---Victor POV, Some Time Later---
Running out of ingredients by noon, Angelica, Clarice, and Olivia were happy to be done. Taking a moment to gulp down a tall glass of lemonade, the women began celebrating the success of our booth. Having earned a substantial amount of money, everyone wanted to use it to fund our entertainment here at the festival. Knowing I had supplied everything for the booth, they looked to me for permission to use it in case I wanted to reimburse myself.
"I am by no means hard up for cash, I say split it equally between the six of us and have at it.", I chuckled, with a grin.
"Alright!!", Lucoa cheered, "So where can a lady buy a drink here at this festival? I need a cold one after all this hard work!"
Looking at her like she was crazy, Clarice quickly brought her back down to reality.
"Lucoa, the headmaster forbade the drinking or sale of alcohol on campus when he took the position. The last time a drop of alcohol was on campus was fifteen years ago.", Clarice giggled.
"Well crap…stupid headmaster!", Lucoa complained, unhappy about this revelation.
"You can have a bottle of wine when we get home.", I promised her.
"Deal!", Lucoa agreed, rubbing her hands together with a mischievous smirk.
With Lucoa's alcohol request dealt with, I suggested we get changed and then divide up the money between us. Agreeing to my suggestion, I took a step outside to give them some privacy to change. Take a moment to stretch and crack my neck, Deirdre came walking over to me with one of our funnel cakes in her hand. Happily munching away on her food, she quickly wiped her mouth before speaking.
"Sold out already?", Deirdre inquired, with a playful smile.
"Yes, that is correct. You were our last customer, you should know that.", I chuckled, "Do you need something from me?"
"Since you are free now, I would like you to accompany me around the festivities today.", Deirdre stated, in a demanding tone, "You have no issue with that, do you?"
Before I could answer her, Angelica and Clarice asked us to wait a moment for them. Hurriedly changing into casual clothing, the two women bolted out of the tent and took positions either side of me.
"Victor has plans with the five of us.", Clarice informed her, "Sorry to burst your bubble."
"I imagine that your followers are going to need extra hands soon, now that our shop is closed for the day. Maybe you should consider going to help them as you are their leader.", Angelica said, with a cramped smile.
Using an unmistakable rich girl's laugh to annoy them, Deirdre found it funny they were trying to chase her off. Unwilling to back off so easily, as her competitive nature refused to allow it, she doubled down and quickly brushed them off.
"While I appreciate your concern, my subordinates are more than capable of handling things themselves. We have more than enough people to operate our three booths so please do not worry about it.", Deirdre replied, with a smug smile, "As for Victor's plans, I believe he is more than capable of answering for himself. Right, Victor?"
"As Clarice said, I already have plans with Angelica, Olivia, my two mistresses, and her today.", I said, as the other three women exited the tent, "You are more than welcome to join us, but I will not tolerate you starting fights with them. If you cannot behave, you can leave."
"Very well, I agree to your terms.", Deirdre agreed, with a pleased expression.
"Alright, I am going to change and then we can go.", I stated, walking toward our booth.
Changing out of my stuffy tuxedo for my comfortable casual clothes, I was about to head out when I heard a familiar voice calling out for us. Poking my head out to see who it was, Queen Mylene was standing in front of the counter with an excited expression. Recalling that she had never been to a festival like this before, I figured she had come out to enjoy the festivities herself.
"Good afternoon, Queen Mylene.", I remarked, bowing my head.
"SHH!!!", she protested, "Do not call me that while I am here, I want to enjoy the festivities in peace. If people realize who I am, everyone will start making a big fuss about it."
"Very well, may I call you Mylene for the duration of your visit here?", I inquired, as I leapt over the counter.
Nodding enthusiastically, she asked me if I could escort her around the festival today. Advising her that I already had plans with a group of wonderful ladies, I confirmed if she would be alright joining everyone else. Readily agreeing to it, as it sounded even more fun to be with a group of people, I took her hand and led her around the back. Watching me approach from the corner of their eyes, the noblewomen snapped to attention when they saw Mylene was with me.
"Calm down, Mylene wants to enjoy the festival with us. For the time being, please treat her as you would a friend.", I instructed everyone, to avoid drawing attention to her.
