News of my "romantic arrangement" spread through the estate faster than wildfire.
"Lord Henderson has THREE girlfriends?!" I heard a maid whisper.
"Lucky bastard," a guard muttered.
**[HEAD BUTLER]: Unconventional. Very unconventional. But the young master seems happy. And the three ladies haven't killed each other yet. Progress?
**[HEAD MAID]: This is the JUICIEST gossip we've had in YEARS. Wait till the other estates hear about this!
The problem was: nobody could agree on how a three-way relationship was supposed to WORK.
"I think we should have designated Kyle-days," Sera said at breakfast the next morning. "Monday, Wednesday, Friday for me. Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday for Aria. Sunday for Eliza."
"Why do YOU get three days?!" Aria protested.
"Because I suggested it first!"
"That's not how FAIRNESS works!"
**[SERA]: I NEED more Kyle time. I've been deprived for WEEKS while we were all pretending we weren't in love!
**[SISTER ARIA]: Three days each would be EQUAL. Her math is wrong and SELFISH!
"What if we alternate days?" Eliza suggested. "Monday: Sera. Tuesday: Aria. Wednesday: Me. Thursday: Sera. And so on."
"But then someone gets two days in a row at the start of each week!" Aria pointed out.
"THEN WE ROTATE WHO STARTS THE WEEK!"
**[ELIZA]: ████ THIS IS ██████ LIKE SCHEDULING ████ MILITARY ROTATIONS ██████ EXCEPT SOMEHOW ████ MORE COMPLICATED ██████
I was eating my breakfast while they argued about time-sharing me like a vacation property.
"What if," I suggested carefully, "we just... spend time together? All of us? And also individually when it feels natural?"
They stared at me.
"That's too VAGUE," Sera said.
"There's no STRUCTURE," Aria added.
"How do we OPTIMIZE for fairness?" Eliza finished.
**[ALL THREE]: He's suggesting we just... GO WITH THE FLOW?! CHAOS. PURE CHAOS.
"Normal couples don't have SCHEDULES—" I started.
"We're not a NORMAL couple!" all three said in unison.
They had a point.
"Fine," I sighed. "How about this: Today, we ALL go on a date. Together. In town. Like a... group outing."
"A GROUP DATE?!" they said, horrified.
**[SERA]: That's not romantic! That's just HANGING OUT!
**[SISTER ARIA]: I wanted a REAL date! With hand-holding! And meaningful glances!
**[ELIZA]: ████ I WANTED ██████ ALONE TIME ████ WHERE WE ██████ COULD ACTUALLY ████ TALK ██████
"Yes! A group date! It'll be fun!"
"That's the OPPOSITE of intimate," Sera grumbled.
"But it's FAIR," Aria admitted reluctantly.
"And we can assess our group dynamic," Eliza added practically.
**[ALL THREE]: Fine. Group date. But I'm planning an INDIVIDUAL date soon. VERY soon.
[TWO HOURS LATER - TOWN MARKET]
Watching three highly trained combat specialists try to act like "normal girlfriends on a casual date" was hilarious and terrifying.
Sera kept scanning for threats.
**[SERA]: Crowded market. 47 potential ambush points. 12 suspicious individuals. Wait. I'm supposed to be RELAXING. How do people relax?!
Aria kept blessing every food stall we passed.
**[SISTER ARIA]: What if the food is poisoned? Better safe than sorry. Also this is productive! I'm HELPING!
And Eliza was mentally cataloging escape routes.
**[ELIZA]: ████ EAST EXIT ██████ BLOCKED ████ NORTH ROUTE ██████ VIABLE ████ WAIT ██████ I'M ON ████ A DATE ██████ NOT A ████ MISSION ██████
"You're all doing it again," I said.
"Doing what?" they asked innocently.
"Being bodyguards instead of girlfriends."
**[ALL THREE]: ...Guilty.
"Right. Sorry," Sera said, forcibly relaxing her stance. "Normal girlfriend mode. Activated."
She immediately grabbed my arm and leaned against me.
**[SERA]: This is what girlfriends do, right? Physical affection? Am I doing it right?!
Aria quickly grabbed my other arm.
