Gathering Wives with a System Chapter 447: Imperial Grade Artifacts, Spirit Of....

A tiara formed the assault relic. It lay nestled within the velvet-padded box.

Deep black, sleek, and made from countless tiny star-shaped links forming a soft arc. All the "stars" appeared alike initially, but a longer look revealed faint variations in their borders and dimensions, as though every segment possessed its distinct essence. Elegance marked the relic's unadorned design.

"It’s called Crown of First Command and it can..."

Selene's words faded off.

Her fingers paused above the tiara momentarily before lifting it. As soon as her skin touched it, a panel materialized before her vision. She stiffened while scanning the text, then her eyes sparkled.

She crowned herself with it promptly.

Rather than settling on her locks, the tiara rose a bit and floated right over her head.

Selene shut her eyes briefly, and upon reopening them, she simply commanded it.

The tiara disappeared.

Her eyes scanned the room gradually, probing, sensing, delving into something imperceptible to everyone else present.

And then—

A piercing buzz echoed through the air.

Suddenly, a holographic image erupted from Isaac’s gadget. Ruby, the City’s AI, had reached out to Isaac.

"Lord Isaac, I sensed a powerful invasion into our systems from here," Ruby said, her voice calm yet pressing.

Isaac’s brow furrowed.

His gadget shook fiercely before he could reply, displaying multiple directives.

[Transferring encrypted chats, photos, and videos.]

[Deleting on device chats, photos, and videos.]

"What are you doing?" Isaac asked.

"Deleting everything before the device is hack—"

Ruby’s voice halted sharply, the link flickering out.

Next, a different voice emerged from the very same gadget.

Selene’s.

"It really works. I know nothing about hacking, but I can hack into machines around me," she said, her tone nearly playful.

Isaac lifted his head gradually.

Selene remained seated, the unseen tiara floating overhead, a subtle, triumphant grin playing on her mouth.

"...did you just try to hack into my device?" he asked.

"Yes," Selene replied without pause, giving a single nod.

Isaac gazed at her briefly before inquiring, "Is that the ability of that Imperial-grade Crown?"

"Yes."

A drop of sweat trickled down Isaac’s temple.

That had come perilously near.

Perilously near.

Certain... items existed on that gadget. Items no one else must ever view. Private clips, snapshots, and others—

"Why are you suddenly so silent?" Selene asked, cocking her head a touch.

"You shouldn’t peek into other people’s devices without permission," Isaac replied, striving for a steady voice.

"Why? Were you hiding something?" Selene’s lips arched slightly.

"Ask your sister," Isaac said, rolling his eyes.

"...?" Selene blinked in bewilderment and glanced at Alice.

Alice returned her look with utter composure.

Yet beneath the table, her foot lashed out, striking Isaac hard. The intent rang clear to him.

He let out a quiet chuckle.

Alice stayed reserved about particular subjects no matter what. Regardless of her boldness alone with him, matters of closeness still flushed her cheeks around company.

"It’s fine now. You don’t need to worry," he assured Ruby.

"Understood, Lord Isaac," Ruby responded before vanishing.

"Selene," Isaac said, turning focus back, "what exactly does that Crown do?"

"It connects me to all mechanical devices within a five-hundred-meter radius, and it grants SSS-rank Machine Mastery. I can understand how machines work quickly thanks to it, and then... access them," she explained. Delight shone in her over the potent relic.

"Don’t play with it too much," Alice warned from nearby.

"What do you mean?" Selene asked.

"If you keep poking into other people’s devices, you’re going to see things you don’t want to see," Alice said.

"Like what?" Selene arched a brow. As a seasoned entrepreneur, she’d witnessed plenty. Few sights could unsettle her.

"Like seeing uncle flirting with his girlfriend," Alice said.

"Huh?" "What?" Selene and Isaac widened their eyes.

Alice blinked, puzzled by their shock, then her eyes darted as realization dawned.

"I meant it as an example. Uncle obviously doesn’t have a girlfriend," Alice clarified.

"O-Oh. Right. An example. Of course he doesn’t. He’s too old for that. Hahaha," Selene laughed awkwardly.

Isaac, meanwhile, kept his eyes on Alice.

Meanwhile, Isaac fixed his stare on Alice, scrutinizing her face intently. Her features revealed no hint, yet he caught her dodging his look.

Isaac’s grin broadened.

Something suspicious was clearly brewing. Even if Chairman Lucius lacked a girlfriend, Alice wouldn't casually toss out that sort of example. People don't spout such things without cause.

No smoke rises without fire.

'Old man, you had the audacity to lecture me while hiding your little secret, huh.'

Isaac planned to relish this discovery to the fullest.

Alice at last glanced his way, catching sight of his smirk. Her eyebrows knit tightly, and she abruptly sensed her uncle was in grave peril.

She parted her lips to speak, but Isaac beat her to the punch.

"Selene, what’s the other Imperial-grade treasure you got?" he asked, swiftly shifting gears.

"Let me check," she said.

Her hand dipped into the box, drawing forth a parchment.

"This is... a contract?" Selene muttered, somewhat puzzled. "This is supposed to be my Imperial-grade defense artifact."

"How do you use it?" Isaac asked.

"I need to sign it," she said. From her spatial ring, she retrieved a pen, laid the paper flat on the table, and signed the contract.

It burst into a swarm of radiant particles that divided into twin flows. One stream plunged straight into Selene’s body, vanishing within her chest. The remaining portion rocketed skyward, dissolving into nothingness, as though racing to realms far beyond the chamber.

Selene’s gaze turned vacant, and upon refocusing, shock dominated her features.

She opened her mouth, "I— I—"

"She formed a contract with an Elemental Spirit, a powerful one at that," Avery said, appearing abruptly beside Selene.

Selene nodded.

Isaac and Alice stood stunned as well.

Elemental Spirits ranked as supreme powerhouses. Avery, the Water Elemental Spirit, served as prime example—she had effortlessly demolished a Sun Dragon, Overlord rank and leader of the Ladder of Heavens.

"Give me your hand," Avery said.

Selene complied. Avery clasped her hand and shut her eyes. Moments later, she opened them, awe shining in her expression.

"You are lucky. Although the contract says ’she’ needs to only protect you, it’s still a big news that you got a contract with ’her’," Avery said.

"Her?" Alice asked.

"The Elemental Spirit of Machines, one of the older Elemental Spirits," Avery said.

The Elemental Spirit of Machine showed no sign of manifesting, but Avery's verification that it would safeguard Selene henceforth erased any cause for concern.

"How can an Elemental Spirit of Machine exist? A Machine shouldn’t be counted as an element in the first place," Alice suddenly said.

"Why can’t Machines be an element? Poison is made of countless different things, and it is counted as an element. Water is fusion of hydrogen and oxygen atoms, and yet it is counted as one element. Time doesn’t exist as a physical construct, yet it is counted as an Element. If these are elements, why can’t Machine be an element?" Avery asked.

Alice wore an expression of sudden enlightenment.

Avery went on, "Elements are not limited to what you see in nature. They represent concepts that have achieved stability in the world. Fire, water, wind... those are just the most known ones. Over time, new ’elements’ can emerge, as long as they become fundamental enough."

"That’s... surprising," Alice nodded.

With the explanation done, Selene kept examining her reward. She lifted a rectangular slip of paper from the box.

"It says Class Evolution ticket. What is it supposed to do?" she asked, turning to look at Avery.