I Became The Extra King With Seven Wives-Chapter 29: Cynthia Von Helios

After taking a nap and leaving Dorothy alone, I walked out of the castle and made my way toward the towering spire of the Tower of Helios.

I stepped inside the grand structure and began the long ascent up the spiraling stone stairs. The climb was much easier this time, a far cry from my grueling first attempt.

It was essentially a leisurely walk in the park for me now.

The overwhelming, blistering heat of the Sacred Flame no longer hindered me. Though I could still physically feel the intense waves of heat radiating out and washing over me, my body was now entirely immune to the fire. I felt perfectly fine.

Upon finally reaching the summit and standing before the roaring Flame, a smile spread across my lips

"The feeling is entirely different," I muttered aloud.

It was definitely because I had now officially become the Guardian of the Flame.

As I stepped closer, I immediately felt the massive fire violently pulsating, eagerly reacting to my mere presence.

"You are happy, are you not?" I asked, my smile widening. "A fresh, newly awakened young Guardian, just for you."

The vibrant flames flickered and surged in response, swirling outward like tiny, fiery arms that gently coiled around my entire body.

"You like them young, do you not?" I chuckled as the tongues of fire affectionately caressed my skin without leaving a single burn.

I closed my eyes, outstretched my hand toward the mini sun, and completely focused my mind.

Possessing the devastating power of the Flame was an incredible boon, but without masterful control, it was practically useless. If I was careless, I could easily incinerate the people around me and violently destroy the very things I was desperately trying to protect.

The best way to gain a firmer grasp on this immense power was to remain physically close to the Flame and actively increase our natural compatibility which, honestly, was already incredibly high based on what I was currently feeling.

I was undeniably a genius; there was absolutely no need for false modesty here. Apollina had definitely taken an intense, distinct liking to me. Managing to make your own divine ancestor fall for you? Yes, I was likely the only man alive who could successfully pull off something quite like that.

Smirking to myself as I shamelessly stroked my own ego, I sat cross-legged directly in front of the roaring, ancient Flame, closed my eyes, and sank into deep focus.

◊◊◊

While Lumiel was outside in deep meditation casually sitting right in front of a miniature sun, Lenora walked through the grand, stone hallways of the royal castle with long frustrated strides.

The main source of her rising agitation was, quite obviously, her older brother, Lumiel.

She was happy, extremely happy, even to finally see her brother acting so confident and assertive. She had spent years desperately wishing for him to hold his head high and command the room like the Prince and future King he truly was. But now, it felt as though he was dangerously overdoing it.

He was being reckless, aggressively wielding his newfound power with little thought to the consequences.

Stripping Arges of his command and coldly calling off his long-standing engagement with Morgana on the exact same day... and all simply because Morgana had shown him disrespect.

Yes, of course, he was the King, and open disrespect needed to be punished. But it was not as if she had committed high treason, or insulted him right on his face, and besides what part had Arges truly played in her insolence?

They desperately needed Arges and his support, yet Lumiel had humiliated the man without a second thought. And Arges had always been steadfastly kind and supportive to Lumiel, even before the Awakening.

She simply could not understand it.

Was her brother truly childish and foolish enough to make such a rash, dangerous decision?

And then there was the next matter that thoroughly annoyed her...

She turned her head slightly over her shoulder and saw Alice walking quietly behind her, her head bowed in silent misery.

"Poor girl," Lenora thought, her hands clenching into tight fists as a wave of sympathy washed over her.

Alice had served as Lumiel’s personal maid since he was ten years old. Lenora knew exactly how close she had always been to him, how much she truly meant to him. Alice had constantly been the one to comfort Lumiel when the nobles viciously mocked him, when Asthenia coldly rejected him, when Morgana bullied him, or simply when the crushing pressure of his royal duties had overwhelmed him.

Yet Lumiel had just callously thrown her away, all because he had found a prettier maid.

Regina.

Well, the woman certainly was quite a sight; even Lenora could easily admit that. She had not missed Regina’s blatant flirting attempts directed at her brother ever since the maid had started working at the castle, though the girl’s efforts had noticeably paused for a while.

But it seemed whatever attempt Regina had made yesterday had worked absolute wonders, and her newly awakened brother was clearly no longer the sort of man to refuse such a woman from his bed.

In fact, Lenora heavily suspected he might have already slept with her.

It was an incredibly bizarre thought from her perspective, the idea that her older brother, who had always been so painfully timid and hopelessly head over heels for Asthenia, had confidently taken another woman to his bed.

