Harem System In A fantasy World

Mira’s POV...

Mira had always thought of herself as a calm and rational person. She was not emotionless, of course, but she simply knew how to place her emotions where they belonged.

Anger had its place, fear had its place. Affection, desire, irritation, pride, jealousy, and longing; all of them had their own place as well.

As long as each feeling remained where it was supposed to be, then Mira could think clearly, act properly, and make the right decisions when it mattered most.

That was what she had always believed.

Then Elion disappeared, and for the first time in a long while, Mira realised that some emotions did not care where they were supposed to belong; they spilled out anyway.

It had been a strange month.

Not strange in any obvious way, it’s not like the academy was thrown into absolute chaos, and everyone suddenly panicked as if some sort of catastrophe had occurred.

In truth, Grimholt had not collapsed after Elion vanished. Classes continued, Professors still taught, students still gossiped, schemed, trained, and competed. The academy was far too large and far too old to be shaken by the disappearance of a single first-year student, even if said student had been branded a demonic heretic by a powerful duke before vanishing.

But for those who truly knew Elion, everything had changed. Mira had done her best to keep things together since someone had to.

The others, whether they admitted it or not, all seemed to look toward Mira whenever Elion’s name was brought up, as though expecting her to know what to do, so she played the role.

She made sure none of Elion’s people were isolated or cornered by students who thought his disappearance had made them easy targets.

She gathered information where she could.

She paid attention to the professors, the elders, and the changes within the academy, no matter how small. She even made sure Aria did not do anything foolish, or at least, she had tried.

Mira let out a quiet sigh beneath the hood of her cloak. That girl was far more of a loose cannon than she had expected.

She had always known Aria was loose-tongued, airheaded, and temperamental. But without Elion there, something about her had become frighteningly chaotic.

It was not that Aria cried, no. But Mira almost wished she did, at least crying was easier to deal with.

Instead, Aria became more dangerous in the way a blade was dangerous when left too close to someone’s throat, and then William had opened his mouth one too many times.

Mira still remembered the moment clearly. Aria had moved so suddenly that even she had almost failed to react. If Professor George had been a moment slower, William’s injury would have been far worse than a scarred face.

Mira had been furious with her afterward, but she was also terrified, not because she cared about William though. If anything, some small and shameful part of her had enjoyed seeing him finally pay for the words he kept spitting out.

But Aria had done it in front of witnesses, and her target hadn’t fought back, so it was no surprise that the little incident had been classified as a one-sided assault, even if Aria had been provoked first.

If not for her family name and if the academy had not been so eager to avoid a clash between their two families, the consequences could have been disastrous.

In fact, even now, Mira was not sure if the matter was fully settled, since the matter had been decided to be settled between the two families, she was not entirely sure how Aria’s inevitable punishment would unfold, which is one of the reasons why she was here today.

And yet, despite all that, Mira could not truly fault her, because she missed him too. She missed Elion so much it felt ridiculous. It was not the sort of longing she would allow to interfere with her judgment, but it was definitely there.

In the quiet moments before sleep, in the empty spaces during meals, in the training grounds where she sometimes expected to hear his teasing voice, and in every rumour that might have had his name attached to it.

Mira missed his shameless smile and his ridiculous confidence. The way he looked at her as though she were both beautiful and treacherous, and somehow he liked both equally.

She missed the warmth of his hand, the sound of his laugh, the strange certainty that, as long as he was nearby, nothing could harm her. And that was perhaps the most frustrating part.

Elion had appeared in her life, turned everything upside down, claimed a place in her heart with infuriating ease, and then vanished.

Mira’s fingers tightened slightly around the edge of her hood.

The cloak she wore was plain and dark, far removed from the fine dresses she usually preferred. It hid her hair, softened her outline, and made her look like any ordinary young woman moving through the busy streets during the academy break.

She disliked wearing it, not because it was uncomfortable, but because she disliked needing it. But she was not foolish.

The current situation with her family was dangerous, so she had to do this, as well as avoid busy main roads when possible.

Today, she had come to check on Aria.

The Moon family had chosen to stay in one of the lavish inns in the city during the school break. It was not surprising. Aria’s father did not strike Mira as the sort of man who enjoyed appearing modest, especially in a place where status was recognised through every visible luxury.

Mira had considered sending a message first, and then she decided against it. If Aria was in one of her moods, she might ignore it. She turned onto a quieter street, her steps light against the stone path.

The inn was not far now, just around the next corner, Mira exhaled slowly. She hoped Aria was calm today, but most of all, she hoped Elion would come back soon, because Mira was tired.

Tired of acting calm and pretending she was not worried. She was tired of holding the edges of their little group together while everyone frayed in different directions.

She could do it; In fact, she would do it for as long as she needed to, but she wanted him back. That was the simple truth.

Mira reached the corner and adjusted her hood slightly lower over her face. She turned and immediately stopped in her tracks.

For a brief moment, her mind went completely blank. The lavish inn stood ahead, just as expected, with polished walls, wide windows, and uniformed attendants near the entrance.

But Mira barely saw it, because standing directly in her path was the very person she had dreaded meeting most.

Her father.

He stood with his hands behind his back, dressed impeccably as always, his expression calm in the way only truly angry men could appear calm.

Behind him were twelve men and three women.

Mira’s blood ran cold.

Her fingers tightened beneath her cloak. For one foolish instant, she thought about turning around and running, but then she saw the way two of the men had already moved to block the street behind her.

Of course, her father had never been careless. Gale looked at her for a long moment as his gaze lowered to the hood hiding her face.

"Mira," he said softly.

Her name had never sounded so dreadful coming from his lips. Mira’s chest tightened. Today, of all days, she had ventured out without Esme, and this happens.

’How?’

It was almost like he had been stalking her and waiting for this exact day and moment. Gale’s eyes narrowed dangerously, "Did you truly think I would not find you?"

Mira slowly raised one hand and lowered her hood since there was no use hiding now. Her father looked at her face.

"Come," Gale said, and it was not a request.

Mira stood still. In that moment, she felt farther from everyone than she had in a long time.