I don’t know how my stepmother would have responded, as the Duke and Duchess of Misenport chose that moment to approach us.
The Duke of Misenport was a large man, both tall and wide, with a bushy mustache that looked just like his son’s. His wife, the Duchess, was so petite that it was hard to believe she had given birth to the Marquis. Her husband towered over her, easily as tall as Rastari, and twice, if not three times as wide, especially around the middle.
“Your Highness, it is a pleasure as always,” the Duke greeted the Second Prince before immediately turning his attention to me. “Julien de Ramport, I presume?”
I nodded and stood to greet him. He held out his hand and I shook it before taking his wife’s hand as well. It was rare to see a Vraynian woman shake hands, but the gesture suited her, as did her boldly colored crimson dress that offset her husband’s mahogany suit.
“Heinrich has spoken fondly of you,” the Duchess informed me, with a minimalist smile. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Julien. I am Ingrid de Misenport, and this is my husband, Duke Oskar de Misenport. We were hoping you would be willing to spare us some of your time for a brief conversation.”
Surprised by the request, I nodded and Andrian stood up to follow me.
“We asked for Julien’s time,” the Duke of Misenport stated in a flat voice, “There’s no need for you to stand.”
“Please don’t be bothered, General,” his wife interjected, “we would speak with him alone, but we will remain in your line of sight.”
“I meant you no offense,” the Duke added gruffly. “However, we have no business with you either.”
Instead of responding, Andrian looked to me for confirmation. I couldn’t see the harm in agreeing, so I nodded that I was okay with it. Andrian sat back down wordlessly and gestured for them to continue.
They led me over to the dining table, which was not in use as of yet. It was as close to private as we could get without leaving the room all together. I could feel all the eyes in the room watching us. I was as curious as our observers, wondering why they would want to talk to me alone on our first meeting.
“Beastlands and treaty aside, I don’t like your father one bit, boy,” the Duke started as soon as we were seated. “You southerners are known for being snakes and he’s the king of snakes. If I–”
“Oskar, dear, that’s not how we start a conversation, now is it?” the Duchess interrupted, scolding him like a child. “Marquis Julien, what my husband is trying to say is that Heinrich told us a bit about his time in the Beastlands and asked us to consider supporting the treaty. However, in more ways than one, we have found there to be cause for concern.”
“I was getting to that, Ingrid,” Duke Oskar retorted impatiently, “I can speak for myself.”
“The way you speak, no one will listen. Have you ever listened to yourself? He’s a Marquis, not one of your vassals. Anyway, Julien, I’m hoping that you might answer some simple yes or no questions to help us make a decision,” Duchess Ingrid explained, ignoring her husband entirely.
“We cannot count on them, but we also cannot discount them.”
I remembered the words that the First Prince said to me before the engagement banquet. He said we couldn’t count on them, but he never said we couldn’t trust them. I decided to trust my instincts and agreed to her request with a slight nod.
“So are you really in love with that animal?” Duke Oskar bluntly asked me his first question.
I didn’t like the way he said it, and my eyes narrowed in displeasure as I gave him a curt nod. The Duchess slapped her husband’s arm and said, “Heinrich already told you that they did that strange ceremony with the soul joining. I don’t think he would have done that if he didn’t love it. That part doesn't matter. Now be quiet and let me talk. First of all, Marquis Julien, are you really the Duke of Ramport’s son?”
Surprised by her first question, I nodded that I was, but let my expression show that I wasn’t happy about that fact.
“A bastard though, yes?”
I nodded again, feeling like she was merely confirming information she already knew. However, I imagined she had a reason for asking, so I went along with it.
“And am I safe to assume that he wasn’t a particularly loving father?” she asked with a pointed look. I confirmed she was correct, and she followed up with, “So did you agree to this to get away from him, then?”
Alarm bells went off in my head when she asked that question. It sounded like a trap. Technically, yes, originally I had agreed to get away from my father, but I was with Andrian because I wanted to be.
