"You are a better Noble Blood than all I've ever met," Alfred sighed, "And an honest man than I ever hope to be, My Lord."
"All I did was not allow you to rush forward with something you might regret only because the opportunity looks too good to be true at this moment," Blanc shook his head, "I am only the one proposing the idea of a friendship, not the one receiving it, so go, speak with those you might become friends with, and see if such thoughts are worth considering first."
"You are wise, and it is true we acted out of fear." Alfred's wife nodded, "We will take your words to heart and do as you suggested, My Lord."
"That honesty only proves to me more that an alliance between us is all the more worth it," Blanc smiled warmly, "I am certain now that all of us would benefit from it."
With that, in an attempt to lighten the mood, they switched to a different conversation as they continued eating.
"Well then," Blanc said after dinner, "I'd better go and rest some more."
"It was a pleasure to have you at our table, My Lord," Alfred's wife curtsied, "Once you return from your duties, we would love to have you again."
"Forgive me," Blanc said, "But I do not remember your name, goodwife."
"I am not sure I've actually given it," the woman replied, shocked. "I am Jena, wife of Alfred."
"Then, Jena, wife of Alfred, mother of Olivia, next time we meet, I will make sure to be the one who invites you to dinner, instead," Blanc giggled, placing his hand forward.
"It would be an honor," Jena replied, offering her hand.
Blanc bowed lightly, kissing Jena's hand.
"I wish you all a good night," Blanc said, straightening his back.
"And you too, My Lord," Jena and Alfred replied in unison.
With a turn of his heel, Blanc left the dining room and returned straight to his room, which he found quiet, dim, and thankfully empty of any distractions, including Zoe.
He stripped off the formal clothes he had worn for dinner and collapsed onto the bed, still in his pants, too indifferent to bother changing into proper sleeping clothes, only to take them off again in a few hours.
Closing his eyes, he tried to summon sleep once more, knowing that once their journey resumed, they wouldn't stop for days.
But the truth was, all he truly wanted was to dream of his wives.
Since the conversation he had just gone through with Alfred and Jena had only made the weight on his chest more suffocating, allowing his brain to imagine things so vividly that it was getting... uncomfortable to remain in the presence of others.
So, he hoped sleep and a good dream would remove all those worries and thoughts that would sooner or later betray all the words of wisdom he had so brazenly uttered to Alfred and Jena less than an hour ago.
"That was something," Alfred said, sitting back down at the table. "What do you think?"
"You were right," Jena replied, doing the same, "He is weird, but in a good way, right, Olivia?"
At Jena's question, the cabinet slowly opened as if it were a door, revealing Olivia standing on a chair.
"I did not expect that, to be fair," Olivia shrugged, "I don't know what I expected, but hearing him not only refuse but call you out on it was definitely something."
Olivia got up, walking next to the table her parents were sitting at, and took a seat.
"But yes, mother," she continued, "The man is weird."
"Then things remain as discussed?" Alfred asked, offering Olivia a plate filled with food.
"I say aye," Jena nodded, "I see value in this friendship, one that offers us more than we can give them, even without marriage."
Alfred chuckled quietly, "Nope, you are wrong, my dear. They will ask us for things that we won't be able to do, not alone at least."
"How so?" Jena asked, curious as she looked at her husband of over two decades, with whom she had built many things together.
"I've heard… things," Alfred said, crossing his hands, "And what these things say that storms are approaching in the distance, storms we will be caught in if we choose a side."
"We are at a point when we will be caught in them either way," Jena sighed, "Or be brought to ruin by that damn bastard before the storms even come."
"I swear I will kill Blood Elna myself," Alfred clenched his jaw.
"That's why you chose to test Lord Blanc?" Olivia realized her parents' plan.
"You can call it a test, but I call it a safety nest," Jena replied, "Ensuring that at least you are protected, even if something happens."
"And that would be the marriage, I assume," Olvia concluded.
"Better to be married to a man like that than a concubine of the bastard," Alfred muttered, "At least this man cares for those he loves, look how he talked about his wives."
Jena continued her husband's words, "Not even mentioning his achievements or obvious strength, he is a better fit for you even as a concubine, my beautiful daughter, don't you think so?"
"It's useless to ask me when you've heard his thoughts on the matter," Olivia replied, grabbing some of the food from her plate.
"But if it became possible, what would you do?" Jena asked.
Olivia stayed silent, her eyes fixed on the food in front of her.
She was exhausted from the night before, and all the surrounding politics only made things worse.
Thanks to Blood Elna, she had had her fill of such affairs, so it was strangely refreshing to see Blanc so uninterested. Funnily enough, that lack of interest made her more curious about him, not romantically, necessarily, but as a person.
Still, like Blanc, if the time came and the situation demanded it, she supposed she would go through with marriage, for her family's sake.
But until that day arrived, she prayed it never would.
She imagined what a life like that would really look like, as she did not know what it entailed.
And the thought scared her deeply.
She far preferred the thrill of making money to the thoughts of husbands, children, and the chaos of women fighting over a single man.
However, if the nightmare came through, and she were to marry, she would choose Blanc. Since, besides the obvious benefits of a man as he was, it would be more convenient to go against a handful of women than against a few dozen, as Blood Elna had, when it came to his concubines.
With that in mind, she turned her face towards her parents, "If it became possible, and needed for our survival, I would do it."
"So then?" Alfred turned towards his wife.
Jena got to her feet, walking towards the window behind her, looking over Lupa, and all of the lights below, "Then, if Blood Denegis and Maroux would have us, we would join them on any storms they have to pass, and we will either sink with them, or learn to fly so high into the sky we might just grow wings."
Olivia sighed, knowing what her mother meant.
"By the way, Olivia, if it comes to marriage, you know you can take a second and third husband as well, right?" Jena grinned.
"You can barely convince me to take one, what makes you think two or three would, all of a sudden, make me jump around in joy?" Olivia sighed as her father started laughing out loud.
It was morning the next day when Blanc woke up from a wonderful dream as the Vita, in all Her grace, had granted his wish to dream about Celine and Miyanna.
With renewed vigor, free of any discomfort, he began writing the letters he had to give Alfred. Once done, he got dressed, prepared his things, and took his backpack downstairs with him for breakfast.
"You look pleased," Velakia said as they met in the hallway near the dining room.
Velakia was with Tahreni and Lendros, who, now, had an addition on their bodies.
"Nice backpacks," Blanc grinned, "They look heavy as well."
"We made sure they kept their word," Velakia shrugged.
"And did they?" Blanc wondered.
"Fully," she nodded, "The first pleasant surprise since we took a step in this Empire."
"Then you haven't looked enough," Blanc began, "There are many amazing things here, you haven't looked where you are supposed to."
"Ah, truly, between the rapists, thieves, and killers that are plaguing cities, villages, and even unknown locations, the war going on, the famine that many of the commoners go through, and all the political games for Vita knows what, I am truly not sure what to pick as my second favorite," Velakia said, sarcasm in her voice, despite the truth she was uttering.
A truth so harsh that Blanc forgot what joke he wanted to use as a reply.
He opened the door to the dining room, trying to change the subject, "Let's have breakfast and be on our way."
"I thought so," Velakia sighed, entering the dining room.