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 5: The Azellan Charter

The Tiarma Imperial Palace, one of the six imperial villas where the Emperor’s consorts resided.

Built about twenty years ago, this building was deserted, and my footsteps echoed every time I walked down the hallway.

Following Ange, I stopped in front of my mother’s office.

“Crescella-sama, Yoan-sama has arrived.”

When Ange knocked twice—kon kon—there was a signal from inside.

I opened the door. Beyond it was a beautiful woman with blonde hair.

Dressed in a pure white dress and gazing at the scenery outside the window, she was the very image of a sheltered noble lady.

“It is Yoan. I have arrived.”

“Ah, Yoan. My angel. So you really have become able to walk on your own. Come, come here.”

Mother beckoned to me. I went to her side as if drawn in. In the original story, she was closer to a demon if anything, but this mother probably didn’t know that.

While I was thinking that, she hugged me tightly. Forcefully.

“Mugu…!”

“Yoan, you made up your mind well. I am proud of your decision.”

Well, as a son, I was truly proud too.

To think that despite being in her early thirties, she possessed such amazing things…

Why are villains’ mothers always so attractive?

Maybe because they’ve been through hardships.

Then, Mother loosened her grip and, seemingly noticing something, stared at me.

“Yoan, you…”

(Tsk… Mother, what on earth does she intend to say…?)

I was on guard. Because Mother is…

“—You want to insert it into me, don’t you? Very well, thrust as much as you like.”

Mother was puffing out her nose—with a gaze expecting something.

Yes, because Mother was… incredibly airheaded.

Normally she was a sheltered young lady whom everyone would admire, but occasionally, statements that made you want to say “Whoa, pervert” flew out of her mouth.

Really, she was decent normally, though.

When Mother dropped a bomb like that, the usual “Wicked Thought” came as if in response.

[If it is Yoan, he would splendidly execute a nose hook.]

(‘A nose hook, huh…’)

The “Nose Hook” was also synonymous with Yoan.

Those who touched Yoan’s reverse scale, regardless of gender, were hoisted up by a nose hook, and the worthless ones were beheaded right then and there.

Because of that, words like “Nose Hook Beheading” even became popular in the community.

By the way, in the bad ending where you get caught by Yoan, a movie was prepared for every heroine where they were fitted with a nose hook and a mouthpiece and tortured—something that can only be described as someone’s fetish.

“… Mother, I am fine for now.”

“Eh? Why is that?”

“I am not in that kind of mood right now.”

“I-Is that so…? I understand. Please tell me anytime if you want to do it.”

“Tsk…”

…You’d think she was doing it on purpose, right? But she wasn’t.

Was it what they called the wavelength between parent and child? I could only call it a mystery.

For that reason, somewhere along the line, I gave up on correcting Mother’s behavior.

“Let us get to the main topic immediately. Yoan, three days from now, you will attend the ‘Hero Academy’.”

Mother abruptly entered the main topic. However, I doubted my ears at that content.

“…Th-Three days from now?!”

“Yes, that is right, Yoan. Did you not make up your mind knowing that the ‘Entrance Ceremony’ is in three days?”

“…Eh? Ah, that was it.”

I felt a sense of impending trouble, so I agreed for now. I see, starting three days from now. Hmmm… What should I do? I hadn’t learned magic or anything yet…?

“Um, isn’t there a little more preparation period or something?”

“There is no way there would be such a thing… By the way, you know that you have two Onii-samas from different mothers, correct? —Both of them are the same age.”

“Umm, yes.”

I vaguely remembered.

I knew that Yoan had two half-Onii-samas of the same age.

My father, who was also called the Unified King and was the Emperor of this country, had three consorts.

One of them was my mother.

Since the other two consorts also gave birth to eldest sons at the same time as my mother, I became the younger one by just a few days.

“Those two will also be attending the Hero Academy. And, to tell you the truth, this Hero Academy itself will be the stage for the ‘Crown Prince Selection Battle.’ You must suppress your two Onii-samas and take the seat of the Crown Prince.”

My face almost twitched involuntarily. Isn’t that a bit too intense for words to say to a son who just recovered…?

“However, Mother, I have already fallen behind the two of them. For me to catch up now is…”

“I do not want to hear excuses, Yoan. You have shut yourself in your room all this time. That is because you refused, no matter what, to follow the ‘Revelation of the Hero’.”

“…”

“Revelation of the Hero”… In other words, the “Wicked Thoughts.”

Given that it ranged from “childish pranks” like sticking a finger in a nostril to “assassination requests” for siblings and their associates, I wondered if it was something that should really be called “Hero” or whatever.

