Varian yawned lightly as he watched the sunset.
"That's five hours. Well, it should be plenty for them to settle things." He stood up and walked to the mansion with a relaxed expression.
While polygamy was legal, it was usually limited to upper class. Unless you were a protagonist template from a harem anime, you would have a single wife.
Things changed when one climbed the social ladder.
A powerful man could have a lot of wives and a powerful woman could have a lot of
husbands.
For instance, Sovereign Julius had more than twelve wives. Sovereign Vianne, the head of the Trade Union, had eight husbands and more than ten consorts.
But it was a relationship of subordination. One built on deference.
Varian didn't want something so tasteless. He hoped for a happy family. In the early stages of his life, he always thought it was with Sia.
After he forgot her and fell for Sarah, she was the one he'd spend his life with.
Now that he had both memories and consequently feelings, it became increasingly hard to dismiss one over the other.
Sure, he spent relatively little time with Sarah compared to Sia.
But if he left her for that reason—"You didn't meet me when I was 9 and didn't live with me for 8 more years, which Sia did and so, I choose her."—He'd need a mental check-up.
A great relationship could start in a day and a shitty one would remain shitty even after a year.
But it's going to be a bit hard for them to come to terms with it since they always thought they were the 'one'.
Still, in the environment they grew up in, it was something they could understand.
So, coming to terms with it wasn't impossible. It was just very hard.
That was precisely his responsibility.
"Though five hours can make them come to some agreement, no?" Varian muttered as he opened the door.
And paused.
Sia and Sarah were sitting on the clean sofas.
Varian smiled. It seemed like things went well. But his smile froze as soon as he saw the surroundings.
Except for the sofas, everything else was broken.
Flowerpots, tables, chairs, chandeliers, holovision, bots…
"You're my best friend first! And you stole my man!" Sia pointed her finger at Sarah and accused her with red eyes.
"I am his first girlfriend! I was searching for you for a whole year and you just disappeared! How am I supposed to know you loved him? I asked you many times, you didn't even tell me his name!" Sarah crossed her arms and glared back.
"Moreover, you come now and say it's all my fault? No, I'm the victim here! You could've appeared in front of Varian at any time! You didn't! H-He went through a lot of pain just to see you!
Whether you are his girlfriend or not, you are his family. I'm not! I don't want anyone else in this position. I-I don't want to lose him." She bit her lip and said.
"You're not giving up!"
"Neither are you!"
Sia took deep breaths as her chest heaved up and down, but her intense emotions caused the gravity behind her to shake.
Kacha!
The luxury windows—imported from Venus—broke.
Szzz!
Sarah's water powers froze the premium water coming from the broken tap.
"…" Varian looked at the scene with dead eyes.
Then, with a sigh, he walked to them.
Sarah and Sia turned to him. Their emotions intensified and they were about to say something when Varian stood in between them and held out his hand.
"No."
"…"
"…"
They glared even harder but let him speak.
Varian took a deep breath and gave them a smile. "We live in a world where anyone can die tomorrow like it's a fucking weekend.
Sarah, I nearly died in the ruins. It's a miracle that I am even standing here.
Sia, I barely made out from the lost dungeon.
While I say a lot of things with confidence, and I am indeed confident in achieving them, the premise is that I don't die midway."
The atmosphere grew heavy.
Sarah and Sia lowered their heads as they thought back to their own lives.
True.
In this world, death was something they couldn't expect. It came without warning and ended your life in a snap.
It wasn't just them, even level 9s couldn't guarantee their life was safe. Heck, even Sovereigns died.
"If I die, I'll die before I reach the Sovereign state, then no one can kill me. And trust me, It won't even take a year to reach that state." Varian said in a frank tone.
If anyone else heard it, they'd think he was crazy.
But Sarah and Sia responded with a nod. They both knew he was a monster.
"So, assuming I die, the time you have with me will be less than a year. Then it's the end." Varian gave them a smile but Sarah and Sia only paled at his words.
