Rupegia 110 Ambition - Part 2

I hold her waist and the back of her neck as I impale her. She hangs on me by hugging my neck, struggling to maintain her grip. Our foreheads touch and her amber gems stare into my dark eyes. Our hot breaths mingle and mix with the smell of our sweat and perfume.

Her scent is familiar, nostalgic, and calming. The last remnants of the smell of oranges from her perfume are as relaxing for me as the smell of coffee that lingers in the air long after you've finished brewing it.

Our lips feel drawn to one another, but our haggard breaths prevent them from sealing our kiss for longer than a few seconds.

My hips move on their own. Their constant cadence and speed creates a stable level of pleasure. There's no need to fry our nerves and pleasure receptors this time. Each impact gives her b.r.e.a.s.t.s that adorable little jiggle that's characteristic of her size.

She bites her lip, and her cute little fangs make their appearance.

She's irresistible. I grab her chin and open her mouth so that I can invade it with my tongue.

Her fangs may look sharp, but they are perfectly safe. I even once saw Alissa sanding them down to further reduce the danger of hurting me.

I get another taste of her and end the kiss so that we can breathe again.

She hugs me tighter so that her mouth comes closer to my ear. "I'm yours, master. f.u.c.k me, master," she whispers. Her voice feels like a sensual lick on my ego, giving me the energy to continue for even longer.

I smirk and ask, "I thought you had stopped calling me master?"

"But I'll always be yours," she whispers and nibbles on my ear lobe.

I grunt at her attack that pierces my heart.

Her sharp nails find their usual spots on my back, and her moans quiver sensually with the pleasure wracking through her body.

"Impregnate me," she whispers another attack, and I c.u.m.

My glorious, bountiful, and hallowed c.u.m fills her sacred womb and gives it a holy coating. Her legs wrap around my waist, restraining me from vacating her so that my mark can penetrate deeper into her flesh.

"I'll carry your children, master. Give it to me!" She whispers again and another long o.r.g.a.s.m squeezes my b.a.l.l.s for the rest of the s.e.m.e.n and mana left in them.

"Bless me with your c.u.m, my Lord," she finishes me off, and I groan as I'm forcefully emptied by her sweet words.

The hallowed seed overflows, and before a single drop can be wasted, Aoi's tongue makes its appearance to clean up the mixture of Alissa's cream, her nectar, and my seed.

The dexterous tongue rubs all over my shaft and penetrates Alissa, stretching her further. Then it rubs against her lips as she cleans around my shaft and enters deeper and deeper into Alissa, scooping out all the c.u.m that she can. The tongue finally rubs against the head, and I groan in pain as I have no more blessings to give today.

I pull it out of Alissa and allow Aoi to have her fill of tongue-f.u.c.king my fanatical follower.

I sink into the bath and drink some cold and delicious juice as I observe Roxanne and Hana use Lina and Ciel. The two worshippers of the G.o.d of s.e.x felt every single thing that Alissa and I did, and now they need to let loose their l.u.s.t on some unfortunate soul.

--

I'm nearly carried out of the bath due to my tiredness. Lina is the one with the most stamina remaining since she's using [Spirit of Gaia] to be able to walk, so I lean on her to make sure that I don't trip and fall.

A proto-maid wearing a not-bikini awaits us in the kitchen.

"Would you like us to prepare dinner for you?" She asks.

I look around, and the tired faces of the girls tell me all that I need to know. "Yes, please," I respond.

The maid bows, making her jugs jiggle freely, and I feel a pain downstairs.

I've really become a s.e.x fiend... there isn't a woman that I don't think about s.h.a.gging anymore...

We go to the living room to rest while we wait.

Lina decides to worship my chest and fills my body with kisses. Her little hands caress my body, and I kiss every single of her pink, painted nails. They're also decorated with little, light blue flowers, giving her a very girly air. She and Roxanne are the ones that protect their nails the most, so they are always impeccable.

I want her nails painted with something new. Too bad I'm not a manicurist.

Hana isn't fully satisfied yet. Today she seems in need of thickness, so, on the sofa, she fondles Ciel all over as they kiss.

Aoi didn't get any, so she's itching for something. She shrinks down to small-Aoi and shows me her belly, then she spreads her little legs enticingly. I sink my finger into her extremely small p.u.s.s.y, and she immediately starts moaning. Her intense stare pierces my heart and makes my p.e.n.i.s pulse with pain.

