It has been a month already, ever since Nanako and Lysette became acquainted with each other, and, thanks to Edward trying to avoid responsibility, recognized each other as a rival in regard to Edward's affection.
And the results of such actions, were almost immediate to bite him back, as it could be seen right on this moment...
"..."
"Nanako-san, don't you think you're being to clingy on Edward-sama"
"On the contrary, Lysette-sama. I believe you are the one who is being too clingy on Edward-sama"
"I am Edward-sama's fiancée, clinging onto him like this is one of his duties as his future wife"
"And I am Edward-sama's personal maid, so I must remain as close to him as I can"
"..."
"..."
The two were smiling at each other, but sparks between them could be easily seen, and for Edward who was right in between the two, it was particularly worrying to him, even though he wasn't showing his desperation on his face.
"..." <Why?... Why the heck I'm not having a headache when I need it the most???... When I'm going to sleep, I have a headache, when I need to concentrate I have a headache! But when I want to ignore something, suddenly my headache disappears! Why god!!!>
That's right, Edward's mind was at peace if you didn't count his internal screaming, right now. And because he didn't have a headache it was particularly hard for him to ignore the two beauties hugging his arms with their grips getting ever so tighter as they continued on their attempts to force the other from letting go of Edward.
But because Nanako and Lysette kept pressing themselves ever closer to him, it gave Edward something to drift his mind towards.
"..." <On my right, I have the soft sensation of Nanako's well-developed chest that is only held by her uniform. On my left, I also have a soft, but more firm, sensation of Lysette's chest, held not only by her clothes but also by a bra. Considering their ages and upbringing, their similar softness, and relative sizes... ... ... Lysette-sama and Nanako both have a D or E cup!... ... ... Calm down me, calm down me, calm down me, calm. Down. Me!>
For a short time, Edward's strategy of thinking about Nanako and Lysette's chest did work on making him forget about his situation, but the longer he kept thinking about the bodies of the two girls he liked, his body couldn't help but show the according reaction, by slowly make something in his low countries to start rising. Considering his situation of being sandwiched by two girls, was the type of development that would end up with him getting hurt in some way.
So now he needed to find something else to focus himself on, or to get him out of that situation before Nanako or Lysette noticed the bulge in between his legs. Then as Edward looked slightly down to check his lower safety, his hands were in the right position for giving Nanako and Lysette a little surprise
"... ... ..." <Should I do it? Will they hate me if I do it?... Ah! Screw it! Let's ball! I'm already in a bad situation, and nothing can make it worse!>
With nothing else to lose, Edward acted swiftly, and so he... Gently touched and rubbed the thighs of Nanako and Lysette.
"!?"
"!?"
When the two felt their thighs being rubbed, Nanako and Lysette both let go of Edward and moved away from him due to their surprise and embarrassment of being suddenly touched by Edward, who in turn, was keeping an unfazed expression.
"..." <Soft... Way too soft...>
But in reality, he was barely holding himself back from increasing the size of the bulge in his pants, but knowing that he wouldn't be able to hide it for long, Edward decided to do the most manly thing that he knew... Run away.
So, he got up from the large bench, and strategically positioning himself to hide his bulge from both girls as much as possible, he gave his farewells to Nanako and Lysette.
"Lysette-sama, Nanako, if you two excuse me. I still have some duties to attend to, I am truly sorry that I cannot accompany you two for more time"
And with that, he left the place as quickly as he could, without raising suspicions from both girls and once the door was closed, Nanako and Lysette were both left in the same place together.
"... ... ... A-ahem... Nanako-san"
Lysette who after quickly calming down from her surprise and embarrassment, called Nanako by her name.
"Ah! W-what is it, Lysette-sama?"
"... What do you think of me?"
"What I think of... You?"
"Yes, I want to hear what are your opinions of me, and do not hold back on your word"
"... Very well... Lysette-sama, I... Hate the way you are always clinging on Edward-sama, I hate the way you get along with him, I hate the fact that you are Edward-sama's fiancée, I hate the way that you get Edward-sama's attention, I hate the fact that you have Edward-sama's affection, and I absolutely hate the fact that you two are going to get married in the future..."
"I see..."
"But... I... I also think that you are a good person fitting to be by Edward-sama's side... And... And... I also think that you are the only one who can make Edward-sama happy..."
