The next two days were also excruciating. Although Estella tried to keep the two apart, it somehow felt like their relationship worsened.
After finding out Estella had dinner with Fenrir, Aesterix kept sulking. He nearly, almost successfully, tried to send Fenrir back to the duchy to get a new escort.
If it weren't for Estella stepping in that is. Still confused on why he was acting this way, she started wondering if he was actually a siscon. On Aesterix end, he was simply convinced Fenrir was seducing her for a raise in status, now that she was leaving the prince.
Luckily for everyone, the carriage had finally arrived in Aeziran's capital, putting an end to this terrible trip, and hopefully the prying eyes of the public.
The Von Blackwood carriage was beautiful, made of aspen wood and iron. The carriage had gold intricate carvings around, with black curtains. The duchy crest on the carriage too, was attention grabbing.
Because of this, people across the streets would stop and look, never seeing such a large and fancy carriage, not to mention another two carriages caring gifts, and the knights guarding them.
When they pulled up to the castle, Aesterix exited out of the carriage, followed by Fenrir, both of them offering a hand to Estella, who only sighed and ignored both of them.
The two were quick to snap out of it, as a man dressed in nice attire quickly approached them, giving a polite greeting.
He had light brown hair and grey eyes, with a fine figure and decent height. "You must be the representatives of the Van Blackwood duchy in Uriean. I am the prince's aid Kenneth Alaisdair." He said, guiding them in.
In Estella's eyes, she was already enjoying the visit, hoping the imperial family would be as handsome as this aid.
Kenneth gave a brief talk over some topic, but Estella was too zoned out admiring his handsome face. Soon enough, they ended in the throne room.
Zoning back in, she put on a professional face within a second, reminding herself why she came in the first place.
Although her expectations were high due to Kenneth, the king and queen both looked completely regular! The king was short and had red hair and brown eyes, while the queen was of normal height and had black hair, with blue eyes. Sighing to herself, she got to work.
All Aeziran was aware of was that the fiancé of the crown prince of Uriean wanted to make peace between the two countries before she became the queen, which seemed quite normal as Estella was well known to be the diplomat between most countries and Uriean.
Both Estella and Aesterix payed their respects, along with the servants with bows and curtsies, leaving Fenrir to look around confused and followed suit.
As the king allowed them to rise, he praised them for their manners. "I see that the future queen of Uriean knows humility." He laughed, although a bit of nervousness came from it.
Compared to Uriean, many other countries were considered small. By no means were these other countries actually small, they all had a lot of land. Uriean as the main country was simply much larger than it needed to be, especially due to the Von Blackwood influence.
Estella smiled and threw a hand in front of her face, thanking the king. "Thank you, your majesty. I appreciate your compliment." As she snapped her fingers, the servants brought the gifts forward.
The Von Blackwood duchy had enough money to send gifts with absolute ease. Piles upon piles of rare jewels, spices, and pure gold were presented. She could tell the king and queen were trying to hold back their excitement.
It was now Aesterix turn to take over, while Estella stepped back, staying close to Fenrir. "These are a small gift from the Von Blackwood duchy, we hope that one day you'll be able to repay our kindness." He cut to the chase.
The king raised a brow, probably realising it was too good to be true to suddenly be contacted by Uriean.
As he was about to continue, a young lady lady entered the room along with three boys, and one more younger girl.
The king turned to these people, introducing them. "I'm sorry for the late introduction, but these are my children. They only just finished their studies this afternoon." He said with a smile.
Respectively, each gave a curtsy or bow and stood by their father's side. Some seemed surprised by the gift presented before them, while others seemed a little skeptical.
Once again, what a complete surprise, as these children were surprisingly pretty. "I wonder if normal people produce beautiful children?" Estella thought, admiring both the older princess and princes.
Smiling, Aesterix continued. "It is no problem, we are the representatives for the Von Blackwood duchy, Estella Nyx Von Blackwood, and Aesterix Kios Von Blackwood." He explained to the five who came in late.
