That World of Otome Games is Tough for Us - Volume 2 - Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

Disrupting the Wedding Ceremony

MEANWHILE, in the wedding hall, Marie finished reflecting on all that had brought her to this point. A single thought sprouted in her head, unbidden: Save me, Big Bro.

She was basically praying for salvation to her brother from her last life. He hadn’t been the kind of amazing sibling she could outright brag about; still, whenever she really needed him, he’d always swooped in to rescue her. That was one thing she could say proudly about him, at least. His biggest issue had been his tendency to go overboard. That said, if he’d found her in this kind of situation, he would’ve helped her, wouldn’t he?

Even though it was a moot point, Marie couldn’t help thinking about it. It made her feel strange, though, wishing for aid from someone who couldn’t possibly exist in this world.

Here I am, in my second life, and I’m still leaning on my big brother for everything. I feel so…stupid. Especially since it’s all my fault he died.

Marie had backed him into a corner. But even after he was gone, there’d been so much she’d wanted to say to him. Like, “I know I asked the impossible, but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine you’d push yourself so hard! I mean, you’re supposedly an adult, right? You should know how to take proper care of yourself, dummy!”

Even thinking back on it now, that really was a pitiful death. What an idiot. If he’s an idiot, though, what does that make me for wanting his help?

A wave of self-loathing overwhelmed her; she dropped her gaze to the floor, and her eyes shimmered. No one else would know, since the veil hid her face, but tears drew wet trails down her cheeks, falling one after another.

Marie knew her brother wasn’t in this world, yet the words left her lips anyway: “Save me, Big Bro.”

It was a ghost of a whisper, so quiet that neither Ricky nor the presiding priestess heard. That was also partly due to the uproar outside, however. They couldn’t pay attention to Marie’s muttering, especially not when a fully armored knight burst into the temple, raced to Earl Offrey’s side, and dropped to one knee. 

Earl Offrey looked supremely annoyed by this interruption, but the knight wasn’t dissuaded by his lord’s mood. He hastily gave his report. As he did, the nervous murmurs in the venue swelled to a crescendo. The priestess barely managed to announce the ceremony’s temporary postponement before the double doors leading into the wedding hall flew open.

“I object to this wedding!” boomed a voice Marie had longed to hear. It came from a familiar figure in the doorway.

Everyone’s attention turned to the entrance, where a young man had brute-forced his way right into the hall—a climax straight out of a television drama. Marie stared in disbelief through her veil’s translucent fabric. Her tears further obscured her vision, yet the man’s silhouette looked exactly like that of her brother in her previous world.

“Big Bro?” Marie whispered. She fumbled with her veil, ripping it off her face before scrubbing her tears away with the back of her hand. Her eyes fixed on the interloper until his figure resolved, not into the brother she thought she’d seen but Leon. “Oh, it’s you.”

Her stomach knotted with embarrassment. Even if her veil and tears made him harder to identify, she didn’t under­stand how she could’ve mistaken Leon for her brother.

“Wh-what’re you doing here?!” she cried in a shrill voice, flustered by her mistake.

What she’d thought was the climax of a melodrama turned out to be far less romantic. Once she got a good look, she realized Leon was wearing a most unflattering suit—the sort pilots wore aboard their Armor in battle. Furthermore, he carried an assault rifle. Its futuristic design convinced her that Luxion had created it.

When she glanced behind Leon, she spotted a legion of fully decked-out knights and soldiers, a rose-and-sword crest emblazoned on their shields and cloaks. Marie instantly recognized the troops as a fellow aristocrat’s private army. They all carried rifles, too—unsettling.

She couldn’t expect this to unfold like a romance film, in which a swoon-worthy hero would gallantly swoop in, grab her hand, and make a hasty run for it. In fact, for reasons beyond her comprehension, Leon was smirking. This definitely wasn’t ending the way she’d always pictured in her dreams.

“Sorry, but we’ll need to cancel this whole wedding thing. Basically, there’s no good reason for it anymore.”

Both the Offreys and Lafans were indignant about the interruption and the armed soldiers Leon had brought with him.

“You have some nerve, interrupting a ceremony like this!”

“Where are the guards? And the rest of the garrison?!”

“Someone remove this trash immediately!”

Despite the fuss from the crowd demanding he be ejected, Leon remained undaunted. He produced several papers he’d likely prepared well beforehand for this eventuality, holding them up for all to see. The royal family’s official seal was emblazoned on the outermost page.

“Don’t move!” Leon bellowed. “The palace gave me permission for this. You can protest all you like, but it’s a little too late. In case that’s not clear enough, let me spell it out: The palace endorses our cause here.” The flimsy pieces of parchment Leon had brought were his pretext for everything he’d just done. 

