I. The Lull and the Listener
Vael lay comfortably on Lady Serana's silk-lined cot, clean and freshly heartbroken. He was trapped once again, but in a cage of strategic, gentle care rather than rigid, mandatory adoration. The thought was enough to make him weep, but he settled for talking to his celestial torturer.
"Aethel, you promised me one hundred wives," Vael whispered to the ceiling. "But I explicitly asked for wives who weren't trying to kill me or kill each other over me! I didn't sign up for this level of possessive protection! I think the contract was misread. Was it 'one hundred wives' or 'one hundred people willing to martyr themselves over your toilet break?'"
He paused, sighing. "At least Serana is... nice. I mean, she's still a warden, but she's a polite warden. And she hasn't tried to kiss me without permission. I think she's the best one so far."
Suddenly, Vael heard a muffled CLANG and shouts from outside the lodge. His eyes widened. Oh no. They found me.
Vael's survival instinct kicked in. He realized that if he was found awake and perfectly fine, the wives would simply drag him back and argue over who gets the next watch. If he was unconscious—battered by the Rival Clan—they would be too busy fussing and fighting Serana to drag him anywhere immediately.
He instantly flopped onto the cot, closing his eyes, letting his limbs go limp.
II. The Rescue, The Ruckus, and The Ruse
The door SLAMS open. Astra, Lyra, Seraphina, and Anaya rush in.
Anaya, surprisingly, was carrying a large, rusted camp shovel. She attempted to swing it but instantly dropped it, collapsing from the weight. She didn't have the strength. Vael heard her frustrated shout: "Ugh! This is why I stick to logic, not muscles!" Vael inwardly chuckled, Okay, at least she's trying to fight for me.
The three wives immediately spot Serana.
"You villain!" Astra roared. "Where is the Consort?"
Serana calmly pointed to Vael on the cot. "He is right there. Completely overwhelmed by the trauma you inflicted. You drove him to me, and I am protecting his fragility."
Astra, Lyra, and Seraphina saw Vael's limp, silent form.
"See!" Seraphina wailed dramatically. "She tortured him! Look how still he is! He's barely breathing!"
Serana countered with cold, tactical fury: "Torture? I gave him privacy and clean water! You drove him to tears by making his most basic bodily function a military operation! You broke him; I merely provided a retreat!"
The argument escalated instantly. The five women (including Serana) began shouting, pushing, and magically deflecting each other's attacks.
Suddenly, a new figure burst in: Champion Sir Kaelan, the warrior Vael had charmed in Chapter 10. He was frantic.
"My Lord! I have tracked you down!" Kaelan rushed to the cot and scooped up the 'unconscious' Vael. "I must protect you from these aggressive females! Lord Vargus would never approve of this chaos! I shall take you to the Warrior Sanctuary!"
Kaelan ran out of the lodge, Vael securely tucked under his massive arm.
Vael's eyes snapped open an inch as Kaelan sprinted away. Oh, come on! A guy again?! First Grunt wants to kiss me, now Kaelan wants to kidnap me for safety?! I specifically said no boys, Aethel! This is not my genre!
III. The Divine Intervention
The fighting women immediately pursued Kaelan. Serana, however, was the fastest. She stopped Kaelan just outside the lodge.
"Stop, Champion!" Serana commanded. "You will not take my subject! We shall let him decide who gets custody!" Serana pointed to Vael.
Kaelan gently set Vael down on the ground, still 'unconscious.'
Serana: "He must choose, or the rivalry will never end."
Vael knew he had to stop playing dead. He had two bad choices: the suffocating, yet kind, wives, or the polite, strategic, new jailer.
Vael slowly sat up, tears pooling in his eyes (the real ones, this time). He looked at the four expectant women. He wanted to go with his wives; he loved Anaya and had a strange, bonded loyalty to Astra, Lyra, and Seraphina. But when he met their gaze, he saw not love, but a terrifying, possessive conviction that his every need was a military mandate.
He wiped his eyes. "I... I want to go with my wives," Vael whispered, the fear of their protective zeal making his voice crack.
Serana looked at him. "If you wish to return to your wives, why are you crying, Vael?"
Vael shot up, his voice firming: "I'm not crying! These are tears of joy! I'm so happy to be rescued by my... my true companions! I'm just overwhelmed with happiness!" He was shouting at the women, but his inner voice was screaming at his God: Aethel! Please, don't let them work together! Anything but a unified Harem!
FLASH!
A blinding pillar of golden light descended from the sky and enveloped the entire clearing.
Every warrior—the wives, Kaelan, Serana, and even the secretly watching Lord Kael (who instantly dropped his covert pose and stood stiffly in a salute)—was forced to their knees by the divine pressure.
The Light spoke, not with a voice, but with a powerful, resonating thought that filled Vael's mind:
"ENOUGH. THE CONTRACT SHALL BE MODIFIED. THIS RIVALRY IS COUNTERPRODUCTIVE. THE KING REQUIRES A SECURE, UNIFIED HAREM, PROTECTED BY A SHARED GOAL."
The light faded, leaving behind a glowing, shimmering Divine Barrier that surrounded the entire lodge and a significant portion of the forest. The barrier was not a prison; it was a Zone of Peaceful Negotiation.
Serana, Astra, Lyra, and Seraphina were no longer looking at each other with hostility. They stood side-by-side, united by the divine command.
Serana spoke first, her strategic mind accepting the new reality: "This is a Divine Mandate. The rivalry is over. We shall negotiate a unified security protocol for the Consort."
Vael, seeing his fate sealed, collapsed onto his knees and looked up at the sky. "You did this! You gave me a hundred wives, and now you're forcing them to be friends! You let me get run over by a truck once; now you're going to let me be loved to death by five unified, aggressive women!"
IV. Lord Kael's Silent Celebration
As the women began their new, unified meeting, Lord Kael—still hiding nearby—watched his daughter agree to join the enemy's faction and call Vael her "Consort."
Lord Kael's face was a mask of furious parental disapproval, but his inner thoughts were screaming with joy: A heir! I'm getting a grandson! My daughter finally found a man who made the gods intervene! He quickly ran off, eager to prepare a dowry.
Vael watched them negotiate his fate. He quietly made a final, desperate plea to his God.
"Aethel, my God. About that contract. The 100 wives? Can we make that... one? I think I can handle one. Ninety-nine is too many. Just one. Please. Just one, and I'll write you a thousand poems."
No answer came. The newly unified Harem looked at Vael, their eyes full of a terrifying, shared possessiveness.
Vael is now the sole subject of a unified, five-woman security committee. The chaos is over, but the true comedy is about to begin.