The Villain Wants to Change Genres

Chapter 28

“You know about the First Prince’s birthday celebration in a few days, right?”

“Of course, how could I not?”

“It seems the First Prince will formally request you, Fei, to be his dance partner.”

Is he crazy? Why me!

No, wait. The content doesn’t seem to be the important part right now. I almost got caught up in my momentary irritation.

“Who told Your Highness this news?”

If a rumor has reached the ears of the 5th Prince, who has no interest or involvement in politics, it means one of two things.

First, it’s information everyone already knows, or second, someone deliberately tipped him off.

But since Irene didn’t say anything, it’s not the first option. So to guess the purpose of using the 5th Prince as a messenger, knowing who it was is crucial. The mastermind or the male lead. It must be one of the two, but which one?

“The Second Prince came personally to tell me. He also advised me to inform you discreetly if possible.”

So it’s the male lead’s side. He’s saying the prince came in person, not sending a servant. Then there’s a high probability that the news about the 1st Prince choosing me as his dance partner is false.

Homosexuality isn’t particularly frowned upon in the Empire. It’s not institutionally recognized, but there isn’t an atmosphere of finger-pointing because of it.

However, royal family members and noble heirs have a duty to marry the opposite sex and produce the next heir. That’s why I was born. If my father had known about Irene’s existence beforehand, I wouldn’t have been born.

‘Well, that’s not the important thing right now.’

The point is that even if the 1st Prince wants to declare me as his person, requesting me as his partner for the birthday celebration would be a losing move. The 1st Prince must know this. Only the innocent 5th Prince seems to be unaware.

Aiming for the Crown Prince position, bringing a male partner to a birthday celebration attended by the Emperor and Empress? If I were the 2nd Prince, I’d spread rumors that the 1st Prince isn’t interested in the Crown Prince position because he’s going around with a male partner. Of course, I’d do it quietly so no one would know who spread it.

Rumors are easily distorted, and as they pass from mouth to mouth, they tend to become more sensational.

‘A rumor that starts with the fact that the 1st Prince chose a male partner for his birthday celebration would eventually turn into him having a male concubine.’

And then rumors would circulate that this male concubine was slapped by the 1st Prince’s wife, or that he turned out to be the son of a powerful family, or that he was forcibly molested, and so on.

Of course, if it doesn’t spread as desired, they would add some spice and carefully guide it in a more sensational direction. Once the rumor starts circulating satisfactorily, they would leak it to the Emperor, disguised as a coincidence or slip of the tongue, and that would be the end of it.

‘Since it’s a matter related to the royal family’s reputation…’

The 1st Prince would get an earful from the Emperor.

The appointment of the Crown Prince depends on the Emperor’s heart. In other words, it’s a battle of who can score more points, and this could be a small but quite enjoyable victory.

Even someone as stupid as me could do this much, so wouldn’t the male lead do more? So if this rumor were true, the 2nd Prince wouldn’t need to tell me. It would be useful to leave it alone.

Then why did he do it? To see my sister’s face once when I run to Irene to tell her and ask for help?

‘No, that’s not it.’

Right now, the 2nd Prince isn’t particularly interested in Irene. He’s just being nice to her to persuade Duke Vinter. Him falling for her genuinely comes a bit later in the timeline.

Hmm. Then there must be another reason…

‘I thought he already knew about the 1st Prince visiting the 5th Prince’s greenhouse to see me, but it seems he’s been keeping an eye on me since then.’

Did he make a move to check because my side has been quiet? To see if I’m someone who would side with the 1st Prince and cause trouble for him? Maybe because the succession plan of the Vinter family might change due to the 1st Prince’s interference?

Yes, this seems more convincing.

Even if he lied with false information, who could verify anything if he says he persuaded his brother to stop it? To be able to confirm the truth, one would have to be the 1st Prince’s person. In that case, they would already be enemies with the 2nd Prince anyway. He has nothing to lose by stirring things up once.

‘When I was reading the original story, it was fun to see the 2nd Prince using his brain like a cunning snake, but now that I’m the target, it’s annoying. It makes me want to… cause some trouble.’

Sigh… I must endure. I must endure. There’s nothing good about catching the male lead’s eye.

