Alice von Schweinheim the perfect princess. She had beautiful looks, had a talent for magic and swordsmanship and was extremely smart. She attracted everyone except her fiancè. He always tried to get away from her, always refused her, and always reprimanded her. He was a terrible fiancè.
So Alice had found five boys. They were all her type and she quickly became 'friends' with them. The boys were a son of a baron, the son of a marquis, the son of a count, the son of a wealthy merchant, and the son of a viscount. The boys like Aldrich said all had fiancè's and they had broken their engagements to be with Alice.
The fiancè's were the villainesses of the game. If you don't go down the harem route you would encounter them in each route for each boy. Of course Aldrich was featured in all their routes as a stepping stone to the villainess. Alice was the protagonist of the story so while the boys were engaged to their respective fiancé she had taken their virginity.
Purity for nobles was required for two reasons. The first was so that both male and female parties don't become involved with lavish lifestyles and mingle with the opposite gender every night. The second was to ensure that the child was born between two virgin nobles. It was some kind of traditional thing in the kingdom where if the child is born between virgin parents they would become blessed
It was baseless since blessings only happened to those who dedicated themselves to the gods. There were gods in the world but they didn't interact much with the mortals. They gave them blessings like rain, ensuring crops would be a perfect harvest and preventing illnesses.
Aldrich actually had the blessings of the magic and sword god due to his parents. To be crowned a saint you must go through a ritual so the gods will acknowledge you. Melody and Albert were both acknowledged by the sword and magic god.
Alice's charm ability also came from a god, the goddess of beauty; that charm was enough to completely change Aldrich's personality. Though of course Alice knew her power now but at the time she thought it was something to simply use to get people to give stuff to her.
So when she wanted that cupcake she used her charm at full power since Aldrich kept refusing. Which is what caused him to turn all obsessive over Alice. Alice didn't like the way Aldrich stuck to her and she was annoyed by Aldrich.
In the main story Aldrich harmed everyone who was even close to Alice and would harass someone to the point they became a recluse if they talked to Alice. He was a duke's son so it was very easy for him to put his status over everyone
It basically played out like one of those otome games where the heroine is bullied but the villainess except the heroine in this case is a powerful princess. The villainess was just a regular villain. It was very popular in Kenji's past life though he never understood why. Even with his sister's explanation all he saw was a story of plot holes and idiots.
The main one being Alice. The same Alice who was currently stared at with cold eyes by a beautiful mature woman. The woman couldn't be called beautiful like Alice rather she was like a succubus. She wore revealing clothes and had glasses that seemed to invite others to look into her eyes. But those seductive eyes were now staring at her daughter with a cold gleam.
Both said nothing, Alice was too scared of her mother. Her mother didn't have the same talent Alice had in swordsmanship but she easily made up for it when it came to magic. Unlike Albert who specialized and mastered all magic, Hers was purely offensive.
She was known for wiping out entire battlefields with her offensive magic. She was called the Magic Queen Ariane. Ariane was unlike the previous queens, she was brash, domineering and lustful. Whenever she saw a man that she fancied she'd take them away no matter if they had a lover.
She had a harem of 13 men though only 9 of the members could be called men. The other 4 were underage boys. Ranging from 10- 14. They all had to satisfy Her and she would punish them if they didn't. Due to her lustful nature she had 6 kids with different members of her harem. She was the first queen in 200 years to have more than 1 kid.
I'm short Ariane was just as worse as Alice the only difference was she knew what she was doing while Alice was just stupid. Nobody wanted to get on her bad side and Alice had done just that.
"...…." Ariane just stared not saying anything yet that terrified Alice beyond belief. Alice knew she was in trouble.
"Do you understand what you did wrong?" Ariane finally said in a freezing tone. Alice was terrified but Alice still didn't think she did anything wrong.
"B-but mother he wasn't a good fiancé I'm sure I could get- "before Alice could finish her mother cutting her off.
"What wasn't good about him?" Ariane said. Alice choked on her words and started trembling. To her Aldrich was a terrible fiancé but it appeared her mother thought differently.
"What do you mean?! He never did what I asked! Always refusing me whenever I tried to get close to him!"
"So you settled for a slut who would just allow you to do whatever you wanted to him?"
"That's not what I-
"You made them leave their fiancè's, own, made those boys publicly break off their engagement, almost tried to get the girls executed. Can you even fathom how many problems you've caused for our nation?"
"I-I
"I could understand if you wanted multiple husbands but to go as far as breaking off an engagement and accusing him of crimes he did not commit is a very serious offense. It doesn't matter if you're the crown princess, you can still be executed for your crimes." Ariane said. She cared for her daughter but she couldn't excuse her actions.
