Ok

i agree, the monologue is stupid for sure, but i think there's 2 issues to this. first, i assume he actually isn't as smart as he claims in the chapter/the story makes him out to be. after all, he gave away the saintess to another country in some sort of inferiority complex situation. while it can be blamed mostly on his wanting her out of sight/getting engaged to mia, a smart person would never get rid of an asset like her no matter how infuriating they found their presence. i think he had whispers in his ears that he was smarter and superior, and he simply had above average intellect but was seen as easier to puppet by the nobles supporting him/against the first prince. second, i think the author aims to show how arrogance is bred in people. the second prince believed bc his brother was sickly, he had some smarts, and people whispered in his ear that he was the better heir. this led to the second prince slacking in any actual development for himself, relying on his early advancement to carry into adulthood. this is what happens when you let people believe they don't have to continue to study or work hard to advance - it's also why he hated philia so much. she is someone who had early talent/expectations thrust on her, but she worked and nurtured her intellect and power, rather than letting it fall to the wayside. basically, he's a comical villain like you said, but it makes sense to an extent (but truly i can't forgive the monologue bc what are you doing in front of that whole crowd???)

Oh I see, that definitely explains some things. I just got tired of reading how much of a genius he is and Mia even called him a mastermind and all I could think of was a mastermind of what? Getting rid of their most important asset?

Even if he was a puppet, I wish the author made him at least a little bit smart and had somewhat understandable reasons for getting rid of the MC. I guess even the nobles who are whispering in his ear aren't the smartest either if their willing to get rid of her just to appease a child throwing a tantrum. It's a clownfest

true, i was literally skipping his monologues

They raised a fool to be a fool they could control. So getting rid of anyone who could teach him to behave better would have countered their goal for running the country behind the arrogant puppet prince.

That would've been more believable if the MC wasn't as loyal and submissive as she was, they could've easily made her into another and more powerful puppet. They would've had the royal family and the church at the palm of their hands

yeah, and when reading all these types of stories, it's so frustrating bc we can gain enough perspective on them to realize how easy it can be to manipulate some of these mcs. but the other powers in these stories like the nobles are all after short term power, and don't look at the big picture. no planning beyond "hey let's get the second prince the throne" rather than "how can i maintain power?" they have all these op mcs and refuse to use them ┑(￣Д ￣)┍