System Change

“What was that? What did you say?” Osian leaned forward and looked at his niece.

“I… I said that we could… h-have a m-marriage between our two kingdoms.” The longer she spoke, the more confident Sabrina seemed to become. “Yes, a marriage. Wouldn’t that solve all of our problems. It would tie our family to Cydaria. It’s the perfect solutions. What better way to c-consumma—” Sabrina’s face instantly turned crimson once again before she continued. “What better way to solidify our agreement than through a marriage?”

“Huh…” Osian leaned back in his seat and ran his thumb and forefinger over his chin, thoughtful.

“Brother,” Ryven said. “You’re not taking her words seriously, are you? They are just the idle fantasies of a young woman—one who has been talking about marriage for decades, mind you.”

“That may be so, brother,” Osian replied. “But you must admit, it is not a bad idea.”

Derek leaned back in his seat as well, though he wasn’t thinking about it. Instead, he was just enjoying the show. Specifically, he was enjoying the frantic look in Edgar’s eyes as he thought about the implications of what the young elven woman had said.

Derek couldn’t be entirely sure, but there were only three royals from Cydaria ready for marriage—Edward, Edgar, and Elouise. And, since Edward was about to be crowned king, that would put Edgar in the hot seat. Elouise, from what Edgar had told Derek about her, seemed to be cunning enough to get out of any proposal thrown her way. She was a bit of a daddy’s girl, and Edwin wouldn’t dare force her into a marriage if she didn’t want it.

Though Derek hadn’t asked or heard of anyone mentioning any dukes in Cydaria, it was still possible that the king had a brother or sister who had unmarried children. Edgar had also never talked about his mother, but she could have also had brothers or sisters. There was no reason that a marriage had to be between princes and princesses. Any two people with high statuses in their respective kingdom would work.

But Edgar hadn’t seemed to work all that out yet. Considering he looked to still be in shock, it seemed he was still frozen on the fact that his bachelor days could be coming to an end. Derek swore he could see steam flowing from his head as his brain began to malfunction.

Edward, however, didn’t have the same panicked look on his face as his brother. Instead, he was lost in thought, just as Osian had been. It seems the future king is weighing the pros and cons. It really isn’t a bad idea, especially if the two parties agree to it.

Derek’s eyes met Alanah’s, and he could see a sparkle in them. Before, she had been just as bored as Derek was, but now, things had gotten interesting. Who doesn’t like a good royal wedding? Back home, they account for a large number of romance movies.

The main thing, other than the union between two kingdoms, that a wedding between Cydaria and Indria would show would be the Indrian Royal Family’s new stance on races other than elves. Any children from the union would be half-elves, and they wouldn’t be born out of wedlock or be bastards, they would be fully recognized children of the upper echelon of both kingdoms.

If nothing else, it would make the new changes to the way other races have to be treated easier to swallow. In fact, now that Derek thought about it, a marriage would solve many of the problems they were facing. Is she actually that smart, or… He looked over at Sabrina, who seemed to find an empty spot on the table in front of her extremely interesting. No… Ryven is right. She just has marriage on the brain.

“Edward,” Osian finally spoke, breaking everyone out of their thoughts. “This idea of a marriage. What do you think? It’s a good idea, no?”

“That…” Edward sighed. “I can find no flaw in it. A marriage between a high ranked human and elf. It would certainly solve many of our current issues. The only question is, who would be wed?”

“Indeed,” Osian said. “I imagine that we could rule out both you and my son Olivar. The two of you will become kings in the future, and because of our racial differences, we wouldn’t want my son out living his queen by decades or centuries or your queen outliving you.”

“Very true.” Edward agreed. “It may be best to exclude all immediate members of each royal family.”

With those words, Derek immediately saw Edgar’s eyes brighten. The man leaned forward and began to fiercely nod along with his brother’s statement.

Well… that was fun while it lasted, Derek thought. Picking on Edgar had become a bit of a fun pastime for Derek over the last few days.

“Agreed,” Osian said. “In that case, does anyone have anybody in mind?”

“Me!” Sabrina’s voice squeaked out and everyone’s gaze fell onto her.

Again, Ryven rolled his eyes. “But Sabrina… all the hard work you’ve done over the last year.” He really didn’t want his daughter to be a part of this, but it seemed that she had her mind set on it.

“Sister,” Laeyrn said. “With the way you feel about human…”

“What do you mean?” She shot back at her brother. “I feel no way about humans. What’s wrong with humans? I’ve spent years in Cydaria. It’s only right that I am the one who is chosen.”

Derek rolled his eyes. He hadn’t been able to see Sabrina’s relationship with her female maidservant because of the dreadful pressure exerted by his Void Travel skill, but he was sure that they weren’t the best of friends. He shook his head. Looks like marriage brain trumps prejudice.

“Edward, as you can see, my niece is excited about the possibility of marriage,” Osian said as he chuckled a little. “Can you think of anyone suitable for my niece? They must be nice, strong, and loyal.”

“Hmm…” Edward rubbed at his chin. “I have a few people in mind…”

“I know!” Sabrina blurted out once again.

“Oh?” Osian raised his eyebrows. “Did you perhaps meet someone during your stay in Cydaria?”

“This is the first I’m hearing of it,” Ryven said and crossed his arms.

“Who did you have in mind?” Edward asked. “Perhaps they would be willing. Are they a noble?”

“He… he’s really strong… and he seems to be very loyal,” Sabrina said as she blushed.

