The night in the annex was long, cold, and filled with the sounds of misery.
Valeria sat in the corner, her knees drawn up to her chest, fighting the urge to sleep. She couldn't afford to close her eyes. Not with a feral Wolf beastman twitching in his sleep ten feet away, and a Tiger beastman recovering from a magical overdose on her bed.
The wind whistled through the gaps in the mud walls, carrying the dry, dusty scent of the coming autumn. It was a stark contrast to the climate-controlled archives of her previous life, where the biggest threat was a paper cut or a malfunctioning coffee machine.
She glanced at the Husbands.
Caspian slept sitting up against the door, his head lolling forward. Even in sleep, he was guarding the exit. Lucian, the Phoenix, was curled into a tight ball next to the cold hearth, whimpering softly in the grip of a nightmare. Silas, the Wolf, was the most restless. He kicked his legs, growling at phantom enemies, his chains rattling softly against the dirt floor.
And Kael.
He lay on the straw mattress, still as a statue. The unnatural heat that had radiated from him earlier had dissipated. His breathing was deep and rhythmic.
Valeria rubbed her bandaged wrist where he had clawed her. It throbbed, a sharp reminder that these weren't just broken men. They were dangerous weapons that had been mishandled for too long.
System, she thought, projecting her mind into the interface. Status check on Target 1.
[Target: Kael (Tiger). Status: Stabilized. Evolution: 15%. Bone density restored. Muscle fiber regeneration: Complete. Conscious awakening imminent.]
As if on cue, Kael gasped.
It was a sharp, sudden intake of air, like a drowning man breaking the surface.
Valeria stiffened, her hand going to the pocket where she kept her sharp stone.
Kael sat up. He didn't move groggily like someone waking from a nap. He bolted upright, his muscles coiled, his eyes wide and scanning the room for threats.
His gaze landed on Valeria.
The golden eyes were no longer dull with pain. They were clear, bright, and terrifyingly intense.
He swung his legs off the bed.
Valeria held her breath. The last time he had moved that fast, his shattered femur would have caused him to collapse screaming.
Kael placed his bare feet on the dirt floor. He put weight on his right leg. Then, hesitantly, he shifted his weight to the left.
Silence stretched in the room, heavy and thick.
Kael stood up. Fully.
He didn't list to the side. He didn't grimace. He took a step. Then another. He flexed his left knee, bending it deep into a squat, then rising again.
The movement was fluid. Powerful. Perfect.
He looked down at his leg, then at his hands, turning them over as if they belonged to a stranger. The matted filth that had covered his arms was gone, shed like old snake skin, revealing tawny, sun-kissed skin marked with faint, white scars that looked like lightning bolts.
"How?"
The word was barely a whisper, but in the silence of the hut, it sounded like a shout.
Caspian woke with a start. He saw Kael standing tall, and his jaw dropped. "Brother?"
Kael ignored him. He took two long strides toward Valeria, closing the distance between them in a heartbeat. He towered over her, his shadow swallowing her small frame.
"What did you do to me?" he demanded. His voice wasn't the gravelly rasp of yesterday. It was deep, resonant, and vibrated with power. "The pain... it's gone. The bone... it's whole."
Valeria looked up at him, refusing to shrink back. "I fixed it."
"Fixed it?" Kael let out a sharp, incredulous laugh. "Healers in the capital couldn't fix a shattered core. They said I was scrap meat. And you... a spoilt, useless girl who throws tantrums when her tea is cold... you fixed it?"
He reached out, grabbing her chin. His grip was firm but, surprisingly, not painful. He tilted her face up, searching her eyes.
"Who are you?" he hissed. "Because you aren't Elise."
Valeria's heart hammered against her ribs. This was the danger of the transmigration trope. The people closest to the host always noticed.
"Elise died three days ago," Valeria said quietly. "When she hit her head."
Kael froze.
"The girl you knew is gone," Valeria continued, weaving a truth that sounded like a metaphor. "I am what's left. And I realized that if I want to survive this winter, I need a shield. A broken shield is useless to me. So I fixed you."
She pulled her face away from his hand.
"It's an investment, Kael. Nothing more."
Kael stared at her for a long, agonizing moment. He was smelling her, she realized. Searching for the scent of deceit.
"An investment," he repeated slowly. He looked at his healed leg again. He clenched his fist, and the air audibly cracked around his knuckles.
"Fine," he said, stepping back. The hostility returned, but it was different now. It was mixed with wariness and a grudging respect. "If I am a shield, then you are the commander. What are your orders?"
