A while ago in the western part of the Astoria Kingdom's capital, the atmosphere appeared busy yet orderly. The back-and-forth movement of merchants, citizens, and adventurer groups colored the entrance gate, which was heavily guarded by rows of royal soldiers.
Amidst the crowd, Allen and Alrian walked calmly until they arrived at the gate area. Their footsteps halted for a moment. The two youths stood side by side, gazing at the vast expanse of the area outside the gate, preparing to enter the western forest.
The late morning breeze blew past, brushing the strands of hair and the faces of the two youths.
"Allen, are you truly ready to explore the western forest area and complete the mission our husband has given us today?" Alrian asked, breaking the silence to ensure his family member's readiness.
Hearing the question asked in an enthusiastic tone, Allen turned his head. He smiled warmly.
"Of course, I'm ready!" Allen answered without the slightest hesitation on his face. "You yourself are also ready, right?"
"As you can see, I'm extremely ready!"
"In that case, let us head to the gate immediately so we can depart right away."
Allen's invitation was immediately met with a firm nod from Alrian. Together, the two of them began walking side by side toward the inspection post at the main gate connecting the inner and outer areas of the capital's territory.
However, just as Allen and Alrian arrived at the gate's inspection boundary line, two young soldiers approached them with sharp gazes, puffed-out chests, and highly confident attitudes, as if they were immensely proud to be part of the royal army guarding the capital's western entrance gate.
"Good afternoon!" one of the young soldiers greeted in a firm tone and a deliberately raised voice. His eyes scanned Allen and Alrian from top to bottom with an inquiring gaze. "This is the first time I have seen the faces of you two daring to cross this gate!"
On the other side of the gate, a senior soldier who happened to be on duty checking the identity documents of three adventurers who had just arrived, accidentally overheard the arrogant remark and immediately turned his head. The senior soldier's face instantly turned deathly pale, his eyes widening as if he had just seen a ghost in broad daylight.
"Could the two of you—" the young soldier opened his mouth again.
Before the young soldier could finish his sentence...
"Shut your mouth! Why are you behaving so presumptuously and rudely like that?!" the senior soldier cut in with an extremely loud and panicked shout from his position on the opposite side of the gate. However, his loud voice successfully put a stop to his junior's foolish action.
With a slightly trembling hand pointing toward Allen from a distance, the senior soldier shouted again to warn his junior.
"Mind your manners! That pink-haired gentleman is Young Master Allen Vedegra, the first spouse of Young Master Arvin Vedegra! Are you two looking for death, new soldiers?!"
The loud shout, carrying the tone of a reprimand, echoed across the gate area. The two young soldiers, who had previously acted valiantly and full of confidence, were instantly jolted. A severe shock directly struck their consciousness upon hearing the name of the most respected and simultaneously most feared noble family in the entire kingdom.
T-The first spouse of Young Master Arvin Vedegra? one of the young soldiers thought, as cold sweat the size of corn kernels began to appear on his forehead. This is really bad! I was already acting disrespectfully toward him.
The high confidence that had clearly been displayed on their faces evaporated without a trace, completely transforming into a feeling of immense fear. Their bodies tensed up as they thought about what terrible fate would befall them for daring to act impolitely toward the first spouse of such a high-class noble descendant.
Their fear intensified even more when their eyes reflexively and accidentally caught sight of an identical symbol. A white contract symbol clearly engraved on the backs of the hands of the two youths now standing calmly in front of them.
The contract symbol proved that the two youths in front of them right now were people who had been married to Arvin Vedegra.
Seeing the facial expressions of the two young soldiers in front of him turn into fear, Allen showed no signs of anger or offense whatsoever. Instead, the pink-haired youth smiled very gently. He was highly understanding of the protective attitude of a royal soldier, who was indeed supposed to always act firmly in order to maintain the security of the capital's access from outside threats.
"It's alright, you don't need to scold them." Allen said casually, his voice soothing. He did not feel disturbed at all by the two young soldiers' earlier behavior. "The two of them are not at fault. On the contrary, they were carrying out their duties and guarding procedures exceptionally well and firmly."
The words, flowing full of gentleness and devoid of anger that they had just heard, seemed to bring a breath of fresh air that saved the lives of the two young soldiers. The extraordinary fear and panic that had previously choked their necks gradually fell away, turning into an indescribable feeling of relief. They hastily lowered their gazes as a sign of respect.
"Do the two of us need to present our identification cards formally now?" Allen continued, asking about the applicable procedures so that everything would proceed according to the existing rules.
"T-There is no need, Young Master!" one of the young soldiers answered quickly. His tone of speech had now done a complete one-eighty, becoming far more polite, gentle, and full of caution. "We apologize for our presumption. But... if we may know, where do you two intend to go?"
"Alrian and I want to go into the forest to look for herbal plants." Allen answered amiably.
So, this green-haired man is named Alrian, huh? the young soldier said in his heart while stealing a quick glance, memorizing the physical traits of the youth standing next to Allen to avoid a fatal mistake in the future.
"Herbal plants?" the senior soldier from across his position repeated, his tone of voice sounding a bit surprised.
"Yes, herbal plants!" Allen answered, reinforcing his statement. He felt there was nothing to hide regarding their activities today. "Our husband ordered eleven out of his twelve spouses to spread out today to all corners of the forests outside the capital to search for the herbal plants he needs."
The simple sentence Allen had just spoken turned out to deliver a massive shock effect. It was not just the two young soldiers who widened their eyes in surprise. The two senior soldiers on the opposite side, and the people who happened to be around the western gate also turned their heads with faces full of shock.
It was not the fact that they had spread out to all corners of the forest near the capital that made everyone shocked. Rather, the thing that made them freeze was the explicit statement regarding their number.
Twelve?!
"F-Forgive me for the presumption of my question, Young Master Allen!" the senior soldier on the opposite side, who had yelled at his junior earlier, spoke up, mustering the courage to voice out again. "But... when you and Young Master Arvin Vedegra visited the royal palace the other day, were there not only four people whom he introduced in front of His Majesty?"
"Ah, yes. Initially, there were indeed only four of us." Allen answered casually, reminiscing about the memories of some time ago with a small smile. "But, as time went by, many things happened. Especially during our long journey to the Victoriaz Kingdom to participate in the academy tournament back then."
Allen turned his head for a moment toward the green-haired youth next to him.
"Starting with Alrian, who is right beside me." Allen continued explaining in a proud tone without the slightest bit of jealousy. "One by one, those who had sincere feelings for him eventually became willing to be his spouses."
"S-So... the gentleman currently standing next to you is Young Master Arvin Vedegra's fifth spouse?" the senior soldier asked to confirm, his eyes staring in awe at the green-haired youth who always maintained a calm demeanor.
"Yes, you are absolutely correct!" Allen answered amiably once more. "He is Alrian. And he is also the biological older brother of our husband's second spouse, Alrain."
Hearing himself being formally introduced and becoming the center of attention in a good way, Alrian did not feel awkward at all.
"Hello, I am Alrian Vedegra. It's a pleasure to meet you!" he greeted amiably while waving his hand casually at the gate guard soldiers.
"H-Hello, Young Master Alrian." the senior soldier replied, stuttering, never expecting that a young man from a member of the Vedegra family would greet him first so warmly and friendlily.