Noella stepped forward before Vienna could speak.
Her voice broke through the heavy silence of the hall.
"Sister Vienna. Can we talk? In private."
Vienna’s eyes narrowed, but she gave a curt nod.
The two women turned and walked toward balcony.
The door closed behind them with a solid thud, leaving the rest of the household frozen in place.
On the balcony, morning light poured in painting the stone floor in patches of sapphire and gold.
Noella leaned against the railing, arms cross, expression tense.
Vienna faced her with chin high. "Speak Noella."
Noella exhaled sharply, before saying, "Cousin, before you pass sentence on him... tell me honestly. Do you feel even a little sad about punishing him? About sending him away forever?"
Vienna’s composure cracked. Her lower lip trembled once before she pressed it into a thin line.
Very quickly, tears gathered in thr corner of her eyes.
Her lips quivered,
"I do, I do. Gods help me, I do. But he raped us, Noella. He chained our souls. He made us love him against our will. That cannot be forgiven just because my heart still aches when I look at him."
Noella pushed on the railing and closed the distance between them.
"So we both enjoyed it. Every second. You screamed his name while he filled you up. I begged him to fuck my womanhood deeper. I came so hard we blacked out. If that was rape, then we were willing victims from the first thrust. The chains made us obedient, yes. But the pleasure? That was real. Our bodies chose that. Our minds followed."
Vienna turned her face away as thr tears finally rolled down her cheeks.
"That doesn’t make it right."
"No. It doesn’t." Noella reached out and gently turned Vienna’s chin back toward her.
"But listen to me. He took our virginity. By tradition and the old noble laws we both grew up with, that makes him our husband. We gave him our purity, Sister Vienna.
Whether the binding forced the consent or not, the act happened. The law doesn’t care about the why. It only sees the blood on the sheets."
Vienna’s heart trembled. "You want to forgive him."
"No.I want to keep him." Noella’s eyes burned. "Because what he is, what he can do, is terrifying and magnificent. He’s an otherworlder. He carries a stabilized devil seed inside him. He wields Soul Binding ability. He can rewrite minds, bind souls, build empires with a glance. And yet last night he chose to break those chains instead of tightening them. He chose to risk losing us rather than keep us as slaves. That is not the action of a monster, Vienna. That is the action of a man with a destiny so large it scares even him."
She stepped closer even more.
"He can manage the Flower Garden better than anyone alive. He can turn it into a kingdom of trade. He can crush any rival who threatens us. And if we stand beside him as wives, he will protect us with everything he has. Even from Castros house.
So, we would be fools to throw that away because we’re angry. Anger fades in time. But power doesn’t."
Vienna closed her eyes, and fresh tears slipped free.
"I hate that you’re right, Noella." she whispered. "I hate that part of me still wants him. Wants his hands on me. Wants his child in my belly. Wants to wake up every morning knowing he’s mine."
Noella took both of Vienna’s hands in hers.
"Then let him stay. But not without cost. He needs to suffer for what he did. Make him earn us again."
Vienna opened her eyes. The fury was still there, banked but burning.
"Punishment? Yes, you’re right. He can stay. But he need to marry both of us properly, in front of the household and the city magistrates. He need to speak vows that bind him to us without chains. And for one full month he will not touch us. Not a finger. Not a kiss. Not even a glance that lingers too long. He will sleep in the guest room. Alone. Every night he will lie in an empty bed remembering what he almost lost. That is the greatest torment we can give a man who fears being alone more than anything."
Noella’s lips curved in a small, vicious smile.
"That’s excellent, Sister Vienna. Let him feel the emptiness he tried so hard to fill with control."
They returned to the main hall together.
The household had not moved.
Egon still stood in the center, face dropped with remorse, and waiting for their judgment.
Vienna stepped forward first, speaking coldly,
"Egon Novos. You will marry Vienna Castros and Noella Castros tomorrow at noon in the grand chapel. The vows will be spoken before witnesses and sealed by law. You will be our husband in name and truth."
"What!"
A ripple of shock passed through the room.
Hilga’s hands flew to her mouth. Barbara’s eyes widened. Neco’s tail lashed once.
"But," Vienna continued, "for the next thirty days you will not touch us. You will not share our bed. You will not enter our chambers. You will reside in the east guest wing. Alone. You will eat alone. Sleep alone. Work alone. If you break this condition even once, we will dissolve the marriage and you will leave this house forever."
Noella stepped up beside her.
"We give you this chance because you chose to free us when you could have kept us enslaved. But do not mistake mercy for weakness. This is punishment. This is penance. Endure it, and perhaps one day we will look at you without remembering chains."
Egon’s adams apple bobbed. He looked at Vienna’s icy resolve, Noella’s blazing eyes, and slowly bowed his head.
"I accept every term. I will earn your love and trust again. Or I will leave when the month ends."
Vienna turned on her heel.
"Prepare the chapel. Inform the magistrates. The wedding will proceed at noon tommorow ."
She head up the stairs without another word.
Noella followed, pausing only long enough to look back at Egon once.
"You have 30 days, Egon Novos. Use them well."
The hall emptied slowly.
Egon remained standing alone beneath the chandelier, staring at the spot where Vienna had stood.
Thirty days.
Thirty nights of emptiness.
He closed his eyes.
He had wanted never to be alone again.
Now he would learn exactly how much that loneliness could hurt.
And perhaps, only perhaps, when the month ended, they would choose him without chains.
He turned and walked toward his room.
He is officially going to be a married man.