Chapter 37 - Maya Rosenwald P17
Chapter 37 - Maya Rosenwald P17
~37.17~
|*****
"You've been agonizing over this all week. Even if you are... different... I think there's nothing wrong with pursuing happiness. You are no less human than any of us."
She's not wrong. Mortals were created in our image. They're just like us, except they usually have short lifespans, whereas we... just don't die.
I've died before. And Maya was always there when I woke up. My mortal friend Maya is just like my queen. They have the same kind air about them. I've noticed several similarities between them, and a few of the other girls with my other wives and Luma. Am I just projecting? Is it a coping mechanism my mind is subjecting me to knowing that I'll never see them again?
Is it okay to fall in love here? If I do, am I betraying my partners? Would they want this for me?
"Elysia, my love, know that if nothing else, your happiness is my happiness. No matter what happens while you're living with mortals, I just want you to be happy."
I hear those words in my mind every day. Should I try? Would any of them feel the same?
What if I confessed to Maya? I talked a big game about never abandoning any of my friends, but would I be able to stay friends with her if I confessed and she declined? She's the type of person to bear it and act like everything is normal, but would she not hurt inside? I don't want her to hurt. And she has past problems with falling in love with friends. She lost every single one of them. Here I am worrying about the same thing before anything is even said.
I shouldn't say anything I'm not sure of.
Rhia and Aira were already a couple before coming to the academy. Polyamory isn't uncommon here. Rhia's father has a wife for each child. Eglantine's youngest sister is the only one with the same mother. And the King of Wavecrest has two wives. But Lord Velarus and Lady Mabel are monogamous with each other, and Maya is an only child.
I can't assume anything. And I don't even know if this feeling is love. Just thinking that feels like I'm lying to myself.
What about Helena? I've grown quite close to her as well. To my knowledge, she's single and never dated nor tried. But I also don't know her entire past. I only know for certain that she's engaged in an unwanted arrangement. At first, I just wanted to help her escape her unwanted arrangement. But now... it might be more than that.
"Princess, if I may be blunt?"
"Go ahead, Serah."
"You're questioning yourself very deeply right now. Because you are Transcendent, you question whether it's even right for you to fall in love with mortals. But you also know of cases of that happening. You worry about your Transcendent partners not approving, but I think you should try thinking the other way around. If one of them were here instead of you, would you want them to explore relationships with mortals if it made them happy? You recalled one of them saying your happiness is her happiness. I think they would not only approve, but encourage it."
Would they? It makes sense. I absolutely would encourage them if the situation was reversed.
"As for your feelings toward those girls, I would dare say your feelings are stronger toward them than most people's are toward their partners. If you asked me if I think you love them, I would answer yes to all four of them. I can even tell you which one you've developed feelings for the most."
"Don't tell me who."
"I think you should go ahead and invite them to the bathhouse. You already want to, and I think you would enjoy your time with each other."
"How are you so good at this, Serah?"
"It's not that I'm particularly good at it. It's more like you're in denial about your own feelings and dense to everyone else's feelings toward you."
I looked up at her from my pillow. "That last part, what do you mean?"
She smiled with her eyes closed. "Perhaps I said too much with that statement. I can only guess based off my observations, as I don't read the minds of any of them, nor does Stella. I have my guesses, but I don't think my guesses are something I should tell you. If you ask, I won't withhold anything, but in this case-"
"Don't tell me. If you think I shouldn't be told, then don't tell me. You've said enough to give me ideas, anyway." I sighed and sat up. "You're right though. They probably would enjoy it. Would you mind inviting them for me? It's short notice, so I doubt all of them will come."
"Of course, Princess. I will go right away."
"And by the way, you and Stella are invited as well. As regular girls, not as maids."
"As in to enjoy the facilities with you?"
I looked at her dead in the eyes. "I told you I want you to have more normal experiences. Especially with me. So you're getting in the bath with me."
She smiled. "Very well, Princess."
*****
Serah delivered the invites and caught up with Stella while she was out. After that, I went to the bathhouse with the twins in tow. There were several in Aristide, with one exclusive to royals and royal guests.
When we arrived, only Maya was there. Serah had told me everyone else was busy, but each of them wanted to go and asked that we schedule an outing to the bathhouse another day. Maya had been waiting downstairs in the villa when Serah passed along my invitation. Serah told me she was very happy to receive another invitation to a bathhouse with me only a few days after the first.
This lack of instant communication is annoying. Long range telepathy or a system to communicate through is needed in this world. The system in place exclusively handles mana, magic, and casual law. I'll remedy that soon enough.
Maya had arrived just before me and waited to go into the changing room. We went in together, and she was very unabashed about stripping down. I'm glad to see she's gained confidence.
*****
Revision: 2025-2-12