The Heroines Are After My Fortune

41 – The Great Clash

“Eiden, just a moment…! Unh—!”

“…Stay still.”

I’m currently kissing Rene’s neck while she’s lying on the bed. To understand how things got to this point, we need to rewind about an hour.

#####

“…He’s coming.”

The day of reckoning has finally arrived.

Seeing the Marquis’s car pull into the estate from the window made it all the more real. I considered blowing the damn thing up, but the odds were too high that only Rene would die, while the Marquis walked away unscathed. So, I dropped the idea.

‘…I need to evacuate the non-combatants at the right moment.’

Warning them about the danger posed by the Marquis’s visit beforehand might raise suspicion, tipping him off to my plans. So, most of the people working at the estate were left in the dark. But that didn’t mean I’d abandon them to die. They were valuable people Yul Uncle had carefully trained.

“Butler, I’m giving you full authority to evacuate everyone at the appropriate time. Is that doable?”

“Our late Master always said, ‘Those with wealth are always in danger, wherever they are,’ and was ever concerned about safety. Of course, evacuation routes were already prepared. This old man will certainly see our people evacuated safely, so do not worry.”

“Thank you, I trust you.”

I bowed my head deeply, and the Butler returned the gesture.

May we meet again, alive.

####

“Thank you for making the long journey. Marquis Este.”

“We’re in the same capital, no journey at all… It is an honor to be invited, Baron Roen.”

“Lady Renée, it has been a while.”

“…It has been a while, Mister Aiden.”

He lifted her wrist, pressing a light kiss to it.

“………….”

“………….”

Our eyes met.

There were many things I wanted to say, but the person who should least hear them was right there, so I couldn’t utter a word.

We took our seats at the table, and under the direction of my house’s chef, a variety of dishes began to appear. The food, enough to break the table, was of considerable quality, and even Rafael and Renée, who had likely tasted many delicacies at the Marquis’s estate, seemed quite satisfied.

“The dishes are quite splendid, don’t you agree, Renée?”

“Yes, they are truly splendid.”

Renée, with that said, lifted her wine and moistened her throat.

And how much time had passed…

“Why is this, all of a sudden… drowsiness.”

*Thud!*

Renée collapsed, her forehead slamming into the table.

The few who were watching were startled, but the Marquis, as if unfazed, checked her pulse and wore a relieved expression.

“It seems she has accumulated much fatigue from her recent demanding schedule. Do not fret.”

The butler and maids, only then, seemed relieved.

If the Marquis had flown into a rage, suspecting something wrong with the food, more than just a head or two might have rolled.

“Baron Roen, would you be so kind as to escort my daughter to a place where she can rest comfortably? It seems she requires some respite.”

“So be it.”

I rose from my seat, and just like that, I hoisted Rhene onto my back. It was then, as I carried her past the Marquess, that he spoke.

“Take your time, enjoy yourselves.”

“…Thank you.”

Am I out of my mind?

I’m about to be in deep shit, and he thinks I’ll be able to calmly get laid?

#####

Rhene’s head throbbed.

‘Hazy…’

“Awake?”

“……!”

She jolted upright, startled.

Suddenly waking up in bed with Aiden beside her, she couldn’t help but be shocked.

“Why are we…!?”

Rhene gathered the covers around herself, scooting away from him.

She’d been enjoying the banquet in the dining hall, so why was she here?

“The Marquess asked me to take the young lady, who had fainted, to a place to rest.”

“Ah, is that so. Then that’s good—”

“And then, he told me to get you drunk, young lady.”

“Huh…?!”

Her pupils flutter, a rapid tremor.

A tale she would be loath to believe, truly.

“Why would Father…do this to me!?”

Thankfully, Renée seeks the reason, not the truth itself.

This made it much easier to speak.

“To cut straight to it, it’s to frame and kill me. And you, my Lady, the same.”

“…………!!”

Aidan laid out the broad strokes of it all.

The story of Marie Este and Caesar, and even the matter of Rafael Este’s demonic pact.

“That my mother died ten years ago because of my father…”

“Something seems to strike a chord with you.”

“Yes, I always had my doubts. The sudden heart attack, and the fact that before the cremation of her body, no one in the family, including myself, her daughter, saw her. Except for Father…”

The explanation that a closer blood tie meant a higher purity of the sacrifice seemed to also be a factor she could accept. Her mother was also a branch of the Este family, so the bloodline wasn’t an issue, and within the family, she held no other role besides being Raphael’s wife, making her an easy target.

Renée was perceptive. It was likely she had also felt something was amiss while observing the Marquis from up close. After some contemplation, she questioned Aidan.

“So, what is it you wish to do, Sir Aidan?”

“I cannot simply surrender to death.”

“Which means…”

“Yes, I will kill Rafael Este. Your father.”

“……………!”

Even in the face of her own impending death, the sound of killing her father was surely startling. But she quickly gathered herself.

“I’ll cooperate. Me too.”

