My older sister is a villainous rich girl

"..."

A silence enveloped everyone.

The minister said somewhat awkwardly, "This is the only sword we have as backup for now... but that's alright, we'll order another one soon! Continue!"

So Lawrence had no choice but to go to see the Queen and the Prince with only a bare little piece of the sword hilt.

"Hero! We entrust our daughter to you! You must bring her back safely!" Wayne pleaded.

"No problem! Leave it to me!" the brave Lawrence readily agreed.

Inside the Demon King's castle.

In the "prison" surrounded by four desks, a senior student plays the role of the princess.

She gazed tenderly at the "demon king" before her—His Highness Prince Richard.

Those unwavering, tender eyes made her seem completely oblivious to her imprisonment, as if she were eager to offer herself to the demon king.

"Hmph." Richard the Demon King looked at the princess who was locked up across the desk.

"Is this what human princesses look like?"

Following the special instructions in the script, he tried his best to curl one corner of his mouth into a "wicked and arrogant" smile.

It looks like a facial spasm.

"My Lord Demon King!" the princess said, "Please don't kill me! My parents have a lot of gold and silver treasures; they will come and ransom me."

Gold and silver treasures are everywhere, but human princesses are not so easy to obtain.

The Demon King brought his face closer, scrutinizing the princess who was surrounded by desks.

"Why don't you stay and become my Demon King's wife!"

"My Lord Demon King~" the princess murmured, her expression hardly refusal.

Just then, the hero arrived in time.

"Hey! Demon King, release that princess!"

Lawrence roared, interrupting their tender gaze.

Richard turned his head away.

Between him and Lawrence, sparks and lightning seemed to appear intermittently, making crackling sounds.

"Hero, my lord~" The princess was caught in a dilemma.

Wayne stood by the backstage curtain, watching their performance with utter disbelief.

"Lawrence's eagerness to play the hero seems like he's just looking to settle a personal score," he muttered under his breath.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Chris said with amusement. "It gives him a chance to get revenge."

Upon hearing her words, Wayne couldn't help but glance at her.

On the stage, Lawrence stared intently at Richard.

He had already tossed aside the prepared script, and was now improvising entirely without a script.

"Demon King, your death is nigh!"

As he said this, Lawrence gripped the bare hilt of his sword with both hands, assuming a stance ready to attack.

"I have been practicing diligently every day for this very moment!"

An off-site person held up a wooden sign with the caption: "[It's raining, with thunder and lightning.]"

Richard snorted dismissively.

"Even if you cultivate for another hundred years, you will never be my match."

This sarcastic remark, which could easily be applied to real life, instantly enraged Lawrence.

With red eyes, he shouted, "Die!"

Then he charged forward, sword hilt in hand.

The temperature around him began to rise, and faint red sparks appeared on his hands.

Although it was a performance, he didn't hold back at all in his attack, instead aiming a vicious stab at Richard's handsome face.

Richard stepped back, deftly avoiding the sword hilt.

The two brothers then began to clash on stage.

However, only Lawrence made moves throughout, while Richard avoided them the entire time.

It's clear that Richard is significantly more capable than Lawrence.

Under his skillful movement and suppression, Lawrence's attacks, which missed every time, seemed ridiculous.

"Aaaaah—" Lawrence roared, "You didn't follow the script at all!"

In the script, the Demon King should be defeated and killed by the Hero.

"You don't have any either, Lawrence."

The Demon King stared blankly at the hero, whose eyes were filled with ruthlessness.

Startled by their sudden outburst of conflict, the other drama club members stared blankly at them, unsure how to mediate.

"You're so smug, aren't you! You always beat me, aren't you!"

Lawrence's moves became increasingly fierce, and the roars he unleashed were like howls.

"He is known as the most perfect prince in the kingdom's history!"

"He won everyone's love, stole all the attention from the other brothers, and quietly trampled everyone else into the mud!"

Every time I see that arrogant smile of yours, I want to smash your whole face to pieces!

Richard was caught off guard and Lawrence tore the corner of his clothes.

Under Lawrence's accusations, his eyes filled with anger, and his usual air of complete control vanished.

