Two weeks before Luna cos back to Hoffen, Hobase a.k.a. "Luna's Villa"
A certain prince is being hounded by his attendants once again as the dreaded deadline is about to arrive. Calix, the prince's personal butler, asked him directly, "Do you have any plans to do sothing about our situation, your highness?" Xenos, his legal advisor, added, "I honestly don't trust your parents' standards in picking won to marry off their sons with. Aren't you feeling any urgency or fear on what will beco of us, my prince? We barely have a month left."
Aurum, looked around the his own people in the room, his four trusted aides. He sighed at their predicant and responded, "What can I do if I don't even know where she is or when she will be coming back? According to the school, the imrsion was supposed to last for only two months. She should be back within the week, I suppose. We can then talk to her about our problems." Helios scoffed and comnted, "What if she doesn't co back within the week? We don't even know if she will be willing to help us out." The prince was also unsure so he kept his silence while pondering his next steps.
Out of nowhere, Yren, the bodyguard who rarely talked, suggested, "If you don't want us to be dood, your highness, you better swallow your useless pride and ask Sir Ioannis for information. You don't have the right to give up since it's not just your life we're talking about here." He winced at the suggestion but still looked at Yren though there was evident pain in his eyes as he indeed had to swallow his pride this ti and simply answered, "Fine."
Aurum slowly walked out of his room, followed by his four aides. He deliberately walked slowly towards the door of Ioannis' bedroom while the other four decided to sit on the sofa, watching him from afar and making sure he doesn't back out. Aurum nervously looked back and saw that nobody followed him but they were watching him closely. He clicked his tongue in frustration and continued walking. He shook his head to get his nervousness out of his body. He's the leader so he has to speak for their group. He rarely gets nervous but anything about her makes him feel a lot of peculiar feelings.
He stopped walking and stood quietly for a few seconds just outside the bedroom door. The other four hid their laughter as they clearly heard him loudly inhale a huge gulp of air before knocking on the door. The knock was not too forceful and not too light either, trying to show as much respect as possible and not to disturb the grumpy and very pregnant man inside. It took several knocks before the door of the room slowly opened.
Ioannis, the said grumpy man, opened the door slightly and took a peek to check who was knocking. When he saw it was Aurum, he raised an eyebrow and informally asked, "Do you need anything?" He opened the door a little wider, showing off his belly that looked like a baby would pop out of him anyti. Aurum couldn't help but look enviously at Ioannis but he had to refocus as he asked, "Can I ask you so things about Luna?"
Ioannis looked at Aurum's face for a few seconds without answering the question. Clearly, the guy is having second thoughts of helping him out. Aurum kept a stiff smile on his face trying to look as polite and as amicable as he possibly can. It won't do him any good if he pisses the guy in front of him. Ioannis eventually sighed and asked, "What do you want to know?" Aurum breathed a sigh of relief as the pregnant guy's stance towards him softened considerably at the ntion of the woman's na.
Aurum offered his hand to guide Ioannis to sit at one of the chairs in the living room. Ioannis looked at his hand for a few seconds and eventually accepted the help and sat carefully, cradling his belly that looked as heavy as a waterlon. Once they were both seated, Aurum asked, "Will Luna be coming back in the next couple of days?" Ioannis imdiately shook his head and answered, "She would be delayed by a couple of weeks or so. She has so tasks that she needed to complete during her stay at the imrsion place so she has to make up for the missed hours and reach the required working hours to graduate from the imrsion class' field work. She will co back here in the acade after about two weeks, three weeks at most, I think."
Aurum stared at Ioannis for a few seconds then sighed as he looked down on his hands. The pregnant guy, seeing how the other guys hands were shaking a bit and whose face looking helpless and defeated asked, "Do you need sothing from her? Is it very urgent? I can relay a ssage on your behalf or you can write a letter and I can send it to her. We have a shared storage space so if you need an answer the soonest, that would be the fastest way."
