The Trash Prince (Brute)

I was determined not to repeat Brad’s mistakes and reflected on “Fortune Engage.”

—【Flashback】—

On a table covered with delicate lace, dishes resembling French cuisine were laid out. Brad was dining with Freesia in his room, but after just one bite of the steak on the porcelain plate, he threw down his knife and fork.

“Why is there no Bristol beef steak, my favorite dish?”

The head chef, Albon, who was explaining the dishes nearby, was questioned by Brad. Seventeen-year-old Brad was speaking to thirty-year-old Albon… The difference in their social statuses had made Brad arrogant.

“I-I apologize, the cattle shed burned down in the recent fire, and we were unable to prepare it…”

“Huh? If you couldn’t prepare it, you should have arranged for it to be brought in. Are you an idiot?”

In reality, Albon was not at fault at all. It was because of the antics of Brad and his entourage—Omonear, Sontac, and Cobiur—who acted like troublesome YouTubers.

Brad and his group had disappeared from the scene when the shed caught fire, and it was Freesia who happened to pass by and sought help from Siegfried, preventing the fire from spreading to the royal palace.

Despite this background, Brad directed his ire at Albon, who knelt and apologized sincerely…

sfx: pour pour pour

Brad mercilessly poured his wine glass upside down over Albon.

“Ha ha ha ha ha! It’s like disgusting lean meat.”

“Ugh…”

Albon’s white chef’s coat turned bright red from the wine pouring over his head. He gritted his teeth, enduring the humiliation inflicted by Brad.

At that moment, Freesia stepped in to defend Albon.

“Lord Brad… the head chef has made every effort to prepare an alternative dish for you. Please, let’s partake in this instead.”

“Lady Freesia, thank you for your kindness.”

Freesia handed Albon a handkerchief. Albon used it to wipe the wine from his face, clasping his hands together as if venerating her as a goddess or saint.

Seeing this, Brad ground his teeth in frustration. His jealousy wasn’t because Freesia and Albon were speaking, but because Freesia was being admired by Albon.

“Freesia, it’s because you coddle the servants that they become so insolent. They are testing the royal family. If you can’t understand that, you’re unfit to be the future queen.”

Brad clapped his hands, summoning the attendants waiting outside the door.

“Your Highness, what is the matter?”

“Bring me that useless person over there. Today, he is dismissed.”

“As you wish!”

“Nooo!!!”

With those words, Brad declared Albon’s dismissal, but where he was taken was not just any place in the palace—it was the dungeon.

I’ve always thought of Brad as the lowest of men.

Brad had summoned Freesia, who lived in the adjacent room, to his own quarters.

“Brad-sama…?”

When Brad’s attendant opened the door, Freesia was urged to enter, but Brad was nowhere to be seen. She looked around nervously, but it seemed he wasn’t in the room.

(He’s up to his tricks again…)

Just as Freesia was about to leave, thinking mischievous Brad had called her out to mock her somewhere…

“Ahhh, Brad-sama, you’re amazing!!”

As soon as she turned on her heel, Freesia’s younger sister’s voice echoed in the room. Freesia looked toward the sound and saw the bedding of the bed was shaking.

Apprehensively, Freesia approached the bed to see what was happening, and there she found Brad, straddling her half-sister Lily, who was sweating.

Lying on the pillow, Lily had a blissful expression, and she blurted out to Freesia, who was turning pale.

“Ahhh, big sister! You’ve come! It might have been too much for a virgin.”

“I find straightforward girls like Lily more charming than nagging ones like you.”

Brad, who had never spoken a kind word to Freesia, gently stroked Lily’s pink hair and looked at her with affectionate eyes.

Even naive Freesia understood what the two of them had been up to once they reached adolescence. She felt that all her efforts up to now had been in vain because of the two’s betrayal…

While Freesia didn’t particularly like Brad, she didn’t despise him either. She had hoped that by devoting herself to Brad, she would at least receive his attention and perhaps, though not necessarily his love, she would be noticed.

When I felt that even that was no longer possible, tears welled up in my eyes. Despite the sadness, I resolved not to cry in front of them and fled from Brad’s room.

“Lily, did you see? That expression!”

“Yes, I saw! My crybaby older sister’s face, so full of regret! It’s really unbearable.”

“Hahaha!”

“Hohohoho!”

The two of them laughed loudly, mocking the fleeing Freesia.

Finally, Brad, of all people, at the graduation party of the Royal Academy attended by noble children, declares the annulment of his engagement with Freesia and decides to take Lily as his partner…

Such a crappy prince… He deserves to get his comeuppance (get what he deserves).

But inside, it’s still me!!

How can I redeem myself from here…

The Feared Villainous Prince

Unghh!!!

What surprised me wasn’t the fact that Freesia saw me princess-carrying the older Electra.

It was because Freesia was holding the very thing that would become my death flag in her small hands.

Squeak! Squeak!

“Sorry, Miinya!”

It seems she hugged the fluffy creature too tightly, causing it to cry out and wiggle its body in distress. Though it looks like a silver-white ferret, I know its true identity.

