The Heroines Are After My Fortune

0 – Buy. Noble Daughter. Never Used.

Money is like a woman.

Truly fickle, you think you’ve got it, and it slips right through your fingers, it’s beside you then it’s gone – that’s money.

These are the words of Yulman Roen, the empire’s wealthiest man. A man who clawed his way up from the very bottom, a self-made icon. Ironically, Yulman, the very man who spoke these words, is past sixty and has never been married.

“The Baron is here——!”

With the gatekeeper’s resounding shout, the massive doors swung wide open. In Karna, the empire’s capital, this vast estate, situated on the most prized land, boasted meticulously manicured green lawns and towering ancient trees, some easily hundreds of years old. This mansion, a palace fit for a king, was all Yulman’s. As his carriage rolled into the grounds and stopped before the manor, the chief butler bowed low.

“Were you successful, Baron? I hear this young lady was likened to a flower blooming on a cliff.”

“Tch, a flower indeed…. Since when do gourds grow on cliffs?”

Yulman clucked his tongue, having struck out again in his current pursuit of a bride. Without a wife to share his joys and sorrows, nor any children, he was looking for a suitable bride to enrich his twilight years. In his youth, he was obsessed with his business, treating women like mere stones. In middle age, he regarded any woman approaching him as a money-grubbing opportunist. Now, he had changed his mind. Even if she sought his wealth, he was born a man, and at least should leave an heir.

When he sent missives to prominent noble houses, seeking a bride, letters arrived from all over the empire, each claiming their daughter was the most beautiful. They had calculated that selling off their daughters and grabbing a piece of the empire’s richest man’s fortune was a profitable venture indeed.

“…It’s a shame, truly. But there is also good news.”

“Hmm, speak.”

“The Este Marquisate has also made a marriage proposal. Please, take a look at this note.”

[To a great merchant like Baron Roen, who could possibly object? Age gaps and public opinion are not even a concern. If you are agreeable, I wish to send you my eldest daughter, Renee. I sincerely hope my feelings are conveyed.]

“Hah! I’ve lived to see the day. The arrogant noble groveling, licking his lips. It seems the Este family isn’t doing so well either.”

“Would you like to meet her?”

“Arrange a meeting, send a reply. And do we have the papers?”

“Yes, the last week’s worth is ready.”

The old man took a stack of newspapers from the butler. When he had been neck-deep in all his businesses, he would pore over at least seven different papers to stay on top of the empire’s political landscape, but lately, his bride quest had taken precedence over reading. And the Marquis’ words, “public opinion is not even a concern,” bothered him. Sinking deep into his sofa made of the finest sable, Yulman put on his spectacles and began to read, word by word.

“So the word is out already.”

That he is seeking a young noblewoman to wed is, it seems, quite the scoop within the Empire, with the major newspapers running the story in banner headlines on their front pages.

A curiosity stirs, and I read to see how they’ve worded it—

“Can they not be ashamed, in their twilight years, for craving a young woman, a shameful disgrace?”

He frowned involuntarily at the crude accusations. Skimming other papers revealed it was not just one or two. There was an obvious reason why the newspapers would be so vitriolic.

“A nouveau riche who bought his title, and now he doesn’t grease their palms with backhanders, so their bile is rising.”

“…My Lord Baron.”

“Do not fret so. Their squawking for money, like baby birds with mouths agape, it’s rather endearing, wouldn’t you say? Heh heh!”

Yulnemann stroked his beard and chuckled, but the head steward still looked worried.

“I shall issue a demand for a correction immediately.”

“Let it be. It is not worth the trouble.”

He knew the most effective way to bring those displaying such impertinence to their senses. He simply chose not to use it. The thought that he might become the ‘shameful old man’ mentioned in the papers, if he lashed out in retribution, weighed heavily on him.

‘Difficult it is, am I truly so misguided?’

It was, after all, a mere exchange of possessions according to the logic of the capitalist market, so why was there such a public outcry against him? A sudden headache pounded, and the old man rose, calling for his head steward.

“I desire some fresh air. I shall visit the lad for a while.”

#####

In the Imperial capital, Kárna, two faces exist.

The center, where nobles and magnates dwell, is a display of ostentatious splendor, while the outskirts show the wretchedness of the poor. The wealth disparity between the two places is like the difference between heaven and earth. Unlike the capital, where there is abundance, allowing various cultures to flourish, the outer districts are overrun with those who, unable to make a living, continue to pour in. A vicious cycle that sees them turn to crime for a chance at sustenance. It was, by all accounts, a bleak and dangerous place, but even there, Yulnemann, the Empire’s wealthiest, had a place he visited with peace of mind.

