The Prince's Headaches (Patreon)

The Prince’s Headaches - or ‘I am not the heir to the throne, but I have to save my silly sister a couple of times’ (The Princess’ Jewels SI)

EDIT: It is not a wrong comparison for me to say that I like this webcomic as much as I like High Guardian Spice. And yes, the irony is strong here.

If your name is Jayder de Secramise, then today is a bad day to waltz in your office with the hopes of having some time before facing some issues.

No matter if you are a mere farmer or an Emperor, no matter how great the Arbezela Empire can be, there will always be a degree of fright in facing your son, the one that was in charge of the economic affairs of the Empire as the Prime Minister.

My name is Prince Aksum de Secramise, First Prince of Great Arbezela and the guy that currently sat by the couch in front of my father’s fancy chair in his office. He could tell on the spot I was there, but he hesitated to reach his destination, aware that displeasure was imminent at this point.

Yet, I graced him with a vicious smile. “Father dearest, I am glad to see that you are in a good form and that you slept well after yesterday.”

“Prince Aksum, I am… surprised. I thought you would be leaving to monitor the occupation efforts,” The old man remarked quietly and I produced a wider smirk. “And I am quite sure you have received that task.”

“I did,” I admitted. “But due to some precautions I had to prepare before my departure, I decided to send someone worthy of truth and faith to be my substitute there for a week. I hope you understand that… there are also other reasons I am delaying my departure.”

A groan, then a pause worthy of many thoughts but ultimately one topic being the main theme of this clash. It was all so difficult to express as I was not really happy- I was not. You see, I am not a single child, I had siblings and… a twin sister.

One of which I wasn’t exactly that proud of as of recent times for a couple of irritating reasons.

“Aksum, what do you want me to do?”

“Stop Ariana from becoming an embarrassment and, eventually, the source of ruination for this Empire,” I curtly remarked, bringing up the very topic no parents wanted to ever discuss- their ‘favored’ children being troublesome.

“I don’t understand what you are referring to,” Jayder foolishly deflected. “Ariana just thanked Lord Black for-”

“Stop it. You know through your own guards that she has entertained an intimate relationship with him. They are not planning to even engage!” I snapped angrily. “I would understand if she was just a princess, but she is your heiress.”

“And she will be a great Empress,” Jayder retorted, causing me to scoff.

“With a pack of dogs following her like she wants.”

“...She is not going to cause any serious-”

“Her behavior will create a trend. How long before we have to face pressure from the religious sect to put a leash on her?”

“Long enough for her to not push it. She will not cross that line.”

…Lies sure weighs a lot before the emptiness of silence.

“Father, I will tell you this one time and only one time: if she crosses the line by the time she is Empress, I will be forced to be the one to obtain the throne and take care of her. And it will not be pretty.”

That was enough to draw a worried look on the man’s face. “Our Goddess would not allow-”

“If Astothelia is willing to let you get away with so much crap on handling your own children, then she may as well allow blood to be spilled in case this gets out of hand because of your inaction!” I snapped angrily, smile forgotten as I saw the man lean back on his chair while I stood up. “Father, you may be the Emperor and it pains me to say this, but if my sister, the future ruler of this country, is not given rules to not ruin our dynasty with her interest in polygamy, then I suggest you start being a fucking parent for once!”

…

…

“Aksum, I… I am sorry but your sister will be Empress and she has shown to have control-”

“It’s not the point and you know that,” I sighed tiredly and decided to end it here. “This was not an ultimatum. This was a promise. She oversteps and I will make sure to end any stupid ideas on the spot. Do you understand?”

I left without a response, but I didn’t need one- I had stuff to do and less bullshittery to deal with.

Still… I think I need to be a bit more explanatory on my situation.

About two decades ago, I woke up in the body of a little Prince Aksum, the older twin to Princess Ariana. Now, that should have been reason to not worry about life but… the Empire was in no good shape when my father took over.

With numerous dangerous threats by all borders, and the difficult handling of the treasury to deal with famines and other societal crises, the Empire faced a major blow to its honor eight years ago when the Orionis struck and managed to seize a large portion of the trade ports. That move was dangerous and demanded a major mobilitation to occur.

I saw war with my own eyes as it was custom to the firstborn of the Emperor to ride with his father to the battlefield. I was young but this wasn’t my first rodeo of life. I learned, I adapted, I suffered in the battlefield and then, after learning what I could and fighting what I had to fight, I was sent back to the capital to ‘rule’ in my father’s stead.

That move was further finalized when, two years in the job, I was effectively made Prime Minister of the country. In retrospect, that’s where the Emperor tied a noose around his neck giving me the means to choke his stupidity to death whenever necessary.

And Ariana was the main concern of this sort of stuff. I needed to find a way to further neutralize her without causing a scandal or two- at the same time, work a way to finalize the logistical plans for the supplies I intended to bring to the land once owned by the Orionis. Panem et Circenses after all…

Outside the office, someone I had thought would be waiting for me in my own room stood and smiled at me.

“I suppose I was right. Your father is a fool, boss.”

Normally a maid should not be given the chore of being this chatty and brazen with her tone, but this one was… special. I didn’t exactly hire her among the rest, as Asa was one of the best assistants I could have gotten out of that blasted war.

Who would have thought that Dragons would be that keen to entertain the job of maid for the first Prince of the empire? And yet, here we were.

“I still have to try. It’s best to have a foundation from which be honest and say ‘I told you so’ to their faces once the shit hits the window,” I remarked crassly. “So, how is the situation with the supplies?”

“Mostly over- workers being whiners, but a display of fire had them working as earnestly as they should.”

Ah yes, a prideful and cocky dragon she still was.

“Asa, no bullying the workers because they are weak-minded.”

“But they are so silly~.” She whined for a while and… Oh dear, we turned the corner to stumble on a sight I didn’t need for my mood’s sake.

“Hello brother~.”

Oh dear Goddess!

Princess Ariana de Secramise smiled gracefully as she approached me with a quick-paced step and… stopped in front of me, looking up as I was taller than her.

“Ariana. It’s a bit early for you to be wandering the castle, isn’t it? Lessons and all.”

Why would I miss a snack like my cute big brother~?

“I am already through most of those anyway,” The girl replied, her beaming not ceasing despite the lack of reciprocity from my side. “So… how’s your day?”

Please be free, please be free, please be-

“Fashionably busy. Do you have a reason to stand in front of me like this?”

Obviously~!

“I thought that a morning hug was needed.”

…

“No.”

Scandalous! I want a hug!

“Brother, I-”

“Look, Ariana. I don’t care what clever reasoning you have to propel your proposition for an embrace. I have a job to do as next week I will have to handle the occupation of the new lands,” I remarked flatly. “Plus, you have a mutt to hug and I am sure that he would appreciate the intimacy. With that being said… I have to go.”

And Asa and I left at once, not sparing the girl a single thought to the girl gawking while retreating to my office, unaware of the thoughts twirling inside her mind, but just getting some creepy vibes from her whenever she was around me. It was like she was trying to dominate me or something.

Waaaaah! Hug your big-tiddy little sister, I demand that from you, bully but handsome big bro~!

Something just told me that I was quite true in that regard.

—----------d-d-d-d—------

AN

The MC doesn’t know that Ariana is an insert too, likewise, the Princess’ plan to get herself a hunky incest option in her harem is subverted by the MC not wanting any of that with her.