— Leon Greyrat —
“Is that good?” I asked.
“Yes… it’s wonderful,” Ariel said, looking at her hair in the mirror. “While not as good as Sylphy, it seems that dealing with Aria has made you quite skilled.”
“Well… I’m glad, but I think I’ll leave this to Sylphy from now on,” I said.
“Mm… that is acceptable,” she said, smiling at through the reflection. “Anyway, I think we should head down to breakfast. It slls wonderful, even from here.”
“I agree,” I said, taking her hand as she got to her feet.
After a very active night in bed, Ariel and I then went back to my room, where we slept together with Roxy and Eris, as Sylphy had decided to keep watch of Anna in Roxy’s room for the night.
I did make sure to focus on Eris and Roxy before falling asleep, ensuring that they knew that my love for them didn’t diminish in the slightest, but I ended up cuddling quite a bit with Ariel through the night as well, as she beca very needy.
Not that I minded, though.
After all, this was the part of our relationship that Ariel wanted the most, and was also why I had beco so quickly endeared to her.
She wanted the love and warmth she had always been deprived of throughout her entire life, and so, while she enjoyed the rough and passionate sides of sex, she also enjoyed cuddling afterwards.
Sothing which I happily granted, especially with how cute she was.
But still… I definitely needed to stop at four.
Ignoring the fact that the four won I was with were the only ones I could conceivably think of forming such a close connection with, there was also the fact that I was only one man.
Considering Ariel’s devotion to the throne, Roxy’s devotion to knowledge, Eris’ to the sword, Sylphy’s to the ho, as well as the multiple children we were bound to have, I was confident in being able to be there for my wives when needed… but this was absolutely my limit.
Anyway, with Ariel’s hair done, and her clothing prepared for the day, we then headed downstairs hand in hand, spotting Sylphy as she carried a plate of food from the kitchen to the dining room.
“Ah! Good morning!” she said, smiling at the two of us. “Your hair looks wonderful, Ariel.”
“Why thank you, Sylphy. But rest assured, this is ant to be your job,” Ariel returned, smiling back at her. “Only the touch of my favourite guard is enough for a princess like .”
“Fufu! Yes, I suppose so,” Sylphy said. “Though, at this point, I’m not simply your guard. We’re family, no?”
Ariel’s eyes widened before she cald into a smile.
“Yes… that is precisely right,” she said happily.
The two of them seed to have a conversation with only their eyes, only to stop as they both giggled sweetly.
That… was a little creepy, but I suppose they were close like that.
Considering how long I was Eris’ tutor and how I went to the Begaritt Continent without my silver-haired wife, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that these two had been together longer than Sylphy and I.
With us moving toward the dining room, I was t with the sight of Eris talking down to Aria, seemingly scolding her for playing with her food as my daughter pouted and turned away, while Roxy was feeding Anna so crushed fruit with a small smile.
But aside from my family, I noticed that there was another guest here this morning.
“So it’s true…” the man said, looking at Ariel and , or more specifically, our intertwined hands. “Princess… you… with him… what is this farce?”
The guest being one Luke Notos Greyrat, as one might have expected.
After returning from my morning training, and starting on Ariel’s morning routine, the two of us had a little talk about her guardian knight.
After all, we both expected him to not take the news of our relationship very well, but more importantly, now that Ariel was to be my family, I wanted to explain to her a bit more about so things that I knew.
Particularly about what I had learned in Oldeus’ diary, and how Luke was a likely candidate to be manipulated by the Man-God, if he wasn’t already.
And seeing how he was angrily glaring at , his eyes swimming with confusion and frustration, if there was any ti for him to beco my enemy, it would surely be now.
I don’t believe Luke was an apostle, at least at the mont, but that could easily change.
And I wasn’t one to keep an enemy so close.
But just as I had promised after revealing this to Ariel, I would leave this all to her.
She believed in his loyalty, and I did as well… but just because he was loyal to Ariel, doesn’t an he was loyal to my and the rest of my family.
