WIEDERGEBURT Act IV: Chapter 7

Lin and I were still hiding behind the column as we watched Zane and Ronia hugging as though their lives depended on it. You didn’t have to be a genius to figure out what was going on. I mean, two young people, all alone in a training ground where people brutally beat the snot out of each other, hugging so tightly there wasn’t enough room to slip a sheet of parchment through… it was obvious what was going on here.

“A midnight rendevous!” Lin whispered with an excited hiss.

The two lovebirds in the training ground jumped and looked in our direction. Lin and I reacted quickly to hide ourselves. Oh, crap! This was not good! Did they see us?! They totally saw us, didn’t they?!

“Is someone there?” asked Zane. When neither Lin nor I responded, he spoke up in a louder voice. “Whoever you are, come out now!”

I almost groaned as I realized we weren’t going to get out of this by just remaining silent. Dang it. Why wouldn’t Lin keep her mouth shut? Sure, I had been thinking the exact same thing, but I wasn’t going to say anything out loud!

Footsteps echoed from the training ground. They were getting closer.

“Zane?” Ronia asked, hesitant, fearful.

“Stay back,” Zane said, trying to sound brave. “I don’t know who it is, but regardless, I won’t let them lay a finger on you or ruin your reputation.”

“Zane…” Oh. Her tone changed now. It was much softer and filled with the sort of overpowering emotions you’d expect from women who are overcome with feelings of love.

Kari used to make that voice back when I stuck up for her during the Spiritualist Grand Tournament, though I hadn’t heard it recently. I wondered if I could make her talk in that tone again.

The footsteps were growing even louder. My entire body felt like it had frozen over, but I’m pretty sure my mind was what froze. I knew we should leave before he spotted us, knew there was an easy way out, and yet my mind couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to escape this situation.

Just when I was about to go into a full-blown panic, I felt a surge of Spiritual Power from Lin. I looked at the girl in my arms and saw a small brown snake emerged from her body. It slithered out into the training ground, hissing as it disappeared between a pair of columns. Seconds after it vanished from Zane’s line of sight, it melted into the ground

“Looks like it was just a snake,” Zane said at last.

“Oh, thank goodness,” Ronia said, and for a moment, I could imagine her placing her hands on her chest as relief swept through her. “For a moment, I thought maybe one of the guards might have seen us. If my father learned about this, he’d be furious. You might be exiled or even exocuted.”

“I won’t let that happen, Ronia…”

It looked like the two of them were about to become embroiled in their romance again, so I gestured to Lin that we should leave. She nodded at me as I released her. As quickly and quietly as we could, the two of us departed from that column we’d been hiding behind and traveled back toward the main building.

“That sure was surprising,” I said, glancing back at the training ground.

“This princess is definitely surprised,” Lin murmured. “She never would have expected those two to be in a relationship like that.”

“Still, it’s not really any of our business what kind of relationship they are in,” I added.

“This is true. It would be wrong of us to get involved. This princess is in complete agreement. However…”

“However?”

I looked at Lin as we stopped in front of the villa’s main building. She looked up at me with those teary golden eyes and an adorably infuriated pout. It was the kind of petulant expression I’d expect to find on a kid, not a full-grown woman, but even so, she somehow managed to make it look exotic and sensual.

“This princess is even hornier now than she was before we were rudely interrupted.”

“Ah.” I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “Me too.”

***

I woke up as the sun was just beginning to rise. The air was still chilly. However, being surrounded by four women helped mitigate the chill.

“It seems you were quite hungry, huh Raul?”

Make that three women.

I looked at the three snuggling with me, at Lin who was lying on my chest, Siv who used my shoulder as a pillow as she slept within the crook of my arm, her wings spread out from her back, and Kari as she wrapped Lin in a hug to help keep the lamia warm. Fay had been sleeping next to Siv, but she wasn’t there anymore.

