Chapter 102: He’s your man too, isn’t he?
Elena gracefully stepped down from Ethan’s lap.
She ran both hands down the front of her dress, smoothing the material over the wide curve of her hips and the plump swell of her backside until every inch of her voluptuous figure was covered once more.
Shortly after, Elena walked over to Ethan.
She leaned in close and her hands ran across his wrinkled shirt, pressing flat against his chest as she smoothed out each crease.
Then her fingers combed through his hair, guiding every strand into place, dignified and proper, just as a noble Lord should look.
"Ah... you remind me of my mother, you know?" Ethan offered a small smile as she tended to him.
"Oh... really?" Elena tilted her head. "Well, I was talking to Evelyn a few days ago, and she mentioned something about calling her ’Mommy’... Is the Lord interested in that sort of thing?"
Ethan froze, his cheeks burning red.
That had been nothing more than a joke between him, Evelyn, and Alice. Did that woman want to ruin his reputation?
"Fufufu~~ it’s all right, my perverted lord, this will stay just between us."
Elena rose onto her tiptoes and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips.
A faint blush colored her cheeks as she pulled back, turning on her heel to take the lead.
Ethan stood in place for a moment. His gaze dropped on its own, drawn to the slow roll of her hips as she walked away.
As she stepped out of the office, Elena’s gaze fell on the two figures waiting just outside.
"You two look beautiful as always, sweethearts. I’m sorry for stealing your man so early." A warm smile touched her lips as she reached out, stroking Evelyn and Alice’s hair.
"Oh... it’s no problem. He’s your man too, isn’t he?" Alice let out a giggle, pink blooming across her cheeks.
A deep, vivid red also spread across Elena’s face.
She couldn’t respond for several long seconds.
She could feel Ethan’s firm hands on her waist, the heat in his gaze as he watched her and the lingering warmth of his lips.
Then she remembered his words from that day. The day she gave him her first kiss.
She had been lying to herself all along.
After long, torturous moments, her lips finally parted.
"Yes, darling... I am."
[Elena qualifies as a valid target to be defined as a wife]
The moment Ethan read that notification, his eyes went wide.
He could have designated her as a concubine, since he held power over her, but every attempt to designate her as a wife had ended in failure.
Since he didn’t want her as a concubine, he had eventually let the matter go.
Now, staring at that system message, a grin spread across his face before he could stop it.
Alice and Evelyn together, both at the second stage, provided two prestige points per month.
Elena, being of noble birth and at the third stage, would probably give even more, wouldn’t she?
Without hesitation, Ethan designated Elena as his wife.
His eyes lit up as the status screen updated. The monthly prestige from his wives climbed to five.
Shaking his head with a satisfied look, he set off to find Ron.
***
The merchant, after a short wait at the south gate of Goldenveil, was granted permission to enter.
With Doran at his side, Ron admired the surrounding settlement with wide eyes.
The muddy streets had been drained. The houses looked renovated. And the walls stretched far wider than he remembered.
It was strange, seeing all that empty land with only the center urbanized.
"Ah... the population here must have at least tripled, but a wall this size would take months, maybe years to finish, even with hundreds of workers." Ron muttered under his breath. "How the hell is that possible?"
After walking a little farther, he reached the Lord’s mansion.
It looked the same as before, but the shop next door, his shop, was nothing like what he had planned.
It was supposed to be a simple wooden building, small enough for two employees at most.
The structure before him was made of concrete and it was no smaller than his own establishment back in the capital of the Kingdom of the Burning Ice.
Slowly, Ron turned around.
His eyes landed on a strikingly handsome young man, accompanied by three equally stunning women.
During his stay last month, he had heard talk of Ethan’s two wives, but seeing them in the flesh made his heart skip a beat.
He had once caught a glimpse of the queen from afar during a parade through the capital. She wouldn’t have stood out in the slightest compared to the two women on Ethan’s arm.
And there was a third, carrying a kind of exotic beauty uncommon in this part of the continent.
Ethan smiled when he spotted Ron, stopping just in front of the shop.
Since he wasn’t ready to begin mining yet, he had decided to spend the remaining upgrade from last month on Ron’s shop, investing a small amount of gold to transform it into a proper establishment, worthy of serving all of Goldenveil.
Of course, it wouldn’t be the only one.
A few hunters had already set up a butcher’s shop, and the town’s baker had asked Ethan to build a more advanced bakery, which would benefit everyone.
Still, for general goods, Ron’s shop would serve as Goldenveil’s main marketplace for buying and selling.
"My lord." Ron bowed, keeping his gaze fixed squarely on Ethan.
He was a smart man. He knew better than anyone to keep his eyes where they belonged, well away from Ethan’s wives.
"Do you like your new shop?" Ethan asked with a grin, extending his hand.
"It’s... good, my lord." Ron shook it, then glanced back at the building.
"I brought some merchandise to stock it, and since I bought a ship, I’ll be able to make one delivery every two or three months. When will you be able to supply me with another batch of green fairy wine?"
"Next month. Don’t worry, the next batch will be bigger than the last." Ethan gestured toward the entrance. "Let’s go inside and talk."
He signaled to Doran to organize the guards and help carry the goods into the warehouse.
Elena, Alice, and Evelyn introduced themselves briefly to Ron before stepping away.
Left alone, the two men entered.
The interior was spacious. Shelves lined every wall, a reception counter stood near the entrance, and a staircase led up to the second floor.
Upstairs held another counter and the manager’s office.
"Since you’ve invested so much in me, there’s probably more to this than just the Green Fairy wine, right?" Ron asked, his gaze sweeping every corner of the store with open admiration.
With Goldenveil’s population booming, there was a real chance this shop could turn a profit on its own.
"Yes." Ethan’s smile sharpened.
No matter how much money Ron had brought, he would take every last coin.
That merchant was going home without a single penny in his pocket.