Chapter 5: One Wife, Multiple Husbands
Among the invitations was one for a tea party hosted by the House of Valkeapa, the rival ducal house of Lautavaara.
“This gathering is rather soon, so let us send our regrets citing your recent illness.”
Lady Paula said so, and I immediately picked up the invitation I most wanted to attend as though I had only just noticed it.
“Lady Paula, the House of Kanelva has invested heavily in the railway project, and they are on close terms with the House of Karkoski.”
The House of Kanelva belonged to the neutral faction that sided with neither ducal house, and recently they had begun gaining considerable influence.
“I may be able to hear more detailed information regarding the railway project there, and I would also like to inform my friend, who became Countess Kanelva, of my marriage.”
“My! I had no idea Countess Kanelva was your friend!”
“Then by all means, you must go and announce your marriage to her!”
Wishing to draw Count Kanelva into her own faction, Lady Paula immediately approved.
And thus, I ended up attending the tea party hosted by my friend Kristina, now Countess Kanelva.
“She’s here she’s here she’s here she’s here!”
“Kastehelmi is here!”
“Everyone, hurry up and gather around!”
“I just know I won’t be able to sleep tonight from excitement!”
The three women speaking in thrilled voices were none other than Kristina, Lydia, and Mariana, whom I could honestly describe as my lifelong partners in crime.
The brothers of the House of Lautavaara were, in fact, among the two most popular noblemen in the entire Kingdom of Lahti.
The silver-haired, sapphire-eyed brothers were both extraordinarily handsome.
The elder brother possessed a gentle, refined beauty.
The younger brother, meanwhile, had a ruggedly masculine and strikingly handsome appearance.
Both were tall, but unlike his scholarly older brother, Olivier had received the title of knight, and possessed a powerfully built physique.
Having once served as the personal guard of Crown Prince Adolf as part of the royal guard, it was even said that noblewomen had suffered nosebleeds simply from witnessing the beautiful prince standing beside his equally beautiful guard.
And so I became the bride of the almost legendary Lord Olivier.
However, because our marriage had effectively been decided by royal command, no one openly harassed or envied me during the engagement.
But after the groom’s behavior during the wedding and reception—
There was absolutely no doubt that amusing rumors were spreading everywhere.
At this point, I had likely become known as the tragic bride.
Rejected as a wife by the kingdom’s godlike handsome former royal guard.
Ignored even during the wedding ceremony itself.
Everyone was undoubtedly dying to know what sort of treatment I was receiving within my new marital home.
The three ladies before me, who had known me since childhood, paid absolutely no attention to the luxurious cakes, fruits, and fragrant tea arranged on the table.
Instead, they stared at me with glittering eyes.
“Pfft.”
I accidentally laughed while sipping my tea.
Their expressions were simply too entertaining.
But first, there were opening words I absolutely had to say.
“What I’m about to tell you is only for you three, my oldest and dearest friends…”
“So please promise me you won’t tell anyone else.”
Saying something like that was basically an advertisement declaring that the upcoming story was extraordinarily juicy.
“Of course.”
“We’re best friends.”
“Absolutely!”
“Absolutely!”
“““We won’t tell a soul!”””
Even while swearing they would never repeat it elsewhere, women naturally end up telling others anyway.
Especially in our Kingdom of Lahti, where compared to other nations, a remarkably high number of people feel content with their lives.
Of course, part of that is because the harsh environment forces everyone to support one another.
But there are also people who practically devote their entire lives to cultivating gossip.
Which is probably why everyone enjoys it all so much.
“You see, there are people in this world who desire polyandry.”
The three women, who had been eagerly anticipating an endless stream of complaints about the House of Lautavaara, suddenly froze with blank expressions.
“Polyandry refers to one wife taking multiple husbands.”
“In neighboring countries, royalty often takes multiple wives, but this is the opposite.”
“One woman keeps many men by her side.”
“If a man surrounding himself with many women is called a harem, then perhaps this could be called a reverse harem.”
There was no way I would complain about the ducal house I had married into.
After all, a woman protecting the household she marries into is only natural.
I was not saying anything strange.
“There is a young lady named Yuliana in the House of Lautavaara.”
“She is the daughter born between Lady Paula’s cousin and his mistress, and they have raised her there since she was eight years old.”
“She lives within the ducal household as the beloved younger sister of the two sons.”
“But it seems this young lady may actually be a believer in ‘polyandry.’”
The three women stared blankly at me as completely unexpected words poured from my mouth.
Honestly, it was hilarious.
“Lady Paula herself told me that her two sons simply dote on Lady Yuliana as their younger sister.”
“At first, I also believed the brothers merely treated her as family despite not being related by blood.”
“But after seeing the three of them having tea together in the gazebo, I began thinking something felt… off.”
Kristina was the first to recover enough to ask a question.
“Why did you think it was strange?”
“People have tea in gazebos all the time, don’t they?”
“Well, you see…”
“Every single time, Lord Olivier and Lord Niklas sit pressed tightly against Lady Yuliana with her between them.”
“Wait.”
“They all sit on the same seat?”
At Lydia’s question, I answered with a smile.
“Rather than chairs, it’s more accurate to call it a bench.”
“It’s far too small for three people, so naturally they end up squeezed tightly together.”
“Aren’t there other chairs available?”
“Of course there are.”
“But ever since I married into the house, I have never once seen the three of them sit separately.”
To be fair, I had personally only witnessed their tea gathering once on the very first day.
However, since the maids insisted they were always like that, I wasn’t saying anything inaccurate.
“So if she desires polyandry, does that mean she’s constantly seducing both of them?”
Mariana asked, and naturally I answered with a smile.
“It’s not really about seduction.”
“From what I observed, Lady Yuliana behaves toward the two brothers like a wife.”
The three women fell completely silent.
But I could practically hear them screaming internally:
‘Whaaaat?’
As proper ladies, we rarely scream aloud.
But inside our hearts, we scream as much as we like.
“When I saw them, she playfully smacked Lord Niklas on the shoulder…”
“And then lovingly stroked Lord Olivier’s cheek with her fingertips.”
Everything I told them was exactly as I had witnessed it myself.
Not a single lie.
One hundred percent pure truth.