Taming The Villainesses

Chapter 453: Side Story – Everyday Life Is Always Honey-Colored (2)

Ayra spoke.

“So. Whose turn is it today?”

At that simple question, the smiles vanished from everyone’s lips, and a tense silence settled over the room. I was no different. My throat instinctively swallowed dryly.

Gulp.

If I hadn’t been holding Leonoi, I might’ve vacated my seat. While I was watching everyone’s reactions, Mirna raised her hand.

“...Today’s Wednesday. It’s my turn. Monday is Queen Ayra, Tuesday is Elga, Wednesday is me, Thursday is Narmee, and Friday is Professor Stella—we all agreed to that, remember? You were there too.”

Mirna’s demeanor resembled that of a hedgehog being attacked by a snake. She bristled slightly, unable to hide her discomfort. Ayra, however, remained composed.

“Ah, yes, I know. That’s exactly why I’m saying this. I’m going to spend 50 points of my Consort Score I’ve accumulated up to today, and buy it.”

Consort Score.

So they were still doing that, huh. The noble ladies and wives of my harem had a kind of club system going among themselves.

Within that club, you could earn “Consort Points” through various actions. For example, “+5 points for preparing dinner” or “+100 points for giving birth to a child.”

Every Saturday, they calculated the scores, and starting Sunday, they would determine that week’s “Main Consort.”

The Main Consort, from Sunday to Saturday, would act as the leader or head among the ladies—choosing the lunch menu, selecting the walking route, and receiving other privileges.

In that sense, this week’s Main Consort was said to be Stella. That was because her family, House Bellhawk, had shouldered most of the cost for the wedding a few weeks back.

The amount was astronomical—comparable to laying transcontinental railroads across several cities—and only the Bellhawk family could afford to cover such expenses.

As compensation, Stella was granted a huge number of points. I don’t know the exact figure.

The noble ladies coordinated things among themselves without my involvement, and they didn’t seem to want me interfering with their little minigame anyway.

Something about it “distorting fairness,” or so they claimed.

Then Mirna spoke.

“You’re saying... you’re going to spend 50 Consort Points to buy that...?”

She seemed noticeably tense at the idea of Ayra using her accumulated points to purchase something.

As it turns out, these Consort Points could be spent like a board game currency at an in-game shop the ladies had created.

From what I’d glimpsed before, you could buy things like “the right to issue orders to another lady” or “a lunch date with me, Teo.” I don’t know the full menu myself.

Ayra let out a heh-heh laugh.

“Mirna, are you pretending not to know, or are you just naïve? There’s only one thing worth spending 50 points on. I’m buying tonight’s Right to Share a Bed.”

Right to Share a Bed.

At those words, Mirna’s hair stood on end.

“W-Why today of all days?! Today’s my night to sleep with Lord Teo...! What possible motive do you have to target me like this?”

“Motive?”

“Yes! Just because I spoke bluntly during the royal council yesterday, you must’ve taken offense and decided to retaliate like this!”

Ah, the royal council. I’d heard that Mirna and Ayra had raised their voices in a heated argument during yesterday’s meeting.

“Well, whatever the reason. Buying tons of cake with our already strained national budget just to give one to every citizen on their birthday is totally reckless. Don’t you all agree?”

“......”

At Mirna’s question, everyone quietly looked away.

Ayra held the reins here. No one wanted to get on her bad side and hear her say something like, “Then I’ll just use the Right to Share a Bed on your day instead of Mirna’s.”

And so—

The Consort Score system was being used as a tight lever in the political tug-of-war between the four noble families.

Just then, Elga chimed in.

“Come on, give it up just for today. Your Draco family has two representatives—don’t you already get two nights a week?”

To that, Narmee, who’d been quietly listening, gave a little chuckle.

“She’s got a point. Sis, just accept it. Or buy a Defense Ticket or something. How much was it again...? Who’s running the shop this week?”

At Narmee’s question, Stella said, “Ah, I’ve got it. I’m the mistress of the house this week, remember?” She opened the book hanging at her waist and spread it on the table.

Flip, flip. As the pages turned, I caught glimpses of the text.

「Right to Seize Main Consort Role for One Day: 70 points」

「Right to a Private Dinner with Teo: 35 points」

「Right to Command the Other Ladies: 30 points」

「Right to Skip Court Duties: 30 points」

...