"If we're being NORMAL girlfriends, I should also engage in couple activities!"
**[SISTER ARIA]: I read about this! In books! Arm-linking is ROMANTIC!
Eliza rolled her eyes but positioned herself close behind.
**[ELIZA]: ████ NOT BEING ██████ LEFT OUT ████ ALSO THIS ██████ IS NICE ████ EVEN IF ██████ IT LOOKS ████ RIDICULOUS ██████
We walked through the market like the world's most dangerous cuddle puddle.
**[MERCHANT #1]: Is that Lord Henderson? With THREE women?!
**[MERCHANT #2]: I heard rumors but I didn't BELIEVE them!
**[MERCHANT #3]: Lucky bastard. How does he DO it?
**[KYLE - ME]: I can hear your chatboxes and I also don't know how I did this.
We stopped at a jewelry stall, and all three women immediately started looking at matching accessories.
"What about these bracelets?" Aria suggested, holding up three silver bands.
"Too plain," Sera said. "What about THESE?" She held up three elaborate gemstone pieces.
"Too expensive!" Aria protested.
"Kyle's a LORD. He can afford it!"
"That's not the POINT—"
**[SERA]: If I pick the jewelry, it means I have good taste and Kyle will be impressed!
**[SISTER ARIA]: If I pick AFFORDABLE jewelry, it shows I'm practical and not wasteful!
"What if," Eliza said, picking up three simple matching pendants, "we get these? Elegant, affordable, and they match."
Both Sera and Aria examined them.
"...They're actually perfect," Sera admitted grudgingly.
"The design is lovely," Aria agreed.
**[BOTH]: Why is the Captain GOOD at this?!
**[ELIZA]: ████ TEN YEARS ██████ IN THIS ████ WORLD ██████ I LEARNED ████ NOBLE FASHION ██████ FINALLY USEFUL ████
I bought all three pendants, and watched as they immediately put them on.
**[SERA]: We're wearing MATCHING jewelry. Like a real couple. Multiple real couples. This is OFFICIAL.
**[SISTER ARIA]: Physical symbol of our bond. The Goddess approves. Probably. I'm making executive theological decisions here.
**[ELIZA]: ████ MATCHING ██████ PENDANTS ████ WITH MY ██████ BOYFRIEND ████ AND HIS ██████ OTHER GIRLFRIENDS ████ THIS IS ██████ MY LIFE ████ NOW ██████
As we continued through the market, something changed.
They started... relaxing.
Sera stopped scanning for threats every five seconds.
Aria stopped blessing every surface.
Eliza stopped planning tactical retreats.
They were actually ENJOYING themselves.
"Oh! Kyle, try this!" Aria shoved a honey pastry at me.
"The fruit vendor has amazing apples!" Sera pulled me toward a stall.
"There's a bookshop," Eliza said. "Want to check if they have anything from Earth? Long shot, but worth looking."
**[SERA]: This is... nice. Just walking around. No missions. No threats. Just US.
**[SISTER ARIA]: I haven't felt this PEACEFUL in years. Is this what normal people feel like?
**[ELIZA]: ████ I FORGOT ██████ WHAT THIS ████ WAS LIKE ██████ JUST ENJOYING ████ A DAY ██████ WITH PEOPLE ████ I CARE ██████ ABOUT ████
We ended up at a small outdoor café, sharing desserts and laughing about absolutely nothing important.
"Remember when Kyle face-planted during our first dungeon?" Sera giggled.
"Or when he tried to dodge and crashed into both of us?" Aria added.
"His SPEECH at the Harvest Festival was adorable," Eliza said. "So nervous!"
"I wasn't NERVOUS—"
"Your voice cracked TWICE," all three said in unison.
**[ALL THREE]: He's blushing. ADORABLE.
As the sun started setting, we headed back to the estate.
"That was actually really fun," Sera admitted.
"Better than I expected," Aria agreed.
"We should do it again," Eliza suggested.
**[SERA]: Group dates aren't so bad. Still want individual dates though.
**[SISTER ARIA]: Shared joy is doubled joy! But also still want alone time.
**[ELIZA]: ████ COMPROMISE ██████ ACHIEVED ████ EVERYONE'S HAPPY ██████ THIS MIGHT ████ ACTUALLY WORK ██████
But as we reached the estate gates, we found a crowd.
