Winter Break V

Golden sunlight filtered gently through the curtains, pulling me from the depths of sleep. As my eyes adjusted, the faint warmth on my face gave way to an undeniable realization.

I was surrounded—by three princesses, sound asleep in my arms.

'Heaven or hell?' I wondered, glancing at their peaceful faces. They looked so serene, the usual spark of competition softened into pure calm. For once, they weren't teasing, prodding, or plotting—just sleeping, and it was impossible not to feel a flutter in my chest at the sight.

'Last night was... something else,' I thought with a smirk. Hours of talking and teasing, of Sera's quiet comfort, Rachel's quips, and Cecilia's playful provocations. These characters I'd once admired from afar, separated by pages or pixels, were now flesh and blood, their laughter echoing in my ears long after we'd called it a night.

It had been over a year since I'd arrived in this world, but sometimes the sheer surrealness of it all still hit me.

'How lucky am I?' I mused. Three princesses—beautiful, talented, and somehow, in a twist of fate, genuinely fond of me.

There were worse ways to start a morning, though I wasn't entirely sure how I'd explain it if anyone walked in right now.

Right on cue, the door swung open, and in walked my mother. "Arthur Nightingale, it's already noon, and you still haven't—"

Her voice trailed off, and her eyes, which matched my own shade of deep azure, widened as they swept over the room, landing squarely on the three sleeping princesses in my bed. For a heartbeat, silence hung thick in the air.

Before I could even muster a word in my defense, she cleared her throat, turned with remarkable composure, and quietly exited the room.

I let out a long, suffering sigh. 'Did I really just set up a flag for myself?'

And as if the morning couldn't possibly get any more chaotic, the three princesses began to stir. Seraphina stretched first, blinking sleepily, while Rachel mumbled something incoherent and burrowed further into the blankets. Cecilia, naturally, woke with a mischievous smirk that only deepened as she noticed my expression.

"What's wrong, Arthur?" she asked, still half-lounging, looking entirely too pleased with the situation. 

"Oh, nothing. Except my mother just walked in on us." 

Seraphina sat up straight, her face instantly turning the shade of a sunset. Rachel bolted upright next to her, and Cecilia only laughed, absolutely unfazed.

"Well," Cecilia said, patting my shoulder as though consoling me, "at least your family gatherings will be interesting." 

I groaned, burying my face in my hands. This winter break was shaping up to be a test of endurance, patience, and my family's collective blood pressure.

Rachel twirled a strand of golden hair around her finger, cheeks as red as freshly picked apples. "Well, I mean…we are at that age, after all," she muttered, looking everywhere except at me.

Cecilia, never one to miss an opportunity, poked at my midsection, a teasing grin plastered across her face. "Oh, please—don't tell me you wore this sheer excuse for a nightgown without any 'funny ideas,' genius Art."

I gave her a look, arching an eyebrow. "Funny ideas? Really?"

But Cecilia's focus had gone back to prodding my abs, her grin faltering slightly as she continued her curious poking.

"Um…" she stammered, her face growing redder with every jab.

I chuckled, enjoying the rare sight of Cecilia flustered. Finally, she snapped out of it, glared at me, and hugged me my face in what seemed a half-hearted attempt to smother her embarrassment with two soft pillows.

"Hey, hey, Cecilia!" I laughed, gently prying her loose as I tried to breathe.

Cecilia finally let go, stepping back with a self-satisfied grin. "There, now we're even, Arthur," she announced, folding her arms with an air of triumph.

Seraphina, who'd been observing the entire scene with an amused, slightly long-suffering expression, let out a soft sigh. "The two of you really are incorrigible."

"Unfair, Cecilia," Rachel grumbled, promptly pulling me over to her side with a determined pout.

Thankfully, I'd learned my lesson from the earlier debacle and managed to avoid toppling over this time, keeping my balance as Rachel drew closer.

She met my gaze, a glimmer of challenge in her eyes, and then pointed, not-so-subtly, below her chin. "You know, in certain areas, I have my own…advantages."

I felt heat rise to my face and decided it was definitely time for a strategic retreat. With a quick, light burst of mana, I eased out of the bed and put some much-needed distance between us.

"Right then," I said, doing my best to sound composed, "I suggest we all get ready. It wouldn't do to keep my family waiting, Your Highnesses."

