Investing in the Three Villainesses Gives Me Infinite Returns

The Head Lady’s words lingered in the room.

The time to prove yourself useful is already here.

Elias stared at her, his mind racing through every possibility.

He had spent twenty years being told that he was useless, talentless, and incapable of accomplishing anything worthwhile. Now, for the first time, someone with genuine authority had looked him directly in the eyes and said that he had an opportunity to prove himself.

Naturally, Elias wanted to know what that opportunity was.

The Head Lady nodded and asked, ”Have you heard of the three cursed flowers?”

Elias’s expression immediately changed.

”Of course I have,” he frowned.

The three cursed flowers.

Few people in the kingdom didn’t know their names.

Before their downfall, they had been regarded as the greatest talents produced by the three most powerful factions in the kingdom.

The Sun Church.

The Mage Tower.

The Crimson Ducal Clan.

Three young women had once stood at the very peak of their respective generations, possessing talents so extraordinary that countless people believed they would eventually become legendary figures.

Instead, fate had destroyed them.

The first was Natasha Sephila, once known as the Divine Flower.

Natasha had been born with an extraordinary affinity for divine power and was chosen by the Sun Church to become the next Saintess.

She possessed spiritual veins of unprecedented quality.

Spiritual veins were similar to mana pathways, except that they allowed individuals to channel divine power rather than ordinary mana. Natasha’s veins had been so pure that even the highest-ranking priests of the church had regarded her as a blessing from the heavens.

Unlike him, she had been worshipped, admired, and praised.

Many had believed that she would eventually become one of the greatest Saintesses the church had ever produced.

Then everything changed; nobody outside the highest levels of the church knew exactly what had happened.

Something had gone wrong during a ritual, and the divine energy flowing through Natasha’s body had burned her spiritual veins.

The girl who had once possessed unparalleled divine talent lost everything in a single day.

Her divine power disappeared, her spiritual veins were damaged beyond repair, and her body was left with scars of that day.

The future Saintess became a crippled woman who could no longer speak or hear.

The Sun Church stripped her of her position and quietly pushed her away from the public eye.

The Divine Flower became the Broken Flower.

The second was Monica Ragnar.

The Arcane Flower.

She was the greatest magical talent the kingdom had ever witnessed.

Her mana affinity was so ridiculous that the elders of the Mage Tower had reportedly called her a once-in-a-million-year genius.

Some had even claimed that she might eventually surpass every Grand Magus in history.

Monica’s talent had been so exceptional that she was allowed to enter ancient ruins and forbidden magical territories at an age when most mages were still studying basic spells.

It was during one such exploration that her fate changed.

While exploring a hidden ruin, she was inflicted with a deadly unknown poison.

Even the greatest alchemists and healers of the Mage Tower had failed to identify it.

But poison didn’t merely remain inside Monica’s body; everything within five steps of her was affected.

Plants withered, small animals died, and ordinary people who remained near her for too long became sick. Even powerful mages struggled to approach her without protection.

The woman who had once been surrounded by admirers became someone everyone feared touching.

The Arcane Flower became the Death Flower.

And then there was the third.

Stella Crimson.

The Steel Flower.

Elias’s expression grew complicated at the thought of her.

Unlike the first two, Stella was directly connected to his family.

She was a member of the Crimson Ducal Clan.

And she had once been regarded as one of the greatest swordswomen of her generation.

Stella was the youngest daughter of Damien Crimson, the duke’s cousin.

Damien had once ruled the minor Bloodfang Clan, a branch that had grown increasingly ambitious under his leadership.

Eventually, Damien launched a coup against the current duke.

The rebellion failed, and the consequences were brutal.

The Bloodfang Clan was annihilated.

Every member who had participated in the coup was executed, imprisoned, or stripped of their status.

Only Stella was spared because her survival had been part of the agreement made after the rebellion.

But surviving had not meant escaping the consequences.

Her father, her clan, everyone she had known had been slaughtered.

Stella had lost everything.

Eventually, her mind broke beneath the weight of it, and she turned mad, attacking others without reason.

The Steel Flower became the Killer Flower.

Three extraordinary women, yet their fate was worse than someone as ordinary as him.

Elias remained silent as he remembered what he knew about them.

The Head Lady watched him carefully.

”It appears you do.”

Elias nodded.

”They’re too well known for me not to be aware of them.”

He hesitated, then his brows furrowed.

”But what do they have to do with me proving myself useful?”

The Head Lady smiled darkly.

”That,” she said, ”is exactly what we’re going to discuss.”

Elias’s back straightened.

”Recently, a spatial rift appeared within the kingdom.”

Elias’s expression became serious.

Rifts were nothing unusual in their world.

They were tears in space that connected the mortal world to unknown dimensions. Some were harmless, while others released monsters, poisonous energy, or terrifying phenomena.

The kingdom maintained specialized forces to deal with them.

”One of the rifts could not be closed,” the Head Lady continued.

Elias’s eyes narrowed.

”Could not be closed?”

