Taken together, all those stories made one thing clear.
Few of them spoke of true love. In almost all of them, the same elements appeared: interest or power. Stories that didn't revolve around one of those two axes—or both—were rare, if they existed at all.
Chatting with the witches, Hannah finally came to understand a truth of that era… and perhaps of all eras: power dictates what you can do and what you must accept.
Wizards with great power could have several wives without them daring to complain. In contrast, those who paired up with a sufficiently strong witch had to tread carefully; such a woman could teach them a lesson they would never forget.
Many—especially Muggles—didn't dare have affairs when they were with a witch. The result of infidelity could be catastrophic if she grew angry. Though, of course… there was always some idiot who tried.
And then there was that witch with her harem of men, spread between her house and nearby villages. It was the mirror image of the same phenomenon: just as some men accumulated women, she, thanks to her power, had formed her own male harem to satisfy her desires.
They also mentioned, quite naturally, witches who preferred other witches. Hannah tried to ignore that topic. She still carried some trauma from what she had seen at Castelobruxo and felt uncomfortable when someone mentioned it with too much familiarity.
In the magical world, she realized, almost any kind of sexual deviation was considered normal. Even the strangest ones. Hannah even began to think that my relationship with "non-human" beings was perhaps not so aberrant… it just wasn't happening in the right era. Here, wizards did all sorts of things without much hesitation.
Eventually, the conversation turned toward her. Everyone knew those questions weren't casual.
"So… does your partner want to have several wives and you don't know whether to accept it?" one witch asked.
"No…" Hannah denied, embarrassed.
"Better that way. Don't let those ideas get into his head. If he loves you, he'd better save himself for you alone. If he's not willing to do that, leave him," another commented firmly.
"Yes, there comes a time for every wizard when he wants to let himself be carried away by carnal pleasures," a woman added, recalling her youth and her husband. "And it is our duty, as their women, to stop them. It never ends well."
"He… already has several women," Hannah murmured.
The witches fell silent for a moment, observing her shyness with understanding. The classic dilemma of a young girl in love.
"But was that from before, back when you didn't have anything between you yet?"
"Was he already committed? Because I know some curses to make them disappear discreetly…"
"If he's just your fellow apprentice, you aren't obligated. Even if your master approves, you can always escape."
Each gave their opinion without leaving her much room to respond. Regardless, Hannah wouldn't have known what to say.
"Do you plan to start a family with him?"
"What position would you have compared to the other women?"
"Are they witches? Because if they aren't, you can ignore them… as long as you take away their fertility."
The topic strayed again, but it didn't lose intensity.
"If he wants you to accept something like that, he'll have to offer you a lot in return. Make sure your children are the primary heirs."
"Not even that. You shouldn't allow him to use you that way. You are a powerful witch; who does he think he is to demean you like that?"
"Exactly. Go and make it clear that if he wants something with you, it will be only with you. And if not, leave. A wizard like that doesn't deserve to be a partner, a friend, or even an acquaintance."
Finally, one witch smiled with experience and a certain malice.
"Well… he can have his harem if he wants. But with your ability, you could have yours too. If you're interested, I can teach you. I know many ways to keep men submissive, obedient… and yet, wild like animals in sex."
Hannah didn't respond.
But that night, for the first time, she understood that she wasn't just deciding what she felt, but what kind of life she was willing to accept.
...
In the end, Hannah ended up being "interrogated," so to speak. The witches tried to get everything possible out of her about me, not just out of curiosity, but to understand the situation. And in the process, both they and Hannah herself began to analyze me more carefully.
First, Hannah's feelings came up. She admitted she felt something for me, the fruit of everything they had lived through together. Several witches dismissed it immediately, as if affection were an irrelevant factor when talking about a prosperous future. Some supported that view; others didn't quite agree.
Then came the inevitable question: who were my partners?
The more they heard, the more astonishment accumulated in the room.
There were many women: all witches of a level equal to or superior to Hannah's. Some non-human. Even a ghost.
That baffled them. There were wizards who aspired to be kings or gods with everything at their disposal, yes, but it was rare for someone to manage something like that so stably. What I was doing wasn't, in itself, an exaggeration… but it was deeply impressive.
The idea that I had so many wives and that most were not with me for convenience, favors, or protection, but out of genuine appreciation, elevated my figure to something unsettling. It wasn't just power: it was influence, charisma, something harder to define.
Then came the analysis of my strength.
Everyone knew Hannah and I were powerful. By knowing Hannah, they understood she had talent, but not something unreachable or incomprehensible. They thought the same of me… until she started revealing more and more details.
These talks weren't just friendly. Some witches valued Hannah being so open because that information could be used to plan encounters, trades… or countermeasures, if one day we became enemies. But as they listened, the picture became disturbing for someone who appeared my age.
-Expert in multiple areas of magic.
-Superhuman physical strength.
-Strange abilities.
-Vast knowledge.
-Combat experience difficult to match.
