The Heroines Are After My Fortune

50 – Eternal Promise [End]

“Yes, I am a pure commoner.”

“…………”

For Aiden, it was a great gamble.

In the original, it was not an easy decision to reveal this fact to Rhene, who, more than anyone else, valued people’s lineage and tormented others for being commoners.

But to gain credibility for the story he was about to tell, he needed to lay bare even the things he had kept hidden. Could she, who recently had become known for employing subordinates regardless of social status, maintain the same standards even with a lover, an equal?

He believed. That Rhene was no longer the naive woman who judged people by such standards.

“…………”

Rhene, still silent. In her immature days, she might have thrown a tantrum, “You deceived me…? I mingled with a commoner!” But now she was much more mature.

“…No, what matters to me is who *you* are, not your bloodline.”

The man before her was living proof that bloodlines weren’t all that crucial. Born of pure common blood, he’d never faced a whisper of doubt about whether he was a true noble, and had achieved feats no one else could, making it a remarkable thing, not something to be condemned.

“Is that so, that’s a relief.”

Just then, the sky opened up and rain began to patter.

“…It’s raining.”

The light drizzle quickly turned violent, each drop a sharp lash.

Rene hadn’t brought an umbrella, and thought she’d have to find some shelter, but Aiden lightly took her wrist, pulling her under a tree. Surprisingly, not a single drop of rain touched her.

“Whenever a downpour started unexpectedly, I’d always run under this tree. It doesn’t get wet under here.”

“…That’s amazing.”

*Sssshhh-*

They leaned against the tree together, watching the relentless rain.

Silence, save for the sound of the downpour, settled between them.

“Then how did you become the heir of the Roen family?”

“It started when I found him resting beneath this tree, having what were very materialistic thoughts. If I pretended not to know him and got friendly, I figured he might get me a decent job somewhere, so I desperately befriended him.”

“Ah, I see…”

“Are you disappointed?”

“No, if I had to live in such a place, I’d probably have done the same.”

“It’s good to hear you say that, it puts my mind at ease. You’ll understand what happened better if you read this letter.”

“A letter…?”

Aiden handed her a letter that Yulne had written to him before his death.

As Rene read, her expression changed.

“You hid your desires well from him, it seems. Only kind words in your letters…”

“I was lucky. Though lately, I’ve had this thought.”

“…What sort?”

“Could a man who was, perhaps, the greatest merchant lord of the Empire truly not have seen my shallow core?”

“………!”

“Now that you bear the title of Lady, Rene, you must understand. Those in high positions find themselves beset by people seeking some kind of advantage. Naturally, one grows more sensitive to the desires of others.”

“Indeed…it is so.”

At first, I thought I had fooled him completely.

I was even impressed with my own performance.

But something felt off.

Now, holding the position of merchant lord myself, it seemed stranger that Yulne might not have noticed the intent of my clumsy approach back then. I was a young man in his early twenties with only a little training in acting, so could I truly have kept my scheme entirely hidden while spending so much time with someone of his stature?

Aiden was now quite certain.

Yulne had known his intentions and had chosen to pretend otherwise.

“I’ve often pondered the meaning behind him giving me the company, knowing my desires. He told me to show that even a commoner could be more noble than a noble. Have you ever considered, Lady, what true nobility might be?”

“Nobility, is it…”

Was nobility ruling over others, or rather, was it more about watching over them? She had always shown everyone more than what they expected of the ‘Grand Lady Rene,’ but she found it hard to define what a true noble actually was.

“Once, in a conversation with Yulne, he asked me this. If I became a noble, what would I want to do?”

“What did you answer?”

“I said, I wanted to use the power I gained as a noble to protect my people. To be a bulwark like this great ash tree, someone they could lean on in hard times, someone who could shelter them from storms.”

Aiden looked up at the tree branches swaying in the wind.

He lowered his head, eyes meeting René’s with a careful tenderness.