Valeria let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. He had accepted the new dynamic.
"Wake the others," she said, standing up and smoothing her ruined dress. "We have a house to steal."
An hour later, the sun was beginning to bleed over the horizon, painting the sky in hues of bruised purple and orange.
The five husbands sat in a circle on the floor of the annex. In the center lay the piece of parchment Valeria had pulled from the Library.
Ignis, the Dragon, was reading it. His brow was furrowed, his finger tracing the complex legal script.
"It's archaic," Ignis muttered. "Clause 4 of the Imperial Tenant Act. I haven't seen this referenced since the reformations under Emperor Varras. It allows a land title holder to summarily evict 'bad faith caretakers' without a magistrate present, provided the caretakers have demonstrated 'gross negligence of the estate'."
He looked up at Valeria, his red eyes sharp. "This requires proof of negligence. And it requires the caretakers to believe we have the authority to enforce it."
"The negligence is obvious," Valeria said, gesturing to the rotting walls of the shed. "Look at this place. Look at the fields. The Garnetts haven't maintained the property; they've looted it."
"And the authority?" Ignis asked. "We are five slaves and a disowned noblewoman. Ma Garnett has hired thugs."
"Authority is eighty percent appearance and twenty percent paperwork," Valeria said.
She closed her eyes. System, item extraction.
She visualized the item she needed. Not a weapon. Not food. Something to build the facade.
She held out her hand. The air shimmered, and a heavy, silver-backed hairbrush appeared.
The husbands flinched at the sudden appearance of the object.
"Space magic," Ignis whispered, awe softening his bitter expression. "You have a spatial storage artifact."
"Something like that," Valeria said. She handed the brush to Lucian.
The Phoenix stared at it. "For me?"
"For everyone," Valeria said. "Kael, take the others to the well. Use the rest of the soap. Lucian, I want you to brush everyone's hair. Knot it back. Make it neat."
She turned to Ignis. "You, stand up straight. You were a General, a Military Strategist. Stop crawling. Use the wall if you have to, but I want you upright. Today, you are not a cripple. You are my Legal Counsel."
Ignis looked at his hands, covered in dirt. He looked at Kael, who was standing tall and strong for the first time in months.
A spark of something dangerous lit up in the Dragon's eyes. Pride.
"Very well," Ignis said. He grabbed the windowsill and hauled himself up. His legs shook violently, and sweat popped on his forehead, but he stood. "I will read the law."
"Silas," Valeria said, turning to the Wolf.
Silas was sitting calmly, the yam from the previous night having settled his mana enough to grant him a window of lucidity. He looked at her with big, wet eyes.
"Guard," Valeria said pointing to him. "You growl. You bare teeth. But you do not bite unless I say the word. Understand?"
Silas tilted his head, then gave a sharp nod. "No... bite."
"Good boy."
The procession that marched toward the main farmhouse at noon was a strange sight.
Kael led the way. He walked with a predator's grace, his limp entirely gone. He wore his rags like armor, his massive chest bare to the wind.
Behind him came Ignis, leaning heavily on a makeshift cane Kael had snapped from a dead tree. Despite his trembling legs, the Dragon held his head high, clutching the parchment like a weapon.
Caspian and Silas flanked them, looking grim and dangerous.
And in the center walked Valeria.
She had used the water to wash her face and slick back her hair. She held herself with the rigid posture of a Duchess. She had no jewelry, no silks, and no guards, but she walked as if she owned the very ground beneath her feet.
Which, technically, she did.
The main farmhouse was a sturdy structure of grey stone with a slate roof. Smoke curled lazily from the chimney, carrying the scent of roasting meat.
Valeria's stomach cramped, but she ignored it.
They reached the heavy oak door. Kael looked at Valeria. She nodded.
Kael didn't knock. He raised his foot and kicked the door right below the lock.
CRASH.
The door flew open, slamming against the interior wall with enough force to crack the plaster.
Valeria swept inside, her husbands fanning out behind her.
The scene inside was almost comical. Ma Garnett sat at the head of a long wooden table, a roasted chicken halfway to her mouth. Pa Garnett, a thin, weasely man, was counting a stack of copper coins. Three of the thugs from yesterday were lounging by the fire, drinking ale.
They all froze.
"What in the blazes..." Pa Garnett stammered, standing up and scattering coins.
"Remain seated," Valeria commanded. Her voice wasn't loud, but it projected clearly, honed by years of silencing rowdy students in the library reading room.
"You!" Ma Garnett dropped the chicken bone. Grease shined on her chin. "You dare break down my door? Boys! Get them!"
