This Delusional Voice Keeps Telling Me I’m a Villain

The first prince’s coming-of-age celebration party held at the Royal Palace was crowded and lively. After the coming-of-age ceremony customary for the Janvangar royalty had ended, the main hall inside the Royal Palace was opened for the party for the entire evening. The guests were invited from inside and outside the country.

Unlike a formal dinner party, the current party was more casual in atmosphere compared to most other events held inside the Royal Palace since this was held in the name of celebration and amity. Nevertheless, this party also served to show the prowess of the Janvangar country to everyone: the event showcased luxury—from the liquors, the food, and outfits worn by the royal family and their guests.

…Of course, the numerous desserts served at the venue were all the finest treats–expensive and time-consuming to make.

‘Wooo! I’m drooling! I wanna eat them now!’ I inwardly squealed.

“I want to have desserts immediately! Oh the sweets!”

“Urschel, you never change.” Theodore sent me, who already couldn’t wait to eat these sweets, a helpless gaze.

I couldn’t help it, okay?! I could eat good desserts!! This was a sweet tooth’s paradise!!!

Father gleefully chuckled, “Urschel, you really like those, don’t you? After this, I’ll ask for the recipes, so you can also eat them at home!”

“Really?! Yay!!”

Ahh, to think that I could also eat these sweets even after returning home, what bliss!!!

“Thank you, Father!!”

“Alright, alright. First, shall we greet the king and the queen, and then, today’s star, the first prince, Prince Leodore?”

“Yesss.”

‘After I finish my job here, I can go savour the sweets. Ah, but after I finish my greetings, the dessert area will certainly be flocked by the ladies’. I thought in my head, and then I flicked my gaze towards Theodore.

He was a new face there. As a beautiful boy, Theodore was scrutinized by various people at the venue—they were talking in whispers. Most probably… this made him uncomfortable. Then, an idea dawned upon me. One that would certainly allow me to help Theodore and get the sweets simultaneously.

Anyway, I’d better do my duty first.

His and Her Majesty and the first prince, Prince Leodore were at the VIP area. The other royal family members didn’t attend today, so they weren’t there with the aforementioned three. Well, there was no helping it…

Currently, the royal family along with the nobles were divided into two factions. This divide could be directly attributed to His Majesty who still wouldn’t name the crown prince. Somehow, in these ten years, His Majesty still hadn’t decided who among his three princes would become the crown prince. The reason was unknown, so eventually, there was a rift between the three princes caused by the feud over the seat of the crown prince.

There was the first prince’s faction: Prince Leodore and his supporters that comprised the majority of nobles. On the other hand, there was the second prince’s faction: Prince Carlos who was supported by Prince Lynel and the other nobles that originated from the royal family. So far, the first prince’s faction was much bigger. Prince Leodore himself was popular among the nobles and commoners, so his supporters were numerous. His astuteness gained him an immense influence. It gave people the feeling that the crown prince position was already his, and he was merely waiting for the King to officially announce it.

Although inferior to the first prince’s faction, the second prince’s faction remained uncowed. Prince Carlos put himself forward against Prince Leodore in the race to be the crown prince. Alas, most of the nobles had become Prince Leodore’s supporters, so Prince Carlos had to gather his supporters from zero. As a result, though it was unknown what means he had used, he managed to get the support from his younger brother, the king’s younger brother—the Royal Princes—and former royal family members that had been demoted in status; one by one he gathered support from his blood relatives, adding every royal kin aside from Prince Leodore to the second prince’s faction.

By the way, our House Minusle was in this second prince’s faction.

Perhaps, if I were Prince Leodore’s close aide, we would have been affiliated with the first prince’s faction instead. Actually, the House of Minusle used to be at the brink of extinction two generations ago due to the absence of any successor, so the Duke at the time adopted the fourth prince to revive the House. In a way, that made us relatives to the royal family. Thus, we were in the second prince’s faction. Well, we were only affiliated, but we did nothing much. I also talked like usual with Prince Leodore, so people around us saw us as a neutral party.

