"So you're finally awake, you crazy bastard," a familiar voice cursed, snapping me out of my haze. My eyes fluttered open to find Cecilia and Seraphina standing by the bedside, their expressions a mix of exasperation and barely contained fury.
Cecilia smiled—that smile, the one that promised danger disguised as sweetness. "So, Arthur," she said, her tone unnervingly light, "when exactly were you planning to tell us that you were going to fight Rank 1, King of the West, Necrotic Sovereign Valen Ashbluff? Oh, and not just a friendly spar either—a proper fight."
Her crimson eyes pierced me like twin daggers. Even though her lips curved upward, her gaze remained as cold and sharp as steel. I shivered involuntarily.
"Bad Arthur," came a muffled voice from my lap. I glanced down to see Rachel sprawled across me, her head resting comfortably on my legs. She looked up at me with those big, expressive eyes, though they were narrowed into a glare that held equal parts irritation and disappointment. "Are we… really that useless to you, Arthur?"
"Do you not trust us?" Seraphina's voice joined in, calm but cutting, her ice-blue eyes narrowing as they fixed me in place.
"I do," I said quickly, shaking my head, my words tumbling out in a rush. "I trust all of you. I just… wanted to fight him alone."
The truth was, I hadn't set out intending to fight Valen, but if it came to that—and it had—I wanted it to be my fight. It wasn't about not trusting them; it was about proving something to myself. I'd worked tirelessly for two years, and I needed to show that it hadn't been in vain.
"You're stupid," Seraphina said bluntly, crossing her arms.
"A real idiot," Cecilia added, her tone dripping with mockery as she glanced at Rachel. "And you—get up from his lap already."
"No!" Rachel countered immediately, snuggling closer to me as if staking her claim. I sighed and patted her head, her irritation softening as she melted under the gesture.
"Seriously," Cecilia muttered under her breath, "this horny princess is supposed to be the Saintess of the world?"
Rachel shot her a glare but remained firmly attached to me. I, meanwhile, was left wondering if I'd somehow stepped into the middle of a warzone, despite barely being conscious.
Before I could process any of this chaos, the door opened, and in stepped Rin.
All three princesses turned their attention to her at once, their gazes assessing and pointed. Rin, so confident when she faced down an entire army, visibly shrank under their collective scrutiny.
"I… don't bully Arthur," she managed to stammer, her voice quieter than usual but still earnest. "He saved my life."
Cecilia tilted her head, her expression unreadable. "He may be your savior, princess," she said, her voice carrying an edge, "but he's our future husband."
"We come first," Rachel declared, tightening her grip on my waist and glaring at Rin like a guard dog protecting its territory.
Rin's face flushed red, her confidence crumbling. "T-that's not fair!" she stammered, her words tumbling out in a rush. Then, before anyone could respond, she turned on her heel and bolted from the room.
The door swung shut behind her, leaving me with the three princesses, all of whom were now looking at me with varying degrees of frustration.
"Arthur," Seraphina said, her voice dangerously calm, "do you ever stop?"
"You really can't help yourself, can you?" Cecilia chimed in, her arms crossed as she shook her head in disbelief. "At this point, even if you were complete trash, you'd still be incredible trash. Four princesses, Arthur. Four."
Rachel, still nestled against me, pouted. "Nightingale," she muttered under her breath, her voice tinged with exasperated fondness.
I sighed, running a hand through my hair as the reality of my situation sunk in. Somehow, despite all my attempts to tread carefully, I had managed to complicate my life even further. But as I looked at the three of them—angry, worried, but still undeniably mine—I couldn't help but smile, even if it was a bit strained.
"Well," I said weakly, managing a faint smile, "I suppose it's not boring, at least."
Cecilia sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as though my sheer existence was enough to exhaust her. "Not boring? Seriously?" She looked at me, her crimson eyes narrowing before she turned her attention to Rachel, who was still clinging to me like her life depended on it. "And you—why aren't you saying as much as before? Is the Art-o-meter malfunctioning?"
Rachel, undeterred, nuzzled into my abdomen with a muffled giggle. "Art-o-meter, battery low," she mumbled, sounding half-asleep.
Cecilia's cheeks flushed crimson, and she crossed her arms defensively. "God, you just copied me. I was the one who started calling him that first."
Rachel tilted her head up, her sapphire eyes sparkling with mischief. "And? I think it's cute."
Cecilia's expression softened for a moment before she muttered, almost too quietly to hear, "I… I missed Arthur too, you know."
I raised a brow, leaning back against the pillows. "We've spent plenty of time together since you came back," I pointed out.
"Not enough," Seraphina interjected calmly, her ice-blue eyes unwavering as she met mine. Cecilia and Rachel nodded in unison, their agreement oddly synchronized.
I sighed, the corners of my mouth lifting in a faint smile. "I understand. It's just that… I've got to clear out as much as I can at my current level before we get married next year."
Cecilia opened her mouth to argue, but Seraphina cut her off with a question that made me pause.
"But what are you going to do about Rin?"
Rin Ashbluff. The girl whose life I had saved—partly because she was strong and useful, partly because I couldn't bear to leave her to her tragic fate.
"Nothing, really," I said with a shrug, though the weight of her name lingered in my thoughts.
Rachel pouted, her gaze fixed on me. "She clearly likes you."
Cecilia nodded, her tone sharp but knowing. "Yeah, trust us, we've noticed. She's like a teenage girl with a first crush, even though she's twenty-three."
I frowned. "That might just be because I saved her. People sometimes confuse gratitude for—"
"Nope," Rachel interrupted, sitting up and disentangling herself from my lap. Her sapphire eyes locked onto mine, her voice uncharacteristically serious. "That's not it."
I blinked. "What do you mean?"
Rachel leaned forward slightly, her scent subtle but impossible to ignore, as though it carried her words straight to my thoughts. "It's because you're so damn charming, Arthur. If you wanted to, you could make any girl fall for you."
Cecilia nodded grudgingly. "As much as it pains me to agree with her, she's right. Look at the three of us."
"And we're not exactly easy to win over," Seraphina added, her voice soft but firm. "It took us a long time to admit it, but… we fell for you fast."
Rachel smiled, her earlier pout melting into something warmer. "You're not just charming, Arthur. You make people believe in you. Trust you. And once they do, it's almost impossible to let go."
I swallowed, suddenly feeling the weight of their words. It wasn't the first time they'd spoken about how they felt, but hearing it now, so plainly and without reservation, stirred something deep inside me.
"Well," I said after a moment, scratching the back of my neck awkwardly, "I suppose I should be grateful."
"You should be," Cecilia teased, her earlier irritation giving way to a smirk. "Because if you keep saving princesses left and right, we might have to draw up some ground rules."
Rachel giggled, and even Seraphina's lips twitched in the faintest hint of a smile. For the first time in what felt like ages, the tension in the room lifted, replaced by something lighter, warmer.
But in the back of my mind, Rin's name lingered.