Living a Maiden Game in Hard Mode

Chapter 12 – Gut Punched by the Heroine’s Best Friend

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“Gueh”

Hart, who was hit in the abdomen as he looked back, groaned in spite of himself.

The culprit was Miss Colette of the Viscount Listner household.
She is a close friend who gently watches over Yuna, smiling as softly as the flowers swaying in the wind.

The maiden, who could make even flowers blush with her beauty, hit Hart’s abdomen behind the school building while swinging her wavy long pale green hair that stretched to her waist.

Completely on his guard, Hart was more damaged by mental shock than by the physical impact which was mitigated by the power of the spirit.

“I’m a third party, but aren’t you being insincere to hit on two classmates at the same time?”

It is the best friend character intervention.

Perhaps she is some kind of story mechanic to prevent harem developments from unfolding in Maiden Games.

Without a doubt, Colette’s actions are closely related to Yuna.

“It looks like you’ve heard everything.”

“Yes.
I’m glad the spirit crystal that Hart gave me is excellent.
And thank you for giving me a non-sale item originally meant for only two people.
If you had said that you wanted to make me a concubine, I wouldn’t have been so hard on you.
What a pity.”

“I don’t get the impression Colette could end up anyone’s concubine at all.”

At least in “The Galactic Prince”, there’s no future in which Colette becomes anyone’s concubine.

Even on the route of Yuna’s marriage to the Royal grandson, Colette was married to the Duke’s son, a classmate of the Royal grandson.

“Oh, I also have aristocratic ties of obligation.”

“It doesn’t look like that.”

“Aristocratic marriage is a mutual cooperation within one’s faction.
The successor of the one’s household takes a wife with high magic power, so their offspring will have higher magical power.
For that reason, daughters are offered within the faction.”

“Hmm”

“In any faction, calculations are made to work out the difference between the magic power of the daughter they offered and the magic power of the wife they took.
The difference is carried over, so it is quite common for a house under large debt to offer their daughter as a concubine.
If my family owes a lot of money, I could be offered as the concubine “

“I see.”

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If so explained, Hart was obliged to nod in approval.

The highest priority placed on the aristocrats is to maintain high magic power values in preparation for the war with the Coalition.

However, a marriage partner cannot be prepared only by one’s own family or close relatives.

As a countermeasure, each aristocrat forms a faction and introduces each other to marriage partners.
This is because if they can lend and borrow from faction members across generations, they can keep your house stable.
On the other hand, if kicked out of a faction, that house would be in danger of falling to ruin.

It is due to such circumstances that the 20 senior aristocrats with territories that form a large faction can act as they please to the other 1,480 nobles.

As with the Duke of Takrham’s Miss Digitalis and the Marquis of Carneus’s Miss Dorothea.
The soil where egoist aristocrats and villainesses can sprout is thus formed.

“If you can understand that much, you can understand the inheritance problem of the Marquis Carneus and the reason why the Viscount Amakawa needs a legal wife.”

“Then imagine Hart.
There are a total of 4 in the class with 3 men and 1 woman.
Therefore, the woman chose two men as a gene donor and a husband candidate.
What would happen to the mood in that class?”

Hart, who imagined switching the genders as Colette suggested, moaned.

The man chosen first as the gene donor will be a spouse to someone other than him.

The man chosen second as the husband candidate might have children with someone other than him.

The third unselected man cannot help but be concerned about his charm as a man.

The relationship between the three parties would be very awkward.

It may not have been a problem if they didn’t get along from the start, but two were best friends and the relationship with the other wasn’t a bad one.

The first and the second will not complain to the woman in consideration for the future.
They would be troubled if the woman’s honor is offended, and they lose their share.

Only the third man, the one who was not chosen, could complain with impunity.

If the reversed genders were restored, that would be Collette’s standpoint.

“Would it be better to marry them all?”

“Don’t be stupid.
At the very least, you should limit it to one person from the same class.”

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In response to Hart, who made a joke with an embarrassed expression, Colette knocked down the Harem plan, with a color of contempt in her eyes.

“I understand where you’re coming from.
But it’s almost impossible to find anyone other than Yuna to be my wife.”

“Why not?”

“It’s the reputation of the Viscount Amakawa family.
If I search outside, who do you think will send their daughter as a candidate?”

The newly ordained Viscount Amakawa household was widely reported on by various media outlets along with Hart’s prompt report on the start of the war.

Hart, who was announced as a hero, has magic power more than double that of His Royal Highness, the Sovereign’s Grandson.

In addition, the spirit crystals that contributed to the battle and retreat, has said hero in exclusive possession of all shares of the manufacturing company.

Consequently, the emerging, faction-less household with no record of debt consists only of one 17-year-old young man.

Such a real-estate is too appealing to the untrained eye.

“I wonder if your paternal grandfather, the Baron of Hiragi, will intervene.”

“My father was his second son, and after my uncle had a child, he left the family without inheriting any property.
I myself am his second son and was treated the same, so when I started the Amakawa family, I cut ties with my father.
The Baron Hiragi Household has no justification for interference because the houses are so different.”

