“W–why are they engaged to me…!?”

Unable to believe what I’d just heard, I couldn’t help raising my voice.

Looking over, Furei seemed startled, yet somehow not entirely displeased, while Emera looked like she wanted to complain just as much as I did, but fear of her mother kept her from speaking.

In other words, I was the only one who’d acted in a way that could practically be taken as defiance.

Hmm, did I mess up…?

“There’s no need to make a fuss; you were originally intended to be my successor, so in a sense this is only natural, isn’t it?”

However, Maria-san didn’t seem displeased at all and answered normally.

I’m safe…

But I can’t accept this.

“Um… this successor you’re talking about… it’s not for the Tenjouin conglomerate, right…? I mean, I barely know anything about what the Tenjouin conglomerate even does…”

If I go by what Maria-san said when she showed up here, I wasn’t supposed to get involved with Emera and Furei until much later.

Most likely, not until I became an adult.

If she had intended from the start to make me the heir to the Tenjouin conglomerate, then she would have drilled me on Tenjouin-related business matters from childhood.

But in reality, I know almost nothing about the work the Tenjouin conglomerate does.

I know about genetic research, but that’s just knowing the results; I didn’t know at all how they manipulate genes.

It feels too late to teach me when I become an adult, and more than anything, there’s no way this meticulous person wouldn’t have prepared for that.

Therefore, “successor” must have a different meaning.

That was my interpretation.

“As expected, you have good instincts in situations like these~”

Maria-san looked at me with eyes as if saying, “So you noticed?”

I braced myself for her drawn-out tone, but since it didn’t feel like I had stepped on a landmine, she probably wasn’t about to blow up.

“That’s right. What I originally wanted you to inherit was the behind-the-scenes work. As for the official duties of the Tenjouin conglomerate, these two, especially Furei, should be more than capable of handling them. And if anything comes up, there’s always Koori-chan, who’s versatile enough to support them. But the behind-the-scenes work would be far too heavy a burden for these girls. That’s why I needed you, Eito-kun.”

As expected, it was exactly what I’d expected.

When she says “behind-the-scenes work,” she probably means government-related jobs like finding and interrogating spies from other countries.

In that case, there’s no need for them to be engaged to me; I shouldn’t have to marry either Emera or Furei…

“I’m not a demon, you know. I really did agonize over this for a long time. I didn’t want Eito-kun involved in the public affairs of the family, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about taking away these girls’ freedom to love just because of family traditions. My plan was to arrange a fateful reunion between you and the two of them once I had deemed you to be the kind of man I liked, then let you grow close to one of them, and have them choose marriage by their own will. And yet… you went and caused this huge uproar.”

Maria-san was clearly implying that this was all because the three of us fought.

Hearing her say she wasn’t a demon made me want to reply, “Right, you’re not a demon — you’re a devil.” Well… she did say her plan was ruined, so from her perspective, this really is all because we fought, but… I don’t know, something about it just doesn’t sit right with me.

“By the way, before all of this happened, my top candidate was Furei. Once she opens up, she’s without a doubt the best match for Eito-kun. The dark horse was Emera. Her personality isn’t exactly to Eito-kun’s taste, but if Emera ever fell head over heels for him, I thought the two of you might actually be surprisingly compatible. If neither of them worked out, then there was Koori-chan. She’s polite, attentive, and most importantly, she shares some similarities with Hina-chan. In the worst case, I figured it would be perfectly fine if Eito-kun ended up with her instead. And if, by the time all of you became adults, any of you already had lovers, I planned to let you prioritize that instead.”

Maria-san casually throws out such outrageous things.

I’m at a loss for where to even start criticizing.

“I have many questions… but why Shirayuki-san too?”

We’ve already gone beyond the scope of the Tenjouin family.

I asked, trying to convey that.

“The Shirayuki family has served the Tenjouin Zaibatsu for generations, and if it’s something important to his lover, Eito-kun would take good care of it, right? As long as Eito-kun values the Tenjouin Zaibatsu, I honestly don’t care much about the family lineage. Ah, but excellent genes are necessary, so if these girls don’t end up finding lovers, I already made sure to secure Eito-kun’s seed for them, you know? After all, if Eito-kun isn’t an option for them, they’re not going to get lovers anyway, right?”