Miinya is the guardian holy beast Fenrir of the Kingdom of Liebenrasia!

There’s a route where Freesia and it are lured into a dungeon and killed. When they are cornered, Freesia awakens as a saint, and Miinya reveals its true form, devouring Brad’s head.

Even though it’s the guardian beast of the Kingdom of Liebenrasia, to me, it’s just a dangerous pest. But if you ask whether I can fight Miinya alone and defeat it now, unfortunately, I have to say it’s impossible.

Frustrating as it is, I have to opt for a strategic retreat here.

“Let’s go back, Electra!”

“Your Highness… you’re carrying me back like this♡”

Moreover, Electra is extremely cold towards Freesia, and I want to avoid any interaction between the two as much as possible. If left unchecked, Electra might bully Freesia without my knowledge, and Miinya’s hatred towards me would accumulate to an extent that even a controversial YouTuber would seem mild in comparison.

“Ah, Lord Brad…”

Freesia reached out her hand as if to stop me, but…

Leaving the loli Freesia in the palace garden, I returned to my room.

I entrusted Electra, whose unstable emotions might lead her to do something reckless again, to Sebas for the time being, so she should be fine for now.

――――During dinner.

Clatter, clatter, clatter, clatter, clatter, clatter!

The floor maid, who brought the meal on a wagon, tried to present a dish beautifully arranged with ingredients that looked like French cuisine in front of me. However, her hands were trembling uncontrollably, and she struggled to place the dish on the table covered with a pristine white cloth.

Curious, I glanced at the floor maid’s face. She was pale as if she had been glared at by a tiger or a lion, her body shaking visibly.

“Eek! I’m so… so sorry…”

Crash!

Perhaps she thought she had been glared at by me, with my handsome yet sharp eyes, and dropped the dish right in front of me, staining not only the tablecloth but also my clothes.

“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!!!”

The young maid, having made such a mistake in front of a mere ten-year-old me, looked like she was about to scream like Munch’s “The Scream.”

I’d appreciate it if she could at least help clean up.

“You fool! What are you doing?”

I intended to speak as kindly as possible, but it got automatically translated into “Brad-speech,” and my tone ended up sounding angry.

“Pl-please, spare only my life… don’t make my family bear the guilt…”

What on earth is she talking about?

“What are you saying?”

“Oh no… because of my mistake, my whole family will be sent to the guillotine…”

What!?

That’s impossible… Just because she spilled some food, she and her entire family would be killed?

The floor maid collapsed to her knees and sat weakly on the floor, crying uncontrollably.

“Stand up. Clean this up quickly.”

“So, I can clean it up?”

“Your punishment will come later! First, clean this mess.”

“Huh? Yes?”

Finally, I managed to speak in a somewhat reasonable manner, and it seemed she understood. She was expecting punishment, while I just wanted her to clean up first.

“If you stay there, no one else can approach. Hurry up and do your job! And dedicate your life to me!”

Ahh!

I’ve just committed worse power harassment on a young girl than Manager Ichinose, whose nature is all about power harassment, moral harassment, and customer harassment.

“Did Prince Brad actually forgive her?”

“Could it be that he spared the maid who made a mistake…”

The chefs, floor maids, and kitchen maids watching us from a distance started murmuring.

“This isn’t a show! Bring me my meal! You fools!”

After a workout, it’s important to eat a good meal as soon as possible, so I ended up using strong words to clear the area.

There were no high-protein, low-fat excellent foods like protein shakes, or nutritional supplements like creatine that help reduce muscle fatigue.

However, being royalty, I wouldn’t starve to death, and they would listen to my requests for decent food.

The main dish was finally brought to me. I couldn’t help but address the chef who had brought it instead of the floor maid.

“You, what is this!”

“I-I’m terribly sorry… This is, uh, sirloin of bull…”

“You, come to my room later.”

“Wh-what!?”

“Look, that guy… he’s dead.”

“Poor thing…”

“Just because he ended up in charge of His Highness’s meals, his life ends today…”

The kitchen staff muttered unsettling words about the meal handler assigned to me.

――――My Room.

“Keep this to yourself! From now on, serve a lot of lean meat. I don’t eat fatty meat, so keep that in mind. Understood!”

“Y-yes, sir!”

“This is a secret between you and me.”

I took out a pen from the drawer and handed it to the meal handler.

“Th-this is…”

“Don’t make a fuss. I wanted to give you something of value, but it seems I don’t have anything on hand.”

I remembered the pen nib was made of precious metal, right? Though not silver like platinum, the pen I had gleamed in a golden hue.

“Sell this and use it to support your household.”

“I-I’ll make it a family heirloom.”

“Don’t speak of this to anyone. If you do…”

“Y-yes, sir!”

Sigh… It’s so troublesome to thank a cook. I have to go through such roundabout methods. Can I really avoid my death flags?

While working out, I noticed a suspicious silver shadow watching me from outside the window… It seems I’ve already caught Miinya’s attention.

There’s no other choice; I’ll have to use that method…