18 18: Marriage Discussion

Trojan awoke the next day just to realise that he had woken up rather late. It was unlike him to oversleep, but considering what had happened the night before, he had spent the night thinking about whether it was truly a good choice for him to reject the King's offer.

But what was done was done, there was no longer any point in thinking about such matters.

Trojan walked out of his room and got his usual business out of the way. When he was ready, he entered his dining room, where his maid stood. Trojan walked up to his seat and sat down. The Maid gave a signal to the side and the food was brought in promptly after. Trojan looked at the meal, not having much of an appetite.

"What is there to do today?" Trojan asked.

The day prior had been hectic, simply too much to do. Trojan had hoped to be able to take at least some form of a break.

"There is nothing much, my lord," His maid replied. "There is a meeting with the Marchioness Emilia later today regarding marriage. After the conversation with the Marchioness Emilia, my lord will have a meeting with the president of Ether's famous toy company."

"Is that all?" Trojan asked, having started eating.

"Yes."

Trojan finished eating and went to his office, his maid following him. He asked his maid, "Is it possible to cancel the meeting with the toy company?"

"Why so, my lord?" His maid asked, slightly confused.

"I would much rather spend the time in the afternoon discussing the arrangement for marriage with Emilia, as well as the party for my promotion to Duke," Trojan said to her. "Call up the toy company, and ask them to reschedule the meeting to the week after."

"Understood, my lord."

Trojan sat down at his table once again, thinking. He technically had spare time, time he could use to relax. Instead of doing that, Klaus, the head butler, rushed to the door. He told Trojan, "My lord, the Marchioness Emilia has arrived."

"This early?" Trojan asked.

"My lord, it is the late morning," His head butler reminded him.

Trojan sighed and walked out of the room, following close behind his head butler, his maid walking behind him. Trojan told Klaus while they were walking, "I shall be meeting Emilia in the main hall. Remind all staff that no matter what, they are not to interrupt or listen into the conversation unless absolutely urgent."

"Understood, my lord."

Trojan sat down on one of the couches in the main hall, a large painting of his family hanging on the wall. Marchioness Emilia had arrived in his estate sooner than he had anticipated, which was typical of her.

The doors opened, and there stood Marchioness Emilia, looking much better since they last met. She had a wide smile on her face and seemed to be in an extremely good mood. Behind her were her servants, three of them, in fact.

"Greetings Marquess Trojan!" Marchioness Emilia greeted before correcting herself. "Or should I say, Duke Trojan."

"Please, there's no need to flatter me," Trojan said lightheartedly.

Her servants disappeared somewhere else, probably under Klaus' care. Marchioness Emilia sat down across from Trojan, who was rather casual, seeing as it was his own house.

There was no one in the main hall except for the both of them.

"Your estate is rather… simple, with the lack of a better word," Marchioness Emilia commented. "This place is not befitting of a Duke, don't you agree?"

Trojan replied, going with the flow, "Well, this house used to be my parents', so I have been living here in memory of them."

"That is indeed interesting," Marchioness Emilia agreed, looking around.

"Were you able to get enough sleep yesterday?" Trojan asked her.

"I assume so." Marchioness Emilia said, shrugging. "Besides, I had time to do my makeup today, so it does not look as bad."

"Do get sleep." Trojan tried to persuade her.

Marchioness Emilia sighed. "How loving of you. I was unable to get much sleep after you sent me that letter asking to speak about marriage. I was rather excited for today."

"Ah, you need not lose sleep over me," Trojan told her, trying to keep the conversation light. "Especially if we were to marry."

"I assume you have confirmed?" She asked him, leaning back into the chair.

"I have."

Marchioness Emilia had a glint in her eyes, a glint of victory. Her family was not poor or even remotely close to it, but in the long run, there was a high chance that the family falls apart. The lack of support on the Marchioness herself, as well as the rivalry she held with many other noble families prevented her family from growing. Besides that, she did not have support from her family members, rendering her to be the only member of the Emilia household, much like Trojan.

"Regarding the marriage…" Trojan started. "When will be a good date? I assume preparations and sending out invitations will set us back about a week or two?"

"Of course, the wedding will take time," Marchioness Emilia agreed. "However, preferably, the wedding should be after your promotion party I assume you are having?"

Trojan could understand why. Being promoted after marriage just seemed odd for some reason, and it seemed better should they marry after his official party into Dukedom. However, there was another concern Trojan had, and that was of course, the meeting Trojan needed to attend to convince Duke Phoenix to join his cause.

However, when discussing marriage, it was best not to spoil the mood with talk of their ulterior motives. Like many other weddings, theirs was for the benefit of themselves. Marchioness Emilia wanted to save her family, and what better way than to marry possibly the third most influential figure in Ether after the Royal Family and Duke Phoenix. Trojan wanted to marry Marchioness Emilia to get closer and eventually gaming the support of Duke Phoenix.

"Seeing as we are to be married, or for now, engaged, how would I address my fiancée?" Trojan asked her.

"Emilia is my family name," the Marchioness replied. "Please address me by Letha L. Emilia, or more formally, Letha."

"I will try to remember that," Trojan nodded.

Letha blinked and looked at Trojan before asking, "Then may I know your name as well?"

"My apologies. My full given name is Koda Los Trojan."

"Then I shall address you as Koda from now on."

Trojan nodded and told her, "That is alright with me."

Emilia tapped the table between the both of them and started talking. "Now, regarding the arrangement of the wedding…"

The talk continued and lasted for majority of the day until Emilia was satisfied with what Trojan had prepared.