The Shut-In Prince’s Splendid Social Debut — Me, a Villainous Imperial, Have Spent the Last Fifteen Years Fighting the “Wicked Thoughts” Eating Away at My Mind. When I Finally Returned to High Society, There Were Way Too Many People I Didn’t Recognize — - Chapter 10: Must Leave a Mark

—[Lounge]

That was the innermost area within the Hero Academy.
Though it remained unopened at present, it was destined to become the stage for the “Crown Prince Selection Battle.”

Since enrollment had not yet begun, it was normally a place no one was permitted to enter. And yet, a young man with crimson hair and flamboyant clothing walked through it with elegant ease.

At the center stood an enormous round table.

Thirteen seats had been arranged around it.

Of those thirteen seats, twelve remained empty. Only one was occupied—by a noble young man with green hair and a gentle appearance.

“Yo, thanks for coming, Prince Roberto.”

The green-haired youth called out as soon as he noticed the crimson-haired man.

“Hmph. Summoning me—the next Emperor… you’ve gotten rather important, Noel.”

The crimson-haired man, the First Prince of the Azellan Empire—Roberto Joachim Rodenze—narrowed his eyes toward the gentle-looking green-haired noble.

“Ahaha, don’t be so cold. This is important work before the ‘Crown Prince Selection Battle.’ So… were you able to make good use of the ‘Information’ we provided?”

The gentle green-haired noble was Noel Lord Strat.

He was the next head of the Strat Ducal House, a figure who stood at the apex of the many noble families of the Azellan Empire.

“Yeah. There were no mistakes. You’ll handle the cleanup afterward, right?”

“Of course. The nobles of the Imperial Capital are under my influence. As planned, you will be celebrated as the hero who exposed and condemned a corrupt noble.”

“…Hmph. Fine then.”

Roberto accepted this while frowning faintly at Noel’s somewhat dubious nature.

“Ah, that reminds me. I heard a slightly troubling story. Is it true a ‘Rat’ slipped into the Engagement Anniversary Party of your pet Military Minister?”

“…What are you talking about?”

Roberto’s expression immediately sharpened with caution.

“Fufufu, there’s no need to be so guarded. That ‘Shut-in Prince’ is finally appearing in high society, isn’t he?”

“Tch. I thought I had controlled the flow of information on my side…”

“No need to feel down. Your information control was flawless. I simply happened to be observing the Perdraon family’s movements particularly closely this time. You could say I worked backward from there and reached that conclusion.”

…As expected of the man who ruled over the nobility.

Noel was such an exceptional figure that his name was always the first to come up among Roberto’s generation.

For now, they were allies.

But if Noel ever became an enemy, he would undoubtedly be the most troublesome opponent imaginable.

“…I see. A ‘Rat’ of that level isn’t even worth dealing with. Still, it’s irritating if he starts doing as he pleases in my garden. I’ll make sure to ‘play with him’ appropriately.”

An unpleasant smile spread across Roberto’s face.

“Fufufu. He’s your step-Onii-sama, isn’t he? Why not go easy on him? In this situation, a ‘Shut-in Prince’ has no chance of winning anyway.”

Noel suggested it might be worthwhile to earn a favor.

“Hah. Don’t make me laugh, Noel. I don’t bother with ‘small fry.’ A miserable faction like that will vanish on its own if left alone. Until then, at best he’ll serve as my ‘toy.'”

“Hmm. I agree it’s a pitiful faction, but—you might want to keep an eye on the Perdraon family.”

Noel spoke with a thoughtful expression.

“Aah? Why? The Perdraon family will sink together with that ‘Shut-in Prince.’ Before long they won’t even be able to remain in the Azellan Empire and will crawl back to their ‘Bird’s Nest’ in disgrace.”

“…I’m not so sure. That family has been forming a rather unique faction within the empire. At first I assumed they were merely desperate. But strangely, the nobles gathering around them appear to be ‘those who received demotion punishments twenty years ago.'”

If Noel found it concerning, then there might indeed be something there.

However, from Roberto’s perspective, those nobles had already lost their power long ago. They were little more than remnants of a bygone era.