As I headed to the bathroom to gather myself, I could just barely make out Cecilia's soft laugh, Seraphina's amused exhale, and Rachel's muttered complaint.

After a thoroughly refreshing shower, I changed into fresh clothes and stepped out, grateful to find that the three girls had retreated to their own rooms to get ready. The air felt a bit lighter without the… let's call it the "friendly territorial disputes."

As I straightened my shirt, I caught the faint presence of three formidable mana signatures nearby—Ascendant-rank knights. Even the best concealment techniques couldn't fully mask that level of power from my senses.

Three Ascendant-rank knights, each keeping watch. That's a bit excessive, isn't it? There were only around five thousand such individuals in the world, so to say they're rare and highly esteemed would be an understatement. Their ranks alone suggested these weren't ordinary imperial knights; no, they were likely knight captains, sent by the Slatemark Imperial Family to guard the three princesses.

I sighed, adjusting my collar. 'So, my winter break now includes elite chaperones.'

Knowing the knights were stationed nearby brought an odd sense of security… or perhaps just the grim hope they'd not report every last detail of this little holiday arrangement. 

If Alastor Creighton, Mo Zenith, or Quinn Slatemark were to find out about the princesses… well, let's just say I didn't fancy myself the main course of an inquisition.

For the sake of my sanity, I pushed the thought aside and headed downstairs for lunch. When I entered the dining room, I found the three girls already seated with my parents and Uncle Chase. 

I paused. 'How on earth had they managed to get ready before me?' I glanced at them, and Cecilia shot me a sly grin. 

"Took you quite a while to make yourself presentable, didn't it, Art?" she teased.

"Quality takes time," I shot back with a grin, sliding into a seat between Rachel and Seraphina, while Cecilia's gaze grew momentarily tragic, as though she'd lost some unspoken battle.

As I caught my parents' eyes, however, they all seemed to look pointedly away, as though examining the wallpaper had suddenly become riveting.

'What exactly did I miss before I got here?' I thought, eyeing the three princesses and my family members with mounting suspicion.

"So, how's everyone's morning been?" I ventured, hoping for a clue.

Count Chase cleared his throat, clearly struggling to suppress a grin. "Oh, enlightening, Arthur. Absolutely enlightening."

I sighed, trying to feign nonchalance, before glancing over at Rachel—only to catch myself gawking.

She tilted her head, eyebrows raised as I continued to… well, "examine" her, not that I could exactly explain my staring. 'Focus on the core,' I reminded myself. Rachel's mana core had developed remarkably, almost startlingly so.

'At this rate, she'll complete the second stage of Integration in a couple of months,' I thought. 'Just in time for the Field Trip.' From there, reaching Integration-rank by midyear was no stretch of the imagination. Considering she'd only hit White-rank four months ago, progressing to Integration in under eight months was phenomenal.

Lucifer took over a year to break through White-rank's strange barriers; its properties defied easy explanation. Then again, Rachel was slightly older, her body more naturally aligned with the breaking down of her mana core, which made her transition easier. It'd taken me around eight months too—though that included the month I'd spent in a coma, and I'd used Astral Convergence to help things along.

'Wait… if Astral Convergence could speed it up even more for her…'

"Art, you're staring a bit too much," Rachel murmured, bringing me crashing back to reality. Her soft tone couldn't hide the smirk she barely suppressed as she held my gaze.

I cleared my throat, suddenly aware I'd been staring a bit too long—and perhaps not entirely at her core. "Just… considering training ideas," I muttered, quickly turning back to my food, all too aware of the bemused glances from the three adults across the table.

'Fine. Focus,' I thought. I decided to check Seraphina and Cecilia's cores while I was at it. 

'Hmm.' Both were nearing the final stage of Silver-rank. At this pace, they'd each hit White-rank right before the Field Trip—a leap that would give them an impressive edge.

"So, are we all settled in?" my father asked casually, with the air of someone who'd seen enough peculiar dining companions to know when to let things slide. 

Seraphina looked up with a polite nod, and Cecilia, with a playful smirk, replied, "More than settled."

I caught Count Chase hiding a chuckle behind his cup as I sighed. Just the beginning of winter break, and I already felt like I'd earned a promotion in patience.