“Gehenna!!! Are you blushing?!?!” 

“N-No! Sh-shut up!” 

“Blushing and stuttering?! You. Are. Adorable!”

The gorgeous demon empress's face adopted an expression that was almost serious and she stood with a defiant posture.

“I am the Black Flame Empress Infernos! I am not adorable!” 

“Uh-huh. If you say so. If I didn't know any better I'd think you were a schoolgirl with a crush.”

Gehenna tried looking angry, but the redness that was creeping across her face even more profusely than before was all the proof I needed to know I had hit the nail on the head.

“I thought you were ‘beyond such things…’ or was that just a front to deny how you really feel?”

Suddenly I felt my chest tighten as I considered the implications of the words that had just left my mouth, and I realized that for as much as I was teasing her I genuinely liked the idea of Gehenna having feelings for me.

Oh shit. What had I gotten myself into? Was I having feelings for Gehenna? An NPC in a game? True, she was a fully self-aware AI, but… Did that change anything? Did it mean her feelings or my feelings were any less real? What would-

“Before you delve so deep into thought that your brain ceases to function, I think it best we move onto… more serious topics.”

I personally thought the topic of Gehenna falling in love with me was pretty serious, but I understood her meaning well enough. I nodded and she continued.

“I do not know how we are going to make this Realmshift work in our favor. I think I will confer with my generals and we’ll see if we can’t come up with something that will take into account the opposition’s willingness to destroy their own Realmstones. I suggest you confer with your clan to see if you come up with any ideas as well. As far as my declaration of you as my successor and you eventually replacing me… We need to take measures to ensure that you are properly educated on the inner workings of our political system. I’m sure your retainer can help some in that regard, but I would also like to send Joe or one of my other generals to your castle to give you some assistance. They can also help with your combat training like we had discussed earlier.”

“Wait… Joe? Who the fuck is that?”

“You… You just had sex with him and you didn’t know his name?”

“His name is JOE?! What kind of name is that for a demon?! Joe?! That’s so… boring!”

Gehenna arched an eyebrow but I could see a faint smirk on her lips.

“I will be sure to tell him your thoughts on his name. His name aside, he is a shrewd leader and someone I rely heavily on to keep the other generals in line. He knows the ins and outs of how things work behind the scenes, and I have no doubt he will be invaluable to you as well going forward.”

I nodded but was still amused at the idea of that demon man with the intense sexual aura being named… Joe. Average Joe… How fucking fitting.

“With that settled, let’s discuss the consummation of my allegiance and what exactly it will mean for you to assume my mantle.”

My brain was immediately distracted by thoughts of ‘consummating’ anything with Gehenna, and she could see the look in my eyes as if I was wearing a sign that said “DTF.”

“I don’t mean the actual act of it, Allie. I mean what will happen afterwards. When I claimed the title for myself… the changes to my body were… dramatic. To say nothing of the power afforded by it.”

I smiled at hearing her call me Allie again, but I also considered what she had said about me transforming.

“I’m no stranger to transformations at this point, Gehenna. Although I will admit I’ve quite grown fond of this particular body since it's basically the same as my human one… minus the demon aspects anyways.”

Gehenna surprised me again by averting her eyes and blushing slightly. She cleared her throat a few times to regain her composure. Before she could change the topic again, I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest.

“Oh no you don’t! You are not going to pretend like that didn’t just happen!”

“I d-don’t know what you m-mean!”

I merely glared at her and she sighed deeply and shrugged.

“What do you want me to say, Allie? You are a beautiful woman. I would have to be blind to not see that. And the fact that I am looking upon something that is close to the real you…”

She trailed off and I looked at her expectantly. When she merely blushed even harder I gave her a warm smile and nodded for her to continue.

“UGH! You’re not ready! We can’t do this yet, Allexus!”

And just like that her walls were back up. I could see the hard lines in her face had set and the blush on her cheeks had faded.

“What do you mean I’m not ready?! Yeah, I don’t know the politics to save my life, but with you by my side I can figure that out as I go. That’s my standard operating procedure. ‘Make it up as I go.’ It’s worked to get me this far.”

She growled and knitted her brows as she stomped closer to me. She was slightly taller than I was, and she put a finger in my face dramatically as she spoke.

“You.. are so… damn… infuriatingly…  perfect!”

With that, she pulled me into another mind-blowing kiss that sent my head spinning. I pressed my body against hers and she moaned into my mouth as she felt my hands on her face. Before I could do anything further, however, she pulled away slightly, waved her hand to summon a portal behind me, and shoved me backwards into it. As I fell backwards I thought she was sending me back to my clan to get out of this discussion, but as I drifted through the swirling black portal I saw her moving forward to come with me.

I let out an oof sound as I landed on my back against a plush bed. I had only a second to look around and see that I was in Gehenna’s bedroom before she stepped through the portal. In the fraction of a second she was out of my sight, she had completely removed her clothing. She sauntered towards the bed and then slowly climbed up without breaking eye contact with me. Her golden eyes were half hooded with lust and they glowed slightly in the dim light. She straddled my hips wordlessly and then merely stared down into my eyes. I tried to sit up to kiss her, and she placed a hand on my chest and forced me back down.

