"Huh? What do you mean by that?"
"Exactly what I said. I’m offering to assist only one of you. I will help your relationship with Yugo progress."
Mad’s proposal was clearly outside the girls' expectations, as they all wore looks of genuine surprise. Amidst the silence, Setsuna fixed him with a suspicious glare and voiced the obvious question.
"I don’t follow. Why would you go to such lengths for us?"
"Well, it’s only natural you’d ask. However, this deal holds a significant advantage for me as well. You all understand what I’m afraid of, don't you?"
"That Yugo will return to the House of Clay and reclaim the Seat of the Next Head of the House, right?"
Mad snapped his fingers at Anhel, acknowledging her correct answer. She grimaced at his affected, pretentious attitude, but he continued regardless.
"Precisely. As she said, the absolute worst-case scenario for me is Yugo returning to the House of Clay. If that happens, every scheme I’ve executed to secure the Seat of the Next Head of the House becomes worthless. However, there is a simple way to resolve this problem: I just need to make Yugo a member of a different family."
"I see... I'm starting to follow your logic," Melt said, her voice cool. "You want one of us to end up with Yugo and have him marry into our family. Once he’s a son-in-law elsewhere, the chance of him returning to the House of Clay drops to zero. That’s the situation you’re aiming for, isn't it?"
"Indeed. Or at least, it doesn't even need to go quite that far. If he’s already pledged his future to someone, Yugo won't be able to just walk back and claim he's the Heir of the House of Clay."
Mad explained his actions as a logical move with clear benefits—supporting their romance, pairing them with Yugo, and ensuring he married into another house. In reality, however, he had a second, more insidious objective: he wanted to trigger a vicious conflict among the women surrounding Yugo.
Throughout the ages, it was always women who led men astray. Their internal wars were far more intense and unsightly than those of men. If these girls began tearing each other apart over Yugo, it would inevitably lead to the total collapse of their community.
While Ryuga and Marcos were connected to Yugo by simple bonds of friendship, the girls were different. Every one of them surely harbored some measure of romantic feeling for him. That meant that while they were friends, they were also rivals fighting over the same man. Mad had seen similar groups before; they always met their end when the women began devouring each other over a male leader.
"I have wealth, and I have a reasonable amount of influence with those in power," Mad boasted. "I can be a tremendous asset to you. I don't even intend to ask for anything in return... or rather, you ensnaring Yugo is more than enough payment for me. So, what do you say? Will you cooperate?"
He would incite a war between the women while simultaneously causing Yugo to drown in their attention until he became spineless. Even if his previous womanizing had been an act, Mad smirked inwardly, certain that Yugo wouldn't be able to maintain his composure when faced with such beautiful girls.
However, the girls didn't even stop to consider his proposal before rejecting him.
"I’ll pass. I have no interest in doing things that way," Anhel said flatly.
"Ditto. If you're looking to be a sponsor, try someone else," Melt added.
"Not interested," Yui chimed in.
"This one loathes such underhanded transactions; therefore, I must decline!" Setsuna declared.
"Wha...!?"
Mad stared at them in shock. They hadn't even looked at one another for cues, yet their refusal had been instantaneous and unanimous. He shook his head vigorously, trying to regain his footing.
"A-Are you sure about that? You might reject me here, but once I leave, one of you might decide to come crawling back to me in secret to get a leg up on the others. You should really think this over—"
"None of us would ever do such a thing," Anhel interrupted. "No one here is stupid enough to take a hand from someone who's actively trying to screw Yugo over."
"If I wanted to outmaneuver my rivals, I’d think of a much better plan," Melt said. "But I’d never use a method like yours to kick someone else down."
"I do not quite understand the nuance," Sakura added, "but I truly feel that taking his head would be the most efficient solution!!"
Mad winced, choosing to ignore the Last Berserker's lethal suggestion. He looked at them, baffled. They were romantic rivals, yet they showed no sign of the infighting he had predicted.
Melt took a step forward, her gaze unwavering. "My love is my own! Sometimes things don't go well and we get frustrated, but those failures are a part of that love! Even if we used your help to win Yugo over, it wouldn't be our love anymore. we cherish our feelings as they are... so we don't need your help!"
Mad was left speechless. There was no room left for him to interject. He finally realized that the women around Yugo possessed a level of integrity and strength that far exceeded his imagination. Desperate to find a weak link, he pointed at Raiha, the only one who had remained silent.
"Hey, what about her? She hasn't expressed her refusal like the rest of you...?"
"Raiha is fine! There's no problem at all!" the girls chorused.
"The fact that you don't understand why just proves that your Information Gathering Ability is flawed," Anhel mocked.
"Guh...!"
It wasn't just that Yugo's companions adored him more than Mad could comprehend; his own intelligence network was clearly insufficient. Realizing that any further negotiation was a waste of breath, Mad finally gave up on his scheme and fled the room.