The Heroines Are After My Fortune

15 – Let’s Not Get Married – 2

“No one will come here.”

We, the two of us, moved to the balcony. René, calm, asked about the true meaning of my earlier words.

“Lord Aiden, what did you mean just now?”

“Exactly what I said. I wished for you to not speak false words, not from the heart.”

“……Hah.”

René exhaled a sigh. I know it, too. That I am picking a fight with no justification. The humiliation I inflicted on her in front of David was also 100% my fault. But there was a reason, I had to provoke her, even with such rude acts. I needed to emotionally drive her.

But she searched for the reason for my actions in the wrong direction.

“Did my father ask you to test my true feelings?”

“…………?”

What fresh hell is this now?

Why was Marquis Raphael’s name dragged into this mess? Then, thinking back, it made a sort of sense.

‘Their relationship was frosty after the engagement, they said.’

In the original story, Renée loathed the idea of marrying Yulne with every fiber of her being.

So, for the first time ever, she’d stood up to her father, Raphael. Only the threat of being cast out and demoted to a commoner forced her into the marriage. This situation was even more knotted, so that conflict was likely just as big, if not bigger.

Renée probably thought I was sent by the Marquis, testing if she was obedient to her future husband. I couldn’t afford to be misconstrued as the Marquis’s puppet. First thing was first, I needed to clear the air.

“I don’t even know what Marquis Raphael looks like. I’ve never met him. You know that, don’t you, miss?”

“How would I know? I don’t know everything my father does. Maybe he contacted you without my knowledge, how should I know?”

“I swear to you, these are purely my own thoughts and words.”

“…………………….”

I stared right into her eyes.

Whether she believed my sincerity, or just let it slide, Renée let out a heavy sigh, then looked at me with eyes full of resentment.

“Fine, fine. Let’s say I said things I didn’t mean. What exactly did you expect of me to satisfy you, Baron? Should I have sighed or showed a nasty face in front of the man my father betrothed me to?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I was originally meant to marry your father. Now that he’s gone, they tell me to marry you, his hidden son. And I still accepted! Even with no choice in the matter, I’ve been doing my best to treat you well. Why are you doing this to me after all this…!?”

“………………….”

The mask was finally starting to crack.

Just as planned, Renée was beginning to reveal the emotions she kept locked deep inside. From her point of view, she had every right to feel wronged, and a prick of conscience stung me, but I couldn’t falter here. I was going to drive another nail into her heart.

“Could it be… you don’t want to marry me?”

“Yes, I refuse.”

“W-what…!?”

She must have never imagined suffering such humiliation, despite half expecting it. Her eyes and hands trembled, quivering like aspen leaves. A woman who always stood atop the social ladder couldn’t have had experiences of such harsh words.

I took her shaking hands in mine, and spoke.

“Isn’t it the same for you, young lady?”

“…………!”

Renee faltered, a slight pause like a pinprick, as if I’d struck her right in the core.

I felt it all the clearer as I was holding her hand.

“…No, it’s not.”

“You hesitated. Truth isn’t always found in words alone.”

“…………….”

Renee clamped her lips shut.

A series of mistakes, so unlike her, unfolded.

Clearly, she was shaken, but she was far from a pushover.

“Why do you not wish to marry me, Baron? Is there something you dislike? Something I can fix, I’ll try to amend it.”

Renee neither agreed nor disagreed with my words. Instead she changed the subject, throwing my question back at me. I could have pressed further, but I had shaken her enough that the earlier point had served its purpose. Now, it was my turn to answer her question.

“It’s probably the same reason you don’t want to be married, young lady.”

“Same as me…? What are you….”

Renee’s reaction showed she had no idea what I meant.

I paused for a breath, then, with not a single gram of jest in my voice, I spoke to her.

“I do not wish to wed without love.”

“Hah—.”

René, a laugh that was utterly absurd, a hollow sound.

Though she still faced me with a smile, I was certain. My ridiculous words had stirred a considerable anger in her.

“Baron Aiden, may I say just one thing?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

She took a great, shuddering breath at my permission—

“… Do you think the noble society is some trifling matter?”

Soon, with a look of contempt, she began to unleash the words she’d held back.

“Baron, you are now a part of this privileged class. You, with responsibilities to your house and trading company, would dare act so irresponsibly in a matter as grave as marriage?”

