Extra's Harem: Invincibility Starts with Marriage and lots of Children-Chapter 163- Valens on Move

The morning broke with no blood on the streets.

Yet the entire capital reeked of death.

Whispers carried before the sunlight even reached the palace roofs. The banquet hosted by Prince Orion had ended not with wine, but with silence—one too chilling to ignore. Servants spoke of cold bodies, nobles who never woke again. No wounds. No poison. Just... breathless, lifeless stillness.

By the time the temple bells rang for the third time, the city already knew:

Seven high-ranking nobles, along with several low-ranking members of the aristocracy, were dead.

There were no survivors among those who sat at the highest table.

---

Inside the southern wing of the Damaris Estate—one of the few noble families still supporting the Second Queen—the marble table was already overturned.

Lord Varn Damaris, veins bulging at his temple, shouted over the stunned voices of his retainers.

"How?! How the hell does one attend a royal banquet and never return?!"

"They said he... collapsed. No mark. No struggle."

"Collapsed? Do I look like a damn fool to you?! My elder brother, the head of House Damaris, doesn't just collapse over supper!"

He grabbed the collar of the attendant. "Orion—what did he serve them, curses?!"

No one answered. Because no one knew.

---

Far to the west, inside the stone-fortified manor of House Quelin, the new head sat in silence.

A boy. Sixteen. Still dressed in yesterday's training garb.

His uncle—dead. His father's cousin—gone. Both had sat at that table.

"Send notice to the vassals," he muttered. "I'm not stepping into this seat blind. I want records—who supported us, who rebelled, who's already eyeing my neck."

"But, young lord—"

"I am the lord now."

His voice cracked, but his eyes didn't.

A flicker of greed passed through his gaze, and his smirk curled inward as he realized he had just received a blessing in disguise—both potential claimants to the head seat were no more.

---

The Tairen Sect, seated high in the northern cliffs of Azure Flame, rarely meddled in noble politics. But today, even their meditation halls buzzed with unrest.

"So many noble heads... gone overnight," whispered one elder.

"Some call it divine retribution."

"Others call it treason dressed in silence."

"But who was behind it all?" one asked.

All eyes closed—bald heads bowed like Shaolin monks—each holding prayer beads, conserving their spiritual energy as they spoke.

"...I can feel the presence of a mortal... a mortal did it all," said the one seated at the head, his mind echoing with answers only he could hear.

'!?'

---

In the inner ring of the Capital, closer to the hearth of power, the estates buzzed with quiet panic.

No one spoke of it openly—not in the streets.

But within walls? Behind secured chamber doors?

It was madness.

Marriages had been arranged with some of the dead men.

Political alliances now stood on bones instead of signatures.

Merchants paused trade agreements.

Militia captains delayed dispatches.

New heirs—untrained, unblooded—were shoved onto head seats they never expected to sit.

The balance of noble power had shifted—violently—without a single blade drawn.

Yet Prince Orion said nothing.

No decree. No apology. No explanation.

The palace claimed he was in "reflection."

But even a fool knew what that meant.

He was waiting. Watching. Measuring the ripples his silence caused.

---

Inside the dim stone sanctum of House Valen, 28-year-old Mira Valen, the new head of the house, read the scroll again and again.

Her father had died at that table.

She didn't shed a tear.

Her voice was cold as she turned toward her 23-year-old sister, who slowly approached her—impassive, barely bothered by the death of their irresponsible father.

"Orion cannot be the one cutting his own hope. It must be someone from the First Queen's side," Mira muttered.

She eyed her sister, calculating. Considering the probability that the culprits were rival heirs rather than Prince Orion himself—he wouldn't take such a risk.

"But there was no poisoning. No wounds. That makes this an even bigger issue. The claims against us—without any signs of struggle—are clearly impossible," her sister said, placing a knuckle against her chin.

"Either the marks of struggle were erased, which seems unlikely, given the warriors stationed just outside the doors... or it was something more insidious. Any sound would have drawn immediate attention."

This incident was different from what happened with the Exorcism Sect.

Normally, the sect grounds existed near the capital's borders—far from the dense zones of power. Even strong cultivators like Mira, and those allied with the First Queen, must have sensed what was happening that day but chose to stay silent—showing that many had wanted the Exorcism Sect destroyed.

