Building a Harem in a Noble House-Chapter 90: Let’s Make House May Unbreakable

I nodded along, my gaze dropping to the map without really seeing the lines and circles. Isobel’s plan made perfect sense. It was practical and efficient, the kind of move you’d want your Advisor to make on your behalf. We couldn’t afford weak links when the ever-present that is Jolyne existed. We needed warriors now, not raw potentials who might fold under the first real pressure.

Still, as the conversation hung in the air, my thoughts spiraled inward, away from the table and back into my own mind. I saw Meredith, the tall woman with the resplendent armor and bejeweled claymore. The hardened woman who taught herself to smile again. The woman whose final moments were spent saving Lyra and me from an engaged Demon Queen.

I saw her again, at a different time, sitting at our camp. She told us she loved us. Told us that we were her first human friends. She’d laughed at that, even as she died from the unfortunate cost of her bond with her Life Warden with the silly name, Colonel Charcoal–the only indication there was something warm underneath all that armor.

Meredith was close to me. Dear to me. Not as close as Lyra, of course, but not far off, either. Whether she’d intended to or not, Meredith had become an inspiration to me. I’d picked up so many habits from her, learned so much about myself through my time with her. We’d both been orphans, both went unadopted and aged out of our orphanages for some reason or another, and... we both still cling to the pain that was left us with in our own way.

Except I got to move past it in time, something that was solidified by my union with Isobel. Meredith, meanwhile, hadn’t. Every time she’d gotten close to moving on, she’d died, only for Lyra and me to be beaten by Jolyne and her forces and returned to our 25th year, where every trace of Meredith’s progress was undone by the reversal of time.

What would she be right now? Would she be angrier? She’d been tight-lipped about her time as a recruit. Whatever her "breakdown" entailed was enough for her to wipe the entire time period from her memory. By not seeking her out, was I allowing her to go through such a traumatic experience when she didn’t have to?

That couldn’t be. That wouldn’t be. I wouldn’t allow it. She was too important to me, too dear to me for that to be something that I considered. We’d gone through too much together. She’d been there for me during the darkest times of my life. Through the most difficult battles, the most heart-pounding victories, and soul-crushing defeats. She’d watched me lose, I’d watched her lose. She’d watched me cry, I’d watched her cry. She was a dear friend.

She was... someone I loved, I realized. Perhaps not in the same way I loved Isobel, but in a different way. I’d loved her long before my heart knew what love was. Before it was willing to entertain the idea of it, rather. I still remember the pain of losing the friendship we’d forged. The surprising mix of joy and guilt that took me over every time after that I’d seen her. Lyra was no better, damn near breaking into tears every time we crossed paths with the girl!

Meredith was one of us. She was our friend. She was part of the family. She was the third member of the party, I realized.

Funny. Hadn’t Lyra wanted to start this run by recruiting Meredith. She always seems to be one step ahead of me in the weirdest ways sometimes. What if we had done that? If we’d found the girl wherever she was and pursued the Demon Lord? Odds were Isobel would be on her path towards joining her distant half-sister and we’d ultimately be working towards nothing, but we’d be a group again! There was a surprising amount of happiness I felt at the thought, being with Lyra and Meredith like I had been a few runs ago.

I made a vow to myself, right then and there. Should we cross paths by some stretch of fate, I was recruiting her, no matter what state she was in. Whether she was a powerhouse being clamored over by a host of Noble Houses or a weak 1-Star, she was getting recruited. She was Meredith. My dear friend, the one who’d stood with me when the world crumbled. I refused to leave her behind, not after everything we’d shared across timelines. Not when I knew deep down that if the roles were reversed that she’d do the same for me.

The room fell quiet for a long beat, the only sounds the soft crackle of Isobel’s paper as she adjusted it and the distant clatter from the kitchens where pots banged, and voices called out orders. Lyra was watching me closely now, her expression going slightly mischievous as she eyed me. She knew what I was thinking. Of course she did. We’d spent enough time together for her to not be able to read my mind in moments like this. Thankfully, she didn’t say anything, gracefully avoiding any sort of confrontation we could’ve had with an annoyed Isobel.

Speaking of Isobel, she tapped her fingers on the table, eyeing me with interest. "So, tryouts in two days," she said finally, her voice steady as she steered us back to the present. "We’ll vet the recruits thoroughly. After two rounds of interviews, one of you could spar against them to test their prowess. From there, we can have the strongest face off against one another and recruit the last man standing." She gave me a warm smile. "Perhaps your Meredith will show up? She didn’t belong to a House in your time, correct? In that case, maybe she’ll earn her spot fair and square?"

"Yeah," I muttered, forcing a grin that didn’t quite reach my eyes as I pushed the cheese plate away, appetite gone. "Sounds solid. Let’s make House May unbreakable."