Despite having mentally prepared herself for more sisters to join her and the others sooner or later, whenever such an event actually occurred, Xie Mei was anything but happy–to say the least. It hadn't been long since Cadi had appeared, and now, out of nowhere, there was another drop-dead gorgeous goddess at Theodore's side! Worst of all, they were even holding hands!!
Whilst nearly a century ago, she would have felt afraid at more women entering his life, by now, she fully understood that her own position in his heart wouldn't change, so the fear had faded. That didn't mean that she wasn't pissed, though!
"Look who the thieving cat dragged in... Theo, you haven't even consummated your union with Cadi yet, and here you are, bringing another woman home."
Changing her focus from the awkwardly smiling newcomer back to the troublemaker who was responsible for this entire mess, she sent a reproachful, accusatory glare his way. She didn't know if it was just her imagination, but he seemed to exhibit a shred of guilt at the mention of her newest sister.
"Hey now, Mei'er, some of that was uncalled for! I admit, I've been making Cadi wait for a while, but that was never my intention–I've just been out and about in the Lesser True Void for a hot minute."
Noticing him not denying the rest of her accusations at all, she picked up on the slightly mischievous glint in his eyes, realizing that he was using the new girl's arrival to tease her. And she had completely fallen for his trap.
'I'm not letting you get away that easy, though!'
The corners of her lips curling upwards a little, most of the enmity she had felt for the lady he was arm in arm with faded, as she had clearly just been dragged into Theodore's little game. There was no need to make things excessively difficult for her at this point. Her man, however, was still squarely in her crosshairs.
"Nice excuse–but it won't fly! When we're back in Pytho, you better give Cadi the attention she deserves, pronto! And afterwards, you won't escape the rest of us sisters either. You won't have any energy to think about any new flames by the time we're done with you, I promise you that."
Smugly confident, she glanced at Ninna, who had begun to blush more furiously upon understanding what Xie Mei was getting at.
'She's surprisingly innocent. Phew, that's good! I don't think I could handle another Cadi anytime soon...'
Aware that the newcomer might actually truly become her sister at some point, Xie Mei very much preferred for an inexperienced maiden to join them. After all, that would at least allow the seasoned her to outpace her during intimate times. She was already internally dreading the days when Cadi would begin to participate in their bedroom affairs.
"Fine, fine! I owe you girls that much, at least. We'll have weeks if not months of mostly free time once we're done with all of these civilizations, so it all works out. I'm not sure if you can live up to your lofty claims, though."
His self-assured grin almost made her pop a vein in mock-chagrin, but having been looked down upon like this before on many occasions, she had grown mostly used to it. Also, this time, it would be different! They had been coached extensively by their resident Succubus–Theodore wouldn't know what hit him!
"Keep underestimating us like that, and watch it bite you in the butt."
Arrogantly raising her chin, she looked at him in a combative, daring manner, almost convincing him to ignore more pressing matters for now and give her a good lesson in humility. However, as tempting as it was to dole out some well-deserved 'correction' right now, he was situationally aware enough that giving in to these urges would be a horrendous idea.
"... we'll see, we'll see."
Rolling his eyes at her, he gave Han Junqiao an apologetic smile, then nodded appreciatively at Annis. The former had mostly withheld her judgement so far, yet she had become quite embarrassed as a result of Xie Mei's implicative statements. As for the latter, she had taken over the Array controlling duties that Navya had tossed aside so readily and had observed this amusing little encounter with a smirk on her lips.
"Nonsense aside, let me introduce you all to each other. The confrontational bundle of energy here is Xie Mei, my first lover. And the silent cutie next to her is my second lover, Han Junqiao. That one over there is Annis Galanis, the leader of all female guards under my command. And next to me..."
Motioning at Ninna, who was nodding at everyone with a nervous look in her eyes, he continued.
"... we have Ninna Ur, who just became my Follower. She was the one in charge of the Tetrachroma Palace, and is pretty much my equal in strength. It's a bit complicated, but simply think of her as a Supreme Pillar heir like me, alright?"
This revelation caused not only the looks in the eyes of the three women before him, but even those of the guards and maids listening in from afar, to change drastically. Up until now, Theodore had never spoken this highly about anybody else–not even Eleanora, who some of them were more or less familiar with, even if only via word of mouth. Evidently, the capabilities of the seemingly shy newcomer were leagues and bounds above what they had ever encountered before!
"... I feel like Yeonnie is going to freak out when she hears this."
Sighing to herself, Han Junqiao couldn't help but shake her head in worry, mixed with a hint of schadenfreude. Hadn't Cheong Suhyeon been very optimistic about becoming Theodore's wife, earning a much higher position in the public eye than her two pitiful sisters without any impressive backgrounds? Admittedly, she was somewhat eager to see how she would react to this piece of news.
