"The Idea of a Woman Stealing Someone Else's Partner is Ridiculous," I laughed. But After Being Reborn, I Became a Victim of Such a Woman. However, My New Fiancée was Absolutely Amazing. - Episode 22

“Now, let’s move on to more specific topics.”

“Yes, let’s.”

The previously relaxed atmosphere suddenly turned serious.

The men, who had only been sipping tea until now, straightened their backs.

The discussion topics included the amount of the engagement gift, the timing of the engagement announcement, the wedding venue, where to tailor the bride and groom’s outfits, which family traditions to follow for the ceremony, the number of guests, who to invite, the new home, the household staff, the bride’s dowry, and where to purchase it… and so on.

There’s way too much to decide—!?

And the amount of money they’re talking about is almost as much as my mother’s huge debt…!?

I glanced at my father, and his face looked like a confused cat staring into space!

The two family heads wrote notes, calculated amounts, showed each other numbers, and smoothly made decisions.

The costs related to me were so high that I couldn’t stop shaking.

“Mai-san, Kouga-san, do you have any requests?”

“I…”

Kouga shook his head from side to side.

He has no objections to these amounts!?

“Mai-san, what about you?”

“U-um… That’s… so much money…”

“The Kujou-no-Go family will cover the costs, so don’t worry. After graduation, you will be adopted as a daughter of our house, and then you will marry into the Ichijou-no-Go main family. If we were stingy about this, it would damage our family’s reputation.”

“Eh… ah… ugh… y-yes. I understand.”

So, it’s about pride.

Well, that makes sense. The ten ruling families of the central clan are at the top.

Among them, I am marrying into the most prestigious family.

A grand wedding will showcase their power and status.

With that reasoning, I had nothing left to say.

My personal opinion didn’t matter here.

I had already been told by my father that I would become the adopted daughter of the Kujou-no-Go family.

It still felt a little lonely…

But it’s not like I would never see my father again, right?

“More importantly, after marriage, you will move into the Ichijou-no-Go family’s mansion in the inland. Is that alright?”

“Y-yes. That’s fine.”

It’s not like I have a choice.

“By the way, I heard from Kouga that Mai-san researches spirit arts and talismans.”

“Y-yes. I want to develop safe and useful tools to help people. But I will not neglect my duties as a wife—”

“That’s fine. Kouga has shown me some of your work. Your talismans seem useful for communicating with this quiet boy, and they can also be applied in exorcism battles. I think it’s wonderful that a young lady is researching spirit arts and talismans. That must be why your spiritual power is ranked first-class.”

Seriously!?

Does that mean I can continue my research on spirit arts and talismans!?

Lady Misumi smiled gently and said, “Kouga asked me, so I’ll have a laboratory built for you in the mansion.”

An angel…?

“A-are you sure!? Really!?”

“Of course. As members of the Ichijou-no-Go family, it is our duty to support research that may benefit the country. In fact, we’ve been troubled by the growing influence of certain groups trying to suppress spirit arts and talisman research. I have high expectations for you, Mai-san.”

“Groups that oppose spirit arts and talisman research…?”

What’s that supposed to mean?

Now that I think about it, Sayuri-san’s beliefs and what Kouga’s subordinate said were completely opposite. That felt odd.

According to Lady Misumi, there’s a group called the “Future Happiness Society.” Just from the name, it sounds suspicious. They have been spreading their ideology through social circles for the past ten years.

Their beliefs include:

“Women should stay at home, and men should work outside.”

“Spirit arts and talismans are dangerous. Only experts should develop them, and ordinary people using them is disrespectful to the pioneers who created them.”

Basically, they want to take spirit arts and talismans away from people.

I must have looked just as dumbfounded as my father did earlier.

Wh-what the heck is this!?

“W-why are they spreading such ideas!?”

“To put it simply, it’s foreign interference.”

“Foreign… interference!?”

“Yes. Even though weakening our country would also harm them, they have grown complacent because they haven’t faced the thousand-year-old calamities we have.”

Lady Misumi and Lady Fumi’s expressions turned sharp, as if they were about to click their tongues.

In history class, we learned that about 300 years ago, foreign ships started appearing near our country.

At first, these foreign nations tried to conquer Tendou through war, but they didn’t realize that our country was protecting the world by sealing the demon beasts.

After losing to Tendou’s unique combat methods, these nations changed their approach.

Instead of war, they sought trade and diplomatic relations.

The emperor of that time allowed limited trade for the nation’s benefit, establishing a secure trading port managed by the Suzurugi family, specialists in spirit arts.

This modernization led to an era similar to the Meiji or Taisho periods from my past life.

With foreign science, technology, and culture flowing in, the central families adapted to modern changes. However, along with these advancements, foreign ideologies also took root, aiming to weaken our country from within.

The “Future Happiness Society” was one of those ideological seeds.

Their goal is to strip away our nation’s greatest power—spirit arts and talismans—by labeling them as dangerous.