The Hero's Betrothed in My Bed

The Solarion Empire, the land where the sun never sets.

Lately, the entire realm had been caught up in a perpetual festival. After ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠several centuries of relentless bloodshed, the war against the demons had finally drawn to a close with the signing of a peace accord. Rather than ending in the total annihilation of one side, both factions had chosen reconciliation, making the peace all the more momentous. The populace rejoiced in every street, eagerly preparing to usher in a bright new era.

Naturally, the center of all this adoration belonged to the heroes who had brought the war to an end.

There was Kyle, the legendary Hero who achieved what no human in history ever had by brokering peace with the Demon King through understanding rather than slaughter.

There was Leonhardt von Roenheim, the First Prince of the Empire, whose impeccable battlefield command and boundless devotion to his subjects proved his worthiness as an enlightened sovereign, earning him the reigning Emperor's public decree as the next in line for the throne.

There was Edel Winterhardt, revered far and wide as the Saint of the North, who had dedicated himself body and soul to tending the wounded and honoring the fallen.

There was Professor Silverin of the Academy, the spiritual pillar of the Elves and one of the realm's foremost archmages, whose brilliant tactical mind had repeatedly shifted the tides of war.

And finally, there was Khagan, chieftain of the Valkar Tribe that ruled the Great Plains, the fearless vanguard captain who fought on the front lines with unmatched ferocity.

Because each of them had played a decisive role in concluding the centuries-long conflict, praise for these five echoed far beyond the borders of the empire, ringing across the entire continent. The people did not doubt for a single second that as long as these heroes stood together, an era of unending peace and prosperity was guaranteed.

Yet the eyes of the public were glued to them for another reason altogether: all five heroes were scheduled to marry on the exact same day, at the exact same hour.

To one single woman.

Her name was Emily Bellerose.

Originally a commoner who didn't even possess a family name, she carried herself with an elegance and poise that left highborn nobles speechless. Coupled with a breathtaking beauty so bewitching that men swore a single glance was enough to ensnare the soul forever, she had thoroughly stolen the hearts of all five legendary heroes.

Shortly after the war concluded, the five men had proposed to her simultaneously, and Emily had accepted every single proposal. In short, she had openly declared her intention to marry all five of them.

When the news first broke, the entire empire had been thrown into sheer pandemonium. Polygamy was rare enough for men, but a woman ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠taking multiple husbands was virtually unheard of in this world. Yet all five suitors voiced zero complaints—in fact, they readily agreed to the polyandrous arrangement, practically thrilled by the prospect. And with the future Emperor himself, Leonhardt, counted among the grooms, nobody dared raise an official objection.

Of course, tongues wagged behind closed doors, but the parties involved couldn't have cared less. They were entirely head over heels, drunk on the anticipation of their upcoming wedding with Emily.

Well, speaking as the mastermind who had painstakingly orchestrated this reverse harem ending from behind the curtains, as long as they were happy, that was good enough for me. My only real wish now was that they would stop summoning me every five minutes. I had spent years working as their unpaid errand boy and behind-the-scenes fixer. Surely that was enough. Couldn't they just go off and live happily ever after with their shared wife?

The moment that thought crossed my mind, a chime chimed from the desk.

It was a mana-powered telephone, a recent invention developed from ideas I had brought over from modern Earth. Naturally, the ones who actually engineered the thing were Imperial mages and researchers, not me. Still, seeing my brainstormed concept brought to life made this romance fantasy world feel surprisingly modern.

With an inward sigh, I picked up the receiver. A familiar, gentle voice came through the line.

"No, I don't," I grumbled. "Why do you bastards keep asking me where your wife is? The professor and the prince already called asking the exact same thing earlier."

"If I knew everything, I'd have hit the grand lottery ten times over by now. Just hang up. I'm busy drowning in expense reports for your damn wedding."

"Yeah, yeah. Hanging up."

Click.

I set the receiver down on the cradle and exhaled a long, weary breath. I had spoiled them early on, and now it had turned into a bad habit. The moment any minor inconvenience cropped up, their first instinct was always to run to me.

A flicker of annoyance crept up my chest. Just as I leaned back against the headboard to massage my temples, a pair of porcelain-white arms snaked around my torso from behind. A warm, impossibly soft chest pressed flush against my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠back, followed by a sultry, honeyed whisper tickling my ear.

"Fufu... What a terrible commoner you are. To tell such bold-faced lies to the great heroes who saved the empire without batting an eye?"

"And whose fault do you think this is?" I countered, turning my head. "Who are you calling terrible, anyway? You're the unfaithful hussy fooling around with another man right before her grand wedding to the continent's saviors."

"Fufu... If you want to punish me, you could always run off and tell my dear husbands, you know."

"Are you insane? If I tell them, I'm the one who gets drawn and quartered."

"I suppose that's true. After all, even if they found out I've been straying, they would still love me regardless."

She giggled playfully, a devious glint dancing in her eyes. The sheer audacity of her coquettish charm made my annoyance flare up all over again—principally because she looked so damn gorgeous doing it.

Yes. There was no point hiding it. Emily, the betrothed bride of the five legendary heroes, was right here in my bed. Both of us stark naked.

And were we just lounging around? Far from it. Over the past several hours, we had bitten, sucked, licked, tangled, and thoroughly plowed into one another until neither of us could move. I had taken her virginity, and she had taken mine.

Was this right? Fuck if I knew. In my past life, I had despised tropes like NTR or stolen wives. But the person responsible for dragging us into this mess was entirely her, not me. Even now, whenever I looked back on the night it started, a faint shiver ran through my spine.