Faced with his brother who had lost his mind, Richard finally couldn't help but retaliate.

“But…it’s not my fault! You bastard!” he yelled, throwing a hard punch at Lawrence.

The blow struck his face.

"I never even considered using comparisons with you to put you down!"

Lawrence took a punch, and his lip was bruised.

His hair was disheveled and hung over his forehead; he was emotionally agitated.

"Yes, you haven't thought about it... But, the things you don't want to do, someone else will always do for you. You've always been the perfect idol because all the dirty work has been done by others in your name!"

"I also want my father and mother's attention... I also want my friends' affection and closeness... But as long as you're around, I can't have anything to do!"

Lawrence threw away the useless sword hilt and punched his brother in return.

On stage, the two princes wrestled bare-handed.

Chapter 131 Unspoken Feelings

"His Highness Richard is truly outstanding!"

"Yes, yes! It is truly an honor for our kingdom to have such a prince!"

Hearing such praise should have made me very happy.

In fact, he did write down all those compliments with a happy expression, and then recounted them to his brother the next time he saw him.

“Really? Those are nothing,” my brother always said.

At that time, I was genuinely proud of the honors he had received.

However, the older brother, who was praised by everyone, never cared about such things.

Worse still, as his talent became more apparent, he himself seemed increasingly insignificant in comparison.

As a result, the ubiquitous rumors and discussions gradually began to take on other meanings.

"...They are all brothers, so why is the other one so mediocre?"

"He has disgraced that prince's reputation; he should feel ashamed."

I could always hear whispers around me.

Even when expressing regret, there is a condescending tone.

It's as if, in their words, even just being mentioned alongside their brother is a blow to that "perfection."

Father, mother, and everyone else around them, even when faced with an older brother who didn't need any praise, still focused all their attention on him.

What about yourself?

One can remain unseen and unheard—

A superfluous person.

When he was seven years old, in order to fulfill the contract with the Kingdom of Stuart, he had to choose a prince to be raised by them.

“We think Prince Richard is a good choice.”

That's what the Stuart Kingdom's diplomats said at the time.

"Lawrence is quite good too; he's more suited for this role." His own father, His Majesty the King, unusually praised him at the banquet.

"Lawrence said he had always wanted to experience the scenery of the Stuart Kingdom."

—That was never said.

"Moreover, this child is very hardworking and has a strong ability to learn new things."

—My efforts are not for this kind of thing.

However, no one consulted him on his thoughts.

His life was decided by just a few casual words from other people.

Because Richard was more outstanding and very important to the kingdom, he could not be sent abroad even though officials from neighboring countries preferred him.

The only person who can leave is oneself.

"Lawrence, my good child...you must be very reluctant to part with your brother," his mother comforted him. "Everyone will remember your contributions to the kingdom."

Why should I be reluctant to part with someone like that?

If only that person didn't exist.

I've thought about that every single day since then.

……

The two princes have lost all semblance of dignity.

Their collars were torn, and they were covered in dirt. Both of them had bruises on their faces.

At that moment, Wayne just wanted to rush up and say, "Stop fighting! You're not going to kill anyone like this!"

But with Chris by his side, he could only suppress such thoughts.

"Can you separate them?" Wayne asked softly.

"You're asking me? How would I know?" Chris was watching with great interest, as if she were watching a play.

...Then why are you creating opportunities for them?

Wayne's face darkened.

In the original anime storyline, during a match where the female protagonist was present, the two had a fierce conflict and fought in front of everyone.

Finally, the female lead appeared and separated the two of them, preventing the conflict from escalating further.

However, that's only because both princes secretly harbored feelings for the heroine, which is why they obediently stopped. Now, if Chris were to go and pull her away, the outcome would be uncertain.

After hesitating for a moment, he stepped forward himself and used earth magic to separate the two of them.

Trapped by the massive earthen pillar, Lawrence tried to struggle, but Wayne's magical abilities were far superior to those of the students, and he was completely unable to break free despite his best efforts.

'Sigh... I hope the council will consider that I was trying to break up the fight and exempt me from punishment for using magic in the teaching area.'