"Don't try to charm me, please," I ask Aoi and she nods, then closes her eyes.

Just as Roxanne starts to feel left out, Alissa comes over to cuddle with her and worship her body in the same way that Lina is for me.

--

The maid comes to tell us that dinner is ready, and Roxanne hurriedly covers her chest. I have to use [Bind] to hold Hana back because she's far too drunk from my thickness to care.

The dining room has a Victorian air with all the ornate details, but there's still a very strong Arabic flavor with the vibrant tiles and curved lines everywhere.

There aren't that many different plates for this meal because we didn't ask for anything lavish. We just want something fast that will fill our bellies and replenish our energy.

From the few dishes they brought us, the best one is certainly the elven ca.s.serole. It's a staple of commoner cuisine, but still something that not even the n.o.bility is sn.o.bbish enough to pa.s.s on. Aoi finds it "okay," which is kind of a compliment for something without meat.

--

I unfasten the belt of my pants and groan softly in satisfaction. Lina lets out a cute burp and lowers her head to try and hide the intense redness that immediately creeps onto her face.

Hana suddenly feels like one-upping Lina's burp, but a quick glance from Alissa and Roxanne, who had read her mind (but not through [Bind]), is enough to force her to reconsider.

Without that silliness clouding her mind, Hana remembers what she was eager to discuss. "So, we need to talk about the goblin knocking at the door," Hana says.

Lina's Trivia: that's Rupegia's "elephant in the room." Something that we have to deal with, but n.o.body wants to.

"We can start with your opinion," I say and look at Hana.

"Do it," she says in almost a whisper.

"Why?"

She smiles softly and with confidence. "It's obvious: it's everything we need."

"Adding a stranger to our harem, as a wife no less, is going to be quite a complicated affair."

She shrugs. "We just have to seduce her like you seduced us."

"I didn't really sedu-... wait, 'we'?"

"Most of the n.o.bility, and especially the higher-ranking Lords, are bis.e.xual so that their harems won't rule out powerful people due to gender," Roxanne says.

Roxanne and Yulania... together...

"You just made my opinion so much more biased..." I say and facepalm.

"Well, Hana's right. If we're going to accept her, we'll all have to work on getting along with her, in more ways than one," Alissa says with a wry smile.

"She'll have to adapt to our ways more than we'll have to adapt to hers," Ciel says in a serious tone that contrasts with Alissa's.

"We have far more secrets than the average person. To become a.s.sociated with us is no simple decision," Lina says, matching Ciel's tone.

"Why would she even want to stay with us?" I ask and look around. "She'll be in danger forever because of the heretics that are after us."

Ciel answers my question without hesitation, "Being close to a Hero means that you'll face hardships, but you're likely to survive if you have the will to fight through them, and then, after everything is done, you'll be able to reap the rewards."

So, plot armor?

"Well, ambitious people will always be drawn to someone like a Hero, but it's not necessarily an attractive characteristic to us," Alissa says.

"Does anyone have high ambitions here?" I ask and look around.

The girls awkwardly look at each other.

"Why do you all follow him?" Alissa asks.

"You first," Roxanne says to Alissa.

"Fate," Alissa answers immediately and smiles. "I've sworn to serve my master with my body, mind, and soul. That I fell in love with him is just a bonus."

Hana nods in agreement with a fearsome smile and says, "I just want us to stay together. Life's been so much better after meeting Wolfy that, heretics or not, I don't think that we'll ever want to separate."

"Do we need a reason to want to be here? We just love being together," Ciel asks and smiles shyly.

"I guess not," Alissa says and deflates a little.

"And that's the difference between us and Yulania. She has an ambition," Lina says.

"Just wanting to become the Crown Lord isn't that high of an ambition," Hana says.

"But that's still different from us," Lina says, and Hana's face scrunches up as she thinks deeply about it.

"We have to make sure that her mindset is the same as ours," Ciel says.

"Can't we change, too? We could also align our goals with hers," I suggest.

Ciel looks worriedly at her empty cup, then looks forward, towards nowhere in particular. "For that, we'd first have to learn what she wants. But even so, she might not fully know what she really wants right now, and that could cause strain to develop in our relationship in the future."

