The next day, I arrived at the palace and was arranged a meeting with the three Vestal Virgins, overseen by several guards. After all, the three women made a vow of chastity, and even I wouldn't be pardoned if I did something to them before they were released from their vow.

I first met the older one. She was a mature-bodied and soft-spoken brunette with a half-cow beastkin bloodline. She had large curves, especially her tits, and was as tall as Axia, with small curved horns jutting out of her hair veil. While not jaw-droppingly beautiful, she was pretty enough to make any man proud to have her as a wife and seemed gentle and warm.

When I asked her why she wanted to marry me, she bluntly spoke.

"I entered my vow when I was 6, and it has been 20 years. I didn't have a choice at the time, and while I am content in my position, I always wanted to become a mother. Unfortunately, when my vow of chastity ends, I will already be 36 and perhaps infertile, far from my prime. And also, Vesta spoke to me in my prayer and told me that I would be free from my vows if I married you, Champion of Mars."

And that was what she said. It was a very realistic, down-to-earth reasoning, without any superfluous nonsense. And I didn't expect any, either.

In official marriages, love was never a factor. It was a nice thing acquired during the marriage itself, but it was never necessary. After all, marriage was an economic and political tool for most families. Even now, Vesta was essentially the parent who gave away her daughters. Whether we can cultivate a good relationship or not was up to us.

While continuing to talk with her, I looked at her status.

 

Name: Vacca Prilidiana
Age: 26
Personality: Loyal, Virtuous, Kind, Caring, Gentle, Has Seen God
Loyalty: Extreme Goodwill, Extreme Trust, Interested in Marriage, Wants to Sire your Children, Pious
Physical Realm: Silver 0
Aura Realm: Copper 0
Magic Realm: Gold 0
Skills: [...]
Talents: Extraordinary Magic Affinity, Extraordinary Fire Affinity, Extraordinary Divine Affinity, Extraordinary Priestess, Extraordinary Sacred Fire User, Extraordinary Healing Affinity, Extraordinary Healer, Sacred Body(Unawakened), Healing Cow Body(Unawakened). Nurturing Mother(Unawakened)

 

Looking at her status, I could already guess she awakened no fewer than 7 silver realm talents at birth. It was still far less impressive than Sertoria's 4 Gold Talents, but it was top-tier in the whole Empire. She was indeed a top-notch woman and potential healer. She is the type of ideal wife any sane man would cherish. If she were my wife, unless I got kicked in the head, there is no way I would neglect or mistreat her.

I was honestly tempted to select her, but I knew that two more remarkable women waited for me.

And so, after a bit more discussion, she left, and the second wife candidate arrived.

She was a feather-eared and beautiful young woman, with a mixture of confidence and elegance expected from a woman of her revered position. Her smooth, white hair flowed down her mature and refined figure with a golden ratio, and a pair of white wings was on her back. Her entire demeanor radiated strength, refinement, and passion, mixed with a sacred holiness.

She was the type of noble woman I wouldn't ever think I could marry. But now, here she was. I could freely choose her if I wanted.

When I asked her why she wanted to marry me, her answer was very straightforward.

"Sure, I enjoy the status of being a Vestal Virgin, and I naturally serve my goddess with the zeal she deserves and protect her sacred fire. However, I would serve even better as your wife, oh mighty Champion of Mars, and my Goddess told me this as well. I do find the proposition an enticing one, and I long to stay at the side of a man such as yourself." She said with a flirtatious smile.

Her words and actions would sound scandalous from any other woman, but when she said it, these words somehow sounded just right.

I couldn't help but look at her status.

 

Name: Grus Columella
Age: 20
Personality: Loyal, Virtuous, Assertive, Passionate, Protective, Has Seen God
Loyalty: Extreme Goodwill, Extreme Trust, Interested in Marriage, Pious
Physical Realm: Bronze 3
Aura Realm: Copper 0
Magic Realm: Silver 2
Skills: [...]
Talents: Extraordinary Magic Affinity, Extraordinary Fire Affinity, Extraordinary Divine Affinity, Extraordinary Priestess, Extraordinary Sacred Fire User, Extraordinary Holy Protector, Extraordinary Valkyrie
Potential Talents: Battle Cleric(Unawakened), Brave Crane(Unawakened), Mother of Heroes(Unawakened)

 

Unlike Vacca, who was a gentle healer, Grus was a protective and passionate woman, a born winged warrior priestess. Indeed, she was the type of woman who would protect me in public and serve me in private. Of course, over-relying on her would put too much pressure on her, and everyone has a breaking point. I would never do something that stupid.

Both Vacca and Grus were highly talented and extraordinary women in their own right, and any man who was blessed enough to have one as their wife should praise the gods. Vesta was really blessing me. And this made me wonder what type of woman the third, and most promising of the three, was.

After a bit more chatter, Grus left, and my third and final wife candidate arrived.

She was a petite, young, and budding girl in her mid-teens with a pair of white donkey ears and a donkey tail. She appeared young and shy, but was still a cute girl. However, compared to the other two, she was plain, almost like a girl next door.

Out of curiosity, I asked her why she wanted to marry me.

"T-The Goddess told me to... And I always wanted to marry a hero..." She said, looking down with her clear blue eyes, and blushing.

Well, it was as generic and naive an answer as can be. But I still wanted to see what was so special about her.

And once I checked her Status, I knew the whole story, and I didn't hesitate.

