The Heroines Are After My Fortune

45 – I Object! -2

“The, the Shadow King…!”

“Why the hell is *he* here?!”

The guards pulled out their swords.

An A-class criminal, wanted by the Empire, showing up at a sacred trial – a natural reaction. The judges also wore looks of terror, but only the presiding judge calmly asked me.

“You requested a witness under anonymity, and it turns out to be the Shadow King Caesar, Baron Aiden Roen?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“May I ask your reasoning?”

“While I won’t deny the crimes Caesar committed in the outer districts, he’s also a victim, manipulated by the Marquis’s vile schemes. I summoned him as a witness today so that his story might be heard.”

The courtroom began to buzz more than ever. The atmosphere, which had been somewhat favorable to our side until now, had become quite hostile. Duke Peterson trembled, pointing a shaking finger at both me and Caesar.

“To bring a criminal into the holy court, what in the world are you doing, Aiden Roen…! Guards, seize these two immediately and make them pay for their crimes—!”

“I swear on the honor of my House, the Dokh Family, that I shall only speak the truth. And, I swear that I shall not harm anyone present here.”

Caesar’s hand went to the sword at his waist.

A shiver ran through the ranks of guards, but he simply unbuckled his belt and let the scabbard fall to the ground.

What followed was a spectacle.

*Crack—!*

He gripped the prosthetic on his right arm with his left and, with a surge of force, tore it clean off. Caesar, throwing the false limb to the floor with a violent flourish, etched himself into their minds, declaring he intended harm to absolutely no one.

“…I will allow his statement.”

The display succeeded in persuading even the presiding judge.

“Your Honor!”

“Too many threads entangle this case. We need to hear as much information as possible.”

The noble faction members clicked their tongues in distaste.

Duke Peterson and Marquis Wilson rose from their seats, challenging Caesar.

“He, who dragged his own house into the abyss, brazenly bears the name!”

“The honor of the Doc House? You jest! Was it not *you* who, with your wife, schemed for the headship and assassinated the previous Marquis, bringing ruin upon the Doc family…!”

Caesar’s brow flickered with a sudden frown.

But then, he began his story, a flat tone in his voice.

“Twenty years ago, my wife, Marie Este, lost her life. The former head of the Este House was sacrificed in a devil’s pact, and I lost my right arm. All of it was the machination of Raphael Este.”

“What, what is he saying…!”

“If that’s the truth…!?”

Many who knew the tale had died, and the rest were silenced, leaving almost no one alive to know the truth. Caesar recounted everything. How Raphael, consumed by jealousy of Marie and fearing the loss of his position, offered his father to a demon for power, then pinned it on his wife.

“Have you ever imagined, that despair—ripping open your dying wife’s belly, pulling out your child as she lies stabbed?”

“…………….”

“Nana, my wife, she cared not for power. Only to live happy with our child, that was all.”

The judge fell utterly silent, subdued.

Before the people’s eyes, he wasn’t the Empire’s most feared assassin, but a wounded, pitiable man. His story, so utterly desolate, even brought tears to some in the gallery.

“I can’t stand to hear it anymore, you think we’d believe the words of a filthy killer…!”

Duke Peterson, sensing the dangerous shift in the room’s mood, swung his arm, objecting strongly, but then—

“I, Rhene Este, vouch that what Lord Caesar says is the truth.”

Rhene, who had been observing the scene in quiet stillness, stepped forward with support.

Her single sentence resonated with immense impact.

To hear an admission of the facts from the victim’s family was different, the weight of her words was heavy.

The noble faction quickly turned to attack her. Rather than logical rebuttals of her message, the assaults were mostly directed at the messenger.

“Hah, a mere eldest daughter! A girl who has no right to represent the whole of her house, dares to—!”

“Not content with bedding with a commoner, now you stand with criminals—!!”

“Is money so sweet to you, selling your own father who died unjustly—!”

As the noble faction’s personal attacks escalated, the claque joined in, a storm of reproach poured down on Rhene. But she didn’t even blink, enduring all of it.

“Are you going to sit idly by, my children…?”

“Rise! All of you—!!”

Emboldened by her dignified stance, Rhene’s fan club also leaped to their feet. Their power, strong enough to storm an entire ducal house, was nothing to scoff at.

“There are words you can say and words you can’t. Have you gone senile, you mad old fools…!”

“Ugh, pathetic! Don’t you feel shame, ganging up on a girl barely old enough to be your granddaughter—!”

“You’ve gorged enough, shut your filthy mouths! The whole Empire knows you’re worse than the criminals…”

The courtroom transformed into an arena in a flash.

The judge, unable to bear it any longer, slammed his gavel with force.

“Silence——!!”

An instant hush fell over the building.

The judge composed himself.

“Miss Rene Este, do you have anything to substantiate these claims?”

“Yes, I do. Your Honor, may I present the evidence here and now?”

“Very well, you have my permission.”

The audience and the noble faction started buzzing again. They couldn’t imagine what kind of proof could make her so confident. They would soon see. The source of her confidence.

“Th-that is…!?”

“I’ve seen that! Isn’t that from, uh, Miracle Cinema…?”

It wasn’t a regular projector either.

A Miracle Cinema projector with cutting-edge color technology.

Rene adjusted the device, adding an explanation.

“I was at the site where my father and Sir Caesar fought. I barely managed to hide, narrowly escaping being killed by my father, and recorded the entire event. With your permission, Your Honor, I will show it here.”

The noble faction’s faces all turned to expressions that screamed, ‘We’re screwed…’

Rene pressed a button, and the footage began projecting onto the wall.

