We had been traveling for an hour now, and we had officially left the sprawling premises of the Capital behind us.
Truthfully, with the proper royal steeds and a high-standing carriage, the journey could be completed much faster. However, traveling in such conspicuous luxury would entirely defeat the purpose of our stealthy departure. Following my strict instructions, Eleanor had chosen carriages ant to blend into the background as much as possible.
The horses pulling us were definitely well-bred, boasting fine coats and strong muscles, but they were entirely mundane. They had not been nurtured and ticulously trained with Essence to elevate them into magical creatures. While they were top-tier ordinary mounts, they lacked the imnse stamina and physiological superiority of the royal beasts bred with raw essence.
Likewise, the carriage itself was far from the finest available. The gilded transports used by the royal family and high-ranking nobles operated on Essence Stones, their magical chanisms working in constant, seamless tandem with the beasts to ensure swift and flawlessly smooth travel.
In contrast, this transport was ordinary. I could keenly feel its sluggish pace compared to the enchanted vessels I was accustod to taking. At the very least, the velvet benches were reasonably comfortable, even if the interior of the cabin felt noticeably cramped for three people.
Damn, I thought with a wry inward sigh. I was complaining like a spoiled young master accustod only to excellence, struggling to cope with sudden poverty. Yet, that wasn’t an entirely far-fetched description of my current situation and feelings. I suppose once one had tasted the pinnacle of royal life, it was exceedingly difficult to step back down to the mundane world below.
Pushing those arrogant thoughts aside, I picked up a to concerning the Pyris Affinity and resud my reading. Understanding the fundantal nature of the fire elent would undoubtedly prove useful in mastering my own Flas. After all, my bloodline ability was rooted in fire, even if it was clearly far beyond ordinary elental.
"Do you possess the Pyris Affinity, Your Majesty, on top of the Helios Bloodline?" Eleanor asked, her erald eyes quickly picking up on my reading material.
"Not exactly," I replied, turning a page. "I am studying this to better understand my Bloodline. Both are based on flas, and in their most basic, fundantal aspect, they both burn. Extracting knowledge from the Pyris disciplines can still be highly beneficial for ."
"Oh, I see. That is quite resourceful," she noted thoughtfully, nodding in understanding.
It was quite ironic, actually, given that I possessed no natural Pyris Affinity, but the theory remained sound. Wait, now that I truly thought about it, I had not undergone any formal affinity testing since my awakening. Was it possible that I had developed new affinities?
I couldn’t be entirely certain. Before I had called in a priest to forcibly awaken the dormant flas inside , I had only possessed a vague understanding of my own potential. I was certainly formidable enough relying solely on my bloodline, but it wouldn’t hurt to wield another elental Affinity to catch my enemies off guard.
"What about you, Eleanor?" I asked, closing the book and shifting my full attention to her. "Which Affinity do you excel in?"
Her magical capabilities had never been revealed in the Ga. To begin with, she had not attended the academy at Luminar alongside the main cast. Whenever she did appear on screen, it was never during combat sequences; she was only featured in cinematic cutscenes, speaking gracefully and handling complex political matters with the Protagonist and other key characters.
In those mories, she would sit upon her seat of power with the authority of a true Queen, issuing commands and managing business with an expression that was kind, yet quite stern.
It was a contrast to the gentle innocence I could see resting in Eleanor’s eyes right now. And damn it all, I truly did not wish for that sweet innocence to ever disappear.
It was entirely contrary to Morgana’s situation. Morgana desperately needed to shed her naivety to evolve into the hardened warrior she was destined to beco. Eleanor, on the other hand, did not need to lose her gentle heart to survive. She simply needed to mature and gracefully step into her authority, a far different, kinder path than the brutal forging I wished for Morgana.
"I do have the Aeris Affinity, Your Majesty," Eleanor admitted, sounding a little embarrassed.
"Oh? Wind?" I asked, unable to hide my surprise.
That was actually a rather good one.
"But I am not very proficient in it," she added awkwardly. "I never truly put much effort into learning it."
Well, that was not hard to understand.
She was the daughter of the wealthiest rchant in Helios, and not rely that, but the daughter of one of the most influential rchants in the world. Eleanor had likely spent far more of her life learning from her father, studying business, trade, negotiations, and the countless subtleties of wealth, than worrying about magic or combat.
I could hardly bla her for placing matters of Affinity and battle aside. It was not as though she had ever needed such things in her daily life. So rather than wasting her precious ti on sothing that did not seem necessary, she had focused on the matters she was naturally best at.
"You do not need to feel awkward or embarrassed about it, Eleanor," I said with a small chuckle.
"It still feels sowhat..." She mumbled, trailing off with a soft sigh.
"Do not trouble yourself over it," I said. "You still have ti to learn."
"Perhaps I should truly consider joining the academy at Luminar next month," she said after a mont, her tone thoughtful.
Luminar.
