[][][3][][]

The next day, John went over the message again, this time taking the initiative to talk to the disembodied voice inside of him.

All the while keeping calm and struggling to keep the ever increasing lust at bay, his view shifting from normal to a pink hue then back.

"I can't choose."

"What do you mean you can't choose, your Highness?"

"What I mean is, what if I made the wrong decision? What if it'll cause my close friends their lives? What if the Arbiter's invitation is just a cover-up for something sinister? I don't like being kept in the dark about such things."

"Before you've made the decision, your Highness, you can imagine the possible outcomes but not the real outcome. It's useless to ask what-if questions when you haven't made your final decision. What you did yesterday was just considering the pros and cons of your own decision, but it's no use if you haven't made up your mind about it."

"Hmm...I understand. I need to think it over again before I can stick to a final decision."

"There's only two days remaining, you Highness. Don't pressure yourself into making any impulsive decisions. If I may be allowed to give you advice, then I recommend taking deep breaths and emptying your mind of unnecessary thoughts and mundane things and focus on the present."

"Yeah, I'll do that and take my time going over this matter."

While having his one-on-one conversation with the voice inside him, Marie was in a blissful mood, a tinge of red on her cheeks and upturned eyes and a radiant smile that captivated both boys and girls inside the classroom.

After his discussion with the voice inside him, he sighed, rubbing his temples in agitation.

Marie saw his expression and asked him if he was alright and if there's something she can do for him to make him relax.

"No, it's Marie. I'm having problems regarding a decision by someone."

"By someone? A stranger then?"

"Yeah, and I know nothing about them or their origins."

"Must be a suspicious one then? Was he a male or a female?"

"Impossible to tell since the stranger sent me a letter saying that they want to meet me two days from now in the park, just me, the stranger, and three others."

"Oh, the park near the intersection? There's a lot of people there especially in the afternoon so both of you would be exposed to the crowd. And what's this with three others?"

"They tell me I can bring three people to accompany me to the meeting place so I wanted to ask you if you would like to come along with me."

"Why do you need to ask, I would go with you, y'know? It's fine, and I'll tell Angelica and Janice too so that makes the three of us."

"That's great! Sorry if I'm bothering the three of you."

She shook her head in response and told him it's fine that he asked them to accompany him.

They talked about mundane matters for a while before their homeroom teacher made her presence known, signaling the start of class.

After school, the four of them met up near Chubby's Burger Place. only a few walks away from the school on the other side of the intersection, to make preparations for John's first meeting with the stranger.

While Janice went to the counter and ordered their food, he noticed Angelica yawning, covering her mouth with her hand, her pallor appearance signifying a lack of sleep.

"Hey Angie, are you alright? You've been yawning since school ended."

"Ha...huh? W...," she yawned again, rubbing her red sleepy eyes, "What d...o y...u mea...n?"

"You're not getting any proper sleep these days, Angie. Every time I see you at school, you're always snoozing either in the library or at the infirmary. You're not doing anything illegal are you?"

This jolted her awake for a few seconds, sweat forming on her eyebrows, her body trembling as if afraid that he knew what she was up to.

"Hahaha...what are you talking about? I'm not doing any...th.....i...ng....i..." She slumped on her seat, unable to finish her sentence as she dozed off, leaning beside Marie who had a shocked expression on her face.

"Did Angelica just..."

He just nodded towards her, with Marie conjuring a woolen blanket behind her. She wrapped the blanket around her and caressed her face, noticing her pallor appearance.

"What did you do?"

"What?"

"The blanket. You made the blanket appear out of nowhere."

"Oh that, it's a magic trick I've been trying to master. You know I'm interested in doing magical stuff, right? At least I got it down correctly."

Her answer made him ask even more questions, keeping it to himself since he had a inkling that this 'Arbiter' would be able to answer that ever growing list.

Seeing that John was still suspicious of her actions, she racked her brain for any excuse she could make to deflect his suspicion from her.

"If you don't believe me then I'll show you a new trick after your meeting so that I can prove to you that I've been practicing lot of magical tricks for the past few days."