Joyful baby noises made me lift my head and glance at the edge of the bed. All I could see was Fay’s hair and bottom as she sat there, but as she shifted, pulling up her shirt, she placed Raul against her shoulder and began burping him. Raul locked eyes with me. Then he released more baby noises as he reached out his hands--right before he unleashed an impressive belch.

“You are quite loud, aren’t you?” Fay said with a giggle. “I can’t imagine who you get that from.”

“He probably gets it from me,” I admitted.

Fay turned around as I slid out from everyone’s grasp (this task was a lot harder than I made it sound. Lin and Siv had strong grips and didn’t want to let me go) and crawled over to her, the bed shifting underneath me. I reached the bed’s edge and sat with my legs dangling over the side, wrapped an arm around Fay’s waist, and let Raul have my other hand. He always enjoyed playing with my fingers, though he sometimes tried biting them too.

Fay leaned into me. Her warm body was comforting and soft. I felt a burst of emotion as we just sat there. After returning to the past, I didn’t think I could ever love someone as much as I loved Kari, but now I had four amazing wives, all of whom I would gladly risk my life for.

“I always love watching you take care of Raul,” I said into the comfortable silence. “You’re a great mother.”

Fay’s cheeks lit up. “T-thank you, but I don’t think I’m anything special. I just wish to give Raul what I do not have. You know how my mother died at childbirth?”

“I do.”

“I don’t have any memories of her. I was raised by my father my entire life.” She paused long enough to smile, though hers was not necessarily a joyful smile. “Father wasn’t what I would call great at child rearing. I don’t think he really understood how to, so he left raising me mostly to butlers and maids. Because I never grew up knowing a mother’s love, I don’t really know how to be one, so I just… act like how I think a mother would.”

“You mean you act like how you wished your mother would if she was still alive,” I said.

“Yes.”

Silence grew between us, though I wouldn’t say it was uncomfortable, and Raul filled it with his gurgling. I watched as Raul placed my finger in his mouth and proceeded to gnaw on it. He didn’t have any teeth, so it didn’t hurt. Retracting my gaze from my son, I looked at Fay as she stared at our child and became overcome with emotions. My chest felt tight.

“Fay.”

“Hmm?”

Fay tilted her head to look at me, and I leaned down. Her eyes widened as our lips met.

Part of me wanted to take things further, to push my tongue into her mouth, pull off her clothes, and make love to her on the bed. I held back. Our son was awake and in her arms. It would not be appropriate to have sex right now--though I couldn’t deny the part of me that really wanted to.

“W-what was that for?” asked Fay. She only stuttered a little.

“Do I need a reason to kiss my strong and beautiful wife?”

Fay’s cheeks were already scarlet, so she couldn’t blush anymore than she already was, but if possible, she seemed to become even more shy and demure than before.

“I guess you don’t.”

“You should be used to this already anyway,” I said before leaning down and kissing her again.

I wasn’t sure how long we spent like that, talking and sneaking in kisses, but Kari eventually sat up and yawned. She smacked her lips several times before bringing her hands back to the bed. When she saw that we were awake, the woman sent us a sleepy smile.

“Morning, you two.”

“Good morning, Kari,” Fay said.

“Morning,” I greeted.

Kari crawled over to us until she was directly behind me, sat on her haunches, and leaned forward to use my back as a pillow. I could feel the muscles in my back twitch as her breasts pushed into me. They were softer than the softest pillows. Since I wasn’t wearing a shirt and her nightgown was very thin, her nipples were poking through the fabric.

I let Kari relax against me for awhile. It took her a bit of time to really wake up, though she could fake it well enough that only me and her sisters knew this. She did eventually remove her face and breasts from my back, yawning again as she crawled off the bed and placed her feet on the limestone tiles.

“Eryk, would you mind helping me get dressed?” asked Kari.

“Not at all,” I said, standing up.

All of our clothes were located inside of our storage rings, which meant we just had to summon what we wanted to wear from inside.

The outfit Kari chose to wear that day was a functional white dress that only went to the middle of her thighs. Equally white stockings traveled up the length of her legs, and her feet were clad in brown boots. She wasn’t wearing her armor at the moment. Even so, I still helped wrap her breast bindings around her chest so they wouldn’t cause problems for her.

