Foolishness
There was always a bit of an odd disconnect between what Edrick wanted his wives to do and what his wives actually wanted to do. He made it clear that they were free to do things on their own without even having to tell him, as long as it was safe, and he even gave them a hefty allowance each, every month.
Alas, they were so submissive that they felt compelled to get his permission for nearly everything, and they were careful to never spend a lot of money, even though they were well aware that their husband was not only incredibly rich, but that he would be willing to pay exorbitant prices for them if they just asked.
It was indeed quite the bizarre dynamic. The dominant patriarch wanted his wives to have autonomy, but they did their best to have as little as possible, feeling much more comfortable when their husband was in charge of everything and when they didn’t have to make any decisions.
Some would kill so that their wife was even a quarter as submissive as this, and others would kill so that their husband was anywhere as good as Edrick was. Being able to dominate so thoroughly, without having to basically lock up his wives, was an admirable feat.
Nonetheless, Edrick’s wives were aware that their husband wanted them to actually do stuff on their own, and so they came up with an activity that would bring all of the available wives together.
Haoyu was able to free himself without much problem, but Jania and Tylia were not only a fair distance away, but they had responsibilities to take care of. It was a shame, as the other wives would have loved to actually get to know these two better, but they knew that this was what it meant to already be a noble prior to marrying Edrick.
A noble had responsibilities to their own family and couldn’t just come live at the residence willy-nilly. The same would certainly be true of future noble wives as well–At least until the Lodestones were all set up to connect everything together. Then, perhaps even the busiest of noble wives would be able to spend time at the residence.
There was also the secret wife. They knew of her existence, and some of them had actually met her inside her realm, but Eltysia couldn’t leave her domain no matter what, so she couldn’t join in.
Regardless of the three unavailable ones, it still meant that there were six of them. Fanqia, Linmin, Hui, Luxuli, Yin, and Haoyu.
As the matriarch, Fanqia needed to at least act like she was in charge when Anoteros was absent. Of course, there was no real need to lead when they all got along with each other just fine. Especially since their love for their husband united them so tightly.
The destination of their trip was merely a small show. Edrick had received an invitation to it in his letters, but he had no time to attend it, and as such, it felt appropriate for his wives to make an attendance–In noble speech, it was meant to show that he had been genuinely prevented from going.
The presence of his wives would show that he didn’t just ignore the invitation.
She might have been born a lowly peasant, but by now, Fanqia was a proper noble lady. She knew how to get around in noble circles if need be.
Still, they went accompanied by Xiaolie.
…Their arrival caused quite a stir amongst the already present guests.
“Who are they?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never seen them before… I would remember if I ever ran into a group of beautiful women!”
“Are they part of some women-only sect or something?”
“Damn, the tan one is hot as hell…”
“What are you talking about? The best is the blonde!”
“Which one?”
“The shorter one, obviously”
“You guys are overlooking the massive assets of the one in the front–By the gods, they are enormous!”
“We aren’t vulgar like you. We prefer the delicate flowers instead of the pumpkins”
“You fuckers are such virgins. You’ve definitely never touched any breasts before!”
“Repeat that, if you dare?!”
People spoke amongst themselves as the group settled in a corner by themselves. This was a sort of banquet doubled with a show, and while they had come, none of the wives was really that great of a social butterfly. Yin and Luxuli were quite comfortable with people, but everyone here was at least some haughty bourgeois, and they felt like they would hurt some feelings if they tried to discuss with them.
‘This is quite the low-end event…’
It was just a gathering of small fish. There wasn’t anyone of truly high status. They were just a bunch of moderately rich folks.
To Fanqia, it seemed likely that they sent a bunch of letters to actually important people, but everyone else ignored them. Or perhaps they heard of how generous Edrick was, and hoped that he would have shown up out of sheer curiosity…
‘Lord Anoteros probably would have come if he hadn’t been busy with Chang Sheng. This could have been a good opportunity for him to make connections with merchants and small business owners’
Fanqia would have loved to do such a thing on his behalf, but she wasn’t knowledgeable enough about the topic to do it properly.
‘Well… We’ll just make an act of presence, then. That should be enough, and it will get everyone some experience in dealing with public gatherings’
They would certainly have to accompany their husband to much more important parties and such in the future, so it was important to have at least a little bit of experience with such things.
Unfortunately, people didn’t recognise who they were at a glance…
“Excuse me, lady–I am Delorchelap, first son of the…”
After a few blinks, an answer came as the one addressed raised one hand, showing the ring on it.
“Also, it isn’t ‘lady’. It is ‘sir’...”
Linmin spoke with a straight face, and the young bourgeois who had failed to check for the one thing that would have told him if it was safe to approach or not recoiled in disgust.
“A Foppoof?!”
“Yes. I am here on behalf of my husband”
“H-Husband? Who thought it fit to invite Samelinist filth he-”
Not everyone blinked, yet they all missed something happening. One second, the noisy bourgeois was shouting, and the next he was on the ground with his lower jaw missing.
Xiaolie swung her arm, sending all of the gore flying onto the unconscious offender’s back. Leaving her glove surprisingly untainted.
“Watch your tone. You are talking to Lord Edrick Lucien Anoteros’s second wife”