The Heroines Are After My Fortune

38 – The Hunt

“What is this, this picture doesn’t look like oppa at all…!”

Elena was aghast looking at the photo of me published in the newspaper.

The photo of ‘Aiden Roen, who is to marry Miss Renee Este’ was in the paper, and it showed me as a rather portly figure.

“Ugh, oppa isn’t this fat and ugly…! We need to call the newspaper and get them to issue a correction…!”

“…Calm down, Elena.”

Everything is going according to plan.

Though arrows of criticism will also be aimed at me, now is the time to amplify the total sum of fury regarding this matter.

I have merely given the people the prey they desire.

A target to resent, perfectly fitting the stereotype of the ‘fat heir to a massive merchant house’.

For that purpose, I had my face made to look round and swollen, and I even wore layers upon layers of clothes to appear heavier, before taking the photos and anonymously distributing them to each media outlet.

‘That Lady Rhene, to be sold off in marriage to a pig like that…! It cannot be borne—!’

This reaction, it was what was aimed for, and the effect was quite certain.

“Master Aiden, a rather large number of individuals are approaching the Loen manor.”

They were arriving faster than expected.

Still, the preparations themselves were complete without fault.

“…Understood. Proceed now.”

####

“Let’s go! To Aiden Loen, who shamelessly tries to buy Lady Rhene with coin…!”

“oooh——!!”

The band of apprentice knights, their faces hidden by masks, began their trek towards the Loen estate. Apart from them, some hundred or so others had gathered, all sworn to raise a ruckus, to cancel this marriage.

‘The Este Marquis…he’s a bit scary, to be honest…’

‘The Loen Baron, though, he’s much easier…!’

Those who came to protest at the Loen manor, they mostly came with such thoughts in mind.

“According to the map, the Loen manor is just up ahead.”

“Right then, let’s go! Let’s go show them the strength of everyone…, huh?”

But they could see it.

The atmosphere nearby, it was far from ordinary.

“This is……”

“A festival…?!”

A festival, it was unfolding across a large area surrounding the manor.

Cheap eats you could taste, roadside performances erupting, people genuinely reveling.

They were honestly dumbfounded by the sheer scale of the festival.

“What in the world…?”

“Is this that b*stard’s scheme?!”

The Loen family was notorious for having money to burn. They suspected it might be a hastily thrown-together event to deter crowds and went to verify.

“Ahem, what nonsense is this? This event was planned a month ago.”

“Of course, I can’t say the Loen Merchant Guild doesn’t have a stake, but I can’t stand it when you denigrate an event prepared by the combined efforts of the local residents…! Get lost!”

The reaction to the group’s inquiries was, in fact, quite hostile. Having already laid the groundwork by greasing the palms of civil servants early on, the residents felt absolutely no ill will towards the Loen family.

“Ugh, still, we push through. Even if it’s right in front of the mansion…!”

“As long as we don’t hurt the residents, it shouldn’t matter…!”

And so, the protesters pushed through the crowds, arriving at the mansion.

But Aiden’s arrangements weren’t finished yet.

“Hey, this is…!?”

“It’s a play. Hold on, the audience…?”

Right in front of the mansion, hired wandering players were putting on a play, and the audience was mostly children. It was a performance of ‘The Three Little Pigs’ that Aiden had personally selected as something children would enjoy.

“Little piggies, won’t you open your door? What’s that, you won’t open up? Then I’ll huff and puff and blow your house down…!”

“If it goes on like this the piggies will get eaten!”

“Waaah, no…!”

The children were utterly engrossed.

The protesters found themselves in a situation where they had no choice but to watch their step.

The future, pressing on here, like this, was obvious.

‘Waaah—! Those old guys, those old guys…!’

‘Hey! What’s the big deal? Why are you yelling and making a fuss during our kids’ play…?!’

‘Tsk tsk, so overly immersed in some movie they’re just shitting all over the festival atmosphere… Please, get a grip on reality, young people…!!’

Lost justification meant they were nothing.

“…Let’s give it up, it’s hopeless here.”

They decided, in the end, to retreat.

But there were those who hadn’t lost their courage.

“Those with embers of zeal for Lady Renee, follow me to the Este Marquisate…!”

““Oohh———!!””

As Aiden intended, the protesters began to stream toward the Este Marquisate.

Aiden, watching their retreat through a telescope, grinned.

‘Good, Marquis. Keep doing it, keep doing what you’re doing.’

####

“People are gathering in front of our mansion? For what reason?”

“Well…”

A rambling explanation from the servant.

Marquis Rafael Este scoffed.

“What a laughable bunch. Meddling in other people’s affairs… Just leave them be, they’ll exhaust themselves and drop out. Ignore them.”

“Yes, I understand…!”

The Este house, following the Marquis’s command, chose to let things be.

No good would come of meddling, not when the marriage was already set in stone. Let it lie, the Marquis figured, the situation would calm and the demon contract would fall into his grasp.

But that was not to be.

They should have acted before the numbers grew, crippled their strength early. They missed the chance.

About three days passed after the article.

“Este house, awaken…!”

“Awaken, awaken–!!”

