An Obstacle Always Appears
Eden Descartes walked toward us with a heavy, stomping stride, his face twisted in a deep scowl.
"I heard what Father said. You plan to start a business?"
I wondered when he would find something to nitpick. Here it comes.
"I have already started it," Franche replied.
"...And where did you get the money to start a business?"
"I saved up the allowance allocated to me by the ducal house over a long period of time."
Franche averted her eyes. I knew exactly what that look meant. The amount of money she had spent so far wasn't something that could be accumulated simply by saving an allowance over time. Buying me alone cost five hundred million gold. Funding the business took another billion. With miscellaneous expenses, it totaled around 1.6 billion gold. It was impossible unless she had been embezzling funds on the side.
Still, how on earth did she embezzle it? She really was an impressive lady. To have the sheer audacity to siphon off money from a household that oppressed her so severely.
Eden glared at Franche for a long moment before speaking in a heavy, low voice.
"How much did you spend?"
"I used most of my savings..."
"I am asking you exactly how much that is."
Franche glanced at me. I shrugged and shook my head slightly, signaling her to make up a plausible number.
"One hundred and fifty million gold..."
Well, she certainly downplayed it. Eden's brows furrowed.
"One hundred and fifty million...? I heard you were starting a clothing business, but do you honestly think you can run one with such a pitiful sum?"
A scoff escaped his lips. Eden looked down at Franche, his voice dripping with condescension.
"Don't speak nonsense. Do you think running a business is some child's game?"
Franche clenched her fists tightly. She bit her lower lip and kept her gaze fixed on the floor, enduring his words in silence.
"You are merely trying to buy time because you dislike the list of marriage candidates I brought you. What a pathetic struggle..."
Unable to bear the injustice, Franche stood up and glared up at Eden.
"That's not true! I asked Father because I truly wanted to try running a business! And Father gave his permission, so isn't that enough?"
Exactly. The Duke himself approved it, so what are you going to do about it? What power do you have here?
"Even if Father permitted it, I have not."
"How could you...!"
"I am the one who has managed all your affairs up until now. Complaining will do you no good."
What an absolute lunatic. I quietly observed Franche. I could see her hands trembling. Her insides were probably boiling like a furnace right now.
"Stop this childish play that won't last a month. Choose a marriage partner from the list I gave you. You have until the end of today. I will not wait any longer."
With those cold words, Eden turned on his heel and walked out.
Slam! He must have been incredibly furious, considering how hard he slammed the door behind him.
Franche looked at me, her eyes welling with tears.
"What should I do...? Should I go to Father right now and..."
"No," I cut her off firmly. "Since things have already come to this, let's face it head-on."
"What?"
"Choose the weakest person on that list."
"What are you planning to do this time?" Franche asked, looking at me in utter bewilderment.
I smirked. "I'm saying we should use this opportunity to cut off all marriage proposals for good."
Franche was highly skilled at wearing a mask, and she was already notorious as a villainess in high society. Combine those two traits, and she could easily ruin any potential marriage alliance. No matter how much influence the Young Duke, Eden Descartes, possessed, there was nothing he could do if the other party flatly rejected the proposal.
Franche asked, "How do we do that?"
"First, pick a candidate and arrange a meeting to discuss the marriage."
"And then?"
"You will wear a mask, just as you have always done in high society."
Franche's eyes widened as comprehension dawned on her. "Ah, I think I see what you mean."
She rested her chin on her hand, nodding slowly. "You want me to act like a complete lunatic, right?"
"Exactly."
"And then my terrible reputation will spread, and the marriage proposals will stop coming?"
I smiled and nodded. Franche furrowed her brow, staring silently at the table as if lost in thought. She was probably running a simulation in her head.
"You don't need to overthink it. You can just slap them across the face."
Franche's face contorted. "...Are you serious? If I resort to physical violence instead of just words, there will be no way to talk our way out of it."
Tap. Tap. Franche tapped her finger against her lips. "The method I had in mind was verbal insult."
Insults. Sometimes, that wasn't enough. For instance, if the candidate was so power-hungry that they were willing to endure anything to secure the marriage alliance, they would push through with it anyway. If that happened, Eden would force the marriage through, and she wouldn't be able to escape.
"My Lady, insults are a fine method, but this situation is different. Any noble on that list who forms an alliance with the Descartes family will gain overwhelming power."
I continued, "With absolute power dangling right in front of them, do you really think they won't swallow a few insults? If it were me, I would endure it. After all, once the marriage is finalized, those insults won't matter anymore."
"Ah..." Franche's lips parted slightly.
"I am saying we should inflict a humiliation so unbearable that it completely shatters their pride. No matter what consequences that brings later, it will still be better than any other option."
It didn't matter if it escalated into a feud between families. Even if Franche suffered some damage because of it, as long as she didn't die, it was a problem that would vanish once my plans were fully realized. Even if there were controversies and issues, they wouldn't remain a blemish as long as we produced overwhelming results and power. Someone might use it as an excuse to insult her or tarnish her reputation, but that wouldn't change the ultimate outcome.
Franche asked, her voice laced with worry. "Will it really be alright...?"
"If you are truly worried, let's gauge their reaction first."
"Their reaction?"
