Chapter 309 – A Bit of Teasing

*** Elora ***

Don't cry, Elora; this is what you expected. Why wouldn't Alzi hate a failure like you? I got my chance to prove myself, and I failed every time. Sure, it hurts to hear it, but you knew it was true. Mother was right about me. I'm just good at following directions. Anything more, and I'm worthless. Just follow Alzi. She offered a chance for her not to hate even someone as shitty as you. Follow someone who is that kind, and try not to mess it up yet again.

But it sure is lonely.

Even Shimmer is ignoring me, and I think she's messed up a similar number of times. Right? Geta is lucky that she didn't get pregnant. I get that the rest of my wives blame me for the events. I am to blame for them, but Shimmer didn't do any better, sneaking in a child. I- I was no better with my stupid bet.

Stop shaking, Elora. Follow the rules and be a good wife to the one to whom you owe your life. Maybe, just maybe, she'll let me wear the crown in public and only put the collar on behind closed doors.

Why did I think anyone would ever like me? I'm a worthless friend and a pathetic leader.

*** Alzi ***

This dinner is like that dinner with the Queen. My lovers are happily talking while the rest try to find their voices, hoping not to anger the woman in charge.

It feels strange being the one no one wishes to offend. I've never been the one people care about. It's relaxing being the one who doesn't have to worry about offending someone. Everyone else has to figure out their place and find the limits, while I can just enjoy my time, getting to catch up with my pretty lovers and hear about what I missed while I was a slave.

"Alzi," Mommy says. "Irlo has a number of things she wants to show you around the castle grounds. She has your love for adventure, which was problematic for your heavily pregnant Mother. I struggled to keep up with her running everywhere. I had to have Akhae help me."

"I was happy to help," Akhae says. "Irlo is a sweet girl, and it was good exercise."

"I'm glad she had time to visit you. We didn't get much time together when I finally got to see her," I say. "I would love to see what she's found."

"Be careful, she may pull you into a game of tag," Mommy says. "She asked me every time, despite my belly. That was another thing Akhae had to take over for me. And she's going to be a handful for you, too. Though she wasn't able to come over often, as the little Princess has a lot of lessons to complete, it seems."

Of course, a Princess has to learn all the silly nobles' and royals' rules. Would I be able to change some of them if I were in charge? I guess some of it is practical, like reading and writing, and numbers. History probably has some importance as well. But the etiquette is a waste of time.

"I'll have to figure out a good time to give her a break or tell the Queen to give her a break from some of the stupid lessons the nobles force on the kids," I say. "I guess you could join us for a game of tag now."

"I should've known you would drag your poor old Mother into running around in the field," Mommy says. "But yes, I can play again. And it probably is good for me to get some exercise in. I doubt many of your kids will be interested in the activities you can do on a couch or chair."

"I'll have a few, I think," I say. "They won't all be like me."

"I certainly hope not. We'll be overrun by your kids easily if they all have your energy."

"Watching Irlo run around really did explain a lot," Mai says. "She always had the energy to play until she got into your Mother's lap, and then she would fall asleep in an instant. She was easy to wake up, but it was funny. Your Mother telling Irlo's maid the stories about your past while the one who asked for the story slept."

"You didn't give away anything embarrassing, right?" I ask.

"Of course I did. What is the point of kids if you can't share a few embarrassing stories? Those are always the cutest stories, too."

"Mommy!"

"Oh, Alzi, you'll understand as you get your lovely collection of stories for our kids. I mean, how could I not tell them about the first time you had makeup on? You looked so cute. You were a cute kid, and I should share that with everyone."

"Fine," I say.

"No need to pout," Ilka says. "They are cute stories, and we all love to hear them, honey. Your wives want to know about you, and you chose to marry a woman with a lot of knowledge on the subject."

"I'm not pouting."

Mai gives me a soft chuckle and says, "You are, Alzi. Ilka is right that it is your fault for bringing your Mother to us. Your kids are going to know all the stories."