She nodded.

His expression turned somber.

”How?”

”Nobody knows,” she shrugged.

The Head Lady’s expression remained calm.

”Several powerful individuals were sent to deal with it, but none succeeded.”

”His Majesty has become concerned about the matter. He believes the kingdom must strengthen the bonds between its greatest factions.”

The Head Lady paused.

”And as a result, the king has issued an order.”

Elias’s heartbeat suddenly quickened.

”What order?”

She looked directly into his eyes.

”The Crimson Ducal Clan has been commanded to marry the three cursed flowers to a direct heir of the clan.”

Silence.

For a moment, Elias thought he had misheard her.

His mouth opened slightly; his mind went completely blank.

”Marry...”

He swallowed.

”The three cursed flowers?”

”Yes.”

Elias stared at her, then his heart sank.

A terrible realization slowly spread through his mind.

It can’t be...

There was only one direct heir available who could possibly fit the conditions.

Him.

His lips twitched.

”You don’t mean me...”

He forced a nervous smile.

”Right?”

The Head Lady continued staring at him.

She didn’t answer, nor did her expression change.

Elias’s smile gradually disappeared.

The silence was answer enough.

His shoulders dropped.

”You do mean me.”

”Yes.”

Elias leaned back into his chair.

He had imagined many ways he could prove himself useful.

He had expected a dangerous mission.

Perhaps he would be sent to hunt monsters, explore a dungeon, or serve on the front lines of a battlefield.

He had even been prepared to risk his life.

But marriage?

Not just marriage.

Marriage to three women whose names had become synonymous with disaster.

Natasha Sephila, the Broken Flower.

Monica Ragnar, the Death Flower.

Stella Crimson, the Killer Flower.

Elias felt a headache forming.

He knew what everyone in the kingdom said about them.

Natasha had lost her divine power and couldn’t speak or hear.

Monica couldn’t move at all, and her body was effectively a walking poison zone.

And Stella...

Elias didn’t even want to think about Stella.

The woman had become mentally unstable after watching her entire clan get destroyed.

Marrying them wasn’t marriage.

It was putting his head beneath a guillotine and politely asking someone to pull the lever.

Elias lowered his head.

His hands tightened around his knees.

He wanted to refuse.

Of course he wanted to refuse.

Anyone with even a little common sense would refuse.

But what choice did he have?

This wasn’t some proposal from an ordinary noble family.

The order came from the king.

And the Head Lady was speaking on behalf of the Crimson Ducal Clan.

They had already made their decision.

Elias was twenty years old, possessed no talent, had no powerful faction supporting him, and had spent his entire life being treated as the weakest son of the family.

If he openly refused, what would happen?

Would the family care about his opinion?

Would anyone stand behind him?

No.

His answer would be considered rebellion against the clan’s interests.

And even if the king wasn’t directly involved, the Crimson Ducal Clan itself was more than powerful enough to force him into obedience.

Elias let out a slow breath.

He had always known he was weak.

Today, for the first time, that weakness felt heavier than ever.

He looked at the Head Lady.

Then he straightened his back.

”I will do as you say, My Lady.”

The Head Lady raised an eyebrow.

Elias lowered his head.

”I will marry them.”

The room became quiet again.

The Head Lady stared at him for several seconds.

Then, unexpectedly, she smiled.

”Mother.”

Elias froze.

He raised his head with a confused expression.

”What?”

Her smile widened.

”You should call me Mother.”

Elias blinked. He hadn’t expected her to say that, more so because she didn’t have a child.

The Head Lady leaned back comfortably in her chair.

”From this moment onward,,, you’re no longer merely another son of this household. You are my son.”

Elias didn’t know how to respond.

The woman who had summoned him here was the most powerful in the Crimson household, yet she was suddenly asking him to call her Mother.

”Mother...”

The word felt strange on his tongue.

The Head Lady nodded with satisfaction.

”Good.”

She crossed her legs and added, ”And don’t worry about the arrangements.”

”I’ll provide you with a personal estate. You’ll have servants, guards, maids, and enough resources to live comfortably.”

The Head Lady continued calmly.

”Your three wives will also be provided with everything necessary.”

Elias didn’t know whether he should feel relieved or terrified.

It sounded almost like he had suddenly been rewarded.

But he couldn’t forget the three women waiting for him at the end of this arrangement.

Elias slowly clenched his fists.

Perhaps he couldn’t change his fate.

Perhaps he couldn’t defeat the powerful people who stood above him.

But he could at least decide how he walked toward whatever awaited him.

Elias looked directly at the Head Lady.

”Mother.”

Her smile became warmer.

”Yes?”

”When is the marriage?”

The Head Lady’s smile disappeared.

For the first time since their conversation began, a trace of seriousness entered her eyes.

”You just have to sign the contracts and then you’ll meet them at your new residence in a few days.”

Elias’s expression stiffened.

”That’s all?”

”Yes.”

Elias’s stomach suddenly twisted. He had a strange feeling that his life was about to become much more complicated.