Edith arrived first when I sent out the summons. Though I didn’t have any proof and she didn’t say anything, I suspected that she might have been waiting for me to call for her after finishing up with the king. When Sasha let her in, she fixed me with a critical studying gaze then nodded sharply after a few moments.

“You look like you figured some stuff out; I was afraid you would be a mess after meeting his highness.”

My eyes blinked rapidly while my mind made sense of her words. Apparently, after last night she had decided to be a bit less reserved when giving her opinions. It was a welcome change, though I caught Sasha stiffen slightly.

Nope, not stopping her, and you can’t say anything either, since I let you do pretty much the same thing.

Just to be sure Sasha knew my intentions, I put a smile on and greeted Edith, “Thank you for your concern. I have indeed… It was a rather productive event.”

“I am glad to hear it… hopefully Duke Lawrence and Duke Lester will be manageable…” Her expression turned grim, “Stahlia, you do know what Duke Lawrence is most likely to bring up, right?”

“Yes, since he took over from my uncle, the late Duke Despita, and is the newest of the four dukes… Well, I imagine my family history will be a matter of some contention.”

Edith nodded grimly, “Yes if my information is correct, he seems to believe that he has something to prove.”

He’ll be difficult for the sake of getting a win then. It should be manageable if I give him something then, the only question being what? There isn’t much I can give without consulting with Rupert… The best I can do for now is stall and make sure not to agree to anything.

“My lady, please forgive the interruption, but Duke Lester and his wife have arrived.”

So it begins.

After quickly checking over my dress, I moved to take a seat facing the door they would enter through. Then, after some small consideration, I widened my eyes a bit. Edith caught on to my intention and nodded, thereby giving her assent to my scheme. If it works the way I intend, then my general demeanor should be giving off the atmosphere of being slightly overwhelmed by everything. Hopefully, it would remain an act, and my newfound confidence would stay with me.

“Thank you, Sasha. Please, show them in.”

A moment later saw myself being studied by Duke Lester and his wife. Unlike the brief interaction right before the debut gala, my nervousness was not causing me any issues, and I was able to study them back. Duke Lester was of medium height, build, and appeared to be middle-aged. Unlike the vast, vast majority of nobles I had seen both from afar and interacted with, he was utterly average in terms of appearance.

Lady Lester on the other hand was drop-dead gorgeous. Despite being quite visibly older, she had a refined quality that stood in utter contrast to that of her husband’s blandness. If I were to walk into the room none the wiser, I would have easily assumed she was the queen of the country and greeted her as “mother.” She smiled bashfully in a manner that I knew was fake and yet somehow, did not cause me to think any less of her.

“My lady, have I perhaps caught your eye?”

Whoops, I was staring. Not a good start, but it’s a lot easier to deal with people one on one.

I shook my head to clear it, “Yes indeed, I hope that I will look at least half as well as you do when I finish growing… A pleasure to make your acquaintances, Duke Lester, Lady Lester.”

Owning my misstep and giving a compliment is probably the best play here.

The two of them gave their own introductions, and I bade Sasha to seat them. Lady Lester’s smile widened, “I am sure you will put me to shame if you grow to look anything like your mother. I daresay, I can already see some resemblance, so I am certain you have little to worry about.” You wouldn’t be able to tell it from her tone, but the way she spoke had victory bells ringing.

Damn, she took the compliment and turned it around perfectly.

This light verbal sparring was overall harmless in the grand scheme of things, though it did establish a momentum that would carry over into the rest of this.

I don’t really want to play that game if I can help it; I’d be rather certain to lose. Oh, to hell with it.

I dropped my smile and spoke with a stony tone, “Pleasantries aside, what can I do for you, Lord Lester?”

Lady Lester’s own smile deepened; she gave a satisfied nod before sitting back and ceding the floor to her husband. For his part, Duke Lester gave a satisfied nod, “It gladdens me to see that the next queen is capable of cutting through the façade of society when she needs to; you would not have been able to lead my wife.”

“I will say that my wife and I were already inclined to support you due to our loyalty to his highness, Prince Rupert. As long as you demonstrated at least some competency, along with the capacity to learn.”

His opinions were clearly stated and were like a breath of fresh air. Other than Edith and Gustav, none of the other nobles I met had ever been completely honest with their thoughts. That was assuming he was being honest of course.

“Make no mistake, there is an amateurish quality to your behavior; if you were the fiancée of prince Antonio and not Rupert, we would stand against you.”

“In other words, I have barely met your standard?”

He nodded, “Correct. For someone of your previous station, that is rather impressive in its own right.”

“Thank you for being honest; I do have much to learn… On that note, what is the general impression that I have made?”

Duke Lester nodded, “Among his highness’ faction there is very little dissent. Some find you a bit naïve but there are none questioning your potential. Of course, your martial ability is well established, what people worry about is your political aptitude.”