“Let me speak, Allie. I can’t do this if I don’t get this out.”

I nodded and gave her a curious smile. I could tell she was considering her words carefully and then she sighed and pursed her lips.

“I made a commitment to have your betrothed with us when we do this. I do not go back on my pacts. Are you able to summon her to your side from this distance?”

My heart was slamming in my chest upon hearing the words but instead of saying anything I just opened my minion menu and selected the portrait of Emelia. I waved my hand in front of me, but grunted in irritation when nothing happened. Gehenna held her hand out to the side and another portal opened besides the bed. She nodded for me to try again and I waved my hand and visualized my fiancée standing next to the bed. The air shimmered a few times and she appeared looking completely shocked at the sudden change of scenery, but smiled as she saw Gehenna straddled on top of me. I looked into my future wife’s face and she gave me a huge smirk as she looked from me to the demon woman on my lap. As the portal behind her snapped closed,  I could see her eyes focus on the naked curves of Gehenna’s body and she unconsciously licked her lips. I laughed softly through my nose before I tried getting her attention to what was about to happen.

“Hey babe. Whatcha up to?”

“I have completely forgotten. I was beginning to get worried since you’ve been gone for almost 4 hours, but I see you’ve been busy with other… things.”

“Lady Emelia, I must apologize to you for how this must appear. I nearly allowed myself to give into my temptation and forgo our agreement.”

“Given that my wife is still mostly clothed I feel your apology is unwarranted, Gehenna.”

Gehenna looked down at me and then back at Em with a slight blush.

“Ah. Well. Yes. The situation is a bit more… complicated than that I suppose.”

She gestured to Em to sit next to us on the bed and my gorgeous Snow Demon wife eagerly jumped up and sat very close to my side. She leaned down to kiss me on the lips before reaching out and running a single finger from Gehenna’s wrist up her arm. The pale demon woman shivered before laughing weakly.  

“As much as I enjoy your touch, Lady Emelia-

“Just Emelia. Or Em. You don’t have to use any sort of honorific. Actually, please don’t. It makes me feel weird.”

“Emelia, as good as your touch feels, I need to make a confession to you. When I made my initial offer to your beloved, it was done with the intent of allowing her to corrupt me, gain my allegiance and my title, and because I wanted to have sex with her. When you gave the condition of joining us, I was even more enticed by the opportunity to bed both of you. But now… Now this isn’t just about sex and Allie corrupting me anymore.”

Em’s eyebrow rose at hearing my real name on Gehenna’s lips and she looked from me back to her as she began to understand what was happening.

“Go on…”

“Umm… Right. Uh. I feel like… No… That is to say… umm…”

“You’ve fallen in love with her?”

Gehenna blushed from the mounds of her perky breasts up to the tips of her pointed ears. I could hear her heart hammering in her chest and couldn’t help but smile as Gehenna looked up at Em and nodded once. My fiancée looked down at me and raised an eyebrow.

“And how do you feel about Gehenna?”

Although I had anticipated the question, I still didn’t have an adequate response because even I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to feel. Did I love this woman? Not like I did Emily… But… fuck. This was so fucking complicated. I was supposed to be the one who had experience with polyamorous relationships, but this was entirely new territory for me. I could feel both women’s eyes staring at me waiting for an answer, and I could see the look of worry on Gehenna’s face only growing more and more the longer I remained silent. When I waited another half a moment, she gave a disappointed sigh and started to move off of me.

“Ah. I see that my feelings are-”

I sat up suddenly, wrapped my arms around the naked woman, and pressed my lips to hers before pulling my face away just enough so that I could speak.

“I feel the same way about you, Gehenna. It’s just… complicated.”

“Why?”

Both Gehenna and I turned towards Emelia with surprise as she spoke the single word. She laughed softly and gave us a warm smile.

“It doesn’t have to be complicated. Gehenna, do you have any interest in interfering with my relationship with my wife?”

Gehenna shook her head adamantly and wore a fierce expression.

“Never. I would die a thousand times before I let that happen.”

Em stroked my cheek gently and gave me a loving smile before looking back up at Gehenna.

“Allison Raynier is mine. No one is allowed to come between us. Ever. But Allexus or… Allie? She is not mine exclusively. And I don’t want her to be. Judas explained a bit of what was likely happening while she was away, and what it would mean for her to become the empress. It’s… a huge deal. I don’t fully understand everything, but I know without a doubt she is the right person for it. I may still have unwarranted feelings of jealousy about some other woman loving her and her loving that woman in return, but at the end of the day, I want her to be happy. This may be just a game, but you are an AI with fully formed thoughts, feelings, and opinions. So… if my future wife has fallen in love with a powerful, confident, and absolutely goddamn gorgeous demon woman, who am I to refuse her happiness? As long as she doesn’t shirk her responsibilities to me, she can have as many demon wives as she can handle.”

I was stunned into complete silence by my fiancée’s words. I had not expected her to say even a fraction of that, and I had absolutely no clue how to respond.

“You both look adorable with your mouths hanging open like that… but may I suggest a better use for them?”