I Was Reincarnated as the Prince in a Villainess Story, so I’ll Use My Cheat Knowledge to Create a Noble Lady Harem and Make Them All Happy - 5

Chapter 5: Ten Years of Journey, the Night Before the First Night

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The study before dawn was quiet. Outside the window, the sky was still a deep indigo, and a soft mist covering the rooftops of the distant royal capital gently embraced the sleeping city. Only the candlelight illuminated the record book on the desk.

The handwriting inscribed within had changed, from the trembling letters of a young child to the composed strokes of the man Valis had become. Ten years of Valis’s life were contained within that single volume. That day, the boy who once looked down at the puddles in the slums had now become the crown prince who spoke of the kingdom’s future.

“The average lifespan in the capital has increased by six years over the past decade.”

Those were the proud words spoken by the chancellor at the recent council meeting. It had already been eight years since Valis fully launched his reforms of the sewage network. Throughout the capital, magical conduits for purified water and drainage treatment tanks had been installed, and the incidence of epidemics had plummeted.

The northern district slums—the first site—had now become a model area. Yet what Valis valued most was not there.

“Pleasure is not a sin.”

It had taken three years to issue that statement as an official article of law. In this world, anything related to sex was shrouded in a taboo called “sacredness.” Chastity was considered a virtue. Marriage, a duty of lineage. Noble ladies, ignorant of the arts of the bedchamber, were wed off as tools of political convenience. That was simply how things were.

But Valis knew, from that other world, just how much tragedy such ignorance could bring. When a girl faced her first night at too young an age, it could cost her life. When the act was repeated without knowledge or skill, diseases spread, and children could not be raised.

That was why Valis set forth the following decrees: An age restriction for women in sexual relations. A clear definition of “the proper age for the first night,” based on physical maturity. And beyond that, the introduction of sexual education curricula and the establishment of a state-managed system of public courtesans.

He declared it to be “a rightful act as human beings.” To affirm pleasure without denial and to show its dignity through knowledge and understanding, rather than through shame and repression. The first to agree with that philosophy were, surprisingly enough, the high-ranking nobles.

“My family line, too, had its share of debauchery in past generations… If only such a system had existed then.”

“My niece died during pregnancy. If only she hadn’t been so ignorant…”

“His Highness’s ideas aren’t mere idealism. They’re something we truly need.”

Such voices rose one after another in the royal council. Most decisive of all was Marquess Agreia, Reina’s father and the Duke of Elfein. Both declared their support early on.

From that day forward, the tide turned completely. The details that followed were recorded at length by the royal chroniclers. But what mattered most to Valis was neither the numbers nor the laws. It was that “the faces of the people had changed.” In the brothels, medical mages conducted monthly health examinations.

Within clean rooms, prostitutes now proudly bore the title of “Certified Instructor of the Erotic Arts.” No one pointed fingers. No one lied. Pleasure was no longer shameful.  That meant the “culture” itself had changed.

And yet, Valis, who had stood at the very center of the sexual education reforms, had never taken anyone’s hand. It wasn’t because he hadn’t been invited. Among the maids who worked as his aides, there were those who offered to share his bed. Even among the noblewomen serving as instructors in academic lectures, some had requested his cooperation in “practical training.”

Still, Valis had never reached out. He knew the reason why. Valis had been waiting for Reina. It wasn’t that he was pretending to uphold chastity as a virtue. He was well aware of how “sacred” sexual inexperience was regarded among the nobility. If anything, Valis himself had been the one to reform that very notion as a system.

Physical maturity. Emotional readiness. Technique and knowledge. Only when all of those were present could two people truly unite in the right way. That was why Valis had to embody that ideal himself, to set an example. Even so, if he spoke honestly… He didn’t want to treat the act of taking Reina into his arms as something casual.

When they were children, the first time he met her, she had been as cold and sharp and as dazzling as ice. It was an arranged marriage. Anyone could see that. But even so, within her, Valis saw a young girl who bore both pride and solitude. That was why the words “I fell in love with her” felt far too light.

Valis knew that she would become “the most beautiful and noble being of all.” The House of Marquess Agreia—a lineage known for its mastery of civil governance, codification of law, and cultivation of culture.

Though ranked just below ducal houses in nobility, their refinement and education were among the finest in the kingdom. That much was clear even from the breadth of Reina’s knowledge as a child.

“Reina has the bearing of a queen.”

Those were the words of his father, the current king.

…And so, Valis chose to keep his distance from her. As crown prince, he had met her many times in public: at council meetings, ceremonies, and New Year’s audiences. Yet in private, they had exchanged almost no words. She had received the highest level of education at a young age.

Valis knew of her diligence. He knew she read the governmental documents thoroughly. And still, he could not allow himself to draw too near. Because he wanted to see her not as the girl he had known since childhood, but as a “woman.” So that tonight, they could meet “as equals.”

Tonight, he would finally be able to stand beside her, stride for stride. That was the “answer” Valis had found after ten long years. Outside the window, the sky began to blush faintly pink. The bells of the royal capital tolled low, signaling the first hour.

Today, Valis turned twenty and tonight… Valis would at last take Reina into his arms.

A faint ache stirred deep in his chest. Was it nervousness? Anticipation? Or perhaps the lingering trace of a boyish feeling still within him. But there was no longer any doubt.

Valis and the others had walked the right path. Tonight was the day to celebrate that. As one man and one woman… They would speak of love and join their bodies. At last, the moment had come.

“…Let’s go.”

Valis rose from his seat and closed the book. The long “preparation period” had come to an end.

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