Sonder's Bookshelf
The Match Breaker
Carmen is a professional asshole. That’s not an exaggeration, that’s literally his job. In a society where engagements are almost impossible to break, his role as the ‘love rival’ is integral to the happiness of youths across the country of Pansolum.
When offered the opportunity to break the engagement of one of the princesses of Pansolum, Carmen takes it, the lure of the payout too strong to ignore, despite the danger.
Everything is going well until the princess's older brother, the crown prince, shows up to chaperone and usher away any unsavory characters.
Carmen, as the unsavory character in question, very professionally continues doing his job despite the added danger and by the end, successfully breaks yet another engagement - and a royal engagement at that!
Congratulating himself on another job well done, eyes glimmering with the promise of the wealth he's about to gain, Carmen flees before the crown prince can demand he become the princess's new fiancé.
The next day, while waiting for the princess's servant to deposit his fee, he suddenly feels an odd prick in his neck, and then everything goes fuzzy.
In his last moments of consciousness, Carmen sees the crown prince coming out of the dark woods and squatting next to him, insisting that Carmen fulfill his promises to the princess.
And now the so-called ‘match breaker’ of Pansolum finds himself in the peculiar position of requiring his own services.
