Chương 325: 355 - A Question of Family

Naiad was completely out of it. She laid on the bed, barely conscious after her second time having sex with Leon and Elise. Perhaps it was because Elise was participating or because Leon was far less hesitant, but this time had been even more satisfying than their first.

Leon and Elise, on the other hand, were still very conscious, and it took them almost an hour after finishing with Naiad before Elise collapsed into Leon's arms, straddling his hips and resting her head on his well-built chest while he leaned back on a small pile of pillows, his own arms around her to hold her close. Their breathing was heavy, their bodies covered in sweat despite the amount of magic power at their command usually preventing such a physiological response.

The entire bed was a wrinkled, slightly damp mess, and feathers were strewn everywhere—whilst in the throes of passion, Elise had accidentally torn apart a pillow she had braced herself against when Leon had taken her from behind. Even after the two managed to steady their breathing, for what seemed like hours neither could muster the energy to do much more than smile, giggle, and kiss each other. They had satisfied each other so completely that neither Leon nor Elise could blame Naiad for passing out.

Elise was the first to break the silence.

"… That was… incredible!" she quietly exclaimed, but even then, she felt like her exclamation didn't quite do justice to the pleasure of the experience.

"It certainly was," Leon said as he adjusted his position on the small pile of still-intact pillows, Elise still lying on his chest with one of his hands gently stroking her shapely back.

He glanced over at Naiad on the other side of the large bed and, after seeing that the river nymph was still essentially unconscious—she was still breathing and her aura was quite vigorous, so he wasn't worried that she was somehow seriously injured—he realized that this was probably going to be the best time to talk about her, oddly enough.

Most other times he would be worried that Naiad would be listening in on their conversation, so he would've had to find the time to visit Elise at the Heaven's Eye Tower or something like that.

"I have a question," he stated with such an air of seriousness that it caused Elise to stiffen up, for which he was duly saddened. The few minutes directly after sex would normally be a time to rest after their exertions, but there was something to be said for serious discussions in the afterglow of good sex, so he didn't hesitate further.

"What's on your mind?" Elise asked, her tone one of slight anxiety.

"Naiad," Leon replied, explaining himself with the river nymph's name alone but continuing anyway.

"I… I don't think I'd mind if she were to stick around for a while…" Elise adjusted her position, not quite getting off Leon but propping herself up on her elbows and off of his chest so she could look him directly in the eye without craning her neck.

"What do you mean?" she asked, her eyes narrowed with the gravity of what Leon just said.

"You told me you wanted me to start a harem," Leon said, speaking slowly and methodically so that he could clearly state what was on his mind.

"You gave up on your right to have a harem with the demand that I start one of my own; if neither of us has one, then it would embarrass us within the noble circles of this Kingdom."

"I did say that," Elise confirmed, though her grim tone hadn't changed.

"It's expected of us if we're to both be taken seriously…"

"Naiad forced herself into our life, she demanded that I reproduce with her or she wouldn't have ever let me leave that cave. Or at least, I think she would've eventually just taken me by force. Given her physical state at the time, though, with the threat of transforming into a Gorgon right around the corner and the loss of her mind that would accompany it, I can't honestly blame her for taking more drastic action. I can't even say that I would conduct myself any better were I in her shoes.

"Still, she was relatively patient even under her circumstances, and she let me go with nothing more than a promise. When she showed up again, she proved herself willing to kill to protect us-""She proved herself willing to kill to protect you," Elise corrected Leon, with some amount of bitterness and accusation in her voice.

"I suppose," Leon conceded.

"However, that didn't stop her from saving us, your mother and father, and our friends from those vampires. And since then, she's continued to be nothing but patient and relatively supportive. She even proved herself willing to kill again for us when she accompanied me when I took care of Tiberias.

"She's beautiful, she's powerful, she's rendered us great help on multiple occasions, and somehow, she makes our sex even better."

"Do you love her?" Elise suddenly asked with suspicion.