"My wives are so mean to me."

"Oh, telling cute stories about my daughter is hardly being mean."

"I'm sure I have some great stories to tell about you."

"That isn't right," Mommy says. "You can't be mean to your Mother like that. You have to be kind to the older generation."

"Fine, and not because I don't have a story right now. Just to be kind to my Mommy."

"Thank you, dear. I'll be careful about what stories I tell, but you were a funny kid, so it will be hard."

"Thank you," I say. My ex-wives are starting to talk amongst themselves. Geta, Shimmer, and Elora aren't really being included, though. Elora isn't at all, but Shimmer and Geta are managing to get some words in. Elora tries, but she keeps failing to find a moment to say a word before getting lost in her food. The Kitsunes seem to be happy just eating. Nanoka does smile whenever my Mother teases me, and Nakuma is clearly just interested in Yuki.

It would be interesting to have them in bed—Yuki being the center of attention instead of me. I was almost always the center of attention at the brothel, no matter who else was around. But I hope Nakuma stops smelling Yuki's tail. That does seem a bit much, even if her tails do smell nice and are soft. And I now have three sets of Kitsune tails in my harem.

But I need to be careful about how chummy I get with my ex-wives. I got the contract marriage for a reason, and Yuki and Nakuma aren't married to me, not yet, at least.

I do wonder if I'll end up getting Nanoka pregnant. I doubt it, as she doesn't seem interested in more than some tea, which I'm sure will be calming. But there's no need to force anything with her; I've got enough women to handle already.

"Dessert," the cook announces. "I went with a simple cake on short notice. I'm sorry for not having prepared a cake worthy of this wedding. I hope you all enjoy it."

She must have been really worried about the presentation for some reason, bringing the chocolate cake out in slices herself.

"Is this the normal size for the dessert?" Mommy asks.

"No, but it isn't that far off," I say. "At least for me. I don't know if the castle changes things or something."

"Shit, I hope this is fucking bigger than normal, or I'm going to be a fat fuck," Victoria says. "Like damn, how is anyone supposed to keep their frame if this is the normal fucking meal? Tastes great, which makes it all the worse. I can't help but clean off the entire fucking plate and then think about how much I'm going to have to run around to work this shit off. Is this the damn trap? Eat so much damn food that you have to fucking kill a bunch of shit or grow fat? Great fucking trick the nobles pull."

I don't remember her having such a rude tongue in the massage, but that was only an hour of her time, and I think she fell asleep.

"You will watch your language around the kids, right?" Mommy asks. "I don't care much about it around the others. But we will have a lot of kids, and I don't want them introduced to such strong language."

"I'll work on it," Victoria manages between bites. "But I make no fucking promises. It's pretty integrated into my fucking language at this point."

"Well, we'll have to keep you from having the speaking roles whenever possible," Shimmer says.

"Just don't give me any roles," Victoria says. "I'm here to relax, not work my ass off anymore."

"That isn't how this works," Elora whispers.

"Better be how this fucking works. I'm not here to work my ass off anymore. I'm fucking tired, and don't give me shit about needing to put in the work to help the Queendom. I didn't become one of the best adventurers by licking pussy and bending over. Day and fucking night, I worked."

"We know of your achievements, Victoria," Isda says. "You won't give up your skills completely, but, understandably, you want to rest a bit. We have a lot going on right now and could use your strength to help defend the noncombatants. Is that ok? Just for now, at least?"

"Sure, sure. I know I can't let myself fucking waste away. But I'm going to be sleeping in when I can."

"The exact workings will be up to Alzi," Isda says.

"Someone else needs to do that. I'm not good at that," I say.

"I wish I could," Isda says. "But I'm worried that my Goddess will cause issues. Please let someone else take control, at least until I get free from my Goddess. My class would like me to take the position."

"Let me handle it," Nanoka says. "I am here to keep her safe, after all."

"Works for me," I say. "It's better to have someone new in charge, I think. The others have failed enough for now."