Aurum looked up with widened eyes, not expecting that the guy that he always though of as a rival or enemy would even offer to help out. He gave Ioannis an appreciative smile but he could still not hide the pain in his eyes. He then said, "Do you think there is a chance that she will see more than just a business partner?" Ioannis looked at him blankly then answered bluntly, "That's sothing I am not able to answer. That's for my wife to decide on." Aurum nodded and responded, "I know that much. I am just trying my luck. It will be my 24th birthday in a month and it is also my parents' deadline. If I could not find soone that I like and convince her to marry , my parents will then have the right to decide on my marriage partner. There will be a huge party, a ball to be exact, where the local and allied country nobles and royals will be invited. If Luna won't take in, I will have to accept the marriage partner that will be chosen by my family from those who will be attending that. Well, I'm just blabbering. It's not like to care about things that she doesn't get any benefits from. Thank you for listening to and answering my question."
Aurum stood up, with a smile that does not reach his eyes. He then asked Ioannis, "Would you like to assist you back into your room? It seems that your balance has been off recently since your belly is bigger now." Ioannis seed to be distracted with the details he heard from Aurum's story and was unable to react as quick as he usually would. When he realized that soone is asking him a question, he reached for the prince's hand and answered, "Thank you for your assistance. The sudden weight indeed is ssing up with my balance." The both of them walked at a leisurely place as they went back to Ioannis' room.
Once Ioannis has been settled back in his room, Aurum went back to the living room where his four attendants were waiting. He then told them, "Now, you have the answer as to when she will be back. Happy now?" He then turned and walked slowly back to his room and closed the door gently behind him.
The other four looked equally shocked at the prince's last question as well as the facial expression he had as he faced them. Did they see that clearly? Was Aurum crying and there was even a hint of pain showing in his eyes? They were used to him being an, sarcastic, hot-tempered and mostly, cold but this is the first ti they saw him act that way. Did they pressure him too much?
The four attendants sighed almost at the sa ti at their predicant. For marriages of the mbers of the royal family, their roles as attendants were technically being part of the dowry. They would need to serve the woman whom the prince will be married to. They would be lying if they say that they were not hoping for Luna to accept their master but at the rate they're all going, he won't be anything more than a business partner indeed. It is better to have more realistic expectations.
Inside the room, Ioannis was in deep thought. He understood that his wife does things at her own pace and hates being hurried or manipulated when deciding on things but what will he do in this situation? It was surprising that there was a deadline for Aurum. He knew as well that his wife won't keep that guy if she is not even a tiny bit interested in him or find him useful for her long term plans. The question is, "Should I tell my wife about this now?"
Thinking about the many things that Luna already has in her plate, Ioannis sighed as he thought, "I hate the idea of adding a new man to the family but it is never in my authority to decide if an issue is urgent and important or not." With that, he started writing a detailed letter of the things he ca to know about the short conversation he had with the eighth prince. He imdiately sent it the shared storage space, hoping that she would read it the soonest.
Back in Sklavryet, Luna was in the middle of her job at Kama, making brunch for its employees when she felt a link between him and Ioannis through the shared storage space. She imdiately stopped cooking and closed her eyes to check what was placed in there and saw a letter. Her eyebrows furrowed as it is not yet ti for the exchange of correspondences between her and her husband so this must be sothing urgent.
She sat on one of the stools inside the dining area and read the letter. The more she read through it, the more her face looked surprised and amused. As she finished the letter, a naughty smirk can be seen on Luna's face. It was a sign of another devious plan that she has for the annoying eighth prince. Honestly, she first thought of squeezing more benefits out of him since he is the more desperate one in this situation but shook her head eventually. She giggled a bit and thought of pranking the guy instead. It was not like I don't like him, she thought. She realized that she wouldn't like it if he ends up marrying sobody else. Those four attendants are too useful to be given away to another person as well. I guess I have to et my new in-laws once I get back to Hoffen.
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