Inside a hallway, Edward could be seen walking with a somewhat troubled expression, but this time it wasn't because of something problematic or worrying as it usually was to cause him to make such a face, this time he was making a troubled expression because he didn't know what to do today, since it was his day-off.
The reason he was having such trouble, was simply because at this hour he would be doing some sort of work, but at the insistence of Nanako who always nagged him about getting more rest, Edward was forced to take a day off once every week, and today was such day.
"… … … What to do?… I don't feel like reading right now… If I cook something, Nanako is going to get a little angry at me… I don't feel like sleeping either… Haa… Why is it so difficult to pass time at times like these?"
As Edward began feeling a bit dejected at his choices of lazing around being turned down by himself, he looked outside through one of the windows of the hallway, giving him a rather good view of the modest back garden of his family's manor. But most importantly of all, it allowed him to see Lysette, Nanako, and Atsuko all having a small private tea party between themselves.
"… … … I guess, I'll just go spend some time with the three"
Without any other idea, Edward decided to just do what he always did with his fiancées, spending time with them and flirting a whole lot with them as well.
.
.
.
"Lysette-sama! Nanako-san! Please! Do something about Edward-sama's actions! B-Because I do not think I will be able to keep enduring this for much longer!"
"…"
"…"
Lysette and Nanako could only make troubled smiles at Atsuko's desperate request since that was something they had already done, and that was the result.
"Hm… Erm… Atsuko-sama… We will have to refuse your request because… … … We already tried asking Edward-sama to tone it down a bit… And he just ignored it…"
"… Eh!? Y-You are s-saying that t-this amount-"
" "… *Nods*" "
"!? I-It cannot be…"
Finding out that she had no way out of her predicament, caused Atsuko to slump down on her chair, as she didn't know how to deal with that situation of hers. Then, just as she was on the verge of complete despair, she felt someone gently embracing her from behind, which caused a chill to run down her spine as she knew exactly who it was.
"Is something the matter, Atsuko-sama?"
When Atsuko turned her face to look at who it was, her despair only grew as it was the very person who she was hoping not to see for a few more hours, Edward.
"I-It's n-nothing, E-Edward-sama?"
"Really?"
"Y-Yes…"
"I see, I'm glad… … … Chu"
"Mn!?"
And just like all the past few days, Edward without any warning, kissed Atsuko on the lips, getting her by surprise just like all the other times. This one was a very short one that only lasted for a few seconds, but that was more than enough to cause Atsuko's embarrassment to skyrocket.
"You're looking very cute today as well, Atsuko-sama"
"…"
Unable to muster any more strength to say anything, Atsuko simply looked away with embarrassment painting her face red. After doing his usual greeting to Atsuko, Edward looked at Lysette and Nanako, who both flinched once their eyes met his.
" "…" "
Unable to do against Edward's gentle smile, the two simply resigned themselves to being hugged and kissed by Edward for the next few minutes.
A short while later
After having his fill of flirting with his fiancées, Edward sat down on the last remaining chair as he joined the girls in their small tea party.
"Hmm… If you all don't mind, could you girls tell me what you three were talking about earlier?"
" " "…" " "
Lysette, Atsuko, and Nanako all looked away from Edward as they didn't know how to say to him, that they were all talking about how he exaggerated his affection for them, and how they couldn't continue enduring at the current pace. Yet, at the same time, they also didn't want Edward to stop, because they all liked to be kissed by him.
But they still felt the necessity to at least have him dial it down a bit so that they could have a little bit more time to recover between his "greetings."
"H-Hmm… E-Edward-sama…"
"Yes, Nanako?"
Nanako, the only one of the three whose face was slightly less red than the other two, was the one who decided to tell Edward about their conversation from earlier.
"W-We… We were talking about how… W-we f-find your 'g-greetings' a… A… A-A bit excessive… B-But! W-We're not s-saying that we want you to stop!… J-Just that you g-give us a bit m-more of time t-to recover!"
"… … … I understand, Nanako"
"Eh!? Y-You do, Edward-sama!?"
"Yes, it's just that I can't help but want to kiss you all whenever I pass by one of you"
Hearing Edward's reasoning, the three girls felt their embarrassment rising once again, as they also felt extremely happy from hearing that.
