Chapter 1: Garbage Prince with a God-Tier Class

SleazyPen: Hey there :) apparently I have to spell it out for some readers who are accosting me on Discord, but being engaged to someone doesn’t mean you’ve slept with them. Especially in the Middle Ages where chastity was high priority. What I’m saying is being a "losing heroine" doesn’t mean they’re not virgins. I’m even surprised where the idea came from. Enjoy!

...

The Grand Cathedral of Falsbane was suffocatingly hot, packed to the brim with perfume, gold embroidery, and the smug breath of high society.

Today was the Awakening Ceremony for the five princes of the realm.

Among them stood Adonis Kallias Falsbane. He wasn’t nervous. In fact, he was leaning against a marble pillar as he tried hard to suppress a yawn.

’Man, this transmigration gig is exhausting...’

Adonis thought, idly twirling a strand of his own hair.

He had been in this world for exactly three days. In his past life, he was just a guy who stayed home, ordered takeout, and binged webnovels while crying over mistreated heroines. Now? He was the Fifth Prince of Falsbane.

According to the original novel he was trapped in, his character was supposed to awaken a trash class, fall into a deep depression over his father’s abuse, and eventually jump off a balcony.

’Not happening...’ ಠ_ಠ

A translucent blue holographic screen floated right in front of his eyes.

[Host: Adonis Kallias Falsbane]

[Class: None (Awakening Pending)]

[Passive Skill: Eye of the Critic (Rank EX)]

[Description: Allows the Host to view the narrative roles, fates, and volatility of targets.]

Adonis shifted his gaze to his eldest brother, the First Prince, who was currently stepping up to the Awakening Stone.

Above the First Prince’s head, a text appeared:

[Role: Mid-Stage Villain Fodder]

[Fate: Brutally beheaded by a Protagonist in Volume 4, Chapter 120]

[Death Probability: 100%]

Adonis almost snorted out loud.

’Sucks to be you, bro.’

Suddenly, the Awakening Stone erupted in a column of blinding golden light.

The high priest cried out in awe.

"The First Prince has awakened!"

His class was [Grand Holy Knight].

The crowd went wild.

The King, sitting high on his throne, boomed with deep, prideful laughter.

In this world, mana capacity equals supreme beauty.

Because King Falsbane had five beautiful wives who were breathtaking in every manner possible, his sons were all visual masterpieces. And the higher their mana, the more powerful their awakened class.

The ceremony progressed rapidly.

The Third Prince awakened [Draconic Swordsman].

The Fourth Prince awakened [Beast Tamer].

This particular fellow spent his entire life glaring at Adonis for stealing the palace’s spotlight... so Adonis was hoping for him to awaken a trash class, even if he knew how this was all going to play out.

"Shit..." Adonis clicked his tongue.

Finally, the high priest’s voice boomed:

"Next, the Fifth Prince. Adonis Kallias Falsbane!"

The whispers began instantly.

"The most beautiful prince in the kingdom..."

"Look at those eyes—that jawline. His mana capacity must be astronomical."

"He will surely awaken a god-tier combat class!"

Adonis made sure to soak in all the praises with a proud smile and shoulders high, since this might be the last time many of these snobbish nobles would praise him.

Beside the throne stood Mariella Soron, a stunning young noblewoman with icy blue eyes. She was Adonis’s fiancée. She gave him a tight, ambitious nod. She wasn’t in love with him; she was in love with the crown he was supposed to win.

Adonis calmly walked up the stone steps and placed his hand on the Awakening Stone.

Hummmmm—!

The cathedral shook. The stone vibrated, unleashing an ethereal, blinding platinum light that shot straight through the ceiling, piercing the clouds. It was a display three times larger than any of his brothers.

The King stood up from his throne, his eyes wide with ecstatic greed.

"Yes! That’s my son! Show them!"

The runes on the stone began to spin wildly as they shifted through ancient mystic languages before finally locking into a single, localized script.

The platinum light suddenly fizzled out, replaced by a soft, pinkish-gold sparkle.

The high priest squinted at the runes.

His face turned entirely pale.

He rubbed his eyes, sweating profusely.

"Read it, priest!" the King demanded.

"Th-, The Fifth Prince..."

The priest stuttered.

"Class awakened... [Enchanter]."

Silence.

An [Enchanter].

A non-combat, secondary support class. A class usually reserved for frail scholars who sat in backrooms gluing magical dust onto iron swords. It was a class that added a pathetic +5 attack power to a weapon.

