(A/N Notes: Hello, it appears that we're getting close to Christmas, and I was able to finish this chapter a bit late. I cannot say if I'll be able to release another chapter next week because well, it's the end of the year. And we'll all be busy spending it with our families.
Anyway, I hope y'all have a nice Christmas and New Year. Cheers)
The sky outside was cloudy and becoming darker and darker, a signal of a coming downpour. In many ways, this reflected the atmosphere inside a certain meeting room at the Harding Manor. Across a small table, Oliver was face to face with the King and Queen themselves. He made a poker face to hide his stomach pain, in stark contrast to the king, who was making the face of someone who had just won the lottery.
While to the side, Florence was currently hugging one of Edward's as she cuddled on him with a happy expression. Edward, in response, only made his usual gently smiling face, and he also did his best to ignore the Queen's piercing glare.
As that was going on, Camilla calmly finished serving tea to everyone inside the room. Once the last cup was served, the king calmly and confidently picked his cup and took a sip of it.
"Now, Lord Oliver. Shall we start the talks about the engagement of my daughter, Florence, to your son, Edward?"
"Ah! Yes, your majesty"
Unable to say no, Oliver simply accepted his fate of having to agree with whatever the king said, but to his luck, before any discussion could even start, the queen intervened.
"Please wait for a second, your majesty"
"Yes, Marcelle?"
With the meeting paused before it could start, the Queen who had looked at the king when she stopped him from starting the talks, turned to look at Edward who shuddered for a single moment at receiving the Queen's piercing glare again.
"Sir Edward"
"Y-Yes, your Highness?"
"In the faint possibility that you and Florence get engaged, are you prepared to give my daughter the attention and care that she deserves as your future wife?"
"Huh?"
Although the Queen's question seemed out of nowhere, it had a rationale behind it, as she was a person with a very keen ability to detect lies and second intentions from a person, and in such situations like this one, she would slowly railroad a person to reveal their true self by catching onto their lies and using it against them.
And that was exactly what she wanted to do with Edward, she wanted to corner him into saying what she believed was his true intentions with Florence and dash any possibility of the two getting engaged.
Edward, as expected was taken aback by that sudden question, but after thinking for a moment to gather his thoughts, he responded to the Queen.
"Your Highness, even though I may not be a person worthy of standing next to Florence-sama, I fully intend to take responsibility for becoming her partner as a consequence of my actions from when I first met her.
And even if she ends up becoming my fourth wife, I am also intent on giving her as much attention as possible, in the same amount as I give to my other partners, and besides… I would really love to have someone like Florence by my side, even when I already have more than I could ask for with Lysette, Atsuko, and Nanako"
"… Huh!?"
At hearing Edward's honest reply, the queen was stunned and then surprised, as she didn't detect anything dishonest from him, rather, she could see that he meant all of that, the complete opposite of how she expected Edward to be in reality.
However, she couldn't stop there, she knew that this was simply a ruse by Edward, so she went on the offensive again.
"A-Ahem… Sir Edward, you be saying all that, but how do you expect me to believe such words when you have three other wives yourself?"
"Ah… Well, how do I say this, Your Highness?… I… Did not intentionally try to get any more partners aside from Lysette, rather… I felt like I was always the last one to know that I got a new engagement"
"… Huh? Wha!? How!?"
"Well… I cannot say myself, how that happened, but I still felt like I should take responsibility for my actions whichever they were"
"Haa… Edward-sama, I believe that you are aware of what you did to get yourself in such a situation"
"Huh? What do you mean, Florence-sama?"
"Edward-sama, I told you the other day that you act like a womanizer, did I not?"
"… Yes, you did, Florence-sama"
"And do you understand what I mean by that?"
"… That I keep hitting on girls, even though I do not?"
"Edward-sama, when we had our date a few days ago you always kept hitting on me"
"Eh? When? All I did was tell you what I thought about you at the time"
"… Haa, Edward-sama. That's the problem"
"Eh? Why?"
"… Edward-sama"
"Yes, Florence-sama?"
"What do you think of my mother?"
"!?"
"Hm? Should I say something in specific, Florence-sama?"
