As I went through the week, I worked on crossing things off the list of stuff I wanted to when I got out of the dungeon. I hunted in the dungeon with Cecilia and Byleth and we cooked a meal together.

After the first day, Byleth began sleeping in the same bed as Cecilia and I. Sometimes, the [Lust] version of Cecilia would wake up in the middle of the night and I got to have some fun kissing her. At other times, all of us slept through the night like normal.

I suddenly woke up in the middle of the night with Byleth and Cecilia next to me. Sleeping together like this and waking up next to them was a dream come true. Unfortunately, all dreams would eventually come to an end.

I gently pried off Cecilia’s hand that was grabbing my own and sat up. The mansion was quiet and almost everyone was asleep. It would be easy for me to lay back down, close my eyes, and run away. Instead, I shook Byleth awake.

“Wake up, Byleth.”

“Mmn, what is it?”

“I need your help.”

As expected of a girl I loved. She took one look at the serious expression on my face and instantly promised to help me. The two of us quietly got out of bed and headed to Byleth’s room. Without Cecilia’s [Chastity] skill to squash my desires, I found it hard to look at Byleth’s sexy nightgown.

I had Byleth gear up for war while I put on the school uniform. After our brief detour, the two of us walked down the empty hallways of the mansion together. My feet stopped in front of a large painting.

“I know you are there. Let us in. We need to talk.”

The hallway was empty to all of my senses save one. The soul sense I had gained from [Ki IV] clearly picked up the presence of a certain individual hiding here.

The world suddenly changed. Day replaced night and the dark hallways of Cecilia’s mansion was replaced with a shining castle in the clouds. A man was sitting at a table at the top of the tallest tower.

A chilling wind tried to steal away my body warmth, but the fire running through my veins was more than enough to keep me warm. The man in front of me needed no introductions. In fact, my companion shouted his name in anger.

“Aurelius!”

Aurelius Snowlight, Cecilia’s father, sat his teacup down and looked at the two of us in disdain. The full pressure of a peak level 80 Epic crashed down on us.

“I’m amazed that you two dared to show yourselves in front of me without Cecilia to protect you.”

[Instinct] screamed that I would die the instant I tried to do anything. I ignored my instincts and spoke up.

“I wanted to see you again and I didn’t want Cecilia getting in the way of our discussion.”

Ah, I lamented to myself, I was doing so well. Alas, my biting cold voice was back. It turns out I wasn’t cured after all.

“Heh. What could I possibly have to discuss with you? Could it be that you were too dumb to realize that I nearly killed you?”

Anger threatened to consume me. This man was single-handedly responsible for both my trauma as Ash as well as my month long vacation in a dungeon. Even so, that was a score I would settle another day.

Byleth flared up by my side. I put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her from attacking Cecilia’s father.

“I hate you, but your daughter is more important to me than you are. What do I need to do to gain your approval?”

“What are you saying, Fang!? We don’t need this jerk’s approval to be with Cecilia.”

Byleth shouted at me. I ignored her and kept my eyes on Aurelius Snowlight. The air grew heavier and it was like spears were piercing my body every second. Even so, I stood strong and waited for my hated foe’s answer.

The silence dragged out for so long that I began to think Aurelius wouldn’t answer me.

“My daughter is a Legendary Archangel. Of course, she deserves the very best. Anything less than an Epic is unacceptable. Unfortunately, becoming an Epic talent is impossible for you.”

I smiled fearlessly at him. Unfortunately, it was a rather frigid smile.

“Why? Because there have only been 10 recorded individuals with an Expert class and a Rare talent?”

“No. I’m rather certain you will be the 11th Expert in history in your next reincarnation. The problem is that you don't know your place. Nobody has ever reincarnated as an Expert and advanced to the next level. All those who have reached Expert were forced to ascend to become Epic talents.”

I raised my eyebrow in surprise. I had a surprisingly high evaluation from my nemesis.

“I could be the first.”

“That is the only reason you still stand alive in front of me.”

There were many questions I could have asked. Why did he set a trap on the explorer card that Elizabeth would have used for the legendary Hero? Why did he hate Fallen Angels so much? Even so, I didn’t ask them. I didn’t care to hear his reasons. Nothing he could say would change my utterly abysmal opinion of him.

“Wash your neck and wait. The moment I become a peak Epic, I’ll find you again and make you regret treating Cecilia’s Fallen Angel appearance as a curse.”

