The fountain garden at night looked like Lustra was trying to pretend it was innocent.
Lanterns floated above the water. White flowers curled around marble rails. The fountain itself glittered like spilled stars, and the air smelled like mint tea and trouble.
I arrived with my Consent Candle in my hands like it was my emotional support object.
Elise walked beside me, tether chain glinting between us, face set in her strict-paladin expression that meant, I will not let anyone turn you into a public hobby tonight.
Behind us came the chorus.
Freya practically skipped. Sofia walked like a slow threat. Charlotte moved like she was already calculating outcomes. Mira carried a scroll like it was going to bite someone. Rika was vibrating with excitement. Kaori was clutching her charm basket like it was a shield. Hana's eyes kept flicking to my mouth like she was studying a spell component. Anya looked ready to diagnose my entire nervous system. Lucie looked ready to steal something. Evelyn looked ready to be elegant about stealing something.
And of course, Yuki was there with a clipboard, because there is no romance in Lustra without someone filing it.
"Tonight's royal date," Yuki announced, "will be conducted under the Royal Courtesy Protocol. No interruptions, no mobbing, and no one is allowed to shout 'kiss him' from the bushes."
Rika raised her hand. "What if I whisper it."
Yuki wrote something down. "Then you get sprayed with fountain water."
Rika gasped. "Cruel."
Elise muttered, "Necessary."
The queen arrived on time, because of course she did.
She stepped into the garden with her two guards and her advisor, cape trailing like night itself. The crown on her head caught the lantern light and threw it back like a dare.
But when she saw me, her expression softened. Not hungry. Not playful. Not like she was shopping.
Like she was genuinely glad I came.
"Hero Ren," she said, voice calm. "Thank you."
I swallowed. "Your Majesty."
She smiled. "Please. Call me Your Majesty only when I'm being unbearable."
Freya whispered loudly, "So always."
The queen's eyes flicked to Freya with amused approval. "You're lively."
Freya bowed dramatically. "I'm a community service."
Elise hissed, "Stop calling yourselves that."
The queen's gaze returned to me. "Before tea, we do this properly."
She turned to the small table set beside the fountain. On it sat a silver tray, a teapot, two cups, and a candle stand made of gold.
My stomach dropped. "You have a candle too."
The queen's smile widened. "I did my research."
She lifted a candle that looked like mine, except the wax was pale blue and the wick glimmered faintly.
"I brought a Royal Consent Candle," she said. "It's ceremonial in my land. It doesn't force anyone. It only witnesses."
Yuki's eyes sparkled. "That's adorable and legally convenient."
Elise stared like she wanted to arrest candle culture.
The queen placed her candle beside mine, then looked at me and asked, clearly and carefully,
"Do you consent to a royal date. Public view. With chaperone present. With your candle lit. With mine lit. With boundaries you choose."
My cheeks warmed, partly from the words, partly from the fact she was doing this with so much respect it felt dangerous.
"I consent," I said. "Short date. No surprises. No coercion. You can ask. I can refuse."
The queen nodded. "Good."
Elise cleared her throat. "And no one touches him without asking."
The queen glanced at Elise. "Of course."
Then she added, sweetly, "I intend to ask a lot."
Elise's eye twitched.
Yuki rang her bell softly like a referee starting a match.
Ding.
The queen poured tea. The steam rose between us like a quiet barrier from the chaos.
"You look less panicked than yesterday," she said.
"That's because I'm distracted," I admitted.
"By what," she asked.
I glanced over her shoulder at the chorus of women watching with varying levels of patience.
"By the fact that my love life has a crowd."
The queen laughed softly. "Then I'll keep this simple."
She pushed a small box across the table.
I hesitated. "A gift."
"A diplomatic gift," she said. "Not a bribe."
Elise leaned in, suspicious. "What is it."
The queen opened it.
Inside was a soft cloak, dark and elegant, with a simple clasp.
"A modesty cloak," the queen said, amused. "It covers your hero-shaped chest."
Elise blinked, then looked offended that the queen had stolen her exact complaint.
Freya burst out laughing. "Oh my god. She's courting him with fabric."
Sofia smirked. "Smart. Control the packaging."
Charlotte's eyes narrowed slightly. "Very smart."
Kaori whispered, "That's… actually sweet."
Rika whispered, "Can he wear it and still get kissed."
Yuki answered without looking up. "Yes."
Rika cheered quietly.
I lifted the cloak. It was warm, like it had been enchanted to feel safe.
"Thank you," I said, honestly.
The queen watched my face like it mattered.
Then she asked, smoothly, "May I clasp it for you."
Elise stiffened. "He can do it himself."
The queen held her hand out anyway, not moving closer, just offering.
I glanced at Elise.
Elise's jaw was tight, but she didn't forbid it.
I nodded once. "Okay. Yes."
The queen stood, came around the table slowly, and draped the cloak over my shoulders. Her fingers brushed my collarbone as she fastened the clasp, careful, visible hands, no lingering.
Still, the closeness made my heart start doing stupid jumps.
Freya whispered, "He's blushing into the cloak."
Sofia whispered, "That's a new combo."
I tried to breathe normally.
The queen returned to her seat and sipped her tea like she hadn't just set my nervous system on fire.
"You're easy to fluster," she said gently.