"But, lately, I feel like I've been giving more attention to Atsuko-sama, than to you, Nanako, Lysette-sama"
"I-It's fine…"
"Y-Yes, w-we don't m-mind, Edward-sama"
"But I do mind, Nanako, Lysette-sama! I want to show you all that I love Nanako, Lysette-sama, and Atsuko-sama equally!"
"W-W-W-We get it, E-Edward-sama! A-And thank you f-for t-thinking about us"
"*Nods*… … … Ah!"
Edward nodded at Nanako's words until he finally came up with an idea.
"Nanako, Lysette-sama, Atsuko-sama. What do you all think of me spending the day with only one of you twice a week?"
" " "… Only one of us… Twice a week?" " "
The three repeated his last words in confusion at what he was saying, to which Edward began explaining a bit more.
"Yes, instead of me trying to give you all the same amount of attention every day, I will instead give all of the attention to only one of you each day, like say Monday I'll spend my time with Lysette-sama, Tuesday with Atsuko-sama, Wednesday with Nanako, and so on. On Sunday, which is my free day, we can either all spend our time together, or you three can use it to rest a bit more.
So? What do you all think about this?"
The three girls began making thinking expressions as they thought about Edward's suggestion, on one hand, what he suggested would give each of them, 2 days just to calm themselves after an entire day of flirting with Edward. But on the other hand, Edward would be flirting with them for an entire day.
An entire day of Edward's undivided attention, when neither of them could properly endure about an hour of Edward's affection, but still! They would all have their turn in getting Edward's attention for an entire day twice a week!
Nanako, Lysette, and Atsuko all began making troubled expressions as they became conflicted about whether to accept Edward's proposed rotation scheme or refuse it. After all, his idea sounded good on paper, but this was Edward who they were talking about, their beloved fiancé who was already quite excessive in showing his love for the three.
So, when considering that small factor, the option of simply asking Edward to tone down his flirting was a much safer choice, however… Edward's idea meant having him all for themselves for an entire day, which also meant having Edward flirt with only them as well, which could potentially backfire and make the whole point of why Nanako and Lysette agreed to let Atsuko join Edward's harem useless.
But… It meant having the whole day to do anything that they wanted with Edward and doing it twice a week no less. Still! They were here right now discussing how to have Edward tone down on his flirting! So there was only one option that the three could choose and that was!…
" " "We'll go with your idea, Edward-sama" " "
Falling for their desires to have Edward flirting with them for an entire day twice a week!
"That's great! Now for splitting the days… Ah! I know"
When Edward began thinking of a way to evenly split the days of the week between Nanako, Lysette, and Atsuko without any bias, he remembered a certain game he saw once during one of his most recent headaches. And he thought that that game would be a good way to do so. With that in mind, Edward turned to look at Mako who had been on stand-by all this time, in case Atsuko needed something.
"Mako-san, can I ask you to get me four wooden sticks, with three of them, each having either 1, 2, or 3 written on their ends, with the fourth one having one of its ends painted in a bright color?"
"Of course, Edward-sama"
"Thank you, Mako-san"
With a curt bow, Mako walked away to get everything that Edward asked, while she was away Edward turned back to his fiancés to begin explaining his idea.
"Now, while we wait, should I explain how we shall split our weekly schedule from now on?"
"Please, Edward-sama"
"Yes"
"Mm *Nods*"
"Okay, so we'll be using the sticks that Mako went to get for us and three of them will have a number on them.
The stick with the number one will be for Mondays and Thursdays. The stick with the number two will be for Tuesdays and Fridays. And finally, the stick with the number three will be for Wednesdays and Saturdays.
As for Sunday, it will be a free day for us, meaning that we can either spend time together or for resting, depending on what you all prefer. Is there any problem with this schedule?"
"I do not see a problem with it, Edward-sama"
"I also don't see a problem, Edward-sama"
I agree with the two, Edward-sama"
"I'm glad to hear that you all like it"
. . .
After a few minutes, Mako would return with the wooden sticks that Edward asked from her, which he picked from her hands as he thanked her. Putting down the stick with a bright red end, Edward shuffled the three remaining sticks with their numbers hidden in between his hands, until finally letting the girls pull the sticks from his hands.