His expression returned to normal, accepting her excuse even though it hasn't assuaged his doubts on what's happening around him.

As they ate their meals, the disembodied voice made his presence known once more, dying his vision with light shades of pink, his lust rising to the surface once more.

"Penny for your thoughts, your Highness?"

"Do you know anything at all about her magic? I'm absolutely sure that magic like that doesn't exist and the only magic I know are sleigh-of-hand-tricks, illusions, and using fake props that allow magicians to pass them off as 'magic tricks.'"

"As much as I want to tell you, your Highness, just ask the Arbiter regarding your questions about magic. I'm not at liberty to tell you information you need to know unless they've granted me permission to do so. You have to understand that King's Armaments like us are constrained from assisting our wielders until they've fully accepted their role as a Harem King. If you accept the role now, then I can give the answers that you seek."

"Hearing you say that is tempting, and I really want to accept your offer, but if what you say is true, then it means this Arbiter knows much more about this harem business compared to you. In that case, I would just put my faith in him keeping his promise of just explaining what I'm supposed to do as a Harem King and the responsibilities that come along with it."

The voice hummed in approval, satisfied with his answer.

"That's good. You know how to prioritize things and not take them at face value. Not only that, you also ask questions and do your best to get answers. A Harem King should not easily be swayed by their emotions nor be led purely by logic but must balance both so that he can manage his women well."

"Hmm...then the answer is clear. Even if I refuse it, this Arbiter would just send another letter until he meets me face-to-face. If that's the way it is, then so be it."

With a hum of approval, the voice disappeared, his vision returning to normal.

Janice returned to the table, pointing at Angelica's sleeping form, Marie telling her that she was tired and wasn't getting enough sleep for the past few days.

Once their order arrived, Marie gently shook Angelica on her shoulder, waking her up, before the four of them ate their food, doing small talk, and Angelica dozing off a couple of times before John told them to meet again tomorrow since she needed rest.

[][][][][]

The dull gray clouds hid the glittering stars as the night sky continued its advance, the bright glow of the full moon revealed in all its mysterious beauty.

A limousine stopped in front of a large Japanese estate, two men dressed in black tuxedos, black pants, black leather shoes, and wearing ear mics standing guard near the gate.

An elderly man with graying hair and gray eyes opened the door, where a beautiful half-Japanese, half-French girl standing around 180 cm. tall, C-cup breasts, with deep blue eyes and smooth pale skin  stepped out, her soft light blonde hair tied in a bun, a single strand protruding at the tip of her head, dressed in a V-line black dress going down slightly beyond her knees, a royal purple buckle around her slim waist, and wore a pair of black gladiator boots with gold embroidery.

"You've arrived safely, Miss Alice, and your parents would be happy to see you. They say it's urgent business and they apologize for harrying you in your preparations for leaving."

Her lips became thin lines, expressing her discontent at the explanation given to her by her chauffeur. 

"Of course, of course, mother and father are always busy, like bees zipping to and fro from one flower to the next. My mother rarely shows affection but my father treats me as a valuable treasure to be sold and traded, yet as the youngest daughter, I have a role to fulfill to my family so I'm here, at their mercy. I miss my friends and classmates, and now I have to start anew in this strange land with its strange customs. And yet they concern themselves with things that would benefit them at my expense! O, how blessed am I with such 'caring' parents!"

Her chauffeur merely raised his eyebrows, unable to appreciate her melodramatic spiel, a dullard who cannot appreciate the works of the poets.

With practiced ease, she donned a fake happy expression, eyes upturned, body language set in the picture of a daughter who can't wait to meet her parents.

Calming her nerves, she signaled for her chaffeur to go ahead and inform her parents of her arrival. He went ahead, glancing back one more time at her before going on his way.

"Very well, since it's come to this, shall we proceed?"

She proceeded to walk towards the lobby, moving with the grace of a beautiful goddess and the lightness of a fairy, captivating every single person she passed by.