"A support class...?" someone whispered.

"All that mana... for a blacksmith’s helper?"

"Pfft—haha! The most beautiful prince is just a buffer!"

A suffocating aura descended from the throne.

The King walked down the steps with a face of rage.

He had invested millions and billions of gold coins into Adonis’s tutors, confident his most beautiful son would yield the greatest return.

Smack!

A slap that everyone in the holy hall heard.

Not everyone saw when the King’s heavy palm descended on his son’s beautiful face, but they were all saw Adonis collapse on the floor in shock.

Adonis’s lip split as blood dripped onto his perfect chin.

"Insolent failure!"

The King roared as spittle flew from his mouth.

"You waste my genes! You waste my resources! You were supposed to be my best! A prince of Falsbane cannot be a pathetic, tool-crafting peasant!"

Adonis sat on the floor, wiping the blood from his mouth. He didn’t cry or scream. Instead, he looked past his father’s furious face and looked at his fiancée, Mariella.

Mariella had already taken three steps back and found herself in the arms of the Third Prince who was with his grinning entourage. Her eyes held disgust. She didn’t say a single word to defend him.

The King turned his back on Adonis.

"Hmph. Since you are nothing but an empty shell with a pretty face, your engagement with the House of Duke Soron is hereby annulled. Mariella shall be betrothed to the Third Prince! Furthermore, Adonis is stripped of all high-tier royal allowances and placed dead last in the line of succession!"

The nobles snickered.

The Fourth Prince smirked with malicious glee.

Adonis simply stood up, dusting off his royal garments.

He looked quite nonchalant, almost bored.

’Man, the King really has a temper...’

Adonis thought as he looked at the floating text above his father’s head:

[Target Fate: Dies of a heart attack after a Protagonist burns his castle during the war.]

’Yeah, I’ll let him yell.’

But just as Adonis turned to leave the altar, his eyes scanned the royal balcony where the King’s wives sat.

Suddenly, his system glitched.

Red warning lights flashed in his vision.

[EMERGENCY SYSTEM ALERT!]

[Warning: A ’Losing Heroine’ Cataclysm Route has been triggered in your immediate vicinity!]

[Target: Queen Minerva (Fourth Queen of Falsbane)]

[Canon Role: Losing Heroine / Hidden Sub-Boss]

[Current Volatility: 92% (CRITICAL)]

Adonis snapped his head toward the balcony.

Sitting there was Queen Minerva, mother of the arrogant Fourth Prince. She was a woman of devastating, mature beauty, possessing long raven hair, a robust chest, and eyes like bloody rubies. But right now, those ruby eyes were fixed on the Third Prince, who was currently wrapping his arm around Adonis’s ex-fiancée, Mariella.

Adonis used [Eye of the Critic] to read her profile.

[Character Profile: Queen Minerva]

[True Class: Blood Witch (Calamity-class)]

[The "Losing" Backstory: She secretly fell in love with the younger Third Prince. They shared a brief, forbidden romance, but the Third Prince has just abandoned her for a younger, fresh noblewoman (Mariella)]

[Current Status: Heartbroken, humiliated, unstable.]

[Impending Fate: At 100% Volatility, she will snap, murder the Third Prince tonight, unleash a forbidden blood plague that destroys 40% of the kingdom, and ultimately be taken down by Falsbane army and beheaded.]

Adonis swallowed hard.

’Holy hell. She’s a walking nuke.’

Right then, a new golden screen popped up.

[When you gift an enchanted object to a Losing Heroine as a romantic investment, the System provides a 10x reward multiplier on the item’s value.]

[Rewards scale with the heroine’s potential, emotional state, and narrative importance.]

[Gifting enchanted items to a Losing Heroine also serves as a ’seal’—it locks her heart to you and prevents her from following the dark route.]

[WARNING: A Losing Heroine’s heart is fragile. Once sealed, she will become obsessively devoted. Choose your investments carefully.]

[Current Objective: Prevent Queen Minerva’s corruption. Charm the Blood Witch.]

Adonis looked at the furious King, his mocking brothers, and his treacherous ex-fiancée. Then, he looked up at the gorgeous, weeping, secretly psychopathic Queen Minerva on the balcony.

He could barely hold back his smile.

’A 10x reward loop? And all I have to do is comfort a heartbroken, ultra-powerful older woman?’

Adonis proudly adjusted his collar.

’Perhaps surviving won’t be so difficult...’