Chapter 39: 39.

Note to self - even if I'm keeping my form firm, five girls on one bed results in one big knot in the morning. Working out from the pile is quite an effort, and honestly I probably would have taken much longer if Bridgit didn't wake up soon after me. Disentangling the other three to avoid any unfortunate incidents, we retire to the front room. Bridgit sets up omelettes and coffee while I consider what sweets to put on the table and heat some water for morning ablutions. For now, this is fine, but I should hire some subordinate maids for Bridgit once we move out of Academy. Taking care of four is much more hassle than just me, even though each of us individually is far less attention-needy than an average noblewoman. In fact, Bridgit deserves some encouragement for putting up with this.

I sneak up on her from behind and hug her around the waist. "Mine." - I murr into her ear, making her shiver and moan softly. "All yours, mistress..." - she agrees with a giggle as she turns her head to get a proper kiss. Moon Unit shows up soon after, bleary-eyed and yawning. She takes quick advantage of hot water, and comes back to get her share of morning hugs and kisses. There is no time to wait for the other two to wake up, we need to have a breakfast and get to classes. Lily-Anne and Roxolane can sleep in, on the other hand, they both need it and I can't start tutoring them earlier than afternoon anyways. Bridgit will take care of them in the morning. I have left some textbooks in case they get bored, too. Rafiqa shows up in the middle of breakfast, passably awake, and takes a cup of coffee without paying attention. Owie.

The good part is that Rafiqa only took a good sip, not drained the mug like Bridgit did during her first time. The bad part is that even that is sufficient to send Rafiqa from sleepy to buzzed in one fell shift. I end up having to distract her with the news that Academy garden is the place she can poke around at on her own, since it's walled in and there is always a servant or two nearby, so she won't get lost.

I'm honestly relieved when I finally make it to the class. The weekend was explosive, no other word for it. I'm looking forward to some nice and slow days. And that is not even mentioning the harem expansion. What is up with this, anyway? Why are they suddenly so thirsty? I mean, sure, I'm a sexy beast and all that, but for crying out loud, this is ridiculous. And why Moon Unit and Bridgit are suddenly so eager to nudge them on? I mean, Moon Unit had her doubts before dinner, about Lily-Anne actually. So... If she was wary in the morning, why so much willingness to fondle Lily-Anne in the evening?

This is going to bother me, I just know it. Because now I'm doubting everything. I mean, I am already aware I can fuck people up mentally just by showing up au naturele. How confident I am that I'm not also fucking my girls up in subtler ways? And if I am, how far I'm willing to go to rectify that? What if it's an irreversible change for them? What if it's going to progress? I do not want to end up being responsible for a bunch of brainwashed sex slaves. That would be disgusting and I'd be depressed looking on them and remembering the people they used to be.

Bridgit... Is a good clue it's not so bad. Because I have verifiably been shoggoth ever since birth, I`ve doublechecked that much already. And Bridgit was on the "maid" level this whole time. If I were fucking people over with my presence as I fear I might have, why didn't I find Bridgit already in my bed first thing upon transmigration? Because pre-transmigration Alyssa had no libido to speak of? No, that does not mesh with memories. I distinctly remember checking Bridgit out. Alright. So, let's for now work on assumption that my fuckery is not insidious enough to mindfuck them into being in love with me in the background. How about the foreground, then? Roxolane worries me. It is strange that she would bounce so quickly. And while we are on the topic, Lily-Anne is also... worrying. Not quite to the same degree, but still... She shouldn't really have the concept of homosexuality, this culture sees skinship as something that supplements marriage, not as something that exists as a separate relationship. Well, mostly. Gay people exist and the concept of being homosexual is a thing, but not a public thing, if that makes any sense... Anyway...

