It's Not Like I Want to Play the Role of a Misunderstood, Good-for-Nothing Prince in a Villainess Story! - Chapter 2 – But a Party All of a Sudden...

“No way…”

After standing there dumbfounded for far too long, I touched my reflection in the mirror again, just to be sure.

My body was small, still quite thin.

Red hair, red eyes, a face that was surprisingly well-formed despite its youth.

Definitely a face I recognized.

It was unmistakably First Prince Zeke from PriLove.

“I’m… actually Zeke?”

A dry laugh escaped my lips.

In PriLove’s setting, Zeke was the First Prince of the Carlaan royal family—blessed with excellent looks, a brilliant mind, first-rate swordsmanship, and mastery of magic. A universally talented prince whose success was all but guaranteed.

Which would be perfectly standard for an otome game.

But PriLove was different from the start. It had flipped the script entirely.

Normally, the formula went like this: A low-status protagonist with a beautiful appearance and pure heart faces harassment from some noble lady—the so-called villainess—who happens to be engaged to a prince. But our plucky heroine would overturn the slander and reach her happy ending with said prince.

However, the company behind this game took a different approach. They’d listened to fans who argued that the villainess—who had devotedly loved the prince since childhood—deserved to be saved. So they made the protagonist the villainess herself and created a story where she gets her happy ending.

In other words, the story began with condemning the prince who’d suddenly annulled his engagement. The protagonist, formerly cast in the villainess role, would then fall in love with various handsome princes and knights she encountered afterward.

Essentially? I was the sacrificial lamb—the misguided prince who’d annulled that engagement.

And after that little incident, my only option was a bad end where I met a truly terrible fate.

Seriously, why the hell did Prince Zeke even do such a thing?

What makes it worse is that I originally got hooked on this game because I was a huge fan of the villainess heroine, Misty Claudia.

And now I’m on the engagement-annulling side? Hell no. Absolutely not.

“Ahhhh…”

I rolled around on the bed, letting out a pathetic groan.

The reality was sinking in—if I’m really Prince Zeke, a bad end is basically guaranteed at this rate.

How did it go again? Beheading, exile to some remote wasteland, crucifixion… For some reason, there were multiple variations on my execution.

Almost like someone had a personal grudge against the misguided prince.

What should I do? I definitely don’t want a public execution ending—that’s way too horrifying for comfort.

As I continued my pitiful rolling session, a knock sounded at the door.

“Excuse me, Zeke-sama. Your meal is ready. Please hurry and prepare yourself…”

“G-got it!”

When I scrambled up and opened the door, an elderly butler with a distinguished white beard stood there, bowing respectfully.

That must be Sebastian, the butler.

The moment he saw me, surprise flickered across Sebastian’s face.

“Zeke-sama, that appearance is rather…”

“Huh?”

I glanced down at myself. Oh. I was still completely in my pajamas.

“Your change of clothes has been prepared over there…”

“O-oh. Right. Sorry.”

“…No need, my lord.”

I hurried back inside and changed into the outfit laid out on the desk. First time I’d ever worn a bow tie in my life.

Despite feeling uncomfortable in the formal wear, I followed Sebastian to the dining room.

The interior was breathtakingly refined—a long table draped with pristine white cloth, not a speck of dust anywhere. Thick cylindrical pillars rose to a high ceiling, red carpet cushioned every step, and stained glass windows filtered the light into rainbow hues.

Maids stood at equal intervals along the walls in perfect silence.

Bourgeois! The fantasy world was alive and well right here.

“You’re late…”

Sitting at the far end was Zeke’s father—and king of this Carlaan Kingdom—Halt Carlaan himself.

“Honestly, you always oversleep, don’t you?”

The one speaking gently was my mother, Queen Laura Carlaan.

And then—

“Well, he’s my Nii-san, so it can’t be helped.”

The voice was cold, almost cutting. It came from the sharp-looking boy sitting across from me—Tigos Carlaan.

Wait. Huh?

“Tigos, why are you…?”

“…?”

“Just sit down, Zeke.”

“Y-yes. Sorry.”

I took my seat, question marks practically floating over my head.

As I ate the luxurious meal, confusion swirled through my thoughts. Tigos was my younger brother, yes—but wasn’t he supposed to be eight years younger than me?

In the game, Tigos appeared at age ten as a hidden romance target—also known as the shota route.

But no matter how I looked at it, the boy in front of me appeared close to my own age.

When I’d seen myself in the mirror earlier, I looked maybe eight years old at best.

Something’s definitely off here.

“Zeke, you were rather noisy this morning. Did something happen?”

While I was puzzling over this, Father spoke to me directly.

“This morning?”

“I heard a scream coming from your room.”

“Did you have a bad dream, dear?” Mother asked with a gentle, knowing smile.

I did have a bad dream, for sure.

Though technically it’s still ongoing!

“Hey, Nii-san—I’m really looking forward to tonight’s social party.”

Tigos addressed me with barely concealed smugness.

“Yeah, the social… wait, there’s a party tonight?!”

This is news to me!

“Why are you so surprised? Well, I suppose you do skip dance practice, so you can’t dance anyway. I can already dance, though.”

Dance? That’s also complete news to me, and I definitely can’t pull that off if you just spring it on me like this!

“Good grief. Seven-year-old Tigos can dance, but eight-year-old Zeke still can’t manage it. It’s because you keep running away from your lessons, you know. And I hear you skip studying and sword practice too. Sebastian, have you been warning him properly?”

“My sincerest apologies, Your Majesty.”

“It’s fine. Zeke has his own pace, I suppose… but…” Mother placed her hand delicately against her cheek, a troubled smile gracing her lips. “At this rate, he might never find a partner.”

☆☆☆

Night fell.

A grand social party—one that invited nobles from throughout the capital—was held within the royal palace that evening.

The decorated hall teemed with people, tables groaned under the weight of elaborate dishes, and cheerful music mingled with nobles’ laughter echoing through the space.

“Nii-san, this is really delicious.”

“Yeah, it is.”

The special dishes, prepared with every ounce of skill the royal palace cooks possessed, tasted even better than the food I’d eaten earlier.

“Pardon the interruption while you’re both enjoying your meal. His Majesty summons you.”

“Father does?”

When Sebastian led us over, our parents were engaged in cheerful conversation with what appeared to be some noble. Judging by his clothes and bearing, he seemed quite important.

Actually… I feel like I’ve seen this face somewhere before.

“Ah, you’ve arrived. Well then, Marquis, if you would.”

“Yes, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Zeke-sama, Lord Tigos. I am Red Claudia.”

His respectful bow was elegance personified.

Hm? Claudia?

“Go on, introduce yourself.”

From behind the imposing man, a small figure emerged.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Misty Claudia.”

An angel had descended before my very eyes.