Lina continues with a stern look on her face, and I already know she's concealing her own worry with a mask of cold objectivity. "What if she doesn't fall in love with Wolfy? What if she has a lover and asks us to include him in the harem? Would Wolfy or even any of us be comfortable with her sleeping with another man?"

I'm very possessive, so that would be a little complicated, but it's already something I'll have to learn to accept with Klein... Well, it's not like she was ever considered to be a true wife. At most, Klein is a "close friend with benefits." Even though we both love one another, we don't want to commit more to this relationship...

Alissa hums in understanding and says, "So, we have to influence her to surrender herself to us. That would kind of be a prerequisite for [Bind] to work on her, right?"

"Hana and Aoi are the most 'willful' of us and have the strongest 'feedback' with [Bind], so I believe it's quite possible that she'd unconsciously reject it," I say.

"I still think she'll accept it," Hana says.

"What do you mean?" Ciel asks.

"She'll have to give up a lot, but we'll also replace it all with much more. Power, safety, Fate, endless love, and a f.u.c.king huge amount of fun," Hana ends with a smirk.

"It depends on what her ambitions really are. She didn't seem to hate Confiel for killing her father," Roxanne calmly says.

"That's true. She might be more similar to me than any of you," Alissa says with a slightly pained smile.

Roxanne nods and continues, "Her ambition might simply be to gain enough 'glory' to offset the shame of having her parents deposed, not vengeance, nor a desire to conquer the entire High Forest."

"Elves aren't known to be ambitious, to begin with," Lina says.

Ciel smiles wryly and quotes, "'Power nurtures Wickedness in the unfaithful,' a teaching from the G.o.ddess of Piety. 'Power is a sword, and we do not give sharp swords to children,' a teaching from the G.o.d of Law. 'Break the traditions that fail, reinforce the ones that serve a purpose,' another teaching from the G.o.d of Law."

"Wait, that last one could go either way," I say.

"There hasn't been a change in the borders of each of the Lords' territories in the High Forest for a thousand years," Lina responds.

"Confiel taking control of the Western High Forest would cause a civil war. He killed Lord Mavel, but he didn't kill any of his other allies or their armies," Roxanne adds.

"Everything they did seems to be in line with the objective of only removing the three Este Lords," Ciel continues.

"And they seemed to be very friendly to Yulania. Friendly enough that they went to great lengths to test your potential as her fiance," Lina finishes.

"But why us, non-elves, instead of searching for another elf?" I ask. No answer comes, so I smile wryly. "We'll ask them about that tomorrow, then."

"So, everyone is in agreement with continuing to consider Confiel's offer?" Alissa asks.

"Yes," Hana answers immediately.

"It's going to be a lot of effort for all of us, but I agree," Roxanne says. Her tone was serious through this entire talk, which is quite the record for her.

"Same," Lina says with a nod. "I'm worried that we'll have to rely on Confiel to hire aides and people for other key positions. We don't have enough connections to be truly independent."

"We can always ask them to become our Blood Slaves," Roxanne says and Lina agrees. "They might not be happy about it, but it's something we need to do."

"Then I'll demand that from Confiel," I say and turn to Ciel. "What's your opinion?"

"I'm... okay with all of this," Ciel says and smiles a little bitterly.

"You seem like you have some reservations."

"Mostly the problem of forcing her to join us, and the fact that we'll have another wife to share with."

"I think that Confiel has probably prepared alternatives. We might not be the only fellowship he has in mind," Lina says.

"So it's possible that she won't accept us," Roxanne says.

"Hm..." Ciel hums, and her face relaxes a little. "That makes it a little better."

"Still, if you're uncomfortable with another woman joining, you can always say 'no,'" I say.

Ciel shakes her head gently. "We can't just say 'no.' This opportunity is too good for us."

"We could go our own way and attempt to ally with Alissa's parents."

She gives me a pained smile. "Wolfy... I know you want to make us all happy, but this is an offer that we can't refuse. Our safety is more important than our happiness."

If I had some proper support, then maybe we could find a reason to say no... But she's right, we can't pa.s.s up this chance for power, even if it isn't the choice that will make us all the happiest.

I sigh and nod weakley.

"So, we'll all have to accept her with an open, sympathetic, and understanding heart, understood?" Alissa questions us all, and we nod.

We turn our heads towards Aoi, who has just been patiently observing us so far.

"What?" She asks.

"Your opinion on this matter?" I question her.

"Oh! Okay! I'm fine with this. Dragons start with big families, so this one is small."

