Getting Stronger By Marrying And Investing In Abandoned Villainesses

Estea wheeled herself back into the room, pulled the door shut behind her, and let her shoulders slump as she stared at the wood. Then her gaze drifted to Thalleria’s things, still scattered where their owner had left them. She folded forward over her knees, and her shoulders shook.

’What am I supposed to do without you, Thally? How am I supposed to keep being a burden to this poor kid, who has no business in our treachery? Why bring him into all of this... it’s too much for someone like him to handle. What are you even thinking?’

She thought the words while she shook, sobbing without a sound.

This was the same argument she’d had with Thalleria when Thalleria first brought up the marriage to Theo. Estea had been dead set against it, because it was far too much of a burden to strap onto a stranger. And honestly, she’d have been more comfortable if Theo stood up one morning and simply ran off.

Instead, the fool seemed to be enjoying every bit of it. And that was what unsettled Estea most, because she genuinely believed humans always put themselves first.

’I’m running out of ways to make him give up... or is it that I’m running out of the will?’

She sighed and pushed herself upright, leaning back in the wheelchair to stare blankly at the ceiling.

...

Theo arranged everything he’d bought around the house: some in the freezer, some in the fridge, most of it laid out along the kitchen counter, and a few odds and ends carried up to his own room, only because their humble home had no space to spare and his place was free anyway.

After that he cooked rice with a couple of vegetable side dishes, set a pot of pork soup to simmer, and they had it all for lunch. Then he hauled out every bit of Sesan and Estea and Thall’s laundry, ran it through the washing machine load by load, and carried the wet bundles up to dry across the rooftop by himself. He pegged each piece out in the open air and let the sun and wind do the rest.

Sesan sat on the bench and watched him work, and more than once he caught her staring. So when the last of it was hung, he walked over and carefully lowered himself onto the bench beside her.

He braced for some kind of reaction. Screaming, maybe, or another one of her seizures. But nothing came.

Sesan only sat there in complete silence, staring at his face. Then she tilted her head, lifted the fingers where the ring sat, and a devastating, soul-destroying smile spread over her face.

Even sitting down, Theo was blown clean off the bench. He shot backward and landed butt-first on the floor.

Just as suddenly, the lady went blank, blinking down at nothing. Then she started to cry like a baby.

Theo was blinking too.

’Huh? But... didn’t— ehh?’

He scrambled closer and tried to touch her, but the more he reached for her and tried to calm her, the worse the crying got.

’I was just blown away by her beauty. I didn’t expect her to react this way to me falling.’

”Okay, okay, I’m fine now. I’m never going to fall again, okay?”

Theo begged, but the girl did not stop.

’I wonder what her ailment even is. Why is she like this... Thall did say it was a curse, but was it really?’

Theo paused.

’Wait... I have that skill, right?’

The Appraisal Eye. Theo had been so busy since gaining his skills that he hadn’t yet found the time to put this one to use. He fixed his gaze on Sesan and mentally demanded to see whatever there was to see about her.

His eyes glowed gold for a moment, the light gone before it could be caught. A golden panel unfolded in the air before him, visible to him alone, even as Sesan went on crying her heart out.

[Profile]

Name: Chixu Sesan

Age: 29

Rank: SSS (At the edge of breaking through, into the world of Transcendence, surpassing the human limit)

Attribute Affinity: Ice (Very Strongly), Water (Moderately)

Constitution: The Frozen Sea (Used to be 99.9%, but due to the curse imbued in her, has regressed to −9.99%)

Circulation Art: Water Way (Blocked)

Skills: The Throne of Ice, Floodwater, Seven Sonatas of the Frozen World, Ice Palace, and more...

Status:

- Body has been imbued with a deadly curse named ^$#^U#&%I$%^*&$R&%

- Cultivation has been blocked.

- Pathway Constitution has been reversed. When it reaches −99.9%, Sesan’s body is likely to be frozen to death.

- Her mana is degraded.

- Her brain is like that of a child due to the reversion happening in her body.

- The reversion may sometimes cause intense seizures.

Staring at all of it laid out so plainly, Theo felt an immense sadness rise in him, one that bubbled harshly at the back of his throat.

She had been degraded into a child, into something even less than a child, and she would keep sliding until she froze to death. And all for what? All because they wanted Nieflhmr?

’And her own family was in on this?’

Theo clenched his fist tight.

He sighed and drew Sesan close, holding her while she cried like a child, and he buried her face against his shoulder and patted her back.

[Investment Detected]

[Sesan: HIGH]

[You have received reward: The EL’Fretia Token]

’Another strange token?’ Theo studied it confusedly, still holding her close and gently smoothing down her hair.

[EL’Fretia Token]

Rank: Epic

Type: ???

Description: There is a hidden location on the tenth floor of the tower where the legacy of the first Ice Queen was lost. The seventh Ice Queen tried to find it, but the chase proved difficult even for her.

Theo tilted his head slightly and frowned.

’Oh... the tenth floor...’

He hadn’t given much thought to how far he was willing to climb the tower, but he already knew the answer. He would go to any length to make sure Thalleria woke up, and his chances of managing that were far higher inside the Tower.

He gently gathered up Sesan, fast asleep now, carried her inside, and laid her down on the bed. Estea was still sitting in her wheelchair, so Theo took the chance to appraise her as well.

[Profile]

Name: Weschneider Ester

Age: 32

Rank: Transcendent (The realm beyond mortal limit, where her body could transform into its draconic form. However, crippled as she is, reverting to that form could take her life)

Attribute Affinity: Fire (Very Strongly), Wind (Moderately)

Constitution: none (Her body constitution has been destroyed, which made crippling her possible)

Circulation Art: none (Her cultivation has been erased, her mana pathways blocked) Skills: unavailable

Status:

- The nerves in her spinal cord have been rendered useless by a mythical parasite from the higher floors of the Tower.

- Her transformation has been inhibited.

- Her mana pathway has been blocked.

- Her mana core has been imprisoned by the parasite.

- Her skills are unavailable due to the blockage of her mana core and pathways.

Theo sighed, swallowing down the pain of watching her. When Sesan was tucked in, he stepped back and spoke.

”I have to get to a dojo... I should take my lessons more seriously, so I can protect you all. After that I’ll go see Thall, and then I’ll come back home. I heated the soup, so would it be okay to have it for dinner too?”

Estea nodded.

Theo glanced at her one more time and stepped out.