Nice of him to answer that question preemptively. That’s about what I thought the answer would be; people invested in Rupert’s faction will be disinclined to question his decision when getting engaged.

“Lady Edith can tell you about her own faction’s thoughts, I imagine they mirror our own. The real problem will be Duke Lawrence… The lords will be easy to deal with and I doubt you will face much resistance from them; a few grants and titles to ease the pain of losing their liege, but nothing you would be involved in directly.”

Right, I won’t be dealing directly with them outside of high-level things such as this meeting. Even here, I’m meeting the dukes and their wives together. I’ll have to deal with the women, is what he’s going to say next.

“The same does not hold true for their wives; you have very little social experience, and the little time which you have been at the Academy has been severely compromised. Ordinarily, there would be some degree of mercy, some level of understanding granted to your age.”

And here comes the but.

“These are not ordinary times. It is my belief that the majority of women in the second prince’s faction will treat you as an adult and hold you to those standards. This is because of the circumstances surrounding your own ascension, as well as the king’s actions. Rupert’s post has been secured by becoming the only heir. As his wife-to-be, you will be held to a similar standard.”

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Ah, I see what’s happening. This is actually a long-winded proposal; he’s going to suggest I shelter under his wife’s wing.

I didn’t figure that out entirely on my own; Edith was sitting next to them, a little distance away. She was becoming visibly agitated, though it was something only her close friends would notice. Likewise, the display was meant to tell me to be careful; Edith was fully capable of hiding all but the most extreme agitation from me if she wanted to. The fact that I could pick up on it here was solely due to her letting me.

Then, so much for him being honest and simply supporting me… If I take that offer, it would be equivalent to allying myself firmly with Rupert’s faction… Even I can see how that would have a negative effect on the faction politics. Yet my friendship with Edith probably has a similar effect, it isn’t a secret and especially after she gave so much help in redirecting people at the gala… But that was established prior to the engagement, so it should be less problematic.

I was beginning to thought-spiral again, reading too much into the situation. Or perhaps I was not reading enough into it? I did not know.

“…Lady Stahlia?”

And now I missed what Duke Lester had said.

Hopefully, it would merely look like I had been deep in thought, contemplating my response. The problem though, I did not know how to answer since I did not know the question. Though unlikely, speaking the wrong thing here would cause an issue. Before my mind was made up whether to ask him to repeat the question or to go with my hypothesis about his wife, Sasha interrupted.

“My lady, Lord Lester, my apologies. Duke Lawrence and Lady Lawrence have arrived.”

Perfect! I can use this as an excuse to not answer, and ask Sasha or Edith what he asked later.

“My apologies, Lord Lester. We shall have to revisit that at a later time… Sasha, please do not keep the Lawrences waiting.”

Sasha curtsied and departed briefly, while Lester bowed his head politely. Edith shot me a scathing look for just an instant, though I was not quite sure what I had done to earn it.

Probably because falling into a trance like that was rude… No, god damnit!

By telling Lester I would revisit the topic at a later time, I had expressed that I found the idea worth pursuing.

God damnit! I’ll need to figure out a way to smooth things over without joining the faction officially…

“Lady Stahlia, it is my pleasure to officially make your acquaintance. As you know, I am Duke Cresden von Lawrence. This is my wife, Lady Eifi von Lawrence.”

“It is my pleasure, Lady Stahlia.”

Duke Lawrence bowed the respectful amount, while Lady Lawrence curtsied.

“The pleasure is mine, Stahlia von Ris und zu Drakas. I am glad we could finally meet. Sasha.”

Hearing her name called, Sasha moved to seat the newcomers. They ended up on the opposite side of Edith from the Lesters, with all five of them facing me. Having ten eyes all fixated on me now, I could feel my pulse quickening. That two of them were Edith’s was a small comfort, but it was overshadowed by the reminder that I could not trust anything said at face value.

While they were still being seated, I took the opportunity to quickly try and get a read on them. Duke Lawrence was a bit overweight but did not look too unhealthy. For all I knew, it was just his clothes puffing out a bit as some sort of fashion statement. His wife was, though not as stunning as Lady Lester, quite good-looking. If she had one blemish it was that she was also a bit on the plump side. Though, given that their region of the kingdom was second to the central district in terms of food production, perhaps they’re being a tad heavy was to be expected.

My throat cleared with a cough, “Ahem. Now then, is there anything you wish to discuss? Going forward, as the de facto leaders of your factions, I will be relying on your support.”

After a glance at the others to confirm that they had no intentions of speaking first, Duke Lawrence broached the silence first, “My lady, it would seem that fate has conspired in certain ways… While the sadness at the loss of my liege still burns fresh, any further conflict would only serve to harm this country. May I ask, what your father’s intentions are?”