“…………”

“Now that you’ve come here on your own two feet, there’s no way out. If you break off a marriage proposal over such a reason, do you think my father would leave you be? He is a cruel man. He does not let those who displease him simply go.”

René’s eyes trembled, as though she herself feared her father.

Soon her eyes welled with tears, and she could no longer hold back the emotions she’d bottled up, she burst.

“Yes—! I don’t want to either! I haven’t even enjoyed academy life yet, and I’m not ready to be someone’s parent…! But what can I do? I am nothing without the Este name…?”

“…………”

“Are you satisfied now? To have heard the woman who is to be your wife say that she does not want to marry you? What do you even gain from this…?!”

Her tears trickled down both cheeks.

It was, without doubt, the truth of ‘René Este’.

Thud, thud—

“No, uh…”

I pulled out a handkerchief and approached Renée, gently dabbing at her tears. She’d shown me her sincerity, now it was my turn to reveal mine.

“I do. I need to hear your honest feelings, so I know how to act.”

“What? What does that…”

I turned my back to her and slowly walked towards the railing. A cool spring breeze tickled my ear. Closing my eyes for a moment, I took a deep breath, then looked back at Renée and spoke.

“I think the aristocratic society you spoke of is wrong. It chases after greater power, more wealth, hollow honors, and takes for granted the sacrifice of those belonging to the family, telling them to be grateful for what the family has done for them.”

“…Yes, Lord Aiden, maybe it’s wrong like you say. But if every aristocrat does it, can we simply dismiss it as wrong? Even if it’s a rule with flawed parts, if everyone follows it, then it’s an established rule of society, something that must be obeyed.”

So, a bad law is still a law, is it? Not wrong, but…

“Not all aristocrats follow that rule. There are always exceptions.”

“……You can’t possibly be citing those rare cases of Sword Masters or 7th Circle mages, can you?”

Those exceptional individuals who can treat their family as ‘trivial’ – they have the power to do whatever they want if they set their minds to it.

“It’s often easier to be one of the very few beneficiaries rather than trying to change a huge system to benefit more people.”

“Good heavens, you really…”

Renée’s reaction was understandable. Achieving such a level to break free from the shackles of one’s family was akin to a ludicrous fantasy.

Moreover, she was a typical woman, with all her talents invested in beauty and social skills, and zero combat prowess. She would need a reincarnation to become a Sword Master or 7th Circle mage.

‘But, I can certainly mold her into someone with comparable presence.’

Such a future would be unimaginable for Renée, who was rubbing her throbbing head in front of me. Having built up to this moment, I changed my tone and delivered my final conclusion.

“Renée, let’s not marry each other. Let’s marry the people we truly love in the future.”

“Did you even hear what I said? It’s not as easy as you make it sound…!”

“If you believe in my words till the end, and follow them, I promise I will give you the strength to marry the man you love, without being swayed by your family’s choice, in the not-so-distant future.”

“……………!?”

This was the first and last chance given to Rhene Este, not yet the ‘vile villainess’ she was destined to become. Whether she would follow her father’s path to ruin, or seize this opportunity, solely depended on her choice.

“…That’s an absurd piece of nonsense.”

“Believing it or not is your freedom, young lady. Now, what will you do?”

Rhene’s expression turned deeply serious at my prodding.

A long silence hung in the air, before she finally reached a decision.

“I will…”

####

The Este family’s drawing-room,

Marquis Raphael, who had been pleased with the gift of a precious wine, could hardly believe his ears.

“…What did you just say?”

The fact that this fledgling, who had just inherited a baronetcy, had dared to utter such an unimaginable impudence to the head of a great house was beyond the marquis’s comprehension. Even Rhene’s face, who had been observing, paled at the words. Aiden, unfazed by the marquis’s reaction, repeated the words he’d just spoken.

“I said, I do not wish to marry Miss Rhene.”

“To come all the way here and say such a thing… ha, ha, hahahaha————!!”

The marquis burst into mocking laughter.

Contrary to the mirth on his face, his hands trembled in barely contained fury. Abruptly cutting off his laughter, Marquis Raphael stared at Aiden with a glint in his eyes.

“You…”

“…….”

“Are you insane?”

“………………!!”

A murderous intent, so fierce it stole the very air from my lungs, exploded outwards.

Rene, who’d held a sliver of trust for Aiden, wept tears of blood internally.

‘I’ve gone mad, truly…!’