No wonder my voice was so raspy. Somehow that nightmare had affected me in real life. I can feel sweats running down my back and forehead after Rose showed me a mirror for me to inspect my neck. That really looked like strangulation marks.
I immediately asked Lily again on whether she was seriously not pregnant and she told me to quit asking her that as she was getting embarrassed on answering me. She warned me that if I kept asking this question she is going to make herself pregnant for real with my child. I immediately submitted to her saying that I will not ask her that question forever. But what is going on? Can a nightmare affect you in real life? This is the first time I've ever experienced this.
Changing topic, I asked them how long was I out. Rose told me that I was asleep for about a week now. John and Peter had taken the liberty of reorganising the city despite his injury. He broke one of his arm during the fight with the Dragon Lord. The Dark and Paladin Lord had yet to regain consciousness. Their battle with the captain must had worn them out tremendously. The Elementalist on the other hand was bedridden for now until he fully recovers.
After the majority of the demons were disposed off, the defected and remaining soldiers came back to help out in the city. They escorted the civilians back and helped out with the reconstruction of the city. The Queen's body was available for the public to view albeit without a head. I am surprised her body remained but it was charred by my lightning attack. Will people buy that the body is the Queen or will they accuse me or the adventurers guild of mutiny. Either way, I am sure that people will find ways to twist the truth with their conspiracy theories.
Peter took charge in calming the folks, guiding them on what they needed to do and making announcements to the public when necessary. He made it extremely clear that he will not be taking over the city as he is not the rightful ruler and he is only here to help out. A new order of council consist of humans and elves will be elected to run the city. No longer will the City Of Pines be under a single ruler. The royal bloodline is finished as the previous Queen was the only reported royal blood that remained.
Lily awoke the following day after she had collapsed while Rose woke up three days later. Lily had to juggle between taking care on the both of us which I thanked her gratefully for it. Will have to treat this woman to a fancy meal later. After both of them had awoke, they started helping out with the city which is to collect the corpses of the fallen. They made it very clear that they do not wish to experience it again as it was a difficult and horrendous job to go through. Lily went to collect Rick's body and the both of them personally buried his body. They will bring me to pay my respect when I officially discharge from here.
A doctor knocked on my room door and asked whether it was a good time for him to intrude as he was here to check-up on my condition. The both of them said it was alright and headed out of my room. Rose whispered something to the doctor before heading out. He gave a confused look but nodded in response.
"Welcome home, onii-chan," said Rose as she paused before leaving left my room. Wow, that hit me with a reality check. She is right though. I finally have a home in the city without any fear of being discovered. Perhaps I can finally buy a house somewhere in the city and start a family. Right, for that to happen, I will need a wife.
The doctor came in close to check on me. "That was a lovely girl. So how are you doing today?" he asked me casually. I told him aside from my body aches and raspy voice, I'm alright. He checked my neck with a "Hmm" and wrote something on his report.
"That's odd, there was absolutely no sign of strangulation marks yesterday," he mumbled to himself.
"Mister Zen, is it? Do you have a history of "alien hand syndrome" where you have no control over your hands? Those are definitely strangle marks caused by someone's hands. Unless you wish to tell me that one of those two ladies earlier decided to get rough with you." he asked me.
I told him no. I do not have any history or evidence of that happening before. The doctor was puzzled by it as strangle marks do not appear out of nowhere. I withheld the information about my nightmare causing the marks otherwise I might be sent to the asylum. I will get to the bottom of this. Makes me afraid of sleeping now. Maybe I did choke myself without realising it when I was sleeping.
"When do you think I can discharge from here, doc?" I asked.
"A couple of days, perhaps. Provided there are no other marks that appear on your body randomly," said the doctor.
I might have to ask either Rose or Lily to tie my hands before I sleep. Rose, definitely. She always seemed eager to tie me up before as I recall. Shit, why am I thinking about the stupid stuffs that she will be doing with a rope? And why is my buddy reacting to it?!
The doctor made it clearly that I do not leave the hospital until I am fully recovered. I was, however, allowed to roam the building. Making sure that this isn't another nightmare, I stood up cautiously. A quick body check and it would seemed that only my body-ache was the only pain I had. The dagger wounds were healing nicely thanks to my healing cream. I should donate that recipe to as many cities as I can as it helps in saving lives. No point in capitalising on that when people's lives can be saved.
