The moment Haruto pulled the front gate open, he was greeted by the sight of Seraphine and Commander Fredrick standing on the doorstep. Surprisingly, despite being the most powerful man on the continent, Fredrick was personally lugging all of his daughter's heavy bags and suitcases.
"Good evening," Fredrick announced with a boisterous grin.
Seraphine stood beside him, but the moment her eyes caught sight of Princess Lilith standing in the courtyard, her cheeks flushed with deep embarrassment, and she quickly looked down, completely flustered. Fredrick, completely unbothered, gave a respectful nod to the Princess and the rest of the gathered girls. "Good evening to you all, Princess Lilith, ladies."
Haruto stood aside and made a calm, welcoming gesture with his hand, inviting the two of them inside.
As they stepped into the grand hallway, Fredrick's eyes landed on Rutherford, who was currently dressed in his standard butler attire. Without a second thought, the Commander dumped the entire heavy load of luggage straight into Rutherford's arms. Rutherford's eyebrow twitched in sheer disbelief, completely stunned by the audacity, but as a professional spy and a butler, he couldn't break character or make a scene. Swallowing his pride, he silently carried the massive pile over to the corner of the hall and set it down.
The group moved into the main living hall, and Fredrick made himself comfortable on a sofa. Haruto quickly pulled out his notebook and pen, scribbling a swift order for Ivory, Lilith, and the other girls to leave the room and head back upstairs for a few minutes.
Seeing Haruto write instead of speak, Fredrick chuckled, leaning back. "Still keeping up with the total silence, huh? Man, I really wonder what kind of insane divine goal you're trying to accomplish with that restriction."
Upstairs, the girls exchanged deeply confused glances, completely unable to understand what Fredrick meant by a "divine goal" or why he was acting so familiar with Haruto.
Before anyone could ask questions, Haruto firmly repeated his hand gesture, pointing toward the stairs to dismiss them. At the same time, he looked directly at Fredrick, raising a single finger up to his own lips in a sharp, demanding command to shut up.
Fredrick caught the hint instantly, freezing mid-sentence. He nodded quickly with a knowing smirk, realizing he had almost blabbed about yesterday's reality-bending transformation in front of the entire household. Ah, I see, Fredrick thought, locking his jaw shut. It's a secret between the two of us.
Seraphine, who had been standing quietly in her flustered state, finally took a deep breath and looked up. "H-Hello, Haruto," she muttered softly, her voice still a bit strained from all the chaos.
Haruto looked at her and gave a calm, reassuring nod of acknowledgement.
Commander Fredrick leaned forward on the sofa, his expression becoming serious yet filled with immense pride. "Haruto, from this day forward, my daughter is officially in your hands. She is your responsibility now. Though, I must say, while this mansion is decent, a future king should really consider shifting into the royal palace instead."
Haruto stared at him, his internal processor letting out a silent sigh. What is this old man even blabbering about now? Moving into the royal palace? But after a quick tactical calculation, he realized it wasn't a completely terrible idea. Actually, instead of arguing with him, it'll be much better to discuss this entire palace shifting matter with Lilith later tonight during our meeting. She knows the political layout better than anyone.
With that thought in mind, Haruto simply gave Fredrick a slow, neutral nod to keep the conversation moving.
Fredrick stood up from the sofa, his massive frame radiating that intense pressure Asobi had warned about. He stepped right up to Haruto and firmly shook his hand, looking down at him with absolute respect. "Given the terrifying scale of your true power, I know for a fact that I don't need to leave any elite military guards here to protect this house. You are more than enough. But still, if you ever need absolutely anything at all, just remember—we are family now. Don't hesitate to call on me."
Haruto stood perfectly still, watching Commander Fredrick's massive frame finally walk out the front door. His internal processor was running a rapid diagnostic on the entire situation, completely baffled by how smoothly the legendary warrior had just dropped off his own daughter and walked away without a single trace of hesitation.
He seriously just handed over his daughter to a teenager and left, Haruto calculated, his mind shifting through the pure absurdity of it. Is his trust in me really that absolute? But then again... that is just how this game operates. In a world governed by stats and status, people instinctively place their bets on whoever holds the ultimate power. Fredrick knows that better than anyone, and he's playing his cards accordingly.
Fredrick gave Seraphine one last, brief wave goodbye before the heavy front gates clicked shut behind him, leaving his daughter completely stranded in her new reality.
