“So, aside from four of us, you also think that Celeste has no intention of harming Will, right?” Lira asked.

Melody nodded. “Yes. Her sister is one of Will’s lovers, and she is also the Bride of Darkness. Although I can’t say for certain that she doesn’t harbor a grudge against him, I feel like she won’t make things difficult for her sister’s lover.”

Ephemera and Shana nodded after hearing Melody’s reply. Among all of them, perhaps it was Celeste who had the most delicate relationship with William, who was the Prince of Darkness.

This was why the Pope had also forbidden Celeste from ever leaving the Palace of Light. The Virtue of Chastity was the strictest virtue of all. The moment the bearer of its Divinity lost her chastity, it would take a while before a new candidate would be born to replace her.

Every member of the Seven Heavenly Virtues, as well as the Seven Deadly Sins, were chosen at birth.

This was a rule that had stayed constant since their Divinities came into being many thousands of years ago. 

“As for Audrey, I think she’s also on the fence about the notion of attacking William,” Shana commented from the side. “It seems that our youngest sister, Cherry, is the only one who harbors hate towards the Dark Prince due to the Pope’s influence.”

Ephemera shook her head helplessly because there was nothing they could do about their little sister. 

“She’s been hanging out with Belle these past few days,” Ephemera stated. “It seems like she has become the Pope’s lackey when it comes to badmouthing William, and making him look like a sex fiend who only knows how to pluck cherries.”

After these words left Ephemera’s lips, the room descended into an awkward silence. Among the four of them, three had already lost their cherries to William, leaving only Shana with hers intact.

“Well, it’s not entirely false,” Shana giggled as she looked at the three ladies who were unable to continue the discussion. “I mean, he is an expert in making girls fall for him. If not for the fact that he didn’t want to forcefully take my chastity, I might have already been part of the deflowered team.

Lira, Ephemera, and Melody glared at Shana who only covered her lips, while her body shook with her suppressed laughter. 

She found her own words quite funny, and the three ladies’ glares only tickled her sadistic tendencies. 

“What?” Shana asked while smirking at her three sisters who couldn’t come up with a rebuttal. “But, joke aside, I feel that the Pope’s plan is working. It seems that Belle has this sharp glint in her eye, whenever William’s name is mentioned. It’s like she wants to strangle him so badly.”

“I also feel the same way,” Lira commented in a worried tone. “Is it really possible for someone to suddenly develop a grudge against someone they haven’t seen before due to hearsay?”

“Of course it’s possible,” Shana replied. “Didn’t we all think that William was the bad guy just because the Pope told us so? If we haven’t met him ourselves, we might still be like Cherry, who is badmouthing him behind his back.”

Most of the Heavenly Virtues, with the exception of Celeste, and Ephemera, had been raised in the Palace of Light since a very young age. 

For them, the words of the Pope were the truth, and their cause was just and righteous.

If not for the fact that they had experienced what William was truly like in his corrupted state, they would have definitely drawn their weapons against him, and hunted him down in the name of the Holy Order of Light.

“Should we also take some time to approach Belle and try to diffuse the situation?” Melody asked. 

“That can work.” Shana nodded her head.

“It’s worth a try,” Lira voiced out her support.

Only Ephemera had a complicated look on her face as she gazed at the three ladies who were waiting for her response.

“I don’t know if that is a good idea or not,” Ephemera replied. “Yesterday, I decided to take a bath with Belle in order to know how she feels about William. What happened during that time wasn’t something I expected.”

Her words immediately caught the attention of the three girls who pressed her for answers.

“S-She… she said that I smell like the Prince of Darkness,” Ephemera said with a serious expression on her face. “When I asked her what she meant by that, she just laughed and said that she was just joking. However, I caught her gazing at my lower abdomen more than once, as if she was seeing something I couldn’t see. Her attitude became distant as well, as if she needed to treat me like an enemy or something.”

“…”

“…”

“… Did she perhaps discover that you have been marked by him?” Shana, who was the only one that was thinking properly at that time, voiced her thoughts, making Lira and Melody shudder.

If Belle could really see that they had been marked by William then the Pope would certainly go crazy, and might demand that the two of them be imprisoned in the dungeons of the Palace of Light.

“Let’s not take a bath with her,” Melody stated.

Lira nodded. “I Agree.”

Shana scratched her head after coming up to the possibility that Belle might be able to detect William’s mark on her sister’s bodies. It was quite fortunate that she hadn’t allowed herself to tumble on the sheets with William.

While she was thinking these thoughts, she felt three gazes upon her, which made her feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

“What?” Shana asked with a guarded look on her face. “I don’t like the way the three of you are looking at me.”

“Shana, you are the only one that can do it,” Melody rested her hand on Shana’s left shoulder. “Why don’t you take one for the team and try to convince Belle that Will isn’t that bad of a person.”

“That’s right,” Lira supported Melody’s words. “Since you are still a maiden, Belle will not be able to figure out your connection with Will. This is the perfect cover for you. Aren’t you glad that you’re still chaste?”

Ephemera nodded. “That’s right, Shana. You are the only one we can count on. The three of us are now William’s women. What will we do if she snuffs us all out?”

Seeing the three ladies staring at her as if she was their last hope, Shana stood up from the couch and headed to the door in order to escape.

Unfortunately for her, she was completely outnumbered and was dragged back to the couch, by the three girls, who wanted to clear the name of the person they loved.

——

Back in the Silvermoon Continent…

William stared at the World Tree in the distance with a serious expression on his face. He couldn’t believe that the entrance of the Underworld was found within the World Tree itself, allowing anyone to travel to the Plane of the Dead and communicate with those who dwelt on it.

Right now, his father, Maxwell, and the World Tree were one and the same. He just hoped that his father had regained his consciousness, after helping William turn the entire Elven Race into Drows that would help the black-haired teenager bolster his forces, and fight anyone who dared to get in his son’s way.

“Ashe, Sidonie, Morgana, Chiffon, wait for me,” William softly muttered as he flew towards the World Tree which held the path that would lead him to where his beloved wives would be.

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