Chapter 8: Satisfying Three Wives Before Lunch.
Lucien followed Aurelia down the stairs, her question still hanging in his mind.
’They didn’t come empty-handed.’
’Great. Love a surprise before I’ve even had coffee.’
The living room came into view.
An elderly fallen angel stood near the window, back straight, four black-feathered wings folded neatly behind him.
White hair. Black eyes. A monocle over the right one, gleaming faintly in the morning light.
His butler’s suit looked pressed to perfection, not a thread out of place.
Evelisse sat across from him, arms crossed, glaring daggers.
Seraphina sat beside her, hands folded, glancing between them nervously.
Lucien and Aurelia took the remaining seats.
The old man bowed — deep, formal, unhurried.
"Lucien Dracul Aethernis," he said, voice smooth and even.
"My name is Alaric Noctis. I serve as steward to Archduke Noctis. You may call me Alaric, if you prefer something shorter."
"Alaric it is."
"I came yesterday," Alaric continued, "but circumstances did not permit a proper exchange. I am here today to deliver Lady Evelisse’s dowry."
Evelisse’s glare sharpened. Alaric’s gaze flicked toward her for half a second and something in his expression softened, just barely, before vanishing again.
’Huh.’
’That wasn’t nothing.’
"Before that," Alaric said, turning back to Lucien,
"The Archduke offers you a choice. As you have been disowned by House Aethernis, you hold no noble title. The Archduke is willing to grant you the rank of Baron—" he paused,
"—or its equivalent value in coin and goods. You may choose either."
Lucien blinked.
’A title. Or money. Well, that’s a decision I did not expect to make before breakfast finished digesting.’
"Could I have a moment to discuss this with my wives?" Lucien asked.
"Of course." Alaric bowed again and stepped out through the front door, closing it behind him with a soft click.
The moment he was gone, Evelisse rounded on Lucien.
"Take the money. Obviously. Take the money."
"Okay," Lucien said. "Very unbiased opinion."
Seraphina wrung her hands.
"I... don’t know which is better. I’ve never had to choose something like this."
Aurelia spoke last, calm and measured.
"A title means responsibility. Taxes. Territory to manage. Loyalty owed directly to the Demon Emperor. You’d need strength to hold it, and men to defend it. Right now you have neither."
She paused.
"The monetary value is simpler. No obligations. No exposure."
"But," she added, "it’s your decision."
Lucien considered it for exactly three seconds.
"Money," he said.
"If I get strong enough later, I can earn a title on my own terms. But a title right now won’t make me stronger. It’ll just make me a target with a fancier name."
Aurelia gave a small nod, like he’d passed some private test.
Evelisse pumped her fist. "Finally, a smart decision."
Lucien stepped out and told Alaric his choice.
The old steward nodded once, unsurprised, and raised his hand.
A spatial ring on his finger flared with light.
The living room changed.
Wooden chests thudded into existence one after another. Weapon racks unfolded against the wall. Crates stacked themselves in neat rows.
Herb boxes. Stacked books. A small hill of glittering mana crystals. And, gleaming on top of it all, sacks of gold coins.
Nobody said anything for a moment.
Evelisse’s mouth had fallen open.
"One thousand gold," Alaric announced, "herbs ranging from common to one rare-grade, several cultivation techniques and skill books up to rare rank, and mana crystals up through a single B-rank stone, with the remainder in lower grades."
’That’s... a lot of stuff for a disgraced political marriage.’
"My duty is fulfilled," Alaric said, stepping toward the door.
He paused at the threshold, glancing back — not at Lucien, but at Evelisse.
For just a moment, something passed across his face. Not quite a smile, but something quieter.
Then he stepped outside.
And vanished. No flash, no sound. Just gone, like he’d never been standing there at all.
The room stayed silent for exactly two seconds.
Then Evelisse shot to her feet. "Okay, we’re rich now, right? We should check everything."
They did.
It took the better part of an hour to sort it all into one of the empty rooms — chests stacked, herbs catalogued, books lined up, mana crystals gleaming in neat rows.
By the end, even Aurelia looked faintly impressed, and Seraphina kept touching things like she still didn’t quite believe they were real.
They sat back down once it was all stored.