“The reason I tolerated that was because I respected your will. Because I believed that someday you would know the weight of the pain of resisting it, and that you would begin to walk the path of conquest by your own will. I did not think it would take fifteen years, though.”

Mother poked me with a sharp remark while looking grumpy. I couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh at this.

“Well, there is no use talking about it any further. I will accept that it is good for now that you have begun to walk the path.”

“Why do you desire for me to become Emperor so much, Mother?”

I asked Mother her true intentions.

“…I am not saying this by my own will, Yoan. It is because there is a ‘Pact’ between the Tiarma family, my birth home, and the Perdraon family.”

The Tiarma family was the ruler of Mother’s homeland, the [Witch’s Tower]. It wouldn’t be incorrect to call it a royal family.

And one more, the Perdraon family.

A royal family based in the mountain nation [Valley of Kings], located in the northern center of the empire.

It had the smallest population among the seven nations, but it was a dragon habitat and possessed a unique military force such as the Dragon Knights.

And the princess of that Perdraon family was one of the heroines. By the way, in the original story, Yoan got his hand bitten by the heroine’s dragon, flew into a rage, and had the dragon disposed of, causing the heroine to bear an indelible scar on her heart, but well, since I prevented this incident a few years ago, there was no problem.

“A pact, is it?”

“Yes, its content is as follows—”

Mother read aloud the pact concluded with the Perdraon family.

1. The Perdraon family shall marry the Princess of Perdraon to the Third Prince of the Azellan Empire, Yoan.

2. Upon Yoan becoming the Emperor of the Azellan Empire, he shall make that princess his “Legal Wife.”

3. The eldest son between Yoan and the princess shall be the Crown Prince. The Tiarma family shall be the guardian of the second son, and the Perdraon family shall be the guardian of the third son.

I see, in other words, it meant the Tiarma family, Mother’s family, and the Perdraon family were conspiring to make me Emperor.

(That’s absurd…)

Not just becoming Emperor, but talking about my children… they were counting their chickens before they hatched to an extreme degree…

“Until now, the Tiarma family and the Perdraon family have fallen behind the other four families and have been placed in a predicament. There is no longer any grace period. From now on, you must demonstrate to those around you the capability worthy of becoming Emperor.”

Saying that, Mother stared at me strongly.

(This is troubling…)

When stress was applied, that Wicked Thought came.

[If it is Yoan, he would execute a nose hook and silence his mother.]

…Yoan would really do that, wouldn’t he?

The relationship between Yoan and his mother was a part that wasn’t depicted in the original story.

It was probably correct not to depict it.

“Piki piki...”

If it were the original Yoan, he would have met Mother’s required standards by this point.

In contrast, I sadly had no achievements whatsoever.

I didn’t want to get depressed comparing myself to Yoan, but since it couldn’t be helped, I’d do my best at the academy.

And one more thing was the heroine problem.

In the original story, the romance flags between Yoan and the heroine were completely broken at this point, but for the current me, it was a subtle line.

She was a character I quite liked, but I wanted to let her go somewhere. Because the heroine belonged to the protagonist. I just couldn’t help but feel something was wrong with a villain and a heroine ending up together.

“Mother, is my engagement still valid?”

“It is obvious, isn’t it? Because your marriage itself is something established by the ‘Azellan Charter’.”

—The “Azellan Charter.”

Simply put, it was a summary of various things saying, “The ‘Azellan Empire’ will take on the role of mediator among the seven kingdoms.”

One of its provisions stipulated the adoption of the “Imperial Imperial Palace System.”

It was a story about adjusting the power balance by having the six countries offer princesses to the Emperor.

The point to note here was that the families offering princesses were limited to—”Three Families.”

The official reason was that if all six families offered princesses at the same time, the maintenance costs would be absurd, and it could invite various confusions.

That was why the current Emperor had three consorts, including Mother. The structure was that for the next Emperor, princesses would be offered from the other three families.

“However, in my generation, the Crown Prince has not been decided yet. Despite that, why has the Perdraon family’s princess already been chosen as my fiancee?”

If they were going to marry off a princess, wasn’t the theory to do it “after the Crown Prince is decided”?

“Things are not that simple. Especially in this ‘Azellan Empire,’ because we must look ahead even further to the selection of your ‘next’ Crown Prince.”

Speaking of the next Crown Prince, that would be my children’s generation.