Their hushed whispers and murmurings affected her mood but she didn't express it through her facial expressions nor her body language, the perfect picture of a prim and proper princess.

"I've heard that Master Renault is trying to find a match for her."

"So I've heard. Did you know that she refused the advances of the youngest son of the Duke of Ascario and slapped him in the face in front of his own parents?"

"Wait, so the rumors were true, then? That she didn't have any feelings for the youngest son and humiliated him in front of his parents?"

"That's right, that's right. I've also heard that sir Leo Hart, the eldest son of the prime minister, also courted her but she pushed him over a swamp and nearly got swallowed by a large crocodile!"

"Serves you right, you stupid dandy!"

Upon reaching the entrance to the lobby, two men dressed in black opened the door for her, which she acknowledged with a slight nod of her head.

Inside the lobby, seated on a red velvet couch, were two people with contrasting physical appearances. In front of them was a wide rectangular table, with a single polished wooden chair in front of her. The sides of the lobby were also filled with red velvet couches, one on each side, and a large bookcase filled with books, one on each side of the couches.

A door was located beside the bookcases, the one on the left leading to the dining room, the one on the right leading to the bedrooms, study, home gym, and the library.

"It's good to see you honey. I hope you had a safe trip."

The first person who greeted her was a beautiful woman in her early 40's who looked to be in her 20's, with curled long blonde hair, her eyes the same shade as her daughters, wearing a light pink nightgown and slippers. 

"It''s good that you're here since I can now proceed with our meeting."

The second person who spoke was her father, a man of above-average appearance in his late 30's with spiky black hair, dark brown eyes, and dressed in his gray pajamas, gray shirt and slippers.

She acknowledged both greetings with a nod and took her place in front of them, both hands on her lap, awaiting the same discussion she's been involved in for the past year.

An awkward atmosphere descended inside the lobby after she took her seat, both parties waiting for the other to open their mouths and begin the discussion.

In the corner of her eyes, she saw her restless mother stealing glances at her, sensing the awkward atmosphere between them.

Clearing his throat, oblivious to the atmosphere around him, he faced his daughter, a serious look in his eyes.

"Alice, you're already of an age where being engaged to a boy your age is common practice, especially with a family like ours."

She didn't react to her father's words since she knew his father's spiel by heart.

"I know you don't want this, but you have to understand. We need as much power and influence to ensure that our family is among the great families of the upper classes."

His wife shook her head at her husband's tactless remarks, sensing her daughter's trembling form in front of her.

"Your eldest sister, Charlotte, is already engaged to an excellent man, the son of a Davian senator, that will ensure that we have power in the government. That's why if you get engaged to a boy of similar means, then it will assure our prestige among the upper class inner circle."

"Now dear, that should be enough of your heartless thoughts towards our young daughter. You don't want her to be angry at you--"

"Is that how you think of me, father? Just a mere object to be traded like a commodity?"

Both parents were startled, her voice now having a tinge of anger, her temper ready to explode like an active volcano.

"All my life I've followed everything you told me to. All my life I acted like a marionette, danced like a puppet, and obeyed your commands like a loyal hunting dog. Yet, what do I get? This...This treatment of me as if I'm not a human but an ornamental piece, merely born to be displayed as a trophy."

'What are you talking about, I'm not--"

This time she suddenly stood up, knocking the chair behind her, slamming both her hands on top of the table, shocking her parents, her deep blue eyes now a stormy undercurrent that sent shivers down their spine.

"WHY AM I NOT FREE TO CHOOSE MY OWN LIFE? WHY DO I HAVE TO FOLLOW YOUR COMMANDS WHEN I CAN THINK BY MYSELF? YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW THE REAL ME, YET BOTH OF YOU CLAIM THAT YOU KNOW WHAT THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT ME? YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW MY ACTIVITIES, MY LIKES AND DISLIKES, MY HOPES AND DREAMS, AND THEY DON'T MATTER TO THE TWO OF YOU! DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU KNOW ME?!"