Noticing how uptight the three noblewomen were, Olivia was confused about who Mylene was. Having never met the Royal Family, aside from Jilk and Julius, she had no idea that the Queen of the Holfort Kingdom was standing in front of her.
"I do not mean to be rude, but who is she?", Olivia asked Angelica.
"She is Mylene Rapha Holfort, Queen of the Holfort Kingdom.", Angelica replied, unsurprised that Olivia did not know her appearance.
Sensing that Olivia was about to inadvertently blow Mylene's cover, Lucoa immediately covered her mouth to stop her. Quickly coming to her senses, Olivia quickly bowed her head and apologized to everyone for losing her cool. Assuring her that it was not a problem, Mylene took a moment to survey our little group. Taking a moment to look each of them in the eyes, Mylene nodded her head contently.
"It would appear you have assembled yourself a harem, Victor. You are a lucky man to win over such beauties.", Mylene said, playfully teasing the women, "So, who have you asked to become your first legal wife?"
"He asked the two of us.", Clarice stated, with a warm smile, "I recently accepted his proposal, but Angelica - "
Stopping her there, Angelica cleared her throat and clarified she accepted it as well. Surprised by her sudden decision, she explained that she had given it quite a good deal of thought and concluded she was happier than she had ever been by my side.
"Victor has been my rock throughout these past few chaotic months. When almost the entire school turned their backs on me, Victor stood beside me and valiantly defended my honor. When I felt like my life was over, he was there to pick me up and show me another way forward.", Angelica said, turning to me with a beautiful smile, "You showed me your dream for your future, and offered to make me a part of it. I can genuinely say now, I want to share your dream with you and continue walking beside you till death takes us both."
"Oh my goodness!!", Mylene giggled, like a teenaged girl, "That was such a heartfelt acceptance!! I am so happy for the three of you!!"
"Olivia are you not going to say anything?", Angelica remarked, "We discussed this a week ago. Do not leave me hanging."
"Victor, I…I honestly do not think I deserve your love. You have repeatedly protected me from bullies and always treated me as your equal, even though I am a commoner. Every day with you has been like a dream that I do not want to wake up from. When you asked me to marry you, I wanted to immediately accept but felt that I did not deserve it.", Olivia said, looking me in the eyes, "I know deep down you do not care about status, you care about me as a person. It took a lot of convincing from Angie and Clar, but I am ready to stand by your side…if the offer still stands."
Pulling the five of them into a hug, I acknowledged that my offer still stood for each of them. Happy that my little family was growing bigger, I was honestly excited about all the adventures we would have together. Wanting to show them everything that this universe had to offer, there was nothing in existence I would let stop me from achieving that goal. If I had to make an enemy out of the gods and universe itself, I would do so without any hesitation.
Letting them go, I pulled out engagement rings for the three of them. Having made the rings out of rose gold and platinum, instead of using diamonds, I used their birthstones to decorate the bands. Staring at the rings in utter shock, they nervously put the rings on. Glancing over at Deirdre, I could see the twinkle of determination in her eyes. Refusing to give up, she saw this as only a minor setback and still wished to proceed with pursuing me.
In Mylene's case though, I saw a mix of envy and jealousy in her eyes. Still stuck in her loveless marriage with Roland, she had not felt a loving embrace in ages. From what I knew, he had not touched her since she gave birth to their daughter fourteen years ago. Having fulfilled his royal duties, he had all but abandoned his wife to a painful existence. Whether he meant it to be cruel or not, due to the proximity of their shared bedroom and his private chambers, Mylene could hear damn near everything that went on in there. Add on the fact that her children did not show her any love, she was basically starving for any form of affection she could get. Having seen her cry herself to sleep on multiple occasions, I honestly wished Roland would just divorce her so she could be free again.
'If she were my wife, I would never let her feel that way. Since she refuses to abandon her husband, all I can do is standby and do what I can to fill the void her family made.', I thought, "Alright ladies, I am starving so let us go grab lunch!"
Sharing my sentiment, the eight of us headed out to peruse the booths for something good to eat.