The Heroines Are After My Fortune

7 – Shadow Monarch – 2

Cassano, who should have been protecting Aiden, was slumped unconscious against the wall; a critical situation. Caesar, reeking of sticky, black aura all over his body, was coming closer to him.

“I’ll start by cutting off one of your legs.”

Just as he was about to bring his sword down on Aiden, who couldn’t even react,

“Can’t be helped, for real…!”

*Clang—!*

“Wha…!”

“Is it real? That the knight dude is already out cold…!?”

Someone suddenly sprang in front of Aiden, blocking Caesar’s sword strike.

‘Whoa……!’

A frail girl had blocked a Sword Master’s blow. She’d been hiding far away as per the plan, but the dire situation forced her to appear and protect Aiden. Caesar’s eyes twitched, knowing her identity better than anyone.

“Sasha…………!!”

“Hi, Papa.”

He was about to destroy the scoundrel who kidnapped his daughter, only to be stopped by that very daughter. It looked like she had Stockholm Syndrome, but there was a reason behind it.

####

Caesar had kept his daughter’s existence a secret. But, having read the original work, I knew she was alive at this point. Figuring there’d be a use for her someday, I’d used the information guild to locate her before. Right before heading into the den of monsters, I managed to arrange a meeting.

Sasha, entering the restaurant, was a cute girl with short brown hair that suited her well.

She wasn’t exactly my type, but I had a feeling she had quite the fanbase.

“What do you want to say? If it’s pointless, I’m leaving right away.”

Sasha was very wary of me, who had dug into her hidden relationship with her father to find her, but I, on the other hand, had enough grounds to melt her heart.

“Sir Caesar has saved my little sister, Elena, countless times. I think he was more attentive to her since my sister was probably around Sasha’s age. I’m very grateful.”

“Oh, is that so….”

“To repay that kindness, I want to help Sir Caesar start fresh with a new identity. If Sasha is okay with it, I would be your guarantor, and I’d like you and my sister to go to the Academy together.”

“Really………!?”

Most people wouldn’t even consider whitewashing a high-level criminal, but I could definitely do it.

She, maybe weary from her life in the outskirts, practically leaped at my offer, showing considerable favor. But a shadow seemed to cross her face, and Sasha quickly looked glum.

“Uhm, I like what you suggested. I’m sick of living like this, too. I want to hang out with friends my age, like a normal girl, and maybe even go to the academy. But…”

“Is there a problem?”

“The problem is that my old man has no intention of leaving that den of his. He can’t go a single moment without the special opium they sell there. He’s gotten so much more addicted now, it’s hard to even hold a proper conversation with him…”

Come to think of it, even when I first took on the assignment to guard Elena, he could hold a normal conversation, but now it’s hard even to exchange a few words. Sasha added that he doesn’t take on new requests these days, only the familiar ones now and then. It seems he’s far more addicted than I had anticipated. Even so, there was still a chance worth trying.

“I heard that if you can make him draw out his aura, it can burn away all the drug’s hold on him.”

This was even mentioned in the original story. When Caesar, who was in a far more severe state of addiction, encountered Elena in danger, he mistook her for his dead daughter, Sasha, and fought against the enemy. He even used the aura blade, the symbol of a sword master, against a challenging opponent, and the narrative said he came back to his senses after the battle.

“You’re kidding me, are you serious…!?”

Sasha looked startled by such a far-fetched solution. But she soon seemed to realize the logic in it, as she recalled something from the past.

“Wait a minute, I think I’ve seen it before. I’ve only seen my dad pull out his aura blade once, but he was clearly completely lucid that day.”

Luckily, this cross-checking was successful. But the biggest problem remained.

So, who’s going to bell the cat?

Making a sword master draw out his aura is practically a death wish. So, we were faced with an ironic situation where in order to recruit a sword master, we needed to mobilize a force equivalent to one.

“…………Uhm.”

“You can’t, can you?”