"Look, just calm down, dear, we're not--"

With a furious expression on her face, her eyes now a raging torrent of anger, she glared at her mother straight in the eye, making her flinch in fear.

"HOW ABOUT YOU MOTHER? DO YOU TREAT ME THE SAME WAY AS MY ELDER SISTER? SHE ALWAYS HAS A DEFEATED EXPRESSION ON HER FACE BECAUSE OF WHAT DAD IS DOING TO BOTH OF US YET YOU JUST SIT THERE, ACTING ALL PRETTY AS IF IT DOES NOT MATTER TO YOU! "

"HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT TO ME, YOUNG LADY! YOU SHOULD SHOW--"

"SHOW RESPECT? IS THAT IT? IS THAT REALLY WHAT MATTERS TO YOU MOTHER? DO OUR FEELINGS NEVER MATTER? YOU ALWAYS SAY THAT IT'S ALL FOR THE FAMILY, YET THE WAY I SEE IT, THE TWO OF YOU THINK IN TERMS OF MATERIAL GAIN AT OUR EXPENSE! HOW IS THAT ANY DIFFERENT FROM BEING TREATED LIKE ANIMALS BEING DISPLAYED AT A ZOO?! TELL ME!"

The shouting match between mother and daughter was heard all over the house and everybody froze in fear, nobody willing to take a look at the events that are transpiring inside the lobby.

A few minutes pass before Alice calmed down, tears streaming down her face, now trembling with exhaustion.

"I'm...sick of this...of this life. I hate being somebody I'm not...yet you don't understand...you don't understand at all...what I feel...what I really want...All I ever wanted was to be normal...to have friends who don't see me as a stuck-up rich girl but as an ordinary girl...to be treated as a girl and not as something to be exhibited like a rare treasure...Isn't that too much to ask?"

"Honey..."

She now faced them with a broken expression, an aura of despair slapping them in the face.

"I hate you...I hate the two of you...I wish I wasn't born with parents like you! You...you...don't treat me...us...as one of your own...we're nothing but commodities, right? To be traded and...and sold...you're the worst parents a daughter could ask for..."

She suddenly left the lobby, running towards her room at the end of the right corridor, grasping the walls for support as exhaustion overtook her, sniffing and wiping the tears on her face.

In the lobby, both parents were in complete shock, unable to comprehend that their youngest daughter would lash out like a raging hurricane at them.

"Dear...we...we've made a fatal mistake..."

"I know honey...we...I...screwed up badly."

They sat there for some time, absorbing everything that happened, before they held each other's hands and returned together towards their bedroom beside their daughter's room.

All the while the rain fell in a torrential downpour, droplets of water pattering on the roof of the manor.

[][][][][]

Inside a dark room, the only source of light an overhead lamp bolted to the wall above his head, sat a bald middle-aged man with a pudgy nose, round grey-eyes, and a paunch that spilled beyond his belt line, a wine glass filled with red wine on his hand.

He closed his eyes in deep contemplation, feeling the passage of the years deep down in his bones, the stress of adulthood finally making themselves known to him.

The room didn't have much in the way of furniture, with only two couches positioned on both sides flanking his seat, two doors, one on each side of the wall, and a large framed picture of a painting, a gold painted shield superimposed on a dull gray sky surrounded by seven stars equally spaced on its sides.

"The council wants the war between the Harem Kings to begin, but it's impossible unless the few remaining chosen  will accept the role without question. An unwilling candidate can only drag the others to the ground and must be persuaded by any means necessary."

Taking a sip of the wine, he kept his gaze on the picture in front of him, as if talking to some unseen power only he can hear.

"Don't worry, the Arbiters are doing their best to convince the few reluctant chosen to accept their destiny. Do not fear for every single chosen will have to prove their mettle against each other sooner or later."

The man received a grunt in response to his answer. 

"With regards to renegade harem members, then you don't have to worry since we're doing 'clean-ups' as of the present."

Satisfied with the man's answer, the unseen entity disappeared, leaving the man alone with his thoughts.

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Edit: Added an extremely minor detail.

Update 1: Added another minor detail.