Radia Mallarc was not perfect, but he did always look like he had a perfect life.
His family might not be the wealthiest in the world, but they were certainly in the top ten, and he--almost--never had to worry about money. He might not have ethereal appearance that would make people fall in love regardless of preferences, but no one would call him ugly either. He might not be the greatest mind ever existed in his generation, but there was time when he was called a prodigy. And he might not be the strongest esper in the world, but he was strong enough to protect himself.
So people always assumed he had a smooth life, and Radia did try to appear like so, even from a young age. While his family did not pressure him to be the best, there was a certain pressure in the society for the crown prince to do better than most people. And that kind of pressure, if not shared, was a burden for anyone.