After the morning exercise — maybe he really needed to stop kissing Celia so much, because that always made them lose their sense of time and reason — Isaac helped both Celia and Emily bathe.
By the time they were done, the sun was already up.
When he stepped out of the room, he almost bumped into Leora, who had just opened her door.
She stared at him.
Her expression was sharp enough to pierce through steel.
[Status: Could not sleep the whole night or in the morning because of you, Celia, and Emily.]
Isaac stopped in his tracks.
Leora’s glare looked like it could kill him if he so much as turned his back.
"Good morning," he said with an awkward smile.
Leora didn’t say anything.
She only gave a stiff nod and walked away.
Isaac sighed and went outside to tend to his crops.
He began harvesting, then planted new seeds in the empty spots.
Even as he worked, his mind kept drifting back to Leora’s look that morning.
’Why didn’t I just go into the Soulbind Pendant last night?’
He knew very well the Sword Empress couldn’t sleep whenever he and his wives... got active.
It was only logical for him to go inside the Pendant while that happened.
That had even been his plan.
’Did I just forget? Or was it because Celia was in too much of a hurry, and I missed the timing?’
Both seemed possible.
Still, something about it didn’t sit right with him.
It felt like he was forgetting something more important. As if the idea of entering the Soulbind Pendant had disappeared from his mind last night.
He finished his work around the field, packed the harvested crops neatly, and waited.
A few minutes later, a transport team from the Calloway Conglomerate arrived.
These people were sent by Selene.
They greeted him politely before loading up the crates.
"Good morning, Lord Isaac. We’ll deliver these to Fortified City 22 and handle the sale," one of them said.
"Thanks," Isaac replied. "Tell the manager to send the records once it’s done."
"Of course."
When they left, Isaac dusted his hands and headed toward the gym.
He strapped on his sealing bracelets, but the moment he started training, he frowned.
The pressure they were supposed to put on his stats barely worked anymore.
"I need new sealing bracelets. These ones are useless now."
He tried another set just to check, but the result was the same.
Unfortunately, better ones weren’t available in normal human cities.
He would have to buy them from a place with more advanced gear, probably another city.
After finishing his session, he washed up, changed into casual clothes, and joined everyone for breakfast.
Emily and Alice were chatting about the areas they needed to sweep today while Celia kept stealing bites from his plate.
Isaac tried to stop her for a while and stopped after realizing she wouldn’t stop, all while he pretended not to notice Leora’s occasional glare in his direction.
After breakfast, Emily and Alice left together.
Celia left soon after, saying she needed to stop somewhere before going to work.
"I’ll come pick up Leora later," she said before heading out.
Isaac watched her leave, a faint frown forming on his face.
Something about her actions seemed off.
Where was she going out at this time?
He opened her status window just to check.
[Status: Going to meet the nagas with Alice and Emily.]
"...?"
Isaac blinked.
"What does that even mean?" he muttered under his breath.
He stood there for a while, wondering if he should follow her or not.
But since there wasn’t any sign of danger, he decided to stay home.
After closing the door, the house felt unusually quiet.
That was when he heard it.
"Did you miss me?"
The voice was soft, melodic like wind chimes gently ringing inside his mind.
It carried a warmth that pulled at him, wrapping around his senses before he could react.
He turned his head toward the living room.
A woman sat gracefully on the sofa, one leg crossed over the other.
She had golden eyes, long dark-purple hair that shimmered faintly in the light and two fox-like ears peeking out from it.
Several tails spread behind her like a soft fan.
Her eyes met his, and a slow, knowing smile curved on her lips.
She rested her chin on one hand and tilted her head slightly.
"You look surprised."
Isaac was in a daze.
For a few seconds, he forgot how to breathe.
His gaze trailed over her almost involuntarily.
From the gentle curve of her neck to the sharp line of her collarbone, down to her shapely figure and the soft rise of her chest.
Everything about her presence seemed designed to capture attention.
It wasn’t just beauty. There was something magnetic about her. Something that made the air itself feel heavier.
[A suitable target detected in host’s vicinity.]
[Catherine Lorraine]
[Age: 24]
[Rating: 92 → 97]
[Personality: Playfully teasing, likes to guide and manipulate situations.]