“This is no farce, Luke,” Ariel said calmly. “You understand I need a husband, correct? What is the issue for choosing Leon to be it, considering I can already trust him to be on my side.”
Luke gritted his teeth. “But that… he already has three won!”
“And I will be his fourth,” Ariel responded. “Is that a problem?”
“Of course, it is!” Luke shouted, flinching slightly as Eris glared at him before continuing in a quieter tone. “You… how do you know he isn’t using you? Why would you be with soone like him, especially with your standing!”
“Why? Well, that is a simple thing to answer,” Ariel said, looking up at . “It’s because I love him.”
Seeing how warmly her eyes stared at , filled with affection and trust, I felt a warmth blossom in my heart, the heat burning through any last shards of hesitation in my decision.
“And I love you,” I said, leaning down to peck her nose.
“Mmm… I know,” she said, smirking teasingly. “Especially after last night~”
This princess… she was mine now, but she was definitely still the sa, especially in regard to her perverseness.
Reaching over, I grabbed her ear before lightly pulling it to quiet her.
“Ah~! That only makes hornier~!” she said, squinting in happiness.
I quickly let go.
Dammit… this girl… to be honest, I was a bit worried that my princess might be a bit too much for .
“No… that’s… impossible…” Luke said, his eyes wide in confusion.
Oh, right. He was here too.
I had kind of gotten lost in Ariel’s antics.
“It is very possible, as it has already happened,” Ariel said. “Luke… if you want to talk about this later, we can at your own leisure. But for now, let us have breakfast together. Now that I have a husband, and possibly an heir in the future, we need to revise our plans for our return. And there is no way we can do that on an empty stomach.”
Luke cald down a bit at this, his intense glare never leaving my figure as he nodded.
“Yes… alright, my princess… I will ready everyone else for a eting,” he said before walking away.
With the sound of the front door slamming behind him, Ariel slowly released a pent-up sigh.
“Haa… I had expected this, but it is still unfortunate for him to be so frustrated,” she said before looking at . “But alas, with enough ti and explanation, I am sure things will beco clear. So you can leave everything on that front to , darling.”
Right… at least I knew that Luke’s feelings weren’t related to jealousy, but that still didn’t change how difficult he was going to be about all this.
Ignoring the way my heart soared at the nickna, I nodded my head. “I trust you, but still…”
“I know. You have told of the dangers of that being quite a bit,” she said before raising an eyebrow. “But still… isn’t there sothing else you should be worried about? Such as informing your parents about their new soon-to-be daughter-in-law…”
Ah… right.
Fuck… Mama was absolutely going to kill .
Aisha would probably be happy since she knew Ariel, and Norn and Rudy would likely not care, but Mama was going to be a problem.
And Paul too, now that I thought about it.
Not with him being against it, but rather the relentless teasing I was about to face.
Before, I could use the defence of all three of my wives having the agreent to polygamy beforehand, but with Ariel… that wasn’t the case.
Well, I guess I would just have to bear with it.
With Aria widening her arms with a gleeful smile after seeing , I gave her a smile in return as Eris used the mont to shove a spoonful of porridge into her open mouth, quickly ending the touching father-daughter scene that was taking place.
Well, I was just glad Eris was taking to motherhood so well, though it was a different type of love compared to Sylphy and Roxy.
A much tougher love.
Sorry, Aria.
Turning my gaze over to my other daughter, I returned her smile, as I then noticed Roxy looking at with a small frown.
Actually, she was looking at Ariel and .
Did… she not like Ariel?
That would be a problem.
If it was before last night, I would absolutely not have pursued the princess any further, even if I cared about her in my own way even back then.
After all, I had an obligation to keep my wives happy first.
But after last night… I couldn’t just leave her alone now.
She was mine, and I was hers.
I loved her, and I was in too deep to stop now.
“Is… sothing wrong, Roxy?” I asked.
