''So... what gives?''

  ''...Hm?''

  Wiping the silly princess's mouth, I questioned further, ''What made you want to ask me out today?''

  ''...''

  Those words seemed to have made Kiara quite flustered. She stopped consuming her dessert all of a sudden and, with a blank face, stared at me for a good while. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, but nothing came out.

  Still, I patiently waited for her to speak.

  ''I just... wanted to spend time with you.'' She uttered. ''Is that not okay?''

  ''Of course not!''

  Only after hearing my unhesitating answer did Kiara's downturned eyes brighten again. For someone as delicate as her, I must maintain a certain degree of confidence—the confidence to tell her that she was being loved and that she was a brilliant human being.

  Well, it wasn't as though my feelings were only pretentious in the first place.

  ''You know, this is the first time we've spent our time together in this setting.'' I continued, holding Kiara's hand. ''I'm glad that you asked me out, really.''

  ''...Mhm.''

  ''Heheh... should I invite you next time?''

  As I told her my thoughts, her mouth gradually formed a grin, which soon turned into a smile when I mentioned my intention to take the initiative the next time around.

  Kiara nodded repeatedly, looking as adorable as a squirrel.

  At this point, we should have gotten somewhat comfortable with one another, yet even as her body wanted to itch closer, something still made her reluctant.

  ''...Do you want to hug?''

  ''...!''

  Across the table, Kiara's face nearly shone in relief and glee. Seeing that, I couldn't help but chuckle. Really, the more I got to know this girl, the more I found her endearing.

  Ah... how could I ever get out of this?

  ''Come here, Your Highness. Let's hug.''

  ''Okay...''

  So, as I opened my arms wide, Kiara cautiously moved to my side, sitting shoulder to shoulder with me. Up close, her mesmerizing visual became even more enchanting. The burning cheeks of hers, combined with those sparkling eyes, really brought her beauty to a new height.

  Drawn by the refreshing scent, I quickly tucked myself into Kiara's embrace.

  ''...''

  The girl flinched at first, but slowly, her body began to relax, and soon enough, her arms wrapped around my back, too.

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  As with everything else, Kiara's hug was different from the other two. Their scents obviously varied, and I might sound a bit perverted for saying this, but their measurements—waist and chest sizes—also played a large role.

  All three had elegantly toned muscles that I absolutely loved, but that was beside the point.

  ''You're so squishy, Cecilia.''

  ''Ugh.''

  Should I exercise more...?

  ''What do you think, Your Highness?''

  ''You should stay like this. I like soft.''

  ''Is that so...''

  I guess not.

  In the end, the date with Kiara concluded at around late noon.

  I thought we already had a fulfilling day, and I was worried about my little sister for some reason, so we did not proceed into the night. Of course, to make up for this, I let Kiara kiss me a few times, which satisfied her a lot.

  Afterward, I had dinner with the usual jealous Lyra and went to bed, finishing up a delightful day.

  ''Hah... it's starting to warm up...''

  The weeks following that weren't anything particularly eventful. The business ventures I had were all going smoothly, and thanks to that, I was able to feed the ever-growing Lyra more elixirs and potions at a stable rate.

  My three beloveds still visited me from time to time despite their busy schedules, which made me feel extremely grateful. Of course, I did have sex with Rachael and Penelope all the time, but it didn't seem like I should advance with Kiara just yet.

  It was merely my intuition, and I fully trusted it this time around.

  Well, by principles, I must somehow bewitch her enough to the point that she would pin me down on the bed first, not the other way around. That was the art of seduction.

  In any case, I had a bit of free time during these lazy days, too, during which I realized how feral my brain could get. Essentially, I had developed a plan to achieve the legendary scenario—a foursome.

  Yeah. Although shameless, I couldn't deny that I wanted to do it with all three of them at the same time, and it must start with our beloved Kiara.

  For more context, the harem ending in the original game was extremely rare and difficult to reach. Even then, the love interests didn't fully accept the other members, making the final scene somewhat awkward.

  What I wanted was harmony—three women working together cooperatively, seamlessly, and comfortably. I know. Borderline delusional, but it was me.

  Still, here's the plan.

  Firstly, I must avoid mentioning any of this to Rachael until some prerequisite conditions could be met. Obvious, but that left me with Penelope and Kiara. The latter, as I had mentioned before, was actually fine with sharing her partner—largely so. The only problem I would face was if she wouldn't feel comfortable showing such a side to the other two, but I could do something about that.

  And then... Penelope.

  Through months of interacting with her, I noticed that although she could be a tad jealous sometimes, the most important thing to her was still 'eroticness.'

  In my calculations, I thought I could arouse her to the point that she would be fine with having another person with us, and that person would unmistakably be Kiara.

  In this case, the 'threesome' itself would be the bait. I mean, three instead of just two? Wasn't that hot?

  ''Heheheh...''

  Once that was done, I would need to normalize such rendezvous over time. Finally, to rope Rachael in, I needed to play with fire—literally—and make the princess jealous. Jealous enough to join us in the action.

  Perfect.

  Now, whether I would come out of this alive or not wasn't yet certain, but I was dying anyway, so might as well.

  But... hm... hadn't it been a long time since I first met Kiara? I mean, when it came to Rachael and Penelope, their lust was so bold and shameless that we quickly got to business, but the royal princess was different. I couldn't just rush things with her.

  That didn't mean my only option was to sit and wait, though.

  The way forward was clear—to convincingly seduce her with my words and body, using every possible opportunity...

  ''Oh.''

  Like now.

  I just got a message from Kiara, and it read,

  [Do you want to join our cultural festival?]

  Cultural festival... that was indeed one of the big events at the academy. It was grand every year, and even tourists like me wouldn't miss out on the fun. I reckon this would be a great date.

  [Sure.]

  So, I replied a 'yes' right away. However, what she sent back next stunned me for a bit.

  [Good. I need your help with the play our class is doing as well.]

  Play...?

  [A play? Do they allow non-students like me to participate?]

  [It's all good. But we're missing a person who can take on the princess role.]

  [...Aren't Your Highness a princess?]

  [My role is that of the princess's knight, who becomes her lover later.]

  ''...''

  This girl... she could be clever sometimes, huh.