“Thank you.” Kari leaned up and gave me a kiss.

“You’re welcome.” I smiled as I stroked her cheek, then turned to Fay. “Want me to help you get dressed?”

“I can get dressed by myself, thanks,” Fay said dryly.

It was one of the differences between Fay and Kari, I guess. Kari always wanted me to help her, even though she was perfectly capable of doing it by herself. On the other hand, Fay didn’t much appreciate or enjoy the prospect of me dressing her--no matter how many times I asked.

Well, at least she didn’t mind it when I undressed her.

While Fay was getting dressed, Kari took Raul and played with him as I woke up Lin and Siv. They were our heaviest sleepers. Something about their cold-blooded nature made it harder for them to wake up, but I still managed to wake them up with kisses.

I woke up Siv first, leaning down and pressing our lips together. Siv stirred but didn’t wake immediately. That was fine with me. Siv’s lips were soft and springy, and I couldn’t deny that kissing her awake was an enjoyable task. Finally, after the sixth kiss, she woke up, noticed who was hovering above her, and smiled at me.

“Morning,” she said in her soft, wind-chime voice.

“Good morning,” I greeted, giving her one last kiss before waking up Lin.

Well, before trying to wake up Lin.

Waking up my lamia princess was always a problem.

“This princess is still asleep.”

“Lin…”

“This princess needs another kiss to wake up.”

Siv was already sitting up in bed, stretching out her arms as she released a slow yawn. Like Lin, Siv slept in the nude. Her small boobs were barely a pair of bumps on her chest, but I felt like they were a perfect match for her slender body. Maybe it was because the air was still a bit chilly, but her nipples had stiffened into a pair of points. She flapped her wings a little and her tail thumped against the bed several times. After finally waking up, she climbed off the bed and trodded over to Fay.

“Shall I help you get dressed?” asked Fay with a smile.

Siv nodded and held out her arms as Fay summoned a green dress that complimented the drakvar’s silvery emerald hair.

“So you’ll help Siv put on clothes, but you won’t let me dress you?” I asked.

Fay stuck her tongue out at me.

“Stop paying attention to them and give this princess a kiss already!”

I looked back at Lin to find her pouting at me, her eyes wide open. Seeing this made me grin.

“I thought you were asleep.”

“Ah!” Lin quickly shut her eyes and pretended to be snoring. “Zzzz… zzz…”

“Very cute, but your snores don’t sound anything like that. Now, get up. I’d like to eat breakfast and leave before the sun has fully risen.”

“Fiiiine.”

Lin grumbled as she slithered off the bed. I could hear her vague mumbles of “can’t believe it…” and “didn’t get another kiss…” as she summoned her normal clothes and put them on.

Since everyone else was about ready, I summoned my clothes, which were like a male version of the ones Fay wore, and put them on. I was able to finish by the time Lin was done dressing herself. She didn’t wear much, but she always took her time to get dressed. I looked in a mirror situated in one corner of the room when I was finished.

It had been two years since I had traveled back in time, but it didn’t look like I had aged at all. I still looked like that seventeen year old boy from before. Even the baby fat from my face was still present.

Spiritualists aged more slowly than normal humans. The more enlightened you were, the more states of spiritualism you reached, the longer you lived and the younger you looked. That was why Empress Hilda didn’t even look like she was thirty despite being in her fifties.

I had reached the Fourth State of Spiritualism--the pinnacle state a Spiritualist can reach as far as I knew. It was only natural that a mere two years would not be enough to show even a hint of age.

A maidservant knocked on the door to alert us to her presence before she entered. I turned from the mirror and glanced in her direction. She took one look at us, then bowed.

“Master Alshams has asked us to prepare breakfast for you. Whenever you are ready, please come down to the dining room.”

“We’re ready right now,” I said for everyone.

“In that case, please follow me,” the maid responded.

