Cleenah asked in an exasperated tone.
After a hectic dinner with Alicia, who left halfway, and James Raven, who was glaring at me the entire time, I made a quick exit.
"Teasing whom? You mean Alicia? James Raven dotes too much on his daughter, who is already sixteen."
Though, based on my observations, I seriously doubted her mental maturity, estimating it to be around six years old.
"I just needed to bring my new master to the bitter truth. This is a sad reality every father must face one day," I said.
In the game, Alicia was supposed to end up with Adrian unless you unlocked the hidden story. If you managed to pair her with Victor, she developed a brother complex. Despite her outward appearance, Alicia yearned for an older figure to protect and care for her.
With the brother-complex path, Alicia would then turn to Edenis Raphiel, unlocking a hidden route where the third game's protagonist, Lucius Celesta, could conquer her. However, this route was extremely difficult because of her brother complex.
Yes, she truly deserved to be a Hidden Heroine with all the hidden stories and the challenge of conquering her.
Her words sent a slight shiver down my spine.
Layla was a serious issue. She nearly r*ped me in prison. The guards, dumbfounded by the scene, tried to intervene after a long moment, but it was useless. In the end, I had to calm Layla down, as she was hell-bent on taking my virginity before I left for Sancta Vedelia.
She wasn't wrong. Did Layla really guess that I'd lose my virginity in Sancta Vedelia? She had scary instincts.
In any case, Persephone was the one worrying me.
"Didn't you already tell me that Persephone is different from Mary?" I asked.
"I will politely refuse your suggestion, Cleenah. Mary has been mine for a year now, and I have no intention of leaving her in the hands of another man, even if he is a god."
There was no way I'd let Mary go. She meant as much to me as Cleenah did.
Cleenah said, reading my thoughts again, though her reaction wasn't flustered this time.
That was a bit scary, but I wouldn't let Persephone go.
I grimaced at her words.
"I won't grow any harem. Ephera, Layla, Persephone, Miranda."
And you, I thought to myself.
"Who do you take me for? A womanizer?"
She sure answered fast. Maybe my actions seemed like I was trying to seduce everyone, but that wasn't my intention.
"I already have two beautiful fiancées and three future ones. I have no intention of doing something bad to them."
"I didn't do it willingly..."
Taking responsibility, huh? I don't think Elizabeth is the type of woman who cares about such things. She was affected by what happened, but something felt strange. I couldn't put it into words yet, though.
In any case, this engagement couldn't be helped.
I can only hope Elizabeth's grandfather will find someone else for her, and that Elizabeth will accept him. What happened between us had clearly moved too fast.
I do like her as a person, and she is honestly quite charming, but taking her as my lover seems far-fetched.
Still, it would be a lie to say I wasn't charmed by her.
Since that night, I can't help but feel conscious of her, even during our interactions. Rubbing my neck, where Elizabeth's love bite still lingered, I exhaled deeply.
After another hour of travel, I finally reached the palace.
Since my mother's disappearance, we had all been living in the palace instead of our mansion. Another significant change had taken place as well.
The respect the people of the Olphean kingdom showed me, which was already high, had now transcended to several new levels. My identity as Amael Idea Olphean had spread throughout all of Sancta Vedelia, causing waves of shock and fascination.
I was literally in the news everywhere. Seeing my face displayed constantly made me cringe, but there wasn't much I could do about it.
Aside from other people, those from Pallas showed an overwhelming amount of reverence towards me. Maybe it was because I resembled Connor and had survived against all odds. I heard that the entire kingdom had fallen into a state of utter sadness when I was presumed dead. With all the losses that had stricken the Olphean family, it was understandable that the people were feeling so happy and exhilarated about my return.
Entering the palace, I made my way to the council room. I expected Christina to be there, as she had been handling the kingdom's affairs lately.
She was indeed there, but the nobles were nowhere to be seen.
"You shouldn't overwork. If you are not healthy, who will manage your kingdom?" Myrcella said, sitting on the table with her legs crossed. She wasn't wearing a mask anymore.
From what I knew about her from the game, she only removed her mask when she felt at home and safe. I supposed she felt like that with Christina.
"I agree with big sis Myrcella," Annabelle said, sitting on a chair with her arms crossed,
"Mm," Samara, who was combing Annabelle's blond hair, nodded lightly.
"You are sure working hard, sister," I laughed as I made my presence known.
"Amael," Christina smiled upon seeing me.
"Edward!" Annabelle rushed toward me, and I quickly caught her in my embrace.
She was growing too fast, too much...
Cleenah did tell me that Banshees would have an accelerated growth until reaching the age of
20, but it was still amazing to see it with my own eyes. Annabelle looked like she was thirteen
now, while Samara appeared to be sixteen.
"I hope you're working hard while I am away?" I asked, patting her hair.
"Of course I am...stop treating me like a child already..." Annabelle pouted.
Well, she was a child a year ago, but I supposed I couldn't treat her like that anymore. It was
clearly upsetting her.
"I wonder whose fault that is?"
When she confessed to me, what was I supposed to say? I managed to comfort her, but I didn't
give her a proper answer. I'm actually scared of her reaction if I reject her outright, so I'm
acting like nothing happened.
After giving her a new body and a few more years, I'm sure she will mature enough to understand that what she feels toward me is affection like any sister would have toward an
older brother who helped her.
After Annabelle pulled away, Samara approached me slowly, wrapping her arms around my waist and burying her face in my chest. I smiled as I stroked her dark hair.
I felt bad using her as a bodyguard for Christina since she deserved all the happiness in the world, but I couldn't leave my sister unguarded after everything that had been happening. Once it's over, I will let her live however she wants, much like Annabelle.
"You are popular, Amael," Christina grinned teasingly.
"Well, I'm your brother after all," I retorted jokingly.
Shifting my gaze toward Myrcella, I smiled. "I hope you have a good dress for tomorrow."
Myrcella's expression twitched slightly. "I am not coming."
"Come on, please, it's my brother's engagement! You have to be there!" Christina pleaded,
putting on a puppy face.
"I don't think I'm needed there..."
She was clearly not interested in the slightest.
"Stay with Christina. She will need some help after everything that happened," I said
Myrcella looked at me for a moment with her golden eyes before she sighed. "Alright."