"No, just your current thoughts about her will suffice, it can be anything really"
"Well, if you say so Florence-sama"
At her request, Edward looked at Marcelle with a curious expression, as she on the other hand was feeling a bit flustered from suddenly having Florence ask Edward to say his opinion about her. Then Edward opened his mouth to speak again.
"Florence-sama, I think your mother is a beautiful woman, and a great mother, who really wants to ensure that you will have a happy life, and who loves you very dearly, by how worried she currently is about the idea of marrying you away to me. And not only that-"
"Edward-sama, that is enough, and thank you for thinking so well about my mother"
"… You are welcome, Florence-sama?"
"*Nods* Now please, Edward-sama. Take a look at my mother"
"Hm? Eh?"
Once again, as requested by Florence, Edward looked at Marcelle, who was now blushing while she kept on scrunching up her face to hide the mixed emotions she felt at seeing Edward's true self, and being on the receiving end of his words, as she also gave a few light punches on Robert, as if she was trying to tell him to say more things like that to her, without the intent of asking for a favor.
"Edward-sama, that is why you are a womanizer. You are too honest about such things"
"Why is it my fault for being honest, Florence-sama!?"
"That's because you also lack any sense of shame, and keep saying things like just now, without any second meanings, that to girls especially… Feels as if you are saying that you have feelings for them, and want to go out with them"
"… Eh? T-Then that means…"
"Yes, Edward-sama. It means that during our date, you were practically flirting with me, and I believe the same happened to Lady Lysette, Princess Atsuko, and Miss Nanako"
"…"
Hearing Florence's reasoning, Edward felt like talking back, but then he remembered about his first proper meeting with Lysette, and all the things he said to her in an attempt to improve her mood after defeating her in chess… And now that he thought about it… It did sound like a confession.
Then he remembered when he went to talk to Nanako after she found out he got engaged to Lysette, and in his attempt to mislead Nanako in a way that wouldn't hurt her, he accidentally blurted out his honest feelings about her.
And finally, he remembered all the things he did and said to Atsuko when she first came to the Neville manor, as he had realized after she confessed to him, that they all sounded as if he had feelings for her and wanted to go out with her.
In other words, Florence was completely correct in her assessment of Edward, that of him being a womanizer, and not just any womanizer, a natural womanizer without any sense of embarrassment.
One that didn't put a fake act and said fake sweet words in a very strategic manner to get girls by circumventing their defenses. No, he was the one that just went and said the most embarrassing compliments and promises with a straight face to a girl, while meaning all of it, and punching one big gaping hole through the girl's defenses head-on.
"… … … Yes, you are right, Florence-sama"
"Fufun, I always am, Edward-sama"
And with that, the tangent made by Marcelle in an attempt to reveal what she thought was Edward's true self ended, in the opposite direction that she imagined, as she found that it would be too difficult to find someone else like Edward who would be a good fit for Florence, for as much as she hated the idea of marrying her to a man who already had a harem.
As for the rest of the meeting, it went without a hitch, especially when Oliver even if he wanted to, couldn't find a good way to refuse the offer of marriage the king was offering between their children. And once it was concluded, without any fanfare or commemoration, Edward and Florence were married once the documents were signed.
Some minutes later
"Lysette, Atsuko, Nanako… This is Florence Callan, and from now on she'll be joining us as my fourth wife"
"It is a pleasure to be able to meet three as a fellow partner of Edward-sama. Lysette-sama, Princess Atsuko, and Nanako-san"
"It is nice to meet you, Princess Florence. And also an honor of being able to meet the esteemed Princess of Soburia in person"
"Princess Florence, I am sure we will both get along very well as fellow princesses"
"N-Nice t-to m-meet you, P-Princess F-Florence"
One by one, the three girls sitting at the table greeted Florence in different tones and ways, but none of them contained any ill will towards Florence, which did surprise Florence quite a bit.
"Hm?"
"Is something wrong, Princess Florence?"
