As the two were dismissed, the king told his children to show the three a tour around the castle, while Kenneth took care of the servants.
As they left the throne room, Aesterix had a smile on but glared at Fenrir. "Why don't you go with the servants?" He asked.
Returning the glare, Fenrir retorted. "I'm My Lady's escort, I'm afraid I can't do that." He said, not even hiding his maliciousness towards him.
As the two were about to continue, Estella held her hand out in front of Fenrir and told them to stop it, especially in the face of company, making the both of them pout and let out a hmpf.
The princess let out a laugh. "They're like cats and dogs." She said, her siblings following suit. It was so true that even Estella let out a chuckle. Though, the dog in her case acted more like a cat.
As they all regained their composure, they introduced themselves. "I am the first princess, Ivonne, and this is princess Leila." The older of the two said with a smile.
Princess Leila looked pretty similar to Ivonne, if it weren't for their eyes, instead of having dark blue orbs, Leila had brown ones. Judging from appearance, Ivonne was around the same age as Aesterix, while Leila was about five or six.
Estella nodded, turning over to the princes, she really wanted to know the name of the handsome one on the left in particular. He was the same one that caught onto her quickly, like the first princess.
He looked like one of her favourite characters from an actually good game she once played. His hair was a dark red, yet he had light blue eyes, what a beautiful mixture. Not to mention he had a nice and lean body. Judging solely from his appearance, perhaps he was perhaps a year older than her.
"Hyre." He was curt, causing the one next to him to shake his head, looks like this happens quite often.
"I'm sorry, he doesn't trust people easily, especially after what just happened." One of the other princes said, indirectly calling them crazy.
Coughing, he pointed to himself then to the younger boy next to him. "I'm Felix, and this is Carsion."
Felix looked to be around thirteen, and had red hair and light brown eyes. Carsion looked to be around eight or nine, with red hair and deep dark brown eyes.
It was a little funny to Estella. Both the princesses had black hair, and all the princes had red hair. Perhaps this was something passed down to the sons of the imperial family?
With all the introductions out of the way, they made their way with the castle tour. Although everyone was friendly, they all knew that they were reading each other, something a one dimensional character wouldn't do.
As the group walked through the halls, Aesterix turned his attention to Estella, breaking the silence. "What do you think our new last name will be? You think it's going to be something cool or mysterious?" He asked, confusing almost all of the Aeziran kids.
Turning to him Ivonne spoke her mind right before Hyre. "Are you really so confident you'll will the war? The last name will only happen if you do so in three months. Second off, what do you get out of your sister being a matriarch?" She questioned, her voice slightly raised at the end.
Putting Fenrir in a headlock he proceeded to hold out his free arm, Bringing a finger up, a painting came flying off the wall and shattered in seconds, the remnants devoured by shadows. Although it was instantaneous, the scene felt like forever.
Smiling, he ignored the bite Fenrir was giving his arm, as he bragged about Estella "I think she's perfect as a matriarch! I don't want to be duke, I've always been willing to serve my queen. However, now that she's actually chosen to annul her engagement to mr goodlooking why not become Aeziran's greatest knight that serves his sister matriarch, the perfect ruler." He grinned, slapping Fenrir.
Continuing, he yelled out a "Shes also the one who thought of treason so isn't she a genius?" Before him and Fenrir engaged in a fist fight.
Surprised Ivonne looked at Estella and then back at Aesterix. It's true she would be queen if she didn't annul but he didn't want to be the ruler of a dukedom? He'd rather do a knights pledge for her?
As if reading her mind, Aesterix turned his attention to Ivonne while Fenrir was still harassing him. "I have no interest in being a duke in a country of ruin, and I would absolutely never bow to the authority of their current royalty, or their future royalty. I'd rather respect someone who is intelligent and hardworking, than someone with noble or royal blood."
Widening her eyes slightly, Ivonne nodded. There had never been a female matriarch in Aeziran, so she was likely weary of them, but at the same time yearned for something more. Perhaps a change in the royal family, too.