Nobles. In fancy carriages. Looking judgemental.
Oh no.
**[NOBLE LADY #1]: There he is! Lord Henderson! With his... HAREM!
**[NOBLE LORD #1]: Scandalous! Absolutely scandalous!
**[NOBLE LADY #2]: Three women! At once! What will people THINK?!
The lead noble, a pompous-looking man with elaborate robes, stepped forward.
"Lord Henderson! I am Baron Worthington, and I'm here on behalf of the Noble Council to discuss your... INAPPROPRIATE living arrangements!"
**[BARON WORTHINGTON]: Multiple women! Unmarried! Living under one roof! This is UNACCEPTABLE! We can't have a scandal-ridden lord governing the Western Province!
Sera's hand went to her dagger.
**[SERA]: He's insulting Kyle. I can END him. One throw. Clean kill.
Aria's holy magic started crackling.
**[SISTER ARIA]: Smiting. This calls for smiting. The Goddess understands righteous anger. Right?
Eliza just looked coldly amused.
**[ELIZA]: ████ POMPOUS FOOL ██████ DOESN'T KNOW ████ WHO HE'S ██████ DEALING WITH ████
"Baron Worthington," I said calmly, "thank you for your concern. However, my personal life is exactly that—personal."
"PERSONAL?! You're a LORD! You represent the PROVINCE!"
"And as a lord, I'm responsible for governance,
justice, and the wellbeing of my people. Not for conforming to your outdated relationship standards."
**[BARON WORTHINGTON]: Did this CHILD just dismiss ME?! I'm a baron with forty years of noble lineage!
"But the SCANDAL!" another noble sputtered. "Three women! Unmarried! It's IMPROPER!"
Sera stepped forward with a dangerous smile.
"Improper? I'm his Chief of Intelligence. I LIVE here because it's my JOB."
**[SERA]: Also because I love him. But they don't need to know that. Let them think it's professional.
Aria joined her. "And I'm the House Chaplain. Spiritual guidance is a full-time commitment."
**[SISTER ARIA]: Also love. But PROFESSIONAL love. Wait, that sounds worse.
"And I'm his Military Advisor," Eliza added coolly. "Security requires proximity. Or are you suggesting the Lord Governor should be UNPROTECTED?"
**[ELIZA]: ████ TECHNICALLY TRUE ██████ ALSO TECHNICALLY ████ DATING HIM ██████ BUT THEY ████ DON'T NEED ██████ DETAILS ████
The nobles looked uncertain.
**[NOBLE LADY #1]: Well, when you put it THAT way... three staff members living on-site IS reasonable...
**[NOBLE LORD #2]: But they were holding HANDS in the market!
"Team bonding exercise," Sera said smoothly. "Builds trust."
"MATCHING JEWELRY!"
"Uniform accessories," Aria countered. "For unit cohesion."
"They were LAUGHING together!"
"Morale is important," Eliza said with a straight face.
**[ALL THREE]: We're VERY good at lying when motivated.
Baron Worthington's face was turning purple.
"This is RIDICULOUS! Everyone KNOWS you're... you're..."
"Dating all three of them?" I supplied helpfully.
The nobles gasped.
My girlfriends stared at me.
**[ALL THREE]: DID HE JUST—?!
"Yes," I continued calmly. "I am in a relationship with all three of them. They're my girlfriends. Plural. Any questions?"
**[SERA]: HE JUST PUBLICLY ANNOUNCED IT. NO HIDING. NO SHAME. JUST... TRUTH.
**[SISTER ARIA]: He's DEFENDING us. Our relationship. In front of NOBLES. My heart!
**[ELIZA]: ████ THAT'S MY ██████ BOYFRIEND ████ COMPLETELY SHAMELESS ██████ I LOVE ████ IT ██████
The nobles were sputtering, scandalized, horrified.
"This is UNACCEPTABLE!"
"The other lords will NEVER approve!"
"The SCANDAL!"
"Let them disapprove," I said. "I exposed Duke Blackwood's conspiracy. I reformed the tax system. I'm addressing the grain shortage. I'm GOVERNING effectively. My personal life doesn't affect my ability to lead."
