Men of the Harem (137 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 4
Aini’s eyes widened in surprise. She clearly hadn’t expected La Til to offer a handshake. But soon, she smiled broadly enough to crinkle the corners of her eyes and clasped La Til’s hand warmly in return.
Even Aini’s hand felt soft and pliant. Unlike La Til’s palm—calloused from holding a sword since childhood—Aini’s hand was delicate, and even her smile was lovely.
La Til didn’t know why she had come, but her first impression was undeniably, overwhelmingly charming.
Without realizing it, La Til found herself staring down at Aini’s hand, lost in thought.
Hyacinth. You spent five years married to a woman like this and claim you never loved her? La Til almost snorted in disbelief.
“Your Highness, Princess—I was startled by your sudden request for a handshake. I am Aini Tur La Daga, and I offer you my respects.”
Even after withdrawing her hand, Aini bowed again formally, which only left La Til feeling even more sour.
After finishing her greeting, Aini gazed quietly at La Til for a moment, and La Til silently met her eyes in return.
An awkward silence passed between them. After about two minutes of steady eye contact, Aini finally spoke.
“Truthfully, Your Highness, I came here at the risk of rudeness because I wished to speak with you about the conversation you had with His Majesty Hyacinth a couple of hours ago.”
“A couple of hours ago” referred precisely to the moment when La Til had reunited with Hyacinth. La Til had nearly blurted out “It’s fine,” but caught something odd and furrowed her brow. At that time, only La Til and Hyacinth had been in the room.
So how could this woman possibly know about that conversation? Hyacinth certainly wouldn’t have told anyone.
‘Hyacinth mentioned Duke Daga watches him like a hawk with burning eyes. I suppose that’s true after all.’
“Since Your Highness appears to disagree with His Majesty Hyacinth, I wanted to speak openly with you.”
While analyzing the power dynamics between Duke Daga and Hyacinth in her mind, La Til maintained a polite smile and gestured for her to continue.
“Go ahead.”
“I will absolutely not divorce His Majesty, not even five years from now.”
La Til raised one eyebrow and looked down at Aini, who appeared at least 20 centimeters shorter than herself. Yet Aini met La Til’s gaze with unwavering confidence.
“You didn’t need to share your marital plans with me specifically.”
La Til muttered, but Aini quickly shook her head.
“It’s not because I love His Majesty Hyacinth. It’s because I refuse to give him what he wants.”
“!”
“Hearing that conversation made my heart burn. No one wants to live with a man who married her just so he could eventually abandon her. My pride took such a blow—I even considered breaking off the marriage myself first. I agonized over it many times.”
For a fleeting moment, Aini’s normally resolute eyes wavered.
La Til momentarily set aside her irritation over how Aini could possibly have overheard their conversation. Yes—regardless of how it happened, that discussion must have been utterly devastating from Aini’s perspective.
“But I’ve decided against it. The worst thing I could possibly do to hurt His Majesty Hyacinth wouldn’t be stepping aside voluntarily.”
“I see… That’s unfortunate.”
“Not at all. I’m actually grateful. At first, I only felt wounded pride. But upon reflection, I realized I should thank Your Highness. You yourself must have been furious, yet you still chose to speak those words to me.”
“…”
“And this. I thought you might need it. It’s my usual drinking companion.”
After bowing once more, Aini handed over what she’d brought, bowed again, and left.
Blinking in confusion, La Til placed the box Aini had given her onto the table and opened it. It contained a famously potent liquor.
Feeling absurd, La Til chuckled dryly, then laughed outright and shook her head.
[This is the timeline separator]That night, La Til sipped the liquor Aini had left behind, trying to clear her muddled thoughts.
“My usual companion,” Aini had called it. Indeed, it was remarkably effective. The first sip brought a bitter pang to her chest; by the second, warmth bloomed deep in her belly; and by the third, all resentment toward Hyacinth had flown away.
Before long, she was simply staring blankly into her cup, mechanically tilting it again and again.
“Yeah… Is he really the only man out there? No. There are plenty of men. Loads of them.”
Half-drunk, La Til mumbled to herself as she kept sipping from the bottle.
“I need a handsome man. Someone incredibly, ridiculously, devastatingly good-looking to help me forget that man.”
Her memories grew hazy afterward. Repeating “handsome man” over and over, she wondered if she’d drifted into a dream of that very sort—because suddenly, a stunningly handsome man seemed to appear right before her eyes.