“No… it’s nothing, Leon,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s just… Eris is nearing the end of her pregnancy, and from the sound of things, Ariel will want a baby as well… so there isn’t much ti left, thus, I would like to do it now.”
…Huh?
“Uhh… do what now?” I asked, confused.
She turned to , her eyebrows curling down into a small frown before she shook off her difficult expression, looking at with clear, determined eyes.
“I want to visit ho,” she said resolutely, before her cheeks gained a bit of a blush. “And… I want you to co with … so we can spend so alone ti together… with Aria too.”
Ah… I see.
She had briefly brought up the idea of seeing her parents, but from the sounds of things, that brief thought had turned into an actual goal.
“Are you sure?” I asked. “It’s a long journey… I would have to check the journal, but it will likely take a two months in total, from what I rember.”
I knew that there were quite a few teleportation ruins in the Demon Continent, likely due to how vast and barren it was, so there should be one quite close to her ho village.
And luckily, Orsted had given a bit more ruin locations that Nanahoshi hadn’t recorded, so my range of movent had now expanded to most of the world.
“Yes, and right now is the only window I can see where two months are available, considering that the issue of the Asura Kingdom will be happening after that,” she said.
That… was true.
Roxy then turned to Ariel, bowing her head slightly. “I apologize. I know you two just cented your relationship, so for to take him for myself right afterwards…”
“Think nothing of it,” Ariel said, waving off her concern. “Not only is this a way to pay you back for allowing this happiness, but… well, let’s just say that last night will keep satisfied for a long while.”
Roxy’s cheeks tinted red. “Yes… those were so… impressive sounds, after all.”
Ah… so I needed to set up a sound barrier next ti… that was good to know.
I had a feeling that Ariel was quite vocal, but I had been… distracted, to say the least.
But with my own experience from childhood, I knew that I didn’t want to subject Aria and Anna to such noises.
“Indeed. And besides, now that I am in a relationship with Leon, I am also in one with Sylphy as well by proxy, am I not?” Ariel said, turning to Sylphy with a smile. “We are family now, after all, so there is nothing wrong with keeping each other company when our man is away, no?”
Sylphy blushed a bit. “Please do not tease like that, Ariel.”
“Of course, my apologies,” she said, laughing.
Well… while Ariel said that, I had a feeling she wasn’t teasing in the slightest.
I didn’t really mind if they did such things when I was away, as long as it was between them, but still… I just had to hope Ariel would know to keep her hands to herself if refused.
But then again, if she decided to try sothing with Eris, and she had to physically stop her… well, that might pleasure the princess in its own way.
As I had discovered last night, the princess had quite the masochistic side.
— Leon Greyrat —
“Dada… are we there yet?” Aria asked, looking back at from the saddle.
“No, sweetie,” I said, shaking my head. “Don’t tell you hate camping with Dada and Mama that much.”
“Huh? No! I love it!” she quickly corrected before frowning. “It’s just… hot. And I miss other Mamas.”
Gently tussling her hair, I attempted to turn that frown upside down.
“I know… but we’ll be back soon, don’t worry,” I said. “And speaking of that… we’re here.”
Well, not really, but I could finally see the village.
We had been venturing through the Demon Continent for a few weeks now, and honestly, it had been quite nice.
Between the transportation, my abilities, and Roxy’s knowledge, things were much easier than my first ti around, even with Aria being with us.
The walking?
Well, we had my beloved horse here to handle that.
The heat?
Well, so wind and ice magic could deal with that.
The food?
Luckily, we had packed enough.
And shelter?
Well, with my expanded knowledge after my ti in Millishion, my Demon eye, and my new concealing spells, I was able to trust the barriers I put up much more and sleep through the night without a problem.
Honestly, the only issue so far had been boredom, but I had tried to keep Aria happy with so gas and books I had taken, and as for the nights… well, Roxy and I were able to keep silent, so those were so fun tis for us too.
I missed ho, that was for sure, but it wasn’t so bad as my little trip to Asura before, likely since I had Roxy and Aria with .