Perhaps she had sensed what I was reminiscing about, because Emily's delicate fingers began tracing lazy, teasing patterns across my chest.

"Fufu... Lying together like this brings back memories of the first time we shared a bed. You looked so delightfully adorable, trembling shyly beneath me..."

"Shy, my ass. That was because of whatever cocktail you forced down my throat! What kind of respectable noble lady spikes a guy's wine with paralytic poison?"

"Oh my, how can you put it so cruelly? The moment the paralysis wore off, you pounced on me like a starved beast, Hans. You wouldn't stop no matter how much I begged or told you I was sorry."

"Which is precisely why I couldn't report you to anyone! To any outsider, it would've looked like I jumped you first."

"Mmh... Was that truly the only reason?"

"...To be completely honest, it felt fucking incredible."

"Fufu. I do love how honest you are."

Yeah. Putting all excuses aside, it had felt unimaginably good. True to her status as the romance fantasy novel's heroine, Emily's beauty was on an entirely different plane from the ordinary mortals of this world, where handsome men and striking women were already a dime a dozen. Her lustrous, wine-dark crimson hair captured the eye instantly. Her facial features were chiseled with immaculate symmetry, as if sculpted by the gods themselves. Her striking emerald-green eyes carried a gaze that effortlessly ensnared the soul, and her figure was slender yet violently voluptuous in all the right places.

It was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a maddening level of beauty that made it abundantly clear why five world-renowned heroes had fallen head over heels for her. Honestly, when a woman like that strips naked and climbs on top of you, what red-blooded man could possibly hold back? So I had thrown caution to the wind and tumbled into bed with her.

Naturally, when post-nut clarity hit hours later, I had slumped into despair, utterly convinced that my life was over. But then—

'Don't look so frightened. This is our little secret. Nothing between us has to change.'

Funnily enough, the moment Emily whispered those words while cuddling up beside me, every shred of lingering anxiety evaporated into thin air. I had let out a hollow laugh, marveling at the terrifying charisma of a romance fantasy heroine. Ever since that fateful night, the two of us had maintained this secret arrangement under the radar.

More than friends, less than lovers? No, why bother mincing words at this stage? We were fuck buddies, plain and simple.

Could an ordinary guy really fool around like this with the reverse harem's female lead? Hell if I knew. If the woman herself saw no problem with it, what was a lowly commoner like me supposed to do?

Besides, I learned later that Emily had known all along that I was orchestrating her romantic encounters with the male leads from the shadows. Rather than demanding to know why, she had found the idea entertaining and agreed to play her part, happily cooperating with my schemes. In exchange, she demanded private, intimate trysts whenever the mood struck her—a condition I had readily accepted.

Still, a part of me had never understood why she had targeted me in the first place. There had been virtually no romantic overlap between us, making it difficult to believe she held any genuine affection for me. Once, driven by curiosity, I had actually asked her about it.

'Why did I jump you that night? Hmm... Sheer curiosity, I suppose?'

'Curiosity? About what, exactly...?'

'Fufufu, who knows? I simply wondered how long this monstrous cock of yours could stay hard. Shall we test its limits? All through the night...♡'

She had laughed off the question with shameless teasing, letting the matter dissolve into the dark. And what happened after that? Need anyone ask? Exactly as she had threatened, we tangled in bed until the morning sun crested the horizon.

To this day, I still had no idea why she had ambushed me back then. Perhaps it didn't even matter anymore. Trying to debate whether our bond was built on love or mutual hedonism felt utterly pointless, so I had stopped prying.

Nevertheless, this arrangement would have to end the moment she officially tied the knot. Emily herself didn't seem to care, but sleeping with a married woman was far too dangerous. And sleeping with a woman who had five heroic husbands? The mere thought was enough to freeze the blood in my veins.

I had been watching for the right moment all morning to tell her that it was time to end our secret affair. Feeling that the timing was as good as it would ever get, I parted my lips to speak.

"By the way, Hans. Do you have any plans tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow? Nothing in particular, but... why do you ask?"

"My husbands will likely come looking for you starting tomorrow morning. It will be an important matter, so make sure to keep your schedule open."

"An important matter...? If it's that important, shouldn't they be discussing it with you, their bride?"

"Fufu, no. You are the only person who can resolve this."

"Only me...?"

What the hell did that mean? The meaningful smile curving her lips sent a prickle of unease down my spine. With her dropping a cryptic bomb like that, bringing up our breakup suddenly felt awkward. Deciding it would be wiser to hear what the male leads had to say tomorrow before cutting ties, I swallowed my words.

Right at that moment, Emily pushed herself up and straddled my lap, shifting her full weight onto my thighs. Looking down at me with half-lidded, alluring eyes, she dragged the tips of her manicured fingers down my chest and whispered softly.

"You have far too many thoughts in that head of yours, Hans. Didn't I tell you? Whenever you're with me, you need to focus entirely on me..."

"And whose fault do you think that is..."

"Fufufu, there's really no need to look so troubled. It won't be bad news. In fact, you might even enjoy it."

"Enjoy it? What on earth are you—mph?!"

"Shh. That's quite enough thinking for today. From this moment on, your attention belongs solely to me..."

"...As if I have a say in the matter."

Watching her close the distance with that delightfully wicked smirk, I wrapped my arms around her slender waist and pulled her flush against my chest. Fine. Whatever tomorrow brought, I could deal with it tomorrow. Right now, my only duty was to pamper the spoiled rose resting in my bed.