The Scum Emperor's Redemption System

Chapter 71 More Wives?!

the baby in the woman's arms gurgled softly, oblivious to the drama unfolding. the entire chamber fell silent, save for the occasional creak of someone leaning forward to catch every detail of this bizarre twist.

"wait, hold on," argider stammered, gesturing for the woman to stop crying for just a second. "our baby? what are you... what do you mean 'our'?"

the woman raised her tear-streaked face, her golden eyes shimmering with sorrow despite her disheveled state. "you don't recognize me, do you?"

somewhere, buried in the recesses of argider's memory, a faint connection sparked.

but before she could piece it together, murmurs swept through the chamber, the nobles exchanging glances and hushed whispers like a flock of scandal-hungry pigeons.

what the—?! what should i do? what should i do?! argider's thoughts spiraled as she darted frantic looks at the sea of stunned faces surrounding her. if only alvator were here!

"you called?"

argider nearly jumped out of her skin. floating casually in the air was alvator, in his smug little cat form, his tail flicking lazily like he had all the time in the world.

ah, for fuck's sake, she groaned internally. there it is again—him and his dramatic entrances.

'help me!' she pleaded silently, glaring at him. 'you said you would!'

"i did, didn't i?" alvator purred, his voice dripping with that infuriatingly smug tone. he lazily licked a paw, as if pondering the intricacies of the universe. normally, he wasn't supposed to interfere too much during trials, but let's face it, alvator wasn't exactly known for playing by the rules. the system could shove it. helping argider was far more beneficial.

"you have to take her as a wife," he said matter-of-factly.

'say what?!' argider's internal scream could've shattered glass.

not again. not another wife. she could barely juggle the four she already had. well, technically, she wasn't really juggling them.

your journey continues on empire

faeralys had remained untouched so far, and isolde was... somewhere. doing something. she didn't ask anymore. but still! four was already pushing it. and she'd just had a wedding yesterday!

more women poured into the chamber like water breaching a dam, each with a different sob story.

"it's been so hard to raise our son! please, support us!"

"your imperial majesty, our daughter-"

"i didn't want to come forward, but my family threw me out when they found out i was pregnant with our child!"

it wasn't just nobles, either. women from the midward district, the downward district, every walk of life imaginable, came flooding in. each clutched a child, each with a tear-streaked face and a plea for help.

argider felt her sanity slipping as the chamber devolved into chaos. this couldn't be real. there was no way this was real. was this the system's doing? was it some sort of grand cosmic prank? it all felt so meticulously absurd that it had to be orchestrated. maybe she was still dreaming. maybe this was a nightmare wrapped in another nightmare.

and what did she do? the only thing she could do. she waved them toward the servants one by one, muttering instructions to find them shelter, food, anything.

but deep down, she knew. this wasn't a solution. it was a disaster. the trial was spiraling out of control, and so was her patience.

by the time the seemingly endless parade of pleas, demands, and downright absurdities had concluded, argider dragged herself to the privy chamber of the palace.

she had barely opened the door when a wave of silent scrutiny hit her like a battering ram.

there they were. all thirteen women, their eyes locked onto her, and—was that expectation? even the children clung to their mothers.

thirteen. exactly thirteen women.

thank every deity in existence it was only thirteen. she swallowed hard, the thought rattling in her brain like a loose coin in a jar. she knew she'd bedded more than this over her storied escapades, but somehow, the system or fate, or sheer dumb luck had decided to cap it here.

still, the reality of the situation hit her like a falling chandelier. the palace could barely handle her existing wives; now there was a small army to deal with. and all of them, all of them, required legal protections.

concubinage wasn't an option. it held no benefit for anyone involved, and argider was nothing if not determined to be fair. if she was going to take responsibility, she'd do it right.

these women deserved equality, not hierarchy.