I raise an eyebrow. "'Start'? They don't stay together forever?"

"Food runs out, so they have to separate to stay alive."

"That's sad," Ciel says, softly.

Aoi tilts her head repeatedly, then says, "Hm~... Yes, it is. Good for me that we won't separate, then!"

I smile warmly and pat her scaly head.

--

We spend the rest of the evening merely relaxing and ruminating on our discussion.

I return Lina's love from earlier and caress her entire pale and delicate body. She causes me waves of pain every time she presses her cute derriere against my Rod of Love, but I endure it because she seems to love feeling my length between her cheeks.

The girls start talking about something, but I become too absorbed with Lina's nipples to pay attention, eventually falling asleep while hugging her.

--

Today is the 7th.

Alissa wakes me up, and I glaze her face.

"So, you feeling better?" Hana asks.

"Yeah, come get your breakfast," I say with a smirk and slap my Rod against Alissa's face.

--

Lina leveled to 26, too. She increased her [Cursing Magic] by 1 (now 3) and her [Hammer Use] by 2 (now 12).

My [Summoning Magic] increased by 2 (now 7+25), my [Mana Overuse Resistance] increased by 1 (now 0+4) and I gained [Blackout Resistance] with 1 point. That was kind of expected.

--

We take a look through the pantry and see a not-strawberry jelly pie, so of course, we eat it while sipping some not-earl-grey tea. We eat the entire pie and feast on some savory snacks, too. Nutrition be d.a.m.ned, we deserve this indulgence.

Then we activate one of the many white gems embedded in the wall and after a minute, a servant knocks on the door.

"We'd like to meet with the Lords and Miss Yulania," I say.

The servant bows and leaves. We wait for about fifteen minutes before he returns and opens a [Gate] to Goloria's meeting hall.

Confiel and Luz are seated in their designated chairs and receive us with gentle smiles. They're both wearing lavish traditional elven clothing. White for Confiel and red for Luz. Their clothes have long strips of gold and silver weaved into them.

Luz's outfit shows off her abs, a nice amount of cleavage with her small not-bikini, and her long, delicious legs, which makes me slightly uncomfortable until I get mini-me under control.

"Good morning to you all, Ryders," Luz says.

"Good morning," Confiel says.

"Good morning, Lord Luz, Lord Confiel," I say and bow quickly.

The girls bow, too, but it isn't necessary for them to repeat the greeting.

Then we sit on one side of the round table and Alissa asks, "Lord Lua is not joining us?"

"She's dealing with the aftermath of Mavel's death. A few angry Lords are throwing a tantrum, but after their little fit is done, things will return to normal," Confiel responds.

I feel mana coming from behind us, and we turn around. An [Eternal Gate] appears, and Yulania enters the room.

She's now wearing an even more ornate, transparent yellow dress that lets us clearly see her figure, along with her frilly black underwear. She's between Alissa and Ciel in curviness, with a slightly muscular body, but she also has the gift of "good genes" that makes her bouncier in all the right spots.

I swallow heavily as she approaches us and stops before me with an impa.s.sive expression. She extends her hand, and the thick scent of her perfume invades my mind. It's sweet, sensual, and strong; something that Roxanne would love to wear.

I get up and gently take her hand for a kiss. I press my lips against it to give her a proper kiss and hold it for a moment longer than normal. A kiss means respect and admiration, length translates into the intensity of respect, and the pressure of the lips translates into the intensity of admiration or romantic feelings, if there are any.

Before I can release her hand, she grabs mine and hesitates. I look her in the eye and see her expression tremble slightly, then she quickly lowers her face towards my hand, hesitates again for a second and mirrors my kiss.

She straightens her posture, and her hesitation is gone, returning to her previous, impa.s.sive expression.

"I am Wolf Ryder," I say and nod.

"Yulania Es-... just Yulania," she says and flashes a faint wry smile.

She releases my hand, and we continue the greetings.

"I am Alissa," my soul mate says and touches her forehead against Yulania's hand. Touching the forehead means neutral respect. The more haughty of the n.o.bles feel offended when you don't kiss their hand, though.

"Not a Ryder?" Yulania asks and mirrors Alissa's gesture. Clearly, she's not part of that arrogant faction.

"Not yet," Alissa responds with a gentle smile.

The rest of the greetings go the same way, then Yulania walks around the table to her seat. I try to study her entire body before she sits across from us and hides most of it from my view.

