238 Chapter 1 (1/2)
If there was one thing that I had learnt from my short association with Regiis high society, it was that they loved their banquets. Ceres had attended three banquets in as many days when I had been away training in the Nexus and today, we were attending another one. Though, to be fair, it was my wedding banquet so allowances could be made for it.
But even as I hobnobbed with those who approached me and stuffed my face with small portions of every delicacy on the buffet tables, half of my mind was still immersed in the moment Artemis and I had sealed our bond.
There was a book I had come across in the Regiis public library that had called to me more than any other. I had read it cover to cover in the short bursts of free time I had during my week-long training montage before my fight with Artemis.
It had been an eye-opening experience. The author – the Prime Minister – had talked about his life and experiences as a Tamer. As a man who had reached the highest political post a Hominum could hold in Regiis, his words were quite persuasive. He had spent a large portion of the first half of the book expounding on how he had managed his relationships with his six wives and resolved conflicts when they arose. He had distilled his entire life experience into several rules he had instructed his readers to follow while giving anecdotal evidence from his personal life for his successful application of each one.
As informative and at times entertaining as that had been, it was the second part of the book which had grabbed my attention and earned him my respect.
In the second half, he went on to discuss the darker aspects of marriage to multiple women. Not all of his wives were equally talented in the martial path. This had led to them plateauing out at different Tiers. Three of his wives had never managed to exceed Tier 3 while the rest had broken through to Tier 4 and one of them had even reached Tier 5.
What this meant was that three of his beloveds aged much faster than the others. In the book, he had discussed how he had dealt with the mental burden borne by those three wives and finally, how he had coped with their early passing.
Before reading the book, this was something I had subconsciously known, but never really thought about.
The entire book was full of similar crystallizations of his magnanimous experience from having led a full life. It was a crying shame that it wasn't more popular than it was. There was a stigma attached to being seen reading such books. It was akin to admitting that you weren't capable enough to manage your relationships.
Which, in my opinion, was utterly short-sighted and silly. What I took away from reading the book was that the author had learnt many things from a life full of missteps that he didn't want his later generations to repeat. If we could take advice from our elders about magic, then why was asking for relationship advice so different?
For pushing past that stigma and publishing this book, as well as for its contents, I was a great fan of the Prime Minister. Not to mention, he was a wonderfully accomplished artist and one of my idols in the field of calligraphy.
I had been really excited about getting to see him working on our contract marking. But Artemis had given me a really pleasant surprise. First of all, by the touching gesture of having me mark her like the rest of my wives, showing her willingness to integrate into our little family, and secondly, by giving me the opportunity to complete an artwork under the Prime Minister's guidance. I had learnt a great deal about his style and technique as I worked on his design, with him holding my hand through each step. The finished bond was undoubtedly the best work I had ever created.
After it was over, the venerable man had invited me to drop by his residence with Artemis sometime for a chat over a cup of tea. Apparently, he was an accomplished linguist as well, and the person who had taught Artemis what she knew about languages. That was why she had referred to him as Teacher.
I was looking forward to the visit.