I Became The Extra King With Seven Wives-Chapter 23: Lumiel’s First Council [2]

"It would be very helpful, Your Majesty, if you would share what you are thinking regarding the famine," Elbert said. "We could assist you in formulating a solution..."

I could see several heads nodding in agreement.

"I will share my plans once I have spoken with Gabriel Goldwyn," I replied, shrugging. "I understand your impatience. You lot have indeed demonstrated remarkably low patience, in fact low enough to sign my death certificate after a mere week of absence. But now I am King, so I suggest you cultivate some. Patience, that is."

They all shut their mouths instantly, swallowing whatever protest had been forming.

God, being King really did make things easier. It was almost absurdly satisfying to silence these same men who used to look down on me, who whispered insults just loud enough for me to hear but never quite loud enough to be called treason.

I think I somewhat understood those protagonists in cultivation novels now, the ones who turned edgy and cringey the moment they gained power. The temptation to grind your boot on the necks of people who once kicked you was... addictive.

Just a little bit, at least.

Roland cleared his throat, attempting to regain control of the proceedings. "Then we shall continue to the next matter—"

"The next matters will be handled by my mother in my stead," I cut him off.

The hall went still.

"She has been Queen for twenty years," I continued, my voice hardening slightly. "She could easily act in my stead and make decisions for the Kingdom. Am I wrong?"

I let my gaze sweep across the assembly, daring anyone to contradict me.

"O—Of course, Your Majesty..."

They all nodded nervously.

"Good. I will be quite preoccupied with other urgent matters, so don’t be surprised if you see less of me in these tedious councils," I said. Then I shifted my gaze to the red-haired mountain of a man standing silently to the side. "And Arges."

"Your Majesty." Arges Raimond turned toward me instantly and bowed his head with military precision.

I smiled at him.

"I am removing you from the position of Commander of the Royal Guard."

Gasps erupted.

Shock rippled through the hall.

Literally everyone, nobles, even my wives stared at me in disbelief.

Arges Raimond.

The strongest knight in the Kingdom. The most loyal soldier to ever draw breath in service of Helios. He was also my father’s closest friend, his right hand, his shadow. I had known him my entire life. He’d taught me how to hold a sword before I could even lift one properly.

Among everyone in this room, he was supposed to be untouchable.

After a long moment of silence, Arges, whose eyes had gone as wide as saucers finally spoke.

"Your Majesty...?"

"You have contributed immensely to this Kingdom and to my father, Arges. But that is enough," I said.

"Your Majesty, surely—" Roland began.

"Shut up, Roland," I said without even looking at him.

He nodded immediately and retreated a step.

"Your Majesty... I don’t understand," Arges said, a deep frown carving lines into his weathered face. "Your father explicitly requested that I—"

"What my father requested regards my father," I interrupted, lowering my tone. "I am now the King, Arges. Are you going to disobey me?"

I stared him down, golden eyes burning into red.

Arges looked dumbfounded, caught between loyalty to a dead king and obedience to a living one. After a painful silence, he bowed his head deeply.

"No, Your Majesty. If that is your decision, I will accept it," he said.

"Good. Then use this time to take a vacation. Spend some well-deserved time for yourself. You’ve earned it," I said, standing and picking up Hyperion from where it rested beside the throne.

Stepping down from the dais, I walked toward the exit. The crowd of nobles parted immediately, scrambling to clear my path.

Alice fell into step behind me, silent as a ghost.

"Oh, I nearly forgot," I said, stopping and turning back around with a brighter smile. "I am also calling off the engagement with Morgana. You may find another, better suitor for your lovely daughter, Uncle Arges."

"Y—Your Majesty...?" Arges gave me a look of absolute shock, his composure finally cracking.

But I had already turned back around.

"Forgive my directness, Uncle, but I don’t need useless wives at my side. Especially not one who prioritizes her own wishes over the Kingdom that belongs to her husband," I added with barely concealed disdain.

Then I walked off, boots echoing in the stunned silence.

"Eleanor," I called without looking back. "Accompany me."

"Your Majesty," she replied immediately, following along.

Behind us, the Throne Hall erupted into chaos right after I left as expected.

"Why are you walking behind me, Eleanor? You are my wife. Walk beside me," I said, glancing over my shoulder.

She looked momentarily startled, then nodded and quickened her pace until she matched my stride.

"You seemed surprised by what I did to Arges," I observed.

"I... think Your Majesty must have a good reason," she said carefully, though the doubt in her tone was impossible to miss.

Well, I doubted anyone thought well of what I’d just done except the traitors, of course. They were probably rejoicing inwardly, celebrating the fact that I’d just stripped the Kingdom of its strongest defender, their greatest enemy and the most formidable wall standing between them and the royal family.

"And what good reason are you imagining?" I asked with a smile.

Eleanor looked at me, then sighed, her perfect mask slipping slightly.

"I apologize, Your Majesty. I genuinely don’t understand the reasoning behind your decision... Lord Raimond is critically important to our Kingdom, especially right now. The moment this news spreads... which it will, since we cannot trust everyone in that council, the other kingdoms will see it as an opportunity. They’ll view us as a kingdom that has lost its strongest weapon. They’ll smell blood."

As expected. This woman was brilliant. She knew exactly what the ramifications were, and she had chosen her words perfectly, not accusatory, but persuasive enough to give me an opening to reconsider.

"Why do you think I did that, Eleanor?" I asked her.

Eleanor hesitated, clearly thinking her words.

"You can speak freely. I don’t mind hearing anything from you," I said with an encouraging smile.

"That is... I don’t believe you did that simply because of Morgana’s disrespectful behavior earlier?" She phrased it as a question, cautious.

That would be monumentally petty and stupid, after all.

"I would say it definitely played a role in my decision," I said.

I was a bit petty and I didn’t like being disrepected even back on Earth so imagine now.

"Your Majesty..."

"But not the main reason, of course," I continued.

Eleanor blinked, looking at my face as we turned down a quieter corridor, away from the throne hall’s chaos.

She was clearly trying to puzzle out what other reasons could possibly justify such a drastic move.

"Do you have any ideas about the traitors in the council?" I asked, shifting abruptly.

"I wouldn’t be certain," she said honestly. "I haven’t spent enough time observing the inner workings of the court to make informed accusations."

Obviously. She had spent most of her life traveling with her father, building trade networks and merchant alliances across the continent. Court intrigue wasn’t her specialty yet but she was definitely learning quickly already.

"Well, I have a pretty good idea of their identities," I said casually.

"Then why not arrest them?" She asked, frowning.

"Because I’m waiting for the perfect opportunity to catch them red-handed," I replied. "Now that I’ve done them a great service, removing their greatest obstacle, they will definitely advance whatever plans they’ve been nursing. They’ll get bold. Sloppy."

I stopped walking and turned to face her fully, holding her emerald gaze.

"And that’s where you come in, Eleanor. I will need your help for something."

Her expression sharpened but she immediately nodded.

"What do you need, Your Majesty?"