“Let me guess, you are going to say yes.” Cinar just rolled his eyes when he heard what Duke Burn had offered. As the person with the closest relationship to the King, it was not a surprise that he was more open about his thoughts.

“You think that I would say no?” Aled returned, not at all surprised that Cinar was not fond of the idea. Though there was no evidence, Cinar was certain that it had been one of Duke Burn’s schemes that had led to the war that cost him more than half of his land. It was definitely something that Duke Burn would do, but he was not going to admit it and neither was the Leighian League’s top brass even if it was true.

“You could just not accept and then marry some foreign princess. It is not like he will be able to hold on forever, not after we commandeer Duke Ryder’s fleet.” Everyone there knew it was a long shot. Most, if not all, of Fiveria’s nations were either hostile or did not have inherited succession at all. And although nobody mentioned it because the man was currently providing them his army, Duke Tetland’s daughter was not an enticing proposition. If not because of the lack of interest Fiveria had in making Rotleach and Tetland a more permanent ally, then because it was well known that the person herself was anything other than beautiful.

“Who would you suggest I marry then?” The King was almost challenging him to mention Duke Tetland’s daughter. They both knew that even if he suggested it there was no way that it would happen.

“How about that Alima over in Narabun.” When Cinar put forward her name, Braydon’s eyes almost popped out of his head. He had not expected that his largest customer would be brought up now of all times. He could hardly imagine somebody like her willingly marrying the King of Fiveria. Not unless the civil war in Shuluk forced her to flee the country. At least when he met her, she did not seem like the kind of person who would willingly give up her power to somebody else once she obtained it.

“As in the Duchess Regent?” The King had not expected that response. Even if the previous Grand Duke was now dead, that did not change the fact that just a year and a half ago they were actively at war with the Grand Duchy. And thinking of that, the King turned to look at Braydon, who had already put away his surprise.

“Well you are the one who should have the most opinion about Shuluk here. What do you think, Viscount Fiton?” When the King asked the question Braydon was about ready to answer before he noticed how the King had called him. Aled wanted an answer from the Viscount of Cliforge, not what he personally thought on the matter.

“...Well, you should know that they have a civil war going on and I have to constantly have a presence on the border to stop bandit raids. Any kind of marriage with her would involve putting down her political opponents. If she agreed to such a union at all. I cannot claim to be well versed in Shuluk politics but I cannot imagine her supporters would be pleased to have defended the throne only to hand it over to us.” Braydon was quite happy to use this as an excuse to advise against marrying Alima Shuluk.

If the civil war ended, then she would have no need to buy his iron in such large quantities nor at the exorbitant price that she currently did. Chiefly because there were many iron mines under control of the rebels that she would come to possess. Not to mention that he would then be dealing with Aled rather than Alima when selling his iron to Narabun. And the King was hardly going to allow himself to be ripped off by his own supporters. Not with the newfound power that he would have as the ruler of both Fiveria and Shuluk if that were to happen.

‘That is if Duke Burn has not already found out about my iron shipments.’ If he had then Duke Burn might want a cut of the profits in place of ‘protection fees’. If he had not then it did not matter either. Braydon could imagine that if Duke Burn’s proposal was not accepted then he would block any and all ships belonging to those who side with the King from leaving the river harmony. And then Braydon would really have nobody to sell to, unless he wanted to route his trade through Wathamalin and then to Duke Ryder’s ports to be shipped out. By that point he may as well just start selling it all to Duke Burn anyway.

*sigh*

“We will leave this matter be for now, I will come to a decision once we get rid of Ryder once and for all. Anything else is counting out chickens before they hatch.” The King was frustrated. That much anyone could tell. Not making a decision until after defeating Duke Ryder was merely an excuse, Braydon guessed that he did not want to deal with the headache of his supporters arguing over which woman he should marry. He knew that it would happen eventually. It was long overdue, in fact. But that did not mean that he enjoyed it any more.

“Well that was not what I expected it to be about.” Braydon commented when everyone but the King had left the tent and gotten a good distance away. Just looking at Gerald, he could tell the man was bored out of his mind. Not that he blamed him. As a relatively young knight, marriage was not something that Gerald would have to consider for some time yet.

“Looking to net yourself a Duchess?” Cinar commented, still walking alongside them. Once again Braydon tried hard to maintain a composed expression. Cinar could tell that he had ulterior motives when saying what he said. It was just that he had guessed entirely wrong about what they were.

“Hahahaha, not at all. I merely make a lot of money from their civil war that I would not if it ended.” Braydon had to laugh, Alima might be a pretty woman but she looked double his age. It would not be the strangest marriage that a noble has ever had but he did not want that for himself. Not that what he said was wrong, it was just not his foremost thought when it came to the possibility of marrying Alima Shuluk.

“Wait, you’re the one propping her up?” Cinar had known that the Duchess Regent had to be getting her iron from somewhere, he had just not expected it to be Braydon that was supplying her. After all, the Shuluk side of the border was under rebel control.

“Exactly.” Braydon did not know that his iron was so instrumental in keeping Narabun in the fight but he was not going to share that. He would merely make sure to gain even more advantages when he got back to Cliforge.