There was a mirror in the room where I used to check on my neck wound again. Was this from that time when the Queen were choking me? No, her hand strangled me from behind and then moved to the front while this one was clearly chocked from the front with two hands. There must be some unknown force that did this. But who? Her God? I shuddered thinking about that possibility. If Gods can start killing you in your dream, then we are pretty much screwed.
I decided to go for a walk outside of my room. Peeking out the door, there were certainly a lot of people around. Too many for my liking honestly. I caused this war and all the people who ended up in the hospital is because of me. I felt guilty to even step out of my room. Did I really do the right thing? Was war really the answer? I did not regret killing the Queen but perhaps we could had just assassinated her? No, we discussed about this. Assassinating her would had earned her innocence and popularity instead. Even if we showed her body to the public that she is a Demon, I am certain that there are people in the city that will hate me no matter the consequences for killing the Queen.
I braved myself and decided to take the first step out of my room. Rose and Lily was nowhere in sight. Perhaps they were needed elsewhere. Roaming around, I realised that I was instinctively looking for something. What was it? I remember it involves slotting a coin into something big and food or drinks will drop out. Is there no such thing available here? Where did this craving comes from?
"Zen? Is that you?" said a voice from behind which sounded familiar.
"Miss Angelica, fancy meeting you here. Are you visiting someone?" I said with my raspy voice.
"Oh my, what happened to your voice? Are those.. strangle marks?? Did you upset either of your fiancées that they decided to get rough on you?" said Angelica with a chuckle.
"Wait.. my fiancées? With an S?" I asked with a puzzled look.
"Oh don't act dumb, you. Every adventurer knows that Rose and Lily are unobtainable as their hearts were stolen by the dark caped crusader of the era. That's you by the way," she explained while continue her chuckle.
"I.. what? I didn't even proposed to any of them. How did this false rumour even come about?" I asked angrily.
"Huh? You didn't propose? But the rumours weren't without merits. Rose was seen wearing a ring in her middle finger while Lily wears that beautiful emerald bracelet with exquisite design. It was a hot topic in the city at one point," she explained.
"B.. but.. those were just gifts," I smacked my head with a sigh.
Seeing I was frustrated, she offered to bring me to the cafeteria area which I agreed. Despite the size of the hospital, it was filled to the brim. Normally I would be concerned that something bad had happened but all I can think of right now is that I'm sorry for instigating the war.
"Here you go" said Angelica as she passed me a drink.
I said thanks to her. She ordered me a honey lemon drink which helped my throat. How thoughtful of her.
"So… is there a room for a third wife in your life?" she asked out of the blue which made me spat out my drink.
***
I can feel my wife's death aura spilling out from her body. I quickly calmed her down and assured her that nothing ever happened between me and Angelica. Once again I forgot that my wife was listening to the story now. I need to learn to skip unnecessary plot points.
"Mommy, are you Miss Angelica?" asked Daisy.
"Hell no, I never liked her as she is a snake that is always wanting to steal your daddy," she said while pouting her mouth.
"May I continue with the story?," I asked my wife's permission which she gave a hmph as a response.
***
"W.. what? No, there is only room for one. I am planning to only have a single wife. Not even two," I told her after I calming myself down.
"Huh? Wait, are you saying that you will only marry one of them? Who is the lucky one? I was just joking by the way on the third one," she said. Again with her jokes. I can never know when she is serious and when she is joking even after knowing her for so long.
"I.. had not decided yet. I thought I knew who I wanted to be with but things happened and I am back to square one. There is a safer option for me if I really ended up with an inconclusive answer," I confessed.
"It's Rose, isn't it? You're worried about Lily being an elf with her long lifespan. She'll definitely outlive you and she'll end up alone eventually. Am I right?" asked Angelica.
I looked at her with my eyes wide opened and mouth agape. How did she read my mind? It's true that I was concerned about choosing Lily. My heart goes to her automatically but a part of me is hesitating. I might just a short fling in her life as a human's life expectancy is so short. I felt it would be better for Lily to choose an elven partner instead of me so that he can be with her for a much longer period of time. As for Rose, I can't seems to forget about the kiss that she gave me when I was panicking. It was stuck in my head for such a long time and every time I see her, it reminded me of it. I won't deny that I have more feelings for Lily than Rose. But it is not just feelings anymore for me. I need to think from their perspectives as well.
"Is there a reason as to why you refuse to marry both of them? You know you can marry a few wives legally right?" she asked me.