“I swore it wouldn’t be like this… but I am not there yet, it seems. The nobleman I dreamed of being wouldn’t inflict such wounds on the one he loves.”

“……………….”

René listened in silence, letting his words settle.

“The path I’ve taken to arrive here, from nothing, is paved with countless lies. I can’t even begin to guess how many more falsehoods and hypocrisies I’ll commit in the future. But there is one thing, just one, that I can swear to.”

“And that is?”

“That the person I love most is you, René Este, only you.”

“………!”

“It has been so, and I swear with all my heart that it will never change. Won’t you believe in me just one more time?”

René couldn’t move.

His words sent a jolt through her, a tremor rippling across her skin.

The man before her spoke with a steadfast gaze, pouring all his energy into his promise. To love her eternally, more than anyone.

If the question of ‘was his love still valid?’ was what had brought her to despair most during this whole ordeal, then his words had certainly hit their mark.

“……Truly, I can’t with you.”

René realized.

That Aeden’s words had made her hardening heart start to pound again.

“You’re a terrible, terrible flirt…”

She closed the space between them, her hands cupping his cheeks, pulling them taut. Perhaps a little mischievousness lingered, as she gave them a slight pinch.

“Alright. I will trust you again, you.”

“…Thank you.”

“Don’t you ever forget the promise you made today. Even if the Saintess becomes family, I’m the one you love most.”

“Of course.”

Their eyes locked, and then, a light kiss.

The rain had stopped, and the sun was rising in the clear sky.

“Shall we return, you philanderer?”

“Yes, let’s go back.”

And so, hand in hand, they began to walk.

######

Aiden Roen was suddenly known as ‘the worst man in the Empire.’ A notorious thief who had stolen away two of the most beautiful women in the land.

Aiden’s method of handling the situation was brute force. It was at this point that he unleashed all the achievements he had accumulated while playing his ‘side character.’

The public outcry of, ‘Who the hell does he think he is, taking both Lady Renee and the Saintess!’ shifted to, ‘You did all *this* and *that*? Fine, you b*stard, I guess you deserve it…’

However, the ones who watched this marriage with the most suspicion were, surprisingly, the Imperial Faction, who had been greatly aided in resolving the Raphael incident.

If a triangular alliance formed between an old, established high-ranking noble house – the Empire’s top merchant guild – and the Holy See through this marriage, it would be the birth of a formidable power indeed. But they no longer desired that kind of power.

“Saintess, are you truly leaving? The Holy See still needs you…!”

“…I am resigning from my position as Saintess, to begin a new life as a wife. I’m sure you all can do a much better job than me.”

It is said that after the Saintess’s marriage, male clerics and holy knights wept for days. She left, with their words of ‘you are welcome back anytime’ ringing in her ears, and began her new chapter.

Aiden also gave up some of his own positions.

Of course, since they went to his younger sister, it wasn’t exactly giving them up completely.

“Oppa, are you sure I can do this…?”

“Yeah, it doesn’t matter, because you can always use Hamilton for all the management stuff. You just do what’s meaningful to you with the money you’re given.”

Aiden, having resolved to reside with the Este family, relinquished a large portion of the Roen estate to Elena. She had set her sights on creating an orphanage for abandoned children on the outskirts, a project nearing completion.

‘Come to think of it, I lied to Casano about considering measures to revitalize the outskirts, and now it’s actually happening.’

The lie she’d spun out of necessity on the day she visited Caesar was becoming real. It was a peculiar thing, indeed.

“…Congratulations on your marriage, Brother.”

“Thank you, Elena. Anytime, you let me know when you find someone decent.”

“No, I’m more than occupied enough, raising the children with nowhere else to go as if they were my own.”

Elena shook her head and embraced Aiden. Still not much for thoughts of men, she would soon become known throughout the empire as the ‘Wingless Angel’.

###

“A-boo, a-boo-boo…”

“Yes, it’s Papa, Papa.”