Yeah, why does she always insult them in front of their faces…?

I mean, I get what she’s saying.

I understand it very well, and honestly, I also can’t picture Emera or Furei ever getting a boyfriend either…!

But those two—their mental state is already in tatters, you know…!?

Or so I thought, but when I glanced over at them, Emera still seemed too overwhelmed by fear to really process anything Maria-san was saying, while Furei just gave a weary, resigned little smile.

Yeah, it’s more or less how I expected—no damage has been done.

I was worried for nothing.

Also… how long are those two planning to stay in just their underwear…?

I mean, I’m still in my swimsuit too, but still.

“Uh… it sounds like they were allowed to date freely, but somehow I’m not…?”

“Fufu, what are you talking about? You’re someone I discovered and raised with my own hands, you know? Did you really think I’d let you escape?”

Yeah, this person is definitely a devil.

The fact that she says it so calmly is terrifying.

“Besides, your face is pretty good, but the world isn’t kind enough for a boy who has no remarkable traits at school and shows interest in no one but his little sister can be popular, you know? There might be a few oddballs out there, but the chances of a siscon like you actually being swayed by someone are basically zero.”

Maria-san suddenly launched into a relentless verbal assault.

This woman really shows no mercy.

Hold on… isn’t that because she’s the one who told me not to stand out?

I thought that, but Hina has always been my priority, and it’s not like I ever wanted attention from other girls anyway, so it wasn’t something worth pointing out.

If I poked her carelessly and made her mad, that would be a hundred times more dangerous.

“Well, I don’t think I’ll ever get a girlfriend anyway… but considering how both of us were at each other’s throats just moments ago, there’s no way they’d suddenly agree to being engaged—”

“You will agree, won’t you? Or would you prefer a dip in the boiling water?”

When I tried to argue, Maria-san gave Emera and Furei a sweet smile.

But, as usual… her eyes weren’t smiling at all.

“I’m… okay being engaged…”

“… me too… I’d rather be engaged…”

As expected, the first to answer was Furei.

It seemed she really didn’t want to go back into the boiling water, because she accepted it surprisingly easily.

Emera, who normally would have put up a huge fight over something like this, but maybe because she was terrified of Maria-san’s eyes, ended up accepting it surprisingly easily.

With how she behaves at school, I was sure she’d explode over this… but yeah, she really is a coward after all.

And more than anything… she looked more shocked about Furei choosing to be engaged than about being made engaged herself.

Well, considering how obsessed she is with Furei, basically treating Furei as her reason for living, it probably feels like death to her that Furei might be taken by some other guy.

“So that’s how it is, Eito-kun. Are you convinced?”

“By the way… do I have the right to refuse—?”

“You’re free to refuse if you like. But then I’ll simply tell Hina-chan, ‘Eito-kun saw my daughters in their underwear, and even their naked bodies, but he won’t take responsibility. What do you think of that?’”

As soon as I showed any sign of reluctance, Maria-san smiled and struck at my weak point.

There’s no way I can win a negotiation against this person.

“H-How is that my fault…!? You’re the one who made them do it, Maria-san…!”

“But it’s true, isn’t it?”

It is indeed true!

There’s nothing false about what Maria-san says!

But this is literally her causing trouble and then benefiting from using me to fix it!!

“It can’t be helped, you know. Now that people have realized Eito-kun isn’t just an ordinary boy—and if someone were to steal him away, I honestly don’t know what I’d do in my anger. So rather than letting things reach that point, and since they’re simply reaping what they sowed anyway, making them engaged to you is the cleanest way to settle it.”

As I was screaming in my mind, Maria-san said something profound with a smile.

Yeah… that whole “reaping what they sow” thing only applies to Emera. Neither Furei nor I did anything wrong—that’s what I wanted to say. But since the last thing I want is for Hina to hate me, I had no choice but to accept being engaged.

By the way, after that, since I’d be choosing Furei, I asked if we could call off the engagement with Emera. But Maria-san just said, “Oh? Are you planning to go against a decision I made?” And of course, I couldn’t say another word after that.

Seriously… how far ahead was this person planning…?