Ch.304Chapter 304 – Secret Meeting

Somewhere in the Gelebrio Empire, in a secret space unknown to anyone, several people had gathered.

They were all wearing robes with hoods, which they had pulled down deeply over their faces, making it difficult to see their features clearly.

Four people sat around a round table placed in the center.

However, since half of the table was empty, it seemed that not everyone had arrived yet.

Just then, a door that appeared to be the entrance opened, and three people walked in.

“With us, that makes seven. Looks like everyone’s here now.”

The three newcomers were also wearing hoods, but the tallest among them quickly scanned the surroundings.

As the three who had entered took their seats at the round table, the total number of people gathered became seven.

“Let’s all take our seats, remove our hoods, and begin the meeting.”

At the tall person’s words, everyone simultaneously removed their hoods.

When the hoods came off, something surprising was revealed.

All the individuals who had revealed their identities were women, and they all had one thing in common—a relationship with the same man.

“Was it really necessary to pull our hoods down so deeply just to come here? It was quite uncomfortable.”

Karen Lucien Decatro Gelebrio Aurelios. The First Imperial Princess of the Gelebrio Empire and Pathos’s fiancée.

“Magic that interferes with detection or distorts perception requires surprisingly large amounts of mana to deploy perfectly, so it can’t be helped.”

Regina Blasteria. The former Grand Magician of the Gelebrio Empire, current Chancellor of Glesius Academy, and Pathos’s fiancée.

“With this one’s abilities, I could have arrived here with just a single step.”

Cheon Hyeryeong. The current leader of the Cheonma Divine Sect, the strongest martial artist in both East and West, and another of Pathos’s fiancées.

“I could also conceal my identity with holy magic, but since hoods are commonly used by everyone, it makes hiding one’s identity easier.”

Eterna Lumio Sol. The Chief Inquisitor of the Sun Order, a Saint, and a woman who loves Pathos.

“It can’t be helped for me or Miss Mina. We’re not skilled enough to freely use that kind of magic.”

Elena Sandrios. The daughter of the current Grand Magician of the Gelebrio Empire, Marquis Iellon Sandrios, and a promising magician with a bright future.

“But just being qualified to gather here is something! I’m satisfied with just that, hehe.”

Mina Endras. A student at Glesius Academy and a candidate for the next head maid of the Severio family.

“This girl will not give up either. Isn’t it natural to repay the kindness of the person who saved my life?”

Aisen Beventus. Though she has rarely appeared recently, she has not forgotten her gratitude toward Pathos, the daughter of the Margrave of Beventus.

These seven people had gathered in one place for a single purpose.

“Then let’s begin the 13th regular meeting. The agenda once again is ‘the order of marriage with Pathos.'”

It was about who would marry him first.

Needless to say, all the women gathered here were people who had feelings for one man.

“However, before we start this meeting, I’d like to introduce someone to everyone. Karen. Please stand.”

Regina, who was presiding over this meeting, called upon Karen before starting.

“Greetings to you all. As you all know, I am the First Imperial Princess of the Empire.”

When Karen stood up and revealed who she was, everyone except Regina and Cheon Hyeryeong seemed quite surprised.

“Excuse me, Your Highness, what brings you here?”

“P-P-Princess?”

“The Imperial Princess. Indeed, that man is exceptional from the start.”

“Even the Imperial Princess is involved. This won’t be an easy battle, will it?”

These were the reactions of Elena, Mina, Aisen, and Eterna, in that order.

Elena and Mina showed the most typical reactions, considerably flustered by the sudden appearance of the Imperial Princess.

Aisen, however, wasn’t surprised by the Princess’s appearance but rather impressed that Pathos had grown so much in stature that he could attract even an Imperial Princess.

Finally, Eterna was anticipating a difficult battle with the emergence of yet another competitor.

Though their reactions differed, they all shared the same goal—marriage to Pathos.

“The reason Princess Karen is participating in this meeting is because Pathos’s first wife has been decided.”

“…?”

The four women who had shown surprised reactions earlier responded with puzzled expressions to Regina’s words.

“As Regina has stated, I shall be the first wife of Marquis Pathos Severio.”

Karen declared that she would be the first to marry Pathos in a matter-of-fact, calm tone.

