Mei, Tina, and Wiska, who had been watching over the Black Lotus while I was away, joined Chris, me, and the others for a tea party. Well, it wasnât anything as grand as that, but we did take a break together. We had plenty to talk about with Chris, from sharing recent news on both sides to catching up on events, though the conversation never entered into serious topics.
ăItâs quite tricky, isnât it? There are a lot of things that are difficult to talk about due to our positions.ă
ăThatâs inevitable because of our respective status⊠But once we get married, I think those issues will mostly go away.ă
ăMarriage with Chris, huh⊠Tell me the truth, is the Earl really in favor of it?ă
ăYes, Grandfather is supportive of my marriage to you, Hiro-sama. After my parents passed away, and my uncle⊠well, died from illness. Since Grandfather decided to pass his title to me, there have been countless marriage proposals. However, Grandfather didnât entreat any of them, he said that all of them had the ulterior motive of exploiting the Earl Dareinwald House.ă
ăSo rather than giving Chris to such people, he thinks it would be better to have Chris marry Hiro, who has no strings attached, and support Chris until she becomes independent?ă
ăAlthough he didnât say it outright, I think thatâs probably the case. There is some concern that Hiro-samaâs ties with Marquis Holz are stronger than we expected, but since Serena-sama did not object to Princess Luciadaâs ranking, we should be able to come to an agreement⊠Besides, Lord Laurenz didnât seem interested in excessively meddling with the Earl Dareinwald House. At least, not openly.ă
ăUm, if weâre talking about nobility, isnât Elma-sanâs family also part of it?ă
ăMy family? Weâre fine. We donât hold any territory. While weâre not completely free from power struggles, those are confined to the court. Weâre on a different playing field compared to the landed nobility, who wield significant influence over people, resources, and money outside the court. Well, if the Earl Dareinwald House wants to interfere with the court or the central government in the future, my family might be able to offer some support, but donât expect me to get involved in thatâŠă
Elma shrugged her shoulders as she said this. Indeed, if she were a lady who participated in tea parties and balls in the imperial capitalâs social circles, it might be different. But asking Elma, who left the capital when she was young to become a mercenary, to play court politicsâŠ
ăThatâs true. Well, weâll probably end up discussing this further when we visit the Willrose family tomorrow⊠Chris, youâre coming too, right?ă
ăIs it alright if I come along as well?ă
ăOf course, itâs fine. I want to introduce you to my parents. And of course, Tina and the rest of you as well.ă
This content is taken from fĐłeewebnovŃl.com.
ăWe were quite busy at that timeâŠă
ăAhaha⊠Looking back now⊠itâs not really a fond memory.ă
The light seemed to vanish from Tina and Wiskaâs eyes. Back then, they were literally swamped with work given to them by the Imperial Capital branch of Space Dwerg Corporation.
ăIâm looking forward to meeting your family, Elma-san. What kind of people are they, my Lord?ă
ăIâve only talked to them a little myself⊠This time, there wonât be any annoying events like those trial matches, so Iâd like to take my time and get to know them. I owe a lot to Elmaâs brother.ă
Elmaâs brother, Ernst, had helped me get in touch with a specialized armor shop when I was acquiring my ninja armor. He might not think too highly of me, but despite everything, he always responds kindly when I seek his help.
We wrapped up todayâs tea party with plans to meet Elmaâs family tomorrow, and I made arrangements with Chris for our meeting time. Today was mentally exhaustingâŠI just want to take a bath and relax thoroughly.
ââ â freeweÉnovel.cŃłm
After filling my stomach with the dinner prepared by Tetsujin and taking a bath, I decided to spend a relaxing evening with Tina and Wiska. Since they had been left behind on the Lotus today, it was a way of making it up to them.
ăGood job today, Boss.ă
ăItâs more of a mental exhaustion than a physical one⊠But I guess itâs my own doing, so I canât complain.ă
ăI donât think itâs as bad as you say, Big Brother. You havenât done anything wrong, after all. I think that Chris-sama and Serena-sama fell for your kindness, character, and bravery.ă
Wiska, who was lying beside me on the bed, chimed in to reassure me. I was lying on my bed in the captainâs quartersâmy roomâflanked on either side by Tina and Wiska. Thanks to their small sizes, there was still plenty of space on the bed even with the three of us lying there.