“On the contrary, you are the one who should be worried. The moment I feel like you won’t be able to become an Epic will be the moment I remove you from Cecilia’s side. Permanently.”

Aurelius and I exchanged cold smiles with each other. We didn’t like each other, but we didn’t have to. In his own twisted way, Aurelius only wanted what was best for his daughter. All that mattered to me was that we had temporarily came to an agreement.

For the near future at least, I didn’t need to worry about Aurelius coming for my head. Byleth, Aurelius, and I exchanged a few more hostile barbs before he brought us back to Cecilia’s mansion.

Peace and quiet had returned to the world. It was like I hadn’t just been exchanging threats with a man who could easily kill me several times over again. Of course, my companion wasn’t so happy with my reckless behavior.

“What were you thinking, Fang!? If Aurelius was in a bad mood, you could have died!”

“I’m sick of spending my days running away from danger. By confronting him, I was able to buy myself some time and come to an agreement with him. I still plan to stay by your and Cecilia’s side even if I can’t gain his approval.”

This was nothing more than a temporary truce. Neither one of us planned to back down from our positions.

“Of course you will. Papa, Cecilia, and I will never let you go!”

To my great relief, I had regained my ability to smile brightly in front of the girl that I loved.

It was late at night. The two of us were the only ones left awake. That was to say, this was the perfect time to make an ‘accident’ happen.

I licked my lips and looked at Byleth with a hungry look. [Instinct] roared in approval at my plan. Unlike Cecilia, Byleth didn’t have any pesky [Chastity] skill to stop me.

“Fang?”

Byleth must have sensed something as she took a step backwards from me. That was no good. Seeing my prey run away from me only ignited my [Instinct] as a predator. I took a step forward, returning us back to our original distance.

“You need to take responsibility for making me this happy, Byleth.”

“R-Responsibility!?”

Byleth was just too cute. The threads of reason holding me back snapped one by one until only a single, tenuous thread was left. [Instinct] was a cruel mistress. It encouraged me to say the words that would certainly make me lose control.

"I love you, Byleth."

Byleth’s startled appearance under the moonlight was just too cute. A bewitching red blush appeared on her cheeks. The blood in my veins ignited. The last thread of reason snapped and I couldn’t hold myself back any longer. I pounced on Byleth.

—

Dammit.

Nothing happened.

[Instinct] got the better of me and made me rush my approach, which startled my prey into fleeing. As a result, I was left with no other option but to return to Cecilia’s bed and hug her to sleep.

As a result, I woke up the next morning with Cecilia in my arms. My senses picked up Byleth sleeping in her own bed in the room next door. If Cecilia was in my arms and Byleth was in the other room, then, who was it that was clinging to my tails..?

An intruder?

My days in Cecilia’s mansion as a 9 Tailed Fox Princess allowed me to become intimately familiar with the life forces and smells of all the residents of the mansion. The girl hugging my tails was obviously not one of them.

For one, her life force, or [Ki], was far greater than anyone else I had ever met. From that alone, I knew that she had to be a Beastman. All of a sudden, a sinking feeling welled up within my heart. It couldn’t be…

Cecilia stirred in my arms, interrupting my thoughts. Violet eyes greeted me, welcoming the new day. I never got the chance to return Cecilia’s greeting. A bright, cheerful voice interrupted me.

“Cecilia!”

The girl hugging my tail had vanished at some point and somehow forced her way between Cecilia and I. Lifeless, golden eyes glanced at me briefly before the girl returned her gaze to Cecilia and rubbed her cheeks against Cecilia’s cheeks.

The petite girl had black hair so dark that it seemed to absorb the nearby light. She had two cat ears and two black tails. That particular type of Beastman was so famous that nearly everyone in the world knew of them.

The dreadful suspicion turned into chilling certainty. This girl was of the Nightstalker clan, the same clan that was led by the Beast King. That was to say, this girl was the daughter of the Beast King. She was another princess like Byleth.

…And like Byleth, she had come here for one reason.

After getting her fill of nuzzling Cecilia, the cat girl knelt down in front of me in a very ceremonial and formal fashion. Her voice was as dead as her eyes, holding none of the joy that her greeting to Cecilia had.

“Nice to meet you, Fang. On orders of the Beast King, I have come to be your wife.”