Chapter 94: Better My Pain Than Their Blood

Chapter 94. Better My Pain Than Their Blood

Morning came.

I opened my eyes and looked toward the window.

Morning sunlight.

Not the aggressively judgmental noon sunlight that had greeted me yesterday.

I was alone in my chamber. After the bath last night, Lily had practically ordered me to rest instead of disappearing into my study to examine the artifacts I’d brought back. She’d also given me a herbal mixture before I went to sleep.

Not medicine, exactly. More like a restorative tonic.

It tasted strongly of herbs but was surprisingly good, with a faint sweetness beneath the bitterness. Whatever Lily had put into it made me pleasantly drowsy within twenty minutes.

Now?

I felt fantastic.

My muscles still remembered yesterday’s abuse, but the exhaustion was gone.

Which meant only one thing.

Time to work.

I washed my face, dressed for the day, fixed my hair enough that I no longer resembled a recently resurrected corpse, and left my chamber.

Two servants were walking down the corridor.

They saw me.

They flinched.

"G-Good morning, my lord."

"Morning."

They immediately accelerated.

I watched them almost reach the corner.

[Void Shift].

Space folded.

I appeared between them and placed one hand on each of their shoulders.

Both servants froze.

Their faces slowly turned toward me with the expressions of two criminals who had just discovered the executioner knew teleportation.

I smiled.

That somehow made them more terrified.

"I need every available servant and guard in the yard after breakfast. Everyone who isn’t assigned to something important. Got it?"

Their heads bobbed repeatedly.

"Yes, my lord!"

"Good."

I released them.

They ran.

I watched them disappear around the corner.

Okay.

Now me.

I started whistling.

For some reason, I was in an exceptionally good mood this morning.

Actually, there was this strange sensation that I’d somehow pissed someone off while I was sleeping.

Just instinct.

Somewhere, somehow, someone had probably spent last night thinking about me and becoming increasingly furious while I slept comfortably after being fed, bathed, and pampered by my wife.

Whoever you were, mysterious angry person, I sincerely hoped you remained pissed off forever.

Still whistling, I entered my study.

Calling it a study was becoming increasingly inaccurate.

Bookshelves still covered the walls. Documents still occupied one section of the room. There was still a respectable writing desk.

But the rest?

Laboratory.

I approached my worktable and inhaled slowly.

Then I opened my Dimensional Ring.

Five pieces of rare ore appeared on the table.

The King’s gift.

I stared at them.

"Okay, beauties. Before I make that asshole’s reward, I need to make something more important."

My wives came first.

Always.

I pulled out several S-rank Mana Crystals next and began cutting them carefully, dividing the crystalline material into five nearly identical portions. Each portion needed to match the amount of rare ore closely enough that the finished artifacts would have comparable mana capacity.

Once everything was prepared, I placed the first ore and crystal in the center of the worktable.

My hands hovered above them.

[Arcane Item Creation].

My intent formed immediately.

A bangle.

Not decorative nonsense.

Functional.

Light attribute.

Protection.

Healing.

Emergency response.

The ore trembled.

Light Mana poured from my body.

Pain followed almost instantly.

The curse awakened beneath my skin like something had been waiting patiently for me to make one stupid decision.

[Curse Stability: 97%]

The ore softened.

Not from heat.

Mana itself reshaped the material, stretching it into a narrow band while the S-rank crystal slowly sank into the forming metal.

I concentrated.

The design was simple.

I wasn’t a jewelry designer.

Fortunately, I remembered enough of Nia’s jewelry to avoid making something that looked like a metal plumbing component attached to a gemstone.

A clean bangle.

Slim profile.

A slightly raised central setting containing the Mana Crystal.

No unnecessary ornaments.

Something elegant enough for a princess, but discreet enough.

Mana continued pouring out.

[Curse Stability: 90%]

My jaw tightened.

Keep going.

I carved the first magical structure internally.

Emergency Barrier.

The crystal brightened.

A second layer followed.

Healing.

More Light Mana.

Much more.

[Curse Stability: 85%]

Black veins appeared beneath my wrist.

I ignored them.

The bangle rotated slowly above the worktable while microscopic magical formations formed inside the metal. This was the difficult part. A normal craftsman could forge the physical base first, then an enchanter could install the magical structures afterward.

I was doing everything simultaneously.

Because apparently suffering was efficient.

[Curse Stability: 70%]

Pain ripped through my chest.

I sucked in a breath.

"Shit..."

This was almost identical to creating the King’s signet.

Almost.

There was one major difference.

The signet’s physical base had already been prepared by a craftsman. I’d only needed to modify it and install the enchantments.

