Chapter 134: The Truth

"Jessica, show Miss Viper around the mansion, and let her pick her own room in the right wing."

​"Understood, Boss," Jessica nodded respectfully, stepping forward and making a polite gesture toward the former underworld warlord. "Miss Viper, please follow me this way."

​Viper lingered for a moment, her pale, white eyes locking onto Asher, who sat down comfortably on the soft leather sofa. Juliana immediately took a seat on the padded handrest beside him, casting a sharp, triumphant smirk directly at Viper.

​’What a total bitch,’ Viper thought to herself with an amused shake of her head, turning around to follow behind Jessica as the two vanished down the grand hallway of the sitting room.

​"Tang, you have a great deal of work ahead of you to understand this household," Asher turned his head to address his newly appointed Butler:

"Head toward the guards’ resting area and meet up with the Chief Guard. He will explain everything regarding the security parameters of the estate. In the meantime, you need to thoroughly understand and master everything concerning this mansion and the internal operations of the Aetheldawn family... You may go now."

​"I will try my utmost to learn everything there is to know, Patriarch," Tang gave a firm, respectful nod, bowed low, and turned to walk toward the main entrance.

​Asher shifted his gaze across the room toward Kelly, who sat silently on a plush armchair near the window, staring blankly outside at the manicured gardens, lost in her distant world.

​’I need to—’

​BAM!

​"....?!"

​Asher blinked, startled by the sudden, sharp sound of a book snapping shut. He snapped his head toward Sara, seeing her seated across from him, her deep, intelligent eyes fixed squarely on his face.

​He blinked a couple of times under her penetrating gaze. The look she was giving him right now wasn’t one of anger or sorrow; rather, it was a profound mix of intense curiosity and a subtle, lingering hint of disappointment.

​Asher didn’t fully understand what had triggered it, but he knew that simply staring back at her in silence wouldn’t help resolve the unspoken sudden tension. He leaned slightly to his side, looking up at Juliana on the armrest.

​"Can you ask her what I did wrong?" he asked in a low, muffled whisper.

​"No need to whisper, Sara can still hear every word you say," Juliana noted, giving him a wry look. "My potion is still active. As for your question... she actually has two questions for you."

​Asher blinked again, turning his eyes back to Sara. Two questions. He silently prayed they were things he could answer without compromising everything.

​"Her first question is: What is your true goal in all of this? What is your final target?" Juliana narrated, acting as Sara’s telepathic translator before adding her own soft input:

"True... if I remember correctly, when we first met, you stated you only wanted to live a quiet, peaceful life. But right now, looking at the forces you are gathering, it doesn’t seem like that at all."

​Asher let out a soft, heavy sigh. She was right. In the beginning, his only ambition had been to live a simple, comfortable existence with the three of them, far away from the blood-soaked political wars of the higher sectors. But now? With the title of the Aetheldawn family placed on his shoulders and the hostile Starfire family constantly aiming for their throats, a "peaceful life" was a luxury that no longer existed.

​"You are right. My initial goal was strictly to live a normal, peaceful life with the three of you," he explained smoothly, his tone growing solemn and grounded:

"But after acquiring these powers and taking on the responsibility of elevating our family’s standing, my perspective shifted. I want more... I know this path will inevitably lead to countless hidden dangers, but we have already crossed the point of no return. There is no way we can simply turn around and retreat to who we were before; we can never go back to our past lives. That is why I am determined to grow exponentially stronger—and why I must build a faction powerful enough to crush anything that threatens us."

​Sara listened quietly, her black eyes searching his face as he spoke. She gave a slow, deliberate nod of understanding before mentally transmitting her second message directly into Juliana’s mind.

​"Huh? Really...?"

​Juliana suddenly stood straight up in absolute shock, her aura flickering in surprise as Asher whirled his head toward her.

​"Sara said you lied to her." Juliana revealed, her eyes widening as she looked down at him.

​"...?!"

​Asher sat completely frozen in place, his mouth slightly agape as he blinked in sheer disbelief.

​Juliana turned her gaze back to Sara, listening intently to the silent stream of thoughts flowing between them, before locking eyes with Asher once more:

​"She said that back when she asked you how you acquired your sudden, absurd powers—and how you obtained my space-splitting sword—you claimed an old man had granted you everything as a miraculous encounter. She knows for a fact that you were lying to her back then."

​"....?!"

​Asher sat frozen like a statue. He had indeed been pulling complete fabrications out of thin air when he fed Sara that whole ridiculous story about an mysterious elder... He hadn’t realized at the time that she could detect deceit with absolute precision.

​So during the entire conversation where he was spouting that load of absolute nonsense, Sara had sat there silently, knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was making it all up on the spot.

​Asher was at a complete loss for words, his throat dry as he swallowed hard, staring back at Sara’s unreadable face.

​’Wait... her affection rating didn’t drop,’ he realized mentally, quickly checking her status interface. ’That means she isn’t actually angry at me... She’s just genuinely curious.’

​’Wait a minute... back then she didn’t call me out on it and just went along with the story. Does this mean she is finally taking this marriage seriously enough to demand the truth?’

​A subtle smile finally began to form on Asher’s face as the realization settled in.

​"Alright... I am truly sorry for lying to the two of you in the past." He confessed, leaning back against the sofa cushions and meeting Juliana’s eyes. "I didn’t acquire my powers from a chance encounter with some mysterious master... Nor did I inherit them from any hidden relatives."

​".....?!"

​Juliana was left entirely speechless, her jaw tightening as she realized he had played her for a fool back then as well.

​"What I am about to tell you is the absolute truth."

​Asher went silent for a few brief seconds after speaking. How on earth could he explain the existence of the System without sounding like a crazy person, without revealing the investment mechanics, or worse, making it sound like he was only taking care of them to reap systemic rewards? If he explained it poorly, these proud women might misunderstand his actions as a cold, calculated transaction to gain power.

​While he might be overthinking their reaction, Asher was completely unwilling to take that catastrophic risk with his wives.

​Taking a deep, controlled breath, he let out a soft exhale:

​"Roughly two weeks after our marriage was finalized, I awakened a miraculous, incomprehensibly vast power... a force so ancient and complex that even I don’t fully comprehend its absolute upper limits. This singular power is the sole origin behind all my abilities, my divine weapons, and even my unique physique. In my mind, I refer to this cosmic phenomenon simply as the ’System.’"

​’Everything I just said is the absolute, unvarnished truth.’ Asher noted internally, his eyes observing the thoughtful expressions settling over his wives’ faces as Juliana processed the term—finally connecting it to the strange thoughts she had overheard from his mind in the past.

’They are smart enough to piece the dots together and realize I’m finally being completely honest with them.’