"Lady Lysette, Nanako-san. I know this is an outrageous request, but I ask from you two permission to be engaged with Edward-sama!"
That was the first thing that Atsuko said as she deeply bowed down to the two, once she and Edward had returned to the Neville Estate after their date.
They were all at the entrance hall, and the reason for Lysette and Nanako being there to greet the two, was in part from Kenichi snitching to them about Atsuko choosing Edward to be her partner, and the other part being from just wanting to see Edward after a whole afternoon without him.
And now, because of Atsuko's very selfish request, everyone was quiet, Edward fearing that Lysette or her father would burn him alive, while for Lysette and Nanako it was due to their surprise.
"Princess Atsuko, you can raise your head. Because we also have something to ask from you"
"Hm?"
Atsuko who had prepared herself to be shouted at by Lysette, was a bit confused by the calm tone of Lysette. Yes, she could feel a bit of jealousy as well, but it was mostly calm.
"Ahem… Princess Atsuko, both I and Nanako-san, had already discussed this a few days ago, and… We both agree on asking you to be Edward's third fiancée"
"Eh?"
"Huh!?"
*Thud*
Hearing Lysette's words, Atsuko made a surprised face as she did not expect that, Nanako and Lysette, Edward's fiancées, had already agreed on having her as his third fiancée, but that they would also ask her to join his harem. Edward on the other was utterly shocked, mostly by the fact that, if it hadn't been for Atsuko's request just now, he would've gained a new fiancée without his knowledge, and that he would be the last person to know about it, just like how his engagement to Nanako was.
And there was also the sound of someone falling unconscious on the floor a bit farther away, but no one paid attention to that.
"…" (x4)
The four remained quiet at the awkwardness and surprise from what the girls had just said.
"… Erm… Lady Lysette, then are you saying that I am allowed to be engaged to Edward-sama?"
"Well, there is some paperwork that will need to be filled out first, and ask Father as well, for it to become official. But yes, you are now allowed to be engaged to Edward-sama as his third fiancée"
"!"
Confirming what Lysette had said before, Atsuko showed a happy and bright smile at knowing that she would be able to marry Edward in the future with the blessing of his two other fiancées. And so because of her excitement, she ended up jumping onto Edward and hugging him.
"Edward-sama! Once again, please take care of me from now on! Fufu!"
"Ah… Sure…"
As for Edward, he felt a bit lost and very confused, as he also felt quite happy at having another beauty as his fiancée, but at the same time, he felt rather troubled by the fact that Atsuko was a foreign princess, and also that he was having a vague feeling that, just like with Lysette and Nanako, that this wasn't supposed to happen.
But between that and the soft feeling pressed against his arm and the happy expression of Atsuko… His manly desires were stronger than his vague worries.
.
.
.
"Father, I kindly request your permission to allow Edward-sama to have Atsuko-sama as his third spouse"
"…"
It was currently some minutes after Atsuko received permission from Lysette and Nanako to become Edward's third fiancée, and right now, Lysette was asking her father, Hamilton, a rather outrageous request with a smile on her face.
Hamilton looked at the other three who had come with Lysette, with them being Edward, Nanako, and Atsuko. First, he looked at Atsuko, who just showed a friendly smile, then he looked at Nanako who was making an innocent and shy smile as she hugged one of Edward's arms, and then he looked at Edward, who was making a troubled smile as he cold sweated a lot, while also avoiding eye contact with Hamilton.
Then he went back on looking at his happily smiling daughter, he wanted to ask her why she would allow Edward to have another fiancée, but at the same time, he still clearly remembers the first time she asked that same request, but for Nanako instead.
Albeit, he could always say no this time, even more so because it involved a foreign royal, the sight of his lively daughter making such a genuine smile even when her fiancé already had a second fiancée, made it extremely difficult for him to refuse.
"*Sigh*… Fine, I'll allow it. Make sure to tell it to Sir Oliver as well"
"! Thank you, Father!"
"You are welcome, Lysette-chan. But I have to ask you, Princess Atsuko. How do you plan on convincing your father to sign the documents to officialize your engagement to Little Edward?"
"About that, Sir Hamilton. I will be signing the papers myself"
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"Sir Hamilton, as the first princess of the Kingdom of Akeshi, I was given full authority to act as a representative and to sign documents in situations where my father is not available to represent my homeland"
Atsuko then pulled an envelope from one of her sleeves, and opened it, as she showed its contents to Hamilton and the others. And when they all looked at it, it mentioned exactly what Atsuko had bragged about, that she had full authority in signing documents in her father's stead, if he found himself unable to do so, though there was a clear lack of any mention regarding documents with a foreign counterpart… If one read it in a certain way, it could be taken that any treaty with another country was included in the part about signing documents in her father's stead, after all a treaty was still a document.
"Well, that is definitely a way, I suppose"
"Yes, it is. Now, shall we start signing the documents?"
Once again Atsuko pulled another envelope from within her sleeves, this time revealing it to be a marriage certificate from her homeland, which was very similar to the one used in the kingdom that the others lived in. She put it on Hamilton's desk and urged him to sign the necessary parts since he was the one responsible for Edward's first spouse.
Without much resistance, Hamilton signed the parts that he needed, before passing it to Atsuko, who then signed the necessary areas to become Edward's third spouse, and now all that was left was to fill the areas meant for the would-be husband and the ones responsible for them. In other words, Edward and his father. Thus causing everyone to look at him.
"… Give me a minute, I will make a call to my father, to see if I can sign the papers in his stead"
"Very well, you can use the phone there to do so"
"Thank you, father-in-law"
So just like that, Edward picked up the magical phone and began making a call to his father.