Surprisingly, Hyre spoke up first before Estella, who was about to console Ivonne. "If you do become a matriarch, make sure you do it well." He said, not elaborating further.
As Felix chuckled, he piped up. "Hyre just doesn't want to be crown prince, if you're a good matriarch then perhaps Ivonne could take the throne, as the eldest, since none of us really want the throne." He explained.
Judging just from that, Estella could tell the siblings were quite close with one another, and there was no malice between them, it really didn't matter who took the throne to her, but she was at least glad no war of inheritance between siblings would break out while she enjoyed her leisure lifestyle.
Smiling a little, Estella gave her best to reassure Ivonne, although she was a real person standing in front of her, if she were a game character she would totally fall in love with Ivonne. A beautiful woman who wants to become queen, nearly sounds like the villain would be Hyre, the rightful heir.
"I do not plan on ruling my duchy based off of fear, nor spending large amounts of money on useless things. I swear on the Von Blackwood name, I, Estella Nyx Von Blackwood shall be a ruler who causes no trouble." She said, although it sounded fancy, what she really meant was she had no desire to start trouble as she lived a slow life.
Hearing this, Fenrir chimed in, his fight with Aesterix as a stalemate, since he couldn't use magic on him. "I look forward to seeing your future estate, my lady." Snorting, he thought back to how she wanted to keep livestock near her.
Growling Aesterix yelled to Estella, "You'd better tell me your plans first! Whatever you plan on doing to the dukedom, I want to know! From the cities, the estate, the people you hire, the shops, all of it!"
Although she didn't show it on her face, she wanted to cry. Couldn't her dukedom just be one small town and her estate? Why did Fenrir have to bring this up?
"Which territory will dad be giving them exactly though, is the question? It's better not to decide on anything until you know the location, right?" Carsion asked, pretty smart of a child to think of this before Estella. Then again, she wasn't the original genius Estella.
Pausing for a second, Hyre turned to Ivonne, who only nodded before turning to Estella. "You'll probably either get the territory in the north which is currently uninhabited due to how cold it is and lack of resources to explore, or." she turned back to Hyre.
"The territory to the west, it's near the border and water, though it is a little dangerous due to the wildlife." He said, warning them. It made sense though, If they wanted territory for a dukedom, they'd probably get the rejected places of the country.
"I'll decide my plans later, then. The north would be much better compared to the west." Estella said, Aesterix nodding along. "It'll be nice if we are so far away they never visit us." He added on.
If she got the northern territory, she would make her estate at the very edge of the border, she thought, far away from any visitors.
In terms of geography, Uriean was large and almost completely surrounded by the sea, if not for the east, a small strip of water between certain parts of the land, connecting them to neighbouring Aeziran.
If her new territory was in the west, that would be Aeziran's eastern side, which would just be a pain to deal with. Vraxus was towards the southern and eastern parts of Aeziran, so the north would be truly ideal.
From what she remembered from the map she read earlier, the northern part of Aeziran should also have a few islands here and there, although it was Aeziran's, it was still unexplored due to lack of resources and the sheer cold. Though, it was good that there was no border around the tip of the territory, and she could do some trading ports, raking in the cash for her easy life. However, the north is still more than she bargained for.
"The north is rather large compared to the west, is it really okay for us to have such a large territory?" Estella asked, a part of her hoping they'd say it's almost all uninhabitable except one small piece.
Thinking Estella was being considerate, Ivonne smiled and explained. "Of course, since we don't have the resources nor manpower to explore, the Von Blackwood duchy will. This will also benefit the country if we can open up trade routes with the sea." She smiled, talking like a true ruler, who wanted to improve her country.
Of course this wouldn't just benefit her, Estella thought. The west has a little bit of water, but Uriean mainly dominates it. With Vraxus to their south and east, they're almost landlocked with the north being unusable. If they can control the north, having a magic users as the duchess, no one would dare think of messing with that territory once it becomes super profitable.
Sighing to herself, Estella accepted her fate. With how greedy the king looked, he was undoubtedly going to use her to his advantage, as she used him. With a small smile, she asked to continue the tour as her thoughts of an easy life faltered a little.