Harem System In A fantasy World

Aria’s expression became a bit complicated. "And what if Elion had refused to stay with you afterward?"

Celeste looked genuinely puzzled. "He would not."

"How were you so certain?"

"I was not entirely certain," Celeste admitted. "But I understood him well enough to know that he would never abandon his own child."

Mira’s eyes narrowed with interest. "So even if he did not love you, you knew he would remain involved."

"Yes."

"That is rather calculating of you."

Celeste met her gaze. "I have been raised to rule a clan. Calculation is unavoidable."

Mira smiled. "I did not say it was a bad thing." Of all the women present, Mira seemed to understand Celeste’s reasoning the most.

Both had grown up surrounded by people who treated relationships as transactions, perhaps not to the same scale.

Celeste’s situation was more about being shackled by her duty as a royal and a future ruler, while Mira had been shackled by her own controlling father.

Despite the clear differences, both of them had learned to secure what they wanted before someone else could take the choice away.

Tessa scratched her cheek awkwardly. "But you do love him, right?" Celeste stared at her.

Tessa immediately became flustered. "I mean, you obviously do. I was just asking because of the way you explained everything."

Celeste turned back toward Elion. "At first, I was uncertain what I felt." Her fingers gently traced the line of his cheek.

"I knew I wanted him. I knew I disliked seeing other women close to him, and I knew the thought of losing him made me feel something unpleasant."

"Jealousy," Aria supplied.

"I am aware of what jealousy is."

"You did not sound aware."

Celeste ignored her. "But after he accepted me without hesitation, I stopped questioning it." A small smile appeared on her lips.

"I love him." The words were quiet and simple, but there was no uncertainty behind them.

Isla smiled warmly. The thought and notion were ones they all shared.

A thoughtful expression appeared on Mira’s face. "You said he accepted you without hesitation," she said. "How exactly did he react when you told him that you wanted to bear his child?"

Celeste’s expression became slightly strange. "He asked whether I was certain."

"That sounds reasonable," Isla said.

"Then he became extremely pleased with himself, saying he had managed to make ’The Great Celeste Chronos fall’ for him. "

Mira covered her mouth to hide a laugh. "That also sounds like him."

"He also said his reproductive abilities were so impressive that he had succeeded immediately."

Aria groaned. "Of course he did."

Tessa looked down at Elion with open disgust. "Honestly, how can someone say something like that with a straight face?"

"He possesses a rare talent for shamelessness," Celeste replied. For a moment, all five women looked at the sleeping Elion.

Completely unaware that he was being discussed, he shifted slightly on the couch and rested his cheek more comfortably against the cushion.

The innocent expression on his face only made his usual behavior seem even more absurd. "He really does look harmless when he sleeps," Isla said.

"It is a deception," Mira replied.

"A very effective one," Aria added.

Celeste lightly touched his hair again. "He is not harmless." The faint smile on her face suggested that she liked him precisely because of that.

Tessa leaned back in her seat. "So what happens now? The elders cannot force you to marry someone else anymore, right?"

"No."

Celeste’s voice carried absolute certainty.

"Even before my ascension, my pregnancy would have made it nearly impossible. Now that I have become a Progenitor, no one within the clan possesses the authority or strength to decide my future for me."

Her crimson eyes glinted faintly. "If anyone attempts it, they will regret doing so." The pressure that briefly escaped her caused the air inside the lounge to grow heavy.

It made the others tense and a bit uncomfortable. Celeste noticed their reactions and withdrew the pressure immediately.

"Sorry."

Mira gave her a careful look. "You have changed quite a bit, and it’s humbling to see someone I call a peer and now sister with such a tremendous amount of strength. How does it feel, the sudden jump in power I mean? It would be"

"I’m not so sure myself," She flexed her hand into a fist. "I am still adjusting, and I haven’t had the opportunity to try my strength out; I’ve been with Elion ever since he passed out a week ago."

She looked toward Elion’s neck. "And the fact that I nearly drained him dry will haunt me for a while, conscious or not."

Mira followed her gaze. "He does not appear angry with you."

"He should be."

"He is rarely angry at the women he cares about," Mira said. "Sometimes even when he should be."

Aria nodded reluctantly. "That part is true."

Celeste’s fingers curled slightly. "But I do not want him to fear me." None of them had expected that admission.

Tessa blinked. "Elion? Afraid of you?" She scoffed. "I don’t think this guy is afraid of anything. However strong you think you have become, multiply that by ten."

"That is true. He has very poor survival instincts," Mira said. From the couch, Elion muttered something unintelligible in his sleep.

All five women glanced toward him. After a moment, he turned his head and continued sleeping.

Aria lowered her voice. "I do not think he could ever be afraid of one of us."

Celeste looked at her. "Why do you think so?"

"Because he is arrogant."

Mira shook her head. "That is not the whole reason." She looked at Elion with a faint smile. "He trusts us."

Elion was cautious around enemies and suspicious of people whose intentions he did not understand, yet once he accepted someone as his own, he rarely guarded himself around them.

It was why he had allowed Celeste to continue drinking despite his weakening body.

It was why he had slept so peacefully after leaving five women who had never properly met together in the same room.

He trusted that none of them would harm him. More importantly, he trusted them not to harm one another.

Celeste lowered her gaze. "I will not betray that trust again."

"You did not betray him," Isla said gently. "You lost control."

"The result was still the same."

"But he is recovering," Tessa added.

"And you look as though you have been punishing yourself for the entire week," Mira said. "There is no benefit in continuing."

Celeste remained silent.

Aria moved to the other side of the couch and looked down at Elion.

"When he wakes up, he will probably ask you to sit on his face or something equally shameless. Then you will realize he has already forgotten about it."

Tessa choked on her own spit, while Isla’s face turned bright red. Celeste blinked once, then, to everyone’s surprise, a quiet giggle escaped her lips.

Aria grinned. "There. You already know I am right."

Celeste covered her mouth lightly, but her shoulders continued to shake with restrained laughter.

Perhaps getting accustomed to one another would not be as difficult as they had feared. They already shared one very important thing in common.

They all cared for the shameless man sleeping peacefully before them. Even if none of them could agree on exactly what they saw in him.

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