Chapter 27: Apparently, My Wives Really Hate The Saintess Too

Chapter 27. Apparently, My Wives Really Hate The Saintess Too

Seris’s expression darkened first. "I don’t like her."

I paused halfway through cutting my breakfast.

Well.

That was direct.

Lily slowly lowered her cup. "I remember her from when I was still living in the Fae Forest. During the war." Her lips pressed into a thin line. "When the Five Heroes came to save us, she was always clinging to you, Rey. Always following you around. Always standing beside you. But now..."

She didn’t finish.

She didn’t need to.

Because I remembered it too.

Fragments surfaced the moment Lily mentioned those days.

Campfires.

Blood.

Rain-soaked tents.

Ruined cities.

Five young heroes carrying the fate of an entire continent on their shoulders.

Not because they were ready.

But because when kingdoms fell, armies broke, and entire cities disappeared beneath the Dark Lord’s advance, they were the ones powerful enough to keep standing.

So the world placed its hope upon them.

And never once asked what would remain of those five when the war was finally over.

Elia had stayed closest to Rey.

Almost constantly.

There had been a perfectly reasonable explanation.

Their magical foundations were similar.

Rey was the Royal Magus. Elia was the Saintess-class healer. During prolonged battles, those two burned through mana at ridiculous rates compared to the others. Rey handled formations, bombardments, barriers, and elemental manipulation while Elia kept everyone alive.

So they coordinated constantly.

Shared mana supplies.

Planned rotations.

Rested near each other so either could respond immediately if the other suffered mana exhaustion.

Completely reasonable.

Naturally, everyone decided they were in love.

Because apparently if a man and woman stood within three meters of each other for longer than seven consecutive minutes, society immediately began planning their wedding.

The amusing part?

Rey had never thought of Elia that way.

Elia was his companion.

His friend.

His family.

His... Sister.

My chewing slowed.

Rey had once had a younger sister.

Before becoming the terrifying Royal Magus whose name nobles whispered like a curse.

He’d been a village boy.

Nothing prestigious.

No noble surname worth announcing at court.

Then one of the Dark Lord’s subordinate armies swept through his village.

His parents died. His little sister died.

Almost everyone did.

Rey survived.

He grew up in an orphanage afterward.

Then his magic awakened.

And apparently the universe had decided to compensate for murdering his entire childhood by giving him enough magical talent to terrify the aristocracy.

A commoner.

That part suddenly felt very important.

Rey Valen had entered Arcane Academy with no noble family behind him, no political faction, no inherited artifacts, no ancestral spellbooks...

And proceeded to wield more magical power than children from bloodlines cultivated for centuries.

I leaned back slightly.

Ah.

Now I understood something else.

Why so many people wanted Rey dead.

The Dark Lord was gone.

That was the problem.

They had needed Rey when there was something worse than Rey.

During the war, nobody cared that he was a commoner. Nobody questioned his bloodline while his formations protected their cities, his skills erased enemy armies, and his magic kept the Dark Lord’s forces from turning entire kingdoms into graveyards.

Back then, Rey Valen was useful.

Necessary.

Irreplaceable.

But the war ended.

And once the monster everyone feared was dead, people finally had enough time to notice the terrifying weapon standing among them.

A commoner.

A man with no prestigious family, no ancient bloodline, no powerful house supporting him.

Yet he had surpassed nobles whose families had cultivated magic for centuries.

That wasn’t merely impressive in this era.

It was dangerous.

Rey was living proof that all their precious bloodlines didn’t make them inherently superior.

And now that the Dark Lord was gone, they didn’t need that proof walking around anymore.

Then Rey became cursed.

How convenient.

They didn’t have to admit they feared a powerful commoner.

They could simply call him corrupted.

Unstable.

Dangerous.

A future Dark Lord.

And suddenly wanting Rey Valen dead wasn’t political fear.

It was "protecting the world".

My lips slowly curved upward. I almost laughed.

History really was written by people with excellent public relations departments.

Ariel shifted beside me. "That woman..."

Her voice was low.

Careful.

Almost a whisper.

I turned toward her.

She hesitated. She was worried this might anger me.

"Elia once told me..." Ariel’s fingers tightened around her fork. "That I needed to act more like a princess."

