I Became The Extra King With Seven Wives-Chapter 51: Confessions

"Lumiel!"

As I strode briskly down the corridors, with Regina following silently in my wake, my mother’s sharp voice echoed behind me.

I had scarcely turned around when a resounding, perfectly aimed slap struck my cheek.

"Ouch," I muttered, my gaze settling calmly upon my visibly enraged mother.

Behind me, Regina flinched, paralyzed and unsure of how to react to what happened.

"How could you do such a thing?!" She asked her voice trembling with anger.

"Do what, Mother? I had expected you to praise me for my victory against Morgana, yet here you are slapping me?" I replied, feigning a mixture of confusion and hurt.

"Praise you?! For what? For crushing that poor girl’s hand?!" She cried out. "You have known her since you were both children, Lumiel! I have known her since she was but a babe! I knew her mother—"

"I have known her to beat me under the convenient guise of ’training.’ Yet, I do not recall seeing you march onto the grounds to slap her for it back then?" I shrugged.

"Are you truly questioning me now?! You were both children!" She spat. "If you truly did not wish to spar with her, you could have easily refused, just as you refused your father’s lessons and training countless times! Or had you conveniently lost your tongue only when it came to Morgana?"

Damn. She cornered me quite nicely there.

It was true. If I despised those encounters, I could have simply refused to see her. Even Lenora and Cynthia had repeatedly urged me to turn her away, promising to intervene if she ever tried to force my hand. Yet, I never did.

It was not because I enjoyed having my pride beaten out of me on the training grounds. Rather, it was because I did not entirely hate what Morgana was trying to accomplish for me, even if her methods were overly harsh.

"She disrespected me, Mother," I said, my tone dropping its mocking edge to become dead serious. "She has done so countless times in the past, and she dared to do so once again today, in plain view of my wives and the court’s nobility. What exactly did you expect me to do? Best her in combat and offer a childish handshake to resolve the matter? Or perhaps you would have preferred that I lose, merely to further inflate her already unbearable ego?"

"Was that truly the reason? You committed such an atrocity merely to ’break’ her ego?!" She asked, livid.

"Well, it was certainly a satisfying sight to behold," I replied, a smile curving my lips.

"H—How could you be so cruel? You crushed her dominant hand, Lumiel! She is scheduled to enter Luminar, and—"

"I could not care less, Mother," I interrupted sharply. "As I am certain you are well aware, our Kingdom currently faces matters of far greater consequence than poor Morgana’s broken bones. Quite frankly, I would have been far more concerned had the royal cook broken his wrist."

"Lumiel!" She gasped, looking at me as though she were staring at a stranger.

She slowly shook her head, utter disbelief written across her features.

"I—I do not recognize you anymore... What on earth happened to you during that awakening?"

"What happened to me is that I finally opened my eyes," I said, taking an imposing step toward her. "What did you wish for, Mother? Did you hope I would return to you a clumsy, incompetent boy, incapable of speaking or walking with the grace of a sovereign? For years, I have endured the veiled insults of these nobles. I walked through these very halls, quietly burying every slight and indignity deep within my chest. Alice, Lenora, and Cynthia were my only sources of comfort in that wretched nightmare anyone called a princely life. You and Father were always far too preoccupied with the grand matters of the Kingdom and its future to ever cast a glance at what your own son was enduring. Expectations? I can shoulder them. Insults, mockery, misplaced blame? I can weather them all, just as I have done for my entire life. But I am not an unfeeling statue of stone, Mother."

The anger vanished from my mother’s face in an instant, her stern expression crumpling.

"I do not blame you for any of it, far from it. You brought Alice to me, and that alone was more than enough," I said softly, before my gaze hardened into a piercing stare. "But the leniency ends here. What do you believe is expected of a King of Helios in these times? Father was fortunate; he was allowed to be a man of peace because the era permitted it. I am afforded no such luxury. Providing me with seven wives is a gesture I am grateful for, but it does not magically lift the burden he hoisted upon my shoulders. This entire continent thirsts for our downfall. If I show even the slightest fraction of weakness, they will pounce upon the opportunity, just as they have plotted to do for years. But Father is no longer here to shield me, Mother... and you are no longer the Queen."

"L—Lumiel," she cried, her voice trembling as she reached a trembling hand toward my reddened cheek. "I never wished any of this upon you, my son."

"I did not wish for it either," I replied, offering her a weary, hollow smile. "I refused Father over and over again. I did not want to be King. I did not want the crown. Yet, until his dying breath, you both forced this burden upon me. Now that I have taken it, I understand the truth of it all too well. Playing the part of a kind and peaceful King like Father will not work. It will merely get me killed. You and Lenora will be assassinated shortly after being used to the bones, and the entire Kingdom will fall, carved up and shared among our enemies like scraps of bread."

