“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 haste.

Bahr choked on his food, “What! Gahne just debuted last night! This is far 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 Nehma has sent a request to marry Nie.”

All eyes were on Nie then.

“... I did not 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 is 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 is how he knew me.”

“By the Six…” Bahr huffed.

“But he did not know I was a noble—at least, not until I told him right then,” Nie went on, “Soon as he realized, he started asking about my prospects and sticking to my side. I really did not think he was being serious.”

Gahne sat down with her own huff, “I suppose he must like you…?”

“Last night was the closest we have ever come to having a conversation,” Nie sighed, “I really do not know what he is thinking…”

“He was your client for over a year,” Gahne scoffed in disbelief.

“So you are refusing, then?” Bahr sighed, “You have my support, and who would want to marry a man like that…”

“No, I shall accept,” Nie said, returning to his meal.

“What!?” Bahr and Gahne demanded, surging to their feet again.

Nie sighed, not at all surprised by the reaction. But he had lain awake thinking about what he would do if Abuin really did send a request, so was prepared, “There is hardly a reason to refuse, as far as I can see. He may be prone to irritation, but he is careful not to lash out as much as he can. Even when he got into a state, he did not so much as leave a bruise where he grabbed me. If I had wanted to return to the lower nobility ball last night, I am certain he would have followed me there rather than force me to remain upstairs.”

“I suppose the greater marquis was the one who urged him back upstairs…” Gahne agreed, dropping back into her seat.

“And I am almost thirty, but this is the first request I’ve ever gotten,” Nie went on, “Since I cannot have children with a savbahn, and the family is only a barony, this is by far the best offer I’m likely to ever receive from another noble, and ‘tis far better than it ought to be since I do not have an incredible talent to speak of.”

“Yes, but…” Bahr huffed, rubbing his leg as he lowered himself back into his chair.

“And further, if I am married to a grand duke, it will definitely make Gahne’s prospects all the better,” Nie shrugged, “I have no one else I am interested in, so, as I said—I see no reason to refuse.”

“If that is… what you want,” Bahr growled, grabbing the envelope, “You are an adult, so I will not stop you, but…”

“Do you not wish to marry for love?” Gahne asked.

“And is that not your wish as well?” Nie smiled wryly.

His sister huffed, then whined, “I cannot argue that, I suppose…”

Bahr sighed, staring down at the request. He always carried a stylus on him, and held it just above the signature line, “I simply… 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 am certain, grandfather.”

Bahr caught Nie’s gaze, and whatever he saw made him nod and sigh, “Well, ‘tis not as though you would be his prime spouse, is it?”

“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, perhaps I should aim for a marquis…”

Nie snorted, smiling, “I suppose I truly am 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.

“So much is to be done,” Bahr agreed, “You will have to tell the Guild, set a date—ah, we will 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 will have to tell the Consortium, as well!”

Nie nodded, “I probably will not 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 cannot believe you agreed,” Shasol said, taking a seat at the table. But rather than seeming irritated, he seemed quite pleased, “And so quickly…”

“That is,” Nie thought about being more deferential than usual, but decided it was too much effort, “I did not see a reason to refuse…”

“Well, when Abuin realized he was attracted to you and dismissed you, I truly debated whether or not to tell him you were a noble,” Shasol sighed, “Since I knew this would be his response and ‘tis absurd, but as long as you are alright with the arrangement, it saves me a fair amount of extra work.”

“... He is what?” Nie asked.

“... Is that the only reason?” Gahne asked.

“More or less,” Shasol shrugged, “If you have yet to notice, your betrothed is a very simple man.”

Betrothed, Nie repeated to himself with a mild sense of foreboding.

“But you did not 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 had given up on helping with the letter sorting, groaned from a chair against the wall, “Seriously?”

“Yes?” 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 did not know? But the smell was so strong…”

“Humans do not have the same sense of smell as savbahn,” Bahr sighed, rubbing at his face.

“Oh,” Shasol said, “Yes, I had quite forgotten about that…”

I put him in a state of arousal? Nie thought in disbelief, burying his head in his hands. And that is the sole reason he wishes to marry me? What is wrong with that man?

“I do not recall ever seeing you so animated,” Shasol remarked, grinning, “I hope you have not changed your mind now that you know the reason.”

Being reminded that he had agreed, Nie supposed he had no room to judge as he forced himself to straighten up, “No, I have not. At least now I know what he was thinking…”

“You agreed without having any idea about his reasoning?” Shasol asked, “Maybe you are a good match, after all…”

“And where is the grand duke, exactly?” Bahr demanded, “Should he not have come down himself?”

“He was overly 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 stressful 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.

“He does his best to hold himself back,” Shasol added, “But sometimes ‘tis 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 do not go around speaking of it,” Shasol waved a hand, “But since they are to be wed, 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 was not wed once by thirty-five, I would marry him. He is thirty-two now, and I was not looking forward to finding him a new valet.”

“That… your issue was finding him a new valet?” Nie asked.

“Well, I could not very well do the job of both spouse and valet,” the marquis snorted, “I’m very talented, but even I cannot be two people at once.”

“Oh, yes,” Nie sighed, “Spousal responsibilities…”

Gahne snorted, “Well, at least you are already versed in household finances…”

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 did not see the grand duke taking any more spouses than him any time soon.

“Currently, Abby’s aunt manages the Nehma estate,” Shasol nodded, “And I dare she has 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 schemed 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 large events,” Shasol sighed, “And that he is fairly easy to be around in private settings - but with his station, there are simply too many large events he cannot be fully absent from, and knowing he is doing his best not to lash out hardly makes him more pleasant to be around. So, if there is someone who can keep him calm in situations where he would otherwise be irritated, the court is more than happy to accept them, no matter if they are a human from a barony or not.”

“Overstimulated?” Bahr asked.

“Oh,” Shasol snorted, “You were discrete.”

Nie shrugged, then paused, staring at one of the last envelopes in his hand.

“Abuin is ahsehn,” the Greater Marquis explained, “It is 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 and 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 much,” Gahne huffed, then glanced over, “Nie? Is something wrong?”

“Ah,” Nie held up the envelope that held his attention.

“Oh,” Shasol said, ears flicking back, “I did not think she would 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 will send a coach to collect me.”