The next day, in the afternoon.

“Ria.”

Coming down the stairs to go out into the garden, Ria tilted her head in question as she saw Eden calling out to her from the doorway of the mansion. If she recalled correctly, yesterday’s visit was supposed to be his last visit for this week.

“What’s up? I thought yesterday was your last visit for the week.”

“I wanted to see you.”

“…Huh?”

Her large, round eyes widened even more. Choking back a laugh at her visible embarrassment, Eden strode over to her and swept a hand through her glossy black hair.

“Were you on your way to the garden?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you mind if I come with you? I really came to see you.”

“Uh, sure.”

A blush settled on her porcelain-like cheeks. Every time they spoke so candidly about their thoughts and feelings towards her, Ria couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. She was never accustomed to such straightforward words.

It was even more so with Eden. Sometimes she wondered if it was okay for her to be this close to Eden when she was still sleeping with Rune. But, considering the ambiguity of her relationship with Rune, it might not matter.

Ria couldn’t exactly define her relationship with Rune. To call it a romantic relationship would be somewhat ambiguous. She was nervous when he came to visit her in Korea, and she felt empty when she didn’t see him, but she never thought about it more than that. After all, how can they be lovers if they only talk to each other once every two months, and not even then?

She thought Rune felt the same way. Back then, she didn’t even know he was from a different world. She eventually accepted it when he seemed so desperate during their third meeting, but that was about it. She didn’t really ponder deeply about the love he whispered every time.

At first, she had thought that if she ever had the means to live outside, she should leave the mansion so as not to be a burden to them. While that thought still lingered, but ever since discovering the depth of Rune’s feelings for her, the relationship that she had never thought much about started to bother her.

“…Ah.”

“…?”

“Ria.”

“Uh?”

“What are you thinking.”

Ria had been so deep in thought about what to do with her life and her relationship with Rune that she didn’t respond until after Eden had called out to her several times.

“Uh… no, it’s nothing. What did you say?”

“What do you think about polygamy?”

“Polygamy?”

That law that says you can legally love multiple people?

“What about that? Why do you ask?”

“Polygamy is a cultural practice that has been ongoing for us, so it doesn’t matter. But you come from a different place, Ria, so I thought your perspective might be different.”

“Hmm….”

Ria haven’t really thought seriously about it. She hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“Where I come from, we don’t have that. Loving someone other than your spouse could even be considered a sin. It’s not looked upon very favorably.”

“…”

“But here, it’s the norm, right? So, it shouldn’t matter. Everyone here, except me, naturally accepts it as the law. I don’t think there’s anything strange about it.”

After saying it out loud, Ria felt a somewhat bitter feeling creeping in. She really was in a different world by herself.

As a melancholy and gloomy expression crossed Ria’s face, Eden’s heart felt a sharp pang. He didn’t ask these questions to make her feel this way.

“Besides, everyone talks a lot about love marriages, right? So, if people love each other and live like that, it should be fine. As long as the parties involved are happy, right?”

But what she said next made Eden’s heart throb in a different way. It It was good that she was positive about the idea of polygamy, and it was exactly what he’d hoped for. At least the probability of rejection was lower now, given that Rune was in the picture.

“Ria.”

“Yeah?”

The two of them had reached the center of a garden adorned with blooming roses. Eden stopped walking and dropped to one knee in front of Ria.

“Eden! What are you doing all of a sudden!”

Startled by his sudden behavior, Ria tried to pull him to his feet, but Eden was faster. Carefully, as if touching a delicate piece of glass, he took her left hand, and after holding it gently, he left a kiss on the back of her hand.

“Ria, I know you might be surprised, but I thought I had to tell you today.”

“…”

“I love you. I, Eden Carlisle, wants to have you, Ria.”

He spoke with sincere and firm determination. The underlying affection seeps into every syllable, so much so that she doesn’t even have to try to feel it, and she stares down at him, unable to say anything.

Rune had confessed to her in a similar way. The third time they met in Korea. She didn’t know then, or now, how to react to such a confession. It’s not that she disliked the affection towards her. She appreciated it and liked it. But…

“I, I mean…….”

Knowing that her feelings didn’t match theirs, Ria couldn’t bring herself to accept it. It wasn’t much different when she accepted Rune’s feelings before, but back then, she was twenty, just coming of age, enjoying the peak of freedom, and she had no idea about going to another world.

Though she’s only a year older now, the situation is vastly different. She has just opened her eyes to a completely unfamiliar world, and she hasn’t even sorted out the confusing circumstances. And to top it all off, Rune has caught her eye.

Whether Eden sensed Ria’s feelings or had some other plan, he spoke in a gentle voice.

“You don’t have to give me an answer right now, I can always wait, but can you promise me one thing?”

“Promise……?”

“Yeah. I want you to know that everything I do is out of love and my desire to have you.”

Looking into her eyes as if to convey that message, Eden offered a charming smile.

“Like…….”

He then plucked a fully bloomed rose from the garden, turned her hand upwards, and raised it towards the sky. A single petal fell from the broken flower.

“Actions like this.”

The smile was no different than before, but somehow Ria found it dangerous. It was charming, but all the more dangerous. The problem was, she couldn’t figure out why she felt that way, so she remained silent. She just stood there, captivated by the red rose that exuded freshness.

His hand holding hers was warm. At the same time, his grip was tight, as if he doesn’t want to let go. Suddenly, she heard a sound as if something was closing behind her. It must be an illusion, because they were out in the open air, but it felt unmistakable.

Ria dismissed it as an illusion, unaware that she was being dragged into the beast’s mouth.

***

That day, Eden joined them for dinner at Rune’s mansion. Afterward, he told Ria that he was staying the night because he and Rune had something important to discuss in private, then he and Rune went to the reception room.

Ria couldn’t look at either Rune or Eden properly after what had happened in the garden that afternoon. It was all so… unnecessarily complicated. Even after returning to her room, getting ready for bed, it was the same.

She didn’t know how she should look at Rune when he comes in later. She was afraid whether she would make a strange expression for no reason. Although it’s not like she’s cheating on him, because she couldn’t clearly define it herself, her relationship with Rune, but she’s sleeping with him and it’s making her nervous.

‘Does Rune know that Eden confessed to me?’

It’s hard to tell him the truth. How could she say that she received a confession from someone else in front of someone who tells her he loves her every time?

Her mind was in turmoil. She was still confused because she’s still adjusting to a new world, and this just adds to it. She thought she wasn’t indecisive and stupid, but now she feels like an idiot who doesn’t know anything.

As she continued to think through these complicated thoughts, Ria gradually closed her eyes, feeling the fatigue in her weakened body and the soft, warm blanket enveloping her like a gentle caress. However, just before falling into a deep sleep,

Squeak-, the door opened.

‘Rune?’

Still lightly lingering in consciousness, she thought about getting up to greet him, but her body, on the verge of falling asleep, didn’t respond. Then…