This?

Ore to finished artifact.

Everything was mine.

The shape.

The mana pathways.

The enchantment framework.

The crystal integration.

Every millimeter.

Light Mana drained out of me with horrifying speed.

[Curse Stability: 58%]

The black veins climbed farther.

I kept going.

[Curse Stability: 46%]

My breathing became rough.

Sweat ran from my forehead and struck the table.

[Curse Stability: 30%]

I stopped as pain exploded through my body, molten agony tearing along every mana pathway while black veins crawled over my arms. My hands slammed against the table, teeth gritted hard enough to hurt.

Damn it.

[Curse Conversion].

The curse twisted into Forbidden Energy, giving my body enough room to breathe before I resumed Arcane Item Creation.

Then I repeated that hellish process three times.

Pour Light Mana into the bangle. Endure the curse until my stability crashed to thirty percent. Stop. Convert. Recover just enough to continue.

By the third cycle, sweat soaked my shirt, my arms trembled, and I’d bitten my cheek hard enough to taste blood.

But the bangle was finally complete.

Almost.

I pricked my fingertip and let one drop of blood fall onto the S-rank crystal as the finishing touch.

The crystal absorbed it.

My connection formed.

The System responded.

[Arcane Item Creation Successful.]

[Item Created: Lightward Guardian Bangle]

[Rank: S]

[Element: Light]

[Type: Defensive / Restoration / Emergency Artifact]

[Emergency Barrier]

Automatically generates a high-density Light Barrier when the wearer receives or is about to receive potentially lethal damage. Activation requires no conscious command from the wearer.

[Emergency Healing]

Automatically releases stored Light Mana to stabilize severe injuries, suppress bleeding, and accelerate physical recovery when the wearer’s condition reaches a critical threshold.

[Bloodbound Distress Link]

Bound to the creator through blood and mana signature. If the wearer experiences life-threatening danger or both emergency enchantments are triggered, the creator will receive an immediate magical notification.

One finished.

Four more.

Yeah, I was insane.

I stared at it.

Then I slowly sat down.

"Hah..."

My arms felt heavy.

Sweat rolled down my neck.

The curse still throbbed through my body, although Curse Conversion had taken the worst edge away.

My eyes remained fixed on the bangle.

Honestly?

Not bad.

For something I’d made completely from raw materials, it looked surprisingly cool.

From my perspective, anyway.

The metal was smooth and understated, with the S-rank Mana Crystal embedded into the central setting rather than displayed like an enormous gemstone begging every thief within ten kilometers to attack the wearer.

That was intentional.

I didn’t want attention.

A defensive artifact wasn’t very useful if wearing it screamed, ’Hello, criminals. Please rob me’.

More importantly, it worked.

If one of my wives was attacked, the barrier would activate.

If she was injured, the healing enchantment would respond.

And if things became truly dangerous...

I’d know.

I could go directly toward them the moment I had a location.

My fingers touched the bangle.

Yesterday’s conversation with Lily returned immediately.

"We don’t want to lose you."

That went both ways.

I wasn’t naive enough to believe every enemy would continue attacking me directly. The Light Temple was moving. Duke Harven hated me. Other nobles had their own interests, and I still had no idea how many people might eventually decide that targeting Rey Valen himself was considerably harder than targeting the women around him.

My wives could fight.

I knew that.

This wasn’t about treating them like helpless damsels.

It was insurance.

And I loved insurance when the alternative was burying someone I cared about.

My gaze shifted across the table.

Four portions of ore remained.

Four S-rank Mana Crystal portions.

I stared at them. Then at the finished bangle.

One had nearly made my curse throw a revolution. I needed four more.

I leaned back in the chair and covered my face with one hand.

"Yup."

I really was insane. There was no other reasonable conclusion.

What the hell was I thinking?

Making one of these from scratch was already painful enough. Five meant repeatedly draining normal Mana through a body that considered normal Mana usage a personal insult.

A sensible man would spread the work over several days.

A responsible researcher would monitor his condition between attempts.

A sane husband would...

I lowered my hand.

No... My decision had already been made before I started pretending to debate it.

"Screw sensible."

I inhaled deeply.

Then I stood.

My legs protested.

I ignored them.

There was a chance someone would target my wives precisely because they couldn’t easily reach me.

A small chance was still a chance.

And if putting myself through several hours of pain could reduce that chance?

Easy decision.

Pain passed.

Regret didn’t.

I placed the second portion of rare ore onto the worktable.

Then another piece of S-rank Mana Crystal beside it.

My fingers flexed.

The curse inside me was probably already preparing a formal complaint.

I smiled. "Next."