I Became The Extra King With Seven Wives-Chapter 39: Discussion with Theron Vale

Once I had finally finished my late meal with Lenora and Cynthia, I took my leave of them.

I honestly wished I could have done more to make Cynthia feel completely at ease, because I truly loved her. She was someone who had been important throughout my lonely childhood, actively protecting me from both the verbal remarks of the court and Morgana’s training if you could call them like that. She had always been protective of me, and I remembered those golden memories very fondly. So, obviously, even though it was weird to suddenly have her presented as my wife, there was a quiet, selfish part of me that was happy that I would have such a wonderful woman permanently by my side.

But the poor girl still seemed awkward and nervous about the entire situation, so I refused to force anything upon her.

I would simply give her all the time she needed to adjust.

Regardless, I was currently making my way toward the grand library of the royal castle.

It was safely located on the higher, heavily protected floors of the keep.

While it certainly was not a massive, sprawling archival repository like the legendary ones housed within the Luminar Imperial Capital, it was still a deeply precious sanctuary, possessing its fair share of ancient books and invaluable knowledge.

Throughout my childhood, I had spent vast amounts of time hiding in here, though I had foolishly spent most of those hours reading fictional tales and thrilling myths rather than studying actual knowledge. It was a shame, considering true knowledge was definitely a massive source of power.

Stepping inside the quiet, dusty room, I walked down the center aisle, looking around until I smiled upon spotting Theron Vale. The frail old man was still there.

He was comfortably seated in a high-backed chair, hunched over a massive pile of heavy, leather-bound books stacked haphazardly across the desk in front of him.

When he heard my heavy footsteps approaching, he immediately raised his gaze and hurriedly attempted to stand.

"Your Majesty."

"Sit back down. There is no need for that," I said gently.

He nodded gratefully and slowly lowered himself back into his seat.

"So, Lord Theron, what exactly do you think of my castle’s private archives?" I asked him lightly.

"They are wonderful, Your Majesty. I think the history of Helios is truly magnificent and interesting," he replied, his eyes shining with genuine passion.

"And yet you have not even read a fraction of it," I smiled, casually taking a seat directly across from him. I then comfortably crossed my leg, resting my ankle over my knee, purposefully adopting a relaxed, informal posture.

"So, Lord Theron Vale, you have been actively traveling and hanging around with Gabriel Goldwyn until recently?" I asked, steering the conversation.

He offered a nod.

"Yes. Lord Goldwyn is a deeply generous friend, and he helped me a lot after I was asked to leave Luminar," he explained quietly.

"Thrown away by the Athenaeum itself? Now that is quite impressive," I said, genuinely surprised. "Despite the fact that you possess the high rank of a Scholar and an Elder?"

Theron nodded, his weathered face looking tired, and perhaps carrying a heavy trace of deep, lingering resentment. "Unfortunately, the powerful nobles hold sway over everything, even within the supposedly sacred walls of the Athenaeum."

"Let me guess. You boldly challenged the wrong rotten Noble House?" I asked with a knowing smirk.

He nodded, a dry, humorless chuckle escaping his lips.

"Well, the Luminar Empire has always been entirely rotten to the core, so that corruption does not really surprise me. But I had thought the Athenaeum was the sole remaining source of true hope and guiding light left within that wretched empire. I suppose I was entirely wrong about that as well," I said, disappointed.

"Not everyone within the Athenaeum is entirely corrupt, Your Majesty. But unfortunately, those who actively sit in power certainly are," he clarified.

"You bet they are," I chuckled darkly. "And so, you have ultimately decided to come and offer your vast services here, within my castle?"

He nodded quietly, adjusting his spectacles. "Lady Eleanor specifically told me that you were in need of someone possessing deep knowledge and profound wisdom. I certainly do not presume to perfectly embody both, but if you ever require any assistance in research, I will thankfully provide it to the best of my abilities, Your Majesty."

"I will never refuse the invaluable help of an Elder of the Athenaeum," I smiled softly. "As for the specific help I require... it concerns the ancient myths of Helios and Lunara."

"The God of the Sun and the Goddess of the Moon?" He asked, clearly surprised by the topic.

"Yes. I believe most of us are already quite familiar with the standard, sanitized myths involving their divine mother, Luminara," I said.

"There are indeed countless myths heavily documented about them, specifically concerning the endless, violent quarreling between the two divine siblings, the God Helios and the Goddess Lunara," Theron nodded in agreement.

"Yes, but I require far more specific, buried information. Precisely one thousand years ago, Helios supposedly blessed Apollina with his direct bloodline and the power to control his sacred Flames. Yet, at the exact same time, the vast Lunarian Empire was said to have been born under its First Emperor. I highly doubt such monumental events occurring simultaneously is a mere coincidence. Furthermore, long before either of those great nations were ever founded, the Black Sun and that twisted fanatical Cult of the Thirteen Moons already existed in the shadows. Do you not think that is quite a weird coincidence?" I asked him, leaning forward slightly.