“Oh, old codger, you’re here?”

A tall, black-haired youth greeted him with familiarity under the large ash tree in the center of the village he had lived in during his poor days. His name was Aiden, and, always dressed in patched clothes, his family seemed to be struggling. Yulnemann clicked his tongue at the casual way the youth addressed him, and leaned back against the tree.

“You rascal, did you sell your manners to the junk shop? I am, even in my old age, at least three times your senior.”

“You like it, but still act like that.”

“This cheeky brat…”

It was Yul-ne-man, and he couldn’t entirely deny it. The old geezers, as Aiden would say, secretly enjoyed it when young lads treated them without formality, pretending otherwise. Of course, crossing a line was an exception, but the youth had a knack for walking that tightrope, his charm disarming his elders. There was a reason why Yul-ne-man, who always wore only the finest silk robes, would disguise himself as a commoner in rough, musty-smelling rags to visit this place.

“So, how’s the operation of seducing those old hags at the nursing home going?”

“Trying to win over those old maids with their heads in the clouds is no easy task. I’ll succeed next time.”

Of course, he couldn’t say that he was so rich he was looking for a fresh-faced noble lady to take as his bride-, so Yul-ne-man vaguely rephrased the situation, while the youth looked at the old man with a lascivious smile.

“They say a man can still manage even if he only has the strength to hold a spoon. My, you old geezer, even at your age….”

“…Ahem!”

Yul-ne-man felt a pang of shame and reflexively roared. Yet, as if nothing was amiss, the youth grinned slyly.

“If an old fart like you is still so eager for women, I, with a younger sister, can’t possibly rest easy.”

“Ahem, you mean Elena. How is she doing these days?”

“She’s doing fine. Just as always, she’s annoyed by the flies buzzing around her.”

“That’s understandable for her.”

Aiden’s younger sister, Elena, had come to fetch him under this tree a few times before. Yul-ne-man had met so many people in his work, it was hard to keep track, but even he, who usually didn’t remember insignificant folk, found the girl’s appearance unforgettable.

‘Even I, who has seen countless beauties of the Empire, would place her within the top three.’

If she were of noble birth, her beauty would certainly have shone more brightly, but it was an excessive beauty for a commoner girl to possess. Yul-ne-man had seen countless times how much turmoil beautiful commoner women go through.

‘Tsk tsk, you must have a lot of worries.’

As the old man looked at the youth with pity, he noticed he was scribbling something.

“What are you writing there?”

“This? It’s my business plan. Want to have a look?”

“…Hoh, a business plan, is it?”

Yulne-man’s reputation—that anything he touched turned to gold—gave him a peerless authority, even when consulting on other people’s ventures. A short lunch meeting with him, one-on-one, would fetch up to a hundred thousand gold from the asset-rich, but Aiden, oblivious, simply pushed the paper, his so-called business plan, right at him. Whether the youth would even take his advice to heart was another matter, but Yulne-man, having decided to take a look, wouldn’t do so half-heartedly.

‘Alright, let’s flex this old brain of mine–’

“Uhm, sorry. Can’t do it.”

“…?”

Aiden snatched the paper away suddenly. Stunned, the old man looked up to see the youth making a prim face, his words truly absurd.

“What if the old man steals my business plan?”

“…Heh, well that’s a fine how-do-you-do.”

The Empire’s wealthiest man, pilfering the business plan of a novice who didn’t know the alphabet of commerce? The preposterousness of such a joke made the old man let out a guffaw.

“Fine, fine. This old man might just steal it, so you better guard it well.”

Yulne-man felt even more at ease. He was no longer Yulne-man Loen, the Empire’s richest noble, but just a doddering old man of no repute, fit to chase after old ladies at the nursing home.

‘This child asks nothing of me.’

Away from the greedy eyes that always sought to extract something from him, the moment he spoke with this youth who sought nothing and even recoiled at any offer of help, he felt alive.

‘Wait a moment, could this child…?’

It was a mad thought, something unheard of in the Empire’s history, but what if he left everything he had worked for his entire life to this youth, who was no kin of his? It would be a devastating blow to all those who saw him not as a human but as a money bag—that much he was certain.

It would definitely require some tiresome groundwork, but of all the plans he’d recently formulated, this was the most satisfying, and a faint smile curled the old man’s lips.

‘The rest of my days won’t be dull, then.’

The old man, who had been so full of lingering attachment to life, finally felt ready to unshackle the chains that bound him and embark on the long, final journey. He was filled with an unprecedented sense of freedom, and yet, he was utterly oblivious.

To the fact that the youth was deceiving him completely.