The Main Heroines are Trying to Kill Me
Chapter 484: Side Story - The Social Gathering (8)

Chapter 484: Side Story - The Social Gathering (8)

0% “Fufu.”

“”...””

The atmosphere around them was frigid.

“Now that I think about it, this is quite an interesting combination.”

As Floria looked around the table at the children seated there, most of them flinched and averted their gazes.

“I’m curious to know what brought all of you together like this.”

“Well, um...”

“Oh, Kania is here too?”

Despite the tension, Floria continued murmuring with a smile on her lips.

“It’s nice to see you~”

“Y-Y-Yes.”

When she grabbed Kania’s hand and smiled brightly, Kania could only look down awkwardly, unsure of how to respond.

“I feel so happy. To think after I woke up, I’ve got a butler and a daughter-in-law all in one~”

“...”

“Isn’t that right, Kania?”

“Y-Yes.”

Kania, who knew all too well why such a gap in time existed for Floria, could only nod with a bead of cold sweat trickling down her forehead.

“How cute.”

“Heubb...”

“Oh my, there’s also Roswyn and Serena too.”

Floria playfully pinched Kania’s cheeks, but soon turned her attention to Roswyn and Serena, who were sitting next to Frey.

“H-Hello...”

“Good to see you again, Mother.”

Roswyn stuttered awkwardly, while Serena, more accustomed to this, responded smoothly.

“I didn’t expect you to get so close to Frey, Roswyn.”

“Y-Yes... I suppose so...”

“Well, it’s always better for the Ducal houses to be friendly than to be at odds with each other.”

Floria smiled softly as she patted Serena on the head, but then continued her conversation with the visibly nervous Roswyn.

“Still, you should be careful not to get too close, okay?”

“Huh?”

Roswyn wore a puzzled expression as Floria’s words took a sudden shift.

“Well, Serena and Ruby might get jealous, you see. Fufu.”

“I-Is that so...?”

Roswyn nodded hesitantly, feeling something was off.

Frey, sensing the awkwardness, placed his hand on her shoulder and laughed awkwardly.

“Mother, but... we’ve already come to an agreement.”

“An... agreement?”

“Roswyn... she’s no different from the others now.”

“...?”

Floria tilted her head, still not understanding.

“...Oh my.”

It was at that moment that Frey realized something was very wrong.

“Y-You do know that Roswyn is also my wife...”

“Oh my...”

He whispered into Floria’s ear with a forced smile.

“Our little Frey, making jokes now.”

But contrary to Frey’s hopes that his mother was only joking around, Floria’s cheerful smile remained unchanged.

“Your wives are only Serena and Ruby, right?”

“...Ah.”

A chilling silence descended upon the table.

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“Jokes are fine, but if Serena gets upset, what will you do?”

“H-Haha...”

What in the world is going on?

“Isn’t that right, Serena?”

“Ah, y-yes...”

Why doesn’t my mother know anything about my other wives?

“Fufu, our little Serena has always been so cute.”

“Y-You’re too kind...”

I was sure Father promised to tell her.

And when Serena and Ruby gave birth, Mother didn’t say anything, so I assumed she already knew.

But now I wonder how things got to this point.

“Mother, didn’t Father mention anything to you?”

“Hmm?”

“Like, some important news... something like that?”

I asked cautiously, wiping away cold sweat.

Mother responded with her usual bright smile.

“Well, if you mean important news, all I heard were his groans yesterday...”

“...”

Her chilling comment made me shudder, and then she added, tilting her head.

“Come to think of it, he did try to say something while flinching a lot...”

“Mother...”

It all started to make sense now.

It was my fault for placing too much burden on Father.

“Why? Is there a problem?”

“Well, the thing is...”

So the real question now is, how will Mother react when I tell her the truth?

“Well, it’s just that...”

Come on, surely it won’t be that bad!

... Right?

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“So, you’re telling me...”

“Yes, Mother.”

“Why are you kneeling? Where’s your dignity?”

Mother spoke with a radiant smile, but at this moment, I wished I could just kneel.

“You’re telling me you got these women pregnant.”

“Uh, yes...”

“The family butler, the Tower Master’s apprentice, the Princess who will soon be Empress, the most influential Saintess in the world, your mentor since childhood, the demon representative’s sister, and the Sunset Family’s young lady. All at once.”

Mother rarely gets angry or even frowns.

“And you got Serena and Ruby pregnant also.”

Even now, she kept smiling as she spoke.

But as her son, I could tell when her smile was fake.

“Impressive, my son.”

“...”

“I was worried that you were too soft to even hold a woman’s hand, but I guess I worried for nothing.”

The key is to look at her eyes.

Unlike her mouth, her eyes weren’t smiling at all.

“I... I had no choice... it’s all to save the world.”

“Hmm.”

Desperate, I muttered something. Mother’s smile only grew wider as she asked gently.

“So you did it to save the world?”

“Well, it’s more complicated than that...”

Her starry eyes twinkled as she pressed on.

“And did you do it without love?”