We followed her to the dining room, where Alshams, Cleopatra, and Lapis were already seated and waiting at the table. Alshams sat at the head and was drinking what looked like coffee. When our group arrived, Alshams and his wives looked up.

“Good morning. I hope you all slept well,” Alshams gave us a standard greeting.

“We did. Thank you for asking,” I said as I took my place next to him.

“My servants should be finished with breakfast soon. In the meantime, why don’t I have them make you a cup of coffee.”

“Oh, thank you.”

While Alshams spoke to one of the servants standing in the back, Lapis placed her hands on the table and leaned forward as she looked at Kari.

“Do you mind if I ask where you are planning to go from here?”

Cleopatra curled her upper lip in distaste, but she did not say anything. I could tell there was some discordance within Alshams harem. However, the man himself seemed to appreciate his youngest wife’s willful and outgoing nature. I imagine he spoiled her a lot.

“Well, our final destination is the Northern Plains, which is east of here.” Kari tapped her chin with her finger and pursed her lips. “However, traveling through the Endless Desert takes about a year. I imagine our next destination will be Muqadas.”

“The capital, huh?” Lapis leaned back on her hands and smiled. “You know, I have only been there a few times, but it’s a very beautiful city. Water is even more abundant there. I guess that’s why all four of the Four Great Families have a villa there.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing it,” Kari said with a polite smile.

Kari and I had been to Muqadas in our previous life, but it wasn’t like she could tell that to these people. As far as anyone else was concerned, this was our first time traveling through the Endless Desert.

As Kari and Lapis spoke, Cleopatra looked at them in disgust, though Alshams seemed more amused than anything. Fay and Siv were playing with Raul. Meanwhile, Lin had leaned forward, stretched her arms across the table, and was looking bored.

Our coffee soon arrived. A maidservant placed one cup in front of each of us. It didn’t look any different from a normal cup of coffee, but as I took a sip, an intense blend of spices awakened my tongue.

Coffee in the Endless Desert was surprisingly delicious. They blended the coffee with cardamom, nutmeg, clove, crumbled resin, and sugar. It was vastly different from coffee in Nevaria, which was only sweetened with sugar and milk. The taste was intense and bold, but it didn’t overpower my senses.

Alshams children and last wife, Net, soon arrived. I found myself remembering what Lin and I had seen last night when Ronia came in, though I tried my best to pretend I wasn’t paying attention to her. Once Net was seated, about six manservants carrying several plates of food came in as if they had been waiting for that moment.

“Now that we are all here, let’s not stand on ceremony.” Alshams clapped his hands. “Please help yourselves.”

There were three dishes being served that morning: foul medames, taameya, and beid bel basterma.

Foul medames was simply fava beans that had been mashed together with cumin, lemon, salt, and pepper with a drizzle of olive oil. It was a very common breakfast and something Kari and I had eaten before. It had a citrusy flavor thanks to them lemon. The citrus flavor went well with the nutty and spicy taste of the cumin.

Taameya was a bit more sophisticated then the foul medames. I didn’t know how they were made, but they were crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. We ate them between pita bread drizzled with a condiment called tahini, which was a thick sauce that complimented the taameya.

While both of those were good, my favorite dish was definitely the beid bel basterma. It was just eggs cooked in ghee with dried beef. It was a very heavy food, but that was why I liked it. This was also served with warm pita. Kari and Fay were not fans of this one, due to how heavy it was, but Siv and Lin scarfed this meal down even faster than I did.

As we ate, Alshams asked me questions.

“When do you think you will be leaving?”

“We plan on leaving in a little bit. Our journey is already a long one, so we cannot afford to remain here for too long.”

“That is unfortunate. I was going to ask if you would like to remain as my guards.”

“I thank you for the kind offer, but we actually have really important business to attend to in the Northern Plains.”

Alshams did try to recruit me a few more times, but I think he eventually realized it was pointless and gave up. Breakfast soon ended, and he wished us the best, stating that he had some business to take care of and would not be able to see us off. I didn’t know what business he needed to attend to, but I didn’t want to leave to any fanfair, so this worked out perfectly.