The revelation of the palace’s backing stunned the Offreys and Lafans. Confused, they glanced at one another. Ricky remained standing next to Marie; a furrow creased his brow.

“The palace?” he spat. “I don’t believe that for a second!”

Leon shrugged emphatically. “You really think forged documents could get me this far? I only rode in with a whole battalion of knights and soldiers because I had the crown’s go-ahead.”

“Impossible! You claim His Majesty turned his back on us simply because we took your girlfriend?!” Earl Offrey demanded, disbelief written all over his face.

Leon’s eyes narrowed in annoyance. He pinned the earl with a glare. “Of course you don’t buy it. It seems you’ve had quite an ally in court. Sure, they’ve swept your crimes under the rug thus far, but no one’s going to save you this time.”

“Ngh!” the earl grunted, recoiling. It didn’t take long for his surprise to become a sinister grin, however. “Don’t think you’ve beaten me, brat! The king’s permission is irrelevant. Other aristocrats won’t sit idly by while one of their own employs such violence.” He was confident he could still turn the tables.

“If you’re hoping to fall back on Marquess Frampton for salvation, I’ve got bad news. When we questioned him about his connection to you, he swore you had no ties whatsoever. He told us, ‘A family who’d willingly align themselves with air pirates aren’t fit to call themselves nobles. You may do whatever you like with the Offreys.’”

The momentary triumph in the earl’s eyes vanished. His jaw had dropped at Leon’s mention of Marquess Frampton. The Offreys shared a faction with the marquess, so of course the earl expected assistance. Learning that even Frampton had abandoned his house rendered him speechless. Like anyone faced with an impossible situation, he had a hard time digesting his new reality.

The other Offreys seemed similarly flabbergasted. Marie’s eyes scanned the pews. They finally landed on Stephanie, who was frozen in place, staring at Leon.

“N-no, it can’t be. Why is this happening?” she muttered numbly. “You’re just an upstart adventurer. You couldn’t do something like this.”

It had never occurred to her that Leon might be capable of underhanded scheming, let alone orchestrating her entire family’s downfall. Stephanie saw him as a simple adventurer who had clambered into his position through physical prowess and sheer luck. She’d dismissed him as being like any other man proud of his own strength, assuming he was incapable of clever strategizing or backroom deals. After all, would an adventurer—especially a low-ranking baron—willingly thrust themselves into the middle of the court’s ongoing power struggles?

No—no one could’ve predicted Leon possessed such talents. Baffled, Stephanie collapsed to her knees. She immediately reached for Carla beside her, but Carla knocked her hand away.

“Carla?!” Stephanie cried. “Wh-what do you think you’re doing? And after all I did to look out for you!”

“How exactly have you looked out for me, huh?! It’s over. Everything’s over. Stop deluding yourself and accept reality. It’s your fault I’m caught up in this! If it weren’t for you and your family…” As she dissolved into tears, Carla trailed off, her entire body trembling. She could envision the consequences she and her family would face. There would be no future for them among the nobles.

At the rejection of her closest follower, Stephanie’s expression fell into despair. Unable to watch, Marie looked away from the two. Part of her was curious about their relationship, but she wasn’t at liberty to concern herself with them right now.

All amusement and triumph had fallen from Leon’s face. He hoisted his assault rifle, and the air in the wedding hall tensed, growing more oppressive. There would be no further jokes or humor.

“Earl Offrey, Viscount Lafan, I’m asking you to cooperate and come quietly,” said Leon.

Viscount Lafan’s eyes widened. “Why?” he said. “Why am I being apprehended? I’m not related to these people!” He said “these” with utter disdain, as if he thought the Offreys were somehow beneath him.

Leon motioned to the documents he held. “Because you and Earl Offrey were colluding in secret,” he explained. “In exchange for him covering for your debt, you promised to help him where the air pirates were concerned. You two planned to make a fortune together stealing from other nobles. Don’t fool yourself into thinking you can get out of the consequences.”

Marie gasped, eyes darting to her father. Leon’s accusation must’ve been true, because Viscount Lafan slid out of his chair and slumped on the floor. The other Lafans were similarly distressed, which could only mean they’d known about this secret agreement, too.

“I knew you were rotten to the core, but this is low even for you,” Marie said with open disgust.

Her father lifted his head. “Right,” he said to himself, as if he’d suddenly identified a solution. He fixed his gaze on Leon. “You did all this because you want my daughter. Then…then I’ll agree to let you marry her. All you have to do is let me and my family go! Please, I’m begging you! You want my daughter, don’t you? You can do whatever you want with her!”