Yes, that academy would be the finest place for Eleanor to develop her Affinity properly. Until recently, I had fully intended for her to enroll there alongside my other wives.
But I had changed my mind.
"No," I said, my voice turning serious. "I would rather you did not enroll at Luminar, Eleanor."
"Your Majesty?" Eleanor raised a brow, clearly caught off guard by the abrupt firmness in my tone.
I had truly thought this through.
It was all well and good to indulge my personal wishes and desire to keep Eleanor near , but that was not the true issue here. The real problem was far more practical. I did not want to place her in danger by sending her to Luminar.
That academy was not simply a prestigious place of learning. It was also a stage upon which too many dangerous events would inevitably unfold. Students would be caught in the midst of them. Sches, conflicts, hidden enemies, and incidents that should never touch ordinary lives would all gather there.
I should not involve Eleanor in that.
Just as in the Ga, I would much rather keep her outside of Luminar’s walls.
"Diana, Asthenia, Morgana, Ravenna, Cynthia, and Dorothy will all be enrolling at Luminar," I said. "Most of my wives will be there. For all of them, it would be difficult to refuse. They each have their own duties, their own reasons, and for them enrolling at Luminar carries real importance. But for you, Eleanor, it is by far the least necessary."
"Yes, Your Majesty..." She replied softly.
She nodded, but I could still see the dejected acceptance in her expression. She understood my words, yet that did not an she liked them.
Without thinking much about it, I reached out and gently touched her cheek, prompting her to lift her eyes toward mine.
I smiled at her.
"I am not saying you would be useless there," I said softly. "Far from it. But having so many of my wives gathered in one single place would be terribly reckless, would it not?"
After a brief pause, she gave a small nod.
"Yes," she nodded.
"Besides," I continued, keeping my tone calm, "I want soone trustworthy and capable outside of Luminar, soone who can pull strings for where I cannot reach directly. And I cannot think of anyone better suited to that than my wealthiest wife, who certainly possesses a smooth tongue, a sharp mind, and a remarkable talent for making things happen."
That finally seed to ease the faint disappointnt in her face.
In truth, I ant every word. In the Ga, Eleanor had grown into soone frighteningly efficient. She handled affairs with a grace that concealed just how decisive and amazing she truly was. I wanted her to reach that sa state here as well, and perhaps this would be the beginning of it. Experience would temper her better than any classroom ever could.
"I see, Your Majesty," Eleanor said, and this ti her expression brightened sowhat. "You may count on ."
"That is exactly what I intend to do," I replied.
She smiled then, small and elegant, but far more genuine than before.
Good.
This was better for her. Better for as well.
If Luminar descended into chaos as I expected, then at least Eleanor would remain beyond its imdiate reach. More importantly, she would be in a position where she could still act, still gather information, still move wealth and influence where I needed it most.
A capable person did not always need to stand on a battlefield to be valuable. Sotis, those who remained behind the curtains were the ones who held the true power.
And Eleanor, whether she fully realized it yet or not, was soone born for that kind of role.
As for her Aeris Affinity, it was honestly not bad news at all.
Wind was a useful elent, versatile, elusive, and often underestimated by those too obsessed with raw destruction. If properly trained, it could serve in defense, mobility, concealnt, and even subtle support. It suited soone like Eleanor more than brute-force Affinities ever would.
Perhaps she had never nurtured it because her life had not demanded such strength from her.
But life had changed now.
And so would she.
"Regardless, you should seek out a private tutor to instruct you on the side, Eleanor," I said with an encouraging smile. "Learning the basic fundantals of magical defense and attack is vital for a Queen of Helios."
"I shall look into it imdiately, Your Majesty," she replied, nodding in perfect understanding.
It was a necessary precaution. As a Queen of Helios, without doubts the most despised and resented Kingdom on the entire continent, it was a certainty that she had already painted a massive target on her back, accumulating dangerous enemies by association alone.
That was why it fell upon my shoulders to make things better, not just for Helios as a whole, but for my wives personally. Eleanor was certainly no exception to that rule.
She had officially beco my wife, and her father, Gabriel, had entrusted his precious daughter to without a single ulterior motive. He did so purely out of steadfast loyalty and deep-rooted friendship, completely disregarding the inevitable fallout.
And there had been severe consequences. I was certain his vast rcantile empire had already bled lucrative clients and severed ties with long-standing business partners, all simply because his daughter was now bound by sacred vows to the King of Helios and the Guardian of the Fla.
Gabriel and Eleanor might have brushed off those staggering financial and social losses as inconsequential, but I could not afford to be so dismissive. I had to care. They were no longer just political allies or loyal subjects; they were now my family as well.
I might be the sovereign ruler of Helios, but I was also Eleanor’s husband. It was my sworn duty to anticipate every possible situation, mitigating the risks and maximizing the advantages for both myself and the people I cherished. To my mind, that care and protection was the true foundation of a successful, enduring marital life.
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