"You should keep most of it," Seraphina said quietly. "We can’t use half of these, and—"
"No," Lucien said. "We split it. Equally. This is a household now, not a one-man treasury."
Aurelia’s brow lifted slightly, but she didn’t argue.
"Also," Lucien added, standing, "I have something for you two. Give me a second."
He jogged upstairs, returned with the herbs and petals from the drawer, and set them down in front of Aurelia and Seraphina.
"These are for you," he said while explaining their effects.
"Aurelia — these should help your mana veins. Seraphina — these should ease the conflict in your soul, at least for a while."
Aurelia picked up a stem, studying it. Then her eyes narrowed.
"...Impossible," she murmured.
Lucien blinked. "What?"
"This effect," she said slowly, "isn’t something a common-grade herb does. Not like this. Only some rare-grade or higher herbs restore vein damage this cleanly."
She looked up at him.
"Where did you get these?"
"...Around," Lucien said.
Aurelia’s stare sharpened.
"Do you know how much a herb like this would actually cost?"
"...No," Lucien admitted.
She kept staring. He kept not having an answer.
"Did you get scammed," she said finally, "and somehow end up with something better than what you paid for?"
"I did not get scammed," Lucien said. "I am one hundred percent certain I did not get scammed."
Aurelia looked deeply unconvinced. "Just try it," Lucien added.
"See for yourself."
Seraphina, meanwhile, was staring down at the three petals in her palm like they might disappear if she blinked.
"...Are you sure?" she asked quietly. "No one has ever given me something this expensive before."
"I’m sure," Lucien said.
"Who else would I give it to?"
Her eyes shone, bright and wet, but she blinked hard and held it together, lips pressed into a wobbly line.
Lucien pulled her into a brief hug and gently patted her head. She let out a shaky breath against his shoulder.
"HEY."
Evelisse’s voice cut through the moment like a blade.
She pointed dramatically between Aurelia and Seraphina.
"This is discrimination. You spoiled the first wife. Then you spoiled the second wife."
Her finger swung to her own chest. "What about me?"
Lucien sighed, long and dramatic.
"You’re getting spoiled too."
Her eyes lit up instantly. "What is it?"
"Lunch."
Silence.
Then a pout so intense it practically had its own gravitational field.
"You’re the worst husband."
Aurelia’s mouth twitched and Seraphina laughed softly despite herself.
’There it is,’ Lucien thought. ’That’s what a family sounds like, apparently.,
"Go try your herbs," he told Aurelia and Seraphina.
"I’ll start lunch. We got some good ingredients out of that dowry — Evelisse, you’re getting something special."
"Better be good," she grumbled, already heading for the living room, where a sleek black screen mounted on the wall flickered to life at her gesture.
’Right a TV, forgot this place had those.’
’Demon Continent, technologically confusing since forever. Flying carriages, but also arranged marriages via soul contract. Balance, I guess.’
Lucien headed for the kitchen.
---
Upstairs, Aurelia carried the herbs into her room, following the instructions Lucien had given — soak in it, don’t eat them — and filled the small tub with warm water, dropping the herbs in one by one.
The water shimmered faintly, threads of pale light curling off the leaves.
She lowered herself in and waited.
Nothing happened.
’Of course,’ she thought.
’Cheap herb tricks. I was foolish to hope.’
She closed her eyes anyway, letting the warmth settle into muscles that had been tense since the moment her mana core shattered, years ago.
And became more tense since last night’s activities.
Minutes passed.
Then—
Crack.
A small and faint sound resounded deep inside her chest, like a dam wall giving way by a single hairline fracture.
Aurelia’s eyes flew open.
Something moved inside her. A thread of warmth, thin as spider silk, threading through a channel that had been dead and silent for years.
Her breath caught.
She raised a trembling hand out of the water.
A faint crimson aura flickered at her fingertips — thin, weak, barely visible — and vanished as quickly as it came.
She stared at her own hand like it belonged to someone else.
"..."
"I..."
Her voice came out barely a whisper.
"I just sensed mana again."
The bathroom went utterly silent, save for the soft drip of water from her fingertips.
***************
[A/N: Loving the story so far? Let me know.
What do you think Aurelia will do now that she found an easy way to heal herself?
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