As Haruto and Rutherford watched in stunned silence, fifteen servants began unloading the five royal carriages, and what they found inside left them completely speechless. The first carriage was overflowing with world-class sweets and enough snacks to last a lifetime. The second was packed with a mountain of clothes, all perfectly tailored to a child's size. The third carriage contained every toy imaginable from across the globe, while the fourth was filled with exquisite jewelry. The fifth carriage, however, remained mysteriously empty.
The servants efficiently gathered the goods and began marching toward the mansion entrance. Lilith stepped forward with a radiant smile and greeted them with a "Hello," while Aeterna, looking like a little princess in her new clothes, offered a cheerful "Hi" as well.
Haruto, overwhelmed by the sudden influx of luxury, demanded an explanation. Lilith simply waved it off, saying, "Oh, this? These are just a few gifts for my future daughter".
Haruto immediately countered, "Sorry, but she is my daughter and no one else's".
Lilith turned to the little girl and asked, "Aeterna, don't you want a mummy?".
"I am more than enough for her!" Haruto insisted. But Aeterna slowly shook her head, looked up at them both, and declared firmly, "Actually, I do want one".
Haruto stood there, completely stunned, as the situation turned into a chaotic mess that he could no longer follow. To him, it felt like everything was being thrown together into one confusing "mess" of a day.
Lilith looked at him and said, "You're going to marry me anyway, right?"
Haruto immediately shot back, "I have no interest in that, and I'll never agree to it!"
"Just think about it," Lilith countered smoothly.
"By marrying me, you will become the King. It's simple—total control will be in your hands."
Haruto hesitated for a moment, the word "King" echoing in his mind, before stammering, "I... I don't do marriage and all that stuff."
"Don't worry," Lilith replied, waving off his concerns.
"You don't have to get married right now. Right now, it's just the engagement. After that, you have to find nine more girls, and only then will the marriages happen."
Haruto's jaw dropped. "What?! Why nine more?!"
Lilith explained as if it were common knowledge, "A King has the right and duty to marry the ten most powerful women."
Haruto looked at her, skeptical. "So what, do you have ten mummies then?"
Lilith's expression dimmed slightly. "No, he only has eight now, because two of them passed away."
Haruto took a step back, horrified by the logistics of it all.
"What? No way! If I have to marry ten people, then Kallen is more than welcome to take that 'honor' instead!"
Lilith was about to respond to Haruto's refusal when one of the royal attendants struggling with a heavy crate interrupted.
"Princess, these items are incredibly heavy," he grunted. "Where should we place them?" Lilith immediately gestured toward the mansion entrance.
"Oh, of course! Let's take everything inside."
Haruto stepped in front of the servants, trying to block the way. "Wait! I haven't accepted any of this!"
Aeterna, still perched comfortably in Lilith's arms, looked down at him with a defiant pout.
"These are mine now, Papa! Understood?"
"First of all, get down from there," Haruto sighed, reaching for her.
But Aeterna clung tighter to Lilith. "I've officially accepted this lady as my 'Mummy.' Her manners are excellent, she showed me the entire city, and she promised to take me out somewhere fun every seven days."
Haruto scoffed, trying to regain his daughter's loyalty.
"I can give you gifts like that too! I have plenty of G-Credits saved up."
Lilith's eyes lit up when she heard the mention of his currency.
"Oh? G-Credits? You really are a big shot, aren't you? Having G-Credits is impressive, but Haruto... I own the bank of the entire city."
Haruto hesitated, his face twitching as he realized the massive gap in their financial power. Lilith smirked, seeing his confidence crumble.
"It looks like I won this comparison, my future husband."
Haruto sighed in defeat, throwing his hands up in frustration. "Please, stop torturing me! I have a duel to prepare for, and I can't think straight with all this chaos," he groaned.
Aeterna just looked at him calmly and tilted her head.
"Hmm, maybe you don't realize how things work yet, Papa. Come on, show us your room."
Haruto blinked, confused. "My room? Don't you have your own room in this mansion?"
"Did you forget already?" Aeterna asked with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"I sleep with you."
Haruto felt like he was walking right into a trap Aeterna had carefully laid. He shouted in disbelief,
"It hasn't even been three hours since you were summoned! How are we already at the point where you're sleeping in my room and this woman is suddenly your 'Mummy'?"
Despite his protests, Haruto finally gave up. He couldn't win an argument against both of them at once. He turned around and led them inside, heading straight toward his private quarters while the servants followed behind, carrying mountains of royal gifts.
Haruto's room, which had been perfectly clean and organized until now, was suddenly filled with the noise of the royal entourage.
As Lilith stepped inside, she looked around with a delighted expression and exclaimed,
"Wow, what a lovely room! My room is going to be so wonderful."
Haruto immediately tried to correct her, saying, "Excuse me, this is my room."
Lilith didn't miss a beat, replying smoothly, "Well, in the future, it will be mine too."
"I've told you, I'm still not ready for this!" Haruto protested, feeling the situation spiral out of his control.
Aeterna looked at him and sighed, as if she were the adult in the room.
"Papa, what is your problem?" she asked bluntly. "Such a beautiful girl is standing right in front of you, offering herself to you completely. Just stay quiet and listen, Papa."
Lilith nodded in agreement, adding with a smirk,
"Yes, you should start listening to your to-be wife."
Deep down, Haruto felt a flicker of attraction to this life, but his core philosophy remained unshaken. He viewed life as a game where one must "delete a corrupt file" to win, and to him, being tied down by relationships was a "glitch" that threatened his freedom. He wanted to remain a free bird, unburdened by the chains of royalty or marriage.
Lilith, oblivious to his existential crisis, clapped her hands.
"Alright, I've seen your room. Now, let's go for a walk in the garden!"
"No," Haruto replied flatly. He realized the break Professor Vane had given him had lasted far too long. Determined to get back to his routine, he headed straight for the training grounds.
However, when he arrived, he found Professor Vane packing up his gear, ready to depart. Haruto was stunned.
"Professor, what is this? You're leaving already? It's only the middle of the afternoon!"
Vane didn't even look up, his face tight with unease.
"I don't feel right being here anymore. Something about this house... I just need to go." He paused briefly at the door. "Tell the Princess I'm sorry."
Without another word, the Level 58 Professor walked out of the mansion, leaving Haruto standing alone in the training area.
Haruto didn't feel right about the Professor's sudden exit. He looked around the training room and his eyes fell on the table where he had meticulously written down every counter-move to Kallen's cheating tactics. As he checked the order of the sheets, he noticed some pages were out of place. He realized immediately that leaving Vane alone in the training room with those notes was a massive mistake; the Professor had likely seen everything and was now rushing to report Haruto's strategies to Kallen.
Just as Haruto was processing this, Lilith strolled into the training room with Aeterna in her arms, followed closely by Rutherford. Sensing that Haruto was stressed about Vane, she suggested,
"Vane's gone and he looked pretty tense—why don't we finally go for that walk?".
Lilith finally set Aeterna down on her own feet. She looked at the girl and said,
"Aeterna, could you leave us alone for a bit?". In response, Aeterna simply gave her a cheeky wink.
Haruto sighed and muttered, "Don't try so hard with the acting; I barely even know you yet".
Lilith smiled and stepped closer. "The chance to truly know someone only comes through talking, Haruto," she said softly.
"And right now, we finally have the perfect opportunity to talk".