Since such an unreal, otherworldly face couldn’t possibly exist in reality, La Til, thoroughly drunk, concluded it must be a dream.
If it’s a dream, I should catch him. La Til reached out, grabbed the man, and said something to him; the man burst into laughter.
She must have been half out of her mind. She couldn’t hear her own words or his. Her consciousness was already fading fast.
That was the last thing she remembered. La Til’s memory cut out completely after that.
When she opened her eyes again, La Til found herself lying in a garden, tightly embracing a man she’d never seen before.
La Til froze completely.
The man in her arms was so beautiful that mistaking him for a dream figure seemed perfectly reasonable.
His features were perfectly balanced, as if drawn by an artist; his nose and jawline were strikingly elegant. His hair was a clean, silvery white—and so were his eyelashes.
His slightly dusky skin contrasted sharply with his silver hair and lashes, lending him the allure of an enchanting elf.
But the problem wasn’t the man’s handsome face.
‘Damn it. Just how strong is this liquor?’
La Til cursed inwardly.
Thankfully, they were both fully clothed in multiple layers, so it didn’t seem like anything truly disastrous had happened—but still, the imperial envoy princess waking up drunk in the garden with a stranger was already disastrous enough.
Perhaps they’d drunk together? The man reeked strongly of alcohol too.
Just then, the man’s eyelids fluttered. He looked as if he might open his eyes at any moment.
‘No!’
La Til scrambled away from the spot in a panic.
[This is the timeline separator]Back in her room, La Til’s mind spun in confusion.
Could that man know I’m a princess? But how did he end up lying beside me? Was he also passed out from drinking?
If so, maybe he wouldn’t remember anything either.
Moreover, unlike her, he hadn’t woken up to see La Til—so it was possible he didn’t even recall her existence.
‘Which would be great. Damn it. Who the hell is that man? What does he do?’
If he worked in the palace, even if he remembered her, he’d likely stay silent—especially since he might not even know who La Til truly was. But if he were a noble…
‘I might run into him at Hyacinth’s wedding.’
La Til struggled to recall the man’s attire. Clothing usually gave away one’s status.
But strangely, no matter how hard she racked her brain, she couldn’t remember what the man—whom she’d seen just minutes earlier—had been wearing. His face had been so overwhelmingly striking that his clothes had faded from her notice entirely.
‘I’m sure he was wearing something…’
After much deliberation, La Til finally decided that if she ever met that man again, she’d simply pretend not to know him.
It wouldn’t just be her embarrassment—they’d both made fools of themselves together. Out of mutual dignity, ignoring each other was the wisest course.
‘Alright.’
Having reached her decision, La Til quickly changed out of her clothes and went into the bathroom.
[This is the timeline separator]However, her reunion with the man unfolded far worse—and more seriously—than La Til had anticipated.
‘Wow… Damn it. I’m going insane.’
She’d reluctantly gone to the grand banquet hall to attend Hyacinth’s wedding, only to find that man seated at one of the highest-ranking positions in the hall.
From his seat alone, La Til immediately recognized him as imperial royalty—specifically, from the Carissen imperial family.
Which meant he was likely Hyacinth’s relative—and given their similarly prestigious seating assignments, not a distant one either.
Was she imagining it? It felt like he kept glancing her way.
“Your Highness, do you know that person? He’s been staring at you continuously.”
So it wasn’t her imagination.
“I don’t know him.”
La Til lied flatly. He must be staring because I’m stunning. Of course he is.
Thankfully, after she kept ignoring him, the man eventually turned his head away without acknowledging her.
“Your Highness, your eyes are turning into flounders. Just turn your head already.”
La Til glared at the knight captain who kept jabbing at her ribs, then squeezed her eyes shut.
‘Don’t worry. He’s not acknowledging me either. He’s either unsure, doesn’t recognize me, or decided to pretend not to know me—take your pick.’
[This is the timeline separator]“La Trasil Valerthaine Tariyum. Princess of Tariyum.”
When her subordinate reported this almost without moving his lips, Klein’s mouth twisted into a grim smirk.
“So it was Her Highness the Princess. No wonder she’s got such nerve.”
A faint grinding sound came from between Klein’s even teeth.
That woman—calling herself a princess—had clearly been staring right at him, yet kept deliberately avoiding his gaze.
With a rigidly stiff neck, she was practically broadcasting, “I’m ignoring you completely.”
