Chapter 726 A Beginning for New Habits
Chaos reigns in the main hall of Crystal Castle as all the Sins, Lucien's sisters, and most of his wives discuss the Water Spirit's proposal.
The majority of opinions are positive since it not only benefits Lucien but also countless peoples and races under his protection.
Yet, the same people who want him to accept such a gift understand why the Sins and other more cautious girls seem hesitant to trust the Water Spirit.
That issue has less to do with trusting the Water Spirit but rather understanding more about her hidden intentions and the possible enemies that such a powerful creature could have.
Anyway, everyone has a lot to say, and Lucien can't think straight being buried under different opinions and points of view.
A part of him just wants to go back to the top of the tower and continue drinking wine with the Water Spirit.
Despite her being so mysterious, she is also a simple and pleasant person to interact with, at least with him.
But Lucien also understands that he never really has time, not when there are so many things he needs to do.
So he needs to find a way to listen to all his wives and come to a conclusion. But how to do it when they all want to speak at the same time?
Well, a few members of the group are behaving well, and Lucien wants to focus on them now.
Mira certainly welcomes his attention, but Nea and Maya seem lost in their own thoughts.
The Phoenix seems to need time to a.s.similate that possibility, so Lucien focuses on Nea.
Stopping his embrace of Mira, which makes the beautiful Naga Queen somewhat sad, Lucien approaches the Mermaid Queen.
"What's going on in your lovely little head?" He kisses her forehead and hugs her gently.
Nea instinctively accepts Lucien's caresses and rubs her face on his chest, breathing in his scent intensely.
She definitely doesn't want to act like such a little girl in love to maintain the majestic charm that pleases him so much.
But since she was prepared to part with him, Nea let her body fully respond to her feelings in the past few days.
Now that there is a possibility of them being together forever, she wants to act more like a worthy Queen and enchant him with her charm more than she seems enchanted.
"Just a little longer..." Nea thinks aloud as she continues to rub her delicate nose against Lucien's collar.
He lets her have as much of it as her heart desires, and then he sees her quickly regain her composure and majestic charm.
Then she looks into his eyes with those beautiful bright blue eyes. "I want to do something to thank our Lady for protecting us and giving you such a possibility."
Regardless of the Water Spirit's hidden intentions or the future of their relations.h.i.+p, Lucien believes that she is good for the Nagas and Mermaids, so he doesn't want to interfere with such faith in any way.
"That's good, my dear." He smiles and kisses Nea's lips. "What do you want to do?"
Nea had thought of something when she left Lucien and the Water Spirit talking alone on the top of the tower, so she quickly shares it.
"A party!" Her eyes s.h.i.+ne with antic.i.p.ation. "I want to throw a big party in the whole Crystal City so that all the Mermaids can show how strong their faith in our Lady is."
Nea's words catch the attention of the other girls, and Kamala quickly exclaims, "Not just the Mermaids! The Nagas are also loyal to our Lady."
Mira smiles, seeing Kamala take more interest in matters related to her people. She's clearly doing it to compete with Saria, but it's positive nonetheless.
Nea smiles kindly. "Naturally, our people may share the same love for our maker."
"Good," Lucien also smiles and hugs Mira and Nea at the same time, leaving Kamala and Saria envious.
Nea can't deny that she's very happy with Lucien's approval; without it, she wouldn't dare to do such a thing, even with her strong faith in the Water Spirit.
The idea of a party arising in such a tense moment leaves the girls with conflicting emotions.
They really want to help Lucien make a decision, but since he needs time to think about it, having something else to distract their minds also seems good.
While the Sins and some of Lucien's wives don't really care about the party, all of his sisters seem interested in it.
"Are you planning a party?" Naomi jumps excitedly between Nea and Lucien.
"You're just thinking about the food, aren't you?!?" Amelia teleports into Lucien's arms before Naomi can make a move.
"Of course not!" Naomi quickly responds, looking at Lucien with a gentle expression.
He also notices his other sisters gathering around him with that same gentle look, which also hides sad memories.
