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Three comely beauties waited atop my new bed, dressed for the occasion. Ceria lay on her tummy, her head propped up on her hands, while the other two sat framing her, hands resting on her back while smiling at me.
My maids had absolutely delighted in the excuse to make use of Mother’s extensive collection of lingerie on them. Mother loved designing items for her lovers to wear, so they came in a wide variety of sizes.
It was quite an erotic scene. My fangs were already reacting a bit, and Mother’s former bed was certainly big enough to host all of us with quite a lot of room to spare, so I climbed onto the mattress on my knees.
I asked Chiara, “No regrets being here, instead of with Mr. Kowa?”
She dimpled. “None, Your Grace. I would prefer to never return to that creepy place, frankly.”
I nodded. She was one of my companions on my own trip to Oseri. Besides her, the party consisted of a fairy vampire, a fairy, and a summoned hero, so she had been the only ordinary Huadean mortal in our group, and it spooked her more than anyone else.
“How about you, Melione? You and Brigitte always travel together, right?”
Melione smiled and shrugged. “I did invite her to join us. Until she accepts, I guess we’re going our separate ways. They have a shrine maiden with them to replace me, Your Grace.”
For a moment, I puzzled about the reference to ‘joining us’, until I realized she must have asked Brigitte to become a Servant. I wouldn’t turn her down, but I have my doubts she would ever do it.
Chiara’s eyes darkened when Melione mentioned Miss Laylin, so I asked, “Has he really picked up a new girl?”
Chiara shrugged. “Eh… maybe. She definitely has eyes for him, and he definitely notices her. The princess told him in no uncertain terms that I and Catherine will be his concubines, so maybe he’s developed an itch again?”
“He works awfully fast, doesn’t he?”
Chiara shrugged. “She met with us the last time we were here as well, Your Grace.”
“While his wife was here?” I retorted.
“Wait what?” Ceria retorted.
“Princess Amelia,” I told her.
Chiara shrugged. “Yeah, well…”
“Ryuu is married to the princess?” Ceria retorted, her eyes growing huge.
“Technically, yeah…” I answered. “Well, I guess, not just technically.”
Looks like I gobsmacked a cat girl. I don’t think she was ready for that.
I frowned. “Wait? I get Catherine being his concubine, but how did you become one? Are you…”
My eyes had gone to Chiara’s midsection, peeking through the separation of her babydoll top. I mean, pregnancy has been in the air around me lately.
She snorted. “My contraceptive spell is working fine, Your Grace. Amelia just likes me and wants to keep me. If it keeps me with Ryuu, I won’t argue.”
“I heard she likes you quite a lot, indeed,” I teased.
Her eyes widened. “She told you?”
“You know we consider each other sisters, right?”
She crumbled into something between giggles and outright laughter. “I’m not sure I would ever discuss my trysts with my sisters.”
“Yeah, well, Amelia is a little special.”
I sometimes feel like she’s the half-fairy rather than me. Maybe spending eight months in Mother’s womb affected her?
I pursed my lips. “So, you as Mr. Kowa’s concubine? I suppose he’ll be able to support three women on the Royal Champion salary and Amelia’s dowry, but…”
The elephant in the room regarding that…
Chiara nodded. “At Her Royal Highness’s request, His Majesty has extended my amnesty for as long as I loyally serve Your Grace. And His Majesty has already approved and registered Catherine and I as Ryuu’s concubines, so Catherine’s boy wasn’t born illegitimate.”
First I heard the baby was already born, but I put that aside.
“You’re talking about His Majesty Gerald, not the late king?”
She nodded.
All of this must have happened while my head was messed up. Well, I had already heard that Ged still wants her by Amelia’s side.
“How much longer are you two gonna chatter?” Ceria suddenly demanded, rising up finally.
Her sudden move and subsequent bounce, in somewhat translucent lingerie which constrained nothing, had a riveting effect on my eyes. She keeps those things tightly bound most of the time, due to the physical requirements of her job, but she has a bust nearly as impressive as Amelia’s.
“Well, I mean, you have things to talk about, too,” Chiara replied, as she and Melione took hold of her, probably thinking they could stop what was about to happen.
