Chapter 39
What awaited Teia upon his return to the Grand Duchy was the long-postponed noble council meeting. It was a regularly held assembly to determine the country’s major and minor affairs.
Typically, matters such as tax adjustments, diplomatic issues, and public welfare were discussed, but this time, the convening centered around a topic that had everyone grinding their teeth.
It was Teia’s “marriage issue.”
In both the Empire and the Grand Duchy, noble families usually held engagement ceremonies before their children reached adulthood, and once they became adults, marriages were swiftly arranged.
In noble society, marriage wasn’t simply about choosing a spouse—it was a union between families, an alliance of power and influence. It was considered a lord’s virtue to quickly stabilize their authority and produce an heir.
However, several years had already passed since Teia had come of age, and yet he still had no proper fiancée. Even the one engagement he had did not end well—it came to a tragic and disastrous conclusion.
Until now, people had waited patiently, taking into account the exceptional circumstances under which Teia, as a young man, had been cast out of the Imperial City with nothing but a title, had cultivated his own domain, and achieved independence as a Grand Duke.
But now, with only a few years left before he turned thirty, both the commoners and the nobles of the Grand Duchy were becoming increasingly anxious.
“Your Grace. Even if marriage isn’t feasible right away, at the very least, a fiancée must be chosen.”
“Your marriage is not a private matter, but a critical issue for the entire Grand Duchy.”
Throughout the meeting, the nobles showed not the slightest willingness to back down. Right after the engagement was broken, they had held their tongues, worried that Teia might be reeling from the betrayal. But that was no longer the case.
They had received word from Louis that His Grace seemed to have overcome much of the pain through spending time with his pet rabbit.
Though Teia had no intention of marrying or becoming engaged, with the nobles all united and pressing him so firmly, he had no grounds to refuse. It was indeed time for someone his age to be engaged, and choosing a suitable Grand Duchess was one of a Grand Duke’s responsibilities.
“Selecting and meeting each candidate one by one would be a huge waste of time, so let’s just hold a party. I didn’t have a birthday celebration this year anyway, so the budget is still intact.”
And so, a marriage proposal party to find Teia a Grand Duchess was decided.
Although rumors of him being a pitiful imperial prince abandoned by the Emperor still lingered, Teia was far too desirable on the marriage market to be passed over for that alone. Even setting aside his handsome face and sculpted figure, the Himeros Grand Duchy boasted greater national power and a superior location compared to other kingdoms.
On top of that, because Teia ruled his nation in a somewhat closed-off manner, kingdoms other than the Empire had long been eyeing an opportunity to form ties with the Grand Duchy.
And now, a marriage proposal party was to be held. Naturally, interest swelled—not just among the nobles of Himeros, but also among nobles from the Empire and even other small kingdoms across the continent.
Of course, the flashy news of the marriage party reached Lilith’s ears as well.
Feeling unsettled for no particular reason, Lilith couldn’t even bring herself to eat her favorite strawberries. She lay limp on a cushion like a melted marshmallow. What made her even more upset was the fact that she hadn’t heard about it directly from Teia.
When Lilith casually asked why the servants around the castle had seemed unusually busy lately, they looked at her like she was strange for not knowing the news.
Wasn’t the Grand Duchy a monogamous society? Lilith’s mood sank twice as much.
It wasn’t that she was shocked by the concept of marriage—after all, it was such a natural part of human culture. What really caught her off guard was that she had never even considered the possibility of Teia getting engaged or married. She had witnessed his engagement fall apart, and even that adulterous couple’s engagement, yet somehow she hadn’t made the connection.
The servants in the castle all seemed eager for Teia’s fiancée to be chosen quickly. The excitement in the air was palpable. Everyone she met talked about nothing but the upcoming party, and fed up with it all, Lilith boldly took a few days off and lived diligently as a rabbit, sulking.
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