Allen, Alrain, Ordion, Alvein, Alrian, Dylan, Davin, Arion, Kaydan, Victor, and Calverd exchanged glances, relieved smiles gracing their faces. Their hearts swelled with happiness knowing their husband had accepted Oliver as his thirteenth spouse.
However, amidst the joy flowing through the room, Alrain still harbored a deep sense of guilt for ignoring and defying his husband's mandate the previous night.
Not far from where he stood, Arion was suppressing the turmoil in his chest. He desperately wanted to hear a truthful explanation about 'that era' from his husband.
Amidst the atmosphere of happiness enveloping Arvin's other spouses, Alrain gathered his courage and took slow steps toward his husband.
At almost the exact same time, Arion also stepped forward, following closely behind the second spouse.
Realizing the approaching footsteps of his two spouses, Arvin turned around. He looked at Alrain's and Arion's faces alternately.
Judging from both of their expressions, it seems there is something they desperately want to tell me right this instant.
"Is there something the two of you want to say to me?" Arvin asked curiously, opening the conversation between them.
"Yes, there is!" Alrain and Arion answered in unison, their tones equally serious.
However, before Arvin could ask any further, Alrain suddenly bowed his body deeply.
As a husband, Arvin was naturally quite surprised by his second spouse's sudden action.
"I apologize to you, My Love!" Alrain said, his tone brimming with profound regret. "I failed... I couldn't properly uphold your mandate to accept Oliver when he first arrived here last night."
Hearing the confession, Arvin immediately understood what his second spouse was conveying. Instead of feeling angry or disappointed, Arvin offered an incredibly gentle and understanding smile. He placed his right hand on top of Alrain's head, affectionately stroking his spouse's hair.
"Stand up straight, Alrain. You don't need to dwell on that matter anymore. I don't blame you at all. I completely understand your feelings, considering the trauma and terrible memories you have with the members of the royal family. Your reaction was entirely human."
Alrain slowly straightened his posture, then looked up at his husband. "Are you truly not angry with me, My Love?"
Arvin shook his head.
"At the very least, you eventually gave him your permission, and now Oliver is a member of our family. However, if you indeed feel guilty and haven't apologized to him directly..." Arvin turned his head toward the bed. "...go and apologize to him right now, so there will no longer be any awkwardness between the two of you."
Hearing his husband's wisdom and understanding, Alrain nodded in comprehension and walked over to Oliver, who was still sitting completely naked on the bed.
Upon reaching the edge of the bed, Alrain bowed his body once again.
"Oliver, I sincerely apologize to you. I am sorry for treating you so harshly and degrading you when we were in the mansion's courtyard last night!"
Seeing his husband's second spouse suddenly bowing to apologize to him, Oliver immediately felt bad. He completely understood Alrain's actions. He knew exactly how cruel his eldest brother had been in 'that era', so it was entirely natural for Alrain to harbor hatred toward the members of the Astoria royal family.
"Y-You don't need to dwell on it anymore, Alrain! Please, raise your head immediately!"
Hearing that, Alrain instantly straightened his body and looked at Oliver's panicked face.
"I don't mind it at all." Oliver continued his words. "From this second on, as fellow spouses who serve, love, cherish, and support the exact same person, let's live in harmony and support one another for his sake!"
"Yes, you are right!" Alrain replied in a firm tone, his eyes radiating resolve. "Thank you very much for your magnanimity, Oliver."
Oliver shook his head, unable to deny the fact that Alrain was the one who had decided his fate as Arvin's thirteenth spouse.
"I should be the one thanking you, Alrain. If it weren't for you finally agreeing and openly allowing me to live here with all of you... I am absolutely certain that all of Arvin's other spouses would have immediately rejected my presence right then and there."
"I did that solely because he truly wanted to marry you." Alrain replied honestly. "There's no way I would dare reject someone our own husband wants to marry, right?"
Then, the green-haired youth extended his right hand toward Oliver.
"Let's support and protect our husband together, forever!"
Oliver nodded firmly. He immediately accepted the outstretched hand and shook it tightly. "Yes, let's support him with all our hearts!"
Watching the interaction between Alrain and Oliver, who had now settled the matter between them, all the youths standing and observing in the room breathed a sigh of relief, Arvin included.
Although Arion also felt relieved like the others, he was well aware that his next action would shatter the newly created peaceful atmosphere and turn it tense once again.
However, the yellowish-red-haired youth could no longer restrain himself. He still had to convey what he wanted to say to his husband.
He needed to get the clearest explanation possible from his husband and did not want any lies slipping between them.
"My Star?" Arion called out suddenly.
In unison, all the youths in the room turned to look at Arion. They knew exactly what topic their husband's ninth spouse wanted to bring up.
"Yes, Arion?" Arvin replied, answering his spouse's call in a gentle tone. "What do you want to tell me?"
Arion stared directly into his husband's blue eyes, then took a deep breath.
"I just want you to explain it to me honestly and openly... about who I was in that era!" Arion said without the slightest bit of pleasantries, his tone firm, demanding an explanation from his husband. "Because what you told me back then in the shelter house bathroom, and what Oliver told me last night when we were in this mansion's dining room... they are completely contradictory!"
That demand for a blunt explanation instantly made Arvin understand the direction of his ninth spouse's words, while successfully drawing one crucial conclusion: Oliver possessed memories of what happened in 'that era'.
The 'era' from Arvin's version of the original game's plot, and the 'era' of the previous lives of several of his spouses who had successfully regressed.
So that's how it is? It wasn't just because of our interaction during our first meeting that made him take an interest in me... but Oliver is indeed someone who possesses intact memories of the great war that occurred in 'that era'.
Arvin glanced toward Oliver on the bed, who was currently looking at Arion with a slightly guilty gaze.
No wonder when he faced me tonight, his true, highly cautious, and manipulative nature as one of the 'Romantic Targets' didn't surface at all. He even did everything I commanded without arguing, as if his heart had indeed been entirely conquered a long time ago.
Arvin felt incredibly relieved after discovering the fact that Oliver had memories of 'that era'. He no longer had to go through the trouble of conquering the heart of the romantic target notorious for being the hardest to read.
In the game's original storyline, once Oliver's heart was conquered, the loyalty that romantic target held toward the one who conquered his heart would be absolute and unwavering.
In the "Adventure Story" mode of the game, Oliver would do whatever it took to destroy those who hindered the path of the players who had successfully won his heart.
Ironically, that attitude was exactly identical to Alrain's in the real world: someone who would not hesitate to indiscriminately annihilate anyone who dared to antagonize his husband or those who intended to harm his family.