**[BARON WORTHINGTON]: He's... he's actually making SENSE. Damn him!
"Furthermore," I continued, "if the Noble Council wants to remove me over who I'm dating, they're welcome to try. But you'll need to explain to the King—who personally appointed me—why you're prioritizing gossip over governance."
The nobles exchanged nervous glances.
**[NOBLE LADY #2]: The KING appointed him personally. If we move against him, we're moving against royal authority...
**[NOBLE LORD #2]: But we can't just ACCEPT this scandal!
"I propose a compromise," Eliza said smoothly. "Lord Henderson will maintain absolute propriety in public functions. No displays of affection during official duties. In exchange, his private life remains private."
The nobles considered this.
"And the three of you will maintain PROFESSIONAL appearances at all times?" Baron Worthington asked suspiciously.
"Absolutely," all three women said in unison.
**[SERA]: In PUBLIC. He said public. What we do in PRIVATE is none of their business.
**[SISTER ARIA]: Technically not lying. We CAN be professional. When required.
**[ELIZA]: ████ LOOPHOLE ██████ ACHIEVED ████
Baron Worthington huffed. "FINE. But one scandal—ONE—and we'll revisit this discussion!"
"Understood," I said, not remotely concerned.
As the nobles retreated to their carriages, muttering about "youth these days" and "impropriety," my three girlfriends turned to me.
"You just publicly announced our relationship," Sera said slowly.
"To a group of judgmental nobles," Aria added.
"Without hesitation," Eliza finished.
**[ALL THREE]: He's not ASHAMED of us. He's PROUD.
"Was I not supposed to?" I asked, genuinely confused.
They burst out laughing.
"You're SUPPOSED to be embarrassed!" Sera said.
"Or at least DIPLOMATIC!" Aria added.
"Normal people don't just ANNOUNCE polyamorous relationships to conservative nobles!" Eliza said, grinning.
**[SERA]: He's absolutely shameless and I LOVE it.
**[SISTER ARIA]: He defended us without hesitation. That's TRUE nobility.
**[ELIZA]: ████ THAT'S THE ██████ TRANSMIGRATOR ████ I FELL ██████ FOR ████
"Well," I said, "I'm not from this world. Earth has different standards. Besides, why should I hide that I'm dating three incredible women?"
All three of them blushed.
**[ALL THREE]: INCREDIBLE. He called us INCREDIBLE.
Sera grabbed my hand. "You're ridiculous."
Aria took my other hand. "Completely ridiculous."
Eliza linked her arm through mine. "But we like you anyway."
**[SERA]: Like is an understatement. LOVE. The word is LOVE.
**[SISTER ARIA]: The Goddess blessed me with this ridiculous man and I'm GRATEFUL.
**[ELIZA]: ████ SHAMELESS ██████ HONEST ████ BRAVE ██████ AND MINE ████ OURS ██████ AND OURS ████
As we walked back into the estate, Marcus greeted us with barely contained excitement.
"My lord! The WHOLE TOWN is talking about your public declaration!"
**[MARCUS]: This is LEGENDARY. The bards will sing about this! 'The Lord with Three Loves!' I'm taking SO MANY NOTES!
"Is that good or bad?" I asked.
"Honestly? Both. The conservatives are scandalized. The younger generation thinks you're a hero. The merchants don't care as long as you keep fixing the economy."
"I'll take it."
That evening, we gathered in the sitting room for what Sera called "relationship logistics discussion" and Aria called "defining our boundaries" and Eliza called "damage control planning."
"So," Sera started, pulling out ACTUAL NOTES, "we need to establish rules."
"You made NOTES?" I asked.
"I'm a professional! Of course I made notes!"
**[SERA]: If we're doing this, we're doing it RIGHT. With STRUCTURE. And PLANNING.
"Rule One," she read, "Public vs. Private Behavior. In public, we maintain professionalism. In private, we're... us."
"Agreed," Aria and Eliza said.
"Rule Two: Equal Time Distribution. We need to ensure everyone gets fair access to Kyle."
"Can we NOT refer to me like I'm a shared resource?" I interjected.