Alice herself had gone pale. She had remembered that Aldrich had told her she'd be punished if she'd accuse him falsely. Ariane wouldn't execute her but her punishment would be exactly a good thing. Ariane was disappointed in her daughter.
Ariane thought Aldrich was the perfect husband. He was good at the political aspects of a king, was able to keep a conversation with a noble that was making snide remarks, and he was an excellent cook. While the part about being a good cook didn't really matter in terms of being an excellent king for the husband matter it was important.
Her great grandmother had been so in love with her great grandfather she wanted everything he did to be hers no matter what it was. Her great grandfather was an excellent artist and chef. Something that her great grandmother monopolized. So her great grandmother made it so that a requirement to be husband of the queen was to able to do something that the queen would desire.
No one, not even Ariane had seen her great grandfather's paintings nor did her grandmother ever taste her fathers food. So her great grandmother made it so husbands of the queen must have something special they can do for their queen.
For Ariane it was jewels. She loved them and her main husband the king had creation magic which allowed him to make rare jewels, ones that only Ariane wore. For Alice it was something that was made from her partner's hand. Since Alice didn't give a clear answer Ariane just made Aldrich learn how to cook since it was the simplest.
His looks weren't bad either, if he hid his Adam's apple and multiple parts of his body he could easily pass for female. Though Aldrich was a bit tall for Ariane she would still want him in her harem. Furthermore his inherent talent combined with hers could produce a child powerful enough to break the curse. Even if she was 54 she still would live longer than most humans due to the immense mana in her body.
But she couldn't. Aldrich's father was stronger than her and even though Melody had died she wouldn't be able to take Aldrich as her husband if Albert was alive. Therefore Alice was her way for her family's curse to be removed.
Ariane's husband the king was fiercely opposing having Alice executed, Ariane didn't want it either but as said before nobles took accusations seriously.
"Look Alice, I may be able to lighten your sentence but you say those boys told you he did those things right? I can't save them." Ariane said, scratching her head. Alice finally broke into tears after that.
"M-mother you can't!" Alice yelled between her crying.
"You are my daughter, but them? To me they're just random sons of nobles. Even then your sentence won't be light either. The prime minister is deciding whether to send you to a camp or make you a slave laborer." Ariane said, mercilessly.
Alice finally just hung her head down; she didn't like either of those options. Slave labor was a straightforward thing , people who have committed crimes were sent there and depending on their crime they could either be there for the rest of their life or stay there for a month.
Alice knew her crime would have her stay there indefinitely. The other was a camp. Though it doesn't sound as bad as a slave laborer it was far worse for the average person. The camp was where the prisoners of war and other warriors were sent.
The camp was a collection of criminals who fought demons. Demons in this world were very powerful. One could easily wipe out a kingdom. There were two types of demons in this world, demons that included what Kenji knew as, cat-kin, succubi, orcs and ogres, dark elves, and undead or zombies.
The other Demons on the other hand were sentient beings who were overloaded with mana. The mana caused them to lose their minds and re-shape their body. They became stronger, faster, and could create devastating spells. Nobody knew how this happened but when it did they were sure to wreak havoc.
Seeing her daughter Ariane wanted her to get the slave labor as she didn't want her daughter to die a needless death but she most likely knew her daughter would get sent to those camps. Sighing, she decided to tell Alice to go to her room and await her sentence.
In the meantime Ariane now had to train her second daughter to become the next queen. Ariane had a long month ahead of her. She began to regret ever giving that artifact to Aldrich but there was nothing she could do now but hope Aldrich accepts an engagement with her second daughter.
.
.
.
"I'm fine father! Please stop!"
"B-but I've heard the news! I couldn't believe you weren't happy, if I had known I would've immediately broken off that engagement with that awful princess!"
"Haaa. Father I'm fine I truly am so can you please stop coddling me?"
"…fine but you'll stay here for the rest of this month!"
"Haha, okay father."
In a room Aldrich was being coddled by his father Albert. Albert was a handsome man with silver hair and purple eyes. Same as Aldrich. Though their personalities were wildly different. Albert was incredibly doting on Aldrich.
The original Aldrich used this to his advantage to terrorize the people around Alice but Kenji loved his father. He didn't like it at first due to his past life self never having parents but overtime he started to like it.
Albert had immediately used a gate to take Aldrich from the dorm of the academy and brought him to their residence once he heard of the broken engagement between his son and the princess. Albert had been worried his son would be bullied and laughed at for being dumped by the princess but to his surprise his son was fine.