The elves "dress to be seen," so they don't feel offended if others stare at them, but d.a.m.n, I'm already salivating.

She scans over us again, and I notice that her eyes have a lot more life to them, but I see a hint of bags under them as well, which are not covered by makeup.

"So, Mr. Ryder, what would you like to discuss?" Luz breaks the silence.

"There are a few things we'd like to ask you, Lords," I say.

"Please, ask away," Luz responds with a kind smile.

"Why us? Why not a fellowship of elves? They would certainly be more well-received as Lords than we would."

Yulania stares at Luz with a hint of interest in her answer.

"An elf of the High Forest would have family, friends, and a history here. That would mean that their alliances would be more easily manipulated by vengeful former allies of Mavel."

"And since we're outsiders, we have no allegiances..."

"Exactly." She nods.

"But we're also more vulnerable. We'll have to lean on you until we have enough trustworthy allies to protect us."

Confiel flashes a smile and says, "It's in our mutual best interest to hold no influence over the Western High Forest."

Yulania scoffs and asks, "And why would that be so?"

He turns more serious as he says, "I want to join the Council of Elders one day."

Yulania quickly becomes shocked, and her long ears twitch in surprise.

"You did all of this just so that the Council would pay attention to you?!" She exclaims and grits her teeth.

Confiel narrows his eyes, and his aura of "danger" shows itself again. "I did this because I wanted what was best for the High Forest. If I didn't care for the Elder Council, I would have been much more ruthless in deposing your parents."

Yulania straightens her back and bites her tongue. She matches his glare, but it seems like she's more frozen than defiant.

Confiel's aura quickly fades, and the atmosphere slowly loses its tension.

"Speaking of that, why did you depose the Este family?" I ask.

Confiel is the one to answer. "Over the course of a decade, I've gradually convinced the Elder Council that the High Forest needed outside talent to grow and improve. Their opinion finally changed when we learned that the halflings of Lorelai had managed to surpa.s.s us in the yield of their magical farms.

"The Council then decided to heed my reforms, but not everyone liked them. Mavel actually put forth a different reform to focus on enriching us further, but he didn't have the same patience as I did to influence the Council, so he decided on acting independently when he was rejected. As you might have guessed, the Council does not like when their authority is challenged."

So, just some political differences that grew until there was no path left other than war.

Yulania's face turns dark, and she looks down as she clenches her fist. "His reform would've worked if you didn't plot against him."

Confiel sighs and looks at her with a stern face. "If we a.n.a.lyze his plans on their own, they look like they definitely would've worked. But if we put them in context with the current situation of the High Forest, then it's obvious that they would've failed. The fact that he didn't account for my interference tells us how naive he was."

"Your father was idealistic and too stubborn to change his ways," Luz adds in a soft tone.

Yulania's anger is snuffed out, and she slowly rebuilds her look. Once her anger seems fully contained, I continue.

"If we don't agree to become Lords, what will happen to the Western High Forest?" I ask.

"The Council will choose a n.o.ble without land or a powerful fellowship and then slowly groom them over time to replace the Este family. It would likely take a decade for another Crown Lord to be inducted," Confiel answers.

"So, none of Mavel's allies will rise to Crown Lord?"

Confiel nods and his face suddenly becomes very somber. "We don't want to give any of them the hope that killing those above them would grant them a chance to elevate their position."

I see...they're hoping to keep greed from starting wars...

"Now I want to ask about something different. We want to travel the world, but wouldn't becoming Crown Lords impede that?"

Yulania leans forward in a small gesture of interest.

"It's not like you'll be bound to the High Forest all the time," Confiel answers.

"We've traveled the entirety of the Empire, Maoka, and some more with the [Eternal Gate] network. You'll be rich enough to do the same with ease," Luz says.

Roxanne's heart skips a beat. This would make visiting her family trivial, but I'm not sure if she thinks that she's ready yet.

"You said that you wanted to change our agreement?" I ask Confiel.

He nods and says, "We did. We don't need you to stay and help deal with the aftermath, and there's no need for you to continue hiding. We want you to go find a dungeon to conquer with Yulania, but you should stay hidden from the public eye since there's still a chance that she may be kidnapped and used as a p.a.w.n."

Yulania doesn't seem very pleased with Confiel's words, but she begrudgingly accepts them.