Regardless, that was not the true problem!

Regina might be far more beautiful, more charming, or more seductive, but that was definitely no excuse to simply throw Alice away like discarded rubbish!

Yet, there was something definitely strange about the fact that Lumiel had specifically handed Alice over to her.

Was it merely a shallow act of pity, a way to prove he wasn’t entirely ungrateful for her years of service, or was there something else at play she wasn’t aware of?

She kept agonizing over the thought, desperately trying to find valid excuses for her brother’s strange behavior, but no matter how hard she thought, she could not make sense of it.

She was beginning to truly believe that her brother had simply grown too arrogant, too bold, and that the sheer rush of newfound power following his Awakening had completely gone to his head.

Sighing, Lenora reached a familiar set of quarters, approached the wooden door, and knocked twice.

"It is me, Cynthia."

Footsteps approached from within, and as the door swung open, Cynthia appeared. She immediately offered a warm smile to Lenora, who was not only her cousin but as close as a true sister.

Cynthia had spent most of her life growing up within the royal castle and the capital alongside Lumiel and Lenora. The three of them had bonded like siblings and treated one another as such, with Cynthia naturally falling into the role of the eldest, and Lenora the youngest.

Cynthia was especially close to Lenora, as the two girls had shared many of the same tutoring classes, while Lumiel, bearing the heavy title of Prince, had always been burdened with a far more demanding and isolated schedule.

Regardless, Cynthia was family to Lenora.

"Come in," Cynthia said, stepping back to allow Lenora and Alice inside before gently closing the door behind them.

Cynthia raised a slightly puzzled brow upon seeing Alice trailing behind Lenora, but she tactfully chose not to ask about it just yet.

"The exact same quarters you used to live in back then," Lenora smiled fondly, stepping forward and collapsing gracefully onto the long, velvet-cushioned sofa.

Cynthia smiled back.

"I specifically requested them," she said, her gaze sweeping thoughtfully around the familiar room. "This place is filled only with good memories."

"It is!" Lenora nodded with a bright giggle, looking around as well. "Do you remember the time my brother tried to carry you and ended up crashing into everything in the room?"

Cynthia laughed softly, taking a seat next to Lenora. "I remember it well," she said, her voice rich with fondness. "Though, to be fair, he did eventually succeed in carrying me."

Lenora smiled.

Those were merely childish games they had all played together, mostly scenarios where Cynthia and Lenora played the roles of foreign Princesses, and Lumiel acted as the heroic Prince, which, truthfully, was not entirely inaccurate.

"Painfully so," Lenora added with a light sigh. "My dear brother always wanted to show off how strong he was, even when he was clearly struggling."

"Lumi... I mean, His Majesty was always trying his hardest to become strong, but the people around him offered no help at all. His efforts were constantly minimized and harshly criticized simply because he was not born a natural genius or a master of the sword." Cynthia sighed softly.

"You can still call my brother by his name, you know," Lenora rolled her eyes affectionately. "At least when we are alone together. He is certainly not going to execute you for that."

However much power might have recently gone to his head, Lenora knew perfectly well that Cynthia meant a great deal to Lumiel; in his eyes, she was definitely untouchable, and he would never dream of hurting her in any way.

"Besides, you are his wife now," she added thoughtlessly, instantly regretting the words as they left her mouth.

Cynthia’s gentle expression instantly dimmed.

"Cynthia..." Lenora quickly reached out, gently grasping her cousin’s arm. "I am so sorry... I tried to talk to Mother about it, but..."

"No..." Cynthia shook her head lightly, forcing a brave face. "If it was my the King’s final decision, I will accept it."

"But Cynthia!" Lenora blurted out, before quickly lowering her voice. "What about Alan?" She whispered in a hushed tone.

At the mere mention of Alan, Cynthia’s expression closed off completely.

Alan Dawnheart, the heir to Count Dawnheart.

He was the man who was supposed to be her husband. Their engagement had been decided since she was ten years old. In the years since, they had spent a great deal of time together, and it was abundantly clear to anyone watching that they loved each other. Alan was a genuinely good-natured man who had always treated her with kindness and deep respect.

She had an excellent relationship with him, and she had been genuinely, truly happy at the prospect of marrying him.

In a world where noblewomen rarely had any say in choosing their lifelong partners, someone like Alan was a rare, miraculous stroke of luck for Cynthia.