...

「Right to Share a Bed on a Chosen Day: 50 points」

So that’s how it looked. Even I’d never seen it firsthand before. Among the many items, Narmee stopped her hand on one.

“Here it is!”

「Defense Ticket: 100 points」

“If you hate losing your time slot that much, just buy a Defense Ticket. It’s a little pricey at 100 points, but you’ve racked up a ton, haven’t you?”

“But...”

“Don’t you want to have fun with Teo tonight? Sis, you always get in such a good mood every Wednesday, starting from the morning. Acting all prim and proper the rest of the week!”

“W-What...!? Who said that?!”

Narmee’s direct hit was pretty effective—Mirna trembled, flushed as red as a tomato, then let out a sigh and brushed her forehead with her hand.

“Haa... then I guess I’ll buy the Defense Ticket for 100 poi—”

Then Ayra cut in.

“Then I’ll buy the Defense Breaker Ticket for 150 points.”

“...!?”

Everyone gasped.

Me too.

What the hell is a Defense Breaker Ticket? While I sat there bewildered, Narmee flipped a few more pages.

「Defense Breaker Ticket: 150 points」

「Defense Breaker Shield Ticket: 200 points」

「Defense Breaker Shield Breaker Ticket: 250 points」

...

...

「Invincibility: 1000 points」

What is this.

The pages were filled with names that sounded like pay-to-win trash from a failed mobile game. It reminded me of those old games with “Kick Ban,” “Reflect Kick Ban,” “Super Mod Powers” and the like.

Even now, it’s funny to think people actually paid real money for that stuff. Funnier still, some people actually bought them.

And now—these brilliant noble ladies had apparently put their heads together and come up with nonsense like this?

As I was blinking in confusion and feeling slightly dizzy—

Swoosh.

Elga, who had been watching the situation with her arms crossed, stepped in.

“Hey, Mirna. Ayra just said she’s using 150 points to break your Defense Ticket. What are you gonna do? Gonna pay 200 points to block her? Or just take the loss? Huh?”

Elga was suddenly cheering for Mirna, which struck me as odd. Elga... supporting Mirna?

Elga and Mirna were like cats and dogs—everyone in Angmar knew they couldn’t stand each other.

So for Elga to take Mirna’s side wasn’t out of kindness. That’s when it hit me like lightning.

Of course!

Seeing both Mirna and Ayra burning through their Consort Points in this clash, Elga was scheming to swoop in and reap the rewards!

Now that I think about it, these ridiculous pay-to-win-style options actually had a clever purpose behind them.

You see—

Given enough time, everyone would eventually accumulate tons of Consort Points.

So point inflation would inevitably occur.

That’s why they’d created these massively expensive items to drain them.

These proud noblewomen—when attacked, they’d defend, and if blocked, they’d counterattack.

As their massive stores of points clashed and depleted, it would give the lower-ranked ladies a chance to catch up again.

So Elga was deliberately egging on the fight between Mirna and Ayra.

“Mirna, what are you going to do? Just sit back and lose? Are you, a lady of the noble House Draco, going to kneel before centralized tyranny? Huh?”

“Grrgh...”

“Sis! Are you seriously going to let the Queen walk all over you!?”

“She’s right, Miss Mirna. I don’t think you should let her win this one either.”

Looking at it again, it really was a fun and clever system. As expected of the women I married. Now then—how would Mirna respond?

Would she pay 200 points to defend?

Everyone’s eyes turned to Mirna.

“...A truly wise person knows how to lose the battle to win the war. I won’t foolishly burn everything down.”

It seemed Mirna was reluctantly backing off.

But—

Clearly, some bitterness remained.

“Still. I’m not going to let this go so easily, Queen Ayra. You know I’ve got plenty of points saved up too, right? On your day—Monday. You’d better stay on your toes.”

Mirna covered her face with a fluttering fan and let out a dramatic “O-hohoho” laugh. Her tomato-red cheeks, however, didn’t cool one bit behind it.

Feeling a little bad for her, I stroked Leonoi and said,

“That’s a shame, though. Miss Mirna, we were supposed to play chess together tonight.”

She must be disappointed too. We had planned to play chess tonight, but now it’d have to be pushed back a week.