If Hannah wasn't exaggerating, I wasn't just a powerful wizard... I was a monster.
A detail Hannah didn't seem to notice… but the others did.
Some witches stopped voicing their opinions openly, not daring to suggest Hannah leave me or to criticize me directly. Others still didn't approve of my "polygamy," but they avoided saying anything negative out loud.
There were those, however, who approached Hannah with extreme kindness, seeing her as a possible bridge to reach me. Not all of them had the potential to climb the ladder on their own, but they hoped to use me as a means to improve their status. Hannah noticed and didn't know how to feel; she opted to be polite and ignore it for the moment.
There were also the skeptics. They didn't doubt I was an exceptional mage, but they believed Hannah was exaggerating my power. To them, what she described bordered on the unbelievable.
In any case, the meeting ended up being much more than initially planned.
In the end, those who wanted to support Hannah—more than they desired or feared me—gave her a simple and brutal piece of advice:
"Get away… or demand something valuable enough to accept giving in."
Hannah was left in conflict.
What she had seen there was very different from what she knew. In this world, whoever had the power to back it up could do whatever they wanted. Man or woman, it didn't matter. Have as many as you can.
She wondered if I really belonged to her time… or if, just as she was now by traveling to the past, she was living with someone from an era where this was normal.
Was I normal? Was what I was doing right? If I had the power… did I deserve, or at least could I have, as many women as I wanted?
In the end, Hannah didn't get the clear answer she expected… but she did get something perhaps more dangerous: food for thought. And warnings.
A few witches approached her privately to tell her to be careful with me. Her description—without obvious exaggerations—had awakened in them memories and rumors of gods, demons, and ancient entities that kidnapped young girls to make them wives. Stories that, while extreme, were not entirely non-existent in that world.
...
It was after that event that Hannah began to change her perspective. She grew closer to me, but with a different kind of naturalness. No longer distant or fearful… but analytical.
Her questions about my private life became more direct, less burdened by shame. At first, there was some, of course, but it dissipated. She asked about my women: how I met them, what I gave them—or continued to give them—in exchange for their love. She compared, consciously or unconsciously, what I had done with everything she had heard at that meeting.
It was a strange approach, but it flowed naturally. It was clear that Hannah was beginning to define, though still without naming it, what kind of relationship she wanted or feared to have with me.
But before anything could solidify, a certain individual appeared who sowed doubt where before there were only questions.
A man. A young man.
I didn't know it immediately.
He presented himself to Hannah one day while she was gathering herbs, like a traveler simply passing through. His way of speaking was almost hypnotic, and his charisma caught Hannah without her noticing, leading them to talk for hours. That was the first day she returned late because of his presence.
It wasn't constant, but the young man appeared every now and then when Hannah was alone. He chatted with her, enveloping her in his charming personality, his neat appearance, and a fluid, intelligent dialogue. He was almost like a prince: with no visible flaws… or with flaws so slight they only seemed to accentuate his attractiveness. So much so that she didn't even seem to recall that assassination attempt by a "fake suitor"; to her, he seemed like someone to trust, someone who wouldn't betray her.
For a time, Hannah didn't see him as anything more than a charming acquaintance. And yet, she told me nothing about him, as if fearing I would react badly.
As the days passed, the encounters in the middle of the forest became more regular. A almost certain date was the full moon. Hannah began to look forward to them, counting the time until she saw him again. There was something about him that marveled her.
I felt something wasn't right.
But Hannah kept me completely in the dark. I found out through third parties: she and this young man weren't just meeting in the jungle; they had also gone to the village together, laughing, sharing time. When I found out, I didn't have the best reaction… though I contained myself. I didn't want to confront her directly, so I decided to investigate on my own.
I found nothing.
No matter how much I searched, how much information I tracked, or how many clones I deployed: I never managed to find him. I never caught them together. I even began to doubt if it was all a product of rumors or imagination.
The only reason I didn't dismiss the possibility was Hannah. She was depressed when her encounters with that charming young man decreased for a while.
It was like a game of hide-and-seek.
When I looked for him, he wouldn't appear. When I stopped looking, he would cross paths with Hannah again.
I even considered stopping the "Aspects" project, which was temporarily weakening me, just to track him with all my power.
Hannah, for her part, was caught in an emotional crossroads, especially when they spoke of her life there.
I couldn't be sure, but I felt that young man wanted her to go with him. To leave everything behind and start a happy life together. It was just a hunch… but a tempting one.
He was so perfect. Like me… but different.
He didn't have my twisted side... or my darkness... or my harem of women.
Or at least, that was what Hannah saw.
The desire to leave with him grew with every encounter. The only thing stopping her was time: she didn't belong to that era and knew she would eventually have to return. She wasn't sure if she could leave everything behind for someone she was only beginning to fall in love with.
For a brief instant, she even considered the possibility of asking me for something unthinkable: to bring him with us to the future.
That was a serious problem.