“There’s been a request!” Ehmra, the head of the household staff, declared in a panic as she rushed into the dining room during breakfast. She had an entire stack of letters in her arms, many fluttering to the floor in her rush.
Bahr choked on his food, “What! Gahne just debuted last night! Isn’t that too soon!?”
Ehmra half chuckled, half whined, “If the request were for Lady Gahne, I would agree.”
“He actually sent one…?” Nie asked, almost choking on his own food.
“He!? He who!?” Bahr demanded, while at the same time, Gahne surged to her feet and demanded, “The Grand Duke!?”
Bahr surged to his feet as well, “Grand Duke!? What Grand Duke!?”
Ehmra chuckle-whined again, “Yes - Grand Duke Abuin has sent a request to marry Nie.”
All eyes were on Nie then.
“... I didn’t think he was serious,” the human said.
“Of course not!” Bahr said, half collapsing into his seat as his bad leg protested, “Who would!?”
“That’s why he dragged you off!?” Gahne demanded, leaning over the table.
“Dragged you off!?” Bahr demanded as well.
“That explains all the invitations…” Ehmra sighed, collapsing into an empty seat of her own.
Nie sighed, “Last night, I ran into the Grand Duke in the gardens - ah… he was my mystery client. That’s how he knew me.”
“By the Six…” Bahr huffed.
“But he didn’t know I was a noble - at least, not until I told him right then,” Nie went on, “Soon as he realized it, he started asking about my prospects and sticking to my side. I really didn’t think he was being serious, though…”
Gahne sat down with her own huff, “I guess he likes you…?”
“Last night was the closest we’ve ever come to having a conversation,” Nie sighed, “I really don’t know what he’s thinking…”
“He was your client for over a year,” Gahne scoffed in disbelief.
“So you’re refusing, then?” Bahr sighed, “You have my support, and who would want to marry a man like that…”
“No, I’ll accept,” Nie said, returning to his meal.
“What!?” Bahr and Gahne demanded, surging to their feet again.
Nie sighed, not surprised by the reaction. But he’d lain awake thinking about what he’d do if Abuin really did send a request, so was prepared, “I mean, there’s not really a downside, as far as I can see. He might be grumpy, but he’s careful not to lash out. Even when he got into a state, he didn’t so much as leave a bruise where he grabbed me. If I had wanted to return to the lower nobility ball last night, I’m pretty sure he would have just followed me there rather than make me stay upstairs.”
“I guess the Greater Marquis was the one who urged him back upstairs…” Gahne agreed, dropping back into her seat.
“And I’m almost thirty, but this is the first request I’ve ever gotten,” Nie went on, “Since I can’t have kids with a savbahn, and the family is only a barony, this is likely the best offer I’ll ever get from another noble - and it’s a lot better than it has a right to be since I don’t exactly have some amazing talent to speak of.”
“Yes, but…” Bahr huffed, rubbing his leg as he lowered himself back into his chair.
“And if I’m married to a Grand Duke, it will definitely make Gahne’s prospects better,” Nie shrugged, “I don’t have anyone else I’m interested in, so, like I said - I really don’t see any reason to say no.”
“If that’s… what you want,” Bahr growled, grabbing the envelope, “You are an adult, so I won’t stop you, but…”
“Don’t you want to marry for love?” Gahne asked.
“Don’t you?” Nie smiled wryly.
His sister huffed, then whined, “Got me there, I guess…”
Bahr sighed, staring down at the request - he always carried a stylus on him, and held it just above the signature line, “I just… this is so sudden. Are you… are you really sure?”
Nie sighed, pulling the request down the table. He plucked the stylus away, signing on the line for his signature - for a request to be fully accepted, both the current head of a family and the person being requested needed to sign their agreement. The human slid the signed request and stylus back, “I’m sure, grandfather.”
Bahr caught Nie’s gaze - and whatever he saw made him nod and sigh, “Well, it’s not like you’re his prime spouse, right?”
“Actually,” Nie cleared his throat, “I would be.”
His grandfather stared - then signed with astonishing alacrity, “Ehmra, have one of our fastest staff run this over to the Nehma estate before the Grand Duke grows some common sense.”
