Gathering Wives with a System

Chapter 654: Talent Upgrade, Legacy of Sun Dragons, Secrets Of Isaac’s Origins

”Sure, you are,” Catherine said in the tone of a mother humoring a child who was completely certain he was right while she knew he was completely wrong.

Isaac’s lips twitched slightly, but he chose not to respond to the teasing. There was no point arguing with Catherine over something so trivial because she had already decided how she wanted to see it.

Instead, he let the moment pass and smoothly changed the topic. ”Anyway, the ones who are going to get the Talent Upgrade tickets are Alice and si—”

”It’s mine!”

Celia’s voice interrupted him before he could finish. She appeared inside the living room out of nowhere, having entered the Cradle easily because the Soulbind Pendant was currently with Catherine’s clone.

The instant she noticed Isaac looking at her, she flew straight toward Catherine and hid behind her while peeking out with an exaggerated pout.

”The Talent Upgrade is mine,” she declared, sounding as though she had been terribly wronged.

Isaac looked at her in silence for several seconds before letting out a helpless sigh. ”Alright. You can have one while Alice gets the other. However...”

He deliberately paused for a moment before giving her a wry smile. ”Can you stop spreading rumors like that about me, please?”

”Don’t get angry over— huh?” she asked, staring at him in confusion. ”What did you just say?”

”Can you stop spreading rumors like that about me, please?” Isaac kept the same expression on his face as he repeated himself.

The confusion on Celia’s face only deepened. She had clearly come here expecting to be scolded or punished, so hearing nothing more than a polite request completely caught her off guard. She simply stood there, trying to figure out whether he was serious.

The others reacted very differently. The corner of Catherine’s lips rose by a few millimeters, something that would go unnoticed unless they were paying attention like Isaac, while Selene wore a knowing smile. Alice raised an eyebrow, and Emily looked surprised for a brief moment before a wry smile appeared on her own face.

Their reactions were enough for Isaac to understand that they had all figured out what he was doing.

’Am I really that predictable? Or do they simply know me well enough to see through me immediately?’ he wondered to himself.

Fortunately, the only person who hadn’t realized his intentions was Celia herself, likely because she was too shocked. Even if she eventually figured it out, there would be nothing she could do about it.

”You... aren’t angry?” Celia finally asked, her voice carrying equal amounts of confusion and suspicion.

”Why would I be angry at you?” Isaac looked at her as though the question itself made no sense.

Celia continued staring at him without saying anything. Her expression slowly shifted into a strange mixture of disappointment, confusion, and suspicion, as though she couldn’t decide whether this was some elaborate trap or whether Isaac had genuinely let the matter go.

Meanwhile, Isaac was grinning inwardly. When he had first heard about the rumors Celia had been telling everyone regarding his cooking, his immediate instinct had been to think of a suitable punishment.

The first thing that had crossed his mind was something similar to the dream he had shown her in the bathroom. That idea had disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared. The dream hadn’t really affected Celia beyond a day or so, and if anything, it seemed to have awakened—or perhaps begun awakening—something even stranger inside her.

Isaac had no intention of encouraging that any further. If he repeated something similar, he had a strong feeling he would simply be giving wings to a bird that had not yet learned to fly. That sounded less like a punishment and more like creating problems for himself in the future.

There were certainly plenty of other ways he could punish Celia, but another issue quickly became apparent. The little devil genuinely seemed to enjoy the game itself. She enjoyed causing trouble, getting punished for it, and then trying to escape whatever punishment came her way.

If that was the case, then every punishment would simply become another form of entertainment for her. After thinking it over for a while, Isaac eventually settled on something much simpler.

He would stop giving her the reaction she wanted.