I've run out of questions, so it's time to make our demand. "So, if we are to become the Crown Lords of the Western High Forest, we demand that our close aides will all be Blood Slaves. I won't take the risk of someone close to me and my wives potentially being a traitor. We don't need them to be s.e.x slaves, we just want them as Blood Slaves for our own safety."

Confiel smiles widely while Luz seems a little annoyed.

"It's the right choice," Confiel says and glances at Luz. "This will lower the number of possible aides available for you, but it won't negatively affect your rule."

"That is all that we had to ask of you. Now, we'd like to talk to Miss Yulania in private," I say.

Confiel and Luz get up and nod.

"Use the enchantments on the table to call for us or a servant," Luz says, and they walk away. They open an [Eternal Gate] and disappear through it.

Yulania turns to us, and her impa.s.sive expression holds, but this time I catch a glimpse of a subtle trembling of her hand before she gets it under control.

"What have they told you about us?" I ask, not wanting to let an awkward silence fall between us.

Her voice is casual and soft, different from her fierceness when talking to Lord Confiel. "About your backgrounds, or the lack of one in your case, Mr. Ryder; your accomplishments; your... s.e.xual appet.i.te;" -she raises an eyebrow as she speaks, as if she doesn't believe what she's heard- "your supposed Gift; something about [G.o.dly Language]; your interactions with Katasko and Darean; and your encounter with the heretics."

Oh, I may have yelled a bit too loudly during the attack. I didn't particularly want Confiel to ever actually find out that we can use [G.o.dly Language].

"And you still want to join us?" I ask.

She eyes each of us and then says, "You're my best choice."

"So you have other options?"

She nods. "But I agree with Lord Confiel. Your situation makes you a good choice, even though there are... dangers that come with a.s.sociating with you."

"We know more about our Fate than we've told Lord Confiel. There's that and a few other matters that we can't discuss with you until you've become our Blood Slave," Alissa says.

She narrows her eyes in suspicion and confusion. "What does that mean?" She asks.

"We are even more special than the Rincipio Lords believe us to be," I answer.

"Our bonds with one another go far beyond those of marriage," Alissa says.

"We've opened our hearts and minds to Wolf. He has absolute control over us," Hana says.

"But we aren't below him. He treats us as equals, and each of us can veto any action we might take," Lina says.

"So, it's important that you understand how our relationship works. You won't be a slave, you'll be another equal," Ciel says.

"And I just have to submit absolute control to him?" Yulania asks and frowns. "That's what I'll already have to do if I'm to become his Blood Slave."

"Not just control. We've given him our trust, loyalty, and love," Lina says.

Yulania's eyes stay on me, ruminating on Lina's words while also measuring my worth.

I won't back down from this small challenge, so I return her gaze. Her lips deserve loving kisses, her eyes deserve peaceful rest, her smile deserves a reason to shine.

It's obvious how strong her mind and will are, but she's not infallible. Her small flashes of weakness make her endearing to me, and my pity for her increases as I notice them. I want to protect her, to make her happy, to make a nest for her in my heart.

Her eyes regain their focus again, and she notices my stare. Her face tenses, and I get the feeling that I can hear the resounding ring of a gla.s.s being struck, as if something fragile is about to break. Then she averts her eyes, and the feeling fades.

Alissa's sympathy for her also starts to seep through [Bind], and this motivates her to say, "In a way, he's special, in many ways, he's not..."

"Heey..." I complain and look at Alissa, feeling a little hurt.

She smiles warmly and squeezes my hand, then she continues, "But that doesn't matter. I've chosen to give him my love, and he returned it all and more. Not only him, but the other wives, too," -she looks around and grabs Ciel's hand- "they've all given me love, and I returned it and more to them as well. We all love each other, we're all connected."

I get an itch and immediately recite our vows, "United, day and night, in pain and pleasure, success or failure, life or death. Wherever we may be, we will never abandon each other. All for one, one for all. Those are the vows that we made to one another."

"That's... cute," Yulania says in a low tone and shows us a shy smile.

"And very corny. Oh, so corny," Ciel says and chuckles.

"But they fit us perfectly. I may not be an expert in healthy relationships, but ours is certainly... special," Roxanne says with a wry smile.

"Love! We give love with every breath!" Aoi exclaims, nearly making Yulania jump out of her seat.

"I knew that you talked, but knowing about it and hearing it myself are two completely different things," she says.