“If we follow the procedure of marrying the three princesses after the Crown Prince is installed, the probability of one’s own family seizing real power is, by simple calculation, ‘one-third.’ But if we engage them to one of the three princes before the installation, the position of that ‘Legal Wife’ is confirmed.”

I see, in short, the strategy was to secure the position of “Legal Wife” first, and then eliminate the other princes and somehow obtain the position of Crown Prince.

In terms of the earlier “Pact” with the Perdraon family, the second clause must be the important one.

(Hm, which means…)

“Could it be that the other princes have also concluded the same ‘Pact’ as us?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

The First Prince’s faction, the Cervero family of the [Silver Pact Market], had welcomed a princess from the Hodolsky family of the [Black Iron Forge].

And the Second Prince’s faction, the Rydell family of the [Land of Sacred Trees], had welcomed a princess from the Kreutzer family of the [South-Eastern Edge].

In other words, a 2 vs 2 vs 2 structure had already been completed.

“It is weird for me to say it myself, but the Perdraon family is pitiful…”

After all, the one they ended up sending the princess to was me, the “biggest losing lottery ticket.”

“Why are you whining? The Perdraon family has already assumed such risks. It is absolutely impossible for the engagement to be dissolved. Therefore, you only need to think about winning the ‘Selection Battle’.”

Although my death was waiting at the end of that victory… Even so, “never be dissolved,” huh?

I’d put this on hold. It wasn’t something to make a fuss about at a stage where I haven’t even met the heroine yet.

However, one thing that caught my attention was—the existence of the “Azellan Charter.” A measure for the “Azellan Empire” to settle into a leading position among the seven kingdoms.

(…They thought it out well.)

I thought.

Because when the Azellan Empire was founded twenty years ago, it held various problems both domestically and internationally.

There were those who strayed from the path, and those who resisted head-on. Problems that often occur when the top of the country changes.

The “Azellan Charter” was probably a measure to deflect the brunt of such problems.

They created a system where the six countries formed factions and checked each other. Only the Azellan Empire was able to secure a position of standing back and watching among the seven kingdoms.

The Emperor who thought of this was quite the tactician.

…No, wait.

This isn’t Father’s idea.

Father, His Majesty the Emperor, was an empty-headed man whose hobby was “Monster Hunting.”

A being who would die in a year from a hunting wound becoming infected. He was not the type to do brain work by any stretch of the imagination.

In that case…

(Did someone behind him put ideas into his head…?)

It would be fine if it were simply out of good intentions, but it was a fact that the existence of the “Azellan Charter,” which defined the existence of the Imperial Palaces, ultimately leads to the later “Collapse of the Seven Kingdoms.”

If by any chance there was someone who painted that picture from the beginning, it was a terrifying story.

Because that person intentionally created a mechanism that would collapse with a single trigger after sowing various seeds of conflict.

(…Well, I think it’s needless worry though.)

That said, it would be dangerous to manage with only the knowledge of the original story.

Since this world right now had already deviated greatly from the original route.

For now, shall I reassure Mother?

“I understand. I swear to do my best to become Emperor.”

“Yes…, yes! I am counting on you, Yoan! Naturally, your fiancee Naphna-san will also attend the Entrance Ceremony, so please make sure not to be rude.”

“Yes.”

Well, actually I had no intention of becoming Emperor. …Sorry, Mother. But I would settle my past debts of ingratitude and make an effort to repay that obligation.

So as a policy for the future, I would settle things in a form where I “somehow do not become Emperor” but “benefit the Tiarma family.”

And above all, “I survive.”

It depended on my maneuvering from now on, but what I must first think about at the academy was, of the two princes:

—”Which one to make the scapegoat.”

Since I hadn’t met either of them, I didn’t know what kind of personalities they had. I would need to assess them hereafter.

And my fiancee.

One of the most popular heroines in ERT—Naphna Selene Perdraon. A girl with hair deep blue like the sea.

The girl who was the greatest victim of Yoan in this work, and whose eyes were always clouded.

There was some excitement in meeting the original heroine. Because when I was playing ERT, she was one of my favorites. And on top of that, she’s my fiancee. What kind of face should I make when meeting the fiancee I haven’t met even once in these fifteen years?

…Ah, come to think of it, there was one more problem.

“Right, Mother…”

“What is it, Yoan? Do you want to insert it now?”

Mother wore an innocent smile.

“… No, actually—”

I wondered if this was a problem or what.

“——————I am anxious about my social debut in three days, and the shivering won’t stop. What should I do?”

“…”

Can I, with a shut-in history of thirty-five years, really make a social debut?

—Communication disorder, shyness, loner etc…?