"I'm not sure," Leon honestly responded.

"I think that could come in time, but she's not going to stop until she's pregnant with my child, so we're always going to be connected in at least that way. We're going to be family in one way or another, so I think it's best if we make it official, if we make it a little more formal. If you want me to start a harem, I want to start with Naiad. I want her to be my second lover."

Elise stared into Leon's eyes looking for any sign of hesitation, for any sign that he didn't quite mean what he said, but she saw nothing but an earnest conviction that told her he was deadly serious. He genuinely wanted Naiad to join their family. If Elise were honest, the rational part of her mind told her that this was a fantastic idea. It would essentially make their family untouchable with such a powerful being on their side.

However, the emotional part of her was still angry at Naiad for the contract she made with Leon, for forcing him to take responsibility for her condition just because he had the blood of the Thunderbird. And then Elise thought about Valeria. She'd known Valeria for years now, and the silver-haired woman was one of the few people that Elise was actually close to. Elise didn't know many people well enough to consider them friends, and when she learned that Valeria did like Leon in a romantic way, she was ecstatic.

It meant that one of the people she considered herself closest to in this world could become her bona fide relative—technically her sister-in-law if they were to both marry Leon. To Elise, the best option for Leon's second lover was Valeria, though she hadn't yet gotten around to broaching the issue with Leon again after his first, almost brutal, rejection of the idea.

She'd tried to get them closer, to bridge the gap between them somehow, but the two were so quiet that her subtle touches hadn't had any effect, yet. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Elise sighed, then lowered herself back down onto Leon's chest to think.

The emotional part of her that was still angry at Naiad had been weakened greatly by how much having Naiad in her and Leon's bed had improved their sex life, and she would be lying if she said she would be happy to see Naiad leave them, if only for that reason. Still, having been so forceful with Leon when she and Leon had first met was a grave offense in Elise's book.

'Of course, how was I any different?' Elise asked herself, remembering how shamelessly she had acted when she had first met Leon. She had been acting as an attendant at that time, and though she had gotten a bit handsy with some of the other attractive and powerful nobles who used the Heaven's Eye Tower in Teira in the course of her duties—as was expected of Heaven's Eye attendants—never had she been as forward with them as she had been with Leon.

None of those other people meant anything to Elise, though, and she had never let them touch her back; none of them had lit such a fire in her as Leon had with his power compared to his youth, his gold card, and his adorable lack of social experience. Ultimately, when she had learned that Leon was coming to the capital to join the Knight Academy, Elise had decided to come home, following him to the capital.

She hadn't forced him into a magically binding contract, but how different were her actions to Naiad's on a fundamental level? At the very least, given the fact that Elise had fallen in love with Leon almost from the get-go, she could hardly blame Naiad for wanting a piece of Leon, too. That much, at least, gave Elise more than a little pride in her choice of partners—it would've been a sad thing if no one else but her wanted Leon, as she would've been alone in her love.

Elise's eyes drifted down toward the sleeping Naiad. The river nymph seemed like she was beginning to stir from her pleasure-induced repose, so Elise had the perfect excuse to kick this can down the road a little more. However, Elise decided not to, she wanted to respond to Leon's sincerity with her own.

"There are a few things I would want to discuss with Naiad first, in due time," Elise said, "but I would tentatively agree with you; Naiad would make a perfect addition to our family. If you wish to invite her into it, to be more than just a guest in our home that we occasionally sleep with, then I will support you in it."

"I don't think I love her, but there is definitely some fondness for her growing within me the longer she's around," Leon quickly reiterated, Naiad's awakening having not slipped his notice.

"I think this is the best thing to do, especially given what I believe we're going to face in the future…" Elise nodded, then turned her head back toward Leon, and the two lovers held each other a bit closer and kissed once more. The three of them were going to have to hash out a lot of things between them if this was going to work, but Leon had at least convinced Elise to give it a try.