 

Name: Jenny Frontalis
Age: 14
Personality: Loyal, Virtuous, Shy, Romantic, Has Seen God
Loyalty: Absolute Goodwill, Absolute Trust, Adoration, Interested in Marriage, Very Pious
Physical Realm: Iron 1
Aura Realm: Copper 0
Magic Realm: Bronze 1
Skills: [...]
Talents: Advanced Magic Affinity, Advanced Fire Affinity, Advanced Divine Affinity, Advanced Priestess, Advanced Sacred Fire User
Potential Talents: Guardian Spirit Affinity(Unawakened), Living Temple(Unawakened), Keeper of the Hearth(Unawakened), Flourishing Wife(Unawakened), Prosperous Jenny(Unawakened)

 

Her initial talent was good, but still short compared to the other two. However, her latent talent stomped the other two by far. Not because she was stronger, but because of what she represented.

Prosperity.

Now, I truly understood that this was a test from Vesta, and this girl was the ultimate reward. Some legends about Vesta indeed mention that her favorite animal is the donkey. Meanwhile, Romans often belittled the humble animal, ignoring our shared history and its central importance, and instead idolized horses due to their potential in war.

But honestly? What was the point of war without prosperity? Why else did Rome worship Vesta so much, if not for prosperity? After slaying all my enemies and returning, what would welcome me at home? A wrecked family, or a flourishing one?

If I hesitated after seeing this, I would be a true fool. Hence, I didn't hesitate.

"Jenny, I want to marry you. Will you be my wife?" I asked with a gentle smile.

Jenny's sky-blue eyes widened in pleasant surprise and nodded.

"Yes! Yes! I will! Of course, I will!"

And just like that, we got engaged and got married several days later, right after she was released from her vows.

.

.

.

May 27th, 904 AUC

Jenny and I had a grand public wedding the day before.

There was a huge procession, religious jargon, and a feast. And finally, we arrived at our house...

And that's it.

What the hell did you expect would happen? For the impotent me to bed her? Even if I were able, I wouldn't bed her yet. She is too young!

Instead, the marriage was purely to bring her into my house as my wife... And that's it. At least for now, it was a non-sexual, platonic marriage.

Incidentally, I unhesitatingly heavily invested in her, and this is the result.

 

Name: Jenny Frontalis
Age: 14
Status: Healthy, Infertile(Temporary), No Libido(Temporary), Virgin
Personality: Loyal, Virtuous, Good-Natured, Brave, Enterprising, Has Seen God
Loyalty: Absolute Goodwill, Absolute Trust, Extremely Infatuated Spouse, Zeal
Physical Realm: Gold 3(40,000/40,000) (Epic Bottleneck)
Aura Realm: Copper 0(0/1)
Magic Realm: Bronze 1(80/200)
Skills: [...]
Talents: Perfect Magic Affinity, Perfect Fire Affinity, Perfect Divine Affinity, Perfect Priestess, Perfect Sacred Fire User, Perfect Guardian Spirit Affinity, True Living Temple, True Keeper of the Hearth, True Flourishing Wife, Hestia's Favorite Jenny

 

[Perfect Guardian Spirit Affinity: Grants Pseudo-Epic Spirit Affinity and Charisma. Good-natured spirits are now attracted to you and wish to help and protect you. Your presence nurtures good-natured spirits and makes them gradually grow stronger while driving away evil-natured spirits. You are innately good-natured.]

[True Living Temple: Grants Pseudo-Epic Attractiveness and an extreme increase in Divine Affinity, Spirit Affinity, and Magic Affinity. You serve as a living conduit to the divine and can act as a moving, living temple to the gods. Gold Realm Guardian Spirits can now reside within your body, protecting you from harm and increasing your prosperity, harmony, and health. Those in your household will share in your prosperity and have a chance to receive divine boons.]

[True Keeper of the Hearth: Grants Pseudo-Epic Fire Affinity and Divine Affinity. When you stay in a household, the overall health, harmony, and prosperity will gradually increase. When lighting a fire, you drive away evil spirits, undo hostile curses, and dispel misfortune. You are naturally good at cooking.]

[True Flourishing Wife: Grants Pseudo-Epic Luck and an extreme increase in Charisma, General Health, and Attractiveness. Your chances of birth complications decrease, and your children will be born with higher qualifications. Your libido and fertility will activate or stop depending on when you sense it is harmful to have intercourse and the need to produce heirs. The prosperity and harmony of your household will gradually increase as long as you are happy and satisfied. You will innately become enterprising and seek top-quality members to improve the prosperity and harmony of your household.]

[Hestia's Favorite Jenny: Grants Pseudo-Epic increase to Luck and Extreme increase to Charisma, Vitality, and Divine Affinity. Your connection and favorability with prosperity gods and creatures increase, especially Hestia(Vesta). When you stay in a household, its prosperity and harmony will gradually increase. Your very presence repels evil entities and bad intentions toward you and your household. You become innately Brave.]

 

Jenny became stunning overnight. Her features became sharper yet softer, and her skin was flawless. And at the same time, she gained a sacredness that made any untoward thoughts about her feel almost sinful. Of course, she was still 14 and underdeveloped. And this just made me wonder what she would look like when she was fully mature. As a side note, her talent, True Flourishing Wife, just killed her fertility and libido, likely due to her body being immature... And that works well for me! It would be even better if it only triggered after she turns 18.

But yes, she would now gradually make us prosperous. Not just lucky, but genuinely prosperous. Prosperity is success, not just wealth, but also well-being and progress. She also warded off curses, evil spirits, and misfortune, which was a great addition. And she even attracted Guardian Spirits, such as lares, to her. Although I didn't see any, I suppose they were either invisible or would attach themselves to her eventually.

Incidentally, I also saw her advancement requirements... which were related to prosperity in a surprisingly disturbing way that could be said to be both advantageous and disadvantageous to me... Yeah, I won't think about those conditions. Nope.

And so, my non-sexual married life began...