I Became The Extra King With Seven Wives-Chapter 11: Who Are My Wives? [2]

"What about the other six?" I asked, looking between Mother and Lenora. "If Eleanor was the ’friendship pick,’ what’s the story behind the rest of my wives?"

"What do you think?" Mother asked, arching an eyebrow as she sipped her wine.

"Well, to begin with, I have doubts about my First Wife," I said, leaning forward. "Diana Gardenia is a Princess yes, she has the perfect status, yes, but she’s from Gardenia. That kingdom is on the verge of a civil war. Why did my dear father tie me so deeply into that mess?"

If she was chosen as my First Wife, destined to be my Queen there had to be a significant reason. The logical answer was that Father had tried to save Diana’s life by marrying her to me, granting her the protection of Helios. But regardless of his intentions, he had effectively dragged me into the Gardenia conflict whether I wanted it or not.

That was quite a burden to dump on a son he wasn’t sure could even hold a sword. I knew he had an overbearing, almost delusional trust in me, but this felt like setting me up to fail.

"You do know that Diana’s father died recently? He was very close to your father," Mother said gently.

"I know. Both our kingdoms have always had close ties," I nodded.

"Then you understand why your father came to help him and his children? It’s no different than what Gabriel did for us, entrusting his precious daughter to us regardless of the consequences," she explained softly.

"Did Father expect me to save Gardenia from their civil war single-handedly?" I asked, keeping my tone serious. I needed to know the scope of what he wanted from me.

"Your father just wanted you to follow your own will and make your own decisions, Lumiel," Mother said, reaching out to pat my hand with a warm smile. "But remember, that girl has lost nearly everything. Her father, her home, her safety. Be kind to her."

"I am not good at babysitting, Mother," I replied dryly.

"Well, we babysat you all this time, brother. Surely you can do something for others once in a while?" Lenora grinned, stabbing a potato.

The comment struck a nerve, but she was right.

"I will see," I conceded. "What about my Second Wife? Wait, let me guess. It’s a given, isn’t it?"

"Asthenia Solaris," Mother confirmed. "Daughter of Duke Solaris, who commands the army famed to be the strongest in Helios. She was destined to be your wife, and actually, your Queen since before you were born. Plans changed, obviously, given the situation with Diana. It would have been impossible not to take her as a wife, but your father managed to convince the Duke to accept the Second Wife position for Asthenia."

She fixed me with a serious look. "This is the most critical alliance for our Kingdom, Lumiel. Without the Solaris army, we are vulnerable. Please, don’t do anything stupid."

"Mother, what do you mean ’stupid’?" I asked, feigning innocence.

"Well, it’s Asthenia we are speaking about. You know how she is," Lenora said, her grin widening.

Now that she mentioned it...

Asthenia Solaris. She was the epitome of the arrogant noble lady. And being a Duke’s daughter, a Duke who essentially held the kingdom’s military might in his fist, imagine the level of entitlement.

"I remember when we were children," Lenora giggled. "You fell in love with her at first sight, Brother. You picked a flower for her."

"And she rejected it," I finished the memory, wincing slightly. "I remember she stomped it under her foot, looked me dead in the eye, and said she wasn’t just a little girl to be impressed by weeds."

It was quite the childhood trauma for me back then. The sound of that crunch still echoed in my head...

Lenora burst out laughing at my expression.

"Hey! Don’t rile up your brother now!" Mother complained, though she was smiling too.

"It’s been a while since I have spoken to her," I said. "I suppose she has gotten even worse?"

Lenora nodded vehemently. "Much worse."

"Lumiel," Mother warned me again, her tone serious. "Asthenia may be strict, but she has been raised to be your Queen. So be understanding, and for the love of Helios, don’t do anything stupid."

"I won’t, Mother," I replied, swirling the wine in my goblet. "As long as she doesn’t crush the next flower I offer her."

Lenora laughed again, nearly choking on her drink.

"I’m serious, Lumiel," Mother sighed. "She is quite talented, you will need her strength."

"Strength I can handle," I said quietly. "It’s the stomping I might take issue with."

Lenora stifled another laugh, her shoulders shaking.

"Lumiel." Mother gave me a stern stare.

"Alright, alright," I raised my hands in surrender. "Please, Mother, let’s continue with the review of my dear wives. My fourth wife... who was it again?"

"Morgana, Lumiel," Mother said, exasperated.

"Morgana Raimond, right. But how did she manage to accept a marriage? Wasn’t the great objective of her life to be a Knight and keep her virginity for eternity?"

"Not sure about the second one," Lenora spoke up, rolling her eyes. "But she does want to become a Knight. I don’t think she’s interested in marriage at all; she just wants to succeed her father as Commander of the Royal Guard."

Arges Raimond. The strongest Knight of the Kingdom and fiercely loyal to my father. I knew that personally from seeing him shadow Father everywhere, but I also knew from my knowledge of the Game that his loyalty was to Helios itself.

"How did she accept? Did Arges force her? Wasn’t he a doting father who obeyed everything Morgana asked him? I am pretty sure if she refused to marry me, Arges wouldn’t have insisted," I said, genuinely curious.