“Ingrid, stop beating around the bush,” the Duke interrupted before I could decide how to answer. “I’ll be blunt. We aren’t against ending the war but we see no reason for treaties, marriage, or cooperation. Live and let live. Separately. That is what we wish to convince His Highness of.”
If that was what they wanted to convince him of, then why bother talking to me at all? I’d hoped that Marquis Heinrich had made progress with his parents, but it seemed they were both set in their ways. I imagined they were wanting me to tell them that I was using the beastmen to escape my father.
However, live and let live was certainly a better attitude than kill them all. I wished I could safely speak to them and try to change their minds. However, this was neither the time nor place to try.
“He lacks eloquence, but live and let live is the simplest way to say it,” the Duchess clarified. “There's no need to fight them if they go back to where they belong and stay there. We certainly won’t stand in the way if you really want to marry it, but you could choose to live happily ever after in the Beastlands without tying them to Vrayna with a treaty. Perhaps you could help convince the beasts to give up and–”
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
A servant called out, announcing that our meal would soon be served, interrupting what Duchess Ingred was about to suggest, though I had a fairly good idea of what she wanted.
Andrian wasted no time taking his place beside me, and Rastari sat on my other side, with the Lady Carlotta and the Duke of Shelfort next to him.
“Julien, darling boy,” the Lady Carlotta greeted me as my father and stepmother sat down across from her, “it has been too long. You look very well, my dear. I’d have greeted you sooner, but everyone seemed to be clamoring for your attention.”
I smiled at her from across the table, glad to see that she was looking as feisty as always.
“If I recall correctly, you still owe me a cup of tea and a chat,” she reminded me. “You've come a long way since the last time I saw you and I'm excited to hear all about it.”
“I’m sorry to force you to share my disappointment in that little bastard, but despite my best efforts to educate him, the useless creature refuses to speak,” my father said, looking at me with open disgust. I glared back at him, my eyes bright with defiance.
“My dear Duke, he doesn’t need to speak for me to know that he’s telling you to fuck right off,” Lady Carlotta announced, shocking me with her vulgarity. I’d heard plenty of such language in the Beastlands, but it felt wrong hearing it come from a distinguished Vraynian Lady. “Since his thoughts are written all over his face, I’m certain we can manage just fine.”
“Ah, Lady Carlotta, you are delightful and charming as ever,” Rastari beamed, draping a large arm over her tiny shoulders. Any other woman would have been intimidated, but Lady Carlotta looked up at Rastari as if he were a grandson she was proud of.
“And you, my dear boy, get more handsome every time I see you,” she said in a playful tone, “it’s a shame I’m not twenty years younger with a good set of hips.”
“My Lady, if that were the case, we wouldn’t have needed these two,” Rastari said, gesturing to Andrian and me. Lady Carlotta laughed and patted his chest fondly.
My father bristled with indignation as the two shamelessly flirted and deliberately ignored him. The violence his anger promised was still unsettling to me, but I knew he couldn't hurt me here.
“Lords and Ladies, thank you for joining us tonight,” the First Prince said, his voice capturing all of our attention.
“Don’t forget the animals, brother,” the Second Prince reminded him, drawing sharp stares from half of the people seated at the table. The representatives of the ducal houses of Ramport, Misenport, and Lindenfort were not among them.
“Leave,” the First Prince commanded. Showing more backbone than I would have expected from him, his face hardened and he pointed to the door.
“Elantro, you’ve got to be kidding me!” the Second Prince shouted in outrage.
“You do not address me by my given name, brother of mine,” the First Prince told him in a cold voice. “We may be brothers by blood, but I am your future King, and I have already made it abundantly clear that your views will no longer be tolerated. Leave. Now.”
“Understood, Your Highness,” the Second Prince seethed as he stood up and left the table. Silence reigned until he had exited out the door of the small banquet hall.