Sasha offered a sheepish smile. Her expression, which had brightened at the thought of a good future, turned gloomy again. It seemed that she also secretly wished that her father could shake off the drugs and start over, but who would willingly risk their life on something so outlandish?

But I was different.

“Let’s do it, whatever.”

I held her hands tightly with a sincere gaze, and I cemented my resolve.

“Really, you mean it…?”

Sasha, seemingly quite moved, had made her decision. And so, we forged an alliance to save Caesar.

If someone were to ask, ‘How could you so readily agree to help her?’

I’d answer, ‘It’s not like I’m the one doing the fighting.’

#########

‘I nearly fucking died…!’

If Sasha had been a moment later, my leg would’ve been gone. Aiden, admitting he’d been a little naive trusting Casano’s words in planning this, resolved never again to blindly believe ‘expert-types’. Still, to be knocked back in a single blow, that was too much. He looked anew at the woman who had saved him.

‘…Sasha, she’s a lot better than I thought.’

The sharp aura clinging to her blade was proof of that. Someone he’d expected little from was proving to possess considerable martial skill. Blood runs deep, it seems; barely of age, and Sasha’s skill already rivaled Casano, currently embedded in the wall, or even slightly surpassed it. Aiden initially wanted only Caesar as a recruit, but after seeing her ability, he wanted them both.

“Girl, what the hell are you doing?”

Caught off guard by this father-daughter reunion, Caesar instantly dispersed his aura, staring intently at his daughter.

Relief washed over him at seeing his daughter, who he believed had been abducted, but concern for her safety also flared; his voice was laced with reproach. Sasha, unfazed, replied,

“This man can’t die.”

“………………!”

Caesar’s face showed shock at his daughter’s unsettling declaration.

He came to a very unwelcome conclusion, and asked his daughter, his voice trembling.

“Sasha, what are you to this b*stard…?”

They stood at a crossroads. A vague response here would ruin everything.

Caesar, who had been radiating murderous aura, had calmed down once he knew his daughter was safe, dissipating the aura. As things stood, he would certainly soon revert back to his drugged-out, non-communicative state.

“…What do we do?”

“…………….”

Sasha and Aiden just blinked at each other, then nodded silently. They’d exchanged a tacit signal, deciding to exploit his extreme doting fatherhood for a gamble. A playful look creeping onto her face, Sasha sidled up to Aiden, wrapping her arms around him in a loose embrace.

“Like this, then?”

“…………………!!!”

‘Oh…!’

Caesar, who’d thought his daughter was so demure, stared wide-eyed in shock at this display of intimacy with another man.

Aiden, experiencing a rare moment of female contact, couldn’t help but show a look of genuine enjoyment, which only served to infuriate the already sensitive Caesar.

His lips clamped together so hard they looked about to bleed, he barely held onto his fraying patience and asked one last question.

“Kheh… you, you miserable wretch—!! Just how far have you gone with my daughter…!”

They were already riding the tiger. Having come this far, there was only one answer left.

“…Dad, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t tell me, please, Sasha, tell me it’s not true…!”

Her face twisted into that of a little devil, she poured more oil onto the already raging fire.

“I gave him something precious♡.”

“………………………”

It wasn’t a lie. It’s just that the precious thing was a hair tie.

Oblivious to the truth, Caesar’s face froze solid like marble. The surrounding air became deathly still, like the night before a storm. Everyone present knew what was coming next.

Wooom—!!!

A massive black aura blade began to surge from his sword. It was a sight that would send shivers down the spine of anyone following the sword. Rage filling his eyes, Caesar took a step, then another, towards Aiden.

“I retract the order to kill you.”

“Oh, thank….”

“I’ll hack off your limbs, keep you just alive, then torture you every single day until the day I die.”

‘Goddamn, you psycho b*stard…’

Failure of the plan meant a future far more gruesome than before awaited him.

Aiden understood now, his only path was success. He steeled himself.