This Delusional Voice Keeps Telling Me I’m a Villain

An Unexpected Reunion!

Translated by: chocolala
Proofread by: Sparks MacKenzie

It was some time ago before I met Aiden; I’d received a letter from Prince Carlos. 

“Oh, this is the confirmation for that contract…”

We’d  already reached an agreement about the prospective fiancé thing; in addition to an official document designating me as his prospective fiancé, there were five sheets of paper containing the details of the contract–and they were all handwritten.

It was just like Princess Carlos to compile things like this. It wasn’t uncommon for most people to sum things up in a single document, but he was a serious person; he wrote it all down meticulously.   

As I was reading the letter, Theodore came and called out to me, “A letter?” 

“Yeah. It’s about the prospective fiancé thing. It’s now official.” As I said that, Theodore frowned in obvious displeasure.  

Seeing Theodore like that, I hurriedly added, “Even if I’m now his prospective fiancé, there’s not only me; there’s five more who he’s plan–ehem, he already has! Therefore, it’s not just me!” 

“Five more?”

“This is merely prospective. There can only be one fiancé1, but it is okay to have multiple candidates for it. Well, I don’t think others are like me who become a prospective fiancé with the premise of dissolving it later.”

“…”

Anyway, I’d told Theodore about the whole thing that happened at Prince Leodore’s coming-of-age party; he was already well-informed about the fact that I’d become a prospective fiancé to be later dissolved.

Ever since that party, whenever the topic came up, Theodore wouldn’t particularly turn grumpy, but his face would show displeasure.

But, even with that unhappy face, I couldn’t help but think that he looked as beautiful as a painting; I was sure if there really was any painting of that face, it would really sell. 

…Uhk, so this was what it meant to be a beautiful boy.

“Well, we’ve got the contract in written form now; now we just need to work out the time to dissolve it.”

“When will that be?”

“It depends on Prince Carlos. He promised to make a decision by the time I come of age, which could be as little as six months away, or a year… it’s just–” 

“Just?”

“The nobility of Janvagar usually… will be engaged by the time they’re sixteen, and get married by twenty… so I… I have to find someone by the time this arrangement is dissolved…”

In other words, even if I became a prospective fiancé on the premise of dissolving it later, I would still need to find my marriage partner by the time I reached twenty. Let’s say I was free from being a prospective fiancé when I became sixteen: everyone in my generation would already be engaged, leaving no one who was still without ties. If I had to wait for Prince Carlos to decide when to dissolve it… probably, it would be too late by then. 

While still being a prospective fiancé, I would still need to find my own fiancé while I had to wait and see when Prince Carlos would dissolve the arrangement. Moreover, it would be better if I could find someone who could tolerate this complicated situation; who could pretend to be single until I reached the age of sixteen; who could work for the House of Minusle; who also possessed some sort of valuable qualities… huh? Was that too much to ask? Seemed like my requirements were quite strict…

By the way, my father told me to choose my fiancé by myself.

I remembered that he’d said, “I’ll leave it up to you. As long as it’s not someone who is of very bad character and uncooperative with the House of Minusle, and who would take you out of this family, I’m totally okay! I support you with all my heart! Oh, if you bring someone who even has one of the qualities I just mentioned, I’d do my best to kill that person socially☆.”

…Therefore, although I’d been told I could pick someone of my choosing, just any half-assed person wouldn’t do. I had better find a suitable fiancée seriously.

Suddenly, I noticed that ever since I’d told him I had to find a fiancé, Theodore had a difficult look on his face, for some reason. 

Oops; it might be better to change the topic, here.

I had no idea why Theodore was so distressed when the topic had anything to do with my engagement. As a big brother and as a friend, I should be very considerate. So I asked him something that’d been bothering me a bit. 

“Theodore.”

“Yes?”

“Theodore, if you were to get engaged to someone, what kind of person would they be? Do you have an ideal fiancé in mind?”

When I asked him casually, Theodore, drinking tea, choked up.

“…In the end, I couldn’t ask you until now–your ideal person.”

I was out at the moment. Father had asked me to help him with something, so I was travelling by carriage. 

Following the question, Theodore’s face turned red from choking; he stared at me in frustration before letting out a sigh. It took him a long while before he replied with a battered voice, “…I do.”  

“Huh? You have someone in mind? Who?”

He only answered, “…I’ll tell you sooner or later.” 

What a surprise: He did?! But, he refused to tell me who; in the end, he only dodged the topic by ignoring me altogether. However, from his answer, it looked like Theodore already had someone in mind.

For real? 

So, Theodore was actually much more mature than his age would suggest. Two years younger than me, and already he had known who he’d want to settle down with through his adult years…. It felt kind of like my little brother was way ahead of me. 

But, wait: who was it?

Someone from the Knights Order? Or, it could be someone from the Ministry of Magic. But still, he did have someone.

“Hmmmm… I feel sad. Yeah.”

Theodore, who I hung out with all the time, had someone in his heart he thought he’d like to marry… someone I didn’t know. Just, why didn’t he tell me about it…?

I thought we’d got on pretty well so far, but I couldn’t believe he didn’t tell me at all…

As I was pondering this, the carriage stopped.

Hmm? We still had a long way to go, didn’t we?  

From inside the carriage, I asked the coachman, “What’s the matter?” 

“I’m sorry. Mr. Urschel; it looks like a traffic jam.”

A traffic jam? Huh? I opened the carriage window and looked out. 

For some reason, the road in front of my carriage was crowded with countless others. The carriages were lined up in a row, waiting for the front to move forward.

“I wonder what happened? Carriage jams are never supposed to happen…” I voiced my thoughts; and suddenly, a carriage pulled up next to mine. 

It looked familiar to me. A few years ago, I used to see the carriage almost every day… 

If I remembered correctly, that meant that the one on it was…

Before long, my open window and the window of the carriage next to me were facing each other. The window opposite me slowly opened and the person I had not seen for a long while smiled at me.

“Hello, Urschel—what a coincidence. How long has it been?”

“Brother Ben?!”

Brother Ben…! Benedict Grantier! My cousin on my mother’s side: seven years older than me, the head of the famous diplomatic family of Grantier, and currently one of Prince Leodore’s closest aides. And like me, he was one of Prince Leodore’s study mates.   

He was also someone who greatly doted on me during the time when we were fellow study mates…

…Brother Ben was also somewhat of a fleeting first love of mine.

chocolala: yay, the start of short chapters! And a new character?