"I mean… I expected as much but still-"
Rexford sighed as he stared at the long line before him.
It's been three days since he received his fathers support, the funds have already been transferred to his name, money directly from his fathers personal treasury, not the nation's money.
After he received the money, Rexford had ordered Anne to spread the news that "The Third Prince is recruiting actors".
His call had reached the ears of people from all over the capital and it was even spreading towards the other cities and villages.
But for now, most of the people who were lining up were from the capital yet-
"Why are they all women?"
Rexford didn't mind having to go through countless auditions but the main problem was the obvious difference in representation from the genders.
He could still spot the rare man here and there but most of those lining up were women and not only were they women-
"Most of them are maids aren't they?"
Anne commented as she found that many of those lining up were dressed in the classic black and white dress symbolizing a maid.
The imperial castle was manned by thousands of servants, maids and butlers but at least half of them were likely lining up.
It is likely that after half a day, new faces would appear while the current faces would retreat back into the castle.
"It's because they knew of your hobby isn't it?"
"..."
Rexford remained silent, although his parents and most nobles did not know. Many of the maids were aware of certain rumors about the third prince.
The rumors were kept within the circles of maids and the lower class as none would want the third prince to stop his eccentricities.
"Blame yourself for having such a face master"
Anne commented to which Rexford had no answer.
Her words struck hard as Rexford was fully aware of the fact that his appearance was good- no, it was immaculate.
In his past life, he was the most average of men but his current status? Not only was he a prince but he also had an appearance that could make empires fall.
Unfortunately, despite his appearance, Rexford always maintained a haggard look which he matched with a messy and careless attire and personality.
Some women may see it as charming but the overwhelming majority saw it as an extremely negative trait.
Rexford had done this out of frustration though as his brothers were not as… well endowed as him in the appearance department.
His eldest brother Rutherford Diabolus, the Crown prince was handsome but when compared to Rexford, he was what modern people would describe as "mid".
His second brother was worse though, despite having a rather "militaristic" mindset, his brother had the benefit of having a powerful body and genetics that made it even better. Unfortunately, as if the heavens were making a joke, his second brother, Regulus Diabolus was a victim of the "muscle man trope".
As perfect as his body was, Regulus had the appearance of a "gorilla" or in this world it would be an "orc".
What's worse is that Regulus had a human appearance, a VERY HUMAN appearance yet he was "an orc among men". That was how bad his face was and the youngest third prince who inherited the best looks among his brothers would always be compared to them.
In an era of strife, his eldest brother and even second brother would always take center stage while he would be relegated as "the worthless prince".
Yet peace had come-
'Sometimes, having a talented father is not always good'
Rexford lamented- because his father was TOO TALENTED, peace had come and the need for a "strong ruler" disappeared.
Recently, people have even gone as far as to talk about completely ignoring the second prince and having the first and third prince compete for the throne.
The first prince was a strong general but he was also quite a good leader. But people believed that the third prince who enjoyed peace was more likely to keep it and maintain the peace than to jump into conflict whenever he could.
Moreover, without the threat of war, people cared less about strength and more about looks-
Because of this, many citizens wanted to learn more about the third prince and this led to some learning of some rather unsavory yet enticing secrets.
"The third prince sleeps with commoners and loves them"
"The prince has a hundred lovers from commoner backgrounds"
"The prince sleeps with his maids, he has many secret love children who he takes care of"
Rumors were spread among the lower classes, they ensured it never reached the ears of nobles because they wanted a chance to get on the "imperial horse".
It was a stupid situation that Rexford could not believe was possible but it was happening before him.
His father had not even seen the video or knew that it existed before Rexford showed it off to him!
Not to mention, the emperor did not realize that the female lead of the video was one of the maids that served them tea!
"Still… I'm not making a porno…", Rexford could not accept it though as he felt that the idea of the third prince publicly going out to show that he was doing something uncouth was crazy and few people would believe it.
Yet Anne shook her head as she pointed at one of the maids in line-
"Master, do you remember who that lady is?"
Rexford followed her finger and spotted a blonde maid, the same maid who was part of the special video his father was made to watch.
"Bedelia?"
"Yes"
"Its normal for her to think of it in that way- after all, we have a few movies together and I would usually use it as a backdrop whenever I spend some time with her. Hm? I think I gave her a few recordings as a gift as well…"
Rexford recalled the maid, she was quite special and now that he looked at her. The maid Bedelia had quite an enticing figure. The type of figure that could only be seen amongst models.
This made him recall his nights with her and led to him going on about the things he did and Anne immediately took notice of his words and stopped him.
"Exactly!"
"Huh?"
"Master, sleeping with one's servants is normal, countless nobles would drag attractive servants into their quarters. It's not rare but few nobles would recall the names of the servants they bed! Much less give them a gift or specifically call for them!"
Anne's words made Rexford realize the error he made with his judgement.
Why did he want to give his people a better life? Why did he wish to change the way the kingdom thought about social structures?
Recalling it all, Rexford realized that his own actions before awakening were fueled by emotion, empathy for his people who are suffering.
That was why, no matter how many women he slept with, he would always keep them close.
The maids who became his partners only served within his palace, the people who he found companionship with were protected under his name,
Moreover, unlike other nobles who simply took interest in someone and dragged them away if they could, Rexford approaches everyone the same way he would approach a noble of equal standing.
He would talk with them, get to know them, flirt with them…
Rexford was a bastard who went around fucking women like he was catching pokemon but like a the legendary kid from Pallet Town, every relationship he formed was one he kept close to his heart.
He wasn't even going around simply sleeping with his countless partners, Rexford would spend time with them to just relax. Sometimes he would look for them for companionship and to just talk rather than wrestle on the bed.
"But why would they want to participate?"
"Some wish to form a bond with you Master, others wish to strengthen what they already have"
"..."
Rexford still couldn't wrap his head around the idea, but whether he could understand it or not, the fact remains that most of the people lining up for auditions were women…
'Is this my popular period? Am I going to become the Harem king of this world?!'
Such thoughts crossed his mind as he made his way to the audition venue.