"Hm. It is widely recorded that Apollina originally founded the Kingdom of Helios strictly to protect her people and the devout worshipers of the Sun God. However, upon witnessing the rapid, aggressive growth of Helios, the threatened worshipers of the Moon Goddess, Lunara, actively chose to unify and found their own nation, forging an entire Empire. I highly doubt their founding has anything direct to do with the Black Sun or the Thirteen Moons, though I must freely admit that the fact those evil organizations can be traced back over three thousand years is, in some part, profoundly frightening," he replied, thoughtfully stroking his chin.

"It certainly is. But that is exactly what I want you to meticulously research. I want everything you can find regarding the origins of both the Kingdom of Helios and the Lunarian Empire. I realize we likely do not possess much reliable, unbiased information concerning the Lunarian Empire within these walls, but I am entirely sure a man of your caliber can find some useful, hidden texts. I simply want you to draw direct, historical comparisons," I said.

Theron stared at me silently for a long moment before finally speaking.

"Are you looking for something specific, Your Majesty?" He asked cautiously.

"I am looking for quite a lot of things, actually. I just find it odd how wildly different our kingdom’s perspective of the ancient war between Helios and Lunara is compared to the perspective taught within the Lunarian Empire," I shrugged my shoulders..

"That should come as no surprise, Your Majesty. Devout worshipers and loyal citizens from opposing kingdoms will naturally always attempt to vehemently defend their own Gods while aggressively vilifying the deities of their enemies," he said, shaking his head.

"Then what is the truth?" I smiled sharply at him.

"Your Majesty?" He asked, raising a confused brow.

"What is the actual, untainted truth, Lord Theron? Is our side of that ancient war correct, or is the Lunarian side the true history? Was Helios truly the evil, tyrannical brother who maliciously imprisoned his own sister inside the moon, or was Lunara the evil, deeply twisted sister that Helios was forced to violently imprison in order to save the entire world?" I asked Theron directly.

"That is..." Theron frowned deeply, clearly uncomfortable with directly questioning the rigid dilemma of the dominant religions.

I stood up slowly, an amused smile spreading across my lips.

"Well, as the King of Helios and the newly awakened Guardian of the Sacred Flame, I obviously believe that Lunara was a pretty twisted sister and a little psycho, which is exactly why Helios was forced to imprison her. As for the supposed reason why Helios eventually lost his divine reason and violently attacked his own mother, Luminara? I personally believe his mother was also a complete case of raving madness. I mean, honestly, what the hell was she actually doing while her own two children were viciously at each other’s throats?" I asked him, sighing.

"Y—Your Majesty..." Theron stuttered, his eyes going wide with panic as I casually, aggressively disrespected two supreme Goddesses of the entire known world right to his face.

"You are not a true believer, are you, Theron?" I asked, my smile softening slightly.

"No, Your Majesty," he said, letting out a small, relieved exhale. "I am strictly a man of recorded knowledge and wisdom. However, I personally believe that both Lunara and Helios were originally born good. As for what is historical truth and what is merely fabricated myth, I honestly cannot tell you."

"Nobody truly can," I agreed.

Well, perhaps Apollina actually could...

But would she ever willingly tell me?

Perhaps she would.

I mean, why else would she have purposefully forced me to experience her ancient flashback if not to actively teach me something important?

Honestly, I was perturbed by the enduring existence of those two deeply twisted organizations.

Be it the Black Sun or that twisted fanatical Cult of the Thirteen Moons, they were both deranged cults with several massive screws loose in their collective heads. They were directly responsible for hundreds of thousands of brutal deaths over the bloody course of the last millennias.

Over such a massive, sweeping scale of time, countless mighty kingdoms and sprawling dynasties had crumbled into dust, yet those two shadowy cults remained irritatingly, stubbornly alive and well.

They were truly an absolute pain in the ass yeah.

"Then I shall leave you to your heavy books, Theron," I said, finally turning around to leave.

"Your Majesty," he nodded, returning to his respectful posture.

I briefly turned my attention toward the young maid silently standing guard near the doorway.

"Ensure you arrange a proper, comfortable room for Lord Theron to rest in when he is finished here," I ordered, and she immediately bowed her head.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Since I was already inside the grand library, I decided I might as well read a few books while I had the chance.

I briefly scanned the towering shelves and carefully selected several ancient, leather-bound tomes specifically detailing the Pyris Affinity.

Technically, I did not truly possess a standard Pyris Affinity, as my flames were the direct, divine product of my awakening as Guardian which worked entirely differently than a naturally awakened elemental Affinity. However, I could still easily draw inspiration from their documented spell forms and apply those techniques to better control my own flames.

Satisfied with my choices, I tucked the heavy books securely under my arm and headed out of the quiet archives.