As Nanako kept talking, her voice was getting weaker, while tears formed in her eyes, clearly showing that she didn't like what she was saying, but at the same time, Lysette could see that there were no lies in Nanako's words
"... ... ... I understand... Nanako-san"
"Y-yes?"
"I also think you are a good person, and in this past month... I felt quite amused at our quarrels for Edward-sama's attention. Not only that, I could see that you truly love him, just how I came to fall in love with him as well"
"... ... ... I... Love... Edward-sama?..."
Hearing that, caused Nanako's tears to start falling from her eyes and she began to cry. Which in consequence, caused Lysette to panic and become worried due to Nanako's unexpected reaction, and due to her inexperience in handling situations like these, all that Lysette was able to do was offer Nanako a handkerchief to blow her nose on, and wait for Nanako to calm down.
After some minutes, Nanako had stopped crying and calmed down enough for her and Lysette to go back to their conversation.
"Are you feeling better now, Nanako-san?"
"Y-Yes, I am, L-Lysette-sama"
"That is great, so without any further ado... Nanako-san, do you love Edward-sama?"
"... ... ... Yes, I do..."
"Right, and do you want to be more than his personal maid as well?"
"... Yes... I want to be more than Edward-sama's personal maid"
"I see, and now... Nanako-san... Do you hate me?"
"!... ... ... Lysette-sama, even though I have many reasons to hate you... I can't bring myself to hate..."
"... Very well, then Nanako-san do you want to hear a proposal of mine regarding Edward-sama?"
"?"
"Fufu, Nanako-san... If you agree to let me be Edward-sama's number one... I will not mind having you as Edward-sama's second fiancée"
"... ... ... Eh!? I-Is t-that true, L-Lysette-sama!?"
"Yes, it is. And I am only saying this, because I quite enjoy having you as my love rival and the teas you make for me, Nanako-san"
"..."
Nanako stayed silent as she was unable to properly process everything that she was told by Lysette.
"So, Nanako-san? Will you accept my offer of becoming Edward-sama's second fiancée and then wife?"
"! Y-Yes, I-I'll gladly accept your offer, Lysette-sama!"
"Fufu, good choice. I am sure, Edward-sama will be very surprised to hear about this once all the formalities are finished, so Nanako-san make sure to keep it a secret from him, okay?"
"Yes, Lysette-sama!"
The two smiled at each other as if they were long-time friends, and not long after, Edward returned after having taken care of calming down his Excalibur. Although he noticed that Lysette and Nanako weren't trading sparks, he just thought that they had only made peace, as they both went back to hugging each his arms.
.
.
.
Later that same day
Lysette was walking down the corridors of her family's mansion, with her destination being her father's office, that she was sure he would still be in there dealing with some minor documents. Then once she was in front of the door she knocked on it to request permission to enter it.
*knock knock knock*
"Come in"
Having heard her father's voice, Lysette opened the door and walked inside his office, which surprised him for a moment, since he wasn't expecting Lysette to come to his office.
"Is something the matter, Lysette?"
"Not really, father. But, there is something I would like to request permission from you"
"Lysette... I am your father, you can ask me anything, and I will give it to you without any problem"
"Is that so? Great! Then I would like you to permit Edward-sama to have a second spouse!"
"..."
"..."
At hearing his daughter's request, Hamilton couldn't help but fall silent as he froze on the spot, while in front of him, Lysette was showing a bright smile that didn't fit what she had just said.
"... ... ... Come again? Can you repeat what you just said, Lysette?"
"Of course, father. I am requesting that you permit for Edward-sama to have a second spouse"
"... ... ... Why are you the one saying this!? Shouldn't he be the one asking me that!?"
"Most likely, yes. But, in this case is that I promised my friend Nanako-san that I wouldn't mind having her as Edward-sama's second spouse"
"..."
Yet again, Lysette's father fell silent as he was unable to comprehend why his daughter didn't mind her fiancé getting a second fiancée and even less comprehensible, why she was the one endorsing it.
"... ... ... Does... Sir Edward about this?"
"Not at all, and I pretend to get Sir Oliver permission after you agree to my request. Then father, do I get your permission to allow Edward-sama to have a second spouse?"
"Well..."
Hamilton wanted to deny it since he didn't think it was right, but the scene of his daughter making big round eyes like a puppy in front of him as she asked, made it very hard for him to say no. But he still endured it and made his decision, he would say what needed to be said!
"... Sure..."
"! Thank you very much, father!"
... Or not, Hamilton easily gave in to his daughter's request.
