The atmosphere was awkward, while the room was plunged in a rather heavy silence.
Finally, raising her hand, Medea whose heterochromatic eyes shone, asked,
“Sol only asked you to make the preparations. Why then, do you act as if you are the boss?”
Medea usually acted like a meek and gentle woman, but at the end of the day, she was still a centuries-old witch. She might be a shy and inexperienced maiden in front of Sol.
But such a personality completely vanished at this moment.
It was something easily forgettable, but no one could stand the natural pressure of Medea. After all, few people could face the weight of the time.
The same went for the other witches.
The moment Medea advanced, both Freya and Persephone both released their own pressures while maintaining a smile on their faces.
Anyone normal would have fainted in such a situation.
The problem was...No one was normal here.
The room literally began to tremble as everyone else released their own power.
The lowest level here was close to Duke. Meanwhile, there were five Kings.
This was a power sufficient to flatten any kingdom.
At the same time, the factions could clearly be seen,
On one side, both Setsuna and Lilin stood together.
Then, even though she seemed reluctant to, Lilith stood with Camelia and a confused Chloe.
Meanwhile, the three witches were forming a team.
The only one alone was Milia, who seemed completely unbothered by the situation.
“Edea or rather, Medea. I honestly respect you very much, but I do not like your insinuation. I am simply sincerely trying to steer the discussion to meet our goal. Someone has to do it, right?”
“...And that someone is you, I guess?”
“Of course, it doesn’t have to be me. But I believe someone with experi…”
“I am hundreds of years older than you.”
“...”
“Cat got your tongue, heh?”
Lilith snickered, it was rare to see the usually overly rational Camelia get beaten like this.
Of course, she also understood that rationality always flew out of the window when it came to Sol.
“So, a centuries-old woman seduced a young boy? Smooth.”
This unexpected attack came from Lilin.
This time, it was Medea’s turn to be speechless. After all, it was indeed one of the thorns in her heart.
No matter how old she looked like, and no matter how long Sol could live in theory, this was something she couldn’t counter.
“For people like us and Sol, age is just a number. In three or so hundred years, aside from that angel, only the three of us would still stand beside him.”
As always, Persephone, the party popper, talked about the realities most people tried to ignore.
As long as they did not reach the demi-god level, living for too long was impossible.
Meanwhile, as a dragon and with the fact that he was basically assured to become a demi-god, Sol’s lifespan could only be counted in thousands.
“This might not be so. I am pretty sure that you three might kill him before that.”
Setsuna gritted her teeth as she said so. She did not like the fact that Sol was wasting away his lifespan because of those witches. Her stance was clear to see.
“I understand that for Sol, thanks to his resistance, he only might lose one or two years each time. When compared to his full life span, this seems so small it’s laughable. But so what?”
Setsuna had absolutely nothing against the witches themselves, she understood their curses and found them pitiable, but that was all.
Of course, she never dared to complain to Sol about it. She knew just how much Sol loved Medea, but,
“I can understand Miss Medea. But what about the other two? Why does Sol have to take such risks? Miss Persephone even more. I can still smell him on you.”
Medea hung her head, guilt covering her face Meanwhile, Freya was attracted by another point,
“Persephone, you shagged him!?”
She was astonished.
She had tried to get it going with Sol but had failed. So how did Persephone succeed,
“Fufufu~! It was an epic night.”
“You-!”
Setsuna did not like how they were basically ignoring her.
Persephone, though, showed no shame as she faced Setsuna, “Young pup, you should mind your words. Sol is not a kid. He knows full well the risks, even more so than you. Then, who are you to judge us?”
“But…”
“No buts. I understand that from your perspective, such loss is unbearable. But, once again, you are not Sol. In fact, as of now, you are nothing more than his knight and perhaps his plaything. Come back when you will become his wife.”
*Grrr*
The hair on Setsuna head began to sway, while her claw elongated and turned sharper,
Despite how threatening she looked, Persephone only showed a derisive smile,
“I have even faced your ancestor, Fenrir, a Demigod. Though I have lost, do you think I will be scared of a young pup like you? Continue like that and I will show you the difference in power between you and me.”
Her eyes began to shine with a green glow.
