WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt Episode 10, "Hey, How About Getting on the Bubble," now streaming on Funimation.
Prince Wein Salema Arbalest has come a long way from being the genius prince who wanted to sell his kingdom to the highest bidder and enjoy early retirement. Since defeating the kingdom of Marden and later acquiring it as a vassal, however, he has since changed his mind about wanting to sell his kingdom. Instead, he's found something else that interests him: women. Specifically, women who ask his hand in marriage, just so he can have the unique pleasure of turning them down.
The first woman who proposed marriage to him was Princess Lowellmina "Lowa" of Earthworld following his defeat of Marden. Wein, of course, knew better than to trust Lowa's proposal as anything more than a scheme to progress her own ascension to the Earthworld throne as empress. Ironically though, Lowa's proposal wasn't just political in nature. As Ninym pointed out, Lowa is actually in love with Wein and even confessed her feelings to Ninym. Now in Episode 10 of The Genius Prince's Guide, the tables are surprisingly turned on Wein by another princess.
While Wein has no interest in marrying Lowa since he's already in love with his best friend Ninym, he has shown that he's happy to play the part of her betrothed as long as it benefits him in some way. He did this in Episode 9 when his little sister, Princess Falanya, attended the Earthworld summit for the next emperor in the city of Mealtars. During her stay, Lowa's oldest brother, Prince Demetrio, proposed marriage to Falanya as revenge against Wein for humiliating him.
To protect his little sister, Wein told Demetrio about his own betrothal to his sister Lowa to catch him off guard, with Lowa playing along. When Wein got some alone time with Lowa, the latter decided to open up to him about the reality of her situation and even asked Wein to give his honest opinion of her. Unaware of Lowa's feelings for him, he jokingly told her he thinks she's stupid but secretly believes she has a stronger chance of ascending to the Earthworld throne than her brothers. While an upset Lowa vows to make Wein a part of her narrative at all costs, unbeknown to her, Wein soon gets a taste of his own medicine.
After Wein helps Lowa resolve the conflict in Mealtars, he's on his way back to Marden with Ninym and brings up the subject of marriage. Specifically, he speculates that Princess Zenovia -- the sole surviving monarch of Marden -- will propose marriage to him as a way of strengthening the kingdom's prospects. Unlike Lowa's marriage proposal, Wein actually looks forward to being asked his hand in marriage by Zenovia so he can have the pleasure of turning her down.
Ninym thinks Wein's plan to reject Zenovia under the current circumstances is cruel, but Wein explains he likes the attention women give him, revealing a narcissistic aspect of his personality. When his meeting with Zenovia about Marden's future doesn't end with a marriage proposal, Ninym very subtly rubs it in Wein's face. He, however, remains convinced she'll ask his hand in marriage when they meet with her in her alter ego as Zeno. When the topic of marriage once again fails to come up, Wein attempts to draw it out of her by suggesting the marriage himself. Unfortunately for him, Zenovia doesn't fall for his trick and jokingly tells him he's not her type. This rejection cuts Wein to the core.
Zenovia actually has a crush on Wein herself, but like Lowa, she also doesn't believe she has what it takes to be his queen. Alternatively, Zenovia has no plans to make herself queen to earn her place alongside him, preferring to avoid the subject of a political marriage. Wein on the other hand throws a tantrum in his room later that night about Zenovia bruising his ego. While Lowa isn't present to enjoy seeing a moment of weakness in The Genius Prince's Guide's protagonist, Ninym delights in seeing his plan backfire -- mostly as poetic justice for the cruel prank he intended to play on the vulnerable princess of Marden.