“Of course, Lord Wahnera!” Ehmra replied, grabbing the letter and stuffing it back in its envelope before running off.
“Prime spouse to a Grand Duke…” Gahne sighed - then suddenly sat up, “Oh, maybe I should aim for a Marquis…”
Nie snorted, smiling, “I guess I’m really getting married…”
At that statement, the table fell still and quiet for a few moments.
“By the Six,” Nie said, “I’m getting married.”
“To a Grand Duke,” Gahne added.
“There’s so much to be done,” Bahr agreed, “You’ll have to tell the Guild, set a date - ah, we’ll have to set up a dinner for me to meet the Grand Duke’s father… is he even in the country…?”
“I think the former Grand Duke is abroad,” Nie replied, looking around the dining room - traditionally, the primary guardians of the pair getting married met in the home of the requestee. Would a Grand Duke be alright at the estate of a Baron…?
“The club!” Gahne said, “You’ll have to tell the Consortium, too!”
Nie nodded, “I probably won’t be able to host this month, after all, considering…”
As the morning wore on and Ehmra returned, the Wahnera family turned their attention to the mountain of invitations that had also come in that morning. They were still sorting through them - separating them between which were for Gahne and which for Nie, and what kind of event they were - when a guest arrived a little over an hour later.
“I can’t believe you agreed,” Shasol said, taking a seat at the table - but rather than seeming irritated, he seemed quite pleased, “And so quickly…”
“I mean,” Nie thought about being more deferent than usual, but decided it was too much effort, “I didn’t see a reason not to…”
“Well, when Abuin realized he was attracted to you and dismissed you, I really debated whether or not to tell him you were a noble,” Shasol sighed, “Since I knew this would be his response and it’s absurd, but as long as you’re alright with it, it saves me a lot of extra work.”
“... he’s what?” Nie asked.
“... is that the only reason…?” Gahne asked.
“Pretty much,” Shasol shrugged, “If you haven’t noticed, your betrothed is a very simple man.”
Betrothed, Nie repeated to himself with a mild sense of foreboding.
“But you didn’t know he was attracted to you, Nie?” Shasol asked, leaning his chin on one set of hands laced together, “How could you have missed it?”
“How would I have known?” Nie replied, having never realized until now just how many events were being hosted at court.
Shasol blinked rapidly, “But…” the marquis glanced at Gahne, then cleared his throat, “Another time, then.”
“By the Six,” Gahne gasped, hitting letters against the table, “Nie, you put him in a state.”
Bahr, who’d given up on helping with the letter sorting, groaned from a chair against the wall, “Seriously…?”
“Yeah…?” Nie replied, focusing on the letters - then the realization hit him, and he dropped into a chair as the blood rushed to his face, “Wait.”
“Yes,” Shasol confirmed, frowning, “You really didn’t know…? But the smell was so strong…”
“Humans don’t have the same sense of smell as savbahn,” Bahr sighed, rubbing at his face.
“Oh,” Shasol said, “Yes, I forgot about that…”
I put him in a state of arousal? Nie thought in disbelief, burying his head in his hands, And that’s the only reason he wants to marry me? What is wrong with that man?
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so animated,” Shasol remarked, grinning, “I hope you haven’t changed your mind now that you know the reason.”
Being reminded that he’d agreed, Nie supposed he had no room to judge as he forced himself to straighten up, “No, I haven’t. At least now I know what he was thinking…”
“... you agreed without having any idea about his reasoning…?” Shasol asked, “Maybe you’re a good match, after all…”
“And where is the Grand Duke, exactly?” Bahr demanded, “Shouldn’t he have come down himself?”
“He got too happy about the acceptance, so I made him stay home to calm down,” Shasol sighed, “He can be a bit… physically overbearing in that state.”
“Oh really?” Gahne asked, growling.
“Yes,” Shasol said flatly, “I once got him his favorite dessert when he was having a bad day, and he was cuddly about it for the next hour.”
“Oh,” Gahne snorted, “Oh, wow.”
What have I gotten myself into? Nie wondered, rubbing at his forehead.