I spend most of my classes thinking this over, giving absentminded answers. Then again, the questions are simple, if extensive. Alchemy professor had spent almost a quarter of class quizzing me on lead toxicity, for crying out loud. I had to point out to her that areas where lead-containing ores is a traditional ingredient in cosmetics sports consistently higher levels of stillbirths. Silly. I'm not that easy to stump, nope. It's obvious, when you really think about it...

It is just before dinner when I'm shaken out of my musings quite rudely. Namely, by an Academy servant appearing to summon me to the dean's office. The hell does Ambercrombe want now?

___

Turns out it's not Ambercrombe at all. Well, well, well... I guess we do have things to talk about, Abe. Now, what exactly is that which drags you out here relatively incognito? Lil'old me? Why, I'm flattered. Flattered, I tell you.

"Right." - I really have no words for this - "A visit on the sly, I take it?"

He nods smugly. Well, I have to hand it to him - clothes are spot-on "citizen of passable income but no great stature". Face, of course, is still recognizable, but the hat really changes the overall impression of face width. One would take a glance at the guy and think - "Wow, that fellow sure looks kinda like our king. Uncanny. He probably hears that a lot from all sorts of people." And I think Abe's shirt actually has some kind of tightening belt between his shoulderblades to shift his posture and therefore gait. And the shoes actually have soles thicker in front, changing his walk... Comprehensive effort and no magic used. I'm impressed. One on one, it's obvious he's Abe, but in the crowd? Yeah, good luck figuring it out.

"Very well. I take it you have questions? I can guess about some of them, but let's hear the whole list. It will be probably easier this way." - I offer to him as I take a chair and sit across the table from him.

"Hrm. Well, first and most worrying question. How did you end up getting defiled? I don't want to think ill of Gerard, but this is pretty... unusual at such early age." - he plows straight into the issue I expected.

"Ah. A combination of searching old mythos and trying to recreate the spells they had." - I answer easily. Alyssa did that, after all, and some of the results were pretty... out there. I sigh and continue - "To be honest, I am not sure if there is any specific spell responsible for this, a combination of thereof or something else. I can tell for sure that the rest of the family had nothing to do with this, it's just consequences of being too curious and too gifted with magic."

He sighs with... relief? Yeah, I suppose Abe actually likes my dad, he probably wouldn't be keen on hearing dad is actually guilty of something. "Well, that is a load off my mind. I'd offer my condolences, but I think you really came ahead on the whole thing." - he mutters - "Very well, the second question. Edward. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're not feeling particularly sanguine about the engagement, now do you? Mind telling me your point of view? I think I grasp Edward's motivations and reasons and causes pretty well by now, but your side of it remains an enigma."

"That's actually the part of the problem." - I tell him bluntly - "Did you know that Edward had not met with me since I was nine? That's seven years. I'll drop the last one, since he had been under the foreign influence, but that does not explain his utter absence in my life for the remaining six. Me living in the county only excuses this so far - I have had been visiting the capital every year with my father, and if it comes to it, father would not deny hospitality to Edward either. So why hasn't he ever tried to meet with me?"

Abe sighs and scratches his head - "I have been wondering about this one myself. According to Edward, well... he believes you've disliked him when you were both little and kept that opinion throughout the years. He describes it as you bursting into tears each time he was near when you were little, and avoiding talking to him when you were older. He had come to believe you want the engagement for the social boons, but have ill will towards him as a person."

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I sigh. "In order... I cried because when we met for the first time ever, he knocked me over and run away, and three years old me responded to that as all toddlers do - by crying a lot." - I explain to him - "Then he showed up again, three years old me assumed it's time to be knocked over again and started crying preemptively. Which made him run off again." I shake my head - "It's very simple and obvious once you remember that you're considering the actions of toddlers. As for the latter meetings, I've been trained on proper etiquette a lot and honestly came out of the meetings assuming Edward was impressed with my grasp of proper etiquette. I had no idea he had interpreted this as "did not want to talk" until recently."