Since we didn’t need to pack anything, we were ready to leave once Lin and Siv were satisfied. Lapis decided to walk with us. She had taken a strong liking to Kari. I think it was because they were both such free spirits.

“I wish I could travel like you all did. It sounds like a lot of fun.”

“Do you regret marrying Alshams?” I asked curiously.

“No. Of course not.” Lapis shook her head. “I love my husband very much. He’s given me a lot. I have a roof over my head, delicious food, and wonderful children. I really couldn’t ask for anything more, but I do sometimes regret not being able to explore the world. When I was younger, it was something I always wished to do.”

“Maybe you will be able to some day,” Kari said with a kind smile.

“Yeah. Maybe.”

Our mount was exactly where we had left it, sitting by the river. Several children were gathered around the Giga Monster, staring at it with wide eyes, though they didn’t go near it. The Giga Monster was a massive creature about the size of a peasant’s house. I imagine such a large creature was intimidating but also cool.

“I guess this is it.” Lapis looked like she didn’t want us to leave. She bit her lip, but then smiled, clasped her hands together, and bowed to us. “Thank you for saving my husband, and for talking to me. Please feel free to visit us should you ever return to Cairo.”

“We will,” Kari promised.

Lin, Siv, and Fay--carrying Raul--climbed into the wagon, while Kari and I attached the Giga Monster to the harness, then climbed atop the driver’s seat. Kari grabbed the reins and cracked them, getting the giant lizard moving. She deftly maneuvered it onto the main road, following the river until we reached the bridge.

When we arrived at the bridge, however, she was forced to stop.

“W-wait! Hold on!”

A man had appeared in front of the bridge, his arms spread wide, nostrils flared. He was shirtless. His thick arms and chest were bared, while his lower half was covered only in a linen skirt. His shoulders were heaving and sweat covered his forehead. I wondered if he had run all the way here.

It was Zane.

“I wonder what he wants,” Kari murmured.

“Let me find out,” I said.

I hopped off the driver’s seat and walked over to Zane, who looked relieved that we hadn’t just run him over.

“Can I help you with something?” I asked.

Zane looked reluctant to speak, but he screwed up whatever courage he had, bowed his head, and asked a request that shocked me.

“Please train me!”

I needed a moment to respond. This request felt like it had come out of nowhere.

“You… want me to train you?” I asked hesitantly.

“Yes!”

I scratched my head and tried to figure out what was happening here. In my previous life, Zane had been part of a caravan that wandered through the Endless Desert and traded water for food and other supplies, but in this life, he was a guard for the Alshams Family.

Speaking honestly, I knew very little about Zane as a person, beyond the fact that he was nice. It was only thanks to him that Kari and I survived after fleeing into the Endless Desert. While I didn’t know much about him, I could infer a few things.

The first was that Zane probably had been a guard for the Alshams Family in my previous life, but something had happened that made him leave. Given what I saw last night, I was pretty sure that something was Ronia. Of course, guessing like this was no different from firing a Spiritual Technique while blindfolded. I wouldn’t know unless I asked him.

“Is the reason you want me to train you because of Ronia?” I asked.

Zane’s eyes widened. “H-how did you know?”

“Men’s intuition,” I said with a straight face. There was no way I was going to let him know I saw him last night because he and Ronia interrupted Lin and I when we were seconds away from orgasming. “So… explain the situation to me. Why do you need to grow stronger? I suspect it’s not something as simple as getting stronger to protect her from the dangers of the Endless Desert.”

“You are correct. My situation is not that simple.”

As Zane spoke, I heard the wagon door opening. Lin came around from the back and slithered over to me. Her face was set in a small pout.

“Darling, why have we stopped? Oh.” Lin paused when she saw Zane, who had tensed at the snake woman’s presence. “It’s the boy who was making out with Ronia last night.”

I wanted to facepalm.

“W-what are you--wait! How did you know about that?!” Zane looked like someone had sucker punched him in the gut for all of one second before his eyes narrowed. “Were you spying on us?”