Of course, with the Man-God as my enemy, as well as the threat of assassins towards Ariel, I was a bit worried, but I think I could leave the protection of my wives and Anna to Rudy and Orsted.
And while I wouldn’t want her to strain herself now that she was nearing her third trister, I could trust Eris to protect them as well.
As we continued trotting towards the village, I lightly shook Roxy awake from her nap, her body that was curled into my chest slowly stretching out.
“We’re almost there,” I said.
“Ngh… we are?” she murmured, wiping her eyes as she slowly ca to consciousness. “Ah… yes… this scenery is familiar.”
I noticed an odd tone in her voice.
A tone that had appeared more and more the closer we got to our destination.
“Are you afraid?” I asked.
“Well… a little,” she said, frowning. “I have been thinking about them a lot… my parents, I an… but I am worried that I am wrong. What if they love they felt for wasn’t as much as I rember? What if I had hurt them more than I assud? What if… what if seeing just makes things more painful?”
I gently patted her head, kneading her scalp as she leaned back into my chest.
“Don’t worry about that,” I said. “I can assure you that nothing bad will happen. They still love you, and they haven’t been destroyed by your departure. If anything, they are worried about you, so now we just need to show them that you’re safe and happy, right?”
“…Right,” she said, nodding her head. “Thank you… for dealing with a difficult girl like .”
“You’re not that difficult,” I said.
“‘Not that difficult’… so I am difficult?” she asked with a smirk.
“Of course. If you weren’t, I wouldn’t have any use as your husband,” I said, kissing her forehead. “And considering everything… I think I am the much more difficult one in this relationship.”
“Hehe. At least you know it,” she said, kissing my cheek in response.
Aria, who had been squinting forward in an attempt to see where we were going, then pointed with a smile.
“Mama! Dada! Look!” she exclaid.
“Yes,” I said, patting her head. “That’s where we’re headed.”
Coming closer to the village, just like last ti, there was a guard standing at the ready, his eyes narrowing at our group.
“Who goes there?” he said in the Demon God tongue, causing Aria’s eyes to knit in confusion.
Right… we should probably teach her more of her ho language.
Roxy had been doing so with a few stories, but it definitely wasn’t enough for her to beco fluent.
“These are my guests,” Roxy said, taking off her hat to reveal her hair. “Am I allowed entry into my holand?”
“Oh… yes, of course,” he said, stepping away from the entrance, his face showing an expression of confusion.
It seems that with Roxy here, entry would be quite a bit easier than before.
Getting off the horse, I let Aria ride my shoulders as I took the reins, following behind Roxy as she slowly made her way through the village.
With a few of the villagers going about their lives looking at us in confusion, their expressions beca even more perplexed as they focused in on Roxy, while my wife hid her face by tipping her hat down as she continued walking.
I was confused at the interaction before finally rembering about the reason Roxy had such a difficult ti with her ho in the first place.
Telepathy.
The villagers must have been trying to talk to her, but to no avail, and were thus confused as to why one of their own wouldn’t respond.
Stepping closer to her, I reached down to hold her hand, interlacing our fingers as I tried to give her a bit of comfort.
Luckily, my subtle action seed to work as her head tilted up, giving a grateful smile as she squeezed back.
Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to keep holding her hand, I had to let go a few monts later so that Aria wouldn’t fall off my shoulders.
Eventually we reached the sowhat familiar hut, and tying the horse’s reins around a pole I conjured from the ground, the three of us stood outside the hut, Roxy clenching her fist in silence as she psyched herself up for the long-awaited eting.
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, my beloved daughter quickly broke the tense silence.
“Turtle!” she exclaid. “Big turtle!”
“Yes, sweetie… that’s what they use for houses here,” I said, letting her down to hold her in my arms.
My daughter’s exclamations seemingly heard by the inhabitants, the door flap then parted to reveal two familiar figures, their blue hair shining in the sunlight as they looked at the three of us with wide eyes.
As I thought… Roxy definitely got her beauty from her mother, and considering Rokari was over a hundred at this point, the future Leon was a very lucky man.
