This Delusional Voice Keeps Telling Me I’m a Villain

Chapter 5 Part 3
Bargaining, Deal-making, and Mutual Deceiving (III)

His Highness Carlos continued, saying he just couldn’t fathom why, even after investigation.

“I don’t even know why such a rumour started, but a rumour doesn’t start unless there are reasons to make people think that way, right? Besides, the people who are spreading the rumours are, of all people, the people closest to Brother in the royal palace—his aides who were also study mates with you. It was them. The information is not credible, there is no proof, but that alone is reason enough to bet rumour is indeed true.

And it’s also true that Brother has gone out of his way to leave his fiancée’s seat vacant. It is said that he had been approached several times for engagement talks, but according to our informant, no matter how good the terms, he has always turned them down immediately. A total of 158 requests. All of them, Brother has turned them down personally. He’s not a person who’s not interested in love, so it’s natural to think that he has someone he wants to be with secretly. Although I can’t believe it, I think it might be you.”

“Even if that’s the case, why should I be your prospective fiancé, Your Highness?”

“…It’s an unavoidable sacrifice. I don’t want to do it either.”

“Huh? Who’s the one taking the initiative to sacrifice me? I’d appreciate it if you don’t try to play the victim!”

“But… Right now, this is the only way I can fight against my brother.”

I made eye contact with His Highness Carlos; he seemed to be anxious.

“I’m stuck, Urschel. Over the past few years, there has been a further surge in the number of people supporting Brother. This has been especially true in the past eight months1. In preparation for his coming of age, Brother has expanded his support to include other nearby countries in an effort to solidify his position. I tried to keep up, but everything fell behind, and, before I knew it, Brother had gained the support of the royalty and lords of the surrounding countries and was expanding his political sphere to a point where it was beyond my control. The adults in my faction and my younger brother praised me for doing all I could, but…

At such a time, I received a report from an informant. It seems that the royal families of the surrounding countries will soon send a joint petition to Father to nominate Brother as the crown prince. In other words… It’s no exaggeration to say that my position is in dire straits—I have no choice but to rely on mere rumours to counter him.”

“Whoa…”

I always thought that His Highness Prince Leodore was a perfect superhuman, but he even got the surrounding countries on his side… We could probably no longer use the word ‘charismatic’ to describe him anymore. If the petition was really submitted, His Majesty, the King, would have no choice but to give priority to diplomatic relations and accept the demands. If that were to happen, surely His Highness Prince Leodore would be the crown prince.

If that were to happen, His Highness Carlos would not be able to take the position of crown prince unless His Highness Leodore caused a scandal of an unprecedented level or misfortune struck him. And, if His Highness Leodore were to marry and have a child… According to the precedence of succession, His Highness Carlos would not ever be able to become the crown prince and would end up demoting to a retainer. His Highness Carlos would never be able to become king.

In this situation, the most His Highness Carlos could do was to interfere with His Highness Leodore’s marriage. Even if it was just momentary relief. And that led to the idea of making me his prospective fiancé since I was the one in Prince’s Leodore’s rumour.

“Regardless of the rumour’s truth or falsehood, by making me your prospective fiancé, His Highness Leodore will not be able to marry as he wishes and will have to find a new one from scratch. As a result, His Highness Leodore’s marriage and the birth of an heir will be delayed; even if His Highness Leodore is chosen as the crown prince, Your Highness Carlos will still have a small chance of becoming king because of this delay.”

“That’s right. Thank you for understanding so quickly.”

“But are you sure it’s me? The rumour has no credibility.”

“…I don’t care if it’s credible or not at this point. I’m grasping at straws. And that’s why I’m making you a prospective fiancé—not a real fiancé. If it turns out that Brother isn’t interested in you, we’ll dissolve it immediately.”

“I’d be troubled otherwise. Very, very troubled. You really have to dissolve it eventually, okay? This concerns the future of the House of Minusle.”

When I said that, His Highness Carlos’ eyes widened. “You… The way you said it, it sounds like you agreed to it.”

I deliberately gave His Highness Carlos a broad smile.

At first, I was going to say no come hell or high water but after some consideration…

‘I don’t like His Highness Carlos. But, actually, I’m going to add a little addendum to that. I don’t like him, but I can’t leave him alone.’ This was how I viewed him in my mind.

I knew His Highness, who was brilliant but had a hard time being accepted by anyone, since we were study mates, and, even though I had no idea how he did it, I also knew His Highness somehow managed to compete with his brother by uniting the nobles who were former royalty. I didn’t like him one bit, but I was quite moved by those parts of his personality.