The Main Heroines are Trying to Kill Me

Chapter 482: Side Story - The Social Gathering (6)

“Please, just spare my life... Please, at least let me live...”

“I’m not going to kill you.”

I gestured to Ms.Trisha, who was pale and bowing her head repeatedly in fear, trying to reassure her, but her expression didn’t improve.

“It’s over for me... It’s all over for me... I’m finished...”

- Swish...

“...Ack.”

Seeing her like that, I was feeling a bit troubled.

That’s when Kania quietly extended her hand to the back of her neck and swiftly made her faint.

“Sleep is the best cure for a hangover.”

“...You’re not wrong.”

Nodding in agreement, I looked at her, who was now slumped lifelessly over the table.

I sighed as I glanced around the room.

“Man... This is getting out of hand.”

To sum it up, I have no intention of taking on any more wives.

I’m barely managing the ones I have now, and if I were to accept all the recent proposals?

I’d probably die young, without any of the benefits of my happy ending.

How am I supposed to turn them down?

At least for those who haven’t directly proposed or confessed, there’s an easy way out.

I can simply assign them to be maids or handle other tasks.

But if I do that, they’ll undoubtedly end up living with my current wives.

Wouldn’t that cause conflict?

“To think they’d make such bold statements right in front of my fiancée. Ha.”

Even now, Serena and Roswyn were glaring at them with sharp, disapproving eyes.

Given how they got defensive whenever any woman came near me, things would only escalate from there.

“So, you want to serve in my family’s mansion?”

With that in mind, I asked in the calmest voice I could manage.

“Y-Yes, Young Master.”

At that, Vener quickly bowed her head to the ground.

“E-Even though I’ve been so disloyal... If you give me the chance to atone, I will serve the Starlight family for the rest of my life...”

“Hmm.”

It seemed Vener’s goal was loyalty to the family.

If that was all, I could manage it.

I could assigned her to my parents’ and Aria’s mansion rather than the one I lived in.

My family could certainly use more protection, so it would benefit both me and her.

“Then, I’d like to assign you to guard the mansion where my family resides.”

When I casually hinted at this, Vener looked at me with wide eyes.

“A-Are you... accepting me...? Me...?”

“...Let’s put it that way.”

“A-Aah...”

Suddenly, tears welled up in her eyes, and she began to sob quietly.

“Th-Thank you... truly...”

“...”

“For accepting a traitor like me... I’m really, really grateful...”

Thinking it was best to stay silent and watch, I looked down at her as she cried on the floor.

Eventually, she slowly stood up, wiping away her tears.

“T-Then... I’ll go and follow your orders... to protect your family...”

With her nose turning red, she started heading for the exit.

“...Take care.”

I waved her off with a simple goodbye, but she suddenly stopped in her tracks and began to shake again.

Was she always this emotional?

As I scratched my head, I noticed the gazes from the other two.

“”...””

“So, what about you two?”

Turning my attention to Arianne and Alice, I tilted my head and asked what they wanted.

“Well, um... I haven’t seen Irina much lately...”

Arianne spoke up first.

“We’ve been together since we were kids... But now we rarely get to see each other... So I was thinking... if I could work at your mansion, I might at least get to see her more often...”

“...”

Her motivation was none other than Irina.

I suppose that makes sense, given their long history as friends.

“Well, in that case...”

Just as I was about to agree, thinking it wasn’t much of a problem, Kania leaned in to whisper something in my ear.

“...About her, there’s an issue with her lineage.”

“Excuse me?”

“Because of that, I’m afraid it might be difficult to have her stay where we live...”

“What do you mean by that, Kania?”

What was she talking about?

An issue with Arianne’s lineage?

In a household where warlocks, demons, and dragons all live peacefully together, how could lineage be an issue?

“According to my own investigation...”

I looked at Kania, filled with curiosity, as she explained further.

“It turns out her family name is actually ‘Nivelia.’”

“Oh.”

Hearing that, everything clicked into place.

“Arianne Nivelia. She’s the last descendant of the Nivelia family.”

“My goodness.”

The Nivelia family.

Once a prestigious house that protected the southern continent before the Empire and the First Hero appeared, now only mentioned in myths and legends.

It had been hundreds of years since they vanished entirely, but...