I remembered how excited she looked this morning, telling me she’d prepared another board game too—something with squirrels, martens, and wolf cards. Sounded adorable.

She’d looked so eager. I’d been looking forward to it too.

Then Mirna peeked at me from behind her fan.

“...Then I’ll spend 200 points and buy the Defe—”

“I’ll use 250 points.”

In the end, Ayra and Mirna both burned through a massive amount of points, and tonight’s winner was Ayra.

***

As is fitting, the victor was granted a suitable reward.

Ayra had spent a total of 450 points of her Consort Score—50, then 150, then 250—to secure the right to spend the night with me.

I don’t know the exact exchange rate, but I’d heard that 450 points was the kind of score you had to save up for over a whole month. And to think she used all of that just to spend a single night with me.

It made me suddenly evaluate myself with some cold objectivity—am I really worth that much? Still, Ayra looked very pleased. Didn’t she just sleep with me on Monday?

Just like back then, I held her tightly and gave it my all.

“Gyauk...!”

Ayra clenched the blanket tightly as sweat drenched her body, and only then did we pause to catch our breath.

“Shall we rest a little?”

She looked too exhausted to move even a fingertip, so I climbed out of the blanket, poured her a cup of water with a bit of lemon, and handed it to her.

Ever since the decline of the mages’ physical endurance, I’d always paid close attention to Ayra’s health.

Gulp gulp.

After drinking plenty of water, Ayra pulled the blanket over her body and covered herself. Then, lightly rubbing her lower belly with her palm, she murmured:

“At this rate... do you think we’ll make a baby? I went digging through the old witch texts from Tarantella again, and apparently the full moon is the best time for conception.”

“The full moon?”

I glanced over at the palace bedroom’s window.

Now that she mentioned it—yes. A bright, round full moon hung in the night sky. So that’s why Ayra had gone to such lengths to steal the night from Mirna. Because it was a full moon.

Ayra spoke.

“I’m a queen. If I want something, I have to get it. And I want a Leonoi of my own.”

That reminded me—I’d heard Ayra carries Leonoi around all day like she’s hers. Elga had grumbled, “I’m starting to wonder whose kid that even is.”

I said:

“But Leonoi is Lady Elga’s daughter. Just wanting something doesn’t mean it’s yours.”

“I know that much. That’s exactly why—I’m going to make a whole bunch of little Ayras. Teo, you have to cooperate.”

I was already doing my best. I knew full well how the noble ladies looked at Leonoi.

Then Ayra said:

“Now, if we tie our pinkies together like this and sleep, we’ll definitely make a baby.”

She plucked a single strand from her hair—the longest and glossiest one—and used it to tie her pinky to mine.

Spending the night together under the full moon, pinkies bound with hair.

Does that really raise the chances of conception? It sounds like superstition.

Ayra’s mind, even now—after marriage, after starting our honeymoon—was still as hard to read as ever.

Most likely, her heart will always be like the sea—restless, unpredictable.

That’s what I liked about her. Life with Ayra would never be boring.

While I sat there half-skeptical, Ayra pinched my nose.

“Dreaming of miracles—that is magic. That’s what a tiny, great magician once said. So a miracle is definitely going to happen.”

“...You’re right. It /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ just might.”

So, Ayra and I curled up together on the cleanly remade bed.

It might be spring, but the tail end of winter was still chilly—curling up together made it wonderfully warm. Ayra always smelled nice, too.

Just as we were about to drift off to sleep, leaning into each other’s warmth, Ayra spoke.

“Hey... about the mushroom that makes you grow taller.”

“...A mushroom?”

“It might actually exist. I read in some old witch books that deep in the forests, or high in the mountains, there are stones that let you breathe fire, and stars that make your body glow. Mysteries unlike any known magic...”

Doze... doze... Ayra started nodding off in the middle of her sentence.

She must’ve been tired. Lately, she’d been working hard around the palace without a single complaint. Admirable, really.

I pulled her a little closer and gently stroked her back.

—Nymph Technique: Aggressive Soothing!

Stroke stroke stroke stroke.

With a soft, even breath, Ayra fell asleep like a princess. But maybe she wasn’t completely asleep—every so often, she muttered dreamily, as if still talking to me.

“Mystery... The great stork that brings children... deep... in the canyon...”