The expected question then, will my dad try and leverage my engagement to regain the title of Duke for our house.

“That would be a question best asked to Lord Ris; though I am von Ris, I am also und zu Drakas.”

Even if I am his daughter, I am separated. Thanks for that answer, Edith.

On the spur of the moment, I also glanced at Lady Lester. Hopefully, that would carry the implication that I meant to put the country ahead of any faction or family politics; a “no” to her offer.

Duke Lawrence seemed somewhat disgruntled by my answer, he had likely been hoping for a clear yes or no. Instead, I had more or less said that I did not know my father’s intentions but, if it came to it, would abide by whatever the king’s decision was.

“I see. You have a younger brother, Rosin von Ris?”

It was impossible for me to keep my voice from becoming just a tiny bit cold when my family was brought up, but I had to answer, “Yes… I do, what of it?”

“He is four years of age now, perhaps there would be interest in a marriage with one of my daughters?”

When he asked the question, I felt a wave of pressure for a moment though it quickly abated. In its place, the air in the room seemed to chill. Or perhaps it was merely my imagination.

No, not my imagination. The Lawrences are both watching me like hawks now, and Edith definitely reacted to that… but really try and be a little less transparent will you?

In any other case, the aura in the room and the attention I was receiving would have probably triggered my insecurity and I would have devolved into a fit of nervousness. Unfortunately for Duke Lawrence, he had brought my family into this. Far from being overcome, I was now rather intensely focused.

“Duke Lawrence, I will give you the benefit of the doubt and believe you approached me in good faith. After all, my father’s own titles would lead to any proposal received directly from yourself being seen as an order.”

To his credit, Duke Lawrence did not back down in the face of my glare. Rather, he seemed to get a bit fired up and become more attentive; sitting up straight in his chair and meeting my gaze with a level one of his own.

“To show my gratitude, I will inform my father of your offer… Just to be clear, you wish for your daughter to become von Ris?”

“Surely you jest? You would suggest my child join your former house?” His voice was calm, but cold, “Rosin would of course be marrying into my own house.”

Before I had a chance to say anything further, Duke Lester spoke, “Do not forget yourself, Lord Cresden. You are stroking the dragon’s whiskers…”

“Why, you-”

Things were about to spiral out of control in a rather beautiful manner.

“Enough. Duke Lester, this matter concerns my family, not yours. Duke Lawrence, I will not play the messenger for you. Make the offer to my father yourself but do keep in mind who it was that spared him the fate of the Despita.”

The only winning move is not to play. He might have been trying to set me up, but Duke Lester is right, I should leave dealing with the lords to Rupert and Gustav… As irritating as that might be to admit.

“Sasha, the meeting with his highness proved more tiring than I expected.” My maid curtsied, then quietly informed my guests that it was time for them to leave. Obviously, they took the hint with grace and departed without fuss. Once I was alone, Sasha walked up to me with her arms crossed and a stern expression.

Time for a lecture I guess.

“Ugh… how badly did I mess things up?”

To my surprise, she shook her head, “Honestly the only thing you should have done differently was to dismiss Duke Lawrence the moment he proposed that idiotic scheme; baiting him as you did was petty but I doubt aught will come of it.”

I sunk into thought, mulling over her words, “I see…”

“As for you not paying attention to Duke Lester, he proposed you form a public friendship with his wife… I would recommend you do so.”

The contents of his proposal were no surprise and matched my prediction more or less perfectly. What I found surprising was the recommendation to follow along. I raised an eyebrow, “And why do you recommend such a course?”

“This meeting was publicly unpublic knowledge. Even if we did not announce you were having it, everyone knows. Likewise, everyone will know you ended things early. By making a public showing of camaraderie with Lady Lester, people will naturally assume that Lord Lawrence or his wife have in some way offended you; which I daresay is the truth.”

“They will be unable to reach prince Antonio in time, nor would them reaching him greatly alter the outcome of the war; they would be foolish to try. Rather, it is far more likely that you will shake their faction’s confidence in them. The lesser nobles would then come to our side, and if he is even a halfwit Duke Lawrence will cease his opines and come crawling back.”

When she finished speaking, Sasha had a rather dark angry glint in her eye. It was, frankly, a bit terrifying.

“But… would that not risk starting a blood feud or something of the sort? Given my family’s past, would people not be equally likely to assume that I am scheming to restore house Despita?”

Sasha nodded, “That is a risk, but a rather small one; confer with Rupert if you like. I dare say that he will advise you to do as I have just recommended. If Lawrence does start anything, then he is an imbecile who poses an immediate threat to the kingdom.”

The implication of what she was saying sunk in, “Sasha, do you know? You can be even scarier than Jacqueline, and she was a fully trained assassin.”

“Thank you, my lady.” She curtsied and began preparing things for me to rest.