..
.
"Wow! That's amazing, big sis. You disappeared for a moment."(Iris)
"Y-yeah... though it feels a little weird... with this, I'll definitely be able to..."(Rose)
After crying for a while, Roselyn finally pulled herself together and began to test the ability.
First, she tried practicing the art she already knew by heart, even though she hadn't been able to practice it before.
She was making some strange movements and spins with two daggers in her hands while surrounded by a dark aura.
After ten minutes, she stopped and said it was indeed working. Then she tried to blend into the shadows, and after a few attempts, she succeeded.
Iris stood excitedly by her side, cheering her on and expressing her amazement at what she was doing.
Although I have to admit that this business of blending into the darkness is beyond any logic and my current understanding, and I found it fascinating.
I wonder if there's a real, sustainable mechanism within this world's logic for those phenomena.
Maybe there are studies on mana, magic, and skills...
Hmm... I wonder if the next time Bianca comes back, I'll have the chance to ask her.
At least I hope future clients are scholars so I could...
"Great! With this, I can avoid ruin, stabilize our situation, and even restore our family's name. And when everything is safe, I'll come back and bring you with me."(Rose)
Just as I was about to get lost in my thoughts, I heard Roselyn say something that caught my attention
Now that the important matter was settled, I suppose that issue came up again.
"Bring me with you? Where will you take us, big sister?"(Iris)
"No, I'll only take you, so you can live w-with me."(Rose)
I watched as Roselyn, looking a little embarrassed, tried to make Iris understand that she would return in the future to be her partner.
"(´･ω･`)?"(Iris)
On the other hand, Iris was tilting her head, as if she didn't understand why Roselyn wanted her to come live with her and wasn't inviting me too.
I thought about what to do about this.
The mission isn't complete yet, but it will eventually be. On the other hand, it wouldn't be a bad idea to give her the 'stigma of lethargy' since her feelings toward Iris are so strong.
Keeping up the lie without clearing things up might let us pull it off even today.
But, like everything before, it would just be a fragile thing built on lies, and I think continuing to do so would be counterproductive in the long run.
I've got enough on my plate with Azalea, Amarillys, Bianca, and even Jinlian, even though she was only here briefly...
And, unlike all of them, with Roselyne owing us so much, we're in a strong enough position to keep things from getting out of hand, even if the whole truth comes out...
She definitely seems to be in love with Iris, but I get the thought that i it's just something superficial, the result of nothing more than a very positive first impression.
So it was time to burst her bubble. And see if she's capable of maintaining her current standing.
"Miss Rose."
So I interrupted their conversation.
"Ah! Yes, I'm sorry. Ahem!, I will truly repay everything you've done for me and my family. The D'Aubigny family owes you, and I'll be in your debt until the end of my life... but Iris and I are a separate matter, right?... You said it yourself, didn't you? That there's no real love between you two, so there shouldn't be any problems." (Rose)
"Yes, regarding that... I lied."
"Huh?" (Rose)
"Yes. What I said about Iris and I not loving each other and getting married on a whim and all that—I only said it to get information out of you. I wanted to know if the artifact I had could be of help to you."
"Wait, even so, that doesn't mean Iris… I-Iris, do you love your husband?" (Rose)
"Huh? What kind of nonsense question is that, big sis..." (Iris)
"Ugh... yeah, I shouldn't have doubted—" (Rose)
"Of course I love Honey. There's no doubt about that,"(Iris)
"Huh! But you... and me... so you lied too. You don't love me."(Rose)
"Huh? What do you mean, big sister? Of course I love you too. You're just like Honey, asking silly questions…" (Iris)
"Huh, so you and him… I… I don't understand any of this."(Rose)
Yeah, I see that even this world's common sense doesn't align with Iris's, who seemed unable to understand why Roselyn was asking nonsensical questions.
Roselyn is a perfectly reasonable person with common sense; personally, I like her now that I know her better.
That's exactly why I know where this is headed.
"Miss Rose, as you can see, Iris has no intention of breaking off our engagement."
"Yes, that will never happen." (Iris)
"/_ \So it was just me who unilaterally thought that—" (Rose)
"Let me finish. While that is a point you need to be clear on, Iris wasn't lying when she said she likes you. Do you understand what I mean?"
"...No, honestly, I'm really confused." (Rose)
"Haaah~ As you've probably noticed, Iris is very eccentric, and trying to figure out what she's thinking is a colossal—and ultimately futile—task. Anyway, for her, the fact that she's married to me and loves me doesn't get in the way of her liking you. Isn't that right?"
"Hue~. Of course. Ah, but you know, honey, I also wanted to have an affair with my older sister just like you do with Lea, Amy, and Lys, but I guess it's too late now. Well, it's not so bad if we're all together." (Iris)
I wanted to say something about that comment, but Roselyn beat me to it, a touch of panic in her voice
"Wait, I don't get it. No, I do get it, but I don't want to believe that's really what it is... Iris, what did you mean by that 'harem' thing?" (Rose)
"Oh! Yes, it's finally recruitment time. Big sis Rose, do you want to join my Honey and me's harem?" (Iris)
"..." (Rose)
She remained silent in response to Iris's proposal; it wasn't the first time, but now she would have to take it seriously.