"… … … Ah, Hello, Father. it's me, Edward… Yeah, I am doing fine… Well, you see Father… … … Can I have your permission to sign a document in your stead?… Why? Well… Because Atsuko-sama wants to be engaged with me, and everyone else already agreed to it… … … Yes, it is that Atsuko-sama from Akeshi, yes… Yes, I know how you feel about that because I feel the same way…"
Lysette, Nanako, Atsuko, and Hamilton all looked at Edward talking with his father, and they all could guess what his father was saying even without hearing his words.
"I see, thank you, Father… Hm? Ah! Hello, mother… Yes, I miss you too, Mother. Are you doing well?… Is that so? I'm glad… Yes, I'll be bringing home another bride, mother… Yes, I'm getting along with everyone… … … Oh, it's today? Thank you for reminding me… No, I don't need anything… Well, if possible I would like to have 'that' once I'm able to return home… Yes, it was good talking to you too, mother. Bye-bye… *Hangs the phone* Sorry, that was quite a long talk"
This time, because it was his mother, the others couldn't guess as well what she was saying to him, but from Edward's small smile, they could see that it was most likely just his mother asking if he was right and safe. And after finishing his talk with his father, and then his mother, Edward turned to look at Atsuko and Hamilton.
"I received permission from my father to sign it, and he said he'll write a document confirming it at a later date. So… Where do I need to sign it, Father-in-law?"
"Please sign, here, here, and here, Little Edward"
"Got it"
Edward followed Hamilton's instructions without saying a word, after the did so, Hamilton and Atsuko both stamped the document since they were the two highest-ranking parties in it, and just like that, Atsuko's engagement and eventual marriage with Edward was now official, without much fanfare or complications. It was just another day of bureaucracy, and with their matters finished, the four left Hamilton's office.
"…"
As they walked, Edward looked at a copy of the document he had just signed in his hands, with a slightly different feeling from before, mostly because of the date on the document of when it was signed. Which Atsuko noticed, and asked him so.
"Is something wrong, Edward-sama?"
"No, it's nothing serious, Atsuko-sama. I just feel a bit strange at getting a third spouse on my birthday"
"Ah! Yes, that's surely a rather unconventional birthday present to receive… … … Hm?"
Upon hearing those words from Edward, Atsuko first reacted normally, before she came to a stop from the confusion she felt alongside Lysette and Nanako, as they all noticed what Edward had just said.
"E-Edward-sama, i-is t-today your b-birthday?"
The one who asked that, was Nanako as she had a very worried expression.
"Ah! Yes, it is. I had actually forgotten it was today since I don't commemorate it, aside from having a special meal made by Mother"
" " "!?" " "
At his confirmation, the girls all made shocked faces as they froze in place, from discovering that today of all days, was Edward's birthday. However, of the three, Atsuko was the one who was hit the hardest by that realization.
"Edward-sama…"
"Hm? What is it, Atusko-sama?"
"… I'm sorry for imposing my wishes onto you during your birthday, Edward-sama"
"Eh!? Y-You don't need to apologize, Atsuko-sama!"
"Yes, I need to, Edward-sama! Because not only did I make you accept being engaged with me! I also ended up making you buy a gift for me!"
"Y-You don't have to worry about that, Atsuko-sama! I bought it for you because I want to!"
"Still, Edward-sama! It's not for me to not give you something back, especially since it's your birthday!"
"Y-You really don't need to!"
"Edward-sama, please let us do something"
"Eh?"
"Y-Yes, Edward-sama!! W-We want t-to give you s-something!"
"…Et tu, Nanako!?"
"Edward-sama, please ask anything from us!" (X3)
With Lysette and Nanako also joining Atsuko in begging Edward to let them do something for him, it became impossible for Edward to refuse them as he made a troubled face since he didn't know what to ask from either of them.
"Erm… Then… … … Hmm… H-How about w-we all s-sleep together t-today?"
" " "Eh?" " "
Again the girls all made shocked expressions at hearing Edward's words, but this time embarrassment and shame were also mixed in it, even more so for Atsuko, since it meant she would have her first night with a man, albeit Edward didn't intend on doing anything lewd. (A/N Notes: Obligatory "Yet")
"… … … I-Is that a-all that y-you're g-going to ask, E-Edward-sama?"
The one who spoke was Nanako, as she did her best to endure the embarrassment of just thinking about sleeping with Edward again.
"Well, yeah…"
"… … … Please, ask something more!"
"Eh?… … … Erm… T-Then how about y-you three s-serve me a-all day t-tomorrow… While… Erm… Wearing some cute m-maid uniforms?"
" " "…" " "
"…"
The three girls looked at Edward in silence, with Lysette and Atsuko showing particularly embarrassed glares at his request, mostly because they could see it was just Edward being honest with his desires. On the other hand, Nanako was looking at him with a more reprimanding gaze towards the fact that he was asking for the other two to just do the same work that was always assigned exclusively to her.
"… I-If that's w-what y-you want, E-Edward-sama… I-I'm f-fine w-with it…"
"M-Me too… I-I'll d-do m-my b-best t-to s-serve y-you, e-e-even w-with m-my i-inexperience, E-Edward-sama…"
"Edward-sama, I look forward to serving you all day tomorrow"
Both Lysette and Atsuko answered with their voices filled with shame, Atsuko because this would be her first time acting as a maid, while Lysette who had gotten used to doing basic tasks of a maid, had never done something like serving Edward specifically, but there was also the fact that… Her cooking skills were horrible.
Meaning that of the three, only Nanako wasn't being affected by his request, since she was always trying to find time to act as his maid. In fact, for her, that request of his was the best thing she could get from Edward, even though she knew that it was mostly because he liked maid uniforms and that she would also have to divide her time serving Edward with the other two.
And so with the three agreeing with both of his requests, that he was forced to ask, the four went on to spend the night together, which from now on would include Atsuko as well.