Chapter 26: Questions.
Multiple questions came rushing at Ethan, making him slightly nervous. He had expected to face some confrontation, but certainly not to this extent.
His face got filled with sweat; he tried to answer, but his brain seemed to freeze. Still, he pushed some words out forcefully. "I... Uh..."
"What is it, Ethan?" She asked again; this time her tone was even more firm.
Ethan took a deep breath and then let it out. "I didn’t want to make our guests feel bad; that’s why I asked you to settle it between us after they go back to their homes," Ethan said politely.
"Also, yes, it was my idea to attempt the C-Tier dungeon too. It entirely wasn’t Sara’s nor someone else’s. There were multiple high-level adventurers with me, so I thought that they could carry me and I would feed over the loot."
He said everything that he had thought related to this situation because lying to them would result in even more suspicion.
Athena looked at him for a few seconds before her eyes started to turn glossy. "Do you even know how much I would have cursed and accused myself if something had happened to you in that dungeon?"
"I don’t want you to take care of me. I don’t want you to go into the dungeons and get hurt for me. I don’t want you to be a burden on anyone’s head."
Her words caught Ethan off guard. He had expected anger or taunts from her, but this? He had never imagined that he would see tears in Athena’s eyes.
His expression began to soften. His chin lifted slightly before his gaze eventually dropped toward the dining table. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Athena in such a state.
’I expected this already, but... after hearing and seeing her in this state of mind, she is placing a heavy price on my emotions too. If I look at her face again... I might not be able to prevent my own emotions from taking over me.’
"You heard me? I don’t want to be a burden on you, Ethan," Athena said once again, but this time her voice sounded even softer.
Ethan finally managed to lift his gaze back to her. The moment his eyes met Athena’s, he noticed something that made his expression falter because her eyes carried such pain that was far deeper than anything she could ever put into words.
He turned his attention towards Isolde, who had her eyes closed; her hands were resting next to her chest. Faint marks of tears stretched across her face, which clearly made it visible that she had cried tears.
’Oh god!! I didn’t expect that one foolish decision from me would make both of them sad to this extent. I didn’t even know that they had gotten attached to me because I knew them as heroines of this novel who never loved someone easily... but seeing them like this is putting a huge toll on my heart.’
’I can’t keep staying silent. I have to confront them and try to calm them down... Come on, Ethan. Be a good husband.’ He told himself inwardly, trying to muster the courage and motivation to face them.
"Isolde, Athena." He said as he looked at both ladies.
Instinctively, Isolde lifted her head towards the location where Ethan’s voice came from. On the other hand, Athena was already looking at him with tears in her eyes.
Ethan gulped when he noticed them but still braced himself and continued. "Please listen to me once. I don’t want to make you feel bad either. I’m not taking care of you because I have to... but I’m doing it because I want to. Our families pushed us three into a marriage, but in the end you both are my wives, and I want to take responsibility for you both. So please don’t say all that to me, Athena..." Ethan said pretty calmly, but there was a sense of distress hidden behind it.
"I didn’t realize before that you both had cared about me... I thought I could take a risk and get more money and resources for us... I definitely will never do something reckless ever again, so please forgive me this once." He bowed his head once.
Silence fell over the chamber, with only the noise of air filling the room. A few minutes passed, and finally Athena broke the silence as she said. "I... I don’t know what to say anymore."
"I just... didn’t want to see someone who’s taking care of me get hurt." Her voice cracked.
Ethan’s eyes widened slightly because he had never seen Athena like this; she always carried herself with proud confidence, and currently she was talking like a woman whose husband had nearly died.
A faint smile crept onto his lips as he pushed his chair back. The legs of his chair scraped across the floor; he gently got up and walked towards his wives.
He leaned forward, gently placing one arm around Athena’s shoulder and the other around Isolde. Without saying another word, he pulled them both closer, drawing them into a warm embrace. For the next few seconds, none of them said anything. The silence between them was heavy, yet strangely comforting. Then finally Ethan broke the silence and continued.
"I’m really sorry I did that. So, please, let’s forget about it, alright? I promise I won’t repeat something like that. I don’t want any of you beautiful ladies putting yourselves through unnecessary stress because of me."