Rene approached me as I was roughhousing with my two, barely-a-year-old children, one in each arm. She, a mother, was yet so incredibly beautiful. She lightly kissed me and sat gently beside me.

“Darling, aren’t you exhausted, playing with the children all day…?”

“I’m fine. I just really enjoy it, that’s all.”

I’d had a son and a daughter each with Rene and Dimona. It was only a few years ago I’d barely managed to handle my own life, and yet, here I was, a father. It was a strange feeling.

“And where is Dimona?”

“Have you forgotten…? It’s Father’s memorial day, she said she wanted to visit first and pay respects.”

“Ah, right. I forgot for a moment.”

I entrusted the two children to a maid, and with Rene, we walked out towards the car parked outside the mansion. Soon enough, we arrived at the Roen family estate, the very place I used to live. It felt rather strange, visiting it in this way. Elena apparently had an unavoidable commitment today, so had come earlier to pay her respects.

“…My lord, you’ve arrived.”

Dymona, already there, dipped her head in a small bow.

As the second wife, faithfully fulfilling her role, she was getting along with Rhen quite well, contrary to worries.

Especially when other women made some kind of approach to me, she would move like a single entity to utterly crush them, a sight that sometimes sent shivers down my spine. But since I’d never even considered bringing in any other woman besides them, those moments were actually quite pleasing.

‘…Is all this happiness thanks to that day?’

Four years ago, I became the successor of Yul-buji, and that’s what allowed me to create my happy daily life. Of course, it wasn’t everything, but what I’ve accomplished wouldn’t have been possible without it. The beginning of my truly falling in love with two women who were after my fortune started with the premise that I had the fortune they could be after.

“…Father’s now an undeniable grandfather, isn’t he? He has two grandchildren.”

Looking at Yul-buji in the picture, with his stern expression, I chuckled. How happy would he be to see my children, he who left without any of his own?

That man had been lonely for so long, if I brought him a big, bustling family like a soccer team, he’d be so happy, he’d be smiling all day, just enjoying his grandkids.

“Should we… make another?”

That thought led to an unintentional mutter.

I should’ve thought more carefully about the repercussions of that statement.

“……………!”

A fierce light sparked in both of my wives’ eyes.

They locked eyes, nodded as if exchanging some sort of signal, and then turned to look at me in unison. I started to sweat coldly.

‘When was the last time I was with my wives…?’

Unlike the two women who had already tasted the pleasure of conjugal relations, I was the one who had to deal with them in rotation. If I spent the night with one wife, I had to spend the next with the other, or else there would be complaints, which meant my stamina was being sucked dry twice as fast. So, recently, when a collaboration request came, I would use that as an excuse to sneak away…

‘…It feels like it’s been two months.’

I swallowed hard.

The only conclusion I could draw was this:

Both of my wives, right now, are incredibly pent up…!

“My dear husband, honestly. I didn’t have any plans for a while…”

“If it’s really what you wish, I suppose I have no choice.”

“Uh, uh…?”

Before I even knew it, I’d dug my own grave.

I shot a look of desperate pleading to Casano, who’d even come all the way from the Este family to serve me, but –

“Ahem, ahem………”

Casano just averted his gaze, pretending not to notice.

That salary-stealing rogue, just how much have I paid you?!

“If you’re tired tonight, just say so. I can boost your energy with divine power anytime.”

“Lord David sent a mountain of top-grade eels grown on the southern coast. Surely that’s best for dinner…?”

*’Is this for real…?’*

Dimona, who’d barely used her divine power since retiring, is offering it tonight, and Renée, who just *had* to serve eel for dinner. They clearly have no intention of letting me sleep tonight.

Dragged along by my two wives, I met the eyes of Yulbuhjee’s photo on the gravestone.

*’I’m happy. Father, no, I really am…’*

It might have been my imagination, but it felt like he gave me a smile.

[The Heroines are After My Fortune. The End]