Zach entered the dining hall and bumped into Aquarius.
"Oh! You are here," she said with a smile on her face. "I sent guards to wake you up, but they said you weren't responding. So I thought I should check up on you since… You know, it's not appropriate for guards to enter someone's room without permission. But now that you are here, let's eat breakfast."
"Yeah…" Zach averted his gaze and thought, 'I can't even look her in the eyes.'
"Where were you, by the way?" she asked.
"I was… having trouble waking up…"
Zach walked to the dining table and noticed the sixth and Rilu weren't there.
"Where did your father go?" he asked as he sat on the chair beside Aurora.
"He is busy with his… well… Kingly duty and mama went for the tea party with her friends," Aquarius answered.
"I see…"
Aurora was staring at Zach with a curious look on her face as though she was seeking attention.
"Good morning!" she said in a loud voice.
"Don't yell. My head is still aching…" Zach said in a low voice.
"I am sorry I…" Aurora tried to apologize, but Zach stopped her by stuffing the bread in her mouth.
Zach then looked at Aria with a smile on his face and said, "Good morning, my dear wife."
Aria stared at Zach with a confused look on her face. She thought she was hearing things.
She averted her face to the side and thought, 'Only if you greeted me like that every morning.'
After a few more minutes, when they were eating breakfast, Zach asked, "So, what did you girls do last night?"
"We played games," Aquarius answered.
"And we also decided our plans," Aurora replied.
"What plans?" Zach asked with a curious look on his face.
"Aquarius is going to join us after two months, so I am going to take a note of all the beautiful places in the game and take her there to show the beautiful scenery of that world," Aurora replied with a grin on her face.
Zach knitted his brows at Arora and said, "Isn't that my job?"
"Hehe," Aurora giggled. "Aquarius and I have become best friends now."
"So you two are going to team up and then gang up on me now?" Zach scoffed.
"Not two, but we three," Aquarius quipped. "Why are you not counting your wife?"
'I don't think she wants to be included, 'Zach thought and glanced at Aria, who seemed interested in that. 'Okay…'
"Aria is my wife, so of course, she would be on my side," Zach remarked and glanced at Aria. "Right, my dear wife?"
Aria shrugged her shoulders and said, "It depends."
As they were all eating, Ruli walked in and sat in front of Zach.
"Hey, there, Aunt Ruli~" Aquarius greeted her and served her breakfast. "You are late today. Were you mourning for your dead husband all night?"
'She was celebrating it,' Zach uttered inwardly.
Ruli smiled at Zach with a flushed face and said, "I was having trouble waking up."
'Don't use the same excuse as mine! And don't say it while looking at me like that!' Zach yelled inwardly.
At first, Zach and Ruli were going to enter the dining hall at the same time, but Ruli suggested they shouldn't go together or the others might find it suspicious.
Of course, Zach thought about it too, but he didn't mind it. He had decided to tell the girls about last night anyway. But Ruli asked him not to tell them until tomorrow.
Apparently, there was a custom in the Sea Realm about the newly widows. Ruli didn't want her image to be defiled in her sister— the queen's eyes.
After eating breakfast, Aurora, Aria, and Aquarius stood up and prepared to leave.
"Wait, where are you guys going?" Zach asked while taking large bites to finish his breakfast so he could go together with them.
Aurora pointed her finger at Aquarius and said, "Aquarius has planned a tea party with her friends. So… we are going to have some 'girl' time."
"…" Zach stared at Aurora in disbelief and then turned to Aquarius to say something, but he sighed and stopped himself.
"Can we go?" Aquarius asked.
"If you have already made plans, I guess you should go," Zach sighed.
"Thank you!" Aquarius, Aurora, and Aria left, leaving Ruli and Zach alone.
Zach didn't stop them because Aurora was looking forward to it.
Maybe hanging out with Aquarius, who was a princess, reminded Aurora of her palace and lifestyle?
Zach leisurely ate the rest of his breakfast and started at Ruli after that.
Ruli caught Zach staring at her, so she asked, "What?"
"I still can't believe that we slept with each other," Zach said with a smile on his face.
"Then…" Ruli looked at Zach with an alluring gaze and said with a flushed face: "Want to do it again?"
"Uhh… are you sure? I am the one who killed your husband and made you a widow, remember?"
"You are the one who freed me from the prison. You are the one who saved me last night. And you are the one who made me realize the pleasure of being a girl." Ruli smiled and said, "You made me fall in love with you."
"…" Zach raised his brows and asked, "Seriously? You fall in love with me because we had sex?"
Ruli shook her head and said, "I fell in love with you at first sight when I saw you at the party."
"Oh?"
"At that time, I didn't know who you were. I didn't even know you were an outsider." After a brief pause, Ruli said, "But then I found out that you were going to be Aquarius' groom."
"I was sad, but I was also happy for Aquarius. Then, I found out that you were already married, so I let my hopes high again," Ruli added with a soft scoff.
"And then you asked me to dance with you?" Zach guessed.
Ruli nodded and said, "You know the rest."
"Well…" Zach pondered for a while and said, "I don't have any plans for today. So I guess…. We can have some fun?"
"Thank you for accepting my offer." Ruli smiled and said, "Please wait for me in my room. I will be there after I finish my breakfast and take a short bath to wash my body."
"I will go take a bath in the meantime too." Zach got up and left the dining hall.
***
Total players in the game- 904521
0 new players logged in.
55 players died.
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Author's Warning/ Note- The next chapter will be an (R18) chapter.