But this time, the loss wasn't just of lives—it severed trade routes, collapsed political bridges, and snapped connections with more than one power bloc.

Most of those families had recently reached out to the First Queen after the Exorcism Sect's eradication.

So if even a flicker of retaliatory internal energy had been detected, the guards would have acted.

But there had been no struggle. Just instant death.

And no one alive could move that fast.

Nor did anyone benefit from removing the nobles—unless they stood no chance of winning their support in the first place.

"The only one who'd benefit," Mira whispered, "is someone who would never gain those nobles' loyalty."

"Princess Aleriana might be behind this, Sister," Mathili stated, realizing that perhaps they had underestimated the Princess.

Her earlier actions against Prince Orion had seemed reckless—desperate.

But maybe... they had misjudged her limits.

Perhaps she had no intention of stopping at just the Exorcism Sect.

"You mean...", Mira narrowed her eyes as she looked towards her sister, who had a very sharp insight and instinct regarding things—and the way she reached this conclusion, it seemed logical enough, making even her doubt for a moment that maybe among all three groups of heirs, where the third queen after her death was already out of the question, might now her daughter— Princess Aleriana be trying to get back her position.

"Yes, it's definitely her," Mathili agreed as part of them reached the same conclusion—that indeed, the attack had something to do with Princess Aleriana.

Yet, it was also a question: why, out of all the time, had Princess Aleriana suddenly decided to go after the Exorcism Sect and then managed to kill so many nobles under the nose of Prince Orion?

Was it because she made a breakthrough?

Of course, it was already known to many individuals—given the incident with the Exorcism Sect—that killing five hundred of them was not something the Ghost Sect alone could do.

It was probably the strength of Princess Aleriana, who might have decided to take action once she found herself strong enough.

But how much strength could she have gained to act like this so openly—without fear of retaliation—given even the king was not going to just sit silently after such a big loss his kingdom might have suffered?

However, most likely, before the king could take action, the other heirs were already trying to get into this matter. So it was best for them to move first and secure their next heir of support wisely.

Indeed, their sole goal was to help the Valen family rise once again in position after losing their ducal rank two centuries ago at the hands of the Arcutus family.

It was time for their rise.

"What will be your approach?" Mira inquired, looking toward her sister, sensing that she might now take a more proactive role with the family head gone.

She knew Mathili was going to act on her own—and that could be risky. So as an elder sister, it was her responsibility to know what Mathili was planning.

"Kyle Arcutus..." Mathili replied without hesitation—the name of a weak link, one that could help her reach Princess Aleriana. She moved toward a drawer within the room, taking out a document and placing it before Mira.

'!'

This...." Mira's eyes widened as she looked at the document in her hand. It was a declaration of polygamy signed personally by Princess Aleriana, causing Mira's hand to visibly clench it.

"Yes, he is just like that dead man, a psycho pervert," Mathili stated firmly, considering their dead father, who had also signed a similar document from their mother before marrying several women—so many that there were a total of twelve children.

Naturally, both sisters had killed them one by one in various accidents to eliminate those wasting the resources of the Valen family, all while thinking of becoming a head just like their worthless father and bringing down the whole Valen family even lower than it was now.

"Damn these men... kill him!" Mira momentarily lost her composure, frustrated by memories of her father, before exhaling and clarifying, "I mean, use him to approach Princess Aleriana. If she is capable enough, then we will need to bet on her instead of the First Queen, who already has bigger players."

Simply put, both of them were aware that going to the First Queen, who naturally had a higher chance of becoming the mother of the next king with the enormous support she had, would leave their small family completely neglected from any future favors.

So it was better to choose an option who was like a dark horse—someone lucky enough for them, which could change everything.

"I will do it," Mathili said, giving the order, as a small sparrow flew in through the window and landed on her hand. She was quite fast regarding her work and had already contracted the Beggar Sect to find out the exact location of Kyle Arcutus, as she wanted to start her mission as soon as possible. Now that the family head was dead, there were no internal hurdles.

"Where is he?" Mira inquired, looking toward her sister, narrowing her gaze as she noticed the twitch and incredulous expression on Mathili's face.

"H-he is giving free healing to commoners in the slums...."