"You are underestimating that girl, Lumiel," Mother said, cutting her meat. "She is as loyal as Arges to the Kingdom. Her becoming your wife solidifies Arges’s tie, the strongest blade of the Kingdom to us, the royal family. It is also politics. Morgana accepted it knowing how dire our situation has become, and would become, after your father’s death."

"I suppose, however, she doesn’t want to hear about children and sex, though?" I asked bluntly.

"Why? Do you want to have sex with Morgana, brother?" Lenora smirked, resting her chin on her hand. "She used to bully you when we were children, and you never won a single fight against her."

"I am stronger now," I shrugged, spearing a roasted potato. "And well, I always liked Morgana. So yeah, I mean, I would want to have sex with her."

Lenora blushed furiously at my casual admission. "You are shameless, brother."

"I am King, sister. We are all shameless," I retorted.

"Father wasn’t as shameless as you," Lenora pointed her finger accusingly.

"Well, he hadn’t taken more wives because his situation was different than mine, but I am sure he had concubines," I smirked at Mother.

She just smiled back serenely and reached out to pull my ear again, and hard.

"My apologies," I said and rubbed my ear. At least Father, despite his concubines, had never given them legitimate children, leaving Lenora and me as the sole heirs. A small mercy in the grand scheme of succession wars I guess.

"What about my fifth wife, Mother?" I asked, shifting the subject quickly.

"You know her as well. Ravenna Ashcroft," she said.

Right. The daughter of that old man Ashcroft who was planning to marry my sister to his son and had just failed spectacularly to hijack my council.

"I can’t believe he managed to convince Father to marry his daughter to me. Isn’t that like giving this shady old man more power in the court?" I asked, leaning my cheek against my fist lazily.

"You are being insulting again, Lumiel," Mother scolded me gently. "Lord Ashcroft had been your father’s advisor all this time, and your father trusted him."

"So he chose to sell me off to that gloomy daughter of his? I mean, Ravenna?"

"Are you still scared of her, brother?" Lenora grinned wickedly. "I remember at your twelfth birthday you screamed, thinking she was a ghost. Quite a scene you made there."

Another humiliating episode for the archives.

Wonderful.

"Ravenna is a good girl, be kind to her," Mother insisted.

"Everyone is a ’good girl’ for you, Mother," I rolled my eyes. "Alright, next should be..."

I widened my eyes, as I remembering again.

"Cynthia? My dear cousin," I blurted out.

"Why are you surprised?" Mother gave me a puzzled look.

Well, in this world, marriage between cousins was very normal, standard operating procedure for keeping bloodlines ’pure’, actually. Cynthia wasn’t a direct first cousin, but she definitely shared my blood. Her family name was literally ’Von Helios’ after all.

But more than the genetics...

"I mean, we grew up together. Like siblings?" I said, the words feeling clumsy.

She was like a big sister to me. Always had been. She’d wiped my nose, scolded me, protected me. Shifting that relationship to ’wife’ felt... weird.

Complicated.

"She is of the Branch Family," Mother shrugged, unbothered. "It keeps the blood strong. And Cynthia cares for you deeply."

"Yeah," I muttered. "That’s exactly what worries me."

It seemed Cynthia being close to me was also a calculated move by Father. She would be loyal to me, unquestionably so, because to her, I was family first and King second.

"Then what about the last one?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.

"Dorothy Stoneford, right?" Lenora spoke, frowning. "I have no idea about this one, Mother. Isn’t she just the daughter of a Baron? And from the Empire of Radhamantia? Aren’t we pretty much enemies with them? I don’t understand Father’s decision here."

Well, I understood it perfectly, thanks to my knowledge of the Game. Dorothy wasn’t just a Baron’s daughter. She was an important character of the entire gamestory. The story that was set to begin next month.

"Hm, Baron Stoneford was also a good friend of your father," Mother said thoughtfully, clearly trying to piece it together herself. "He died tragically. I think that’s why your father wanted to at least save his daughter."

She wasn’t aware of the real reason.

If it was just to protect her, he could have made her a lady-in-waiting, or given her a minor title and an estate far away from the capital. But he specifically made her my wife. Even as the Seventh Wife, she was still a Queen of Helios.

He didn’t do it randomly.

I knew my father. He really did trust me, an overwhelming, almost terrifying amount. He had expectations that reached far beyond just keeping the throne warm.

It was rather pathetic that in the original Game timeline, I died without accomplishing a single thing he wanted. Just killed pitifully in my room, maybe on my own bed by an assassin, leaving his grand expectations of me to rot.

But things would be different this time.

Regardless, I now had no choice. By marrying Dorothy, I was already dragged into the main plot of the Game whether I liked it or not. It was a bit upsetting, I wanted to focus on stabilizing Helios, not chasing plot points but Helios played a huge role in the story anyway. I was stuck on the board.

"Your Majesty?"

The beautiful servant girl raised her pitcher again, looking at me questioningly as I stared into space.

"Your name?" I asked, extending my glass.

She turned those clear blue eyes toward me as she tilted the pitcher, water cascading into the silver cup.

"Regina, Your Majesty," she said softly.

If I hadn’t others matters to think about, I would have already started flirting.

Such a shame.