[Likes: Isaac, her master, inflicting pain on her enemies, teasing people close to her, teasing Isaac, Isaac’s sleeping face, learning new poison compositions, reminiscing about past.]
[Dislikes: Mother, Three Colors, dark and damp places, monsters capable of mental attacks.]
[Status: Enjoying Isaac’s reaction, worried if you can still resist her mind skills.]
The notifications snapped Isaac out of his daze.
The faint ringing sound in his head faded, and his mind cleared just enough for him to realize she had used some kind of mind skill on him.
He took a slow breath and focused on the glowing blue text still hanging in front of him.
[Status: Enjoying Isaac’s reaction, worried if Isaac can still resist her mind skills and confirming it right now.]
’So she really did try something,’ he thought.
He studied her status again, taking note of her new rating.
’She had 92 before... now it’s 97? That means her species upgrade must’ve been upgraded her potential by a lot.’
A rating of ninety-seven. That was high.
It was on par with the Sword Empress and the Water Elemental Avery.
He lowered his hand slowly, his eyes still on Catherine.
She was watching him closely, a faint smirk on her lips like she could tell how hard was it for him to take his eyes off from her.
Reading through her status again, Isaac caught the line that said she liked him. For some reason, it didn’t surprise him.
It felt natural.
And that was what bothered him the most.
The strange sense of closeness he felt toward her... it wasn’t new, but he couldn’t remember where it came from.
’Why do I feel like we’ve known each other for years?’
The thought irritated him.
It sat in the back of his mind like an itch he couldn’t reach.
Before he could think further, another notification appeared.
[A Wife Candidate’s affection has crossed 100.]
[It is recommended that you make her an official wife as soon as possible to reduce the losses of AP.]
Isaac closed the window and sighed quietly.
"Do you like my special service? I decided to reveal my true form just for my Lord."
He looked up at her again.
"I see your evolution was successful," he said, keeping his tone calm. "Congratulations."
Her smile brightened. "Thank you."
He could tell she was genuinely happy, but that wasn’t what he needed to talk about right now.
He sat down on the sofa opposite her.
Catherine tilted her head slightly, her tails swaying behind her as she studied him.
"So, what’s with that serious look. Did you finally fall in love with my beauty?" she asked lightly.
Isaac didn’t respond to her teasing. His tone was even. "I want to ask about my memories."
Her smile faltered.
For a brief second, he saw something flicker in her eyes — surprise, maybe even panic — before she quickly composed herself again.
"Memories? What about them?" she said, her voice steady.
Isaac leaned forward slightly, not breaking eye contact. "Why have you been tampering with my memories? And what did you change?"
Catherine blinked once. "Isaac, I don’t understand what you’re talking about. Is this supposed to be some sort of—"
"Please answer seriously," he cut her off, his voice firmer this time. "This will affect how our relationship goes from now on."
The air in the room grew heavier.
Catherine stopped smiling altogether.
Isaac quietly opened her status window again, watching the words shift as her thoughts changed.
[Status: Regrets not checking the seal on your mind while Isaac was sleeping and she had a chance. Panicking.]
So he was right.
Before he could say anything else, a calm voice came from behind him.
"Isaac."
He turned his head slightly.
Leora was standing near the door.
She had been there the whole time, her arms crossed and expression unreadable.
"Calm down," she said softly. "The memory alteration was done only for your good."
Isaac stared at her, his jaw tightening.
"My good?"
He could feel his emotions rising, his chest tightening with every breath.
If not for the emotion control technique running quietly in the back of his mind, he would have probably shouted by now.
"I find out that some of the worst memories from my childhood might not even be real.
"I was kidnapped from one of the most secured places in the city, and instead of preparing countermeasures against them, you all made me forget the entire thing.
"I don’t even know which parts of my life are real and which ones you decided to erase."
He looked from Leora to Catherine.
"And you’re telling me it was for my good?"
Neither of them answered immediately.
Leora lowered her gaze, while Catherine shifted slightly on the couch, her expression unreadable.
"Am I in the wrong here for wanting to know what’s happening?" Isaac asked.
He couldn’t even tell anymore if he was speaking coldly or with rage.
"Or do you two really think I’m some kind of child who should be kept in the dark? Someone who needs everything fed to him and protected from reality?"