"Oh, yeah, she's also another wife, so... we are all in a physical relationship with her, too," Alissa says.

"With a... dragon?!" Yulania's mouth hangs open as she looks at me with fear and disbelief.

"She's special, too," Roxanne says and giggles.

"Wait, so, you're all... bis.e.xual?" Yulania asks.

"Yes. We all love each other quite deeply," Hana says, emphasizing the last word very suggestively.

"We also have an open relationship. You can bring any woman you want to the bed only for s.e.x as long as all the others agree, but men will never be allowed," Alissa says.

Yulania blinks twice. "Oh..."

"Did you... have a lover?" I ask, tentatively.

Her surprise quickly fades and gets replaced by almost completely concealed sadness. She looks down at her perfect silvery nails and starts to scratch her index finger against the gla.s.s in anxiety. "I did... but I 'prepared,' as Lord Confiel suggested, so I broke off our engagement a long time ago."

"That's something I won't back down. If you're to be a wife, no other man will lay with you," I say.

"I don't mind," she says softly as she shakes her head. Her long drills bounce so perfectly that all the girls, except Aoi and Gify, feel envious about her. d.a.m.n, even I want that glorious hair!

"We want to accept you with open arms, so we hope that if you choose us, that you'll do the same," Alissa says.

"Now you've heard what we want. But what do you want from us?" I ask.

She shyly averts her eyes, then stares down at her own hands, and finally, lets her head hang low.

Her voice starts low and timid as regains her confidence and gradually raises her head again, "I want to save my brothers. Once they are old enough, they'll continue the Este family name and be our sworn allies.

"I've already had an uncle turn Wicked... and now my parents will be known as failed n.o.bles. I want to reclaim the honor of our bloodline! I want enough power to dictate history!" She ends with a yell as her eyes burn with determination.

Alissa grins and mirrors the fire in Yulania's eyes. Her voice makes the hatchling dragon inside of me gently stir awake as she says, "Once our Fate is achieved, you won't need to grow any more powerful. Our own accomplishments will be enough that our names will be immortalized. Whatever dishonor your family suffered will be washed away many times over."

"So, will you choose us?" I ask.

Yulania stands up and bows at a right angle to us. "I formally request that you, Wolf Ryder, and all of your wives, accept me as a fellow wife and help me become a True n.o.ble. I swear on my name, worthless as it is, that I'll give all my love to you and to my fellow wives in return for this favor. Let the G.o.ds observe me and judge me for my actions."

That last part is a surprise. We didn't expect her to commit so heavily to us.

I look around and the girls all nod, even Aoi and Gify.

"Very well. We'll protect you and rule together. We'll regain your honor and fight alongside you so that you receive your just rewards. Our house will grow in fame and power, and we shall leave our mark on this realm, together. Let the G.o.ds observe me and judge me for my actions."

Yulania straightens her posture and a faint smile graces her beautiful face. For the first time, a glimmer of hope lights up her eyes.

This time though, I don't feel a tightening in my heart, and this confuses me.

"Promises about love aren't the same as business deals. So you can't swear on love so easily, but if we screw up too badly, then the G.o.ds can still punish us through our Fate," Alissa says through [Bind].

"Well, we all have big hearts. I'm sure that we'll have enough s.p.a.ce in each of us for her to make herself feel at home."

I get up and bow, then I say, "Welcome, Yulania, to the Helios fellowship and the Ryder family."

--

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Hall of Fame of Patrons

The patrons who support Rupegia shall have their names sung by the bards for they deserve the glory and honor. Their names are:

Oracle Maximillian Hübner.

Prince PreownedFIN.

Lord Andrew Meyers.

Lord Hope.

Lord Samuel Lim.

Lord Bill.

Lord Novgarod.

Lord DJ.

Lord Cidant.

Lord Ashadun.

Lord Michale Erwin.

Lord Joxsan Herrera.

Lord Enrique Peña Gomez.

Lord Vampmire.

Lord Braidborn.

Lord Bakerdea.

Lord Kalsted.

Lord Yeeteris Dedmeem.

Lord D4rk Sheep.

Lord Nevarec.

Lord Nathan Vanbrunt.

Lord Andrew Heffelbower.

n.o.ble Salty Panda.

n.o.ble Evil.

n.o.ble Yamibomb112.

n.o.ble Maurice.