The previous evening, Klein had found a drunken, sobbing knight and approached her. She was a female knight in uniform, clutching a bottle in one hand and wailing miserably.
He admitted—he hadn’t approached out of kindness. Her noise annoyed him; he’d meant to chase her off.
But she was strong. No matter how he tried, she wouldn’t budge.
Eventually, Klein decided to get her even more drunk—she’d quiet down and fall asleep that way. Besides, he was curious about this “handsome man” she kept mumbling about while crying.
“Who exactly is this ‘handsome man’ you keep sobbing about?”
“It’s you.”
To his shock, she claimed she was crying because of him. She grabbed the front of Klein’s collar and wept pitifully.
“H-Hy… I like you so much, yet you… Waaah! Who are you? Did you come down from the heavens to comfort my wounded heart? Waaaah!”
Klein wasn’t unpopular. Though he wasn’t the Empress’s son, he was still a prince—and blessed with such stunning beauty that he’d earned the nickname “beauty capable of toppling a nation.” Not being popular would’ve been harder.
However, unlike his handsome face, his personality was notoriously abrasive; since age fifteen, no woman had openly courted him. Naturally, this was the first time anyone had clung to him, declaring their affection with their whole body.
The woman pressed tightly against his side, sniffling.
Klein awkwardly wrapped his arms around her. Amid the scent of alcohol, he caught the familiar, comforting smell of earth and grass. Her soft hair tickled his neck.
So there really was someone who loved him so deeply it caused her pain. Strangely satisfied, Klein patted her back gently.
But as a prince, he couldn’t just marry any woman.
“You’re driving me crazy. Am I really that great?”
“You’ll leave, won’t you? You’ll abandon me too?”
“Well, I…”
“Waaah! Waaaah! I’ll throw you in prison! I’ll tie you up so you can’t leave!”
“Hey, miss. That’s a crime.”
Tsking at her drunken ramblings, Klein snatched her bottle and took a swig himself.
It was sympathy, in his own way—a prince’s guilt for being unable to accept the affection of a woman who cried so desperately for him. If he felt bad, might as well share a drink with her.
As he drank from her bottle, Klein gently patted her back.
But when he woke up, she was gone. He asked around, yet no one knew of a female knight with black hair and black eyes.
Klein was annoyed. She claimed to adore him—cried her eyes out over him—and then just abandoned him alone in the garden?
Still, he tried to understand. Perhaps she’d been too ashamed after revealing feelings she’d kept tightly hidden. Maybe she’d fled out of embarrassment and fear for acting shamelessly in front of a prince.
Viewed that way, she seemed almost endearing—and he even wondered what she looked like when sober.
Pushing aside his lingering disappointment, Klein returned to his quarters.
He’d wanted to learn more about her, but cursed timing meant he had to rush and prepare for his damn brother’s wedding.
And then, in the most unexpected place, he ran into that sobbing woman again—now acting haughtily, refusing even to meet his eyes.
“…”
After checking the time, Klein finally stood from his seat. With a crooked smirk, he walked over to her and lightly tapped the back of the chair in front of her with his finger.
“Enough avoiding my gaze. Let’s properly greet each other.”
When the male lead is punished by carrying the female lead’s child and having periods like a woman
“I’ve given birth to two children for you, yet you still think about him.
Was I nothing but his substitute to you from beginning to end?”
Synopsis:
Meng Huan, a scumbag who has dated countless girlfriends, transmigrates to a female-dominated country.
Day 1: Whether it’s female dominance or not doesn’t matter. The beauties here are passionate and amorous. Isn’t it easier to date them than in modern times?
Day 2: After a night, Meng Huan discovers the differences in the female-dominated world. Men here actually have chastity locks and menstrual cycles. This hinders his ability to perform, damn it!
Day 3: What’s wrong with sleeping around? I don’t want you to marry me. I’m meant to be a playboy. I don’t care about male virtues… What? You want to drown me in a pig cage? Marry, I’ll marry!
Day N: Meng Huan inexplicably vomits and receives the shocking news of his life… He’s pregnant.
_____
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Well, I expected that she would take concubines from other countries as they helped her with ascension.
The revenge against Hyacinth is quite harsh. A man wouldn’t expect something like that, especially one as narcissistic.
Well, it’s quite fun. It’s interesting and light to read. Feelings of the characters are exposed clearly. 👍🏻