“Umm, Lord Frey?”

“...”

The reason their name still wasn’t forgotten is because...

“I’ll also apologize for the mistake I made before...”

“Uh, right.”

“I... I just want to see the face of the friend I promised to spend my life with, even if it’s just once.”

The Nivelia family bore the legacy of ‘Dragon Slayers,’ the ones who exterminated the evil dragons that ruled the southern continent before the First Hero and Demon King ever appeared.

“Please, I beg of you...”

“The reason there are no more dragons in the southern continent... It’s because of the Nivelia family, isn’t it?”

“Many scholars believe that the reason for the Nivelia family’s disappearance is that they crossed the continent to defeat the dragons of the western continent and were wiped out in the process.”

“If I let her stay with Irina, what do you think will happen?”

“I’m not sure what would’ve happened before Irina awakened, but now...”

It seemed impossible after all.

“Wh-Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I’m afraid I can’t allow it.”

“W-What!”

.

.

.

.

.

“P-Please reconsider!”

“It’s not something I can just change...”

“I’m begging you! Look, I’ll get down on my knees...!”

After several minutes of Arianne tearfully pleading, we finally reached a compromise.

“I’ll hire you as the head of security for the place we live.”

“Y-Yes.”

“But you can only visit Irina once every two weeks. And when you do meet her, one of us must be present.”

“...”

“If you agree to these terms, sign the contract here. As for your salary and other conditions, you can review them below...”

- Scribble...!

Kania, who was explaining the terms in a businesslike tone, glanced at Arianne, who had signed the contract without even reading the rest of the terms.

“Just to remind you, Irina is now the Young Master’s wife.”

“...Yes.”

“And she’s pregnant.”

“WHATTT!?”

At Kania’s next words, Arianne, who had been carefully folding the contract, jumped to her feet in shock.

“S-She is? That... that stone-faced Irina?”

“Yes.”

“She’s pregnant!? That rigid Irina!?”

“These days, she’s been lying on the couch reciting dragon language for prenatal education.”

“This is crazy... She’s really gone mad...”

Arianne’s face was red with surprise.

She suddenly began to nervously twirl her twin pigtails with her fingers.

“That girl, who always kept her distance from men, really did that...? Seriously...?”

“...”

Watching her from the side, Kania leaned in to whisper to me.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“It’ll be fine. She’s a mage specialized in defense.”

Thankfully, her talent lies in defense magic, not offensive magic.

Her awakened ability is also ‘Sealing,’ so if she had been more aggressive, there might have already been trouble by now.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Huh?”

As I was pondering this, Kania shook her head and pointed at Arianne.

“That cold Irina, with Frey... if they slept together...”

“...?”

“Did she get embarrassed? Damn, that’s hot...”

Arianne, still with her head hung low, muttered to herself in a low, eerie voice.

“Come to think of it... a love that transcends species... this is... twice–no thrice as exciting...”

“... As you can see, she’s not quite in her right mind either.”

“Yeah, I can see that.”

“...Are you aware that a romance novel about you is circulating among the noble ladies?”

“What about it?”

As I nodded quietly, Kania asked an unexpected question, and I stared at her in confusion.

“Could it be?”

Noticing Kania’s meaningful gaze directed at Arianne, I broke into a cold sweat and began to listen closely to Arianne’s muttering again.

“There’s probably Demon Kings in the mansion too... right...?”

“...”

“The forbidden love between the Hero and the Demon King... The secret relationship between master and apprentice... An affair between a master and his servant... The villainous noble and his pet...”

“...”

“There are so many storylines... This is insane... Absolutely insane...”

What am I listening to right now?

“My investigation revealed that Arianne has been writing erotic fiction for quite some time.”

“...”

“While part of her motivation to work at the mansion is undoubtedly Irina, the other part... seems to stem from rather... Coughimpure...Cough personal reasons.”

So, the last descendant of the legendary Dragon Slayer clan...

“Is writing erotic fiction... about me?”

There’s no way...

“The exalted Empress who rules the during the day but is dominated at night in bed, the Saintess who must remain pure yet carries the forbidden fruit of love in her womb... The apprentice who waits anxiously every day until she becomes an adult... And, and...”

“Enough.”

“...H-Huh?”

Should I just sue her?