Now, the grand living hall fell into a heavy, suffocating silence. It was just the mute Haruto and a completely frozen Seraphine left alone in the center of the room.
However, Haruto's hyper-alert senses immediately picked up on a shifting coordinate. He didn't even need to look up to know that the top landing of the grand staircase was currently packed. Ivory, Lilith, Lustra, and the rest of the household were completely glued to the railing upstairs, peering down into the hall and watching their every single move like absolute hawks.
Seraphine seemed to realize she was being intensely stared at from above. Her face instantly flushed into a deep, burning shade of crimson, and she quickly cast her eyes flat toward the polished floor, completely unable to meet Haruto's gaze as she stood awkwardly beside her massive pile of luggage.
Haruto broke the heavy silence and began walking slowly toward Seraphine.
Up on the second-floor landing, the entire audience leaned over the railing, their eyes widening in absolute suspense. The atmosphere became instantly packed with tension as everyone gripped the wood, their minds racing to calculate his next move.
"Oh my god, is he going to kiss her?!" Lilith whispered loudly, her face twisting into a mix of shock and sudden jealousy. "Wait a minute, he hasn't even done that with me yet!"
Ivory and Bellona completely panicked at the thought, their hands twitching as they tried to decide whether they should storm down the stairs and break it up. But Haruto completely tuned out the chaotic whispers from above. He had his own reasons for testing the waters, and a small part of him was genuinely enjoying the sheer dramatic thrill of the moment.
He closed the distance, stopping right in front of Seraphine. Before she could even process his proximity, Haruto reached out and gently placed his warm palm against her soft cheek, his fingers tilting her face upward to meet his gaze.
Upstairs, Ivory practically gasped, ready to leap over the railing to stop him.
But the sudden physical contact was too much for Seraphine's racing heart. Her eyes widened in pure panic, and she violently flinched back, her hands flying up to push him away. "N-No! Wait! Stop!" she cried out, her voice echoing loudly through the grand hall. "This is wrong! I... I don't even know you well enough yet!"
She stumbled back a few steps, her entire face burning a bright, furious crimson as she began taking rapid, heavy breaths, her chest heaving as she tried to calm her exploding adrenaline.
Haruto stepped back, dropping his hand as his internal processor immediately ran a cold, logical analysis of her reaction.
Perfect. I got my answer, he thought, his face returning to its usual unreadable, stone-like mask. She doesn't hate me. If she did, she would have started screaming insults at me or looking at me like I'm some disgusting pervert. But at the same time, she isn't blindly in love with me either, since she didn't just stand there and let a complete stranger kiss her the moment she moved in. This is a solid baseline. She's rational enough to be trusted with the truth.
Upstairs, the heavy silence broke as the girls let out a collective breath, realizing Haruto wasn't actually trying to force himself on her.
Haruto turned his attention back to the master plan for the night. This entire mandatory meeting was actually Lilith's idea. She was the one who insisted that everyone in the household lay out their cards on the table and reveal their deepest secrets to build absolute trust.
I honestly have no idea how everyone is going to react once the floodgates open, Haruto calculated, his single crimson eye narrowing as he glanced toward the stairs. Lilith has an intense, deeply rooted hatred for goddesses. The absolute second she finds out that Ivory, Lustra, and Bellona are actual, literal goddesses walking among mortals, her reaction is going to be completely off the charts.
He looked back at Seraphine, who was still trying to catch her breath and smooth down her uniform. And then there's Seraphine. Coming from a high-ranking royal bloodline like Fredrick's, there is absolutely no way she climbed to this point without carrying a massive, game-changing secret of her own. Tonight is going to be an absolute minefield.
Seraphine looked up, her breathing still a bit ragged, and stole a glance at Haruto. His face was completely stone-cold and frozen, looking entirely unreadable. Seeing that icy expression, Seraphine's heart sank. She completely misinterpreted his look, thinking he was deeply saddened or hurt by her rejection.
"I-I'm sorry..." she muttered softly, her voice trembling.
As Haruto simply continued to stare at her in silence, panic began to set in for Seraphine. Oh no, she thought, her mind racing. Does he hate me now? Is he going to treat me horribly from now on because I pushed him away? She knew her father had officially handed her over to him, and in this world, he was now her husband. Realizing she would have to face this reality sooner or later, she steeled her resolve. If it has to happen eventually, then it might as well be today.