In other words—

Small fry.

“Hmph. There’s no need to worry about insects of that level. No matter what the Perdraon family is plotting, the fact that I will become Emperor won’t change.”

Roberto stood up from his seat.

“The next time we meet will be at the ‘Entrance Ceremony.’ Continue working hard for my sake, Noel.”

“Fufufu. Of course. See you later, Prince Roberto.”

Roberto left the lounge.

Noel remained behind alone.

“Now then… things have become quite interesting.”

Noel turned his gaze toward the darkness.

“—Fetania.”

At his call, a girl dressed entirely in black silently emerged from the shadows.

“Did you call for me, Noel-sama?”

“How did the investigation go?”

Noel asked with a serious expression.

“—A direct hit. They were conducting experiments for ‘Spirit Armaments.'”

Fetania delivered her report with a grave look.

“So they really did meddle with that ‘Taboo Experiment’…”

Noel rested his chin on his hand.

“In that case, something might happen during the ‘Engagement Anniversary Party’ currently underway as well.”

“Most likely… Shall we apprehend them?”

Once again, Noel sank into deep thought.

He ran countless simulations through his mind before finally arriving at an answer.

“…No. We’ll wait and see a little longer.”

“Noel-sama?”

“It’s more convenient if they reveal their own tails. That way we can push all responsibility onto Prince Roberto.”

“…Tsk.”

Fetania fell silent at Noel’s merciless remark about the very man he had been speaking amicably with moments earlier.

“Besides, those people… they call themselves the ‘Demon Worship Cult,’ don’t they?”

A faint smile appeared on Noel’s lips.

“If we’re lucky, we might even draw out whoever stands above them. …Fufufu. This is becoming quite interesting.”

He rested his arms on the round table and chuckled quietly.

And in the back of his mind, he recalled a certain person he held particular interest in.

The “Blue-haired Girl.”

“The rest depends on how Naphna Selene Perdraon responds to Prince Roberto’s setup.”

Noel’s smile deepened.

“Now then… let’s see what you’re capable of.”

◇◇◇◇

Evening.

I arrived at the residence of the groom, Serbul Nolla Grotes.

A noble’s engagement anniversary celebration is typically held across consecutive days.

Officially, the reason for the two-day celebration is to display power both domestically and abroad. Lavish cuisine and the scale of invited guests serve as political tools to demonstrate influence.

But there is another hidden reason.

Collecting “Celebration Money.”

Apparently it amounts to quite a fortune.

The nobles of this country sell the “Right to observe the wedding night” for a high price.

The thought of unknown old men peeping at my wedding night sends chills down my spine, but they say it conveniently combines hobby and profit while demonstrating noble unity.

For the record, I also paid an appropriate amount of gold.

Since it would be unbecoming of royalty to pay nothing, Mother somehow managed to gather a respectable sum to contribute to both families.

I thought, Isn’t this ridiculously expensive?

But Mother was already counting her future gains.

“You are making your grand debut in high society. Considering you will become Emperor later, this will return with interest.”

Although it was essentially like sending salt to the enemy faction, there was no helping it.

At this point, my nervousness had completely disappeared.

For someone like me with a poverty-born mentality, once I’ve paid an amount that makes my eyes spin, the only thought that remains is—

“I must get my money’s worth.”

Watching someone else’s wedding night won’t benefit me at all.

I have no intention of becoming Emperor.

But if I fail to leave some kind of impression, then that money would truly be wasted.

Therefore—

The carriage stopped.

It seemed the guests had already gathered in great numbers.

Together with Serta, I puffed out my chest proudly and stepped down from the carriage.

A male guard approached, so I introduced myself with as much arrogance as I could muster.

“I am Yoan Joachim Rodenze.”

“C-Could it be… Are you Third Prince Yoan…?”

“Yeah.”

The young gatekeeper checked the guest list.

After finding the name, he bowed respectfully.

“C-Confirmation complete. We will prepare a ‘Top Class Seat’…”

“—Please wait.”

However, someone interrupted him.

The voice belonged to a female knight with a bob haircut, wearing expensive-looking armor.