[“Caesar, they say you’ve become a junkie, but you look quite alright. Have you forgotten about your wife?”]

[“I’ve never forgotten. Not a single day.”]

“I’ll sever your neck and offer it at Marie’s grave.”

“I’ll personally send you to your wife’s side.”

And with that, the duel of two swordmasters began.

People couldn’t tear their eyes away, some looked on as if completely dazed.

“This, this is a swordmaster’s duel…!”

“This is a video worth tens of thousands of gold – nay, hundreds!”

The hands of the warriors tightened into fists.

A clash between the strong grants great enlightenment to martial artists.

It was a recording of a life-or-death duel between swordmasters, an incredible sight.

Evidence for a trial yes, but its value was immeasurable.

“But, does the video seem a bit choppy?”

“You dimwit, this is a swordmaster’s duel. Surely the shockwave caused errors in the recording artifact.”

To their own satisfaction people reacted, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

*‘Choppy, why do you think? Obviously, it’s because it’s edited.*’

Edited to be as advantageous as possible for us.

Me cautiously testing the waters, or the scene with the saintess buffing us, were things better left out.

It had to appear as a hot-blooded 1:1 duel between two men.

“On your back you bear your father, whom you offered to the devil, and your wife. It’s a shame you didn’t sacrifice your daughter as well.”

“You dare…!! No, no, right…”

Wooom—!!

[“Kkkrrr…!?”]

On the screen, vast, viscous energies erupted from the Marquis’s body, captured in stark detail.

Unmistakably black, it was *magi*.

“Saintess, that is…!?”

“…Without a single shadow of a doubt, *magi* it is.”

The noble faction’s faces were visibly rotting.

The situation was already dire, and now they were watching their own coffin being nailed shut.

[“Twenty years ago, did you ever regret framing Marie as a demon summoner?”]

[“Never. Thanks to that, I eliminated a rival who threatened my position as head of the house, and thanks to my contract with a demon, I became a Sword Master. It was all gain, why would I have any regrets…!”]

“Oh, my gods, it was all true…!?”

“Is that truly something a person in human skin can do…!”

The crowd, already tearing into the late Marquis Este, now started unleashing a torrent of curses.

The justification, the evidence – all of it was on our side.

With this, the ending is certain.

‘Game over.’

####

Aiden had successfully navigated this incident.

After the trial, a massive swarm of reporters descended, eager to interview him and Rhene.

“Miss Rhene is in a state of considerable mental shock and is not in a position to conduct interviews. I will answer all questions on her behalf today.”

“Huh? I’m fine though…”

He soon drew close to Rene, his voice a hushed murmur.

“There’s a matter with Caesar that’s best handled by me. Someone waits for you in the waiting room, you should go.”

“Someone waits?”

Puzzled, she nonetheless went to the waiting room. There, she was met by someone all too familiar.

“Baren, Brother…?”

“It’s been a while, Rene.”

Baren Este.

The eldest son of the Marquis’s house, designated the next head.

Cold of character, possessing exceptional swordsmanship skills, a handsome man in many ways resembling Marquis Raphael.

They hadn’t spent much time together since childhood, so they weren’t particularly close.

Rene had always found her brother Baren difficult to approach.

“I, I heard you were out of contact, how did you…?”

“I ignored them on purpose. I had no intention of playing puppet for the noble faction.”

“Ah…”

Much like the Marquis, Baren was a man of unwavering principle unlike the rest of his family. Even if acting like his father would bring him more, he refused. Upon hearing of his father’s deeds, he declared, ‘It is a deed deserving of punishment.’

“I spoke with Aiden Rowen as well. A decent sort, I’d say.”

“He, is…?”

Rene’s cheeks flushed warm as Aiden’s name was mentioned. Baren reacted with a puzzled look at his sister’s change.

“I didn’t know you were capable of making such an expression. Is it this man’s doing?”

“…………”

“Well, let’s leave things like that for later, and I’ve got a proposal for you.”

“A proposal?”

“Yes, I want you to become the next head of the Este family.”

“Huh… what?!”

Renee’s eyes widened, completely blindsided by this.

Baran’s proposition was truly beyond anything she had imagined.

“That’s absurd. I’m a woman, and I’m weak, how could I possibly take over as head…!”

The criteria for selecting the Este family head had always been two things, passed down through generations.

To be the strongest in the family, and to be male.

Baran was suggesting they openly shatter those rules.

“Is being strong *only* about wielding a sword well, or casting earth-shattering magic?”

“You…think differently, brother?”

“Aye, the times are changing. And you, Renee, are at the forefront of that change.”

“…Me?”

“Your charm, which has moved the hearts of many, that was a kind of strength that no one else could replicate in this whole mess. You could scour the land and find thousands of mediocre swordsmen like me, but you’ll not find another like you. That’s because it’s a unique strength that only belongs to Renee Este.”

“…………”

Baran had grasped the core of this incident with a certain accuracy.

He highly valued Renee’s role in everything.

“That you’re a woman no longer matters. If you decide to become the head, I’ll give you my full support.”

Her head was spinning.

To be the head of a high noble house, that was a place of immense consequence.

A heavy seat laden with tremendous honor and power, yet also with a crushing sense of responsibility.

It wasn’t something easily decided.

“Will you give me time to think?”

“Of course, as much as you need.”

Baran grinned and left the room.

The only person that came to Rhen’s mind was, as always, just one.

‘…I need to talk to *that* person.’

A relationship that began to avoid marriage,

had continued on this long, and now it was reaching its culmination, exactly as she had first wished.

Rhen felt it.

That this moment, this dreamlike journey, was approaching a point where it had to be finished, in some way or another.