Gathering Wives with a System

Chapter 572: Punishing The Maid, Checking Effects Of Legendary Equipment

Breakfast stretched on longer than anyone had expected.

The conversations drifted naturally from one topic to another. Someone brought up the concert again, another person joked about Isaac’s expression during one of the songs, and before long everyone was laughing over things that probably wouldn’t even be funny by tomorrow.

Isaac enjoyed listening and watching everyone relax around the table.

Eventually, people started leaving one by one instead of all at once. The first to excuse herself was Avery, who still had to look after the farm. After wishing everyone a good day, she quietly left the mansion.

Not long after, Sera rose from her seat as well.

"I think I’ll visit one of the restaurants. I’ve heard there are quite a few delicacies I haven’t tried yet," the angel said.

Isaac almost asked why she wanted more food after eating such a large breakfast. Fortunately, he caught himself before the words left his mouth.

Instead, he simply smiled and said, "Have fun."

"Thank you," Sera replied before leaving.

The Calloway family departed after that. They thanked Isaac once more for inviting them before making their way outside together. The lively dining room became a little quieter as another group left.

Vale eventually stood up, stretching his shoulders with a tired sigh.

"I still have to hand over my responsibilities before I leave today," he said.

Celia smiled helplessly beside him. "And I have to attend the afterparty with the concert crew. Apparently, I’m not allowed to skip it even if I wanted to."

Isaac chuckled. "Sounds exhausting."

"It probably will be. But it’ll be fun too," Celia admitted.

After waving goodbye, the two of them left together. Celia would follow Vale until he left, then go to the afterparty. The mansion continued growing quieter with each passing minute, though the comfortable atmosphere remained.

Eleanor was the next person to leave.

While putting on her coat, she casually said, "I’ll be bringing Averon, and the second person I’d like to train."

Isaac silently prayed for whoever this mysterious second person was. Then he remembered Averon and decided the boy probably deserved a prayer too.

"Good luck," he said with complete sincerity.

Eleanor nodded, unaware of what had gone through his mind before leaving the mansion.

Alice and Emily were among the last to leave. Alice adjusted the straps of her equipment before explaining her plans.

"I’m heading into the wilderness starting from Emily’s City. I’ll be taking a crew with me because I need to start searching for dragons if I want to upgrade my [Heart of Magic] ," she said.

"Stay safe," Isaac replied.

"Mhm."

Alice walked toward the entrance first, but Emily remained behind for a moment. Isaac thought she wanted to tell him something before leaving.

Instead, she stepped closer and gently pressed her lips against his.

The kiss lasted only a brief moment before she quickly pulled away. By the time Isaac fully realized what had happened, Emily’s face had already turned bright red.

"I’ll see you later," she mumbled softly.

Without waiting for his response, she hurried after Alice and almost fled from the mansion. Isaac watched her disappear through the doorway before a quiet laugh escaped him.

Emily had always kissed him on the cheek whenever they parted. It had become such a normal habit that he barely thought about it anymore. This time, however, she had kissed him on the lips instead.

He supposed last night had changed more than either of them had openly acknowledged. Their relationship had become a little closer, and Emily finally felt comfortable enough to take a small but bold step forward.

Still smiling to himself, Isaac stretched before gathering the dishes from the dining table. He carried the stack into the kitchen, only to find Priscilla already waiting there.

The dragon maid immediately stepped forward.

"Master, please leave those to me. I’ll wash everything," she said politely.

Isaac looked at the dishes for a moment before nodding. "Alright."

After handing them over, he returned to the living room. Since there wasn’t much else to do, he settled onto the sofa while waiting.

At the same time, he sent one of his clones outside to bid farewell to the Lords who were still preparing to leave his city.

While waiting, Isaac looked outside through one of the large windows. He quickly noticed that there were noticeably more unfamiliar faces walking through the city than before.

Many of them clearly belonged to foreign races. Merchants, adventurers, nobles of other Cities, and ordinary travelers were all mixed together among the streets.

That wasn’t surprising.

After yesterday’s performance, something like this had been inevitable. The competition had attracted enormous attention, and the concert had been the cheery on the top for people who wished to enjoy a leisure life. Whether people realized it or not, both had served as excellent publicity for his city and its crops.

Sales would continue increasing from this point onward. The visitors arriving today were only those who had been relatively close by.

Most cities were much farther away, so news would need time to spread before people began arriving in larger numbers. Once that happened, the flow of visitors would only continue growing.