“Hmph. This princess would never deign to do something so banal.” Lin scoffed and crossed her arms. “This princess and Darling were about to have sex when you interrupted us.”

This time, I did facepalm. I loved Lin more than life itself, but for the love of all things spiritual, I wish she’d learn some tact.

“WHAT?!”

Zane’s flabbergasted expression would have been amusing, but we really didn’t have time for this.

“Nevermind that.” I waved my hand as though warding away his words. “Tell me about your situation. I’ll judge whether or not you are deserving of my help.”

Speaking honestly, I did want to help him. Zane had saved mine and Kari’s life before, so I felt like I owed him a debt, but he also treated Lin like she was a leper. He wasn’t outright mean. He just ignored her, glared at her when he couldn’t ignore her, and had made a few sniping comments to her during our journey to Cairo. It put him in a bad light and made me conflicted. Do I help him because of our association in the past, or do I not because he treated my wife poorly in this life?

Zane reluctantly stopped glaring at Lin to look at me. He took a deep breath, held it in, and then relaxed his shoulders.

“Last night… I learned that Ronia is getting married to Ammon Malik of the Malik Family,” Zane began. “The Malik Family is one of the Four Great Families. They are probably the most powerful too. While the Shuruqs Family makes their living by trading textiles and water, the Malik Family has their hands in numerous businesses, including water, fabrics, food, Strut farms, and even slave trading. They own several oases as well.”

“I know a little about the Malik Family.” I gestured toward him. “Go on.”

Zane licked his lips. “Last night, Osiris Malik came to visit Lord Alshams. I do not know exactly what was said, but whatever happened during their meeting, it resulted in my lord agreeing to marry Ronia off to Orisis’ eldest son, Ammon. She came running to me in tears last night. That’s what I was doing at the training ground with her. I was comforting her.”

Everything was falling into place now, including why those two had been so reckless last night. I assumed they were normally more cautious. A noblewoman having an affair with a mere guard was a scandal no matter what nation you lived in. There was no way these two could have remained together for so long if they were always acting like they had last night.

“This princess understands your situation,” Lin said before I could speak up. “So your lover is being forced to marry this Ammon against her will, and you want to stop that by getting stronger.”

“… Yes.”

While Zane didn’t like Lin at all, he at least had to concede that she was correct.

“But what will getting stronger avail you?” I asked. “It sounds to me like this marriage has already been decided, or is there a way to contest the marriage?”

“There is a way to contest the marriage,” Zane explained. “When two people both wish to marry the same woman and cannot come to an agreement, both parties can agree to take part in a Sharawaj Mubaraza--an honor duel in which two combatants fight for the honor of marrying the woman they are both courting. It is also possible for someone to challenge a marriage through Sharawaj Mubaraza if they do not believe the groom is a suitable partner for the bride.”

We had been speaking for so long now that Fay and Siv had also left the wagon and come over to see why we weren’t moving. Kari had hopped down from the driver’s seat and was standing on my left. Lin, her arms crossed as she listened intently to what Zane said, narrowed her eyes. Her tail was thumping against the ground.

“I guess that explains why you want me to train you,” I said with a sigh.

“Ammon is a powerful Spiritualist,” Zane said. “I have heard that he is close to reaching the Second State of Spiritualism. They say he will likely reach it in a few years.”

Come to think of it, back then Ammon had reached the Second State of Spiritualism, hadn’t he? Well, that was what I had heard. I never gave him the opportunity to attack when I killed him.

“And what state have you reached?” I asked.

Zane looked down at his feet. I resisted a sigh as I waited for him to inform me of his own strength, though I was already fairly certain of the answer.

“I’m… still attempting to reach the First State of Spiritualism,” he admitted.

Spiritualism came in four states. To reach the First State of Spiritualism, a Spiritualist had to train their Spiritual Power until it was strong enough to create a Spiritual Aura. This meant exercising one’s Spiritual Power through constant use. Spiritual Power was a lot like a muscle. The more someone used it, the stronger it would become. Once someone reached the First State of Spiritualism, they could begin working on reaching the Second State of spiritualism, which was taking their Spiritual Aura into themselves.