"No, it is not, Florence-sama. I was just imagining that you, Princess Atsuko, and Nanako-san, would be quite annoyed at my entrance into Edward-sama's harem"
"Aaah… That, well I suppose normally it would be like that for most harems, but in our case… I can just say that we cannot really get angry when Edward-sama brings a new girl"
"And I can attest to that, Princess Florence. When I requested to be allowed to be engaged with Edward-sama, I was not expecting Lysette-sama and Nanako-san to readily welcome me"
"Ahaha… Yes, that is right"
"Hm. Hm. *Nodding*"
"Is that so?… Fufu, Edward-sama, you must really love all of them for them to be so open-minded about my inclusion"
"Yes, I really love all of them and I plan to keep them happy as much as I can"
"… *Looks at the girls*"
" " "…" " " *Blushing*
Seeing the girls getting all flustered by Edward's words, Florence smiled gently as she could see how hard it must be for the three girls to keep up with Edward's shamelessness.
"Oh, right. Florence, if you want to, you can call me without any honorifics and be more loose with yourself as well"
"Understood, then… My beloved Edward~"
" " "!" " "
"Yes, my dear Florence?"
"Fufu, it's nothing, I just wanted to call you like that"
When Florence called Edward in such a way, to tease him, without any success, the other three all made surprised faces at seeing her call Edward in such a way and not feel embarrassed by it, something that the three had all given up on, as they all felt like burying themselves just from thinking about calling Edward like that, or even calling him without any honorifics.
But before they could dwell on how Florence was able to do that, she turned back to them, and asked…
"Nee, Lysette-sama, Atsuko-sama, Nanako-san. I know this would be a selfish request from me, but… Would it be possible for you three to let me have Edward all to myself for this week?"
" " "… Eh?" " "
"P-Princess F-Florence, d-do you really i-intend o-on s-s-spending a w-whole week b-b-besides, Edward-sama?"
"Yes, I do, Atsuko-sama. Is there a problem with my request? Ah! If it's about taking him away from you all for a week, then I don't mind giving up on the idea. I just wanted some time to get closer to Edward as much as you three are to him"
"Ah… T-That's not the problem, P-Princess Florence"
"It's not? Then what is the problem, Atsuko-sama?"
"W-Well, l-let just s-say that… E-Edward-sama c-can get a b-bit intense w-with his… Love…"
"Hm? And is that a problem?"
"W-Well… Kind of…"
As Atsuko was trying to have Florence give up on that idea, she began to blush as she was reminded of what happened to her when she underplayed how intense Edward could be when it came to showing his affection for her, or the first time that she had Edward giving her his undivided attention for a whole day. Something that she still partially regrets to this day.
"A-Ahem, Princess Florence… We do not mind letting you have Edward-sama for this entire week, but at least we also want to spend a little bit of time with him, so as long as you do not take all of his time, we do not mind letting you have him for this week"
"! Thank you very much, Lysette-sama. I promise to not take all of Edward's time, if that is all that you need to let me have Edward for this week"
"*Smiles* Atsuko-sama, Nanako-san, are you two okay with that?"
"Yes…"
"Y-Yes…"
"There you go, Princess Florence. We hope that you and Edward-sama get along well"
"Yes!"
" " "…" " " < <
Although at first glance, Lysette, Atsuko, and Nanako, appeared to be acting in consideration of Florence not having spent as much time with Edward as they did, instead they were actually acting selfishly to have Florence act as a sacrifice so that they could have a little more breathing room from Edward's pampering that has been growing more intense lately.
And they felt sorry for doing that to Florence, especially Atsuko as she had first-hand experience of how excessive Edward could be.
.
.
.
One week later
"…"
"…"
"…"
"… Fufu… Edward is intense in the bed, isn't he?"
Lysette, Atsuko, and Nanako were all looking with extreme surprise at Florence, as they all had tea together, and the reason for their surprise was because of Florence's current state, which was that of… A somewhat tired maiden in love who just consummated her marriage with her loved one.
Which is exactly what happened last night. She had her first time with Edward, all by herself, and was acting normal, when neither of the other three was able to keep up with him to the point that they even appeared as if they would crumble to dust after they had done it alone with Edward. And for then that made Florence into a…
" " "…" " " < <
Very important member of the harem as she was the only one who was capable of keeping up with Edward's pampering and flirting.