"She'll be fine, Qiao'er. She's got a century-long head start, after all. Still, Ninna here came on quite strong, considering she gave me the whole Tetrachroma Palace as a part of her dowry..."
Exposing her joke from earlier just like that, and making his close ones deliberately get the wrong idea about her, Ninna wished the ground would open up and swallow her up. It was only too bad that this was the Lesser True Void, and there was no ground to be found. All that she could do was to innocently stare at her feet with a face even redder than a tomato.
"... wow. Looking at her like this, I never would have guessed that she'd be capable of such a powerful, rapid offensive!"
Legitimately shaken, Xie Mei glanced at Ninna, scrutinizing her from head to toe, trying to figure out what kind of person she really was. Based on the only Supreme Pillar heir that she knew–her beloved Theo–she was aware that these kinds of figures were very often far more than meets the eye, and expert actors. So... was everything that she saw merely an elaborate, convincingly performed act?
Looking up and sensing the doubt in her new companion's gaze, Ninna couldn't help but smile wryly and elbow Theodore in the side, making his flinch slightly. Then, taking a deep breath, she finally got her bearings and chose to brave the embarrassment and move past the misunderstanding-filled introduction that had been forced upon her by a certain someone.
'Seriously, he loves to tease... It's a bit annoying, but also quite charming...'
Realizing that she was continuing to fall for him harder and harder, she slightly altered the words that she had been about to say.
"It's a pleasure, everyone! Like Theo here already explained, I'm Ninna Ur–just call me Ninna. And, to make things clear, what I said about my faction being part of my dowry... was mostly a joke at the time. However, I'm completely serious about it now."
Turning to face the man at her side whose hand she still hadn't let go of, she increased the strength of her grip and glared at him with an irked smile. All the while, though, her cheeks grew much, much hotter.
"My first impression is already ruined, and it'll be hard to salvage my reputation. You've dug this hole and pushed me into it. So now, you best take responsibility for your actions. We don't yet know each other well, but I take love very seriously. I wouldn't have flirted with you that much if I didn't want to become your wife."
A certain premonition had flashed past Theodore's mind when she had started to look at him so intently earlier, and now, his suspicions had been confirmed. Things had somehow well and truly spiralled out of his control, and all because he had wanted to sate his craving for some proper teasing.
'Well, that escalated quickly. What should I do now?'
His mind working rapidly, he considered all possible ramifications of his potential actions. If he truly accepted Ninna as his wife, right here and now, then would his family give him any trouble? After all, her identity was still an issue, to say the least.
'No, that's not likely. Father has never been one to excessively care about someone's background. As long as they are impressive enough on their own, then they qualify to be a husband or wife of a Winter Family member. I mean, multiple of my mothers don't exactly originate from Supreme Pillars.'
Alternatively, he could postpone his decision, or brush her statement off. The former of these options wouldn't be all too scummy, as this was indeed an important matter that he had to consider thoroughly. The latter, however, should be avoided at all costs–it would simply be wrong of him to meet her heartfelt words with such insincerity.
Naturally, there were some other choices that he could make, but those were the main three. Yet, the best one out of them all would still be a little bit unfair towards Cheong Suhyeon, wouldn't it? After all, she had plainly stated her intentions many a time, and he had never given her a proper answer in this regard. How would she feel if a newcomer dropped in out of nowhere and suddenly became her man's wife?
'And then there's still Lina to consider. I really need to have a proper talk with her sometime...'
Internally sighing to himself, he ultimately arrived at the most important factor of them all.
'Do I like Ninna, enough to want to marry her?'
Narrowing his eyes, he mentally replayed every single second that they had spent together, and listened deep inside, actually considering his own emotions properly for the first time in a while. Usually, they would play second–or even third–fiddle to his duties and goals, but right now, they had to come front and centre.
'Appearance-wise, she is amongst the most beautiful women that I have ever met–I have nothing to complain about. I like her personality a lot, and she is fun to mess with. Our abilities and Talents also seem to be a good match. Despite her complicated background, I strangely feel like I can genuinely trust her.'
Not exactly a rookie when it came to the matters of the heart, he soon focused on the actual raw emotions underlying everything, shutting out all distractions that had managed the worm their way in just a moment ago.
'I like her, a lot. And I'd never ever want her to be with anyone else. She's mine!'
A bit shaken by his possessive desire, his eyes briefly widened, then he accepted the reality of the situation.
'I see, that's definitely the Theodore part of myself speaking. Not that I'm opposed to it. I guess it's high time to formalize some matters that I've been delaying for far too long.'
Taking a deep breath, he looked first at Ninna, then at Xie Mei and Han Junqiao, his gaze solemn and serious.
"Don't tell Yeonnie about this just yet–I'll tell her properly later myself. Ninna, I'll take responsibility for you, and for Yeonnie, who you haven't met yet. Both of you will become my wives."