"This one is good!" Lily concluded after tasting the stew for one more time.
"Let me see." Earl took the spoon from her hand and took a sip of his own.
It had the typical rich taste of a stew with a twist of fruitiness that came from the Elven Fruits.
"Now we just need to wait for the others to come."
"Hm? Princess?" Earl spotted Alea coming down from upstairs.
The girl did not say anything but sniffed the air a few times from the alluring smell of the stew.
"Come try some!" He waved his spoon to call her over.
She took a step forward and paused to think before walking all the way into the kitchen.
"Here you go!" Earl handed her the spoon with a mouthful of stew on it.
Their fingers touched for a split second when Alea took the spoon from Earl's hand causing her body to wince unconsciously. She hurriedly looked at Earl to check for a reaction. Thankfully, it didn't seem like he thought anything of it which earned a feeling of relief from her. What was this feeling?
The alluring smell of the stew in her hand brought her back to reality.
...It was delicious...
She felt like her face practically melted.
Earl smiled warmly at her reaction. "So you can make other faces too."
"Y-you." Alea blushed and stuttered from how fast her heart was beating. She felt like she had just fallen into a trap. "Tomorrow. I challenge you to a duel. Be here."
And in the next moment, she had already bolted out the door.
"Master, what's with that silly grin on your face?"
Lily pulled on Earl's sleeve to get his attention.
"Aren't her reactions amusing?" Earl laughed and gave Lily head pats. Her pouty expression quickly turned into a relaxed one.
"You like her don't you, Master. Just like with that Princess Sharon."
"My Lily is so perceptive."
"Of course. Lily knows every expression of Master!" The demon girl lifted up her chin proudly.
"Where did Alea go?" Ari's voice soon came from outside the kitchen.
"She left just before you came," Earl answered.
"Did anyone accompany her home?" Like a parent, Ari immediately asked a question of concern.
"There was a guard waiting for her outside so there's no problem."
"That's a relief. What is this amazing smell, by the way?"
"It's a new recipe I came up with Lily. We can all try it together when Aria comes back."
"Perfect."
After dinner, Earl took a relaxing bath alone. He trained hard today under the guidance of Saryll. It was a much-needed training that took him out of his comfort zone.
"Ah..." The hot bath took all of his soreness away. A heavenly feeling indeed.
When he was done, he donned his bathrobe as usual and peeked his head into his mother's room.
"Mom?" He called out to her. She was laying down comfortably with her back facing him.
"Yes?"
Earl thought deeply about what he was going to say before putting them into words. "I'm going to sleep with Lily and Aria tonight."
"That's... new?" She suddenly sat up from the bed and faced him.
For the first time in 8 years, Earl was going to sleep away from her. Earl thought deeply about this. It was better to set a precedent now than never. His heart was tense.
Her eyes moved up and down his body and then her shoulders suddenly relaxed. She let out a wry smile and spoke softly, "At least let me give you a good night kiss before you go."
It felt like a stone was lifted off his heart. This was one of the pains in having multiple women and loving them all. The last thing he wanted was making them sad or disappointing them.
He sat next to her at the side of the bed and gave her a pure, innocent kiss on the lips. Tonight, he would not be smelling her unique milky fragrance.
"Just crawl in if you can't fall asleep, okay?" Ari rubbed his head and sent him off.
Standing in the hallway, Earl felt like he had just gone through an intense battle. Now that he had gone through this interaction, the next time he left Ari's side would not be so difficult anymore. At the same time, he felt a small feeling of guilt. Why was he this kind of man?
He would need to make it up to her later.
The room of Lily and Aria was just a few rooms down. Traditionally, the room of servants and slaves would at the lower floors but this was a household that did not follow rules. Ari allowed Earl to choose their room.
He opened their door as quietly as possible. Lily and Aria had separate beds. All the candles were already out but he could make out that Lily had fallen asleep and Aria was still awake.
"Master?" Aria whispered.
Earl placed a finger over his lip to indicate silence.
Unfortunately, that one word was enough to shake Lily awake. As a demon, she had pointed ears like the elves which meant her hearing was extra sensitive.
"Eh? Why is Master here?" Lily mumbled with her eyes half-open.
"Lily, it's morning."
"It's morning!?" She suddenly jumped up from the bed.
"Yes, you're late so I'm here to wake you up."
"And Lily is late!? Sis, quick. Help Lily put on her apron." Her feet were solidly planted onto the ground at this point.
Earl had to look the other way to suppress his laughter.
"Lily..." Aria spoke slowly. "Look out the window. It's this late into the night, how are you so energetic!?"
"Ah."