I Became The Extra King With Seven Wives-Chapter 46: Asthenia

After a quick ’breakfast’ with Regina, I walked down the corridors with her.

At first, she walked awkwardly, constantly blushing and nervously straightening her skirt here and there, but eventually, she forced herself to ignore her embarrassment and followed quietly behind me.

As for Leilah... well, she was still with me, but she could no longer be seen.

Invisibility must have been one of her unique abilities or something making her able to hide herself. Regina would occasionally glance around to look for the masked woman, but upon seeing no one, she simply frowned slightly and chose to ignore it, likely assuming I had sent her away.

Perhaps she possessed a rare Spiritis Affinity that allowed her to pass completely unseen. I could not tell for sure, nor did I have any intention of actively probing any answer from her, just as I had promised Eleanor.

What truly mattered was that I could still faintly feel her hidden presence in my surroundings which was enough. Actually, it was better that she could remain entirely invisible while silently watching over me.

Having a hidden protector felt much more efficient than having a massive, conspicuous bodyguard constantly standing directly beside me. No offense to Arges, of course.

That man was simply on an entirely different level. Even sudden surprise attacks would hardly ever catch him off guard, but it would be a foolish waste of immense talent to use someone like Arges as a mere personal bodyguard.

So, of course, I was not foolish enough to send him away like that, and I knew perfectly well that stripping him of his official titles would not make him abandon the capital, either.

"Your Majesty..."

Speaking of the great red-haired wolf...

When I turned the next corner, I saw him standing there, fully clad in his heavy armor. It was the same battered armor he always wore, and despite the fact that I had recently stripped him of his title, he still wore it proudly. It was meant as a deep sign of respect, proving that in his heart, he remained a true knight above all else.

"Arges, what a pleasant surprise. Have you come to witness my impending duel with your fiery daughter?" I asked him smiling.

"Your Majesty... I respectfully beg you to reconsider this course of action. I deeply apologize for my daughter’s terribly disrespectful behavior and for all the vile insults she has directed toward you. I bear all the responsibilities for her actions. I raised her to be strong, but I should have done much more to teach her discipline..." He said guilt twisting his features.

"You do not have to apologize for Morgana, Arges," I said, slowly shaking my head. "You have always been entirely consumed by your sworn duty and were rarely able to actually be there for your daughter. She grew up idolizing your legendary image, but unfortunately, she did not inherit your true strength, which is a shame. And that is exactly why I will not cancel this duel."

"Your Majesty... please—"

"That is my final decision, Arges, and you will respect it," I cut him off, raising a single hand to silence him.

He closed his mouth and nodded, looking deeply dejected.

"And I am asking you to silently watch the duel unfold, Uncle," I added softly, the familiar calling making his sharp eyes snap up to meet mine. "This incoming duel is important for Morgana’s future."

He clearly did not fully understand my true intentions, but he offered another respectful nod.

Having said my piece, I walked past him.

Regina quickly offered a deep, respectful bow to the towering knight before hurriedly following close behind me.

"I was not at all aware that you had scheduled a duel, Your Majesty... much less one against Lady Queen Morgana," she said hesitantly, her voice tinged with surprise.

"She is not the Queen anymore. I have officially called off our engagement," I replied with a light, easy smile.

"O—Oh..." Regina stammered, speechless at the revelation, but she quickly managed a stiff, awkward nod.

She must be completely lost after everything I had done to Alice, Arges, and now Morgana. And on top of that, I was about to duel Morgana after publicly calling off our engagement.

Now I could already imagine what the court nobles must be thinking.

They probably believed I had completely lost my mind and was simply abusing my authority for my own amusement.

Well, I had enjoyed myself quite a bit. I would not lie about that.

As I walked down the corridor, I came across one of my wives.

She stood with her arms crossed, speaking to what seemed to be one of her personal servants.

It was Asthenia.

She lived in the same castle, yet I rarely saw her. One had to wonder what exactly she spent her time doing. I doubted she was avoiding me, since that did not seem like her, and yet it certainly felt that way.

Or perhaps it was simpler than that.

She had no interest in spending time with me because she was not the main Queen to begin with. She held the second position, and our marriage had always been political.

Her yellow eyes shifted toward me for the briefest moment. Then she turned back to her servant, who quickly lowered their head, received some silent dismissal, and hurried away.

"Asthenia."

I called out before she could leave as well.

She stopped and turned to face me.

"Your Majesty," she greeted with flawless posture, though there was not even the slightest trace of a smile on her face.

Such a shame.

Her features were every bit as delicate and catching as Diana’s, yet she did nothing with them except wear that eternally stone-faced expression for rare smiles which were more like disdainful and mocking ones.

"I feel as though I have not seen you in nearly a year. Are you still living in this castle?" I asked, tilting my head slightly.

"I am, Your Majesty."

"And yet you never came to see me? You and Ravenna are both quite the pieces of work, but I expected you, at least, to show a little more interest in our relationship," I said, letting the double meaning linger.

