I, the Villainous Prince, Buy the Ruined Villainess with Money - Chapter 60-61

Chapter 60: Zeheia’s Perspective

……Was there still any meaning left in living?

Under the late previous Emperor, I raced across battlefields.

I fought, fought, and kept fighting until I stopped the enemy nation’s invasion.

Then, when the previous Emperor was dying, he told me to take care of the country.

So, just as His Majesty instructed, I married my daughter off to the Crown Prince.

Only……the miscalculation was the Crown Prince and my own daughter.

“The Crown Prince already had a secret lover, and my daughter was someone who couldn’t bear not being number one.”

“My lord……”

“Sebas, Alvis has changed, hasn’t he.”

“Yes. Whether he changed on his own, was changed by someone, or was simply hiding it all along isn’t clear. But one thing I can say for sure is that thanks to Yulia-san, the young master looks like he’s actually enjoying himself.”

Indeed, the Alvis I knew never laughed.

No……more accurately, we never let him laugh.

Because we hammered imperial education into him so hard.

He must surely hate me.

“I see……then I have to be grateful to that girl. She reminded me that there are still things I can do.”

“Ho ho, you must keep living for a good while yet. Who knows, you might even get to see a great-grandchild?”

“Ku ha ha! That would be wonderful! Becoming nothing but a kindly old grandpa doesn’t sound so bad……”

Come to think of it, I did terrible things to my daughter too.

Because I never paid attention to my family, she grew up the way she did.

To begin with, my wife and I were in a political marriage and never got along.

Of course, our original personalities played a part as well.

“Ho ho, I think it’s a fine idea. After all, she’s your only blood relative.”

“Pfft, there’s still the Emperor, isn’t there.”

“Oh dear, I completely forgot.”

This fellow probably only makes such light remarks in front of me.

There’s no intention to disparage the current Emperor, but inevitably we end up comparing him to the great previous Emperor.

That man possessed outstanding talent and built an entire era of the empire.

“Now then, about His present Majesty……what do you think he feels toward the Crown Prince and Alvis?”

“Who can say? He seems to be worrying about all sorts of things.”

“Hmph. The moment he realized the Crown Prince is useless, he turns to Alvis……how convenient. Though I suppose I’m hardly one to talk.”

“Ho ho, if we’re talking about leaving the young master alone, then we’re equally guilty, aren’t we.”

“Kuk, that stings my ears.”

As always, he shows no mercy toward anyone except Alvis.

Isn’t this man far more of a kindly old grandpa than I am?

……He really has done so much for me.

“So, is there anything regarding His Majesty?”

“For now, I’ll at least drive the point home from my side. Tell him not to interfere since Alvis wants to do things freely. It seems he wants to register as an adventurer?”

“Yes, it was quite a stretch. Even though he obtained disguise tools, I think he’ll need some other kind of backing.”

“Then I’ll mention it to the Guild Master as well.”

The current Guild Master once served under my command during the war.

He’s an excellent man, but too kind-hearted and never free from trouble.

Sorry, but I’ll have to ask him to endure a bit more hardship.

“That would be best. Also……about the church.”

“Mm, for that Emperor it seems he finally got off his heavy backside. Indeed, Lord Guftaf is an easy target.”

“Above all, the young master has declared he will crush him.”

“Kukuku, my own grandson is quite ruthless. And the fact that it’s all for the sake of just one woman makes it even more interesting. Then let’s lend a hand from our side too and削弱削弱削弱削弱 them.”

I have no intention of trying to act like a grandfather at this late stage.

But if it’s to let Alvis live freely, then at least this much help I must give.

Whether that leads to him becoming Emperor or becoming something else, I don’t know.

As an aside……this Zeheia is one of the bosses who opposes the protagonist.

He tries to make Alvis the Emperor, repeatedly goes out of control, and targets the protagonist’s side.

Because that was prevented, Alvis’s position worsens even further, and more allies gather on the protagonist’s side.

In other words, the branching point changed here as well.

—

Chapter 61: Alvis’s Surroundings Are Peaceful

Hmm…… I don’t really get it, but things are ridiculously peaceful.

A week has passed since the arena incident, but nothing special has happened at all.

Neither the church nor Guftaf has come around, and my brother or that woman haven’t gotten involved either.

I could understand my brother staying away, but I wish Guftaf would make some kind of move—it would make counterattacking a lot easier.

“Well, while things are calm like this, I should build up some strength and money.”

“Master, excuse me. It seems a letter has arrived from His Majesty the Emperor.”

“What? From Father……? Yulia, you can look too.”

“Then, excuse me.”

I took the letter from Yulia and opened it. Inside, it said he was permitting my activities as an adventurer.

I had planned to go straight to him and ask, but this saves a lot of trouble.

Of course, the document clearly states that everything is at my own risk.

“So for now, I’ve got Father’s permission.”

“Why so suddenly, I wonder?”

“No idea. But there’s no doubt it saves me the hassle of going to him.”

“In that case, today’s plans……?”

“Once school ends, let’s head straight to the adventurers’ guild.”

Then I rode the carriage and arrived at school.

Near the gate, I spotted my brother and the protagonist woman.

“Leila, calm down.”

“C-calm down? How can I calm down! Why hasn’t anything happened? No events at all?”

“What are you talking about?”

“N-nothing, never mind. But something’s off…… It has to be him. His Highness Alvis…… maybe he’s plotting something using Yulia or whatever.”

“But Father just told me not to get involved with Alvis.”

……I had already guessed, but yeah, she really is a reincarnator.

That doesn’t mean I have to forgive her for making me her favorite, though.

For now, the one thing I can say is that staying away from her in the future is definitely the right choice.

I haven’t taken any hostile actions, so there shouldn’t be any death flags coming my way.

“Master, they seem kind of strange, don’t they?”

“Yeah. Well, it’s got nothing to do with us.”

“Hehe, that’s true.”

Since it would be a hassle if they noticed me, I took a longer route to the school building.

Then, as usual, I got through the boring classes and reached the end of the day.

Today is tea ceremony club, so after changing clothes, I entered the room.

The other members were already there, and as always, I’m the only guy.

“Oh, welcome. Your Highness Alvis and Yulia-san.”

“Yulia-chan! You’re so cute today toooo!”

The other club members bowed while trembling a little, but Elise greeted me completely naturally without any fear.

As for Agnes, she’s already made it a routine to skip greetings entirely and just hug Yulia right away.

For me, seeing the yuri-yuri stuff is pure eye candy, so I let it slide.

“Hehe, thank you. But Agnes-san is cute too, you know?”

“No way! I’m so plain compared to you!”

“True, this girl could shine if she polished herself up a bit.”

“Then shall we give her a little makeover?”

“Oh, that sounds lovely. I’m sure even that Arnold would fall for her all over again.”

“Fweh~!? Don’t go making plans behind my back like that~!”

Seeing that exchange, the other members smiled too.

The bad rumors that used to swirl around Yulia seem to have completely disappeared, thanks to the two of them.

Watching my favorite having so much fun puts my heart at ease.

……At this point, it’s not really tea ceremony club activities anymore—for me, it’s basically the “watch my favorite squealing happily” club.