Ch.207Polygamy (12)

I dreamed of being pounced on by Cartesia.

It was a dream where soft tentacles bound both my arms and licked my lips wildly.

I couldn’t move an inch, as if paralyzed by sleep paralysis.

“Hey, wake up!”

A sharp voice.

It was Seti.

These days my little sister is giving me wake-up calls.

I got up, rubbing my eyes. My head throbbed, probably from sleeping so sprawled out and then sleeping some more. Still, it was much more refreshing than before I collapsed.

When I came to my senses, my arms felt heavy.

Ah, right. I fell asleep yesterday while giving Rustila Kersil and Zernya von und zu Trisha Adelbein arm pillows.

My left arm felt cushion-like softness, while my right arm felt pudding-like squishiness.

It was truly a flower in each hand.

“You crazy bastard, what the hell did you do at home yesterday?!”

Seti shouted. I replied calmly.

“I slept.”

“Slept? All four of you?”

“Yeah, together.”

Her golden eyes shook in all directions like a joystick. A magnitude 9.0 earthquake.

What, she thinks her brother pulled off some grand feat overnight.

“We just slept together. Just sleep.”

“Don’t bullshit me.”

“Then don’t believe me.”

Seti trembled.

Wait a minute, four? She said I slept with four people?

Me, Rustila, Zernya.

And also…

“…”

Now that I noticed, it wasn’t just my arms that felt heavy. There was also a subtle weight on my lower body. Sure enough, Sonia was sleeping soundly near my legs.

Why is she here too?

“Sonia. Sonia?”

“Mmm, young master. You’re awake.”

“Why are you sprawled out here?”

“Oh my.”

Sonia quickly got up. Uncharacteristically, she had been drooling. She wiped her mouth and cleared her throat with a “Ahem.”

“I was nursing you all night to make sure you were alright, and I ended up showing such an unsightly appearance… I apologize.”

“No, thank you.”

When I first possessed this body, she would only curse and hit me for whatever I did, but now I was touched by how much my personal android had changed.

Feeling moved, I patted her head. Sonia’s eyes opened wide.

“…Young master?”

“What?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Sonia adjusted her headband. She rolled her eyes and gently covered her mouth. A subtle silence followed for a few seconds.

“…Please get ready. I’ll prepare something easy to eat right away.”

“Alright, thank you.”

Sonia left the room as if escaping.

“Tsk.”

For some reason, my mouth felt pasty.

How should I describe it? Like I’d slept with an eraser in my mouth? Like I’d licked a battery? It’s hard to explain precisely, but anyway, that kind of taste lingered on my tongue.

Maybe it’s because I’m hungry.

I pushed the thought away and slowly moved.

As I carefully pulled my arms out from under the two women, Rustila and Zernya began to stir. Rustila, like a soldier, sat up at a right angle, while Zernya…

“Ugh, uugh.”

She let out consecutive moans.

Zernya was gasping as if she had difficulty breathing. Her hands flailed at empty air. It looked like she was having a nightmare. I quickly grabbed her hand.

Only then did her breathing stabilize.

“Hah, hah, ah…”

“Are you okay?”

Her purple eyes slowly opened. Zernya sighed in relief and spoke.

“It, it was just a dream.”

“What kind of dream made you like that?”

“From the south, foreign gods came and, k-killed everyone. Your family was destroyed, and even that child Mezulen Hueritia was burned by an avatar with a head like a match… Ha, that’s nonsense. It was just a bad dream.”

The great invasion of Darwin’s foreign gods. According to the original story, this happened after Zernya’s death.

Did she start having prophetic dreams after her near-death experience?

Anyway, that wasn’t important right now.

I had shared a bed with two women who didn’t get along with each other.

I was already dreading their reactions when they noticed each other upon waking up.

“Ah…”

“Ha.”

The two women sighed as they recognized each other. They frowned as if they’d seen someone they never wanted to see.

We hadn’t been drinking, so I couldn’t even make the excuse that it was a mistake. The two of them had, last night, and in their right minds, lain down to sleep with me in the same bed.

A subtle power struggle was the expected course.

“Eidel, did you sleep well?”

“Give me a morning greeting.”

They both offered their cheeks at the same time.

Whichever one I kissed first would surely cause a commotion.

But it wasn’t like I had no solution.

“Yes. Thanks to you both, I slept comfortably.”

I grabbed both women’s cheeks with my hands, rubbed them, then placed my hands on their shoulders and gently embraced them.

They seemed quite satisfied and simultaneously kissed my cheeks. A person has only one mouth but two cheeks, which was very convenient at times like this. (I also realized that I shouldn’t increase the number of wives beyond this.)

“I kissed you first.”

“No, I was first.”

“Thieving cat.”

“Outsider.”

Ah, they’re still fighting even like this.

It was tiring from the morning, but I was happy.

“You crazy bastard. Hey, stop being gross and come out.”

Seti grumbled as she left.

“Ah, good morning…”

As I was tidying up the blankets and about to leave, I had a moment of confusion when I saw Ireh Hazlen coming out of the room I used to use for entrance exam studies, but I let it pass smoothly.

“What?”

“It’s nothing.”

I should probably not mention that Ireh slept in my bed.