“R-Roxy?” Rowin sputtered out after a mont of shocked silence. “Roxy… is that you?”
Rokari, who was covering her mouth with her hands in shock, then ran forward.
“Oh, Roxy! We missed you so much!” she cried, wrapping Roxy in a big hug, who was standing still in shock.
“You’ve… co back! You’ve co back to us” Rowin said, slowly walking over to them with a voice brimming with emotion and slight disbelief. “You’re safe!”
As the three of them shared a hug, I watched on with a smile as Roxy slowly wrapped her arms around the two as well, a few tears threatening to escape her eyes as I kept a tight hold of Aria.
I know she wanted to join the little group hug, but I think they should have this mont together first. Not to ntion how shocked they would be of the little Roxy once they realized her presence.
After a few monts, the three separated, with Rowin and Rokari looking over Roxy one last ti before turning their heads to .
“You… Leon, right? It’s been… a… while…” Rowin’s voice trailed off as he noticed the girl in my arms. “…Who is that?”
“This is Aria,” I answered. “Aria Greyrat, your cute and loveable granddaughter.”
His jaw dropped, and Rokari’s eyes glinted in happiness.
“I did say I would return as your son-in-law,” I said, smirking a bit. “So pleased to et you, Mother, Father.”
Rokari’s smile widened even further as her eyes darted between Roxy and , her cheeks gaining a bit of a blush as she chuckled sweetly.
Rowin, on the other hand…
“G-G-Granddaughter? Y-Y-You… son? Wait… Roxy? You? Married? Family?” he stuttered.
Yeah… as I thought, it was a bit too much to handle at once.
Looking over at Roxy, who seed a bit bashful, I gave her a small smile before turning back to the parents.
“Yes. There is definitely a lot to explain, but for now… I think I’ll leave you three to talk in private,” I said, readjusting my grip on Aria, who seed to have understood that these two were related to her despite the lack of communication. “I’ll go explore the village with Aria here in the anti, so talk as long as you need to. I’m sure you can find us when we’re done.”
Looking back at Roxy, I gave her a small kiss of reassurance before walking away, leaving the three of them to do what should have been done long ago.
And as for …
“Dada? Who were they? Where are we going? What’s Mama doing?” she asked in rapid succession.
“I’ll tell you later,” I said, reaching into the pack over the horse to produce a ball. “For now, how about we find a place to play together?”
Her eyes lit up in happiness as I filled the ball with air using wind magic.
“Yay! Sacca!” she exclaid.
Yes, the ever-famous ga that Rudy had introduced to our family and the orphanage.
It was a good way to pass the ti while Roxy reconciled with her parents.
— Roxy Greyrat —
“So… it seems that you’ve found yourself a man, Roxy,” my mother said, smiling at . “Does he treat you well?”
“Err… yes, he does,” I said, fiddling with my cup of tea.
That was certainly a way to start things.
I had never realized how embarrassing it would feel to talk about such things with my mother… I would have to take this into account when Aria grew older.
“Hm? Is that so? Considering that girl… Aria, right? Well, it seems that you two are more than happy, if your daughter can smile so cutely,” she said, smiling at . “I’m glad, Roxy. I’m happy for you.”
“Ah… thank you, Mother,” I said, averting my eyes.
Her gaze… it was so warm.
“Tsk. Well, I still don’t like him,” my father said, sitting down beside Mother as he crossed his arms. “Plus, what about that other girl that was with him? I’ll be damned if I let my daughter be with a two-timing bastard.”
Er… well… how would I explain this?
After a mont of deliberation, I decided to let them remain ignorant of our family situation for now.
“Oh, don’t be such an annoyance, Rowin,” my mother said, lightly hitting his arm. “I know you’re grateful to him. He’s the one who brought our daughter back here, right?”
I slowly nodded my head, a small smile forming on my face.