His sisters notice his confused expression, and they seem both disappointed and upset.
"Come on, Luci!" Donna lightly taps his head, clearly not using her enormous strength.
"What did I do?" He truly doesn't understand their reaction.
"Do you really not remember?" Amelia asks.
His puzzled expression continues, making his sisters feel even more sorry.
Eve approaches Lucien, nudges Amelia out of his arms, and hugs him gently. "You fool, you've never forgotten any of your sisters' birthdays, but you can't remember your own."
"Really? Is it today?" Lucien is genuinely surprised.
It's hard to believe that someone would forget their own birthday, but he literally made a great effort to forget it and all the memories it brings of his mother.
The buzz in the hall is quickly replaced by an awkward silence. All the girls are looking at Lucien with gentle and apologetic expressions.
They have all been through tough times in their lives, but it's always very painful when the person they love the most carries such deep wounds.
"No, it's not today, Luci." Eve responds. "It's tomorrow, the day you turn twenty-one."
"Twenty-one?" Lucien remembers telling some of his girls that he was already twenty-one, and even about that, he was mistaken.
His sisters sigh in unison, but to avoid the mood from becoming sadder, they try to cheer up.
Naomi looks at Nea with a fake upset expression. "I can't believe you want to throw a party for that Water Spirit instead of celebrating your husband's birthday!"
Nea would be truly embarra.s.sed if she couldn't sense that Naomi is just teasing her.
"That's why this party has to be so big." The Mermaid Queen smiles at Lucien. "The whole Mermaid Kingdom and the Nagas will celebrate the return of our Lady and the birthday of our Lord!"
"Exactly, this will be the best party Blue Star has ever seen!" Saria joins her mother enthusiastically.
All of Lucien's sisters and most of the other girls also get excited about the idea of throwing such a big party for him.
"We don't have time to waste then." Anne quickly makes her voice heard.
She and the younger members of the harem are very excited to celebrate Lucien's birthday.
Nea kisses him on the lips again with even more tenderness and affection. "Yeah, let's start right away, everyone needs to know how special tomorrow will be."
With such enthusiasm, Nea leaves the hall to send her orders throughout the whole Crystal City and Mermaid Kingdom.
Mira smiles gently at Lucien before approaching and kissing him. "I think I have to help her, you know..."
"Let's go!" Amelia also kisses Lucien before following Nea.
Donna becomes shy but also kisses his lips before joining the girls.
Then, Naomi and Claire b.u.mp into each other while trying to get close to Lucien at the same time.
Clearly, they both want a kiss from him too, but with everyone watching, they end up getting shy and kiss his cheeks at the same time, creating a very cute scene.
Eve smiles and tries to follow her sisters without kissing Lucien, but he quickly pecks her cheek, making her blush slightly.
The other girls line up to kiss Lucien, and even Layla and Kayla receive cheek kisses before joining the group.
Everyone wants to help Nea prepare the biggest party Blue Star has ever seen for Lucien, and the Sins are forced to follow his sisters through the Crystal City.
Almost all the girls leave the hall to prepare for the party, but two of them stay by his side.
The adorable pair of tigress mother and daughter still don't quite understand customs like birthday parties and don't do well with delicate things anyway.
Oya and Ko remain in their tiger forms, lying at the bottom of the stairs, and Lucien sits on the first step of the stairs next to them.
Unlike the girls who have a lot to say about the Water Spirit's offer, the tigress duo just stay silent next to their master, creating a pleasant silence.
l.u.s.t also remains silent inside Lucien's soul, and he can't help but smile as he feels two other girls approaching.
Sophia waits for the other girls to leave before floating close to Lucien, while Sloth remains silent inside her soul.
She would like to help prepare his party, but due to the influence of her Sin, she wouldn't be useful to the group. Also, now there are many girls working on that, and she just wants to take care of him.
"Don't let the others know you're here," Lucien smiles and brings Sophia into his arms along with little Ko.
"Shh..." She signals for him to be quiet and just rests in his embrace with the cute tigress.