"But," Varian's eyes gleamed. "If I don't die, then you can be damn sure I'll be able to live for a long, long time. We'll have all the time in the world to spend with each other."
Sia and Sarah opened their mouths in surprise. That confidence… was infectious.
It was surprising how he was able to talk like this. After the ruins, he was more direct, more confident, and more proactive.
"Besides," Varian winked at them. "Neither of you is willing to give you up and you both know it very well. Other than this, there's no other way. You know this too. But you are still fighting, there's another reason."
"…"
"…"
Sia and Sarah blinked at Varian in surprise before they quickly turned their heads away.
Sia muttered. "Y-Your stupid brain only works for useless things…but it's true. I know this is inevitable, but…"
"I know this day would come but still…" Sarah sighed.
The reason they were fighting wasn't in hopes that the other party would withdraw. They knew from the start that it was impossible.
The reason was that even though they knew this would happen when it really did, they couldn't come to terms with it.
It was hard to digest this bitter truth and the only way out they found was venting.
Varian knew this too. If they were really against it, then they would already be fighting.
They needed assurance.
A promise.
A sense of security that their relationship wouldn't be threatened or slighted because of the other girl.
It was a tough problem.
Clever answers would be useless.
Perfectly reasonable explanations would only mock their feelings.
What he needed to show was neither wit nor reason.
It was his sincerity.
Varian closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then, in an earnest tone, he began.
"I'm still young, I know only a few things and I can't do a lot of things. I'm a bit narcissistic, I'm a lot more shameless, and sometimes, I'm cocky as hell."
The eyes of Sarah and Sia widened as they looked at him in surprise. They were the same words they said before. But when it came from Varian's mouth, the meaning changed. It was an acceptance of one's ugly side.
"I am a bit impulsive, I can be petty-minded sometimes and I am always very vengeful." Varian laughed bitterly as he gazed at Sia.
"I know Charles isn't Roxanne, I know he wants to avenge his brother and his aunt. But I feel no remorse for treating him the way I did. If it wasn't for him dying, I'd have tortured him until he broke, healed him, and broke him again. I hate him. I hate what his aunt did to my Sia. I hate him with every fiber of my existence."
His words spoke of his rage, but his eyes were filled with deep pain.
Sia couldn't bear to look at his eyes and covered her face. Before she knew it, her palms were wet and she was a sobbing mess.
"I'm by no means what the society calls a 'good' or 'moral' man. I can do horrible things if it's to achieve my goals. I could care less about the means if I have to save my loved ones." Varian turned to Sarah with a sincere expression.
"Sarah, in the prince's hall, when master, Sia, and I were in danger, I was only thinking about Sia. I reasoned myself that he would be alright, but honestly, I didn't know. To be honest, I didn't even pause to think.
All I had in my mind was Sia's life. I was still angry at him for attacking Sia, but I also knew he was under control.
He blocked Julius' attack, he helped us teleport, and he's the reason we are alive, but until I was sure that Sia wasn't in danger, I didn't even pause to think about his well-being.
I'm sorry, but this is the person I am. The person you love." Varian's silent but heavy words slammed Sarah's heart.
Sarah clutched her skirt and lowered her head. Her shoulders trembled and she bit her lip.
If she was really, really, really honest with herself, she'd want Varian to save her father than Sia.
But that's impossible.
She also knew that if the same situation occurred but with her and her father instead, he'd still save her.
"I…woo~ s-stop making me cry, you bastard." Sia rubbed her eyes and whimpered.
"V-Varian, please…stop," Sarah muttered weakly.
"This is my negative side. Accepting a person also means accepting their worst side. I hope you can accept me…because another flaw of mine is that I'll chase you until you accept me." Varian said lightly.
"Pfft~" Sia found herself laughing despite her tears.
His words were very…shameless. He even covered it up saying it's his flaw. Witty guy.
"No matter how hard it gets, no matter what we have to face, no matter who we have to fight, I swear I will be by your side." Varian knelt on a knee and looked up at them.
"This is my answer. So, Sarah, Sia, what is yours?"
"Y-Yes…"
"YES!"
