He is Salzaal Secalno de Arthur. Apart from having a long name, he also has a terrible personality.

I'm getting to meet the prince.

Actually, he wants to meet my younger brother while I am just an extra.

I'm just here to be an obstacle.

The prince I'm going to meet is quite exceptional. He is not exceptionally handsome or exceptionally intelligent, but he is exceptionally feared by everyone.

Salzaal Secalno de Arthur.

The infamous prince who has the power of darkness.

I don’t know how much he knows about us, but my brother's power surely cannot be hidden from him (and I hope that none of the dukes told him). Hence, not so long after, a rose-scented invitation letter was sent directly to our mansion… At first, I even mistook it as a love letter.

Well, it was addressed to me, but the letter was written to Cass…this prince is not thinking about flirting with my seven-month-old brother, right?

I will not step out of his way easily!

“Cass, if someone who's more handsome than me or better than me, asks you to choose between me and him, you must say?”

“Bro…bro…”

I nod in satisfaction.

After the horse-drawn carriage stops, I carry my younger brother down. My eyebrows furrow slightly at the sight of my surroundings as it resembles a haunted house. Not sure if it's because his father doesn’t love him, so he gave him a small budget or if it's due to the personal preference of the owner.

I cover Cass’ eyes as I follow an old butler inside while trying to recall the details about Prince Salzaal.

In all six seasons of Ushinawareta Hoshi, he is a supporting character who is seldom mentioned. However, his character sheet[1] is too detailed for a mere supporting character. His background only mentions that he is the eldest prince, but his father is not pleased with him, so that’s why he becomes the second prince instead.

As for his face…if Hareve is labeled as 'angelically handsome', then Salzaal is 'devilishly handsome'.

And that person is right in front of me.

A boy with jet black hair, red eyes, and dark skin. It's like he was created to be the exact opposite of Hareve Lancelot.

Salzaal Secalno de Arthur.

“Why are you staring at me? Haven’t you ever seen a handsome person before?”

This douchebag who's wiggling his foot in front of me is him.

The corner of my mouth twitches as I look at the douche…I mean, the prince, along with covering my brother's eyes.

Salzaal, at the age of thirteen, is a boy full of accessories. He wears no less than five necklaces, three hoop earrings, and bracelets resembling those owned by a rich old guy…I take back my words. These things cost a fortune. His father might love him a lot.

So, does this mean the spooky garden outside is his own preference?

It seems like I've been staring at his necklaces for too long, Salzaal smirks.

“These damn accessories are to prevent me from moving around.”

Is it because they are too heavy to move around in?

“Hmph, once I can leave this place…I will murder the entire dynasty.”

…........................

….............

…...

Arghhh!!

A murderer! Am I with a future murderer right now?!!

I sweat, but on the outside, I still smile softly…even though I stealthily take a step back.

His red eyes narrow before he growls through his teeth. “Sit down. We need to talk, Bedivere, but before that, let me warn you. Don’t ever think about running away because I might accidentally 'chop your legs off'. In fact, I don’t mind if the person I talked to dies at the end of our conversation…

I may even like it too, hmph.”

My heart is pounding, not because I'm excited, but because I'm scared.

I walk over to sit down on a chair that is not too far away from Salzaal while hugging my brother tightly. I notice that Cass has already fallen asleep.

His red eyes soften when he looks at Cass… Is this the bias between a protagonist and his older brother?!

Salzaal clears his throat before speaking softly. “This child…when he grows up, ahem! He will become my darling?”

Are you dreaming! I won't let…I glance at his red eyes…I…I give up.

“I'm surprised that I'm able to fall for a person who is loved by thirteen people… I'm really surprised that I haven’t killed all of the others.” Prince Salzaal grumbles as if he's angry towards himself…this dangerous bastard.

“The twelve future dukes and I fall in love with the same person?”

Hm? Wait…

“Thirteen?” I mumble before raising an eyebrow. “No…there should be twelve, so why…”

Where did you even come from?

“You heard it correctly, Gilbert Bedivere.” Salzaal looks up at me before saying. “If that's the future I saw, then nothing is incorrect… I saw all the forty possibilities of this child's future…and three out of forty possibilities are between you and this child.”

Forty possibilities…three out of forty…

No…this is!

“Happy end, normal end, and bad end?” I pause…normally, when we play a romance simulation game, once we have chosen a character that we want to date, there will be questions leading to three types of endings… However, Salzaal doesn’t appear in the guide of how to flirt with each character…no…a character that is not in the guide…

The secret route!! A secret character?!!

In some romance simulation games, there will be a secret character in which the players have to find a way to date him by themselves! There will be no information about that character in the guide! The answers can mostly be found in the discussion boards about the game, which is for exchanging and sharing information!

This character is playing hard to get!

But if we divide them into three each, then there should be only thirty-nine routes. Where did the last route come from?

Is it an extremely special route…? I look at my younger brother, who is sleeping soundly…I hope it's not a 'harem route' or a 'dead route'.

Otherwise, I will become a killer! I will just kill everyone before my brother grows up…

“I don’t know what you're saying.” Salzaal smiles. “At first, I was thinking about summoning you here to kill you. Why should anyone who dares to become my future love rival stay alive?”

…I forget that there's a real killer in this room.

“But I changed my mind.” The prince speaks while looking bored. “Your brother is not really my type. His golden hair reminds me of light; it irritates my eyes. If I stare at him for too long, I might make him bleed.”

I wouldn’t be surprised if one day I saw you in jail. What surprised me is that you're still not imprisoned yet…

Or is it due to the protection from the juvenile law that you’re still able to laze around?

“Do you…er…know that Cass has the power of darkness?” I glance at my brother, who doesn’t seem to wake up anytime soon, no matter how loud we speak. “…And I heard that you also have the power of darkness.”

When my brother grows up, he won’t become evil like you, right?

This is what I want to ask, but I'm too afraid of him.

“I know. I can see the future, that's why I know.” Salzaal shrugs. “At first, I thought you were going to ask me why I’m able to use my magic, even though they’re supposed to be sealed.”

I pause. “Huh? Can you use magic?”

“Of course. Do you think being able to see the future…hm? Wait…” His red eyes narrow. “…Do you really think that stupid ritual can stop you from using magic? Have you ever tried to use them?”

Haha, since the ritual ended, I… “...Not yet...”

“You dumbass!”

You really said that without any hesitation…

In the end, Salzaal orders me to try to create two water balls, in which I’m able to create them… Of course, what I receive in return is a ring that is thrown directly at my face, bringing me to tears…you vulgar bastard.

By the way, if I can use my magic, it means that…mini Gilbert also…

My eyes sparkle as a bracelet is being thrown at my body by the same cruel person.

…I will put him in prison one day.

“But…why?” I’m perplexed. “If the ritual…”

“Huh, that stupid ritual was created by my younger brother and my mother. Do you really think I will let them seal my power easily? Hmph, it’s just a show to convince my stupid father, so I can kill him later.” Salzaal grumbles.

“At the end of the ritual, I just pretended to panic and scream for a bit. Then, I locked myself up in my room and didn’t use magic in front of others. And about being unable to have children…”

“Do you think anyone would dare to test whether 'that thing' of a child below ten years old is really usable?”

Right…that makes sense.

----------------------------

[1] Character Sheets: a character design from different angles, which acts as a guide when drawing movement in the anime