Anyway, now that the first prince and the second prince were in a feud, there was no way for the two of them to stand side by side. That explained why Prince Carlos was not at the venue.

“…Prince Leodore, congratulations on your coming-of-age.”

“Duke Minusle, thank you for attending today.”

Father greeted Prince Leodore, and he replied in kind. A gentle smile appeared on his sweet mask1. Prince Leodore had blonde hair and blue eyes; a handsome, androgynous face that girls typically love; and an enviable height… He was blessed with perfect looks. Just like a prince that often appeared in fairytales.

“Oh, it’s not only Urschel today. This is?”

“He is Theodore: the child I adopted from the House of Espada. Therefore, he’s Urschel’s younger brother.”

“…I see. So you’re that Theodore who has been the subject of all the talks in the Knights Order and the Ministry of Magic recently. I’ve heard a lot about you, like how Urschel dragged you to the House of Minusle and you were later acknowledged by Duke Minusle as the greatest genius in history. Also that no one in the Knights Order could defeat you, and how you keep making history by the numerous achievements you churn out day by day. From the bottom of my heart, I’m so glad that such a marvellous existence dwells in our country.” Prince Leodore complimented him.

Yes. I had almost forgotten, but, publicly, it was known that Theodore was brought to the House of Minusle according to my whims. I needed to corroborate the story… But how should I say it? I felt like Prince Leodore’s tone had some thorns in his last statement.

Theodore expressed his gratitude with due courtesy. Lip service. Lip service.

“I am extremely delighted by your praise, Your Highness. Thank you.”

However, Prince Leodore paid no heed to Theodore’s reply and headed in my direction.

“And Urschel, no change I guess?”

Whoops? According to etiquette, when someone expresses their gratitude, the other party should reply with “Well, I’ll be expecting more from you in the future.” in a sort of diplomatic exchange, but did he just intentionally snub Theodore?

Did Theodore somehow incur His Highness’s displeasure? But well, His Highness still treated me as usual, so should I do some follow-up for Theodore?

“Not really? After Theodore became a member of the Minusles, I find every day exciting. I always learn a lot from him, be it in swordsmanship or magic. By the way, I’m the older brother, but I get helped by him a lot. He also keeps me company during teatimes; really a good pal.”

Prince Leodore said nothing for a while before he exclaimed in a somewhat unimpressed tone, “Heh.”

What was that long silence before that!! Huh? Were those just mindless exclamations? Because, his eyes were not smiling at all. EHH? Did I just offend him somewhere???

In contrast to the prince, Father was smiling ever so wide. Whoa, it had been a long while since I last saw him wearing a genuine smile at a social scene. But why???

“HAHAHA! Theodore is really a wonderful kid. Not a surprise; he’s the one Urschel specially picked from the House of Espada—a rarity that even I gave a thumbs up. Yeah, he’s the only child that I! Have acknowledged! To enter our House! Yes, that’s right, as Your Highness might already know, these two get along very well. I’d love for both of them to continue to stay together happily in our home. Hahaha!”

When Father said it like that, Theodore and I couldn’t help but look at each other. It bugged me. I could sense something wicked in the way Father talked. Father generally left Theodore to his own devices, yet he just praised Theodore so blatantly. Something was fishy.

Although Prince Leodore’s facial expression showed no change, somehow it felt like the temperature around him dropped to below zero. He then responded, “Duke Minusle…??”

“Ooops. We have to pay our greetings to the others too, so we will take our leave here.”

Prince Leodore seemed to still have things left to say, but Father interjected as if pushing him away. Then, Father walked away, leaving us perplexed.

‘Wait! Don’t just leave us here!’ I could only inwardly grumble.

“So then, Your Highness, we’ll take our leave here. Again, congratulations on your coming-of-age.”

“…Ah, yes.”

“Theodore, we need to catch up to Father.”

“Okay.”

I hurried said my goodbyes to Prince Leodore and left the place. My father’s high-pitched laugh seemed to echo throughout the hall.