Isaac could already imagine what the city’s markets would look like a few months from now. If everything continued like this, the city’s income would increase at a ridiculous pace.

Some time later, Priscilla entered the living room after finishing the dishes.

"Master, everything has been cleaned," she reported.

Isaac nodded and said, "Come sit here."

"Master, I can’t sit at your level. If there’s something you wish to say, I can listen while standing," she answered respectfully.

"It’s fine. Sit down. You don’t have to worry about being my maid anymore," Isaac replied.

She stared at him without moving. For several long seconds, she simply looked at him as if she had misheard his words.

Only when their meaning finally sank in did her expression completely change.

"M-Master... What do you mean?" she asked.

"I’m telling you that you’re fired."

Priscilla’s eyes shook slightly. Her breathing became uneven as she struggled to understand what she had just heard.

"W-Why?" she finally managed to ask.

"Do I really have to explain why?" Isaac looked at her.

Priscilla unconsciously clenched her hands together in front of herself. "Master, if it’s about last night—"

"I remember telling you that I don’t want children yet. You heard me clearly, yet you still chose to do what you did yesterday," Isaac interrupted calmly.

"No, Master. That wasn’t my intention. I only thought—"

"I’m not asking about your intentions."

His voice remained calm, but there wasn’t even a trace of warmth in it. That calmness made his words feel even heavier.

"I’m asking why you thought it was acceptable to ignore what I said. Did you think my words didn’t matter? Or did you decide that because I’ve always treated all of you kindly, you could simply make that decision for me?"

"No. Never. I would never think something like that." Priscilla hurriedly shook her head.

"Then pack your belongings. You can remain in the city, but don’t come back to this mansion," Isaac said.

Priscilla froze where she stood.

As the head nanny among the dragon maids, she had spent most of her life caring for children. Dragons cherished their young above almost everything else, and with their race nearing extinction, the birth of every child carried enormous importance.

From her perspective, Isaac was in a relationship with both a Sun Dragon and a Moon Dragon. With strength like his, any children he had would almost certainly inherit extraordinary talent and become valuable members of the race.

There was also another reason behind her actions. Dragons naturally longed to have children with the person they loved. Even dragons who insisted they didn’t want children usually carried that desire deep inside their hearts and only needed someone to push them toward taking the first step.

That was why Priscilla had done what she did. She genuinely believed she was helping both Isaac and his wives.

She had never imagined Isaac would reject the idea so completely.

"Master..." Her voice trembled. "I’m... I’m sorry."

"Are you still going to ignore what I’m saying?" Isaac didn’t soften.

Priscilla opened her mouth to answer. No sound came out.

Seeing the woman who always handled every situation calmly standing there completely shaken was something Isaac had never expected to witness. Her eyes had completely lost their usual composure, and for the first time since he had met her, she looked genuinely helpless.

Even so, he didn’t retract his words. He could tell Priscilla wanted to explain herself, and part of him wanted to let her. However, he didn’t give her the chance.

The truth was, Isaac cared about the dragon maids. He knew how much they had suffered before coming to him. Moreover, they were his people now, just like the citizens of his city, and he wanted all of them to live peacefully.

That was exactly why he couldn’t let this incident pass. Priscilla had crossed a line by deciding something so important for him after he had already made his wishes clear. If he overlooked it because she had good intentions, then his own words would lose their value.

Priscilla remained standing in front of him. Isaac didn’t say anything further, and she couldn’t find the courage to speak either. The silence gradually stretched until it became almost unbearable.

In the end, she lowered her head and entered the Soulbind Pendant. After gathering the few belongings she possessed, she quietly walked back out. She didn’t own much, so packing only took a few minutes.

Without another word, she headed toward the mansion’s entrance. Every few steps, she couldn’t help turning around to look back at the home she had only recently begun to feel attached to. Eventually, she disappeared beyond the front gate.

The moment she was gone, another dragon maid stepped out from the Soulbind Pendant. Celeste looked toward the entrance for a brief moment before turning to Isaac.

"When are you bringing her back?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" Isaac frowned slightly.

"Knowing you, Master, I’m sure you’ll bring her back eventually. You’ll probably let her stay away for a few days so she understands what she did wrong, but I don’t think this is permanent." Celeste smiled with quiet amusement.

"..."

"Yes, you’re surprisingly easy to read. Head Maid couldn’t notice it because she was too shocked, but it’s obvious enough to the rest of us," she said with a small chuckle.