Taking a sudden, sharp breath, she stepped right back into Haruto's space, clenching her fists. "It's my first time but fine! If you want to do it... just do whatever you want!" she blurted out, her entire face flashing a furious, brilliant shade of crimson. She tightly closed her eyes, completely freezing in place right in front of him, bracing herself for whatever was coming.
Up on the second-floor landing, the entire audience went absolutely wild. Ivory and Lilith practically choked on their breath, their eyes bulging as they watched the drama unfold.
Haruto looked down at the bright red, trembling girl standing before him. Moving with calm deliberation, he raised his hand and gently rested it on her shoulder. The girls upstairs braced themselves for impact—but instead of leaning in, Haruto simply gave Seraphine's shoulder a reassuring squeeze, patted her gently on the head, and casually turned around to walk over to his notebook.
Seraphine slowly opened one eye, completely stunned. Her face burned even hotter with embarrassment as she realized she had worked herself up over absolutely nothing. She glanced up toward the stairs, catching the wide-eyed stares of the other girls, making her want to melt right into the floor. "Y-You... you just wanted to pat my head?" she stammered.
Haruto didn't answer with words. His pen flew across the blank page of his notebook, and after a few seconds, he tore the paper off and handed it straight to her.
Seraphine held the note up, reading his sharp handwriting:
"Don't ever force yourself to do something like that. You have your own life and your own choices. If you truly don't like me or don't want to be here, you are completely free to go back home. I won't stop you."
Seraphine stared at the paper, the sincerity of his words catching her completely off guard. But within seconds, her embarrassed expression shifted into a stubborn, pouting frown. She crossed her arms tightly and huffed, looking away from him.
"I am not going back home!" she declared loudly, a cute pout forming on her lips as she looked around the grand living hall. "Besides, going back would make me look like a total fool. But let me tell you, this mansion is honestly kind of tacky and sub-par! If I'm staying here, I don't want some basic, ordinary room. I demand the absolute best, highest-quality room in this entire place!"
Haruto casually flipped to a new page in his notebook, scribbled a quick sentence, and handed it directly to her.
Seraphine took the paper, her eyes scanning the words:
"The absolute best, highest-quality room in this entire mansion is my bedroom."
Reading the blunt statement, Seraphine's face instantly flushed an even deeper, burning shade of crimson. She stared at him, completely flustered by the implication.
Haruto watched her intense reaction, and for a split second, a genuine, faint smile pulled at the corners of his lips. The moment it happened, he felt a jolt of shock echo through his own mind. Wait... I actually felt a spark of real amusement just now? For a fleeting moment, a genuine human emotion had pierced through his frozen, hollow state. But just as quickly as it appeared, the sensation vanished, and his internal system returned to its usual cold, deadpan baseline. His lips flattened back into an unreadable, stone-like mask, but he couldn't deny that the glitch in his emotional files was getting interesting.
Before Seraphine could completely melt from embarrassment, Haruto quickly wrote on another sheet of paper and held it up for her to read:
"Since you want the best, you can have the Queen's Suite. It is the second most luxurious bedroom in the house, and it is located right across the hall from my room. You will have the entire space to yourself, so it will be your private sanctuary. But do me a favor—when Ivory starts screaming about this in a minute, please just ignore her."
Seraphine blinked, processing the text. "The Queen's Suite sounds perfectly fitting for me," she murmured, crossing her arms defensively. "But... why on earth would Ivory start screaming at me for taking an empty room?"
Haruto simply gave her a slow, knowing nod, his face completely deadpan.
Wanting to be absolutely sure, Seraphine leaned in slightly, squinting at him. "Are you absolutely certain about this? Ivory is really going to lose her mind?"
Haruto nodded his head firmly a second time, confirming his calculation.
Right on cue, Seraphine took a deep breath, looked toward the grand staircase, and intentionally shouted at the top of her lungs: "Ivory!! I am officially taking the Queen's Suite right across from Haruto's room!"
The provocative shout echoed powerfully through the high ceilings of the mansion. For a single second, there was a deafening silence from the upper floor. Then, the sound of heavy, furious stomping shattered the quiet as Ivory's temper completely exploded. Within moments, the entire crowd of girls came rushing down the grand staircase in a massive wave, ready to bring the chaos right back into the living hall.