Chapter 253: The One Who Rewrites the Rules

In the stillness of the room, Shinobu rested, wrapped in Marcus’s warm body.

She couldn’t make out what Kanae and the man embracing her from behind were talking about, but she did notice something: just a moment ago, he had tensed up completely, and then nothing.

In the space of consciousness, Marcus had indeed gone still.

It’s common knowledge that building a harem requires clearing certain obstacles.

He had already cleared several, but there was one left—the family’s intervention. And it had just blown up in his face.

Still, well... if you’ve got the guts to want a harem, you’d better have the balls to handle what comes with it.

"So you’re worried I won’t give Shinobu enough love?"

Kanae blinked. "Isn’t that the case?"

He shook his head.

"That whole ’dividing it up’ thing isn’t for me."

"...I see, Marcus-kun." Kanae smiled. "Your love is so vast there’s no need to split it. You may be a womanizer and a pervert, but you love every girl equally. Not like the rest of the men, right?"

"Uh..."

Marcus stared at her, stunned.

Kanae let out a giggle. "Don’t make that face. You scoundrels always use the same script."

"But Shinobu told me you never had a boyfriend when you were alive."

"A boyfriend, no." She looked at him with an expression hard to decipher. "But I’m a woman too, Marcus-kun. When I was alive I was curious, and I read more than one romance novel."

"..."

Kanae brushed her fingertips against her lips. "Before the monogamy law came along, all the men in those novels gave that exact same speech."

Marcus sighed. "If you already know what men were like back then, why ask?"

"Because the past is the past... and the present is the present." Kanae’s tone turned serious. "And the current rule is monogamy, isn’t it?"

Marcus felt helpless. "This whole mess comes from that alignment of yours, doesn’t it? Textbook Lawful Good."

"Lawful Good..." Kanae tilted her head, amused. "That’s the third time you’ve described me that way, and it doesn’t bother me one bit. But now I’m genuinely curious: how do you classify yourself?"

"Chaotic Neutral."

"Chaotic... Neutral?" Kanae didn’t get it.

Marcus explained it to her without mincing words. "It means being especially selfish and radically self-centered."

"..."

"It means paying no mind to the rules, not being bound by morality, and, of course, not taking sides. I do what I do because I like it and because I feel like it in that moment. Period."

"..."

It would never have occurred to Kanae that he’d judge himself so bluntly.

She opened her mouth, closed it, and after a while smiled a little bitterly. "Marcus-kun... you’re tremendously honest."

"I’ve got nothing to hide." He shrugged. "I always do what suits me or my own, and everyone knows it perfectly well."

His expression turned a bit more serious. "It’s the same with Ivy, Pearl, and Ume. I don’t care what they’ve done before, whether they have enemies, or whether someday they’ll have to pay for something. As long as I like them, I’ll keep them by my side. And once that idea gets into my head, there’s no stopping it: not rules, not people pushing back, not moral blackmail. If I feel like it, I’ll even override what the person herself wants."

Kanae narrowed her eyes. "...And them?"

"Emotionally, I prefer mutual consent." He shook his head. "Though, to be honest with you, that’s nothing more than another preference of mine."

Kanae stayed silent for a long while.

When she spoke again, her voice sounded subdued.

"So, to you, the rules have never been worth anything?"

"Not exactly." Marcus chuckled under his breath. "The only ones that aren’t worth anything are the ones I don’t acknowledge."

Kanae was stunned. "That... that’s not right."

"There’s nothing wrong with it." Marcus spread his hands, as if the subject didn’t warrant so much drama. "What they call rules has always been a leash for those without enough power. For the ones who dictate them, they’re no more than decoration. Otherwise, why do you think so many people are killing themselves over money, over power, over having a louder voice? It’s to escape the rules. Or, better yet, to become the one who writes them."

These words left Kanae speechless.

Even her way of seeing the world wavered a little. She could tell he was right, and at the same time her world didn’t turn that way.

Kanae’s eyes were changing. But in the end, they settled on determination.

"...All I can think is that maybe we’re not the same kind of person."

"Agreed." Marcus didn’t deny it. "If we follow your reasoning, you and I—or rather, all of you and I—are not the same kind of person."

"Marcus-kun, when two people think so differently, forcing them to be together doesn’t bring anyone happiness." Kanae looked at him head-on, without mincing words. "Let’s say I came to accept you being with Shinobu and Kanao. What about Mitsuri? Is her family going to accept you and all your other wives too? And later on... knowing you, I’m sure more will show up over time—"

He didn’t let her finish. Marcus raised his hand.

"To put it plainly, all you want is a little order, right?"

And then something in his gaze turned mischievous.

"And what if, some time from now, the law were to allow polygamy again?"

Kanae shook her head instantly. "Constantly changing your mind is a serious flaw. No leader undoes a freshly made reform just to abruptly go back to the old way. Unless the leader were to change..."

And as she said it, she froze.

Seeing Marcus smiling, her eyes filled with an increasingly startled expression.

"Don’t tell me you want to—?!"

"Heh. I already told you: what I decide doesn’t change for anyone." He looked at her seriously. "I want Shinobu and Kanao by my side. And my other women, the same. But I also said that, in matters of the heart, I prefer it to be mutual. And a moment ago you gave me a good heads-up."

"You’re right: even if you agreed, with the family Mitsuri has backing her, they’d hardly accept someone like me. And it’s clear I don’t want to put them in a tough spot... not Shinobu, not Kanao, not Mitsuri."

"So... since all of you want to obey the rules, and I don’t want to be bound by them..."

"I’ve got a much simpler method."

Marcus grinned from ear to ear.

"Why not be the one who writes this country a new rule myself? One made entirely to the measure of my tastes."

"That way we solve what we both want, don’t you think?"

Kanae stared at him, stunned.

She thought she saw, deep in his eyes, a ferocious desire to conquer.

And in that instant, she felt a pang of regret.

She... had just made a mistake. A huge one.

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Throw your stones, drop them ALL! 💎

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