You see, somehow I understand Eliana's position. The little sister always(okay, I'm generalizing and I might even be wrong here. Also little brother in my case) gets more pampered. But this level? Okay, that's too much, does her mother also agree to that? Seriously? She really didn't have any support? Wow. Friends? Also no explanation? Did the prince really ignore her? Maybe for fear of lowering his reputation by meeting her even after breaking off the engagement? It doesn't matter, the crown prince tries to be intelligent, but...
Everyone, let's try to think of what thoughts would lead him, the crown prince, someone who will, one day, become king, if nothing goes wrong. Let's try to think of which route would lead him to think that breaking off this engagement would be a good idea and why would he trust so much this duke.
Let me think what would I do in his place(Assuming I have control over this matter, or that I could influence the final decision, doesn't seem too difficult though, judging by the little brat's shortcomings, which could be easily used as an excuse to avoid this).
"Hm, duke Lumiere(Mr. Pig) sent me this letter requesting the change of partners(Assuming I would choose Lumiere{which I believe there would be more duke households}). Now, why would I do that? If I accept, my reputation might take another hit, the prince crown as someone who doesn't know who to choose, cracking a bit of my mask of perfect prince. But why take the risk to begin with?
I heard Miss Eliana's sister fell in love with me and therefore stopped eating, leading to our present stage. However, if the duke Lumiere really cares for his daughter, he should be able to take care of the situation<As much as I might offend him, I'm still the crown prince, therefore I'm not someone that should be thrown around like a toy just because of his little quarrel, I'm not a pushover>. Moreover, I don't know a thing about this girl except for the first time I met her while visiting Miss Eliana, so how come I should accept this request without even knowing my fiancee? I'm going to live with her for the rest of my life(again, If nothing goes wrong). So why would I give up on someone so charming and modest as Eliana for some girl who is so weak-willed that she tries to kill herself as soon as she knows about her sister's engagement? Will my future queen kill herself if I die, by any chance? Or when she faces a problem that pressures her too much(Note that I wouldn't know about Eliana's crazy attempt in that point, only her dedication for studies and devotion, since I believe I would have at least talked to her for some time to know her disposition)?
Well, I guess I'll go meet this girl for the time being, while consulting Eliana to understand her will in this matter, after all, duke might have sent this request without her consent. I'll also send someone to collect information on this girl to see if this request can be doable."
(If I do get the report where it says that she might have already thrown a tantrum or that she have made some questionable decisions, I would have refused, if there was nothing wrong{Which I doubt}, I would still go visit the Eliana. To not only question her, but take that as a chance to approach and understand the lil brat, which I, personally, find not even cute. And she seems dumb and exhausting to talk to)
(Also, note that I could be a complete asshole and totally refuse duke Lumiere and he would probably still allow the marriage, as he probably wouldn't want to offend the prince or lose this opportunity. But there would be the risk of him going to Stephan, which I would have to stop. So pacifying the girl without changing partners would be the optimal situation, in my opinion. Perhaps giving her hope, yet not actually planning to fulfill her expectation. By the end, mine and Eliana's relationship would have solidified, so changing fiancee would be difficult)
(Also, I have full knowledge that Eliana is partially in fault for even accepting her father's selfish request. Really, if Eliana refused, the max she would get would be the glaring of her family, which... Wait, if this followed my imagination wouldn't it become an otome game? She, the charismatic girl, the prince who supports her, ikemen friends would meet her one after another and feel an urge to protect her, who is in distress, and then she would find herself in the middle of many guys to her sister's displeasure and for her prince's awkwardness. hahaha~ No. Don't follow this line of thought Thranyx, don't do that, stop, yes stop getting carried away. Stop this skit as well, aaaaaaaaah. Okay.)
(To be honest, even if I might be wrong about many things, I still think this approach is more reasonable than simply accepting the request without even opening the mouth. And look, this could even be someone's scheme to push an incompetent fiancee to him, therefore making him lose more support and reputation. And his assistant put so much emphasis in "you, your highness, that chose her", meaning he could have refused. Guess he reaps what he sows, who told him to believe so easily the duke. May this be a lesson for him to not trust everyone easily later. But good for me he did that, now I have one more manga with a dragon main character in my list. Great for a fanatic to dragons like me. Good, good.)