“I mean, he does his best to hold himself back,” Shasol added, “But sometimes it’s easier to simply remove himself from the situation.”
“I’ve only ever heard about his temper,” Gahne chuckled, “I never heard about anything like that.”
“I usually don’t go around talking about it,” Shasol waved a hand, “But since they’re getting married, I thought Nie should be prepared.”
“Thank you for the consideration,” Nie sighed - he was pretty sure he meant it, too.
“You seem awfully pleased about this, your grace,” Bahr observed suspiciously.
“I had a deal with Abby’s father,” Shasol said, “If he wasn’t wed once by thirty-five, I would marry him. He’s thirty-two now, and I wasn’t looking forward to finding him a new valet.”
“That… your issue was finding him a new valet…?” Nie asked.
“Well, I couldn’t very well do the job of both spouse and valet,” the marquis snorted, “I’m very talented, but even I can’t be two people at once.”
“Oh, right,” Nie sighed, “Spousal responsibilities…”
Gahne snorted, “Well, at least you’re already versed in household finance…”
In the absence of the previous generation, Nie had helped their grandfather manage the business side of the Wahnera household - not the winery, but the household itself. Overseeing staff and their wages, maintenance and repairs, food supplies, and any necessary changes. Gahne had been training to manage the commerce side of the business since she was planning to be the next head of the house - as was the typical Rabahni way of splitting responsibilities.
With additional spouses, the duties became more granular - but Nie didn’t see the Grand Duke taking any more spouses than him any time soon.
“It’s currently Abby’s aunt managing the Nehma estate,” Shasol nodded, “And I dare she’d been ready to retire for the past few years.”
“Is high nobility even going to accept Nie… ?” Bahr huffed, looking genuinely concerned.
“They were all very kind last night,” Nie shrugged, finally returning to invitation sorting - though it was mostly done, “And most of these invitations are from high nobles.”
“They were all relieved at the calming effect you had on Abby,” Shasol chuckled, “I imagine if I compared, Abuin would be invited to all the same events you are as they tried to get the two of you together. I assure you the entire higher court will be in favor of this wedding.”
“Was it really that bad…?” Gahne asked.
“Everyone knows Abuin gets overstimulated at big events,” Shasol sighed, “And that he’s fairly easy to be around in private settings - but with his station, there are simply too many big events he cannot be fully absent from, and knowing he’s doing his best not to lash out doesn’t make him more pleasant to be around. So, if there’s someone who can keep him calm in situations where he’d otherwise be irritated, the court is more than happy to accept them - no matter if they’re a human from a barony or not.”
“Overstimulated?” Bahr asked.
“Oh,” Shasol snorted, “You really were discrete.”
Nie shrugged - then paused, staring at one of the last envelopes in his hand.
“Abuin is an ahsehn,” the Greater Marquis explained, “It’s why I hired Nie in the first place.”
It was the proper term for Abuin’s more enhanced senses and his greater physical prowess. The ahsehn were considered blessed by the gods - granted a portion of their divine power. But as no mortal could hold a god’s power, even a small piece, they were also cursed. As such, the topic could be a sensitive one.
“That explains a lot,” Gahne huffed, then glanced over, “Nie? Is something wrong?”
“Uh,” Nie held up the envelope that held his attention.
“Oh,” Shasol said, ears flicking back, “I didn’t think she’d make a move…”
“The Grand Princess…” Bahr said, eyes wide.
The white wax seal of the golden envelope bore the crest of Grand Princess Granah Eluneh, ruler of the Northern Provinces - and the ruler of their city of Remeh specifically. Her older sibling was one of the Six Divines - the monarchs that ruled over the entire nation from the central capital, reincarnations of the Rabahni gods themselves. It had been the princess’s castle in which the debut balls had been held, though it was not an event attended by the royal ranks. It was believed their presence put too much pressure on the young adults during a night meant to celebrate them.
“You should probably open that,” Shasol prompted.
Nie sat and took a steadying breath before doing so. He pulled the contents out carefully and said, “I am invited to tea with her highness… this evening, an hour after sunset. She’ll send a coach to collect me.”
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