"So... What you are telling me that all this is simply Edward making excessive and wrong conclusions?" - he drawls slowly - "If so, why do you want the engagement broken?"

"Well. Consider this. Edward had all those assumptions, and he did not consider approaching me to work something out." - I offer - "Anything else, I would have forgiven, but he did one thing I absolutely can not tolerate. He wrote me off."

Abraham raises his hands placatingly - "Alright, alright, I understand. I can see why you are having reservations now. Still, it was a mistake. He understands that much now, surely Edward can do better if you give him one more chance?"

"If only he did anything else. Anything at all would be better." - I retort - "My problem is not with the fact Edward made a mistake, no. My problem is with the way he handled it. I'm afraid of being abandoned, and that's exactly what he did. How am I supposed to trust him not to do that again, if his whole problem-solving mechanism seems to rely on 'pretend the problem doesn't exist until it goes away'? I want out of this arrangement. He called it off, I confirmed it. Can we PLEASE leave it at that? I can tell for a fact he is interested in someone else. And I happen to think Selene is a good friend to me. Honestly, everyone would be happier if Edward's engagement goes to Selene."

And... this is going to be an annoying talk, because I can see by Abraham's expression that he concedes the truth in my arguments but also is very much unwilling to let go of a chance to tie me to his family in a more direct way than simply being a citizen of the kingdom. Of course, this is when a third party barges in. I've been aware of Lily-Anne perching outside the door. She actually followed me here, though I only found it out properly once I was in the room. I'd call Abe's attention to it, but then I'd have to explain how did I know Lily-Anne is there. And she eavesdropped.

"How about a compromise?" - she offers, as she pushes the door in, startling Abe. The door firmly closed behind her, she continues - "How about you let Edward be engaged to Selene and engage me to Alyssa instead?"

Abraham's expression is priceless. "Lily-Anne... you're both women..." - he begins hesitatingly.

"So? I know for a fact Alyssa likes girls, she has a harem even. Engage us, and everything's hunky-dory." - she continues, making me blink and giggle at the last expression. Where did she even pick that up from?

"Harem? What's that about?" - Abraham inquires, trying his best not to laugh. I guess he's not taking Lily-Anne seriously just yet.

"I have a maid, I met a potential scholar to retain, and I've grabbed even more girls from Sultanate recently." - I explain with a sigh - "They think it's funny."

Abraham chuckles. "That explains things." - he offers - "Lily-Anne, I appreciate you trying to help, but..."

She stands up straighter. "Father, I invoke the favor." - she says, and Abe visibly jerks up in shock. A sign that this is serious, isn't it? Lily-Anne continues - "I invoke the favor you owe me, and I want to be engaged to Alyssa. She is not against it."

He draws in a lungful of air. "Lily, my dear girl, are you absolutely certain this is what you want? For that matter, lady Gillespie, would you even consent to be engaged to another woman?"

"Once bitten, twice shy." - I say out loud - "If it comes to this, I provisionally agree with the following understanding - anything can be called off any time by either of us, without any provisions for the other side to counteract this by anything other than persuasion."

He shakes his head in disbelief. "I can't believe things had come to this." - Abraham mutters, before standing up - "Very well. Since those are the facts and conditions you bring to me, hear me now. I recognize engagement between Edward and Alyssa dissolved by mutual agreement and give tentative permission for Edward to engage Serenity. He will be notified of this later. As a favor owed to Lily-Anne and on obtaining Alyssa's consent, I accept her request to be engaged to Alyssa instead. Let it be known that Lily-Anne engages with an intent to join the harem as a fully-fledged wife. The changes in engagements will be kept at low key until such time that everyone involved reconfirms the current arrangements are to their satisfaction."

Ooh dear. I think Abe had decided Lily-Anne is over her head with her fanciful tales of a woman having a harem, and decided to prank her. And everything is actually true. Oh, holy fuckbisquits, Abe's expression is going to be epic once he finds out everything was as serious as seriousness gets.

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