Building a Harem in a Noble House-Chapter 78: Good Luck, Son.

And there it was. The actual question they had for me. Lord Greves was eyeing me with interest now, as was Laurence, and every other man in the bathing chambers. Who the hell did they think I was? The truth was that Isobel was the only woman I’d ever been with. Would they even believe that? Would they want to hear that...?

I shifted slightly, doing my best to maintain my nonchalant composure. "I see where you’re coming from, Laurence, but I don’t have any experiences like that."

"That’s fair," Laurence allowed. "But surely you’ve been with your fair share of women. I can only imagine the kinds of women who throw themselves at an Adventurer of your status."

"Plenty," I admitted. "But I haven’t slept with any of them."

"Not one...?" Lord Greaves asked. "Back during my single years, I certainly would’ve if they were attractive enough."

"Nope. Not one."

"So... are you a virgin...?" Laurence asked, a slight hint of concern in his eye.

I reddened. This was the last thing I would’ve wanted to talk about with them, but... since they asked... "No. Isobel’s... the only woman I’ve ever been with."

The chamber went dead quiet. You could hear the drip of condensation from the ceiling. Laurence’s eyes widened, and Lord Greaves froze mid-sip from a mug of herbal tea that I hadn’t even noticed he was holding up to this point. Even the butlers exchanged glances before looking away quickly. One of the paladins coughed, like he’d swallowed steam.

"Your... first?" Laurence finally managed, his voice wavering between confused and surprised.

"Yup," I answered easily.

"...How old are you, exactly?" Lord Greaves asked, leaning forward, his face a mask of genuine surprise.

"Twenty-five," I replied, biting back the real number. The shock rippled out again, murmurs from the paladins, a butler nearly dropping a towel.

"What the hell have you been doing all this time?" Laurence pressed, half-laughing now, like he couldn’t process it.

"Work," I answered simply. "I’ve been focused on the job. I didn’t want to get attached to someone just to die and leave them grieving. Didn’t seem fair."

That was a complete lie. The real reason was the exact opposite–my fear of losing them after a reset, throwing away everything we built together. They didn’t need to know that, though. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Lord Greaves nodded slowly, a warm smile breaking through. "Good man. Rare these days. I respect you even more now, Lloyd May."

Laurence grinned, punching my shoulder lightly under the water. "Yeah. Very good man. Damn near a saint." The tension broke a bit, chuckles echoing, but then Laurence’s expression turned serious, his voice dropping. "Since we’re... on the topic." He sighed, expression somewhat uncomfortable. "Isobel... she didn’t have many friends growing up. Control freak, that one. Always had to be the one calling the shots. She’d push kids into doing stuff they didn’t want–games, chores, whatever–or bully them till they folded. Only reason I survived was because Mother was there to moderate."

I listened, the steam curling around us like even it was waiting for Laurence to get to the point. The butlers had backed off to the corners, giving us space, while the Paladins pretended to soak nearby.

"I say that to say... we’re Greaves," Laurence continued, glancing at his father, who nodded grimly. "As you can probably tell, we... get around a bit. Isobel? You’re her first partner, so I can’t be sure if she’s the same way, but if she’s the same little devil I remember..." he paused. "Look. She’s not the cheating type, but she absolutely craves control. In everything. And you... you don’t strike me as the kind of guy who’d let her control you all the time. So, she’ll seek that dynamic elsewhere. Someone she can boss around. Keep on a leash."

My stomach twisted, the water no longer soothing. "You’re making it sound like she’s going to cheat on me someday soon."

Laurence held up a hand, quick. "No, no, no! Not like that. I just mean like..." He sighed. "Listen, Lloyd, the thought of this makes me want to fucking lobotomize myself, so I’m not gonna spend too much time on it, but... just... be mindful. I noticed the way she was eyeing that Savrah girl... same way she’d look at the local kids before tormenting them. Maybe when you’re out of here, you should bring a water bottle. A full one. I’m pretty sure she–" He started, causing my eyes to widen. "You know what? No. Nope! I’m done. I can’t. Just... Goddamn it. Ew.

I opened my mouth to ask what the hell that meant, but he was already standing, water cascading off him like a waterfall. "I’ve got a paladin’s daughter waiting for a romantic walk under the stars. I’ll be back to see you off tomorrow, Lloyd."

Lord Greaves started to say something. "I should probably start heading back, too. Meredith said she wanted to bring a few of her favorite maids over for–"

Laurence shot him a glare that could curdle milk and left, towel around his waist as he vanished through the archway to get dressed.

The old man laughed, sinking deeper into the pool. "Heh, yeah. He’s got a point: I don’t want to think about my own daughter that way either. But... if she’s anything like her mother..." He gave me a concerned look. "Good luck, son." He clapped my back, then waved off the butlers, who began handing out fresh robes.

I sat there, stunned, as the group dispersed. What the hell did any of that even mean? I thought I knew Isobel fairly well up to this point. Sure, I was aware of her love of being in control... especially as it pertained to the bedroom. But the way Laurence described it made it sound like she was a damn dominatrix! I hoped not, because that was a bit too far for me.

And what did all of that have to do with Savrah...? It was relieving to know that there wasn’t any sort of malicious plan to use her against me, but where did that leave me?

Whenever I saw her next, I’d get to the bottom of this. That was for sure.