chuckled darkly while staring at her kneeling daughter.

"T-then—!"

"In that case, you’ll have to be the Reserve Wife."

"W-what...?"

Monogamy was heavily enforced in the Vampire State, and adultery was penalized by the Holy Order. It was, without a doubt, one of the core tenets of their society.

However, there were other customs that ran alongside this concept.

One of them was the thing called ’Reserves’.

It was reserved solely for Vampire Nobles and was a popular practice within their circles.

This allowed a man to be engaged to multiple people, but he could only marry one in the end.

Think of it as the protagonist having a harem, but only being able to end up with one of the girls due to the ’NoHarem’ tag on the story.

In this case, a Vampire Noble could be engaged with multiple people.

But they could only choose one.

This went both ways—male and female.

Those engaged to the Noble were divided into the ’Main’ and the ’Reserve.’

The ’Main’ was the first and most likely candidate for marriage, and the ’Reserve’ were the side pieces who would likely end up losing out. Most ’Reserves’ would never become married to the Noble, and were fated to be tossed aside in the end.

The only way a ’Reserve’ could end up marrying the Noble was if something happened to the ’Main’ or if the Noble actually preferred the ’Reserve’ and chose them.

But... this practice was usually done by Noble Heads for their children.

Even if the Noble’s child preferred a Reserve, their parents had the final say and would almost always pick the ’Main’ for marriage.

Liliana’s mother knew this well, yet she still doomed her daughter to such a fate.

"B-but mother—!"

"Silence, you stupid girl! What do you know?" She raised her hand, threatening to hit the trembling girl again.

This forced her to be quiet.

"I know what you’re thinking. Although that Noir girl is problematic, she still possesses a Special Rank Principal Disposition. She is a Main, and there’s no way she would lose to you, a Reserve."

Liliana’s tears began to roll down her pretty face.

"That means you won’t end up marrying that Blanc kid. A Reserve is already seen as used goods, even if the marriage flops. No sensible Noble will ever want to marry you after you’ve been claimed as the Reserve of another man, which means you will eventually be discarded and be given to some lesser person—maybe the Head of a Faction."

The poor girl continued to sob.

Her mother knew this, yet she doomed her to this horrible fate.

Why?

Why would she be so cruel?

"You don’t understand anything, do you?" She sneered at her daughter. "The public already sees you as used goods. You’ve been dominated by another man, showing such a shameful side, and even having your Principal Disposition revoked. There is no Noble who will want you to marry into their family any longer. Your best bet is to become a Reserve for that Blanc kid."

"...."

"At the very least, even if the chance is very low, it isn’t zero. Especially if that Noir girl self-destructs or something... maybe you could end up as his wife. But I wouldn’t count on anything of the sort happening."

"...."

"You should be grateful. Can’t you see that this is for your own good? At least, being the Blanc kid’s reserve means you will have an alliance with a Noble Family in the Academy. You’ll have to endure two years on your own, since the Vert Family has retracted their support of you, but once Richard enters the Academy, you’ll have him by your side."

"...."

"You must treat him well, do you understand? Don’t do anything to bring shame to our Household, and certainly don’t cause any dissatisfaction. If you get rejected, even as a Reserve, that would be the most shameful thing. Even I won’t be able to help you after that."

"...."

Liliana was in a spiral of thoughts.

The feelings within her were too intense, and she was overwhelmed with so many emotions that in the end, all she felt was numbness.

She felt nothing.

Like a doll, her eyes became dilated.

Her sad expression simply turned into her default, and she bowed her head in acceptance.

"If you understand what I’m saying, then respond!" Her mother’s loud barks entered her ears, and she shook slightly.

Then, she responded.

"I understand, mother. I will do as you have said."

Only then did the older woman kneel next to her daughter and embrace her tightly.

"That’s my girl. I knew you would understand."

"Yes, mother."

"All I do is for your sake, don’t you see?"

"I see it now, mother."

"Good girl."

"Thank you, mother."

[A/N: I am curious, readers. Do you want a harem-type story, or do you want the MC to end up with a single female lead? I can’t make up my mind, so I think I’ll leave it up to the popular vote.]