The Villainess Will Live a Good Life

10. Play Nice

Kaito had long since gotten used to his cub's peculiarities, but sometimes, she would surprise him. Kaito did not believe another female existed who would be happy that their male could sever their bond easily. Sighing, Kaito accepted that his points would not sway Nana.

Once the two of them finished the conversation, Nana had to wonder... Was she supposed to ask Zen or him her? There was never a definitive set of rules for this usually, but would their positions affect that choice? Kaito did not have that much info on royal mating practices, so Nana would have to work up the courage to ask Zen.

Then again, she was getting pretty ahead of herself. The first person she had to talk to was not Zen, but Amil. The two males did not have the best impressions of each other. If that stayed as it was, Nana would no longer consider Zen as a potential male.

Nana sighed and resolved herself to future, awkward conversations. It was necessary and had to be. Nana kept repeating that in her head. She would do it sooner than later. Nana didn't like the extra stress and wanted to dump it off her shoulders.

Nana wasn't really scared of Amil's answer. Her attachment to Zen did not go far enough that she couldn't walk away now. If Amil had an issue with him, that would give her the perfect excuse to say no... She should not allow a male to influence her decisions like that, but she couldn't tell Amil to suck it up either. That felt wrong to her. Amil did know that Zen was coming around more often, but he didn't say much to Nana. When Nana had the opportunity to talk to Amil about it, she took it.

"Amil," Nana sat outside with Amil and watched the clouds build in the distance. "About Zen," Nana felt her heart skip a beat, "I know you don't get along great, but I want to hear what you think."

Amil's mood dropped. He never thought of himself as dense. He'd seen the way the two interacted. Nana looked like she enjoyed the other male's presence. "I... You will take him as your mate in the future?" he asked in a hushed tone.

Nana sighed and looked Amil in the eye, "You remember what I told you before?" Nana waited until he nodded. "I want to know how you feel."

Amil hesitated as he fiddled with his fingers. "I don't like him," Amil squeezed out the words, "but I don't know if I would feel differently had it been another male."

Nana blinked. Amil was... jealous? That was logical, but it isn't good. How would he feel when she added more males to her family?

"I can't not take more males Amil," Nana stressed. She really couldn't avoid that. Even if she didn't read how Elizabeth messed up some lives and ended others by trying to keep her monogamous practices, Nana had seen and experienced enough to know that only having only Amil will never work. Not for her and not for him.

"I know!" Amil panicked and raised his voice unintentionally. He brought his volume down and explained himself. "I know Nana. I do. I just got used to be the only male, besides your father, around you. I'm fine with him. He makes you happy."

Nana frowned. She didn't think she felt especially happy around Zen. They were exchanging banter more often. Zen did take her jabs and give them back to her now. Nana did enjoy that... Was that what Amil was talking about?

Nana spoke to Amil more on the topic. She made him aware that she had not discussed this with Zen yet. Amil seemed baffled at the possibility of him not wanting to join her family.

Nana chuckled at first, but now she wondered if he was right. The customs here were pretty clear-cut. If a male hangs around a non-family member female, they were either interested or harboring dubious intentions. Nana hoped she was a good enough judge of character to eliminate the second potential.