Walking forward, he put one hand to his heart and the other stretched out. "We have recently heard that Aeziran's war with Vraxus has been getting out of control, and wish to aid in the war. I will be using my umbrage magic as a quick way to win the war." A glint in his eyes.
Speaking up was the older princess, her hair was a beautiful black and her eyes a dark blue. "What exactly is it that you wish to gain from helping us?" She was quick to understand what they were getting at, a little bit exciting for Estella. Perhaps here, the characters wouldn't be one dimensional.
"We wish to commit treason against Uriean." Estella said with a smile, walking forward feeling best if she took over again.
The imperial family looked a little shocked and unsettled, one of the princes was ready to shout at her, but she continued. "We do not want to involve Aeziran with our affairs." They seemed confused.
The princess crossed her arms and looked at Estella, telling her to continue. "I wish to annul my engagement to the crown prince, who has cheated on me in broad daylight, so I was hoping Aeziran would allow for me to stay here." She smiled, though it looked more cunning than calming.
Some seemed to understand, others didn't. "Why would you leave the country?" One of the younger princes asked.
"The Von Blackwood duchy is much more powerful than Uriean's imperial family, this everyone should know. What exactly do you think would happen if they decide to stop supporting them?" One of the princes who was ready to shout at Estella said, another one who caught on quickly.
Estella and Aesterix both smiled, happy everyone pieced together what exactly the outcome would be, along with why they were being generous.
Truly, these two were a family of demons is what they probably thought. "Of course, I'll join my sister, and prepare a villa ahead of time, right? And I'll be there to console her, so it's not unnatural for me to stay in Aeziran, correct?" Aesterix's face changed from a smile to a cold distant look.
The princess put the last of it together for them. "You're willing to fight in the war while the other Von Blackwood family members overthrow the imperial family of Uriean, after having a good reason to no longer support them." She stated, a hand on her chin.
Aesterix clapped, happy she got it so quickly. "We only have one more little favour, after all, this is a major win for both of us." He said.
As the king gulped, he asked him to continue. "I want to make my little sister a matriarch! After I win the war please give me a new last name and let her start a duchy in Aeziran." Aesterix said, smiling once more, now praising Estella. She swore she could see an imaginary tail coming out from him, wagging like a dog.
Both Fenrir and Estella's eye twitched, perhaps he really was a siscon. As Fenrir took Estella a bit further away from Aesterix, he sighed a bit glaring at him.
When he was finished, he dusted his shirt off and a look of superiority swept over his face. "I swear, I can end this war within three months." He claimed, a really tempting offer.
The Von Blackwood duchy would take over Uriean no matter what, so it would be best to gain their favour. On top of that, this war had been going on for five years, and he claimed to be able to do so in three months? That would be a miracle. In the end, this wasn't really an offer, but rather them saying they're planning to stay and commit treason, nicely.
Estella recalled that even in the game, it took four months for the war to come to an end, even with one of the male leads. Though, Aesterix had never participated in the original game, and the only real fights were when the heroine was in danger.
"Maybe you should go too.." Estella muttered, looking at Fenrir who looked flabbergasted. She only needed him for the contract, it's not like he needed to stay with her.
His surprise soon turned into a pout, and she pat him on the shoulder telling his she was joking, and knew Aesterix would be just fine, which made him pout even more, he'd probably be hissing if he weren't in front of an audience.
As the king sighed, he nodded. "Having a matriarch is unheard of in Aeziran, but I would be willing to make an exception if you truly can win the war in three months." He said, knowing not to disagree with an infamous Von Blackwood.
Both the queen and their children looked a little shocked, "Father?" the children murmured amongst themselves, as Aesterix grinned at Estella, dragging Fenrir away from her.
"Looks like part one is complete, Estel." He said, slinging an arm around her shoulder in victory, for now. They'll go over the rest of the plans later during their stay.