The situation was that critical and I understood the impending doom even better than she ever could, courtesy of the Game’s foresight.

"I will not be the benevolent King that perhaps Father wished me to be. He stripped me of that choice the moment he brought Diana and her sister here, antagonizing Gardenia when he could have simply summoned their mother who is very much alive and returned the girls to her," I said, watching as my mother’s eyes flew wide in shock.

"H—How..."

"Of course you knew," I laughed softly. "When I asked you about Diana, you told me to treat her with kindness because she had ’lost so much’, yet you conveniently neglected to mention her mother. I should have seen through the meaning earlier."

"Lumiel, you cannot—"

"Enough, Mother," I sighed heavily, drawing in a long, steadying breath. "I will always welcome your counsel. You are my mother, and there is no woman in this world I respect more than you. But you counseled Father during an era of peace, and that is simply no longer the case. I will deal with the encroaching threats in my own way."

She fell completely silent at my words. I watched as a storm of conflicting emotions, pain, quiet grief, and overwhelming guilt washed across her face.

"If I must become a tyrant to protect Helios, to protect you and Lenora, to protect my wives... to protect foolish girls like Morgana... then a tyrant I will be," I said seriously.

I cast a brief glance over her shoulder, noting that Cynthia, Lenora, and Alice had just arrived in the corridor, freezing in their tracks as they overheard.

I just hope they didn’t hear about Diana’s mother.

I turned on my heel.

"Besides, it will hardly be the first time Helios has seen a tyrant upon its throne. And as history remembers," I added over my shoulder as I walked away, "Helios was never safer than when it was ruled by one."

Regina hurried behind me as I strode away down the long corridor.

I was just pinching the bridge of my nose, fighting off a creeping headache, when the sharp, rapid sound of footsteps rushing up behind me broke the silence.

I sighed and turned around.

"My sweet little sister," I said, offering a weary smile. "Are you coming to deliver a slap of congratulations as well, just as Mother did?"

But instead of raising a hand, Lenora simply threw herself forward, wrapping her arms tightly around my waist in a hug.

Surprised, I raised my hands slightly, looking down at the top of her head.

"Congratulations, big brother," she said, resting her face warmly against my chest.

I blinked in quiet astonishment before a gentle smile spread across my lips. Slowly, I wrapped my arms around her shoulders.

"Thank you, little sister."

"What you did to Morgana out there was wrong, and it was terribly mean," she said, her voice muffled against my tunic.

"I know," I replied softly.

"You know that Morgana has been in love with you since you were both children. And you know she only acted out of bitterness because you always ignored her outside of the training grounds, preferring to spend all your time around us instead," she continued.

"I know," I nodded, resting my chin lightly on her head.

"I think she completely despises you now, though," she added.

"I know."

She tilted her head up, meeting my eyes with a searching look. "Do you hate her, brother?"

I looked down into my sister’s earnest gaze.

"I could never hate Morgana," I smiled faintly.

"You are a complete weirdo, big brother," she sighed, shaking her head.

"I am your King, Lenora. You would do well to show me a little more respect," I said.

She merely rolled her eyes, but she squeezed me even tighter, a bright smile breaking across her face.

"If you ever need support, or if you ever need help carrying this burden, I will always be here for you, big brother," she promised.

"I know," I chuckled softly.

She finally pulled back, letting out a small sigh as she glanced over her shoulder. Down the hall, we could see Mother’s retreating figure, walking away with hurried, distressed steps.

"Mother is just..." Lenora trailed off, struggling to find the words.

"Mother is Mother," I replied, offering her a reassuring smile.

Lenora smiled a little at that, nodding in quiet agreement.

My gaze then drifted toward Cynthia, who had been watching our tender exchange with a quiet, fond smile.

"Cynthia, do you wish to offer your King an embrace as well?" I asked, gently spreading my arms open for her.

She met my gaze, a soft chuckle escaping her lips before she stepped gracefully into my waiting arms, hugging me with a gentle warmth.

"Congratulations, Lumi," she whispered against my shoulder. "But you truly must apologize to Morgana later."

"I shall take it under advisement," I smiled, returning her embrace affectionately.

After Cynthia pulled back, my eyes naturally found Alice, who was lingering quietly in the background. The moment our gazes met, she hastily averted her eyes, staring intently at the stone floor.

I released a quiet sigh and turned back around to face the corridor ahead.

"Alright. I am thoroughly exhausted, and I am quite hungry," I said.

"Well, you did engage in actual combat for the first time in your entire life, after all," Lenora giggled.

"Very funny, sister."

"Arges was incredibly angry, by the way," she added, surprised.

It was true, it was exceedingly rare for anyone in the kingdom to ever witness the Scarlet Commander truly lose his temper.

"Well, I did just brutally beat his precious daughter in front of the entire court," I pointed out.

"How very gentlemanly of you, Brother."