Ceria snorted, and suddenly pounced, easily escaping them to wrap her arms around me. “Talk later! I need me some Lady!”
“She’s ‘Your Grace’ now,” Melione scolded as Ceria’s lips clamped over mine. Shortly after, three pairs of hands began undressing me.
They were supposed to be in my room to feed me, but after a certain amount of time, while they took a break for snacks and hydration, I noticed that we hadn’t gotten to the feeding me part yet.
And I noticed that they arranged in advance for snacks and hydration. It seemed that they had other priorities from the start. Ceria and Melione had previously ‘returned the favor’ prior to feeding me, but tonight, it seemed their plan was to show me all their best.
Of course, they were delighted when I reciprocated for the first time. I had resolved not to hold back anymore, after all. But I had to wonder, did Mireia suggest using combat buffs to Melione, or did they hit on the idea separately?
Chiara is quite silent, but her face and her body are both amazingly expressive. Melione whimpers and moans a bit, and squirms a lot. Ceria, just like I remember Bruna saying in the past, is loud. She doesn’t howl like a wolf as Bruna claimed, but she’s prone to prolonged cries. And she’s quite active. She’d forced herself to stay quiet before, when her mother was in the next room, but now, with her mother in Destia Barony and me doing something other than holding her still to feed on her…
Thank goodness Mother designed the bedrooms with good sound insulation. Although, I’m not sure it’s quite good enough in Ceria’s case. Which was troublesome, with Ceria being the ringleader. I would take a cuddle break with Melione while Ceria had fun with Chiara, then a cuddle with Chiara while Ceria had fun with Melione. When she finally broke for a cuddle of her own, she insisted that Chiara and Melione…
Three lovers at a time is a bit much anyway, but especially when one of them is Ceria. Especially since I finally discovered Melione wasn’t the culprit. While cuddling with me, I noticed Ceria sneakily casting Light magic…
“Ceria, stop that,” I scolded. “You guys need to sleep.”
She just giggled and burrowed into the cuddle harder, completely without remorse. Well, I knew the Light magic version of the [Restoration] spell now, so I guess I could consider that an upside.
“Lady…” she sang after snogging me again, then the other two surrounded us and I found myself buried in Servants.
I really am a harem protagonist, aren’t I?
“Is it finally feeding time?” I asked, wondering how I would respond if anyone said no.
“Not yet, Your Grace,” Melione stated primly, to my surprise.
She was the last one I thought might insist on more. But then Chiara started smirking at my expression, and I knew they actually had something else in mind.
And I realized from Ceria’s sudden change of attitude that it was something important. I sobered and gave her my complete, serious attention.
“Guys…” Ceria pleaded.
“Ceria has something to request,” Melione declared.
“I…” Ceria began retorting toward Melione, then clamped her mouth closed.
Chiara scolded, “You have a problem, and Her Grace can solve it. Even if she doesn’t, she’s the top fringe of nobility. She can help you, anyway.”
Now I was thoroughly confused. Ceria was suddenly burying her head in my bosom and refusing to talk, Melione was massaging her back and making encouraging noises, and Chiara was doing her best not to giggle. What the heck was up with these girls?
It must be the thing that Bruna mentioned. Bruna wanted her to talk to me, too. I decided to align with the other two, and tell the cat girl in my arms, “I can’t solve any problem that you don’t tell me about. Talk to me.”
Ceria turned her head away, actually looking guilty. What the heck? Ceria doesn’t feel the slightest guilt over anything, right?
“Guys,” she protested. “Asking Lady for something like that, is… is…”
“Is what?” Melione asked plainly.
Ceria insisted, “It’s her husband, you know? Can you imagine asking a lady to ask her husband for that?”
Yeah. Confused might not be a strong enough word. Befuddled? Baffled? Stumped? At least, now I knew that Rod was involved somehow.
“Someone else tell me,” I said.
“No!” Ceria immediately cried out. Then pouted and buried her head in my chest again.
I sighed and caressed her arm, trying to reassure her. Inches from my nose, Melione looked sympathetic and joined me, stroking Ceria’s head.