(An Imperial Knight, huh…)

The armor she wore was [Azellan Royal Family Armor Lv. 2].

If it dropped as loot, it would sell for quite a high price.

Very tasty.

“I will guide this person. Return to your post.”

“B-But this person is…”

“We are the ‘Imperial Knight Order.’ …Is there some problem?”

“Tsk… I-I apologize.”

Intimidated, the male gatekeeper returned to his position.

(I have a bad feeling about this.)

Maids hurried about in every direction.

A massive number of nobles had already gathered here.

The noise and bustle were completely unlike my residence—the Tiarma Imperial Palace.

(So this is… socializing.)

The atmosphere alone overwhelmed me.

Hostile gazes were being directed my way.

What I had imagined happening was something like—

“Oi! Could that be—Yoan-sama!?”

“Eeeh!? You mean Yoan-sama, the Shut-in Prince!?”

“Impossible! This is huge news!”

…Something along those lines.

But none of that happened.

Not even the faintest ripple.

(What does this mean…?)

I had thought my “Social Debut” had been announced beforehand, but there were no signs of it.

The female knight guided me to the top-class VIP section—

…or rather, she should have.

Instead, she led me to a table placed at the far edge of the venue.

Even the tablecloth looked slightly yellowed with age.

“—This is your seat.”

The seat she pointed to was the place reserved for the lowest-ranking nobles among the lower nobility.

It was absolutely not a seat meant for royalty.

“…Tsk! Are you joking!? Yoan-sama is a Prince of this country! Making him sit at the very edge like this—have you no shame!?”

Serta exploded in anger.

I didn’t even need to say anything.

Thanks to Serta’s shout, quite a bit of attention gathered around us.

With this, surely someone would realize I was the Third Prince—

“Hmm? Yoan…? Yoan, Yoan… who was that again?”

“Aah? Yoan? Who’s that guy? Sounds like a weak name. For a lowly noble, he’s acting awfully arrogant.”

“Uyu. Yoan…? ………….Hmm…………. Not interested.”

The children seated among the upper nobles glanced at us with cold eyes.

To them, it simply looked like some low-ranking noble making a scene.

(Eh…? Is my name recognition really that low?)

Not a single person recognized that I was Prince Yoan.

To make matters worse, the nameplate on the table read:

“Yoald Decimal.”

…What is this? A new form of bullying?

“I’m not joking. This is Lord Yoald’s seat.”

Who the hell is Yoald?

And more importantly, getting a royal’s name wrong should be grounds for seppuku. What exactly are you thinking?

“…It seems you’ve mistaken the name.”

“No, no. There’s no mistake. You are Lord Yoald.”

The female knight stubbornly continued calling me Yoald.

…This woman was doing it intentionally.

“So you plan to keep calling me Yoald no matter what? Should I show you my status or something?”

“Haa… It seems Lord Yoald does not understand what ‘Socializing’ is.”

She spoke smoothly.

“A noble’s worth resides within their person. Displaying one’s status is something only weaklings with no confidence in their ability do. Among nobles, it is the most disgraceful act.”

The surrounding nobles nodded in agreement.

The nearby knights even wore mocking smiles.

“Today is the joyous engagement celebration of His Excellency Military Minister Serbul Nolla Grotes. Could a lowly noble like you refrain from causing further disturbance? It would trouble the other high-ranking nobles.”

She looked down on me with open contempt.

“And Lord Yoald, perhaps you should begin studying ‘Socializing’ again from the very beginning. Yes… you would do well to return to shutting yourself indoors. Fufu.”

She smiled mockingly.

(I see… so this is the kind of thing they do.)

“Haa… I expected things to be rough, but I didn’t think I’d be mocked this badly… Even though I paid quite a lot…”

This definitely wasn’t worth the price.

“Hah? What nonsense are you talking about…? Tsk!”

“That’s why—”

[If it were Yoan, he would perform a Nose Hook Beheading.]

“————I have to leave a mark… piki piki.”

“Fugoh—!”

I lifted the female knight straight into the air.

—By hooking my fingers into her nose.