"You ARE a shared resource," all three said.
**[ALL THREE]: Our shared boyfriend. OUR resource. We're not apologizing.
"Rule Three," Sera continued, "Communication. If someone has a problem, we DISCUSS it. No passive aggression."
"That's actually healthy," Eliza admitted.
"Rule Four: Individual dates AND group activities. Both are important."
"I can agree to that," Aria said.
**[SISTER ARIA]: I NEED alone time with Kyle. To discuss... spiritual matters. And feelings. Mostly feelings.
"Rule Five," Sera finished, "We support each other. We're not just dating Kyle—we're a UNIT."
**[SERA]: I never thought I'd be in a TEAM relationship. But if I'm sharing Kyle, at least it's with women I respect. ...Did I just admit I respect the nun and the captain? Growth.
Everyone nodded.
"Anything to add?" Sera asked.
"Yes," I said. "Rule Six: You all need to RELAX sometimes. You're girlfriends now, not just bodyguards."
**[ALL THREE]: ...That's harder than it sounds.
"And Rule Seven," Eliza added, "Kyle gets veto power on crazy plans."
"WHAT crazy plans?" Sera asked innocently.
"The kind you three come up with when you're being overprotective."
**[ELIZA]: ████ LIKE THE ██████ TIME SERA ████ WANTED TO ██████ HIRE FOOD ████ TASTERS ██████ FOR EVERY ████ MEAL ██████
"Food tasters are REASONABLE—"
"Or when Aria suggested blessing his CLOTHES—"
"Blessed garments provide protection!"
"Or when Eliza wanted to post guards INSIDE his bedroom—"
"Security is IMPORTANT!"
**[ALL THREE]: ...Okay those might have been excessive.
"Agreed," they muttered.
We spent the next hour hammering out details, arguing about scheduling, and generally being the world's most organized polyamorous relationship.
By the end, we had:
A rotating date schedule
Communication protocols
Conflict resolution procedures
And a shared understanding that we were all figuring this out together
"I can't believe we just created a RELATIONSHIP CONTRACT," I said.
"We're professionals," Sera said proudly. "We do everything with planning."
"The Goddess appreciates organization," Aria added.
"Structure prevents chaos," Eliza agreed.
**[ALL THREE]: We're absolutely going to ignore half these rules within a week. But it's the THOUGHT that counts.
As everyone headed to bed, Sera lingered.
"Hey, Kyle? Thanks. For defending us to those nobles. You didn't have to do that."
**[SERA]: You could've been embarrassed. Could've denied it. But you were PROUD. Of us. Of ME.
"Of course I did. You're my girlfriend. All three of you are."
She smiled—a genuine, soft smile I rarely saw from the usually serious spy.
"Get some rest. Tomorrow's your first individual date. With me."
"I thought we had a schedule—"
"I claimed tomorrow before we made the schedule. Loophole."
**[SERA]: Also I've been planning this date for DAYS. It's going to be PERFECT.
She left before I could protest.
Then Aria popped her head back in.
"The day AFTER tomorrow is mine. Just so you know."
**[SISTER ARIA]: Two can play the loophole game!
Then Eliza.
"I'm taking the third day. Seniority."
**[ELIZA]: ████ RANK HAS ██████ PRIVILEGES ████
They all grinned at each other competitively and left.
I sat alone in my room, processing the absolute chaos that was now my life.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: RELATIONSHIP STABILITY ACHIEVED!]
[HAREM ROUTE: PROPERLY ESTABLISHED]
[SCANDAL LEVEL: MAXIMUM]
[NOBLE APPROVAL: MINIMAL]
[GIRLFRIEND SATISFACTION: HIGH]
[OVERALL STATUS: SURPRISINGLY FUNCTIONAL]
[UPCOMING: INDIVIDUAL DATE ARC]
[PREPARE FOR ROMANTIC SHENANIGANS x3]
Three girlfriends.
Three individual dates coming up.
One very confused transmigrator trying to figure out how he ended up here.
"This is insane," I muttered.
But looking at the three matching pendants I'd bought earlier, now being worn by three incredible women who somehow loved me...
I couldn't help but smile.
Insane.
But good.
Definitely good.