Isaac rubbed his forehead before speaking. "Make sure none of you tell her she’ll be coming back. If she hears that now, this won’t teach her anything."

Celeste nodded immediately. "Don’t worry. None of us will say anything."

She hesitated for a moment before continuing. "Please don’t stay angry with Head Maid for too long, Master. She honestly believed she was doing something that would make you happiest. None of us expected you to be this opposed to having children."

Isaac remained silent. There wasn’t anything he wanted to add to that discussion. Celeste understood his mood, bowed lightly, and returned to the Soulbind Pendant.

Once she was gone, Isaac slowly let out a long sigh. He leaned back against the sofa and closed his eyes, trying to sort through the emotions stirring inside him.

Perhaps it was because of his dragon bloodline. Dragons were naturally possessive creatures, and they considered those under their protection to belong to them. Sending Priscilla away made it feel as though he had lost something that was his, causing those instincts to react far more strongly than he wanted.

Isaac quietly circulated his emotion-calming technique. Cool mana flowed through his body, gradually suppressing the instincts trying to influence his thoughts. He refused to let his bloodline dictate his actions.

He wasn’t some brute who blindly followed instinct. If he made a decision, it would be because he believed it was right, not because his blood pushed him toward it. By the time he opened his eyes again, his thoughts had settled.

With a wave of his hand, he created a Mirror Dimension around himself. It was finally time to properly examine the rewards from yesterday’s competition.

The first item he summoned was the Spire of Wind Chest Plate. The silver-green armor floated quietly in front of him, radiating the unmistakable aura of legendary equipment.

The chest plate was made from overlapping metallic plates that fit closely together without looking bulky. Thin emerald lines ran between each section like streams of flowing wind, occasionally glowing before fading away. Although it appeared sturdy enough to withstand powerful attacks, the armor felt surprisingly light.

Isaac opened its information window and began reading. The equipment granted an additional five hundred Agility, twenty percent Wind Resistance, and an eight percent increase in movement speed. Those bonuses alone already made it precious.

Then he examined its first passive skill.

[Windflow] activated automatically after the wearer remained in motion for three seconds. Once active, it increased dodge rate by fifteen percent while also providing high resistance against movement speed reduction debuffs. Better yet, the skill required no mana and had no cooldown, remaining active as long as the user continued moving.

Isaac couldn’t help raising his eyebrows. "That’s already ridiculous."

He moved on to the second passive.

[Featherlight Steel] reduced the effective weight of every piece of equipment the user carried. The reduction only applied to the wearer, however, meaning the momentum and force behind every attack remained exactly the same when striking an enemy.

Isaac immediately understood how valuable that effect was. Lighter equipment meant faster movement, quicker attacks, and less stamina consumption, yet none of the offensive power was sacrificed. It was the kind of ability that became more impressive the longer someone thought about it.

Finally, he checked the active skill.

[Gale Barrier] created a rotating wall of wind around the user for one minute. During that time, incoming ranged attacks dealt fifteen percent less damage, while smaller projectiles such as darts, arrows, and throwing knives could even be blown away before reaching their target. At the same time, every enemy within one hundred meters suffered a fifteen percent reduction to their movement speed.

Isaac stared at the information window for several seconds before letting out a quiet whistle. Legendary equipment really deserved its reputation.

This was only a single piece of equipment and not even part of a completed set. Yet it already possessed three powerful skills, outstanding stat bonuses, and multiple passive effects that would remain useful even at higher levels.

A grin slowly spread across his face. Without wasting any more time, he summoned the next legendary reward.

The words [Tidegrave Saintess Set] appeared before him. Unlike the previous reward, this one consisted of four separate legendary pieces: the Tidegrave Veil, Saintess Robe, Tidewoven Gloves, and Ocean Sandals. Wearing all four together would unlock an additional set bonus.

The set could only be equipped by Priests, Water Mages, and support-oriented spellcasters. Since Saintess was an advanced evolution of the Priests, Alice met the requirements perfectly.

Isaac selected the first piece of the set. The [Tidegrave Veil] slowly floated into the air before him.

It resembled an elegant silver circlet resting across the forehead rather than a traditional helmet. A translucent blue veil flowed from the back as though it were woven from water itself, while a polished sapphire rested at the center, giving the entire piece a graceful and sacred appearance without looking overly extravagant.

He checked its effect, which made his eyes go wide.