Seris’s expression immediately soured.

Lily muttered something beneath her breath that sounded suspiciously botanical and probably involved poisonous plants.

Ariel continued. "She said I should have more dignity. That I shouldn’t cling to some random man just because he saved me."

My eyebrow rose.

Random man?

Ariel’s voice became quieter. "She said people would think I had no pride as a princess." Then she looked at me. "But she was always clinging to you."

A smirk pulled at my lips. "You girls certainly hold a grudge against her." It was a tease.

Three heads turned toward me.

Three glares.

Perfectly synchronized.

The message was astonishingly clear. "Did you seriously need to ask?"

I stopped smiling. "...Right."

Wrong teasing opportunity.

Noted.

Apparently Elia Seren was not a safe breakfast joke.

And judging by Rey’s memories...

They had reasons.

Plenty.

Seris had clashed with Elia over Rey’s increasingly reckless purification treatments.

Lily disliked the way Elia spoke to the wives as though their devotion made them foolish.

Ariel apparently had received unsolicited princess lessons from a woman who spent half the war attached to Rey’s side.

Nia and Liora probably had their own stories.

Wonderful.

My wives had formed an anti-Elia alliance before I even arrived.

Efficient household.

Seris broke the silence. "Are you going to attend?"

"The banquet?"

"Yes."

I didn’t hesitate. "Of course."

Ariel’s fingers stopped.

She looked at me carefully.

Then came the question.

Quiet.

Almost too casual.

"Do you... miss her?"

I stared at Ariel.

Then laughed. Not loudly. Just a small, genuinely amused sound.

"No."

Her shoulders loosened so subtly she probably thought nobody noticed.

I noticed.

"But I need to go."

I tapped the invitation.

"They expect Rey Valen to be deteriorating. The Light Temple expects the curse to be eating my mind. Elia expects to examine me. Whoever arranged last night’s little performance expects me to be frightened, unstable, or dying."

My smile returned. "I should show them I’m fine."

Lily tilted her head. "Completely fine?"

"No." I took another bite. "That’s less entertaining."

Seris snorted.

Ariel stared at me.

I shrugged. "I’ll give them enough."

Enough stability to make them nervous.

Enough darkness to preserve the Mad Magus reputation.

Enough uncertainty that nobody knew whether their plans were succeeding.

Let them wonder.

Let the Light Temple stare at my hands waiting for trembling that never came.

Let Elia search my face for madness.

Let Darius watch for black veins.

Maybe I’d give them one.

Just one.

A tiny little vein crawling across my wrist.

A souvenir.

Then remove it when nobody was looking.

My smile widened.

Lily quietly whispered, "He’s enjoying this."

Seris whispered back, "Unfortunately."

"I hope all of you will come with me," I added.

That changed the mood.

Ariel blinked. "All of us?"

"Yes."

Seris studied me.

Lily’s expression softened.

Then all three nodded.

"Of course," Ariel said.

"Good." I pointed my fork toward her plate. "Now eat. We have a date."

Ariel obediently took another bite of pancake.

I watched her for a moment.

Then looked at Seris.

Then Lily.

I had them too.

Something about that suddenly felt unfair.

Today was Ariel’s date, yes, but the main reason I’d chosen the destination wasn’t actually romance.

It was her Mana Mantle Burn.

I wanted to treat it properly.

I cleared my throat. "If you two want to join us, maybe—"

I was about to offer to take each of them somewhere separately afterward. Somewhere that actually suited their tastes. It only seemed fair.

Seris cut me off before I could finish.

"No." She smiled. "It’s fine. Take your time with Ariel."

Lily nodded enthusiastically. "I’m fine too."

I glanced between them. "You’re sure?"

"Yes."

Seris leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "She’s waited long enough."

Beside me, Ariel immediately lowered her head, suddenly finding her breakfast very interesting.

Lily’s grin widened.

"And apparently she worked very hard last night."

Ariel’s head snapped up.

"Lily!"

I calmly took another bite of my breakfast.

Nope.

Not getting involved.

Absolutely not.

This was clearly a battle between wives, and despite being the supposedly insane Royal Magus, I still possessed basic survival instincts.

I valued my life.

"Thank you," I said to Seris and Lily, wisely pretending I hadn’t heard anything else.