She was nineteen now, meaning their long-standing engagement had been mere moments away from being officially finalized, with a grand wedding soon to follow. But everything had shattered the day her mother coldly informed her that she was to be married to Lumiel instead, taking her place as his sixth wife.

At first, she had thought it was some kind of joke, despite having never once heard her mother joke about anything but it had actually turned out to be the truth.

It was the King’s final decision, so there were no choices left to be made.

Immediately, whatever verbal promises had been previously made to Count Dawnheart were abruptly and entirely cancelled.

And Cynthia knew perfectly well that her mother, Felicia, was the happiest person in the castle about it. She had always desperately wished for Cynthia to be married to Lumiel, and that was very likely the real reason an official engagement between Cynthia and Alan had never been formalized. Usually, such an engagement would have been decided and made entirely official while they were still young.

But Felicia had always intentionally delayed making it official, constantly insisting that they still had plenty of time.

Cynthia was certain that her mother had played a major role in convincing the King to marry her to Lumiel.

Regardless, the deed was now done, and she had no choice but to quietly accept her fate.

"Listen... I will try to ask my brother about it," Lenora said softly.

"No... please," Cynthia begged, her fingers grasping desperately at Lenora’s arm. "Nobody knows that I was that close to Alan, and it is far better that it remains a secret. My mother would be absolutely furious, and the resulting words and gossip would not help our situation at all..."

Lenora’s eyes widened slightly in sudden suspicion. "Cynthia... do not tell me you gave Alan your maidenhood?"

Cynthia’s cheeks instantly flushed bright, scandalous red at Lenora’s blunt words. "Of course not!"

"Then why are you speaking as if you gave both your mind and body to him?" Lenora asked, rolling her eyes in exasperation. "You are acting far too prudish," she added with a teasing tone.

"I mean, we loved each other... is that not already enough grounds for a massive scandal?" Cynthia argued anxiously.

"Well, when you say it like that, yes, it could easily turn into a scandal," Lenora nodded thoughtfully.

"See? Then please, do not say a word of this to Lumiel..." Cynthia pleaded.

Lenora fixed Cynthia with a long, serious gaze. "Tell me the truth. You still love Alan, do you not?"

Cynthia parted her lips to deny it, but then slowly, painfully nodded her head, unwilling to lie to her.

"What was his reaction?" Lenora asked gently.

"He was utterly distraught, obviously. He said we could still do something, that he would talk to my mother, or even to Lumiel directly if needed. But I stopped him and distanced myself..." She confessed, her voice tinged with unshed tears.

Seeing her cousin look so thoroughly defeated, Lenora immediately pulled Cynthia into a warm comforting embrace. "I am so sorry, Cynthia... I just do not know what I can do to help."

"There is nothing to be done..." Cynthia whispered, resting her heavy head upon Lenora’s shoulder. "Please, saying anything might only turn things disastrously wrong for both me and Alan."

"But are you truly alright with this marriage, Cynthia?" Lenora asked, pulling back just slightly to search her cousin’s face. "I do not want you to be forced into this..."

"I am marrying Lumiel... not a monster," Cynthia managed to chuckle.

"Well, my newly awakened brother is quite the philanderer. I am afraid that, adopted sister or not, he might try to take you to his bed immediately," Lenora said with obvious exaggeration.

Cynthia merely sulked, her expression turning slightly sour.

"Stop saying such things. We should be happy that he finally became exactly what he was always supposed to be: bold, strong, and confident," she reprimanded softly.

"And? Have you suddenly fallen in love with my new, bold brother?" Lenora asked, a teasing gleam returning to her eye.

"You jest... I have always thought of him as my little brother. I honestly do not even know how to act around him anymore," Cynthia sighed, her shoulders slumping dejectedly.

"Well, my brother would never intentionally harm you. If you do not want to bed him, he will certainly not force you," Lenora assured her.

"I know that already. But is that not my sole role, my duty, and the very reason I was married to Lumiel in the first place?" Cynthia asked, her voice trembling with nervous apprehension. "To provide him with children carrying the purest bloodline of the Sun?"

"Well..." Lenora faltered, genuinely not knowing how to answer that heavy truth.

"Regardless, Nora, please promise me you will not breathe a single word about any of this to Lumiel or anyone else," Cynthia asked again, her hands gripping Lenora’s tightly.

Lenora let out a long, heavy sigh, but finally nodded her head. "I promise."