Her sharp question left me completely speechless.

“...No.”

After a long pause, I finally spoke up again.

“It would’ve been impossible if I didn’t love them.”

Reflecting on the truth I had been neglecting, I answered in a quiet voice.

“I see.”

Mother’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“That’s all I needed to hear.”

As I stared at her in confusion, Mother gestured with her hand.

“Now, go ahead.”

“Excuse me?”

She smiled warmly and waved me off.

“You should probably drop by Aria’s tea party, don’t you think?”

“Oh...”

“I’ll clean up here. You can go.”

Rising slowly from my seat, I scratched my head and murmured my farewell.

“Then... I’ll take my leave.”

As I bowed slightly and turned to leave, Aishi stood up abruptly, looking flustered, while the other quietly averted their gazes.

“...”

After nodding to them one last time, I began to walk out.

“...Hmph.”

The doorknob, showing signs of recently melted ice, felt cool in my hand as I opened the door.

Outside, a crowd of people had gathered, curious about what had been happening inside.

“Excuse me, coming through...”

I squeezed past them and out into the sunlit corridor.

“Phew.”

Walking quietly down the hall by myself, I stopped for a moment to gaze at the sunlight streaming through the window and muttered to myself.

“Mother was right.”

At that moment...

“W-Wait a moment...!”

With hurried footsteps, someone appeared behind me.

“I have something to say...!”

“...”

“I-I...”

Aishi, panting and breathless, had lost all of her usual restraint.

“...I don’t think I can go along with this.”

“What?”

“Neither can the others who followed me.”

Behind her, I could see Miho and Eurelia peeking out.

“Would you walk with me for a bit?”

It was time to resolve the entanglements of the past.

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“Hmmmm.”

“...”

As Frey and the heroines who had gathered to confess to him left, an awkward silence settled over those who remained.

“Excuse me, Mother.”

Breaking the tension, sipping her tea, was Serena.

“Yes, dear?”

“You knew all along, didn’t you?”

“What are you talking about, dear?”

Floria smiled as if she didn’t understand what Serena was getting at, but Serena wasn’t about to give up so easily.

“A woman of your caliber like you couldn’t possibly have missed such information.”

“...”

“Why did you pretend to find out just now that we’re all Frey’s wives?”

“Ah, Serena, you’re so clever.”

Floria picked up her teacup and started speaking, unfazed by Serena’s persistence.

“And yet... you still lack experience.”

“What?”

“Sometimes, you need to show respect to those with more authority than you.”

“Oh...”

Her voice became slightly sterner, and Serena lowered her gaze, apologizing in a subdued voice.

“I’m sorry...”

“Fufu, you’re still so cute.”

Floria patted Serena’s back affectionately as if nothing had happened.

“You asked why, didn’t you?”

“...Yes.”

“I wanted to teach Frey something.”

“Y-You mean, you led the conversation intentionally?”

“He’s my son, after all. It’s obvious.”

Floria placed her chin on her hand and murmured quietly.

“My son’s greatest strength is his kindness. But his greatest weakness is also his kindness.”

Hearing this, the remaining heroines nodded vigorously, causing Floria to chuckle as she continued.

“So, I thought he needed a little push to toughen up.”

“I see...”

“This should resolve things today. Hopefully.”

Floria gave a slight wink before adding with a mischievous smile.

“Of course, there will be political and legal issues, tensions between families, and the shock the world will experience from him marrying eight wives simultaneously. But that’s another matter.”

“Oh...”

“By the way, our son looked rather tired.”

“T-That’s...”

“You should feed him some nourishing food from time to time, okay?”

As she finished speaking and was about to leave, she paused, as if remembering something.

“Oh, one more thing, related to what we discussed earlier. There will be a certain announcement at the upcoming coronation.”

“What is it?”

“It’s about...”

She scratched her head nonchalantly as she spoke.

“”...What!?””

The heroines left behind were all shocked by what she said.

“...Pffft!”

Having just woken up, Trisha spit out her tea upon hearing Floria’s bombshell announcement.

“...C-Chirp.”

“Huh, what...?”

And as fate would have it, the tea she spat out landed into a small canary in front of her.

When she discovered the identity of the canary that had flown to the table to see what was happening, her heart would stop for a few seconds...

“Chirp... Chirp chirp...”

“E-Everyone! Look! A half-cooked chick just fell right in front of me.”

“...It’s a canary.”

“Well, not exactly a canary...”

Unfortunately for her, that day wasn’t too far off.

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Meanwhile, elsewhere...

“Ah, Magic Tower Master!”

“...Oh, it’s you.”

As Abraham hurried through the social hall, he finally spotted the Magic Tower Master and rushed over with a delighted expression.

“Haha, it’s been so long!”

“Indeed.”

But.

“To get to the point... I have a request, you see...”

“Go on.”

As Abraham began speaking, neither he nor anyone else noticed something different.

“Is there a chance I could meet your new apprentice?”

“...”

The moment he mentioned Glare, the Magic Tower Master’s eyes turned icy cold.

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