After that, we arrived in Eirene.
As soon as the ship touched the harbor, Heracles took Hippolyta's girdle as if he had been waiting for the moment and immediately prepared to depart.
I stopped him then.
"Stay at least one day."
I said it as naturally as I could, but my true intent was elsewhere.
If I went into the castle with him... at the very least, it would be less dangerous than facing them alone.
But Heracles only gave a snort and shook his head.
"...Astellon, your eyes look suspicious."
"...What are you talking about?"
"I think it would be best if I withdrew here."
Even as I asked, Heracles gave me no time to say more. He boarded the ship and, in an instant, left the harbor behind.
Watching his retreating back, I muttered, "...Coward. You knew."
In the end, I had no choice but to head to the castle alone with Hippolyta.
Once we passed through the gates and entered, the eyes of my retainers and servants all turned toward us at once.
And rightly so. I had returned from the Amazons with a woman they had never seen before—moreover, a woman who carried the bearing of a warrior.
"Who is that woman...?"
"Could it be again...?"
I let out a small sigh, and when I summoned my retainers to report, I explained Hippolyta's identity.
"Allow me to introduce her. This is Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons. Owing to various circumstances... she will be staying here from now on."
At my words, the retainers there could not quite hide their momentary surprise, but soon composed their expressions and bowed.
"...Understood, Your Majesty."
Yet even as they lowered their heads, a strangely meaningful smile lingered at the corners of their mouths.
Seeing that expression, I thought to myself, "...This is bad. The rumors will spread already."
After the retainers withdrew, I went with Hippolyta to the inner chamber in the castle.
But before that door, I had no choice but to stop in my tracks.
Because I was thinking of what awaited me from the three women inside...
"...A-are you all right?"
Seeing my reaction, Hippolyta, who stood behind me, asked with concern.
"...Yeah, I'll be fine. ...Probably?"
I drew a short, deep breath and knocked on the door.
"...I'm back. I'm coming in."
Then I slowly opened the door and stepped inside.
"Ah, you're here."
"..."
"...So you've come, our husband?"
And the first people I met when I entered were Atalanta, Medea, and Hecate, all staring at me with eyes gone cold.
"...I'm done for..."
The moment I saw them, that single thought surged through my mind, and my wavering gaze drifted to Hecate.
Hecate was looking straight at me with a smile whose meaning I could not decipher. Her smiling face was more alluring than ever, and yet more terrifying than ever.
Exposed to that gaze, I could not help but think that if it were Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft, she might even have used familiars to keep watch over me.
If she had been watching through familiars... then they might already know what had happened between Hippolyta and me. No, they must know.
Atalanta stood with her arms crossed, leaning against the wall. Medea sat in a chair, slowly tapping the armrest with her fingers. And Hecate, seated on the bed, looked at me and opened her mouth.
"...You're late."
At those words, my spine went cold.
And I forced myself to speak as though nothing were wrong.
"Th-that's... because something came up..."
"Something?"
Medea cut in sharply at my words.
"Something in the Amazons, you say..."
As she said that, Medea rose from her seat and slowly walked toward me.
Each step sounded unnaturally clear.
"Does that 'something' of yours include that queen?"
With those words, her gaze shifted to Hippolyta.
Startled, Hippolyta said nothing for a moment.
Instead, she glanced at me once, then stepped forward toward them.
"...I will explain."
At that statement and movement, every gaze in the room turned to Hippolyta.
"This man is..."
"Our husband."
At that moment, Atalanta cut off Hippolyta's words in a cold voice and said it herself.
Hippolyta's eyes narrowed slightly at that.
"...That..."
Realizing that Hippolyta was trying to act composed on the outside while inwardly anything but, I hurriedly spoke to my wives.
"W-wait! It's just that the situation...!"
"The situation?"
At my words, Hecate looked at me with a smile.
"Just how much of this is 'the situation,' and where does choice begin?"
She spoke in a whisper, yet the words struck my ears with perfect clarity.
Unable to bear how awkward and frightening this situation had become, I could not say a word before them.
And seeing that, Hecate opened her mouth and spoke to both me and Hippolyta.
"...I heard everything. No, should I say I saw everything?"
"...!"
"W-what do you mean by that...!"
"Familiars."
As Hecate spoke in a voice both sweet and cold, she snapped her fingers and a faint shape flickered past.
"I was watching everything in the Amazons through my familiars."
It was over.
Truly, completely over.
At Hecate's words, I immediately opened my mouth.
"...I'm sorry."
At my apology, Atalanta's gaze wavered slightly, and Medea narrowed her eyes.
Hippolyta said nothing, only looking at me.
"...So?"
In that atmosphere, Medea was the first to speak.
"What are you going to do now?"
"...Since I started this, I'll take responsibility to the end."
"...I see. I'll remember that."
At my answer, Medea gave a small laugh.
"...Interesting."
Atalanta uncrossed her arms and pushed herself away from the wall.
"...Then from here on, what matters is how you handle it."
And Hecate smiled at me.
"Bringing another woman back from a foreign land. Since it's you, I'll let this one pass... but that doesn't mean I'm giving you no punishment. Do you know how long we waited for you?"
"...What do I need to do?"
At my answer, Hecate wore the expression of someone who had been waiting for those words, then came close and whispered into my ear.
"Simple. Tonight, you'll be taking in all the affection three women have been holding back. So, look forward to it."