"Yes I remember as people telling me about it. I won't lie that I didn't thought of marrying the both of them. But… it feels wrong to me. What is the purpose of having multiple wives in the first place? That sort of defeats the purpose of getting married in the first place," I said.
"To have children together? To be with the one you love? For a woman, marrying the one we love is like our dream come true," she explained.
"Yes, I understand that. But what about from the woman's perspective? If men can have multiple wives, why can't they do it too? You know, all in the name of "be with the one you love". It just feels wrong to me. Getting married should be special and should remain as such. Otherwise I would rather just have flings instead of having wives," I said with a sigh while swirling my drink.
Miss Angelica stared at me for quite some time. I thought there was something on my face until she started talking.
"You're the only man that I ever told me that getting married should be special. I won't lie, many women discussed about this topic that men having multiple wives is just plain wrong. There are cases where the first wife ended up getting thrown aside and such. It gives men an excuse to fool around with other women even when they are married. You are just so different, Zen. Feels so unreal that a man would think so much about the woman's perspective. Whoever you ended up getting married to will be the luckiest woman in the world," she said.
"Now I don't know about that. I am not perfect whatsoever," I confessed.
The both of us went quiet and the conversations of other people can be heard. Some people were complaining that the war made things worst while some said it made it better. Some people swore revenge that their close ones had died for nothing. I felt really guilty hearing that. I am no war leader that had lead people to war and think nothing of their deaths and consequences. I am just a normal adventurer that happened to be the target of the Demon Queen. Then I was dragged along in events beyond my control which eventually led to this war. Sigh.
"Are you here to visit someone?" I asked her.
"Hmm? Oh no, I am here to help out. Remember you met one of my relatives that worked in a clinic? He is here to help out with patients so I decided to tag along. I am not suited in construction or other physical work so I felt that the best place I can help out is here, caring for the patients," she explained.
"Wow, that is such a noble gesture. Let me thank you on behalf of all the other patients here. Am I taking your time? I am so sorry I did not know you were helping out here in the hospital," I apologised to her.
"Oh don't worry, I am on my break now," she said.
"There you are, onii-chan. Was wondering where you went," said Rose as she walked closer to us.
"Alright, my break time is over. I'll take my leave," said Angelica as she stood up and left. I thought she said she was on her break?
"Thanks for the drink and your time," I smiled at her.
She whispered something to Rose before she left to which Rose replied with a "Huh?". Rose sat opposite me and stared at me.
"Is something wrong?" I asked her.
"What were you two talking about? She whispered something really weird to me all of a sudden," she asked.
"Nothing special really. What did she say?" I asked.
"Hmm, never mind then. Just odd that she suddenly said that to me. Y'know what? Onii-chan, since what she told me is now at the top of my head, may I ask you something" asked Rose bluntly.
"What is it?" I replied as I sip my honey lemon. Ah, that hits the spot in my throat. Why did that have to sound so sexual? Geez.
"Please answer me honestly, are you really really planning to marry one of us? You won't consider having two?" she asked.
I sighed. What is with today? I felt like I was repeating myself at this point.
"Yes, I only plan to have a single wife," I told her with a straight face.
"I see," she said with her eyes lowered. That is not just it, right?
"You remember the kiss we had before? Back at the umm.." she bit her lips as to not say the word "secret hideout".
"How can I forget? That kiss was even more awkward than the one we had at my place," I chuckled.
"W.. what do you mean? I was following your lead! It was you who don't know how to kiss properly," she retaliated.
"I did not have any issue with Lily. So it is definitely not me," I said while crossing my arms.
"Are you sure? What she told me was a complete different story," she said to me with a speechless face.
"What? She told you about our kiss? Why do you two share such things with each other?" I asked in disbelief.
"The two of us share information with each other. So don't think doing something with her would end up only she knowing. I have powers to dig information out of her," said Rose with a smug face.
"Ew, even I don't share such information with John. You girls are weird," I told her.
Rose started laughing which made me laugh in turn. I had to stop myself once I started coughing badly due to my throat. Another gulp of the honey lemon calmed my throat.
"That kiss was special to me. I will forever treasure it in my memory," said Rose with a smile.
"What are you trying to say, Rose? Are you trying to break-up with me?" I asked her jokingly.
"Marry Lily. This is my one and only request that I will ever ask from you, onii-chan. Please honour your little sister's request," she bowed to me.