“Why? If we’re going by order, shouldn’t Chancellor Regina be the first wife?”

“That’s right!”

“Silence, all of you. If this one is staying quiet, why are you causing such a commotion?”

When Cheon Hyeryeong spoke up, the women immediately fell silent.

They sensed something unusual in the fact that Cheon Hyeryeong, whose position might be pushed back, was remaining calm.

“I know you’re all surprised. But both I and the Cheonma here have agreed to accept the Princess.”

“Could you tell us the reason?”

“Would it be alright if I explain this part myself?”

“I think that would be best.”

With Regina’s permission, Karen cleared her throat a couple of times to draw everyone’s attention to herself.

“I think you all have many questions for me. So I will explain why I have been chosen to be the first wife.”

Karen then briefly scanned the people looking at her.

“Do you all know about the Empire’s marriage laws?”

“Marriage laws?”

“I’ve heard of them, but I don’t know much.”

Karen sighed at their responses indicating they didn’t know much about marriage laws.

“In this Empire, the Gelebrio Empire, whether commoner or noble, only up to two people can be recognized as legal wives.”

“What?”

“Is that true?”

“This girl has never been so surprised before.”

“Kuh.”

With Karen’s words, the four women finally realized what situation they had been in.

If Regina and Cheon Hyeryeong became Pathos’s legal wives, the best they could hope for would be to enter as concubines.

“If I had not become the wife of Marquis Pathos Severio, you would all have become concubines.”

“What does that have to do with Your Highness becoming the first wife?”

“Hoho. I am an Imperial Princess. In other words, when he marries me, Marquis Severio becomes a member of the imperial family and is no longer subject to the ‘marriage laws.'”

Karen gave the four women a lengthy explanation about the Empire’s marriage laws.

At first, the four were skeptical, but as the conversation progressed, they began to understand why Karen had to become the first wife.

“I didn’t know that royalty has no limit on the number of legal wives they can have. That’s news to me.”

“It’s natural that you wouldn’t know. The marriage laws only mention ‘commoners’ and ‘nobles.’ Since royalty isn’t mentioned in the first place, there’s no problem with having multiple legal wives.”

“So, does that mean we can all become his legal wives?”

“Correct. For a commoner, you’re quite quick-witted.”

Karen praised Mina for immediately understanding her explanation.

“So if the Princess is the first wife, who are the second and third wives?”

“Naturally, I’m the second wife, and Cheonma is the third.”

At that moment, only one thought began to form in the minds of the four women.

‘No matter what else…’

‘The position of fourth wife…’

‘I will make it mine…’

‘I absolutely won’t give it to any of you…’

The position of Pathos’s fourth wife!

As the four women set their sights on becoming the fourth wife, passion began to burn in their eyes.

Seeing this, Regina, Cheon Hyeryeong, and Karen nodded.

The three of them had already secured their positions, so they didn’t need to engage in the fierce competition like the others.

“Well then, the topic of this meeting has changed to determining the order of the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th wives. Does everyone agree?”

“Yes!”

“I agree!”

“Good. Now all that’s left is to decide what criteria will determine who becomes his wife…”

Regarding this part, Regina and Cheon Hyeryeong had actually discussed it beforehand.

“May I speak about this?”

“Go ahead.”

“As you all know, even the most virile ordinary man struggles after having relations with women a few times.”

Cheon Hyeryeong spoke with a deadpan expression, but the others weren’t so composed.

Having had almost no experience with men, they had only learned about such matters from dry, old-fashioned sex education books.

“It seems none of you know much about this. It appears proper sex education is needed.”

“I will look into that later. The imperial palace has teachers who educate on practical marital relations.”

“I appreciate that. Anyway, for this purpose, this one will teach the Divine Cheonma Arts to our husband. Even learning the basic energy cultivation methods would give him the strength of two strong men, but he will have to deal with seven women.”

Cheon Hyeryeong looked around at everyone as she spoke.

“Therefore, I will personally rank you based on how well you support him during his training. If anyone has objections, speak now.”

When Cheon Hyeryeong unfolded her arms and raised her fist, all four women nodded in unison.

Seeing this, Cheon Hyeryeong finally smiled and lowered her fist.

“Good, then we’ll adjourn for today, and I’ll contact you when we have time again. Dismissed!”