"I'm not," I lied.
The queen's lips curved. "Ren. You turned red when someone complimented your breathing."
Elise muttered, "He did."
I covered my face for half a second. "Please don't talk about breathing."
The queen's eyes softened. "Then I'll talk about what I actually came for."
Yuki leaned forward like she was about to notarize romance.
The queen ignored Yuki and looked at me.
"I do not want to buy you," she said. "I do not want to collect you as a rumor. I do not want to use you as a treaty symbol."
I swallowed.
"I want," she continued, voice calm, "to court you. Properly. Even if it's inconvenient."
Freya whispered, "Oh she's serious serious."
Charlotte didn't whisper. "That's dangerous."
Sofia smirked. "That's hot."
Kaori squeaked and hugged her basket.
I stared at the queen, unsure what to do with sincerity in a city that turned affection into a leveling mechanic.
So I did the only thing I knew how to do.
I tried to flirt back, clumsy but real.
"You traveled all this way to fall in love with a guy who just wants sandwiches."
The queen smiled, and it was softer than the crown.
"I have fallen in love with worse," she said. Then, after a beat, "And you are not just sandwiches. You are… gentle."
My cheeks heated again.
Freya coughed loudly. "KISS."
Yuki clicked her pen. "Do not shout."
Freya whispered, "Kiss."
Elise hissed, "Stop pressuring him."
The queen lifted her hand, palm up, calm.
"May I ask," she said, "for one kiss. Not for the crowd. Not for the treaty. Just for me."
The entire garden went quiet.
Even the fountain sounded louder.
My system didn't even chime. Like it was holding its breath too.
I looked at Elise instinctively.
Elise's eyes were sharp, cheeks faintly pink, expression furious at the universe, but her voice was steady.
"Your choice," she said.
So I looked back at the queen.
And I decided.
"Yes," I said, softly. "One."
The queen leaned in slowly, giving me time to pull back if I wanted.
I didn't.
Her kiss was warm and controlled, not rushed, not showy. Just a steady press that made my mind go quiet for a second. Like she was trying to tell me something without words.
When she pulled back, she didn't smile like she'd won.
She smiled like she was relieved.
"Thank you," she whispered.
Freya put both fists to her mouth like she was watching a romance play.
Rika made a tiny squeal and had to clamp her hands over her lips to stop herself.
Sofia's eyes half-lidded. "Clean."
Charlotte's smile stayed polite, but her gaze sharpened.
Elise looked away like the fountain had suddenly become extremely interesting.
The queen sat back, composed, then glanced at the chorus behind me.
"It seems," she said lightly, "I have interrupted a very organized disaster."
Yuki nodded proudly. "Yes."
The queen lifted her tea cup. "May I request a second kiss later."
Elise snapped her head back. "Later."
The queen's eyes flicked to Elise and she smiled like she enjoyed a challenge.
"Dame Elise," she said, sweet as poison, "do you dislike me because I'm a queen, or because I kissed him."
Elise's face went red.
"Because you're dangerous," Elise said.
The queen nodded. "Correct."
Freya whispered loudly, "That's basically a confession."
Elise hissed, "It is not."
Sofia smirked. "It's close."
Rika raised her hand. "Can I confess too."
Yuki answered instantly. "No."
The queen looked back at me and spoke in a lower voice.
"You see," she murmured, "in my land, I must be careful. Everyone wants a piece of my attention."
She paused.
"In Lustra, you are the queen."
I blinked.
The words hit oddly.
My throat went dry. "That sounds like a curse."
The queen's smile softened. "It is. And I want to help carry it."
I exhaled, then decided to turn the sincerity into something lighter before I drowned in it.
"So," I said, trying to grin, "does dating a queen come with a permit."
Yuki's pen snapped up. "Yes."
Everyone stared at Yuki.
Yuki nodded seriously. "Royal Date Permit. It exists. I can draft it."
The queen laughed, genuinely.
Freya cheered. "WE LOVE PAPERWORK."
Sofia muttered, "We need a permit for kissing permits."
Mira nodded thoughtfully. "Permit recursion."
Lucie grinned. "Permits all the way down."
Kaori whispered, "This is insane."
I looked at the queen again, heart still warm from the kiss.
"Your Majesty," I said, then corrected myself, "Sorry. I mean… you."
The queen's eyes brightened.
"Yes," she said softly. "Me."
I swallowed.
"Me too," I said, and instantly hated how flustered that sounded.
The queen smiled like she'd been given a real gift.
Then she leaned in just a little and asked, very calmly,
"May I hold your hand for the rest of the tea."
Elise muttered, "That's allowed."
Yuki nodded. "That's wholesome."
Freya whispered, "That's foreplay in disguise."
Elise snapped, "Freya."
I held my hand out.
The queen took it gently, thumb resting on my knuckles like she was anchoring me.
And behind us, the chorus watched like a pack of shameless wolves staring at a new rival, already planning strategies, already sharpening jokes, already deciding how to out-romance a crown.
The queen sipped her tea, hand in mine, and spoke like a promise.
"I will return tomorrow," she said. "If you'll have me."
My heart did that stupid jump again.
Lustra's fountain glittered.
Elise looked like she wanted to scream.
Yuki looked delighted.
And I realized something terrifying.
The harem had just gotten a queen.