Harem Legion: Queens of the Apocalypse-Chapter 85 So This Was All an Act?

At ten that night, just before lights-out in the sleeper car, Charlotte had someone quietly take Sarah off the train and hide her. Then, she unlocked Magnus’s cuffs and led him to the washroom.

"Come on, Magnus. Let’s get off the train for a bit and have a talk," Charlotte said, not bothering to cuff him again.

Magnus nodded. But just as they reached the door, Sophia stood there with a frosty look. "Charlotte, be careful. If he tries anything, just scream - we’ll come running."

That made Magnus want to curse. Charlotte, smiling, shot back, "Ha, by the time you got there, I might’ve already had his baby."

Off the train, they climbed into a nearby vehicle. Magnus took the driver’s seat out of habit, and Charlotte settled into the passenger side.

She pulled a pack of cigarettes from her coat and handed him one before lighting her own. "Just picked this habit up from Victoria," she said. "Whenever I miss home, I light one up. Helps a bit."

They smoked in silence for a moment. Charlotte stared through the windshield before speaking. "We didn’t handle things well today... yeah, it was a mess."

She gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Thinking about it now, it’s kinda funny. If you really had other intentions, could any of us have stopped you?"

Magnus glanced at her, a bit stunned. Her words carried some weight.

"Don’t get me wrong," Charlotte added quickly. "I’ve got a kid. To me, you’re just a boy."

"I didn’t take it wrong. It’s just..." Magnus started, but Charlotte cut him off.

"Hold up. Let me talk."

"I get where you’re coming from," she went on. "You saved everyone, but only the women. It’s not that you’re some pervert... you’re just wary of men, right? Afraid they’ll challenge you, step out of line... Or is it that you’ve been betrayed before?"

She struck home. Last life’s Ice Regiment had paid for that mistake, and Sarah’s death had Kevin written all over it... even his own demise was part of that chain.

"Something like that," Magnus muttered, old pain flickering in his eyes.

Charlotte nodded slightly, exhaled a trail of smoke. "I’ve been in the army for years, grew up around men. I get it. You’re young, full of energy, and from what I heard, Abigail and Emma made the first move. You just didn’t hold back. Not surprising, honestly. Most guys wouldn’t."

"But..." Her tone shifted. "You have to realize something, Magnus. What you see isn’t always the whole truth. What you feel might not be real, either. Can you understand that?"

Not real? He frowned, unsure.

"Take today, for example," Charlotte said. "Let’s say, just hypothetically, that Sophia and Emily both like you. Then suddenly they see you save two other women - and sleep with them. What’d they do? Throw a scene? Come at you yelling about how you’re a player?"

Magnus listened without interrupting, his face unreadable."None of them can say it out loud, right? But they’re still pissed. Can’t vent, so what do they do? Only option - they pull together and hit you with a show of force. Teach you to hold back a bit."

Magnus couldn’t help replying, "But what if that theory of yours doesn’t hold water? I really don’t think Sophia has any feelings for me - and I sure don’t for her."

"If I’m wrong," Charlotte said with a small smile, "then wouldn’t she have just let you leave today? If she hated you that much and suspected you, why keep you around? Think about it. When word got out that you were really gonna leave, who was the first to block your way? So ask yourself - why?"

Magnus fell silent. Thinking back, yeah... maybe he did lose his temper and go too far.

Charlotte continued, "Me and Liana only joined in because, honestly, we thought you needed a wake-up call. A little lesson in boundaries."

"Yeah... I really didn’t think some things through." Magnus looked calm, but his tone was honest. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Charlotte pressed on, "Now picture this. A woman saves your life. She doesn’t ask you for anything. But later, she saves someone else, and charges them ten thousand silver. Now you’ve got exactly ten thousand in your pocket. What do you do? Give her the money? How would you feel about her after that?"

Magnus remained quiet.

"It’s the same thing," Charlotte said plainly. "You saved a bunch of us. But then you turned around and slept with Abigail and Emma. What do you think the rest of us make of that? How’re we supposed to feel? Even if we were willing to be close with you later, could we ever really feel right about it?"

Her words hit hard. Magnus had no comeback. For the first time, he felt she might be right. Maybe he really had been acting like a kid.

"Charlotte..." Magnus looked remorseful. "I shouldn’t have tried to storm off like that."

She laughed lightly. "Are you sure you didn’t just play the fool on purpose? Act dumb to gain sympathy? Looks to me like you got what you wanted and still cry poor."

Magnus raised his hands, borderline aggrieved. "Come on! What did I gain? I was one second from pissing myself. That humiliation’s enough to last a lifetime."

Charlotte chuckled again. "Alright, fine. Let’s assume you’re totally innocent. But are you seriously telling me the whole storm-off today wasn’t some ploy? Trying to pull the whole reverse psychology trick? You weren’t retreating to advance?"

Magnus really didn’t get it. "Charlotte, can you cut the riddles? What game would I be playing? You talking about Sophia?"

She grinned, "So I was overthinking, huh? Fine, let me spell it out. You pulled that whole dramatic exit, threatened to leave, acted all serious... tell me - those women who care about you, they’ll think twice next time, won’t they? When you’re running your little harem later, who’s still gonna dare stop you or yell at you?"

Magnus blinked, stunned. "I wasn’t pretending! I really was going to leave!"

Charlotte patted his shoulder with a teasing smile. "Fine, fine. Just promise me one thing - keep those wandering hands off your dear Charlotte, and I’ll turn a blind eye to everything else."

The tension was gone. After chatting with Charlotte for over an hour on the train, the air had cleared. Magnus hadn’t really thought about starting any kind of harem, but now that he wasn’t leaving, he’d have to get back on with his original plan.