“Freedom for Lady Rene…!”

Once the crew from the Roen house latched on, the Este manor was swarmed. The crowd showed no sign of thinning.

“You protestors, have a cool coffee and carry on…!”

“Handmade cheese sandwiches too…!”

The mass attracted the scent of coin, drawing in wandering merchants, and a strange cycle began. The protestors found they could eat without leaving their posts.

Yet, what cracked the Este Marquis’s stone wall wasn’t the crowd, but the press.

“Marquis, the articles…!”

[Unfettered political marriage, for whom, truly?]

[Sacrificing noble youth, is dream a luxury?]

The articles didn’t point fingers directly, but considering the situation, anyone could see they were aimed at Rafael Este. His face reddened, he ripped the newspaper to shreds.

“The Emperor’s faction, the b*stards…!”

He was certain, they had moved, sniffing out a way to keep the nobles in check. Rafael was dumbfounded. What utter hypocrisy.

“Those who prioritize pedigree more than anyone when it comes to marriage, now they dare target me, with no shame…!”

His fury burned, directed at a harsh target.

Truth be told, as he saw it, the political marriage itself was no different than a dog covered in shit criticizing one covered in chaff – a squabble among nobles. Yet, noble marriages until now had felt like they existed in “their own world.”

Whether it was right or wrong was secondary; it didn’t capture the public’s interest. But, with René’s popularity soaring, this situation was different – the level of attention was on another scale entirely.

“Was it the First Prince who moved, or the Second Princess…? No, doesn’t matter…!”

Marquis Raphael made up his mind.

If he left this protest unattended, even his authority within the noble faction might falter.

‘I’ll chase them out myself. These impertinent fools…!’

Unaware that it was the worst possible choice, the Marquis left the mansion.

#####

“Freedom for René! Freedom!”

“House Este, repent………!”

The protesters screamed, their voices raw.

It wasn’t just a mindless mob; they had their own crude system.

“Hoo, I’m tired. Anyone have a copy of the picture of René-nim from Arcane News, issue 78?”

“I do! Let’s recharge together!”

“Ooh, I feel the strength returning…!”

When they grew weary of the ruckus, they’d seek out the “healers” – those who held a stockpile of René-related visual and audio material, which would vigorously reignite their fighting spirit. Thanks to this, the front of the Este marquisate had been buzzing for days, with no sign of quiet.

Then, one day,

“Everyone, SILENCE——————!!”

The highest authority of the house,

Rafael Este, he himself, went to the protest grounds.

He boomed, voice ringing, for all to hear.

“What you’re squawking about is a matter for the family, none of your business…! Stop this unlawful demonstration and disperse, before I resort to force——!!”

The protesters buzzed, a restless hive.

They didn’t seem to buy it, not one bit.

Aiden, watching disguised from afar, clicked his tongue.

‘That’ll just fuel their defiance. If I’d revealed the terms I’d set back then, things would’ve been far more complicated….’

A hundred days, bought to love her, resulting in that play and film. Mentioning each, in detail, might’ve turned the barely averted arrow back at Aiden himself.

‘The Marquis I know, he won’t stop here. He’ll pull something.’

And as if on cue.

It didn’t take long for things to flare.

“Selling off his daughter for greed, have you no shame…!”

“Unworthy of the title of Marquis…!”

“What…!?”

The anonymity offered by the masked, collective protest gave courage to the masses, and it culminated into a madness capable of lashing out at a Marquis whose social standing was light years away.

The Marquis, unused to such a situation, felt his hands trembling.

Aiden’s brazenness before, that he could stomach, being of the same nobility, but the situation now, these unknown rabble spewing such insults at him, it was unimaginable.

“These, these lowly curs, what do they even know…!”

“M-Marquis…! You must not speak further…!”

His retainers tried to pull him back, but the Marquis was already bursting with rage, and his offensive words set the protesters ablaze with fury.

“What, you low-born scum…!?”

“Rather live low than sell my precious daughter to become noble…!”

“Sell your daughter and get a dukedom while you’re at it, Lord Marquis…!”

It was amid such a scene, consumed by collective madness, that it happened.

*Fshhh–!*

“KYYYaaaGGhhh——————!!”

The right arm of a novice knight, who had been leading the protest with a loud voice, shot into the sky. The Marquis, finally pushed to his limit, had drawn his sword and struck.

“Silence yourselves…! Can’t a parent, after raising a child so preciously, arrange just one marriage as they please…! Those who do not leave this place now, know that their heads will be next to fly……!!”

The Marquis, his face flushed crimson, declared as he drew his menacing aura blade. The crowd was first struck dumb with horror, then broke into screams and began to flee.

“R-Run away………!!”

“Marquis Este has gone mad—!”

A countless number of people were scrambling to leave the chaotic scene.

Those who didn’t want to lose their lives turned tail and fled without a look behind.

“………Hah.”

Contrary to this situation, there was one person who was perfectly calm.

‘There’s no way out for you now, Marquis.’

While people fled on either side of him,

Aiden, still standing firmly facing the mansion, grinned.

Everything was proceeding according to his plan.