This Delusional Voice Keeps Telling Me I’m a Villain

I reluctantly went along and was brought to one of the many guest rooms that the royal palace prepared for guests. Although they were called guest rooms, they were different from hotel rooms. They were more like anterooms for guests, where guests can change their make-up and costumes; a temporary shelter in case they were not feeling well; or, a meeting place for lovers… These rooms were also used for small meetings like this.

In the guest room, His Highness Carlos was already sitting on a chair waiting for me. On the table were two dark brown teas. The smell suggested that the tea was Lufna1… His Highness’s bodyguards and chamberlain, who were supposed to be there, were not present… Apparently, he had them wait outside the door. We were completely alone in the room.

Oh, I knew it. He caught me in a scheme, didn’t he?

“Sorry for suddenly calling you out, Urschel.” His Highness Carlos said with a crisp business smile.

Geh, only his looks were gentlemanly.

“No, no, no. According to etiquette, I can’t just dismiss Your Highness’s summon. And now that I’ve answered the call, can I leave now? There is no rule that says you have to continue with a conversation after answering a summons, right? I’m leaving. I’m in the middle of my ‘sweets time’.”

“Urschel??” His Highness Carlos’ brow creased as he maintained his business smile. What dextrous facial expressions he has.

Then, he sighed as he continued, “Urschel, you really haven’t changed a millimetre since you were Brother’s study mate.”

Yes. His Highness Carlos and I knew each other. When I was a study mate of His Highness Leodore, I had several opportunities to study alongside His Highness Carlos. Since I was the same age as His Highness Carlos, I was seated next to him. But we really didn’t get along—like… mortal enemies.

At the time, His Highness Carlos, who felt inferior to His Highness Leodore, was wildly unhappy.

“No one will ever give me a compliment! No one ever looks at me! No one gives a shit about me!”

His Highness Carlos was feeling all alone. Although Prince Leodore was not the crown prince, everyone around them supported him. The more people gathered around Prince Leodore, the fewer people came close to Prince Carlos—nearing nil. Even so, he was still struggling to be recognized somehow; but His Highness Carlos, who was only an excellent student, could never reach His Highness Leodore, who was a perfect human being.

More and more, his Highness Carlos became wild and unruly. He didn’t abandon his studies or his education as a prince, but he lashed out on his chamberlains and maidservants and picked fights with people he didn’t like. He often spoke abusively to His Highness Leodore. In order for him to reconcile with the other prince, the adults sent Prince Carlos to study with Prince Leodore and us. So, His Highness Carlos and I, by virtue of being the same age, were placed next to each other…

His Highness, who was serious about his studies but twisted and tortured by his inferiority complex, and I, who was only interested in sweets, were simply incompatible.

“Urschel! What the hell are you doing? You need to take your studies seriously! You don’t even concentrate in class! You don’t even get perfect scores on your tests! You—are you simply messing around?”

At the time, I was lackadaisical about my studies. I felt satisfied just half-listening to the lessons and scoring 80% in tests; I didn’t even preview the lessons. Why?

…There was no rule that said I must listen seriously to the lessons and get perfect scores in tests, was there?

After I grew older, I took my studies seriously 2, but, back then, I honestly had that mindset. Simply put, I was that naughty kid who used dubious excuses to not study. What a black stain in my history.

From the perspective of Prince Carlos, who had an inferiority complex regarding Prince Leodore, he probably couldn’t forgive me—a same-age study mate—for having a half-baked attitude towards studying. On the other hand, I also hated how Prince Carlos imposed his own ideas on me.

“I’d like for you to shut up, Your Highness. Is there any such a-pain-in-the-ass-law that states one has to study seriously and score perfectly? If it’s a rule, I’ll abide by it, but there isn’t. So, why should I do it? It’s simply a waste of energy.”

“Huh, a waste you say?!”

“I’m not saying I’m not studying! I’m just busy exploring sweets…!!”

Even back then, I had a sweet tooth, but I hadn’t yet discovered custard pudding. I ate all kinds of sweets available, yet I hadn’t found the exact sweet that I was fully content with. I was occupied with that quest.

“What’s crucial for me now is finding the specific sweet that is the most exquisite and that can excite me to the max! Your Highness! I’d like it if you’d please not impose your ways on me. I’m obtaining passing grades, after all!”

“That doesn’t mean others can accept that!! There’s something more important than sweets, isn’t there?”

“None, nada!!”

“Hey, you… watch how you speak!!”

“Like I care! Just leave me alone, Prince Carlos! I know that every day you study desperately and work hard in order to gain more recognition than Prince Leodore! I also put all my stakes in my quest for sweets, as much as you do for your goal! Your Highness, can you please not impose your ideas on others?!”

“…!”

…That’s how things went. Prince Carlos and I never got along. In the end, even when I quit as a study mate, our relationship remained bad. We just didn’t have chemistry; as soon as we started talking, we would get into a fight. After I quit, we never met unless in these kinds of social parties, and we merely exchanged superficial greetings on those occasions.