“Who is it?” Osian asked.

Derek leaned forward. It was getting good again. The woman he’d run into in Savannah didn’t seem like someone who would have paid a human any mind. But now, it turned out that there was someone she’d even want to marry.

Sabrina smiled and began to turn her head. Slowly, her head moved until her eyes locked with Derek’s. Derek tilted his head in confusion.

Oh, hell no! Derek internally panicked. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Edgar snickering.

Just as he thought, Sabrina raised her hand and pointed at Derek. “Him!”

“Sabrina, you…” Ryven began. “You want to marry Mr. Hunt?”

She nodded fiercely. “Yes! Nobody’s ever talked to me the way he did.”

Suddenly, realization kicked in. The scenes of Sabrina looking at him from a distance began to make more and more sense. She really was stalking me! He cried out mentally. Is she a masochist? I definitely wasn’t nice in our exchange in the City Building.

“I don’t believe that will work,” Osian said, and seemed to tear away all the joy from Sabrina. “After all, while Mr. Hunt is strong and has one of, if not, the strongest auras that I have ever felt in all my centuries. He is not a noble.”

Yeah! You tell her. I’m not a noble—never will be. There’s no chance for the two of us. You’re just too far out of my league. Derek nodded. “King Osian’s correct,” he said. “In fact, I’m not even from Cydaria.” He added, just to make sure that everyone was clear. Got to let her down easy. It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s that we come from two different worlds… literally.

“Actually…” Edward cut in and Derek felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. “Derek is well known—at least among the remaining noble houses in Cydaria. And it is within my power to make him a duke of the kingdom. In fact, my father was just talking about rewarding Derek with a title and his own fiefdom.”

Derek’s face went stone cold, and he stared at the side of Edward’s face. Unknowingly, Edward shivered, and he turned his head from Osian, eventually looking Derek in his eyes. ‘I’m going to kill you,’ he sent to Edward telepathically. ‘I’m going to open a portal, cover everything except a single foot in my void armor, and let the energy eat away at you, finger by finger, toe by toe. Then, when nothing’s left but your head and torso, I’m going to give it to Silvi and have her cook it up nice and good and force feed it to your father.’

‘Silvi,’ Derek sent to his companion.

‘What?’

‘Look at Edward and lick you lips, like you’re about to eat a tasty elf burger,’ he commanded. He didn’t need to ask his gluttonous bunny twice. In fact, she even added in a little drool for extra effect. ‘Good, that’s enough.’

Edward’s entire face was pouring sweat, and he looked like he’d seen a ghost. He clutched his remaining hand tightly—trying to keep everyone from seeing his obvious shaking.

‘Fix it!’ Derek commanded.

“A-actually…” Edward swallowed hard. “D-Derek has already refused any titles or land. I had hoped he would reconsider, but he isn’t one for politics. I doubt even marriage to such a wonderful lady such as yourself could sway him.”

“He doesn’t have the time, either.” For the first time in the discussion, Alanah spoke up. “Mr. Hunt and I have made plans for after this war is settled, and I do not plan on putting them off.”

‘Plans?’ Derek asked. He wasn’t sure if she was just helping him out, or if she was serious.

‘Of course. You promised me that we would go dungeon diving when you got back. Do you not remember? Also, I would like to catch a few Void Beasts if you don’t mind,’ she replied.

‘Oh, that. Of course. I can’t wait. Actually, I’m supposed to take Avery to hunt a few Void Beasts, as well,’ he said. ‘Thanks for the backup. I don’t think I’ve ever been in that much danger.’

Alanah smiled at him. ‘You know, you could have just refused, right?’

Derek looked at Alanah, dumbfounded. That didn’t even cross his mind. He was so taken off guard that he’d been dealt a critical blow and didn’t know how to respond. Poor Edward… oh well, at least he won’t try anything with me again. I guess it’s better this way. Are excuses better than flat out refusal? He wasn’t sure. Derek silently chuckled and shook his head as Edward continued.

“Ah… yes,” Edward said. “We wouldn’t want to keep Mr. Hunt and Ms. Swan from their plans, now would we?”

“No, no we would not,” Osian agreed. “Is there anyone else? Sabrina, would you agree to wed someone other than Derek, or was he your only choice?”

Sabrina’s eyes broke away from Derek, and she pouted. However, she soon got a hold of herself and raised her head. “I will have to meet some suitors, then I will decide.”

Well, that was a quick turnaround, Derek thought. That was almost painful, seeing her flip that switch like that. Of course, there was no way he would ever marry, or even date, someone like Sabrina. Well, I can’t say never, he thought. People can change… especially with the system. Not to mention, everyone has a past. She may have just been unlucky in the fact that I met her in her villain arc. Derek laughed to himself.

Finally, his fate was back in his own hands. Derek sat back and listened to Edward go through a list of high-ranking eligible bachelors in the Cydarian Kingdom. As it turned out, he did, in fact, have a couple of cousins. They just stayed away from court and lived more simple lives. They were put at the top of the list of candidates, along with a few other nobles from the remaining high-ranking noble houses.

“Uh, you can remove Tristan from that list,” Derek said as he noticed Tristan Allister’s name had been mentioned. “I’m pretty sure he’s taken.” The healer had completed the raid with him, so they were technically comrades. It was only right that he protect the man from all this nonsense.

The discussion continued until everything was settled. Sabrina would soon be taken back to Cydaria to meet the list of her potential suiters. Hopefully, everything would work out.