Hart’s mother was also a Baron’s daughter, and because she had only Baron-class magic power, her value in marriage diplomacy was not recognized, and at the same time she got married, she was cut off from her family.

There is currently only one member in the Viscount Amakawa family.

“Then the Marquis of Carneus could send in a substitute for Philine since she cannot be welcomed as a legal wife.
Even if the eldest daughter has a partner and Philine was unavailable, there would still be the third daughter.
Was her name Dorothea?”

“There were circumstances, so that is absolutely not possible.”

“Then a young lady from one of the Marquis household’s retainer families.”

“I myself refuse to join the Marquis of Carneus’s household.
The gene donation for the backing of the Marquis are equivalent exchanges.
Support for SS company and benefits of the Marquis family affiliates are also exchanged equally.
There’s no unilateral lending and borrowing.”

“Oh, then there really are no fetters.”

“For now.”

“Such an enviable house.
If that’s the case, the Duke of Takrham could send in Digitalis first.
Because as a hero with higher magic power than His Royal Highness, whom they were aiming for, it will be a change of policy rather than a compromise.
It won’t hurt Digitalis’ pride.”

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“The Viscount of Amakawa household would likely end in the first generation.”

“What a coincidence.
I agree with you.”

As far as he can think of her as a legal wife, the self-indulgent, insidious Digitalis is close to the worst candidate as he could think of.

In the case of Digitalis, when he tries to take the reins, she would steal the reins and tie Hart down as she laughs.

After that, she would mercilessly push him down to the bottom of the abyss.

All that remains would be Viscountess Amakawa, who has lost her husband, and all the wealth of the Amakawa family.

When the waters have cooled, the child born between Digitalis and her partner after remarriage will take over the house and Hart’s bloodline will be severed.

Without a Strategy Guide or Save and Load function, it would be impossible to capture Digitalis.
Before that, it is unclear whether this opponent can be captured in the first place.

“I’m sure other families above Counts will also send daughters with family ties one after another.
They’ll take advantage of your ignorance of the social world to push their bad-natured daughters, and siphon off the profits of the Viscount Amakawa household in the form of support for the wife’s family.
Well, that’s tough.”

“I’m afraid that there will be others like Digitalis.”

“Yes, of course there are many.”

“Wow.”

A low-tension voice leaked from Hart’s mouth.

As expected of a Maiden Game, it seems that there are various types of villainesses.

Moreover, they are rushing all at once towards Hart.

Life itself is now a punishment game.

“I don’t think any house below the rank of Viscount can oppose the Marquis of Carneus.
If you are a quasi-aristocrat or less, the difference in magic power with you will exceed 10 times, and normal magic inheritance would be impossible.
The Amakawa family might possibly end with the first generation.”

“This hard mode life is too harsh.”

“It’s as sweet as salted ice cream.
So Viscount Amakawa is willing to have Yuna as his legal wife and keep the family independent, with the support of the Marquis of Carneus in return for cooperating as a gene donor.”

Hart, who felt that there was no other way, nodded powerless.

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Colette then dropped her shoulders, sighed, and began to operate her information terminal.

Shortly after, a message arrived at Hart’s terminal.

“It’s an invitation from Yuna’s father.
If you make that choice, you’ll have to present yourself.
Of course you have the option to withdraw.”

“Why would Colette give this to me?”

“Because the Viscount of Listner is a retainer of Yuna’s father’s family.”

Hart was surprised to hear the background setting that was not mentioned in the original story, but considering Colette’s continuous efforts to protect Yuna and her own lineage, it was quite a possible plot.

The reason why Yuna was supported by the retainer family’s daughter was probably because Yuna would be one of the princesses if the third prince had succeeded to the throne.

If Colette is a relative of the royal family, it would explain why she had Duke-level magic power, even though she was the young lady of an inconspicuous Viscount family.

“The Third Prince has made Yuna’s status as a Duke’s daughter official, putting her in a position where she could compete with and foil Philine.
Then, in the event of a national crisis, the royal family could spread the official high magic bloodline of the current Sovereign, and extend the royal family’s uninterrupted insurance policy.
Also, the essential items for the war, such as the spirit crystals, cannot be controlled by other aristocrats.
That’s about it.”

“You’re so perceptive sometimes.
I’m a little surprised.

It is a great evaluation, but in the case of Hart, it is thanks to the cheat knowledge obtained from the precognitive dream.

With an ambiguous wry smile, he made the confirmation just in case.

“Don’t put your hand on my daughter.
Is it like that?

“I didn’t raise her, so I can’t say that.
But there will be trials, so don’t get your hopes up for Yuna yet.

“Trials?”

“The Coalition of Humanity will be preparing to invade the Monarchy.
If you are to marry the granddaughter of the Sovereign, you’ll have to prove worthy of her valor.”

“Seriously.”

“As an aristocrat of the Monarchy, I expect victory.
As a close friend of Yuna’s, I won’t mind if a two-timing man dies.”

Hart, who received mixed support, left the back of the school building with his shoulders heavily slumped.