"Why… Did you pick it up?" A saddened elderly voice sounded all of a sudden, letting me know she was likely in another math class with Pythagoras, the old dude who fell asleep while he was supposed to audit Felicity's conversation with me, letting us plot right under his nose how she would cheat on her math exam.
"Why wouldn't I?"
"... It's rare we get to spend time together…"
Hmm? Something was strange.
"Is that Lord Pythagoras with you, Princess?" I asked, trying to clarify who the guard dog was this time.
"Oh, him? No, Lord Pythagoras is probably napping, hehe… You called me during my weekly tea time with Father!"
Everyone in the room froze all at once, myself included.
There can only be one man a royal princess would call Father. The almighty Alexios Valorian, king of the Vraven Kingdom.
Almost all of my girls flinched in sync. Many of their lives have been either directly or indirectly affected by this man.
Alexios signed off on Ayame's enslavement, ensuring even if she managed to free herself of the [Slave Contract] spell, she would never be a lawful citizen of the kingdom ever again.
Aurora's parents were arrested on the order of the crown because they discovered that the kingdom was hiding something related to the [Magic Elixir of Awakening] in their unofficial outpost. Papa and Mama Aurora's, namely Gideon and Naomi Lorien's well-being was currently questionable at best.
The rest of the girls' lives were changed by him or his vassals indirectly. Lucille was a legally dead woman, chased after by the mother of the twins who killed her mother to be the head wife of the Greenvale family.
Blossom was dragged away from her family in chains while Seraphiel and even the ladies who weren't here, namely Sylvaris, Kaelira, Lyra, and many more of my people were either slaves or facing threats of slavery in the case of Kaelira. Many of them have been enslaved by Alexios' vassals.
The only one who didn't flinch was Kitsara. She was too far gone by now to separate reality from dreams, she was focusing all her brain cells on suckling her popsicle with utmost joy, even after Aurora's guiding hand movements had ceased.
And even beyond the colorful background of my ladies, we were wanted criminals. Devil was a famous criminal by now, his feats in the Phenom Trials have spread far and wide. Although many were skeptical whether he truly was an Elemental Sovereign or not, that did not change how many knew his name these days, and to a lesser degree, the names of his Heralds.
Wrath and Ambition, namely Iris and Kaelira, were also quite well known. The former for beating Azura, the Eclipse Enforcer-ranked swordswoman, while the latter for winning the Phenom Trials and kneeling to offer her rewards to Devil, her lord.
"Why don't you call me Papa anymore…? You always smiled so brightly while shouting 'Papa!' and jumping into my arms..." Alexios questioned with a dejected sigh, not bothered by the sudden silence from my end of the line.
"I'm a big girl now, that's why! Only kids use pet names like that for their parents. Refined ladies such as I also don't jump into the arms of their fathers. I don't want the country to think I'm a Daddy's little girl!"
""What's wrong with that?""
It was not just Alexios who asked that, but also the girl seated in my lap as if it were her glorious throne. She asked with quite the edge to her tone at that, evidently not liking the Princess' tone and words.
"Lord Black, do you have someone with you?" Felicity asked, confused.
"I do Indeed, Princess. I promised I would introduce the loves of my life to you sometime, I figured now was as good time as any."
Ayame shouted in my mind, panicked. Talking with the royals was not on her agenda today.
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