That was the only value Viscount Lafan saw in Marie. Since he assumed Leon’s sole motivation for disrupting this affair was recovering her, she was a bargaining chip with which to buy freedom. It made Marie’s blood boil with indignation.

What’s wrong with him? He ruined the little bit of happiness I had, and now he’s trying to use me to save his own skin?

It was even more pathetic because her father usually condescended to everyone, but when it suited him—like right now—he was willing to beg and plead.

Marie stepped forward, fist clenched. She was ready to punch his lights out. “I’ve had just about enough of your—huh?!”

Ricky flung an arm around her neck, his meaty flesh crushing her windpipe. She strained to look back at him, glimpsing his bloodshot eyes as his shrill voice pierced the air. “Don’t move unless you want me to kill her! So much as twitch, and I’ll snap her neck!”

“Let me go!” Marie squeezed out. “Let me go right now, you thick blowhard!” She struggled, but in this position, she was at a serious disadvantage. It didn’t help that Ricky was massive, and adrenaline gave him more strength than usual. She just couldn’t shake him off.

The soldiers turned their gun barrels on Ricky, but none could fire while he had Marie as a shield. As he held her hostage, he tried to bargain with Leon. 

“You went to a lot of effort to rescue this pipsqueak. I appreciate that. I’ve got no interest in her to begin with, so if you want her, I’m happy to let you have her—but only on the condition that you let me go.” Ricky didn’t even try to protect his family. His concern was his own well-being.

Although Leon’s expression betrayed no emotion, Marie sensed his irritation. “Sorry,” he said, voice low and threatening, “but I was ordered to apprehend all of you. No exceptions. I can’t let you go. You’re the earl’s heir.” 

Leon spoke with reluctant calm, barely hiding his underlying anger. His tone again reminded Marie of her brother. When she blinked, she could just see him superimposed over Leon, as if they were the exact same person.

No way. Could Leon actually be…?

Before she finished the thought, Leon raised his left hand and swung it down. A thin beam of concentrated light shot through a hole in the ceiling and seared into Ricky’s shoulder.

“Gah!” Ricky’s face contorted as he cried out. He released Marie, his hand shooting to his shoulder wound. “Th-that hurt. S-someone help!” He sank to his knees and curled into a fetal position, sniffling.

Marie scampered away from him, rushing to her savior’s side. “Leon!”

Leon lowered his rifle, a mix of exasperation and relief on his face. “You look awfully happy for someone whose wedding I just ruined. Guess you weren’t as okay with it as you claimed.”

Marie dropped her gaze, unable to meet his eyes. “S-sorry. Um, I…”

“Master,” Luxion interrupted, dropping through the hole in the ceiling, “our operation has moved to the next phase.”

Leon slung his rifle on his shoulder. “All right. Then it’s about time to wrap this up. We’ve got other stuff to do today.” Turning at the waist, he barked orders to the soldiers. “Once you round up the criminals here, get moving to the next stage!”

Interrupting the wedding hadn’t been the end of this plan? Marie cocked her head. “Isn’t everything over now?”

The moment Leon burst into the wedding hall had been as good as the end for the two families who arranged the ceremony—at least, as far as Marie was concerned. She wasn’t sure what more Leon could do.

Leon smiled wickedly. “I cut a deal with the palace.”

“What deal?”

“The Offreys’ territory is confined to a floating island, right? The palace sees it as a pain to govern, so they agreed to let us take it.”

The royal family ruled from the center of the mainland. Once Leon and the Roseblades wrested control of the Offrey lands from the earl’s family, overseeing a separate island would be an unwanted hassle for the crown. On top of that, there was no way to ensure those tied to the Offreys were uninvolved with the air pirates; the palace would have to break with them all. That would make it even harder to find someone to take the role of regional lord.

“What—they’re giving you control of this whole island?”

Leon expelled a long, drawn-out sigh. “It’d be so much easier if the palace were that generous. The Lafans have mainland territory, right? Part of the deal is to invade your domain and assume the Lafan debt, but offer the palace their territory.”

Essentially, the trade would be the Lafan lands and Offrey riches in exchange for the Offreys’ floating island.

“The palace’s true desire is the wealth the Offreys accrued over the years,” Luxion added. “I should also mention that Master’s elder brother has departed for the Lafan lands and will soon wrest them from your father’s remaining forces.”

“My poor barony buddies are out there in full force, pitching in. They were champing at the bit to help save you. I imagine they’re with my brother, excitedly taking over Lafan territory as we speak.”

Marie blinked. “Um…you’re basically saying they’re invading my home right this moment, huh? Hold on a sec. I’m not sure how I feel about that!”

As grateful as she was that so many people had come to her rescue, she wasn’t quite sure what to think of her family’s domain being seized.