Obviously, if Setsuna showed more threatening actions, she would attack. Though the fact that her pupils did not change shape showed that she would hold back.
On the side, a purple light covered Lilin, as she put her hand on the handle of her sword she was ready to help Setsuna if it came down to it.
“Oh? Should I also discipline you too?”
“Mind your words, Persephone, who are you to discipline my daughter?”
Lilith did not take this lying down. She did not care about Setsuna, but she refused to let anyone insult Lilin in front of her.
With Lilith taking the fray, a greater pressure began to fill the room, as both Camelia and Freya supported their own camps.
It was so much that the room, which had been covered in many runes to reinforce the walls, began to show signs of cracking.
A slow rumble filled everyone's ears, as the tower itself seemed unable to support the clash of power.
But, just as the gunpowder was about to explode, Milia who had been silent until now, finally spoke,
“I will report everything I see and hear to his highness.”
Immediately, the seemingly explosive situation stagnated before all the pressures receded so fast it seemed like a lie.
“*Ahem* No need to go so far, is there? We are all civilized adults. Why don’t we start from the beginning?”
Camelia tried to salvage the situation.
Milia shook her head, “Let’s be honest. Most of us do not care about each other. Like Miss Camelia said, our only common point is his highness.”
“His Highness wishes for us to get along well, but as things stand now, that is obviously impossible. Perhaps things could change in the future. But the situation is what it is now. What’s more, there will most likely be more of us in the future.”
Everyone aside from Chloe nodded at this.
They already knew that Sol would have a contract with a phoenix. What's more, he also planned to add Nuwa.
So it was a given that there would be more of them.
"The main reason why his highness is so worried is mainly because he fears that we might harm each other. Which, from what just happened, shows that he was right to be worried."
Setsuna blushed, while Camelia coughed.
After all, she knew clearly that she was the trigger for this reunion.
"Finally, I believe that most of you wish to bear his children. Though some of us are unable to."
Milia's hand passed through her stomach with a sad expression.
The same action was mirrored by Lilith. While Medea, Persephone, and Freya showed a bitter expression.
"Anyway," shaking off the sadness, Milia continued, "For the children that may come, I believe that none of us wish to see something like siblings fighting and killing each other."
This time it was Setsuna's turn to frown, after all, she understood how horrible such a situation was more than anything.
Sweeping the room with her eyes, Milia paid attention to all the expressions.
She knew that she had their total attention.
It was funny how a group composed of some of the most powerful women in the world were listening to former street urchins like her, but this was one of the wonders of life.
She did not care about this honor, all she cared for was for Sol's happiness.
"We do not like each other. We do not care about each other. But we wish for the happiness of the man we love. Which means we need to protect each other, no matter how reluctant we are. Even if a relationship of friendship is impossible, a cooperative one should be possible, right?"
Saying so, she took out a stack of documents and placed them on the table.
"This is a pledge. An oath. Carefully crafted by me. You just need to read it and swear on the name of your respective goddess. I believe two days would be enough to read everything."
At the end of the day, words were cheap.
Only a good old contract that could bring death if breached could calm her heart.
'Fufufu~! Surely, his highness will be happy. I hope he will reward me.'
A blush covered her face.
It has been some days since her last time with Sol.
Camelia showed a complicated expression as she took a look at the documents.
No matter how she thought about it, this was simply too detailed to be something thought on the fly.
This was clearly the result of days of consideration.
"Since when?"
Milia showed a faint smile as she replied, her words, chilling the back of everyone present.
"Since the day dame Lilith tasked me with teaching his highness about women."
Out of all the women here, Milia's infatuation with Sol was the deepest and most dangerous.
This was exactly why she had created such a contract. One that would bind everyone as thoroughly as possible.
After all, the one who really needed shackles wasn't Camelia–but her.
(AN: XD. This chapter has been pretty fun to write. I believe I managed to show the relationship between everyone. Though I already made it clear many times in the past. I never understood harem stories were all the women are best friends and there's never any conflict. Like come on, even monogamous relationships are full of problems. Much less polygamous ones. As for Milia. Those who didn't skip the special chapter: daily life of a maid , as well as her two interludes know just how enamored she is with Sol. Anyway, share your opinion on the chapter.)
