Men were swarming around Kevin.
I suppose it truly is impossible for men to ever graduate from the mindset of a middle school boy. Every single one of them had their eyes glued to his chest and ass.
A man I dubbed the "Suneo Handsome Custom" took Kevin’s hand.
"O beautiful one. Might I ask your name?"
The guy was practically rattling with medals, but a closer look revealed they were things like the [Junior Academy Completion Medal], the [Military Administrative Training Completion Medal], and the [Mandatory Police Officer Completion Medal].
From our perspective, his history was written in plain sight: This is a guy who finished the Junior Academy and immediately ran away from the military.
You can’t become a Mandatory Police Officer if you actually graduate from the Officer Academy. Furthermore, if someone failed to advance from the Junior Academy to the Senior High Division—the Officer Academy—due to poor grades, they could still receive a [Non-commissioned Officer Training Completion Medal] if they stayed in the military.
The Imperial military treated even its "dim-witted" children as family, so the reception for those who stayed was usually lenient. Since students at both the Junior Academy and the Officer Academy technically received a salary, no one ever quit for financial reasons.
In short, it was certain that he had fled the service to avoid enlisting. He was the type of person most despised by real soldiers. Those medals weren't honors; they were a trap that marked his career history with a permanent stain.
Naturally, Kevin knew that. He looked at the man with an expression of pure, unadulterated contempt.
"What is the matter, little kitten?" the man cooed.
Kevin’s face twitched with irritation. I thought about leaving him to suffer, but I decided to throw him a lifeline.
"Yo, Kate."
"Ah, Leo!" Kevin cried, relieved.
"Le... Leo! Leo Kamishiro?!" Suneo Handsome Custom stammered.
"’Sup."
I tried to project the vibe of a delinquent straight out of an NTR story as much as possible.
"The man who is said to devour any woman..." another man whispered, looking shocked.
"The one who adds every woman he sees to his harem..." yet another guy joined in.
"The Worst NTR Man in the Galaxy!!!"
Wait, seriously, what kind of rumors are circulating about me?
"Guh! Run! Our opponent is Leo Kamishiro!"
"Retreat! The odds are too steep!"
"The women! Hide the women!"
"I said, what about my reputation?!"
The guys scattered like leaves in the wind. All that remained was a hollow sense of emptiness. I mentally pasted the faces of those guys into my Mental Revenge Notebook.
I won't forgive you for this!
Kevin let out a long, weary sigh. "Honestly, you saved me, Leo... To think I’d actually be hit on by men..."
Well, that had never happened to him before. Among the boys at the Officer Academy, no one was stupid enough to charge at Kevin without a plan. They knew him as a guy, so even if they wanted to make a move, they’d spend weeks overthinking a strategy to avoid his wrath.
However, he had been suddenly thrown into this nest of nobles in the form of a woman. The common sense he was used to simply didn't apply here.
Once I had rescued Kevin, my wife finally arrived.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Hm? What’s wrong, Kevin?"
"I was being hit on."
I felt like I heard something snap in the air.
"Is it the boobs...?" Veronica muttered.
"Eh?"
"Is it because of the boobs?!"
"Eh? What’s wrong, Your Highness?"
"Why are you more popular than me?!" Veronica wailed, suddenly lunging forward and grabbing Kevin's breasts.
"W-wait, Your Highness! Stop that!"
"I-I’ve only ever been doted on by my Lord Groom! Is it the chest?! Is there something wrong with my chest?!"
"I told you, stop grabbing them!"
It seemed we had accidentally detonated the landmine that was my wife’s inferiority complex. It couldn't be helped. I stepped in to provide some support.
"Wife, you have me, don't you...?"
"Lord Groom..."
"...Besides, twenty percent of those guys were actually looking at Kevin’s ass."
She immediately jammed an elbow into my ribs. It hurt quite a bit.
"I shall remember that for later!"
Just as we were flirting/suffering, the master of ceremonies grabbed the microphone, looking visibly flustered.
"H-His Highness Prince Walter has arrived!"
The venue was shaken by the announcement. A collective wave of You’ve got to be kidding me swept through the room.
"Wife, why is everyone so rattled that Prince Walter is here?" I whispered.
"This evening party is for the neutral faction."
The term "neutral faction" sounded nice, but in reality, they were just people who couldn't commit to a side. They had their complaints about the central government, but since their lives were stable, they weren't willing to take risks. They weren't particularly interested in politics. Because of that, they lacked any real solidarity, making it difficult to recruit them as allies.
On the flip side, that meant there was no real fallout if you messed up. My wife had likely chosen this event as a "practice range" for us newcomers. She really was looking out for us in her own way.
And then, Walter appeared.
The first elder brother, Thomas, was currently busy preparing for an expedition. We wanted to leave the Imperial Capital Planet as soon as possible, but we couldn't get departure permission, so we were stuck doing nothing but war prep. The only royal who was completely free was Walter.
He was a wild, handsome man. As expected of someone born from an Imperial harem—even my wife was a world-class beauty, after all.
"I’m certain he wasn't even invited," Veronica noted.
"He crashed the party?"
"Umu..."
I wondered what his angle was. Without even offering a greeting to the host, Prince Walter marched straight toward us.
"Hello, sister."
"Elder brother. It has been a long time."
"Ahahaha! You haven't changed a bit! More importantly, why don't you introduce the man standing there?"
"Allow me. This is my husband, Leo Kamishiro."
"He isn't your husband yet, is he? Hm?"
What was this guy talking about? We were officially registered in the Imperial records.
"Throw away a man like that and become my wife. We shall inherit our father’s path and restore the Empire’s prestige together!"
I heard a snapping sound. This time, it wasn't a joke. It was the real deal.
This man had just trampled all over the one trauma Veronica absolutely couldn't stand with his muddy boots. He was gouging at the emotional wound of her birth—the result of the Imperial family's history of incestuous power-brokering.
"You jest," she said. Her voice was absolute zero.
"No, I am not jesting. I heard the rumors—that it's a White Marriage! What 'Leo Kamishiro'? Veronica, he’s just some soldier you picked up off the street, isn't he?"
What a total idiot. This guy was beyond saving.
My wife’s expression turned into a mask of ice. Looking at her, Melissa and Ren were more terrified than I was.
"Elder brother... my husband is the finest of men." Veronica's hand gripped my arm tightly.
I looked the Prince in the eye. "Brother-in-law. I am the Leo Kamishiro who was 'picked up' by Her Highness."
"Hoh, so this stray dog actually knows his place?"
The surrounding nobles were completely speechless. Some of them looked like they expected me to commit regicide on the spot. Instead, I just smirked.
"But you see, even a stray dog has things like loyalty and affection. I’m here to protect my wife from people like you."
"Well said, Lord Groom! That is indeed my husband!" Veronica cried. "I've lost interest in this farce! We are leaving!"
We turned on our heels to head for the exit. Was the guy truly that stupid? He had just turned his sister into a mortal enemy. And me, for that matter.
"Don't regret this! I am the next Emperor!" Walter shouted after us.
The moment he said it, Veronica stopped and looked back over her shoulder.
"The next Emperor is me."
It was a declaration of war. A clear, cold statement of my wife’s ultimate ambition.