The world slowly faded back into her awareness as Naiad woke up. She was somewhat aware of Leon and Elise in the same room as her and that they were quietly talking, but about what she couldn't say. Her deep blue eyes cracked open, but even her eighth-tier eyes were momentarily overwhelmed by the light that poured in, and she immediately shut them again. The bed was soft and comfortable despite the exertions it had endured, so Naiad decided to just stay there for a few more minutes and relax.

Her limbs felt like jelly anyway, so moving was out of the question. However, the more she examined herself, the more Naiad realized that her body was feeling the best it ever had. She was so relaxed lying there in Leon and Elise's bed that she almost felt weak, but her magic power flowed through her body faster than it ever had before, faster even than before she had started to feel herself gorgonizing. It wasn't like she was stronger, though, more like…

she couldn't think of the best way to put it, but 'healthier' would be fairly accurate to say. She wasn't yet pregnant, though, that much she could tell, despite feeling a heat in her abdomen proving that it wasn't due to lack of effort on Leon's part. Leon and Elise. Naiad's thoughts turned toward them, and as the details of all they had done came back to her, she could practically feel their hands upon her.

She couldn't help but squirm a bit as her bronze skin tingled in response, and she couldn't help but wonder what exactly was going on with her body. It was disconcerting enough for Naiad that she momentarily contemplated returning home and consulting with her mother about what was happening to her. She didn't think that this sensation was specifically bad, but the pleasure she felt being with Leon and Elise couldn't possibly be normal.

Naiad opened her eyes once again, and this time she wasn't blinded by the afternoon light leaking through the curtains. Her body was rapidly returning to normal, leaving her feeling a bit cold but returning strength to her limbs, so she sat back up on the edge of the bed.

"Finally up?" came Elise's voice from behind Naiad. The river nymph turned around and found both Leon and Elise still there. She had been so caught up in the afterglow that she hadn't fully processed that they were still in the room, but Naiad took it in stride. She nodded. Elise was still on top of Leon, but she shifted a bit, pushing herself off of Leon's chest and over to his side with his arm around her and using his left shoulder like a pillow.

Both of them were still completely naked, and this shifting put both of their bodies on display to the river nymph Queen. Naiad's eyes were still a bit hazy, but she drank in the sight with a wide smile on her face. She'd never before been so attracted to anyone, but in that moment, to her eyes, Leon and Elise were the two most perfect people in existence. Naiad couldn't focus well on the details, but she didn't even try. If either of them noticed her look, they didn't react to it.

Instead, Leon just held out his right arm to Naiad in an obvious invitation. After the trio's first time together, Naiad had awoken to find Leon and Elise cuddling and all-but ignoring her. It had been a cold and sobering end to what had otherwise been an incredible experience. This time, however, it seemed that Leon was inviting her over to him, and it took no more than a second or two of hesitation for Naiad to shamble over as gracefully as her still somewhat numb body would allow.

She took a position mirroring Elise's on Leon's right, with his arm around her and her head resting on his shoulder. She added to Leon and Elise's tangle of legs by wrapping her own around Leon's right, while she rested her right hand upon Leon's chest, right next to Elise's left. Naiad felt a bit awkward, lying there with Leon and Elise, but it was far more comfortable than she would've ever thought it would be. She had only just woken up, but it was so relaxing that her eyes couldn't help but grow heavy.

In Naiad's mind, there couldn't have been a better way to bring this second time making love—not that Naiad would've used that precise term—to an end. It was as warm and comforting an end as it could be. And then Leon proved her wrong with a long, tender kiss to the forehead that just about stopped Naiad's heart with how unexpected it was. Naiad gently smiled and unconsciously pressed herself against Leon even tighter in response, telling him exactly what that meant to her.

No words were said, but Leon pulled both Naiad and Elise a little bit closer and all three soon fell into a deep, comfortable sleep, with Naiad and Elise's fingers lightly brushing against each other's on Leon's chest.