“You could say that,” I said. “I wouldn’t have made the journey if it wasn’t for him, as we live in the north of the Central Continent. But as for my desire to visit… I guess that has more to do with Aria.”
Aria and Sylphy, to be more precise, but I would keep my co-wife a secret until later.
While Aria had allowed to understand these two, it was Sylphy that gave a sense of urgency.
After all, this eting… she didn’t have such a luxury.
It made feel I should et them in case anything happened, and it beca too late, sothing that could easily happen with long living races such as mine.
My father looked at , confused.
“Your daughter? What about her?” he asked.
I opened my mouth to respond, but found it quickly clasping shut as I tried to find the right words.
How… how would I explain these feelings?
I was sorry for putting them through such pain, but if I could do it again, I would in a heartbeat, so regret wasn’t quite it.
Right… Leon said they must have been worried… so should I reassure them?
No, that could co later.
But for now… what did I want to say?
My eyes drifted towards the shelf, noticing a few relics of my childhood, seemingly untouched over the years.
As I saw those items, a few mories flashed through my mind.
My mother reading to as a toddler, teaching and herself how to speak… all for my sake.
As a child, I had always wondered why they went through so much trouble for an annoying girl like , but after having Aria… I could understand.
For my daughter, I would do anything.
Then, when I had that ltdown after realizing that I would never fit in this village, how guilty they felt, hugging close as they released their own tears of sorrow.
Back then, I didn’t understand… I didn’t understand at all.
I thought that my ltdown was the thing causing them pain. Making them regret their very lives, or at least the one after having .
But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
They loved .
They truly, unconditionally loved .
And that pain they had felt was not due to , but rather their guilt.
I had felt the sa, after all.
The instant I held Aria in my arms and noticed the colour of her hair, I had felt the sa.
And then those thoughts… thoughts of Aria growing past her second birthday, only to leave the next day, departing on a journey because of sothing I had done… even though that hadn’t happened, and Aria was a very happy child, the re thought tore my heart to pieces, so much so that I cried into Leon’s chest for much of that night.
To put my parents through that… without a word of reassurance after all these words… yes, there was certainly so guilt there too.
But past the guilt… past the understanding… past the reassurance I needed to give them about my current life… there was sothing more important.
“Mother… Father…” I said, my voice cracking as I felt the tears began to flow down my cheeks. “I’m… I love you!”
Rocketing into their arms, I felt them flinch in surprise before they returned the hug, my mother calmly patting my head, just like she had when I was a child, and my father awkwardly squeezing the two of us.
Yes… that was the most important thing.
I needed them to know… past that I understood them and that I was sorry… I needed them to know I loved them.
I needed them to understand that leaving wasn’t their fault.
And I needed them to know that I was happy… so happy that they were my parents.
“Roxy… welco ho, my daughter,” my mother said, her voice also nasally from crying.
“You… you’ve always been welco here,” my father added.
“Yeah… I know… and I’m sorry,” I said, leaning into my mother’s chest as I felt myself relax.
Our tender mont continued for a few monts, and as we separated, I then planned to give them an explanation of my story since I departed ho.
From eting Bloody Kant and adventuring the continent, going to the University of Ranoa, eting Leon as a child, becoming a prince’s tutor, searching for Leon’s family, and finally reuniting with Leon and becoming his lover… I wanted to tell them all of it.
But it seed that fate had other plans, as Leon appeared through the flap in the next mont, his expression a mix of tense and confused as he held Aria close to his chest.
“Leon? You’re back already?” I asked. “I’m not mad, but… didn’t you say I would co to you afterwards?”
“Ah, yeah… I did, sorry about that,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s just… sothing ca up.”
Sothing ca up?
Now I was really confused.
“Dada?” Aria said, pulling on her father’s collar. “How those kids talk in head?”
Ah… so that was it.
It seed that the trait of the Migurd had been passed onto my daughter.
“Haa… just one thing after another with this family,” I muttered, shaking my head.
Leon, on the other hand, just looked apologetic.
Well… I suppose this wasn’t a bad thing.
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