"Yes. We start with harsh words, and if that doesn't work, we resort to a slap. Let's save the physical violence as our trump card."
I stood up and picked up the list of candidates lying next to Franche's bed. "Who is the weakest family on this list?"
"Uh... this person." Franche pointed a finger. I checked the name.
It was Armom Dogeza.
My eyes widened in disbelief. The name was absurd. It was obvious the game developers had created this extra as a joke.
How is his family name Dogeza? And his first name is Armom? Even without seeing his face or talking to him, I could tell he belonged to a family of absolute pushovers.
"Let's go with this person. Armom Dogeza."
"Right, if it's the Dogeza Count family, it won't escalate into a major issue."
He was a Count? Calling them the "Dogeza Count family" really made them sound incredibly cheap.
"Do you have any information on him?"
"Well, they are a Count family that runs a massive conglomerate."
"So they are filthy rich."
"Exactly. That's why he was included on this list."
Filthy rich, huh? In that case, I couldn't rule out the possibility of using them in the future. This was a dilemma.
"Do you know what kind of business his conglomerate deals in?"
"Hmm. From what I know, they deal in labor-based services. Construction, material supply, escorts... they do just about everything."
Hmm. Then he wouldn't do. We might need to cooperate with them for business later.
"We can't use him."
"Why?"
"There's a chance we might partner with them for business in the future."
"Hmm. In that case..." Franche scanned the list quickly, her eyes darting across the page. "This person."
The name of the noble she pointed to this time was...
Why is he showing up here?
Asil Freiden.
The guy I had used when assassinating Count Seirel, and a male lead candidate of the Rofanso. I hadn't expected him to appear here.
"Asil Freiden. What about him?"
"He has more influence than the Dogeza family I mentioned earlier, but he's not someone we can't handle."
Then Asil Freiden it is. "Let's go with Asil Freiden."
"Alright, I'll decide on him then." Franche nodded readily.
Now, I needed to think about how exactly we were going to screw him over.
"My Lady, how do you usually insult people?"
"Do I really have to explain it to you?"
"Yes. I want to see if it actually packs a punch. Try it on me first."
Franche bit her lip, lost in thought. She seemed hesitant to direct harsh words at me.
"Don't worry, go ahead. I don't get hurt easily."
"If you insist..." Franche cleared her throat with a soft cough. Then, she began to recite the insults she usually used in high society. Most of them were remarks aimed at lowering the other person's self-esteem and scratching at their pride.
Yikes, this is way too weak. Extremely weak, in fact. Was it because I was used to reading malicious comments on my MeTube channel? It was completely unsatisfying.
Seeing my unimpressed expression, Franche asked cautiously, "How was it?"
"Hmm."
"You're not offended, are you?"
"No. It's just... it didn't really hit home."
Had she really been playing the villainess with just this level of insults? The people of this world were truly innocent.
"Hmm. I was quite confident in my skills. I'm considered one of the top three sharpest tongues in high society."
What? That was top three? Honestly, the things Cassus said were way more savage.
"Let me teach you how to truly anger a man."
"...How to anger a man?"
There were three ultimate ways to anger a man. In modern times, it was: "Your dick is tiny," "You're trash at games," and insulting their parents. It probably wasn't much different in this era.
Hmm... Those three would be more than enough. It might seem a bit vulgar and unrefined, but if you wanted to deliver a proper insult, you had to go all out. The goal, after all, was to completely kill any interest they had in her. Still, insulting parents was a bit much, so maybe I should swap that out for insulting their family lineage.
"My Lady, listen carefully to what I'm about to say. There are three surefire ways to make a man lose his mind."
Franche tilted her head. "What are they?"
"Insulting his family, questioning his manhood, and belittling his abilities."
I explained to Franche in detail exactly what kind of insults to use. Insults that wouldn't make her look too cheap, but would definitely ruin the other party's honor and strike a raw nerve. And finally, insulting his family lineage, which was practically a taboo in this world. As I rattled these off in rapid succession, Franche stared at me, her mouth hanging open in sheer shock.
"Everything I just said contains those three elements: ability, personal attacks, and family. I'll tell you later which specific ability we should target."
Asil Freiden was a man specialized in internal affairs, meaning his physical combat ability was practically nonexistent. Because of this, he was constantly compared to others. His greatest insecurity was his lack of swordsmanship. We just needed to poke at that sore spot. I felt a tiny bit guilty for unilaterally using him like this, but in the end, we were the villains of this story, and Somire's reverse-harem members were the heroes. What was wrong with throwing a wrench in an enemy's plans? Well, that was just my way of rationalizing it.
"Anyway, let's settle on this. If we go any further, Asil Freiden might actually flip the table."
Franche stammered, "A-Are you sure this is okay? Insulting his family seems a bit too extreme..."
"This is the bare minimum for it to qualify as a proper insult. If he still doesn't get angry after this, then we'll resort to a slap."
I grinned. "I'll give you the details when you actually meet Asil Freiden. Now, go to the Young Duke and tell him. Tell him you will proceed with the marriage alliance with Asil Freiden."
There were a few concerning factors, but I had already prepared countermeasures for any potential variables. Since the plan was set, it was time to take action.