“How old are you, Zane?” I asked.

“I’m eighteen,” Zane said.

“The same age as Kari and Fay then.” I paused for a moment. Zane shifted from one foot to the other as silence lapsed between us. Finally, I sighed. “You realize it is going to be very difficult for you to become a Spiritualist, right? It’s easier to train in Spiritualism when you are younger. Your body is still adapting and growing when you’re in your early to mid-teenage years. As you grow older, your body becomes less capable of changing. You have to work two or even three times harder to become a Spiritualist.”

“I… I didn’t know that,” Zane said, paling. “Does that mean it’s impossible for me to grow strong enough to save Ronia from this unwanted marriage?”

“I never said it was impossible,” I pointed out. “I said you would need to work two or three times harder to get the same results as someone who is younger than you.”

“I don’t care how hard it is,” Zane said. “It doesn’t matter to me how hard I have to work or suffer for this. I want to be strong enough to challenge Ammon to Sharawaj Mubaraza. I don’t want Ronia being stuck in a loveless marriage. Also, I’ve heard rumors about Ammon. They say he abuses women and keeps a harem of sex slaves at his beck and call. I could never let Ronia marry someone like that.”

If nothing else, this man’s determination was impressive. I also felt a bit of an affinity for him. Hadn’t I done something very similar to what he wanted to do now? Kari and Fay had both been struggling to fight against an arranged marriage to Grant Leucht, and I had prevented that by doing everything in my power to fight against it. Even if there was no other reason, for this reason alone, part of me wanted to help him.

But I still felt reluctant.

“Darling.” Lin’s voice made me turn around to find all my wives staring at me expectantly. At the moment, I only had eyes for Lin, however. She stared at me with those determined golden orbs and smiled. “This princess believes we should help him.”

“Y-you do?” Zane looked confused. He probably couldn’t understand why Lin wanted to help him when he’d been so rude to her.

“Yes.” Lin nodded. “It isn’t right that Ronia is being forced to marry a person she doesn’t love. Don’t you think that’s just too cruel? This princess believes we should help them.”

“Do the rest of you agree?” I asked, looking at my other wives.

“I don’t have a problem with it,” Kari said.

“Given their situation, I feel a strong affinity toward Ronia,” Fay added as she adjusted Raul in her grip. “I think we should help.”

“I’m okay with whatever you decide,” Siv said.

I felt my lips threaten to twitch into a smile, though I held back as I turned to face Zane, who suddenly straightened when I locked eyes with him. He was nervous. A cold sweat ran down his face and his hands had tightened into fists.

“If I help you get stronger, you will have to listen to everything I say,” I said.

“I understand.” Zane nodded, his eyes lighting up.

“You will also have to treat Lin with courtesy and respect. You will not glare at her, make snide comments at her, or do anything that would indicate you dislike her. If I suspect you of having ill-thoughts of her, your training will come to an end.” I didn’t release my Spiritual Power, but my narrowed eyes still caused Zane to gulp. “Can you do that?”

Zane’s clenched fists shook as he struggled to keep a lid on whatever emotions he was feeling. His family had been killed by lamia and he was almost raped. I understood why he hated lamia, but I would not tolerate him disrespecting my wife.

Finally, he straightened his back and looked me square in the eyes.

“I can,” he said in a resolute voice.

“In that case, I will train you,” I said. “I can’t promise you’ll be strong enough to defeat Ammon, but I can at least train you so you’ll have a chance. When is the wedding going to be held?”

Zane’s entire body slumped as though he’d become boneless now that I had agreed to train him. I felt it was too soon for him to be so relaxed, but I didn’t say anything, instead waiting for him to answer me.

“The wedding will take place one month from now,” he said.

So we only had 63 days to train Zane, who hadn’t even reached the First State of Spiritualism, into someone capable of fighting a Spiritualist close to reaching the Second State of Spiritualism on even terms?

Well, shit.