I sighed and gave it some thought. These two girls kept trying to push their rival over the other. Is this their tactic to win me over or something? I had always thought that girls would rather wage war than to give up on the guy they love.
"Why, Rose? Don't you want to be with me?" I asked her.
"I do. But marrying Lily is the best for both of us. You'll get an elven wife and I'll get a sister to call my own," she said with a straight face.
"Where is she by the way? Is she still in the hospital?" I asked.
"She's checking up on the Elementalist. She won't be joining us so soon," said Rose.
"Why do you think it's the best option? Can you explain on how you came to that conclusion?" I asked her.
"If you marry her, she will be staying with you and I can come visit over anytime to see the both of you. And I know that she is your first crush. I also know that you love her more than me," she explained.
I hate how her brain works. She always seems to understand how my mind thinks accurately.
"Rose, you do realised that she is an elf, right? She is going to outlive the both of us. She will eventually end up alone after the both of us kicked the bucket," I tried explaining to her.
"You are going to have children together. She is going to treasure them even without us around. You will have beautiful elven children, onii-chan," she tried to convince me with the elven children.
I won't lie, that is certainly appealing. I saw once before of a hybrid elven + human child and she looked phenomenal.
"Is that what this is? Your fetish to play with elven children? I know you were resisting yourself to play with them back when we were in Marrydia," I said to her.
"Partly but that is not the full story. If you choose me, we are going to end up a boring couple together. Not to mention we might not be able to see Lily anymore during our lifetime," she explained with a sad tone at the end.
I sighed. There is some merits to her what she is telling me. Not being able to see Lily hurts in some way. But would that really be true? Her guild is here. We can still meet-up every once in a while. But Lily can end up going on some adventure and won't come back in a 100 years or more. Or she just don't want to see my face if I ended up choosing Rose. I gave it some thought but some of Rose's words stung me. I stood up, gulped the rest of my drink and proceeded to head back to my room. Rose was confused and followed after me.
Making sure Rose had entered my room, I locked the door immediately. She looked at me confused as to why I locked the door. I pushed her against the wall, placed my hand on the wall and leaned closer to her. Our faces were so close that I can see the patterns of her iris which were beautiful. I leaned closer attempting to kiss her and she quickly shut her eyes.
But it was all a trick. I did not kiss her and held my face there. I placed my index and middle finger on her neck to check her pulse. It was certainly beating fast. One of her eye peeked open to look at me wondering what was going on as I had not kissed her after some time.
"Boring couple, you say? Are you sure? I can think of many situations where we can make things extremely interesting if we ended up together," I smiled at her.
I pet her head and walked back to rest on my bed leaving her there. She suddenly ran to the door, unlocked it and disappeared. Shoot, did I do something wrong? I was only trying to prove to her that we won't end up as a boring couple. It's going to end up biting me in the arse later, isn't it? Sigh.
***
Why? Why why why?! I thought I had steeled myself. I had convinced myself that Lily is the perfect person for him. We can all be together as a family if he marries Lily. But why? Why?! Why does my heart beat so much just by being close to him?! Why can't I control myself from longing to be with him?
Tears was flowing even though I was not sad. I tried to hold myself back but my heart just aches. I clutched my heart tightly. I can lie to myself, I can fool myself into thinking that Lily is the best for him. But my heart will not acknowledge that no matter how hard I try. It refuses to listen to my request. It knows deep down that I love him. I love that man who willingly extended his hand to help me during my darkest point in my life. I love his smile, his voice, his personality. I love everything about him and I want to be with him. My denial of my own feelings is what is causing me to cry unconditionally.
Geez, if I am crying this badly just because I am denying myself, what is going to happen if he really chooses Lily. Will I end up killing myself? My head will be happy for them but my heart is going to shatter. I will probably stay somewhere else as I can't bear to see them together.
***
I followed her as I felt guilty about my action earlier. I did not expect her to cry like this. Never before did I see Rose crying so badly. I know very well that Rose loves me. Perhaps even more so than Lily. From the day we met, we had always been together. We were inseparable some might say. We stuck together through all the highs and lows throughout our life. She was there for me when I was alone and acted like family to me.
I wanted to give her a hug. But I felt that if I were to go to her now, I would end up choosing her even when I had not officially decided yet. Damn it, why is it so hard to just choose one? Seeing her cry makes my heart aches. It took every ounce of me to walk away from her back to my room.