.
.
.
It had been a few weeks, since Lysette's last visited Edward at his family's mansion, and today was a relatively more livelier day at the manor than usual. And that was because, everyone was commemorating the anniversary of the orphans, "recruited" some years ago to work at the manor without any salary aside from food, beds, and clothes.
As for why, all of the orphans' anniversaries were on the same day, it was because none of them knew their real birthdays, so at Edward's suggestion they just lumped everyone's special date on the same day for simplicity's sake.
And as had become tradition, Edward would be the one handing each of the orphans a simple present, that he thought they would like, and that had a cheap cost, since even here, Edward couldn't bring himself to make large spendings. But different from usual, today there was someone else who was also giving presents to the orphans.
"Fufu, this is more amusing than I thought"
"You think so, Lysette-sama?"
"Yes, although I do hand birthday gifts to my friends during their birthdays. It is not as fulfilling as this one due to all the rules we need to obey"
"I see, well I am glad you are enjoying it"
"Yes, and also... (This makes me think about how our future children would act on their own birthdays)"
"Did you say something?"
"Just that the interns' reactions to their presents is really amusing to see"
"I see... Ah! Nanako, it's time for you to receive your gift, is it not?"
"Yes, Edward-sama... And thank you as always for giving me and my siblings such a good life"
Nanako bowed down as she felt herself getting emotional as she usually did during this day.
"Don't mind about it, now as usual, it's not much but I hope you like it all the same, Nanako"
Edward handed Nanako a bouquet of pretty flowers, just like how he had done in her previous birthdays.
"Thank you, Edward-sama. I'll make to take great care of them, and now I know why my chest feels warm whenever I receive them from you, Edward-sama"
"?"
"Now, Nanako-san. Today I also have a gift for you"
Lysette, who was feeling a little bit jealous at the nice atmosphere between Edward and Nanako, decided to go forward and hand Nanako a paper envelope.
"Thank you, Lysette-sama... Can I open it now?"
"Of course, and Edward-sama I am sure you will feel surprised as well"
"?"
Having received Lysette's permission, Nanako opened the envelope and then took out the folded paper inside, unfolding it she saw that it was a document, that thanks to the lessons given by the head maid Camilla, she was able to read.
"!"
"... *Nods*"
Seeing it, Nanako looked at Lysette in surprise, who remained quiet as she gave a confirming nod back to Nanako. Then Nanako's face began to brighten up even more as she felt really happy.
"Edward-sama! Although, I am still inexperienced. Please, take care of me from now on!"
"Eh? ! Hm?"
Edward felt really confused at what Nanako just said to him, but then Lysette handed another envelope, but to him this time, which he picked up and immediately opened, and when he saw the contents of the paper inside, he made a surprised and extremely confused face.
"L-Lysette-sama?"
"What is it, Edward-sama?"
"W-Why am I only hearing it now... T-That Nanako is now my fiancée as well?"
"Because I wanted to surprise you. Don't you like to have Nanako-san as your second fiancée?"
"..."
With that, Edward remained silent for a few moments as he felt Nanako's eyes filled with expectations from him to be particularly painful to his soul.
"... Of course, I love to have Nanako as my second fiancée, just as I love to have you as my first fiancée, Lysette-sama"
"I-I see"
Lysette couldn't help but blush at Edward saying that he loved her, albeit indirectly, but Nanako on the other hand.
"I-I also l-love you, Edward-sama!"
"H-Hey, that's not fair, Nanako-san!"
She immediately gave Edward a tight hug with a happy face, with Lysette in response also hugging Edward as she protested against Nanako taking the initiative.
Around them, the actual servants of the manor clapped at seeing Nanako that happy, while the younger orphans had confused faces, with the older ones having some understanding of what was going on between the three. As for Oliver and Camilla on the other hand...
"... Master"
"Yes, Camilla"
"May I ask you why did you agree to allow Edward to have Nanako as his second fiancée?"
"... Well... For one, Sir Hamilton had already agreed to it. Then the pressure Lady Lysette was showing me when she asked for my permission was terrifying... And lastly... Let's just say that... I'm in no position to refuse Edward from marrying a maid who's close to him"
"Hehe, I suppose the apple doesn't fall so far from the tree, am I right... Dear husband?"
"..."
Camilla just smiled and using the opportunity that no one was looking in their direction, she hugged Oliver's arm, while he simply looked away and scratched the back of his head.