Gathering Wives with a System

Chapter 709: New Record For Affection!, Imperial Rank Reward Box

Isaac took another breath and looked toward the setting sun before turning back toward her. Alice was still watching him with a confused expression, her eyes moving between his face and the hand he had been keeping suspiciously close to his pocket for the past several minutes.

"What are you doing?" she asked again, sounding more suspicious than before. "You’ve been acting strange ever since we left the waterpark, and I know you’re hiding something from me."

Isaac smiled awkwardly and reached into his pocket, taking out the small box he had been carrying all day. Alice’s eyes immediately settled on it, and although she did not say anything, her expression changed as if she had suddenly realized what was about to happen.

He took a step closer to her before slowly getting down on one knee. Alice froze in place, staring at him as though her mind had suddenly stopped working.

For several seconds, she simply looked at him without saying anything. Her lips began to tremble slightly, and her usual indifferent expression disappeared completely as she realized that Isaac was actually kneeling in front of her with a ring in his hand.

"Alice, we’ve already been through more things together than most people could experience in several lifetimes. We’ve fought together, traveled together, and there have been plenty of times when things became much more complicated than either of us expected, but through all of it, I’ve always wanted you by my side," Isaac said, keeping his voice calm despite the nervousness he felt.

Alice’s eyes slowly became watery, but she continued looking at him without interrupting. Isaac took another breath before continuing, because even though he had thought about what he wanted to say several times, the words felt different now that he was actually standing in front of her.

He added, "I don’t want our future to be something we simply assume will happen because we’ve already come this far. When we return to my city, I want to marry you properly, and I want us to continue living together, facing whatever comes next the same way we’ve faced everything else."

He opened the box and revealed the ring inside, then looked directly into her eyes.

"Alice, will you marry me?"

Alice did not answer immediately. Her lips were still trembling, and tears had gathered in her eyes, but instead of looking overwhelmed or excited, she simply stood there with a beautiful smile on her face as she looked at Isaac.

She did not ask whether he was serious, and she did not ask whether this was really happening. She only looked at him for another moment before finally giving him the answer he had been waiting for.

"Yes," Alice said quietly, her voice slightly unsteady. "Yes, I will marry you."

Isaac’s smile widened as he carefully took the ring from the box. He reached for her hand, and Alice allowed him to take it without saying anything, her fingers trembling slightly as he gently slipped the ring onto her finger.

The ring was simple but elegant, made from pale silver metal with a small, clear gemstone set in the center. Isaac had deliberately avoided choosing something excessively large or complicated because he thought something simple suited Alice much better than a ring covered in unnecessary decorations.

Alice lifted her hand and stared at the ring for several seconds. She slowly turned her hand from side to side, watching the gemstone catch the light before looking back at Isaac with the same quiet smile.

"It’s beautiful. I really like it," she said softly.

"I’m glad you do. I spent quite a while trying to decide what would suit you," Isaac replied, and his smile became a little more relaxed. as he looked at her.

Alice’s expression softened, and she took a small step toward him. Isaac stood up from his kneeling position, and once he was standing in front of her, he gently placed one hand against her cheek before leaning closer.

Alice did not move away, and their lips met in a gentle kiss. The moment it happened, Alice felt a strange sensation run through her entire body, almost like a current passing through her, and she instinctively held onto Isaac as the kiss continued.

Neither of them seemed particularly interested in being the first to pull away. They remained like that for a long while, quietly holding each other as the evening breeze passed around them, until they eventually separated and looked at one another again.

Alice’s face was slightly flushed, and she seemed reluctant to meet his eyes for a moment. Isaac, however, noticed something else and gently cupped her face with both hands.

"Silly girl, why are you crying?" he asked with a helpless smile.

Alice blinked and seemed surprised when she realized that tears were actually running down her cheeks. She raised one hand and touched her face, then looked at the moisture on her fingers with an expression that suggested she genuinely did not understand where the tears had come from.

"I don’t know either," she admitted after a moment.

Isaac chuckled softly and wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs. "Then I guess you were just really happy."

"Don’t make fun of me." Alice gave him a small glare, although there was no real annoyance behind it, and her face had a smile.

"I’m not making fun of you. I’m just saying that it’s okay," Isaac replied, still smiling.

Alice looked away, but the slight smile on her lips made it obvious that she was not actually upset. She then glanced down at the ring again, and Isaac noticed that she seemed to be admiring it all over again now that the initial shock had passed.

Then, a notification appeared in front of his eyes.

[A wife’s affection for you has reached 200!]

[Congratulations on completing a hidden quest: Have one of the wife’s affection reach 200.]

[Random Reward Box (Imperial rank) gained.]

Isaac was surprised. After 100, each point of affection had been a hard to increase. It was already surprising that his wives’ affection was around 150 each, but a single confession made Alice’s affection jump to 200. The reward was quite shocking. It guaranteed him an Imperial rank reward.

However, he decided to ignore the screen for now. there was someone who he wanted to pay attention to much more at the moment. He gently took Alice’s hand and gave it a small squeeze. "Come on, I prepared dinner for us."

Alice looked at him with mild surprise. "You prepared dinner?"