The Winter Tyrant-Chapter 68: Void of Sympathy

Dean joined Yuki, Katherine and Brooke for dinner not long after sitting in the hall and finishing his beer. He tossed the glass into the one of two trash bins.

They had a system of course, anything that was biodegradable material was put into the left bin to be composted and converted into either briquettes or gas.

And anything that wasn’t was hauled off and sorted for potential recyclability. Glass for glass, it didn’t matter if it shattered or maintained shape. In the end, it would either be cleaned and reused for the same purpose, or smashed further and smelted back down for further use.

After tossing his beer bottle into the appropriate container, Dean walked over to the table and saw what was being eaten.

Dean by now had used much of his freeze dried food surplus as early emergency rations for Elysium. And by now they were inifull production of eggs, rabbits, crayfish, goat based dairy, and various starches, herbs, fungs and vegetables.

The dish blended everything into one. Being cooked in a goat ghee base that had been formed from goat’s milk that was properly processed under UV lighting for vitamin additives. The same practice was done for the mushrooms.

From there, Yuki cooked the rabbit meat, eggs, and crayfish into the goat ghee giving it the added fat content that rabbit meat inherently lacked.

After which she stir fried the cooked meat in noodles that were handmade and egg washed from a blend of wheat and potato starch. Then it was mixed with various vegetables and fungi like cabbage, bok choy, onions, and mushrooms.

Before finally being blended together in a curry sauce made from goat’s milk, into which a cube of fermented tofu added into the mix.

In the end, it was served with a cup full of broth, carefully cultivated from the rabbit bones. Elysium tried its best to use every bit of resources they could glean from their harvests and recycle as many things as possible.

And this was Dean’s tried and true, tested staple meal for both himself and the citizens of Elysium at large.

It was designed not only to hit all of their needed nutrients but also to taste well. And Yuki had been experimenting with it for days to ensure that it was just perfect.

Now she could confidently create it on the fly. As the four of them silently sat there and ate the meal, Dean made a statement that was addressed to Brooke specifically, even if he didn’t outright direct it at her.

"With the recent arrival of newcomers, we will have to expand the coop, hutches, and aquaponics greenhouses further to meet the increase in demand. Luckily, we should have everything we need. But after this, we won’t be able to take in any more newcomers until we manage to get our hands on more supplies or a manufacturing chain."

Brooke immediately knew why Dean had said this, it was his way of introducing how their dynamic came to be to Yuki who was already clinging exceptionally close to Dean.

Yuki of course fell right for it, as she nodded her head and agreed with his statement, despite shooting a nasty glare at Brooke.

"That makes perfect sense... I was going to suggest something similar. Of course we wouldn’t be in this situation if you hadn’t decided to keep taking in every pretty faced that crossed our gates!" 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Dean sighed heavily and was about to perfectly explain his position, that is until Brooke got to it first.

"I’m not just a pretty face you know... I run the biggest industrial and construction supply company in the region. However, our manufacturing and warehousing facilities were overtaken by raiders. And that is why I came here. It’s also why I accepted Dean’s marriage proposal.... It was a bit antiquated an idea, but I need his men to take back what is mine."

Yuki cast Brooke a nasty glare and muttered something under her breath while clinging closer to Dean than ever before.

"Gold digger...."

Dean heard the words, even if Yuki said them in a hushed tone, and simply petted her hair, while dragging her closer into his arms.

"Relax... Nobody’s threatening you, this is purely a transactional relationship. It’s not like she’s going to be joining us in bed later tonight."

Yuki flushed red and buried her head in Dean’s chest. Speaking coquettishly as she tried her best to hide her feelings.

"Don’t say that part out loud, dummy...."

Nobody noticed it, but Katherine smirked sadistically when she heard what Dean had said, and the moment after Yuki made her comment, Brooke’s fork clanged against her plate, having dropped from her head as she stood up in protest.

"Absolutely not! I won’t allow it!"

Dean and Yuki glared daggers at Brooke, Yuki couldn’t voice the thoughts in her head, but luckily for her Dean wasn’t so tactful and muttered the exact words she was thinking.

"This stupid bitch...."

Brooke, however, was quick to point the finger back in his direction.

"Whether or not our relationship is purely transactional, I am still your fiancée! And you taking another woman into your bed is insulting to my position!"

Dean gently forced Yuki away, as he knew she was about to pounce on Brooke, and instead stood up in her path. Staring down at Brooke, he rolled his neck across his shoulders before looking her dead in the eye.

"You know, I’ve tried to appease your stubbornness, considering this fiasco was a horrific miscommunication on both our parts. However, I seem to explicitly remember when I opened the gates to you, that I clarified I already had a woman I loved, and this would be a bigamous situation. You may be my fiancée, but if that is the case Yuki is my wife. So... the way I see it is, you have no position to complain any further because you agreed to this fucked up situation. I’m going to take my wife to bed, and you can either join us, or hold your peace."

Yuki looked up at Dean and blushed once more. Staring at the back of his head in awe. She hadn’t expected him to stand up so much for her, considering he needed Brooke for the continued survival of themselves and their people.

For the first time since this whole ordeal began, Brooke felt the weight of Dean’s pressure on her. He was right, she had absolutely agreed to a bigamous situation. And she had overstepped her bounds. However....

---

Dean found himself in bed with Yuki clinging tightly to one arm, resting her head on a shoulder, and Brooke another. The two women were dressed in their pajamas, staring daggers at one another silently while he stared at the ceiling in complete and utter defeat.

He had doubled down... and bluffed again. Thinking that there was simply no way Brooke would be stubborn enough to join him and Yuki in bed... He had completely and utterly underestimated the sheer degree of pride this woman had.

And now the end result was apparent. He sighed heavily as his innermost thoughts escaped his breath.

"I fought bandits, raiders, and starvation... and this is how I die."

Yuki looked up at Dean with an expression that was wholly void of sympathy.

"Dean... you’re such an idiot."

He did not react in the slightest, at least not until Brooke made her own comments on his foolishness.

"For once, I’m inclined to agree."

He said nothing. He simply allowed his fatigue to overcome him and enter a temporary peace far away from the consequences of his own mistakes.