After Albert heard the story Aldrich had to stop him from killing the 5 boys and princess. After that Albert started hugging Aldrich and cried while cursing the queen and princess. Albert always had a perfect mask on his face but when he was alone with his son that mask immediately crumbled.
He could put up a mask as much as he wanted but he was still hurting from his wife's death. People tried to get Albert remarried after all he was still quite young, only being 34. Nobles became adults when they became 18 different from commoners who were adults at 15 so Albert was still considered young.
Aldrich himself was 15 though he turned 16 later this year in winter. Nobles could become adults at 15 like commoners but it was preferred that they all wait until 18 so that they can get used to the noble lifestyle before taking over and becoming the lord of the house.
Other than that nobles could drink, be adventurers, even marry their fiancè. Most nobles however did not allow their children to do so while some let their children beyond the second do whatever they wanted. The first was going to be the leader of the house while the second was also trained in case the first died.
"I see, I see. I'm still not allowing it though."
"Huh?! Why?! I'm fully prepared!"
"It's true your mother and I have taught you a lot but, you still do not have my permission as I am not letting my son in such a cruel world!"
Albert said loudly. Aldrich looked at him with cold eyes. He could easily see why his father was denying him permission.
"Father. I understand why you're preventing me but I have defeated a demon already, killed multiple monsters, learned how to interact with commoners, and even made my own business! If you don't allow me to go adventure father I will-
"Y-you'll what?" Albert said in a sad tone.
"I will hate you forever."
"NOOOOOOO!" Albert yelled and fell to the ground clutching his heart. Aldrich sighed to himself seeing this sight. He loved his father he truly did but, he needed something else to do. He couldn't focus this energy on his son. Before he was able to split it between his wife and Aldrich but now it went solely towards Aldrich.
Aldrich wasn't as insensitive to say something like "just re-marry already" he knew how much Albert loved melody, but maybe Albert could make a friend with a common interest.
"Look, father. I know you're worried for me, but I wanna experience what you and mother did. I wanna go explore, meet new people, see new places. Do things I can't do in 3 years. So please father won't you give me permission?" Aldrich kneeled down and gave Albert a look that his mother had taught him to get Albert to do whatever he wanted.
This was what Aldrich wanted from Albert. To have his father give him permission to register as an adventurer. Like Albert said Aldrich had been trained by his mother to the point where he can beat the best swordswoman in battle though he only did it once. Aldrich had also been taught magic and magic theory by Albert.
Aldrich could use the gate as well but he was able to utilize it differently than his father. Aldrich was able to teleport as much as he wanted. Though he couldn't teleport extremely long distances he was able to teleport at least 400 miles as he calculated. So as long as he wasn't in another nation he could teleport back to his original starting point.
His teleportation is the only reason he was able to beat the best swordswoman in the world, his mother in battle. Coupled with the skills and techniques his mother had taught him combined with his fathers knowledge about magic Aldrich was never able to beat her.
Only when he was able to teleport was he able to finally knock his mother down. Though he didn't injure her to the point of her having to have restoration magic used on her she was still hurt and lost that battle. Instead of being sad that she had been beaten, Melody quickly got up and praised her son, happy she lost. After that battle Aldrich fainted due to the injuries he got from the battle.
Aldrich didn't understand why she was so happy so he asked his mother and she gave him a gentle smile and spoke in a prideful tone.
"It's my desire. You are my child, I do feel sad about you leaving me behind but, I'm immensely happy you're able to leave me behind." Aldrich still to this day never understood the meaning of those words. Perhaps he would understand it when he became a parent but to him those words were very confusing.
He still lost to his mother in terms of pure swordsmanship but in a battle it wasn't just swordsmanship that was required, anything was allowed. That was why Aldrich wanted to go adventuring. Not only to do new things but to improve his swordsmanship.
"... fine. BUT you will still have to come back home every 3 days! I will also speak with the academy about your teachings and will personally take over." Albert finally gave in but had a single condition for Aldrich. Aldrich, who got permission smiled happily and hugged his father while proclaiming he would get the stuff ready.
"Geez. He's really like you melody. Hopefully I'm doing the right thing, if only you were here to see him grow up." Once Aldrich left Albert scratched his head and looked at the picture of his dead wife with a sad smile. Albert never told Aldrich but somehow Melody was able to stay alive to say one final thing to Albert.
"P-Please M-make our s-son happy." Was all she could say before she finally passed. So far as Albert saw he was doing a terrible job but if being an adventurer would make Aldrich happy he would allow it. Not only for his son but to honor his dead wife's wish.
Setting the picture down Albert got up and went to prepare the paperwork for Aldrich.