CHAPTER 84: BOUND SOVEREIGN

Selene broke it first, her voice a tight thread pulled from the silence. "You’re here. I thought..."

"Ahem." Eran cleared his throat quietly. He let out a long, measured exhale, breaking through the growing tension.

"I... owe you both an explanation."

He stepped closer, planting his feet firmly, his calm expression challenging either woman to interrupt the heavy atmosphere.

"Before I begin, I know this might sound complicated at first," he said evenly, meeting each of their gazes in turn. "I need to ask... will you believe me when I say something?"

Their answers came almost at once:

"Yes." The two voices arrived in startling unison, surprising even the women themselves

The air seemed to shift, almost hum.

Eran’s eyes moved from one to the other.

"Selene, here is Miyu," Eran began, smoothly steering the narrative. "It seemed we weren’t on good terms from the start, as you thought. But you can tell we are now, which clarifies your earlier worry."

Miyu blinked, confusion flickering briefly in her eyes. "Huh? What’s that, Eran?"

Eran offered a slight, knowing smile before turning his focus back to Selene. "Well," he said slowly, "it’s about the duel. Selene mentioned you had every chance to end it—to defeat me... but you didn’t. Especially knowing well we weren’t on good terms from the beginning. But you called it off."

Eran’s eyes lingered on Miyu. "She wasn’t sure if you were disgusted or perhaps disrespected by the match, just as others might think. She was concerned that it may have been something else that made you do so."

He glanced back toward Selene, his eyes lighting with a warm, almost amused understanding, "You were right. I figured I should have let you known immediately after you were less busy with the day activities you and Nyssa both planned on in the evaluation of the duel results, so as not to keep you bothered."

Selene’s lips parted, startled... she was ready to speak, but Eran turned back to Miyu with the same warm smile. "Well, I thought I was going to tell you too, immediately after you came, since Selene was concerned back there when you quit."

With a bold, teasing chuckle, Eran let out his hands. He wrapped them around both women’s waists, firmly drawing their soft curves closer. Their full chests pressed against him in between.

"We’re one, so don’t get this wrong, my nobles. You’re mine."

Eran’s arms tightened slightly around their waists, his touch steady but warm, grounding them both, feeling the unsteady rhythm of their breath against him. A teasing curve played on his lips as Selene lifted her hand, brushing her fingers idly through his hair.

"You never stop surprising me, do you?" she said, voice soft but laced with mischief.

Beside him, Miyu’s breath caught... a small sound, almost a sigh. Her cheeks were flushed, her violet eyes darting briefly toward Eran, then away again, as if trying to hide the color rising there.

Selene’s gaze followed, curious and knowing. "Hm, well, perhaps my initial thoughts were right. When I said I felt something when you quit the duel out there, I thought for a moment it wasn’t out of disgust or pride, but something I couldn’t understand then. Especially since I thought you two weren’t on good terms from the very beginning, which of course gave you every opportunity, yet you quit."

Her eyes drifted back to Eran, carrying the same warm teasing smile. "You never fail at surprising us, do you?"

Miyu, still red-cheeked and pressed against Eran, stammered toward Selene, "But Professor Selene, I..I never thought you..."

Selene’s voice cut softly through hers, a whisper that carried warmth. "It’s alright, Miyu. I know what you’re trying to say." A small, amused smile touched her lips. "Truthfully, I’m surprised too. I didn’t expect you here... yet, I’m glad. Knowing we understand each other now—it feels right."

She tilted her head slightly, her emerald eyes glimmering. "Oh, and before I forget, now that we understand ourselves, don’t call me Professor anymore. Just call me Selene whenever we’re close. Outside, you can, to prevent others from knowing."

With a teasing smile and a quiet sense of enlightenment flickering across Miyu’s face, she exhaled sharply, struggling to compose herself from the intense pressure and the sudden, shameless proposition made by her professor. She let the word sink in, drawing it out in a low, hesitating tone almost shyly; "Selene..."

