Judy P.O.V.

I had to admit that the way nobles lived was starting to get to me at this point a little bit and I had only been a noble for less than a month. The access we had going into any section of the city, the interconnected network helping each other profit, but what really pushed it over the top was how Duke Manashaper had just decided for the rain cloud to go around the plot where we were hosting the party. I knew that that was more of a power status then a noble one but having the weather accommodate for the outdoor party you were throwing was not something I could have ever imagined.

“So you must be Jude.” A man that looked to be my fathers age asked as he offered me a cup of wine.

If there was one thing that quickly confirmed that becoming a noble wasn’t a dream was the constant marriage proposals I had been getting during this announcement. Most of them came from people like him who were easily one and a half to two centuries old. Nobles usually lived to four hundred or higher depending on how much they focused on leveling.

“I am, thank you.” I responded as politely as I could before leaning into my social skills as much as possible to convey how much I wasn’t interested in his courtship.

Ajax and Tom both had it easy. Tom was already engaged and not many noble women were willing to play second fiddle to a commoner, much less a beastkin one at that, despite the peace treaty acceptance was still a work in progress. As for Ajax he was the head of the family and had often been seen in the company of both Annabeth Goldmance as well as Alexis Manashaper, not many people could compete with either of them and nobody wanted to make and enemy of either house, since neither of the family heads had denied the idea of a union there everyone was being careful not to step on any toes.

With that most of the pressure for marriage was on myself, mom and dad. With both of them being so young by noble standards and monogamy being in minority, though by no means rare, in noble circles both of them had to fend off quite a few proposals themselves.

The other big surprise my grandparents had helped Ajax pull off was managing to attach Alana to our family as one of the branch families despite there not being a blood relation, something about all of us growing up in the same village and being closer than some real noble siblings allowed her to take the family name and gain the noble title for herself. This of course meant that she was hounded with marriage proposals as well.

Speaking of my grandparents I turned around to see my grandfather eyeing a plate of food not two feet from where Ajax was talking to my grandmother. The latest of my little brother's surprises had ended up being a rather odd if very successful idea, one that came to him on a whim yesterday.

He had gone out and bought a staggering amount of oil, not even the refined olive oil but basic vegetable or flower oil, he then filled a pot with some of it and let it heat up on the fire before cooking potatoes and small chunks of meat coated in flour and egg. The result was surprisingly good, while not as good as the food provided by our skilled caterers, its novelty allowed it to stand out without coming off as lesser. Something truly remarkable considering not only the lower cooking skill used in making it but also how cheap the ingredients were.

For safety it was agreed beforehand that both of our grandparents would hover around Ajax for the day. This would not only allow our family to be seen as more stable by having two merchants established in the capital for decades advising the young family head but it would also let them intercept any mistakes Ajax might end up making after having focused so much on his training and studies.

“It was a pleasure meeting you Judy.” the noble finally took his leave, at least having actually learnt my name during the conversation.

“The pleasure was all mine Baron Oakenshield.” All of my social skills urged me to use his family name as a very polite but clear way to cut off any future talk of marriage.

It took no more than five seconds since my last ‘suitor’ departed before another started to head towards. A prim and proper voice with just a hint of shyness making it way through however cut him off before he could speak.

“You’re Judy, yes?” she asked. “I just met Alana and I wanted to make your acquaintance as well.”

“I am, your Majesty.” I said as I did my best to curtsy. My attempt was clearly good enough as I unlocked the skill [Noble Manners]. This was the third non-Common social skill I had unlocked since I was granted the Trait Baron.

The royal family representative hadn’t ended up being just one of the head butlers like we expected after Ajax explained the bad relationship he had with the son of the crown prince in his class. We were instead surprised by the appearance of the youngest royal princess, apparently Ajax had previously met both her and her mother. Her showing up already had my grandparents questioning if the king was looking to tie Ajax to the royal family through marriage.

“It’s so great to meet you.” she smiled and returned the courtesy with one of her own. “It's so great to have a few more people joining our generation.”

“I’m sorry, how do you mean?” I asked, confused.

“Usually nobles, or at least high nobles, try to keep their generations together.” she explained. “To discourage any issues regarding seniority most houses wait a good few years before having children following the royal family and the other large houses.”

“The current generation is based around my cousin, as well as Benedict Steelblade. Annabeth was a surprise pregnancy that happened to coincide, whereas the Manashapers took a lot less time to get pregnant than is expected of people their level.” The princess continued. “This is all well and good, but most of the people from this generation are still only six or seven years old, as such it will be a while before they are mature enough.”

The next hour or so I spent absorbing all the stress the princess had experienced from dealing with her brother in the wake of Ajax’s discovery, while she helped let out all the stress I had accumulated since moving to the capital. Not only that but nobody else approached me while I was talking to the princess which was a welcome reprieve, one Alana joined us for halfway through.

With dusk finally starting to set the desert was finally being brought out and my stress started to build up again. As we had initially expected, out of season honey was quickly overlooked by most and the higher than normal price tag meant that there were few buyers.

Those that did buy however turned into repeat customers and word was slowly spreading. Most of the deserts served today featured honey we had supplied to the caterers and we were hoping that this would be the big spread we would need to really drive up demand as well as traffic to our shop.

The initial talk with the caterers had them asking for us to sell them more honey, though that was mainly because it had helped more than one of the cooks push their skill level up. The problem was that we didn’t know if that was because the honey was slightly mana infused from the plants, because it was harder to work with or if the taste of the end result was that much better. All of us had tried it of course and we all agreed it was good but none of us had anything to compare it to.

I could feel my stress melt away as loud compliments started flying once the guests started trying out the deserts. It seems that my grandparents' planning had worked out and we could expect quite a few more customers starting tomorrow.

“How could you say that!?” the words rang out above the chatter and I turned with dread to see that the voice came from the noble talking to Ajax. “I demand a duel from house Hearthbound, I will be representing myself.”

“I acc-” Ajax’s frown deepened but he stopped talking as my grandmother placed a hand on his shoulder and he seemed to calm himself. “House Hearthbound accepts your challenge.” he said in a calm cold tone afterward.

“I will accept any extent except a duel to the death and only ask that it be done to the limit of our abilities.” the noble responded before turning around and leaving.

The party wound down quickly after that with most of the guests still gossiping about the interaction. All of us were tired as we made our way back home, the party had gone as well as could be expected except for the ending.

“What was he trying to do?” Ajax asked after we got home.

“Most likely, raise his status by having you fight him yourself.” grandfather said. “He miscalculated badly though.”

“The boy is young, not even twenty-five, this should be a move made to further himself in his own family's situation and you are simply the one he targeted to use.” grandmother explained.

“How did he misscalculate?” Dad asked. “Even I know someone only twenty-five years old can’t expect to beat Ajax regardless how self-impressed he is.”

“Because Ajax won’t be the one fighting him.” Grandmother said with a smile. “Tom will be.”

“I will?” Tom asked, surprised. “Why?”

“Because a duel without limits allows your bond to join you!” I exclaimed as I put the pieces together. “They didn’t know Tom was young enough to also accept.”

“Hear that?” Tom said as he scratched Fluffy behind the ears. “You’re going to be good for something other than breeding.”

It seems he was still a little resentful of the amount of people who had been approaching him about his bond siring the new generation. It was also something that wouldn’t happen for a while as doing so now would affect Fluffy’s growth with the amount of mana it would drain from him.