The silence was broken by a procession of servants entering with platters of food. The first course was oysters on the half shell, cooked in a broth made from white wine and cream. Each plate had three oysters with toasted bread for dipping in the broth. Despite its enormous size, the Beastlands had very little land that bordered the ocean, so seafood of any variety was very rare outside of the southernmost regions. The beastmen looked down at their plates, clearly unsure of the food presented to them.
I, on the other hand, having spent so many years in the south, was delighted to see the delicacy upon my plate. I took a small, two tined fork and pried the first oyster from its shell. Despite my excitement, I made sure to move slowly enough that the beastmen could see what I was doing and copy my movements.
As we ate, the First Prince finally spoke again, “As I was saying earlier, thank you all for joining us. It’s been a long road to get here, and I know not all of you are pleased with the destination, but I am grateful to all of you for being here. In a few nights, our nations will be joined together by marriage and a new era of peace will begin.”
“Yes, but at what price?” the Duke of Lindenfort inquired. “First you wanted to sell our precious granddaughter to these ani– to these beastmen, and now we’re supposed to celebrate the emasculation of our son in law’s other child? I’m sorry, Your Highness, but the fact that we’re here at all is proof that you have no care for your people at all.”
“And how exactly is ending the war not caring for his people?” Coraggio asked softly from his position at the end of the table.
“You Highness,” the Duke of Lindenfort turned to the First Prince instead of answering Coraggio, “I would request your permission to speak freely. I do not wish to disrespect you or anger you, but I cannot answer its question without speaking of things I know you would find distasteful.”
“Let him speak,” Rastari suggested with a smile that was anything but pleasant. “There’s no harm in hearing what he has to say.”
“I can see a lot of harm in it, General, but I suppose it would be better to deal with it head on,” the First Prince answered before gesturing for the Duke to continue.
“Our kingdom was built on the principles of honor, discipline, and the superiority of human intellect,” the Duke explained, turning his attention back to the wolf general. “Beastmen are creatures of chaos and instinct, driven by base desires, and are little more than animals. You lack the sophistication, moral compass, and intellectual capacity that defines what it means to be a person. Your very existence is a mockery of everything we hold dear. Your presence among us is a constant reminder of the barbarism that started this war. Beasts. Rapists. Monsters. That is all you will ever be. It offends me that my future King would sell out his own people to creatures like you.”
“Poppycock,” the Lady Carlotta stated, looking offended on behalf of the beastmen who took his hateful words in stride. “I’ve been saying it for years and I’ll say it again. Even if those women were murdered by beastmen, it was a small group of rogues who do not represent the whole population.”
“Agreed,” the Duchess of Misenport added. “I cannot say that I desire cooperation with those animals, but the Duke of Lindenfort is blinded by his hatred. End the war then end all contact with them. Find a way to restore the borderland so that they and the rest of the monsters stay where they belong. That is the proper course of action.”
“It must be easy for you to say that, given that you don’t have to watch your own damn son fawning over one of those creatures like a little whore,” my father interjected. “They have abused and raped him, then brainwashed him into believing he wanted it. That beast demanding to marry my son should be executed for his crimes!”
“Enough!” the First Prince shouted, finally losing control of his anger. “They will marry, there will be a treaty, and that is final. I have had enough of your complaints and scheming! Duke of Ramport, the only abuse your son has ever suffered was at your hands. Whether you want to admit it or not, your son, your own flesh and blood, genuinely desires to marry that beastman. Duchess of Misenport, let me remind you that your son traveled to the Beastlands to pursue the very cooperation that you would disdain. Your old fashioned views won't help your duchy grow. Duke of Lindenfort, I am tired of your accusations regarding Emma de Ramport. General Rastari would have treated her with all due respect and kindness. Lady Carlotta and Duke of Shelfort... did anyone tell you that our second course will include those lovely pears that you sent as a gift?”
Another group of servants arrived with the second course, and the First Prince continued to make determinedly pleasant small talk with the representatives of the eastern duchy.