Selene’s smile softened at the sound, and for a brief moment, something unspoken flickered between them. Then, as if instinctively, they moved closer, arms wrapping around each other in a warm, lingering embrace.

Eran watched silently, his chest rising slowly, the weight of the moment pressing around him like a pulse. When their eyes finally turned to him again... both pairs, violet and emerald, it was as if the air itself grew warmer, charged with something wordless yet undeniable.

With a calm smile warming lightly across Eran’s face, he hadn’t expected the moment to unfold this way. Yet as he looked at them—two of the most feared and prideful nobles now standing side by side in unison, brushing softly against each other in a quiet, shared understanding, he couldn’t help but feel an amused flicker rise inside him.

A sudden, potent sensation washed through him. This was no longer a hidden game played between him and his women individually. They had reached a unison, an understanding that bound them without a second thought, immediately recognizing the hierarchy of his newly built harem. The three of them... Selene, Miyu, and soon Nyssa—now played along with him secretly, a profound change that stood in sharp contrast to how the rest of the academy still saw him as a lowly commoner. This, he thought with an amused smirk that didn’t waver, was just the beginning.

With a low, teasing reply, he added, "Hm, haha. Well, who would have thought it all comes to this? I wouldn’t deny I’m as well surprised you both concluded even without me having to explain myself further."

Miyu tilted her head slightly, a teasing glimmer in her violet eyes. "What do you expect?" she said with a small grin. "Though, not that I’m satisfied for now, you still owe me."

Eran’s brow lifted, amused. "Owe you?" he asked, voice carrying a low chuckle.

Miyu’s grin deepened, her tone soft but laced with challenge. "You’ll know soon enough."

Selene’s eyes lingered on them both, her lips curving into a knowing smile. "It seems, Eran, you’ve already made yourself a promise you can’t avoid."

Eran exhaled slowly, his smirk steady, gaze drifting between the two women. "Then I suppose I’ll have to keep it," he said, his tone smooth, unhurried... yet there was that flicker of fire again behind his calm eyes.

The air between them thickened, soft yet alive, carrying the quiet pulse of something that had only just begun.

Then, with a low reply, Selene added lightly, "Hm," her eyes shifting between Miyu and Eran before a quiet laugh slipped from her lips. "Well, I guess I’ll be leaving now, not to keep Nyssa waiting so long for me. I’ll be back later."

Her fingers traced over the edge of her robe as she adjusted it neatly against her curves, the fabric catching a glint of the morning light. She turned once more toward Miyu, pausing mid-step with a teasing grin. "You need to deal with him, Miyu."

Miyu chuckled faintly, voice soft but laced with a quiet, nervous amusement. "I wish I could."

Without another word, Selene leaned in closer. Her perfume brushed against the air between them as her lips found Eran’s—soft, deliberate, lingering long enough for him to feel the weight of her departure. Then she stepped back with a small smile, turned, and walked out through the door.

The silence she left behind pressed gently against the room’s edges, filled with the faint echo of her heels fading down the corridor.

Now only Miyu and Eran remained... standing close enough that the warmth of one reached the other, the space between them now humming with the quiet aftermath of the morning’s surprising events.

For a long moment, their gaze lingered together... longer than either had planned, as if silent words passed between them, an unspoken understanding flickering in the quiet. The faint light from the open window caught the outline of Miyu’s violet eyes; there was curiosity there, but also something softer, unreadable.

Then Miyu broke the silence, the quiet tension in her voice giving way to curiosity. "Hm, Eran, would you mind explaining?" She shifted slightly, settling onto the edge of the bed. With a low, warm, teasing smile, she added, "I’m surprised by you. How many more surprises are you going to pull out of me? I can say as well I never expected this."

Eran stood still, tilting his head slightly, and let out a soft, low laugh. Deep within, he was profoundly amused, though he genuinely hadn’t expected the scene to resolve itself this way. Normally, a situation like this would be a crisis, sparking issues that were difficult, if not impossible, to resolve. Yet, here they were.