ăTrue, I wasnât actively trying to seduce anyone, so maybe saying itâs my own doing is too harsh. Still, Iâm feeling a little defeated. I tried to avoid getting romantically involved with them, but it seems I got caught in the end.ă
ăBut Serena-sama didnât seem like she was gonna let you escape from the start.ă
ăI felt her determination alright. She felt like a predator hunting its prey.ă
ăSo, you finally got caught, huh, Boss? Or maybe itâs more like you gave in to her feelings and let her in?ă
ăIn the meaning that your kindness backfired, then maybe it really is your own doing, Big Brother.ă
Donât analyze it so calmly. That hits a bit too close to home. Well, it is what it is. If I have a weakness, itâs that I canât be heartless, especially to those close to me. Of course, there was an option to abandon Serena, but whether I could have taken that option is another matter⊠I guess itâs just fate. I donât believe in destiny or anything like that, but maybe itâs just how the stars aligned. Letâs just leave it at that.
ăIâll make sure not to let things drag on and increase the number of women involved with me⊠The thing is⊠there are already two candidates who want to join us.ă
ăLinda and Neve, right? Itâs pretty much a sure thing with Neve, but what about Linda? Maybe fifty-fifty?ă
ăYou think so, sis? Despite everything, she seems like the type to stick to her commitments.ă
ăSheâs still young and will meet a lot of people, so who knows what might happen. Her feelings might change.ă
ăI agree with Tina about Linda, but as for Neve⊠itâs pretty much a done deal, huh?ă
ăYou canât just abandon someone in a situation like hers, right Big Brother?ă
ăIf youâre able to do it with us, then you should be able to do Neve as well.ă
ăAlright, I give up. Please, stop attacking me both emotionally and physically⊠So, while weâre at it, do you two have any issues with this whole situation? It would help if you told me any grievances you have.ă
When I posed the question, both of them fell silent, deep in thought. They are really cute when they close their eyes and hum contemplatively. The fact that they are so similar even when doing these small gestures makes them even cuter.
ăUltimately, it looks like Chris-sama will be the primary wife, with Serena-sama and Elma-neesan as the second and third wives. And we, including Mimi, will be considered further down the line, right?ă
ăI donât like the idea of ranking people as higher or lower, but for appearancesâ sake, I guess it has to be that way.ă
ăWeâre commoners, so we donât really mind. We donât have any desire to compete with them. We just want to have your children.ă
ăHonestly, we donât care about official marriage papers as long as we can be with you. But like Wee said, we do want to have children.ă
ăIsnât that a bit too convenient for me?ă
ăI think Iâve said this before, but weâre fine being convenient women for you. Even if you were to abandon us after we had children, as long as weâre together, we can live anywhere.ă
ăI would never do that.ă
I replied, feeling a bit offended by her words. The thought that they might think I would abandon them after having children was truly hurtful.
ăWe know. You wouldnât do that. It was just an example. What Iâm trying to say is that we have plenty of money saved up from the rewards weâve received from you, and we have plenty of skills to rely on. We could even depend on our mother if needed. So you donât need to worry about us. As long as you need us, weâll stay by your side.ă
Tina explained with a smile, snuggling closer to me. Wiska did the same.
ăPlease do as you like, Big Brother. Weâll follow you. Weâre satisfied just being cared for like this from time to time.ă
ăIt feels more like Iâm the one being cared for by you two rather than the other way aroundâŠă
I looked up at the ceiling while feeling their warm bodies pressed against me.
Come to think of it, these two have pretty intense emotions. Thereâs something⊠heavy about their feelings, or rather, there is something clingy about them. No, itâs just my imagination. Definitely. Iâm overthinking it. Yeah, thatâs it.
In any case, itâs a joy and a source of pride that they feel this strongly about me. I just need to make sure I never betray their trust.