The massage continued for several blissful minutes.
Half an hour passed before they finally eased up, and Isaac let out a long breath of relief and relaxation.
His muscles felt loose, and light, as though a weight had been lifted from him.
Priscilla, however, wasn’t satisfied. "Master, your condition is still tense. A herbal bath followed by a full back massage would help restore you properly. I recommend you do it now."
Isaac shook his head. "I’ll take you up on that later. I don’t have time right now."
Her expression said she wanted to argue, but he reached out and patted the heads of the two small purple-haired twins, Lyra and Kyra, who had worked diligently on his legs.
"Thanks. I feel like I’m back in top condition. Since I’m going to enter a trial soon, your massages will help a lot."
"Another trial? So soon?" Priscilla asked.
Isaac nodded. "It’s not mine. It’s my wife’s. She’s undergoing her evolution in one of the rooms above. When she wakes up, we will start her trial."
He didn’t say it aloud, but inwardly he knew her trial wasn’t something that could be delayed.
The person she had killed was likely related to some bad memories.
The moment Emily regained her memories, panic would set in. Or maybe, despair.
He had to strike first, calm her, and carry her through the trial without hesitation. If he succeeded, she would see there was nothing to fear.
Priscilla and Celeste exchanged a glance.
Both of them had clearly felt the pulse of energy coming from upstairs.
"Master," Priscilla said after a pause, "if I may be so presumptuous... could you tell us the species of the Madam above? Her aura feels... familiar, though we can’t recall where we’ve seen it."
Isaac’s gaze didn’t waver. "Netherborne Phantom Empress."
The moment the words left his mouth, Priscilla’s eyes sharpened.
They were like needles, focused and piercing.
"Master... is she perhaps the descendant of the Empress of the Netherworld?"
Isaac gave a single nod.
It wasn’t the whole truth.
Emily was not merely a descendant but the daughter of that terrifying Empress.
Still, there was no reason to press that detail here.
"That explains it," Priscilla muttered. Her tone wasn’t fear exactly, but it carried a kind of restrained unease. "Her presence feels... dreadful. The moment we first sensed it, I felt shivers run through me."
She hesitated, searching her hazy memories.
"We don’t remember much from before, but I do recall this much—the Empress of the Netherworld was a Monarch so powerful she could stand alone against the entire dragon clans. Perhaps there was a war between them. That would explain why her aura unsettles us so much."
Isaac leaned back slightly, letting her words settle. "I see."
For some reason, instead of worry, he felt pride swelling in his chest.
Emily came from such a powerful lineage, and that made her even more remarkable in his eyes.
He stood after that, brushing off his clothes. "I’ll be leaving now. Make sure the mansion is looked after."
Before he stepped away, he paused. "Also, can any of you leave the Soulbind pendant?"
Priscilla tilted her head slightly. "I feel as if I could. But..."
She glanced at the other maids, then frowned. "I don’t think they can. I’m not sure why."
Isaac nodded slowly.
That was enough.
Priscilla was a pure dragon, and she was at Master rank only.
However, her combat prowess put her in peak Champion, or Overlord rank category—the maids had grown stronger after evolving to Spirit Warriors.
That made Priscilla was a substantial addition to his side.
"Good. I’ll call you when I need you," he said, and with that, he pulled himself out of the pendant.
When his vision cleared, he was back in his room.
The familiar surroundings steadied him, but before he could even take a step, he noticed Celia watching him from the bed with a pout.
"That looked like a pretty nice massage, huh?" she said, her lips curling in a sulking expression. Then she muttered under her breath, "I should learn how to give massages too."
Isaac chuckled softly. "Why aren’t you sleeping?"
She shifted on the bed and crossed her arms. "I couldn’t. Sleep with me. Maybe then I’ll be able to fall asleep."
He shook his head and walked closer, patting her head. "I’ve got work. Go to sleep."
"But—"
"No buts," Isaac cut her off gently.
Celia puffed her cheeks in protest, but she lay back on the bed anyway.
He sat next to her, brushing his hand through her hair to calm her, while with his other hand, he pulled open the system’s limited-time shop.
He scrolled through the items carefully, checking his balance.
Without hesitation, he purchased everything that would give him a boost.
All Stat +10 Potion (x5) purchased
Strength +50 (x5) purchased
Agility +50 (x5) purchased
Constitution +50 (x5) purchased
AP Balance: 174,321 → 24,321
[Time Limited shop would be refreshed in 9 hours.]
Each potion disappeared into his spatial ring, neatly stored for later use.
With these, Emily would have a significant advantage once she woke up.
As the list faded from his vision, a thought came to him. ’Now that I think about it... how did I end up with so much AP in just a week?’
Curious, he checked the affection values of his wives.
Affection:
Alice: 110 → 120
Emily: 103 → 115
Celia: 100 → 101
’What...?’ His eyes widened.
Since the last time he checked, their affection had grown significantly.
He scratched his chin and couldn’t help but smile.
’They like me quite a lot, huh.’
Any man would be thrilled to be loved by talented, and beautiful women. More so because, he cared about them too.
He calculated quickly. ’Alice’s affection is 120. Every digit above 100 Affection multiplies the base AP by one hundred percent... so that means I’m getting twenty-one times the base AP from her alone.’
He went down the list. ’Emily’s at 115, which means sixteen times the base AP. Even Celia’s surprised me. Her affection is climbing faster than I thought.’
Just then, he felt a light tug on his sleeve.
Looking down, he saw Celia frowning at her device.
Her expression wasn’t playful anymore; it was sharp with surprise.
"We have a message from Professor Catherines. Look at this." She held out the screen for him.
Isaac leaned over and began to read.
At first, he skimmed, but his eyes stopped halfway, then darted back to the top.
He reread the message, not once but three times.
Celia tilted her head. "How is this possible?"
He didn’t answer immediately.
His gaze remained locked on the words.
Then he looked at her, his expression grim. "How long were we gone?"
"One day and a few hours. That’s the total time spent in the trial."
Isaac exhaled slowly, then stared at the message again.
He almost couldn’t believe it.
[Professor Catherine: The governor has been taken down. When you guys get back, tell us so we can start the process of making Isaac the lord.]
He rubbed his temples and muttered, "How the hell did they manage to do this in a single day?"