And mere moments later the results were revealed!
Stick 1: Atsuko
Stick 2: Nanako
Stick 3: Lysette
"Fufun! I knew that luck was looking at me today!"
Seeing that she had gotten the first and fourth days of the week respectively, Atsuko made a rather smug expression, at the fact that she would have Edward all to herself at the start of every week. While Nanako was making a slightly upset expression at getting the second and fifth days, as she wouldn't be able to flirt with Edward at the start of every week. As for Lysette on the other hand…
"… B-But… I'll be Edward-sama's first wife…"
She was already feeling depressed at the idea that she would have to wait two whole days to have her turn with Edward on Wednesday and Saturday respectively, as she had picked the stick with the number 3, which ironically made this situation to be an inversion of their order as Edward's fiancées.
"Okay, everyone. Can you all return me all the wooden sticks?"
At his request, the three all handed the sticks back to Edward, who this time put the stick with the bright red end in his hand as well, and shuffled them once more.
"Everyone, please pick one of the sticks"
"…? But we already decided our schedule for the week, Edward-sama"
"Yes, we did. Now it's a game, where the person who gets the stick with the bright red mark can order a number to do something for them once"
"Ah! I see, then I will be picking this one"
"I'll pick this one instead then"
"… I-I'll definitely pick the number one stick this time!"
With that, Atsuko, Nanako, and Lysette picked a stick in this order and looked at the number on their wooden stick.
"!"
When Lysette looked around, she noticed Nanako and Atsuko making rather terrified expressions as they looked in a particular direction, and when she followed the direction of their gazes, she understood why they had such horrified faces… Edward was holding the stick with the bright red mark.
"Alright, as the one who'll be giving orders this time, I'll… … … Have the number one sit on my lap and kiss me"
"… EH!?"
" "!" "
Hearing Edward's orders, Lysette jumped out of her chair with a bright red face at having to do something as embarrassing as that.
"E-Edward-sama! P-Please o-o-order s-s-something else! Please!"
"I can't, Lysette-sama. In this game, once I make an order I can't change it, and the person ordered must complete it"
"!!!"
Lysette's face turned redder at the fact that in this game she couldn't just back away, yet for as much as she wanted to refuse to do the order Edward just said, she still took small steps, slowly approaching Edward.
"…"
Then as she stood right next to him, after a lot of hesitation, Lysette sat down on his lap, while Edward simply smiled at her in a very gentle way as he similarly embraced her.
"… … …"
With even more hesitation, Lysette turned to look at Edward's face which was close, really close to hers, that was also burning in a vivid crimson color at the amount of shame and embarrassment she was feeling from being the one making a move on Edward. Timidly touching his cheeks, Lysette weakly held Edward's head and finally managed to touch Edward's lips with hers, even if only for a moment.
"T-This s-s-should d-d-do i-it, r-r-right E-Edward-sama?"
With a bright red face, Lysette asked so, in hopes that Edward would let her go now, but instead, Edward flashed a gentle smile to Lysette before tightening his hug and kissing her again, causing her to flail her arms around in desperation and surprise.
" "…" "
Nanako and Atsuko who were currently watching the two, were sweating bullets, at the idea of having to do something similar to Lysette, if Edward kept the bright red stick again. But the more they watched Edward and Lysette openly flirting like that, Atsuko began to feel an even worse feeling, almost as if she had made some big mistake earlier.
"… Mako…"
"Yes, princess?"
"W-What day is today again?"
With desperate eyes, Atsuko asked her maid about today's date, and as if she had been waiting for this exact moment, Mako showed a friendly smile as she responded.
"Today is Sunday, of course. Princess"
"… … … !?"
At hearing Mako's answer, Atsuko's face turned pale from the sheer horror of hearing such a word, after all, if today was Sunday… Tomorrow would be Monday… The day that Edward would have Atsuko all to himself, and which he would surely drown her in embarrassment from his excessive flirting.
A full day of Edward giving Atsuko his undivided attention, right after a week she was forced to take the brunt of Edward's excessive love for his fiancées.