Without seeming to understand Iris, she finally turned to look at me, asking me to clarify and explain what all this was really about, but unfortunately for her, that was just how it was.
"Haaah~ You can think of us as a peculiar couple. I myself have, so to speak, other lovers, and, well, Iris seems to have found you... and that's what she calls a harem."
"Exactly! Big sister , when you do it with him, you're going to love it. He's really good, hehue. Watching my sister get swept away into ecstasy while I help Honey do it is, huehue~." (Iris)
"W-wait! What are you saying? Me, him... D-do I have to do it with him too?" (Rose)
"huh!? That's right! After all, you're part of our harem. Isn't that right, Honey? (≧∇≦)"(Iris)
"Yeah. (ㆆ_ㆆ)...I'll take you to absolute ecstasy"
"That's the talk, honey! All you need now is the right attitude." (Iris)
Iris was getting ahead of herself, and Miss Roselyn really didn't seem able to keep up with her. she shouldn't force people into something they don't want to do.
But even so, I agreed with what she said and even played along, because that's really Iris's goal, and Roselyn had to understand that.
Even back in our previous life, I promised Iris that if there was a girl quirky enough to get involved in this madness, I wouldn't mind.
But Roselyn only seems interested in Iris and not in me; I can tell by her percentages.
___________________________
Emotional: 13
Carnal: 5
Rational: 20
___________________________
Seeing them really puts my mind at ease.
Roselyn has proven to be someone with a rational and strong mind who can put a stop to things if she really doesn't like them, and from what I can tell, she doesn't like me.
So she obviously won't agree, and that inevitably conflicts with Iris's ideals, which would mean nothing happens in the end, just like it always did with the dates we set up in our past life.
The circumstances are different, but what Iris wants to involve her in is the same, so we'd inevitably end up with the same result.
We might miss the chance to put the 'stigma' on her, but she, because of what she owes us, will stay in touch and pay us back since I also know she's the kind of person who pays all her debts.
Personally, that's what matters most to me. Besides, Iris has already fulfilled that desire of hers in a way, so she'll calm down for a while, and in this new world, many other things might catch her attention.
Although she'll probably be a little sad when Roselyn rejects her offer, it's for the best for everyone.
And indeed, at that moment Roselyn seemed hesitant and had a complicated expression on her face from everything she was hearing, as if she didn't know what to think or what to say in response to Iris's proposal... so I'll help her out a little.
"Miss Rose, I want to emphasize that you're really under no obligation to do anything. Your debt to us is a separate issue from this matter, so you're perfectly free to refuse."
"Honey, don't say that! My sister…" (Iris)
"Love, we can't force someone to do something they don't want to do. Even though what happened has already happened, I'll have to strongly object if Miss Rose doesn't give her approval for this kind of thing. Do you understand? Everything has to be consensual."
"Yes, Honey. /_\" (Iris)
Roselyn looked at us... she looked at me for a while, but I returned her gaze with an impassive expression, and then she looked at the dejected Iris for a while; she seemed to be thinking about something until she finally spoke.
"Iris... do you really like me?" (Rose)
"Oh, of course I do, big sister! You're at the top of my ra- Ah! Right, I shouldn't say that. But it's true that I like you a lot, big sister." (Iris)
"And your tastes are in women, aren't they? But anyway, you also like your husband, don't you?" (Rose)
"Yes. I like women—beautiful, sexy women like you, big sister—and of course I like Honey." (Iris)
"...I think I understand you. I still feel love for my late husband myself, even though my tastes lie elsewhere now... If I think about it that way, there really isn't anything wrong with what you're saying." (Rose)
"ಠิ_ಠ"
That kind of understanding was something I really hadn't expected, and I began to notice that things weren't going the way I thought they would; however, I didn't say anything and let her keep talking.
"I also understand the polygamy thing. It's rare among demons and elves, but not among humans, so it's not unusual for him to have more than one partner and for you, who loves him, to support him." (Rose)
"Oh, yeah. I always support my Honey in everything—except when he wants a divorce." (Iris)
"...(一︿一)"
I wanted to complain, since I wasn't the one who came up with the harem idea, but I stayed silent to see where Roselyne was going with this.
"Iris, right now I really can't describe how I feel about you as anything other than love... I don't think I can just walk away and forget about you... W-what you're proposing, I'm willing to try." (Rose)
And, unfortunately, what she said completely shattered my expectations.
"Oh! Really, big sis? Will you do it with Honey too?" (Iris)
"Y-yes. Ahem… It's not like I have anything against men. I was married to one for most of my life and didn't have any problems… It's just that lately I've felt more attracted to girls… I don't know if it'll work, but if it's for you, I don't mind trying it with your husband." (Rose)
"Yeah! Welcome to the harem, big sis! We'll make you very happy! Right, Honey?"
"Yes...I hope you don't regret your decisions later. (*￣︿￣)"
Haaah… really, when it comes to love and stuff like that, things go beyond my expectations and predictions.
Well, since it happened, it's too late to do anything else now. I've already failed; I have to accept that.
Besides, it's not so bad considering that with her, it's almost certain we'll be able to complete this mission that had a guillotine hanging over our heads.
Plus, she has a decent and very reasonable personality, not to mention she has a lot of life experience...