The thugs scrambled to their feet, reaching for their cudgels.
"Silas," Valeria said calmly.
The Wolf lunged forward. He didn't attack. He simply snapped the heavy iron chain he was holding—which was no longer attached to anything—wielding it like a whip. He smashed a heavy oak chair into splinters with a single blow.
The thugs stopped dead. They looked at the Wolf, then at the Tiger who was standing perfectly still, his muscles rippling, looking ready to tear throats out.
"This is a legal proceeding," Ignis announced. His voice was hoarse, but he pitched it with the cadence of a courtroom official. He unrolled the parchment.
"By the authority of the Imperial Tenant Act, Clause 4, Subsection B," Ignis read, his eyes scanning the Garnetts with contempt, "Valeria of House Vespera hereby declares this contract of guardianship null and void due to Gross Negligence and Theft."
"Theft?" Pa Garnett squeaked. "We never stole nothing!"
"You sold the grain reserves," Ignis listed, improvising based on what Valeria had told him about the empty fields. "You stripped the copper piping from the west wing. And you failed to maintain the integrity of the perimeter fence."
Ignis looked up. "The penalty is forfeiture of all personal assets and... indentured servitude in the salt mines."
"Salt mines?" Ma Garnett went pale. "You can't do that! We have rights!"
"I have the Deed," Valeria stepped forward. She didn't, it was probably in a safe somewhere in the city, but they didn't know that. "And I have a very angry Tiger who hasn't eaten in three days."
Kael took a step forward and let out a low, vibrating growl.
The thugs looked at each other. They were hired muscle, paid in copper. Fighting a healed, enraged Tiger and a crazy noblewoman wasn't in the contract.
"We quit," the lead thug said. He dropped his cudgel. "She didn't pay us for today anyway."
"Traitors!" Ma Garnett screamed.
"Out," Valeria said to the thugs. "Take your weapons. Leave the ale."
The thugs didn't hesitate. They skirted around the edges of the room and bolted out the broken door.
Now, it was just the Garnetts and the Husbands.
Valeria walked up to the table. She picked up the roasted chicken Ma Garnett had dropped. It was greasy and cold, but it was protein.
She handed it to Kael.
"Eat," she said.
Kael took the bird. He didn't eat it. He tore a leg off and handed it to Silas. He tore a wing for Caspian. He gave the breast meat to Lucian and Ignis. Only then did he eat the carcass himself.
Valeria turned back to the Garnetts.
"You have one hour to pack your personal belongings," she said coldly. "By personal, I mean clothes. Not the silverware. Not the linens. Not the coins."
"Where will we go?" Pa Garnett whined. "It's autumn!"
"The shed is available," Valeria said, a cruel smile touching her lips. "It's a bit drafty, and the roof leaks. But I'm sure you'll make it cozy. After all, you said it was good enough for me."
Ma Garnett's face twisted with hate. She opened her mouth to curse, but she looked at Kael, who was cracking the chicken bones with his teeth, staring at her like she was dessert.
She closed her mouth.
"One hour," Valeria repeated. "Silas will help you pack."
Silas grinned, a terrifying expression full of sharp teeth.
As the Garnetts scrambled upstairs, wailing, Valeria sank into the chair at the head of the table. The adrenaline was fading, leaving her shaking.
She looked around the room. It was warm. There was a fire. There was a pantry that smelled of flour and dried meat.
They had a base.
Caspian walked over to the table. He picked up a tankard of ale the thugs had left. He sniffed it, then poured it into a clean cup and placed it in front of Valeria.
"To the Commander," he rasped, his eyes dark and unreadable.
Kael wiped grease from his mouth. He didn't bow, and he didn't smile. But he moved to stand behind her chair, placing his hands on the backrest.
It was a possessive gesture. A guarding gesture.
"To the Commander," Kael rumbled.
Valeria took the cup. The ale was sour and warm, but it tasted like victory.
[Mission Update: Secure a Base of Operations. Status: Complete.]
[Reward: Library Level Up. New Section Unlocked: Basic Alchemy & First Aid.]
[Husband Affinity Updated:]
[Kael: 25% (Respect)]
[Ignis: 15% (Intrigued)]
[Caspian: 10% (Cautious)]
[Silas: 20% (Obedient)]
[Lucian: 5% (Fearful)]
Valeria stared at the blue screen. It was a start. A small, fragile start.
"Don't get comfortable," she told them, setting the cup down. "This was the easy part. Now we have to survive the winter."