Chapter 180: Mysteries

"What?"

​Juliana sat bolt upright on his lap, her eyes wide as she stared down at him in absolute shock.

​"Yeah." Asher nodded his head calmly.

​"Why didn’t you say that from the very start!!"

​She quickly scrambled off him, grabbing his arm with surprising strength and pulling him toward his feet:

​"Come on!!! Let’s go right now!! Kelly should still be in her bedroom!" She urged, her eyes fluttering shut for a brief second as she projected her vast mental energy throughout the entire estate, instantly connecting telepathically with Sara.

​"Alright! Sara will be waiting for us outside her door too! Let me at least lead the way!!"

​"Hold on, I actually bought something for the three of you on my way back—"

​"—That can wait! Kelly’s health comes first! Oh, and there’s actually been something strange going on with her today."

​"What do you mean?" Asher asked, standing up straight as Juliana practically dragged him by the wrist toward the private elevator.

​"I will explain everything in the elevator," she added quickly, rapidly mashing the button.

​Once again, Asher realized he had completely underestimated the deep, unbreakable bond shared between his wives. Wasn’t this third wife of his teasingly seducing him just a single minute ago? The second she heard that Kelly could finally be cured, her entire playful attitude vanished in an instant, replaced by pure, selfless concern... But the underlying issue here was her warning.

​’What on earth is going on with Kelly?’

____

​[DING!]

​The elevator doors slid open on the upper residential floor, and the two stepped out briskly, pacing down the long, carpeted hallway toward Kelly’s suite:

​"So she has been having these weird, vivid nightmares... seeing a shadowy creature wielding a massive sword and possessing a long tail?" Asher summarized her quick explanation.

​"Yes, I suspect it’s not a normal dream, and I was planning to dive directly into her subconscious to inspect her memories."

​"You can do something like that too?" Asher stared at his wife, genuinely stunned by her utility.

​"I might technically be F-Rank right now, but since Kelly isn’t an Awakened, her mental barriers are thin, so it shouldn’t be difficult for me."

​’F-Rank? I don’t even know if official ranks even apply to you anymore... Even if your past level was far higher, your current physical output and utility are already way beyond an ordinary F-Rank... Sara, for example, as one of the strongest beings in her prime, still can’t freely use her core abilities due to her state...’ He paused in his thoughts.

​Was he seriously comparing someone whose core was shattered and damaged to someone whose energy was completely intact and simply reset?

​’I need to help Juliana unlock her true physique as well. I only have a total of 35k Evolution Stones right now, but that should be more than enough once the system doubles or optimizes the resource used... I just need to take her to a manageable, low-level dungeon so she can trigger her breakthrough conditions safely.’ Asher noted mentally, meticulously laying out his future plans.

​He looked up as they approached the suite entrance, spotting Sara, Jessica, Viper, and two uniform-clad maids standing attentively outside the double doors.

​"I assigned a dedicated group of personal maids to each of us... The three of us now have five trained maids who are always on standby to answer our calls." Juliana explained casually.

​"Five each? I hope having structured servant tiers won’t cause any internal friction or petty problems in the future?" He asked, shifting his gaze down to her as they closed the distance to the waiting group.

​"Although these specific girls were handpicked for personal service, they don’t hold higher ranks or privileges that separate them from the rest of the staff—they are still fundamentally normal house maids, so there won’t be any petty disputes or jealousy." Juliana pointed out smoothly.

​Asher nodded his head in approval. Although Juliana was still young, her mindset were far beyond her years. Having her manage the internal operations of the household was turning out to be an exceptional decision.

​"What about the Guild leaders who visited earlier?"

​"Oh, those guys came over first thing in the morning, and everything was handled cleanly... But I went ahead and allocated one million dollars to each of them so they could upgrade their equipment and strengthen their forces... I hope I didn’t waste your money." She lowered her voice slightly, glancing at him carefully.

​"Waste? Whatever is mine is naturally yours to spend; besides, a small sum like that didn’t even take a drop from our actual capital."

​’Fifty million didn’t even take a drop...? How did our husband suddenly become so insanely wealthy? Is it all because of his mysterious system ability? It really is ridiculously powerful.’ She thought to herself, utterly dumbfounded by his vast financial backing.

​"Alright, I don’t need to micromanage every single financial detail—I’ll leave the household administration entirely up to you." He stated.

​’He trusts me so completely with his money and his forces! I definitely must give my absolute all to support him!’ She thought fiercely, her chest swelling as she gave a resolute nod.

​"I will try my absolute best!"

​’Once a person’s affection reaches a high threshold, it becomes exponentially harder to nudge higher... A 95% affection rating is already freakishly high, but I really want to see what special changes occur when it hits a full 100%.’ Asher mused silently.

​They finally brought their steps to a halt before the waiting group outside the door:

​"Greetings, Boss."

​Jessica and the personal maids bowed their heads respectfully, while Viper merely rolled her eyes with a faint grin:

​"Welcome back, Boss," she said, leaning against the wall.

​Asher offered a short nod, before turning his eyes to Sara, sharing a subtle, affectionate smile with her.

​"Alright! Everyone else wait out here for a second, let’s go in," Juliana instructed as she pushed the bedroom doors open. Asher and Sara followed directly behind her into the spacious room.

​"Kelly, look, the chef is back—"

​Juliana, Asher, and Sara all instantly froze in their tracks, their expressions hardening as they stared at Kelly. She was lying collapsed on the floor beside her bed, her small body trembling uncontrollably, her pale face twisted in agony.

​"KELLY!!"

​Juliana and Asher exclaimed in shock, Sara’s eyes widening in immediate alarm. Asher shot across the room like a streak of lightning, dropping to his knees beside her. But the exact instant his fingers made contact with her skin, a violent wave of crimson energy lashed out from her body like a heavy iron chain, slamming directly into his soul defense barriers.

​"Huh?"

​"....?!!"

​All three of them stared at her in utter disbelief:

​Wait... Wasn’t Kelly supposed to be a completely ordinary, un-awakened human????