Chapter 120

Chapter 120: Chapter 120

But now she’d just called him a dummy. And somehow, that shocked him more than anything that had happened in the dungeon.

"I—what?" Satou managed.

"You. Dummy," Lyra repeated, enunciating each word carefully. "You absolute, well-meaning, kind-hearted dummy."

"I... what did I do wrong?" Satou asked, genuinely confused. "I was honest with Jessica. I told her I cared about her but couldn’t return her romantic feelings. That seemed like the right thing to do."

"It was the right thing to do," Lyra confirmed. "If you didn’t have feelings for her. But Satou..." She leaned forward, her eyes intense. "Do you have feelings for Jessica?"

"Of course I do. She’s important to me. She’s—"

"No," Lyra interrupted. "I mean romantic feelings. Real romantic feelings. Not brotherly affection. Not protective instinct. Actual attraction. Actual desire to be with her in the same way you’re with me."

Satou opened his mouth to deny it, then stopped.

Did he?

He’d always thought of Jessica as a little sister. Someone to protect. Someone to care for. But was that all?

He remembered her smile when he’d praised her healing abilities. The way she’d light up when he returned from dangerous missions. How she’d cried when she’d confessed her feelings, looking so vulnerable and beautiful and heartbreaking.

He remembered the ache he’d felt, rejecting her. The way something in his chest had twisted when he’d seen her pain. The thought that had crossed his mind in the dungeon—if he died, Jessica would never know...

Know what?

"I..." Satou started, then trailed off. "I don’t know. I never let myself think about it. She’s Jessica. She’s supposed to be my little sister. I’m supposed to protect her, not... not..."

"Fall in love with her?" Lyra supplied gently.

"I love you," Satou said, looking at Lyra directly. "That’s not in question. What we have, what we’ve built together—that’s real. That’s important. That’s—"

"I know," Lyra said, reaching across to take his hand. "I know you love me, Satou. I can see it in everything you do. In how you look at me. In how you held me that night. In how you came back from a dungeon that kills nearly everyone who enters it, because you promised you would."

She squeezed his hand. "But love isn’t a finite resource. You can love me and still have feelings for Jessica. Those aren’t mutually exclusive."

"But that’s not fair to you," Satou protested. "You and I just started... we just figured out what we have together. I can’t just—"

"Can’t what? Feel something for another person who’s important to you?" Lyra’s smile was sad but understanding. "Satou, I’ve been watching you and Jessica for months. I’ve seen how you interact with her. How you soften when she’s around. How you always make sure she’s safe first. How you taught her to fight because you wanted her to be able to protect herself."

"That’s just being protective—" said Satou

"No," Lyra said firmly. "That’s love. Maybe you convinced yourself it was brotherly love because that felt safer, because it was less complicated. But I’ve seen real brotherly love—how you are with Kelvin. And how you are with Jessica is different."

Satou sat back, his mind reeling. The dungeon had transformed his body, enhanced his mind, given him power beyond anything he’d imagined. But apparently, it hadn’t given him any wisdom about his own heart.

"I’m going to tell you something," Lyra continued, her voice soft but clear. "And I want you to really listen, because I’m only going to say this once."

She took both his hands now, holding them firmly.

"I approve of Jessica. I like her. She’s kind, she’s strong in her own way, she genuinely cares about the people here, and most importantly—she loves you. Really loves you, not for your power or your position, but for who you are. That’s rare, Satou. That’s precious."

"Lyra, what are you saying?"

"I’m saying," Lyra said, her eyes meeting his, "that if you have feelings for her, you should acknowledge them. You should answer her feelings honestly. Not with what you think you should feel, but with what you actually feel."

"But we’re together," Satou said, confused. "You and I. We just—"

"And we will continue to be together," Lyra interrupted. "That doesn’t change. I’m not giving you up, Satou. You’re mine." There was fierce possessiveness in her voice that made Satou’s breath catch. "But that doesn’t mean I can’t share."

The words hung in the air.

"You..." Satou’s mind was struggling to process this. "You’re saying you’d be okay with me being with both of you?"

"I’m saying I’d rather have part of your heart knowing Jessica has another part, than have all of your heart while you suppress feelings that will eventually eat away at you," Lyra said. "I’m saying I trust Jessica. I trust you. And I trust that what you and I have is strong enough to include someone else without diminishing it."

She leaned forward, her expression intense. "In our old goblin tribes, powerful leaders often had multiple partners. It was expected, even encouraged. I know human culture is different, but we’re not purely human, are we? We’re building something new here. New rules, new structures, new ways of being."

"But the settlement," Satou said weakly. "What will people think?"

"They’ll think their chief is powerful enough to attract multiple partners," Lyra said with a slight smirk. "Which is true. They’ll think you’re building a strong family unit that can lead the settlement. They’ll probably not think about it much at all because they have their own lives to worry about."

She stood up, pulling Satou to his feet.

"But here’s the important part," Lyra said, her expression becoming more serious. "I need you to understand something clearly. I am your first wife. I don’t say this to diminish what you might have with Jessica, but to establish that what we have came first, and that matters. If Jessica comes into this, she needs to understand and accept that. And you need to understand and accept that."

"First wife," Satou repeated, the words feeling strange on his tongue.