At my words, Asthenia’s eyes shifted briefly past me toward Regina.

I did not even need to turn around to know Regina had flinched and lowered her gaze into a respectful bow.

That was Asthenia for you.

She was younger than some of the others, but she carried an aura around her unlike anyone else among my wives. It was the strongest of them all, the sort that attracted respect the moment she entered a room.

"I think Your Majesty is already burdened with enough relationships as it is," she replied calmly.

"I am," I said. "But you are my wife, Asthenia. I will always make time for you."

She held my gaze for a moment. Then her eyes moved to Regina again.

This time, the contempt in them was too visible.

And yet her expression remained perfectly calm.

It was impressive, really.

I often wondered how she managed to look at someone with such quiet disdain while appearing utterly composed.

"Regina, follow us five steps behind," I said.

"Your Majesty," she answered at once with a nod, immediately understanding. I doubted she had any desire to remain too close to someone like Asthenia anyway.

Once Regina fell back, I started walking again and cast Asthenia a sharper look, enough to make it clear that I expected her to walk with me.

"I summoned all my wives to attend my duel. I assume you were informed of it, Asthenia," I said.

"I was," she replied with a small nod.

"You have never held Morgana close to your heart, so I will be expecting your full support, Asthenia," I replied.

She did not reply immediately.

I glanced at her. "Asthenia."

"I will be supporting you, Your Majesty. With all my heart," she finally said.

"The ’all my heart’ part was a bit too much, even coming from you," I said, my lips curving into an amused smile.

Her cheek twitched slightly.

"Now, I am curious about your opinion regarding my decision to call off the engagement with Morgana. A lot of the court nobles clearly do not approve of it. What about you, Asthenia?" I asked her.

"She has never been worthy to stand within the royal castle, much less be crowned Queen," Asthenia answered. "His Majesty, King Marconius, allowed the engagement only because of Lord Arges’s status and the symbol he represents, hoping to tie him to the royal family as a shield of protection. But Lord Arges does not need any marital ties to remain loyal. As such, Morgana’s presence and her role as Queen are utterly useless and inconsequential for the Kingdom. Whether she is here or not simply does not matter."

I fell silent for a moment, absorbing her cold words, before bursting into a soft laugh.

And here Eleanor thought I was being harsh with Morgana. I did not even want to imagine what Asthenia would say face-to-face to Morgana if the opportunity ever arose to speak frankly.

I had asked for her opinion, and she had given me her very subjective, unvarnished thoughts on the matter. No, actually, I was fairly certain she was still holding back a great deal of her personal disdain for Morgana.

She was the complete opposite of Morgana after all.

"She has a bit of a hard skull, but she can grow wonderfully, Asthenia. Do not throw her away like some random woman," I said, chuckling softly.

"Perhaps."

That perhaps carried no emotion at all, and it clearly translated to: I do not think that will ever happen.

"Asthenia."

I stopped walking and called out to her.

She stopped and turned her gaze toward me, waiting for me to speak.

Instead, I took a step closer to her.

She did not even flinch as I reached out my hand toward her delicate cheek.

She raised her yellow eyes to meet mine, trying to understand exactly what it was I wanted.

I gently brushed her high, beautiful cheekbone with my thumb before slowly closing the distance between our faces.

Her eyes fluttered shut immediately, steeling herself for what she clearly assumed would be a kiss. But I did not kiss her.

"Eleven years it must have been since I first laid eyes on you, Asthenia," I whispered.

Her eyes fluttered open again, finding my golden-amber gaze fixed upon her. My expression was a mix of seriousness and casual warmth as I offered her a faint smile.

"That day, my father told me you would be my Queen, and no words could accurately describe the feeling that washed over me. It may have been love at first sight. But you have never held me in any real regard since then, and you still do not even now." I lifted my lips further into a slight, knowing smirk.

"I will fulfill my duty and my role as your Queen, Your Majesty," she replied.

"I know you will," I said quietly, gently tucking a shimmering, platinum-blue strand of hair behind her ear.

"If it brings you any sort of relief, I was against Diana becoming my main Queen instead of you," I said.

Asthenia’s yellow eyes flickered slightly, the very first genuine shift in her carefully guarded expression.

"And even now, I still believe you would be the better Queen for Helios," I added with complete sincerity, causing her eyes to widen just a fraction.

"But I will never go against my father’s final decisions. Do you understand that?" I asked, my tone hardening into seriousness.

There was a small, tense pause as she quickly gathered herself and composed her flawless expression once more.

"I understand, and I do not expect it of Your Majesty," she replied.

I smiled, letting my warm palm linger against her cheek just a moment longer.

I had used my left hand, not the right one that had just finished playing so intimately with Regina in the corridor earlier because I respected Asthenia far too much for that.

"You may leave," I finally said, dropping my hand.

Asthenia’s eyes briefly darted down toward my retreating palm. For a second, she showed no signs of moving, but ultimately, she took a crisp step backward, turned on her heel, and walked away down the hall.

I watched her departure with a lingering smile.