"After all, freedom is just a hypothesis for me. In this world, what I dislike is something others desperately wish for… I'm well aware of that."
Her emotions were very complicated. Because of Ryuji's question and her own thoughts, she became somewhat depressed.
She felt like she should break free from her fate, but just like how she couldn't hate Helena, who had shaped that fate, she also couldn't find a reason to break away from it.
She didn't even have the desire to experience a romantic relationship!
This feeling was simply terrible.
Like a puppet that doesn't resent its master, but instead becomes friends with them, it was absurd and ironic.
"Who isn't like that? Everyone is being toyed with by fate."
Ryuji didn't believe in fate. Not for any particular reason but because most of these worlds probably didn't even have a fate line for him, so he didn't believe in it.
But his instincts told him that this was exactly what he should say.
"But if you want, I can take you away from here and give you your freedom. No need for anything in return. After all, being with you is quite enjoyable."
Marie Rose paused for a moment, then couldn't help but chuckle softly.
"But that's the problem. I only feel happy when I'm with Lady Helena. And I can't find anything else I want to do. All my wishes have already been fulfilled beside her… I don't have any more desires."
She lowered her head and looked at Ryuji's face.
"Even if I had so-called freedom, it would just be confusion for me."
She wasn't lacking money and her abilities couldn't make her the strongest in the world, and she didn't want to be.
There was almost nothing she truly wanted. If she really left Helena… she would probably just end up becoming a homebody.
"Nothing you want to do, huh…"
Ryuji raised his hand.
"If one day you find something you want to do, come to me. I'll help you. Consider it compensation for me mistaking you as a kid before."
Ryuji spoke seriously, making Marie Rose's teeth itch again. But looking at his outstretched hand, she shook her head.
"If Lady Helena knew I had something I wanted to do, she wouldn't stop me from leaving. But that's exactly the problem, I don't have anything like that. So, your compensation is meaningless."
After saying that, Marie Rose turned under the moonlight and starlight, then raised her hand to her eyes like a telescope, looking toward the bodyguards still negotiating outside.
"So, you should just save your effort. If you really want to chase me, then watch your mouth and stop saying my breasts are small all the time!"
Her tone was completely emotionless. Ryuji was just about to nod but his instincts slapped that idea away and made him change what he was about to say.
"But the problem is your breasts are really small. It wouldn't be enough to feed a baby."
"..."
The faint smile on Marie Rose's face vanished instantly. She turned her head with a twisted expression, grabbed Ryuji's arm without hesitation and bit down hard.
—
While Ryuji was trying to win over Marie Rose, downstairs, Douglas had already confirmed his identity to his daughter and wife.
After learning about Ryuji, he quickly used the computer in the room to open the USB drive Ryuji had left behind.
"Satellite communication technology… and these wireless network technologies…"
Douglas quickly browsed through countless technical documents, his eyes sparkled as he examined them.
"They're all mature technologies. The principles and data all check out. With some modifications to a few production lines in the company, we can start manufacturing and quickly gain significant leverage."
As he read, he quickly jotted down his thoughts on the paper.
Just as Ryuji had expected, Douglas originally had no intention of letting Helena inherit the family business. She was too kind; she couldn't control those wolves. Unless all those opposing her in the group were dead, she would never be able to control the company.
But now, things were different.
He was dead and the people who killed him clearly had no intention of sparing his last bloodline. And his daughter had obtained the help of an extremely powerful existence.
Yes, an existence.
Recalling what his daughter Helena had told him about Ryuji, Douglas didn't believe for a second that Ryuji was merely human. The mere fact that he could temporarily resurrect someone was enough to exclude him from the category of "human."
"Eight hours is far too short."
After seeing the smartphone concepts and the various applications built on top of them, he stopped browsing further and drew a line on the social media apps and then turned his sharp gaze toward his daughter.
"When you launch smartphones, you must release your own social platform at the same time. There must be no hesitation. And…"
He paused briefly before continuing.
"You will bring in all the families on this list I'm writing down. Sell each of them 10% of the shares at a price of two billion dollars per family but you must retain at least 30% ownership yourself. That percentage is absolutely untouchable. And one more thing, you must not become the CEO of this social media company. Let the families who buy shares select the CEO. You only need to remain as a board member."
Douglas looked at Helena with complete seriousness. He understood his daughter's limits.
If she were a son, he would have pushed her without hesitation to conquer and expand.
But his daughter Helena was too kind, so that path wasn't possible.
The Marie Rose he left for her could only protect her in daily life. Once it came to political struggles or battles for influence, Marie Rose's strength would not be enough.
Even his own company wouldn't be enough, it would be crushed outright by the truly massive powers behind the scenes.
So, his daughter had to be precise. She had to understand the limits.
Helena nodded quickly. Her father gave her many instructions, told her many things she didn't know and laid out clear solutions for what came next.
Call the police.
Her father had left behind a huge amount of evidence. If those people hadn't tried to completely wipe her out, she could have used that evidence to rise to power directly.
But now that things had reached this point, then she would use that evidence to destroy them.
After all, she was kind… but not a monster who could remain indifferent to her father's murder.
But just as she nodded, her father Douglas spoke again.
"And also, together with Marie Rose, become that man Ryuji's lovers. Ideally… bear him a few children."
The moment Douglas finished speaking, Helena shot to her feet. She wasn't blind; she could see at a glance how Mai Shiranui felt about Ryuji.
And more importantly, she herself had never cared about things like "matching status" in relationships.
"His power can protect you and your mother, Helena. Right now, only he can do that. Even Marie Rose's safety, only he can guarantee it."
Douglas knew very well what kind of people he had under his command.
So, he immediately explained.
"The ones opposing me aren't just fighting for power. What they want is uncontrolled human experimentation. I've always refused that, that's why they killed me."
At this point, Douglas's expression turned quite grim. Those people opposing him were, without a doubt, fools. With their plan, the human experiments would be exposed by the third day and by that very night, the United States would send people to silence them.
Even though they did dirty work for the U.S., the Americans certainly didn't want anything related to bioweapons traced back to them.
Maybe in the future they wouldn't care, but in the 1990s, they very much did.
"But… but…"
Helena frowned. She herself didn't mind, after all, she had accepted this kind of fate since childhood. But Marie Rose was her friend. How could she decide Marie Rose's fate like this?
"Marie Rose won't object. She has always understood her own destiny."
Douglas sighed. Only after dying once, did he realize just how cruel some of the things he had done were but for the sake of his daughter, he didn't care anymore.
Even if he had to become a devil, he wouldn't hesitate.
"Helena, my daughter… the things you know are still too little. For Marie, her entire life was designed by me. Everything you like would become something she likes as well. She is also a gift I prepared for your future husband."
At this point, he couldn't help recalling the torment he had suffered in hell because of that girl, but he did not regret it. Because all of this was for his daughter.
"So even if you're unwilling, she will still come to like the man you like. That's how her life was designed. Even if you try to change it now, her personality and preferences that have already taken shape won't change. If you don't accept it, the one who suffers will only be her."
Douglas lied, but he didn't care.
Because he intended to offer Ryuji a gift.
~~~~~~~~~~
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