I didn’t want to get involved in the struggle for royal power. But… my heart kept veering off course. I even started thinking it might be good to bring down both princes and put the 5th Prince on the throne.

Of course, that would involve some hardship and could be dangerous. But I would have done it anyway. Even if I die, I can’t give up on making those who try to use me eat crow.

That is, if it weren’t for Luwen. If not for him, I might have started planning to take down those two bastards by now.

‘I’m enduring because Luwen might get involved and get hurt.’

I quietly lowered my eyes and recalled Luwen’s smile. Then I remembered how he cutely cried and snuggled into my arms. Naturally, the unpleasant feeling caused by the arrogant 2nd Prince faded away, and a lovely feeling bubbled up.

Thanks to that, my heart became quite generous. Although he’s annoying, he’s also going to be my brother-in-law in the future, so I’ll let it slide this once.

“Fei, don’t be too scared. I’ll do something about it somehow. For now, you should continue to pretend to be sick and stay at the mansion.”

Was I too lost in thought? He seems to have misunderstood that I was scared and frozen. But since I was planning to take that stance anyway, I nodded appropriately.

“…Yes. Being the 1st Prince’s partner seems too much for me and burdensome. If I could refuse, I’d like to.”

“Leave it to me. I’ll go to the Second Prince and ask for help.”

After that, the 5th Prince quickly disappeared, telling me to take care of my health.

After seeing off the prince, I sought out Irene before going to Luwen. And I honestly told her why the 5th Prince came, including who delivered the news.

Irene is a smart person. She’ll probably come to a conclusion not much different from what I deduced. I looked at her with an anxious gaze, pretending not to know anything.

Can you interpret this? The 2nd Prince is a sinister person. He’s a sly fox.

“I don’t think you’ll become the 1st Prince’s partner, Fei. That’s just my opinion.”

As expected! I knew I could count on you!

“Then why did His Highness…”

Irene hesitated to speak and let out a shallow sigh. It seems she won’t explain. But there’s always a way.

I pretended to realize belatedly, widening my eyes and opening my mouth.

“C-Could it be that they misunderstood because I met the 1st Prince in the greenhouse?”

The trembling in my voice was perfectly executed. I bit my lower lip to look scared to anyone watching, and Irene stroked my cheek.

“Don’t be afraid. He’ll know you didn’t go to him. He’s probably just checking. Besides, no matter how much of a prince he is, he can’t treat our family carelessly.”

“But… Father won’t protect me.”

“I’ll protect you.”

Irene said with a firm voice.

Our sister is dependable, isn’t she? Honestly, it touched my heart.

“But, no matter what, how could you… I’m starting to see the prince differently.”

There was a slight anger mixed in her voice. This probably won’t cause much trouble in the love line between the two, but it might delay the time when Irene accepts the prince’s heart a little.

It’s just an increase in the period of heartache, so I’ve been quite lenient, 2nd Prince. Be grateful to Luwen.

Three days later, the 1st Prince announced his partner. In the end, there was no instance of the 1st Prince choosing me as his partner.

Honestly, I was about 99% certain, but there was a 1% chance that the 1st Prince might have made a sudden move, so I was nervous. But today, it was definitively resolved. The 1st Prince chose his wife as his partner. Irene delivered the news with a smiling face.

Of course. As expected, the 2nd Prince was just testing me. What a vexing fellow.

* * *

Winter passed, and spring came. Construction of the training ground began, and every early morning, I left the mansion with Luwen. While I received education at the clinic run by my teacher, Luwen learned horseback riding nearby.

In the afternoons, we returned to the mansion, and I watched Luwen’s sword practice. Dedric marveled at the child’s rapidly improving skills every time he met him.

In the evenings, we ate dinner together, and I taught Luwen how to write as he wanted to learn letters. At night, we bathed together and occasionally played by squirting water at each other.

And I broke the habit of reading books in the early morning when I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t be stubborn because Luwen would urge me to go to sleep quickly, blinking his eyes while trying hard to stay awake. How could I let the child stay up just because I wouldn’t lie down?

However, my insomnia hadn’t improved, so when I tossed and turned unable to sleep, Luwen would somehow wake up, crawl over, and pat my chest with his small hand. As if trying to put me to sleep. Strangely, it helped me fall asleep easily.