“Then that’s excellent.”

Before Renée’s words even finished, Aiden yanked her hand, pulling her straight onto the bed and pinning her down.

“W-wait, just a moment…! What are you doing?!”

“Weren’t we told to spend some intimate time? We need to do this much to avoid suspicion.”

“Even so, this is too much…! Kyaah——!”

Aiden brought his face close to Renée’s.

He quickly and forcefully sucked at her neck.

“Ugh… … …!”

He probably sucked at it in about three or four places like that.

Only when red marks had appeared did he pull back.

“Haa, this much should be enough.”

“…Haa, haa.”

“My lady?”

“…Go on ahead.”

“Yes, come out slowly.”

And with that, Aiden opened the door and left.

Renée, huddled up, was bright red in the face.

‘…I felt it.’

This moment, when she should be feeling the greatest sense of crisis,

She felt the greatest shame of her life, all at once.

“Daughter, are you alright?”

“…I’m fine, Father.”

Renee’s somewhat haggard expression was rather complex.

Though forced upon by her betrothed, before even marriage, she couldn’t properly show her distaste, given her father’s orders. A complicated emotion she displayed with perfection.

“………………”

And the detail of glaring at me, like she wanted to kill me, when our eyes briefly met.

Truly a frightening display of acting.

“…Looks like you had a rather violent time. So you were a man after all.”

The Marquis whispered and walked away.

He soon clapped his hands, as if suddenly remembering something.

“Ah, now that I think of it, my son-in-law said there was to be a gift. Can we receive it today?”

“Yes, that’s correct. I was to give you anything you desired from my father’s warehouse. Shall we go to the warehouse now?”

“Hmm, let us.”

Thus, the Marquis and I headed toward the office.

As I had instructed, Renee cautiously asked, “May I be excused to rest?” but she was forced to follow us by the Marquis’s command, “You must come along too.”

“How about giving Renee something from the warehouse as well?”

“Haha, would giving a gift to the woman who will be my wife be that difficult? Of course, I can give her something.”

His intentions were clear – to get the devil’s contract and to finish the process of sacrificing Renee in one go. But first, I had to get him into that secret place. The one where I had prepared everything.

“Follow this way.”

So I led the way into the hidden spaces, and soon we arrived at the warehouse side.

“Ohoh….”

The warehouse, once sparse, now looked quite something, thanks to the bits and pieces I’d filled it with. The Marquis, eyes darting around, he’s surely looking for the Demon Contract.

“Aah…”

Soon, the Marquis spotted a familiar scroll.

It looked like the grand ambition of becoming a Grand Master was shimmering before his eyes, he was quite moved. And in that moment, as he reached for the object,

*Whoosh——!!*

“Kuh…!?!”

The scroll burst into flame, a great blue blaze erupting.

‘Sacred Flames,’ they call it, a holy fire.

It’s said to be wielded only by high-ranking clerics, and it’s more potent against demons and their lackeys. Thanks to the Saintess’s cooperation, we managed to set up this trap, meant specifically for the Marquis. And in this very moment, I leaped at him.

“Shart, now…!!”

[Okay——!]

Thanks to Luke’s invention, I had hidden the sword from view. I quickly relinquished control to Shart.

“Hyuuup———!!”

Shart swiftly unleashed his sword aura, executing a flurry of sword techniques, aiming for the Marquis’s neck, engulfed in flames—but

*Clang——!!*

The Marquis easily deflected the strike.

That was my most confident attack, and it was blocked.

He stepped back lightly, then,

*Shkkk—!*

With his sword, he sliced off the burning skin of his arm.

The stubborn flame, with that flick of the blade, was extinguished cleanly.

‘Man, where does fire just go out like that…’

The Saintess made it sound like it was some devastating thing, burning right to a demon’s bone. It failed to finish him off, but at least it got Rene out safe.

“You arrogant fool who doesn’t know your place…! Did you think you could trap me with such a pathetic setup?”

“Never thought that. From the start, you weren’t my fight.”

“Hm…?”

A heavy, echoing footfall grows closer.

A man, coming to settle a grudge from twenty years past.

“Puhahaha————!”

The Marquis bursts into laughter without even turning around.

He seems to know who it is just from the weight of his aura.

“This is quite the entertaining stage you’ve set.”

Only then does the Marquis turn around. Caesar, who has come to a stop, stares at him with an utterly still gaze.

“Long time no see, Raphael.”

“Caesar, I heard you’d become a junkie, but you seem rather hale. Have you forgotten about your wife’s matter then?”

“Never forgotten. Not for a single day.”

“Oh ho….”

The Marquis, stroking his chin,

settled into a stance, a grotesque smile twisting his lips.

Caesar, in response, drew his own blade.

“I’ll sever your head and offer it to Marie’s grave.”

“I’ll be sure to send you right next to your wife, myself.”

And so, they met.

Twenty years of festering resentment, clashing here, now.