I Was Reincarnated as a Villain Prince’s Follower, but I Refuse to Be Ruined—Turns Out the Prince Is Surprisingly Competent - Chapter 1

Jeremy Randolph woke up in his bed and remembered that he was a reincarnated person.

In his past life, Jeremy was an office worker. Due to a lack of sleep, he was spacing out when he was hit by a truck. When he came to, he had been reborn here, in the world of the fantasy BL manga The Oath Sparkles Like the Stars.

The protagonist (the “bottom”) is a boy named Chris. Chris lost his parents at a young age and grew up in an orphanage. He was a child like the sun, never giving up no matter how hard things got. His cuteness caught the eye of Baron Shaft and his wife, who happened to be visiting the orphanage for charity work, and they adopted him. Bloodlines didn’t matter to them; it must have been love at first sight. For the first time in his life, Chris was surrounded by the warmth of a family. He slowly learned the ways of the nobility and became as elegant as any high-born child. One day, while he was lost, he met a boy who was known as a troublemaker and an outcast in high society.

That boy was the “alpha” lead (the “top”), Reinhard Baudigan.

There was Chris, as lovely and soft as a flower, and Reinhard, the problem child who bared his fangs at anyone who came near. Though they should have been like oil and water, they were somehow drawn to each other, deepening their bond as best friends and eventually lovers.

Jeremy is the sidekick to the villain prince who falls for Chris and tries to tear the two apart. In the story, Jeremy is eventually punished along with the villain prince, reaching an “END” where no one knows what happened to them. It is a miserable end, especially compared to the main characters who unite on the day of their graduation.

The reason Jeremy knows so much about this world, despite being a man in his past life, is because he enjoyed BL. He felt there was something special in BL that you couldn’t get from a normal romantic comedy. He preferred fantasy over modern settings, so his “main dish” was usually novels. But that was aside from the point.

“Ouch…”

He groaned instinctively. His whole body throbbed with pain. It was good that he remembered being a reincarnated person, but he didn’t know why he was lying in bed. It was only a little after 6:00 PM—too early for sleep. Jeremy got out of bed and sat in front of the vanity.

He had reddish-brown wavy hair, gray eyes, and silver-rimmed glasses. It was a “background character” face with no special features other than looking a bit weak. It was a perfect contrast to the shining sun that was Chris or the sharp blade that was Reinhard. To make matters worse, his face was covered in painful scratches, and while his school jacket wasn’t torn, it was covered in dirt.

(Did I get into a fight?)

Just then, a maid peeked in.

“Ah! Young Master!”

“Eh?”

“You’re awake! Oh, thank goodness!”

The maid, who looked close in age to the sixteen-year-old Jeremy and had a gentle face, relaxed with relief. she was holding a towel and a basin of hot water.

“…Do you know why I was sleeping? I’ve lost my memory.”

“…I didn’t see it myself, but I heard that you attacked the son of the Shaft family and were beaten back by the son of the Baudigan family who was nearby.”

“Ah… I see.”

He was acting like a total “villain’s sidekick.”

“Um, I brought a towel. May I clean the dirt off…?”

“Thank you. Please do.”

“Certainly. It might sting a bit since you have scratches.”

“Ow, ow.”

“Oh, I am so sorry!”

“It’s okay, keep going.”

After his face and clothes were wiped clean, he changed from his uniform into private clothes.

“Master Jeremy, I have a message that you are to go to the Head of the House once you wake up.”

“Thank you.”

“Can you walk? I can support you if you need help.”

“I’m fine, thank you.”

Usually, in reincarnation stories, the people around the character are surprised by the change in personality. However, that didn’t apply to Jeremy. This was because he was originally a quiet, somewhat introverted person. He wasn’t the type to go looking for a fight.

However, that was the sad fate of a sidekick. To make things worse, the “villain prince” was actually Rufus Zane Sadquiel, the second prince of the Kingdom of Sadquiel. Being a sidekick to royalty might seem like a lucky position, but it wasn’t. Rufus was considered a disgrace to the royal family. Jeremy was a boy like a small animal who would never do anything violent unless ordered to by such a person.

Jeremy visited the study of his father, Euras.

“Who is it?”

“I-It’s me. Jeremy.”

“You’re awake. Come in.”

His father, Euras, looked up from his writing and greeted Jeremy with a sour face.

“…Yes. Just now.”

“I heard you caused a fight at school and got beaten down by that troublemaker from the Baudigan family.”

“That seems to be the case.”

“Before you did that, did you think even for a moment about me having to go and apologize to the Duke’s house?”

“…No.”

“There is no way you would do something so reckless and foolish on your own. You were ordered by that failure again, weren’t you?”

“Failure.” That was the general opinion of the villain prince, Rufus, in noble society.

“…It seems so.”

His father let out a huge sigh.

“Just how long do you plan on being that man’s sidekick? As long as you are with him, it leaves a mark not just on you, but on our family name. Do you understand?”

Jeremy had no words to say back.

“If you understand and still choose to stay with him, I will not protect you anymore! Being with him is like riding a broken carriage when you know an accident will happen. Whatever happens is your own fault!”

His father’s opinion was so right that Jeremy nodded along to every word.

“Father, I have decided. I will break off my ties with His Highness.”

“Oh…?”

His father rubbed his chin. If things stayed as they were, Jeremy would be punished. The Randolph family would surely be in big trouble too. The quickest way to avoid ruin was to cut ties. It was a mystery why Jeremy had stayed as a sidekick until now despite suffering similar problems, but it didn’t matter. Now that he had his memories as a reincarnated person, avoiding destruction was his top priority.

He didn’t care about the plot of the story. He would just ignore it.

“I can believe you, then?”

“Yes!”

“I see. Then, I will hold back my anger this time and apologize to the Duke. But this is the last time I will protect you.”

“Thank you very much.”

After the warning, Jeremy left the study. As he tried to return to his room, a slender man appeared from the other side. He had hair that was redder than Jeremy’s and was a bit taller than Jeremy’s 165cm height. He had a mocking expression.

This was Balzet Randolph. He was the heir of the Baron house and Jeremy’s older brother.

“Yo, slowpoke. Did Father scold you?”

“Yeah. Are you going to lecture me about hanging out with Prince Rufus, too, Brother?”

“…Hmph. I don’t care. I don’t want anything to do with it.”

He spat those words out, pushed Jeremy aside, and walked away quickly. Balzet was supposed to be a character who got angry easily, but he seemed different.

(Well, at least I didn’t get into trouble with him.)