“Her Grace isn’t going to get mad,” Melione cooed to her quietly. “According to Mireia, she’s not jealous at all. She says Her Grace gets mad at her for not being more selfish with him instead.”
“Ceria, should I use my powers on you? ” I asked. “I can make you talk, if it’s too hard for you to start on your own.”
She turned her eyes upward, still pouting. Her ears were pointing almost directly sideways. Her eyes were actually becoming teary.
I had put a few bits of it together. It involved Rod, and she felt guilty toward me about it? An inspiration hit me, largely because I remembered Ceria’s general attitude about sex about then.
“You wouldn’t happen to have the hots for my husband, would you?”
Melione and Chiara simultaneously burst out in laughter, while Ceria… actually blushed? Wait? Was I right?
“That’s not it!” she immediately contradicted. “That’s not it, Lady!”
Once more, red hair and orange tabby ears burrowed into my chest.
Melione massaged her back, still looking sympathetic. Chiara sighed and said, “She’s the last person I would expect to have trouble with this.”
“Should we go ahead and tell Her Grace?” Melione asked.
“I’ll do it!” Ceria burst out. Then made a tongue-clicking noise and turned her head sideways again. Then repeated, “I’ll do it, okay?”
Everyone waited, which left her no choice but to carry out her promise.
“Mama is getting proposal letters,” she muttered.
I blinked. “Well sure. I mean, she’s still young enough to bear at least one more child, and she’s an unmarried baroness…”
“Not for her!” Ceria interrupted, sounding exasperated. “Well, I don’t know, maybe she is, but she’s getting proposals for me!”
“Ah.”
Should have guessed that.
“She says I hafta come to the barony and choose a fiancé!”
Ceria is the baronial heiress of Destia, despite her distinct opposition to the idea.
The obstinate Atian religious types have a thing against inheritance by illegitimate children and adopted children of unknown provenance. They oppose it to the extent that they prefer the legitimate offspring of the deceased’s parents’ or grandparents’ siblings.
Bruna is the daughter of Allia’s late husband’s amazon lover. Allia adopted her, but she has no Destia blood. Allia’s younger children were born illegitimate with the exception of Lute, who’s another adopted child lacking Destia blood.
Ceria is the only child of a legal marriage among the baroness’s children. If she showed no intention to marry and have children, distant relatives could force an ‘acceptable’ heir on Allia from their ranks.
Thus, proposals from second and third sons of other noble houses, hoping to score a title of their own through marriage, flooded Allia’s baronial office. None of the suitors ever even met Ceria. They probably had no idea they were proposing to a cat girl adventurer and part-time prostitute.
But letting her hook up with Rod didn’t solve that problem. A legitimized child from Rod would be part of the royal family, not Destia… wait.
A way for it to work existed after all, didn’t it? A legitimized child is solely a member of the father’s house, but a concubine’s child is the product of a legal surrogate for marriage, with inheritance rights from both parents.
As I registered what she was asking, her guilty look returned.
I gave her a squeeze. “I’m not jealous, nor am I bothered in any other way. You’re asking to be my husband’s concubine, right?”
“I don’t know if that’s even possible, Lady,” came her muffled voice from my chest.
“Well, you’re right that it’s difficult,” I admitted.
Ignoring the fact that she wasn’t an actual cat, I kissed the top of her head and scritched her behind the ear.
“If my husband took another concubine with no connection to any major Dorian noble house, a lot of people would be upset. Not only is Destia not a Dorian house, it isn’t even a major Ostish one. It’s just a barony far away from Pendor. And I shouldn’t try the ‘wife’s best friend’ card a second time so soon.”
Her ears went flat again and her shoulders slumped.
“But you’ve got a good idea. If a man who isn’t particularly possessive made you his concubine, it would be perfect for you, right? A man who doesn’t require you to live in his house, with whom you could have a baby or two while living your own life. You could even foist off the job of raising them to his family or your mother and get back to adventuring. Of course, he needs to be handsome enough for my Ceria, as well. It’s no wonder you thought of my husband.”
Ceria looked up. Her attitude had suddenly gone from sad to curious. I think she sensed that I had a plan coming together in my head.
