Criteria For Acceptance

Lucia blinked several times as she allowed Enyo's question to take root in her mind.

Even though she had been living her life on a more passive end, for some reason she no longer felt like remaining idle would be in her best interest.

She loved Taira.

And she knew just how special it was for him to love another person.

She wanted to be one of the only two women who got to experience something like that.

She couldn't stand the thought of him being taken away from her.

She couldn't stand to see random women looking at him with lustful eyes or daring to put their filthy hands on his immaculate body.

What right did they have for such a thing?

They didn't know him like she did.

They were not devoted to him like she was.

In her eyes they were entirely unworthy of not only his transcendent touch, but the breath in their lungs.

And she would be the one to correct their line of thinking on both.

"I would… I would never let anyone harm him, and I would never let anyone try to take him from me.. from us."

Enyo smiled at Lucia like a mother who was watching her baby take their first steps.

She got down on her knees in front of Lucia, and pressed their foreheads against each other.

"Then you have my blessing. I hope that your confession goes smoothly, and I can have a new sister."

"Enyo… thank you!"

The two buxom women hugged as Enyo patted the crying Lucia on the back.

Though the idea of sharing Taira had started to sting her just a little bit, there was also the feeling of an expanding family.

And though it was a new feeling, she did not dislike it.

Creak!

The door to Enyo's room was suddenly thrown open and Keran and Vermeil were revealed to be standing outside.

Though it was not as if she did not already know that.

"What about myself, Enyo?" Keran asked. "If I desired to confess to him, would you object?"

Enyo smiled wryly at the princess and shook her head.

"I do not believe I would as it wouldn't feel right since you technically came before me. But I will remind you that the man we love does not feel as he did in the past. If his love for you is never reignited… will you be okay with that?"

Keran bit her lip uncomfortably as an expression of pain crossed her face.

Because Enyo's question was not without merit, it hurt her to her core to imagine the scenario where she could not win back the affection of her beloved no matter how much she tried.

It was a very scary and heartbreaking thing to think about.

"I'm still new to this whole polygamy thing, but… what about me?" Vermeil asked shyly. "If I wanted to confess to him… would you be-"

""No."" Lucia and Enyo responded immediately.

"Oh come on! Why am I the only one you won't share him with?? Is it because I'm human??"

Enyo and Lucia giggled like they found her tirade funny.

The two of them looked at each other like they were trying to see which of them would explain the reasoning behind their rejection.

"I actually like you quite a lot, Vermeil. You're very sweet and fun to be around, and it's easy for me to forget that you are human." Lucia began.

"And I feel the same." Enyo added. "But the reason why I would not allow you to be with my husband is because you do not love him, you fetishize him."

"W-What??"

"You are enthralled by his looks and the fact that he is a vampire, but that is all. You see him as a dashing character from those bad movies that you are always telling us about.

And I won't lie and say that he is not that at times, but he is also a person. A real thinking and feeling person. What will you do when your image of him contradicts with who he actually is?

At his core, my husband is a simple and rather habitual man who is a homebody above all. Those are things that I, Lucia, and Keran all love about him and will never grow bored of even when we have been together for 100,000 years.

But you just see him as something exciting and sexy who is like your greatest fantasy come to life. And within a few years, you might grow bored with him and start looking some other source of excitement.

I will never allow my husband to be with someone like that. If you cannot devote yourself to him just as much as he would for you, or protect his life it is your own, I would rather kill you than let you lay a single finger on him."

Enyo's words hit like hammers and caused Vermeil to take a reflexive step back.

She was not expecting to be hit with such a structured and firm refusal.

Even going so far as to claim that she would rather kill the young girl than allow her near her husband.

It was more than a little heartbreaking.

"I-I thought we were friends…" she said as she started to cry.

In a turn she wasn't expecting, Enyo suddenly embraced the human girl and held her head between her breasts.

"We are the best of friends, Vermeil. You have become the most wonderful companion of mine that I can not imagine doing without."

"T-Then why would you say all of those things?!" She cried.

"Because he is my husband. And the vows that we have exchanged with each other demand that I spare him any unnecessary burdens, just as he would do the same for me.

And a relationship that is doomed to fail falls under the category of one of those burdens. You do not love him, and it is better that I make you aware of that now before it is too late."

Vermeil's deluge of tears slowed to only a trickle as she realized just what Enyo was trying to get her to understand.

And in doing so, she had to admit a truth to herself that she hadn't realized.

"I… do not know what it means to love someone, Enyo."

"I know, dear. It takes time, but you can discover it on your own. Go at your own place, ask yourself if eternity with him is something that you really want.

And when you have made your decision, come back and ask Lucia and I again. If we feel your conviction, then the three of us will go before Taira together. We'll see if he reciprocates your feelings, okay?"

"Okay…" she sniffled. "…I'm sorry for crying on your titties."

"Fufufu, it's alright, dear."

Enyo took a few more moments to console the blubbering human girl like some kind of maternal figure.

It seemed like the mood in the room was finally beginning to pick up when Enyo suddenly felt a jolt run through her body and she stared out the window into the distance.

"What's wrong, Enyo?" Keran asked.

"Nothing… husband has just broken through to the beast realm." She said with a smile.