No need to make things awkward.

***

Jerome and Brian were having their stomachs turned in real-time upon hearing the news that Eidel had woken up.

“I heard he’s fine.”

“That’s fortunate indeed.”

“…”

“…Hah.”

They didn’t wish for his death. Eidel was a very powerful card connecting both family houses.

But they couldn’t stand the sight of him walking around perfectly fine either.

“What are you going to do now?”

“Since both your daughter and my brother are family heads, we should at least talk from now on.”

“Are you suggesting we make them fight?”

“Not fight, discuss. There can’t be two family heads in one family, can there?”

“What would you prefer?”

“I’ll leave it to the couple’s wishes.”

Jerome inwardly scoffed. What a sly fox.

Brian changed the subject.

“There’s just one thing that concerns me. Until the day before yesterday, my brother was a critically ill patient who couldn’t survive without an oxygen respirator, but now he’s suddenly walking around perfectly fine. Doesn’t that seem unsettling?”

In martial arts novels, there’s a concept called “the final radiance.”

Like a dying candle flaring up brilliantly one last time, a dying person temporarily recovers their vitality and becomes normal for a while.

Could Eidel be experiencing this final radiance?

“I’m worried he might collapse again.”

“I understand what you mean.”

“What’s more problematic is that your father has allowed him to be discharged. He should have stayed hospitalized for at least a few days to monitor his condition.”

“There must have been no abnormal findings.”

“Still, the discharge date is too early. I wonder if they’re hurriedly preparing for a wedding.”

“Hmm.”

A wedding.

For Jerome, the worst-case scenario was Zernya marrying into the Rheinland family.

But the possibility was significantly low.

For 20 years, the Zernya that Jerome had observed was a child with great ambition and desire for power. She never cared about anything less than first place, and in fact, he had raised her to be that way.

When she was perpetually second to Eidel, she would get angry every day.

And now such a child had entered a political marriage.

Perhaps she would take this opportunity to get revenge on Eidel.

Of course, even the great Zernya seemed to have fallen for Eidel quite a bit… but that was something he could sternly talk to her about soon. He knew his daughter’s ambition better than anyone.

Jerome said:

“There’s nothing to worry about. It will be good for both father-in-law and brother-in-law. Rather, shouldn’t you go examine your brother now? I would be very troubled if my son-in-law suddenly passed away.”

“I was planning to return to the college right away.”

“Good. Go quickly.”

Brian stood up and bowed his head.

After he left, Jerome let out a long sigh.

They had different dreams.

The two men agreed on Eidel becoming the son-in-law who would join the Adelbein family. It was an element that strengthened the bond between the two main houses.

However, which direction that bond would take depended on the upcoming power struggle.

“Brian.”

He’s a clever man.

To think of using Eidel to exert influence over the Adelbein family.

But there was one thing he was missing.

No matter what, his daughter Zernya far surpassed Brian in political maneuvering ability.

In the end, Adelbein would always be victorious.

***

“From today, I’m your attending physician.”

“What nonsense, you haven’t even graduated…”

“I have Deneb. I’ll be much more competent than some mediocre licensed doctor.”

Where does this self-confidence come from?

Zernya repeatedly whined about wanting to follow me to my lab. I tried to appease her as much as possible, saying I couldn’t let her fight with Rustila, but what I got in return was bitter pain.

“Ow!”

“Oh my. Where does it hurt?”

“My shoulder, my shoulder…”

“Let me examine it. Oh dear, there are teeth marks? This is a disease you get when you neglect your wife for too long.”

“H-how can I cure it…?”

“Give me love.”

I reluctantly embraced Zernya and kissed her. The height difference made the angle difficult. Nevertheless, Zernya eagerly entwined her tongue with mine and caressed the spot where she had bitten me.

“Th-those two…”

Rustila’s gaze was piercing.

In the end, I had to give Rustila a kiss of the same level to somewhat calm her down. Afterward, Zernya briefly settled in my lab.

“I’ll be too busy to come often anyway. Rustila, you report to me if anything happens, okay?”

“What?”

“Do I need to say it twice for you to understand? Report immediately if Eidel seems to be overexerting himself. I’ll examine him.”

Rustila’s cheeks puffed up slightly.

I was also a bit surprised. What Zernya said was quite unexpected.

That Zernya, with her strong possessiveness and pride, made something like a request to Rustila for the first time.

“…You, this is unusual?”

“Ireh said it, didn’t she? If Eidel dies like this, we’re all back to square one.”

“You…”

Rustila nodded blankly.

I see. I understand now.

They must think my body hasn’t fully recovered yet, so they’re both refraining from fighting.

It’s a kind of consideration.

I was grateful.

I was touched that they were genuinely concerned about me, and I was glad that the animosity between them seemed to have eased a bit. They must have both been quite shocked at that time, and probably developed some grudging affection too.

“And, Eidel. Shouldn’t we resolve our family head issue soon?”

“Oh? That’s right.”

Since both Zernya and I are family heads.

To set a wedding date as soon as possible, one of us has to give up the family business. Plus, there’s also the issue of bigamy.

Brian must be looking for me with fire in his eyes right about now…

“Brother.”

Speak of the devil.