15: The Royal Family (c)

Trojan simply stared at the King, who was still smiling. Except, this time, the King's smile was not friendly and cheery as Trojan had just seen. The King's smile was sly, there was definitely something more behind that smile, and definitely something more behind his offer.

"I beg your pardon?" Trojan asked, worried that he may have misheard such a ridiculous offer.

"How about marriage with my daughter?" The King repeated himself, this time, the air in the dining hall was tense.

Trojan tried to calculate things as fast as possible. There was definitely a reason as to why the King wanted him to marry into the Royal Family. Trojan needed to find out what that reason was before he could make a decision of any kind, especially considering just how unreal of an opportunity it was for Trojan.

"Well, this is indeed a surprise for me, your majesty." Trojan commented, adjusting his tie. "What make you believe that I am worthy of marrying your daughter? I am sure there are many other suitable candidates."

Trojan glanced at the Princess, who simply looked down at the dining table, not saying a word.

"You are being modest, Trojan." The King said. "At your age, there is no other person capable of doing what you have done. My daughter just so happens to be of a similar age to you, and I find that it is about time that she gets married."

Trojan nodded, just trying to act polite while he thought about other stuff.

The King wanted him to marry into the Royal Family, an offer he would most definitely have taken any other day. However, with how much had happened that day, Trojan needed to think through everything.

First, by marrying into the Royal Family, all freedom of doing whatever he wanted was stripped away from him. Trojan would have to do whatever the Royal Family told him to do, and not do anything himself. His staff, of whom he is quite fond of, would most likely be fired as a result. Trojan's ability to freely make business decisions whenever and however he wanted was lost unless given direct permission by the Royal Family.

Second, Trojan already sent a letter to Marchioness Emilia to meet him tomorrow to discuss the wedding. Not only would it taint his image by retracting his letter, but Marchioness Emilia had enough tools to ruin his reputation. However, rejecting the Royal Family's offer could also potentially lead to his reputation going down the drain should the news go public.

Third, maybe the most important, Trojan's plans to ally himself with Duke Phoenix. There was simply one problem between both of the options. By marrying into the Royal Family, he knew that the meeting with Duke Phoenix to discuss strategies would not occur, and any other event would not be deemed as a business event. Besides that, the Royal Family may very well not allow Trojan to speak with Duke Phoenix, seeing the slight disagreement the two parties had for some time.

"Could you… perhaps give me some time to think about it?" Trojan asked, trying to delay his answer.

He wanted to return home and discuss the plans with his staff first before making any decisions he might regret later. His original plan involved him gaining the support of both the Royal Family and Duke Phoenix, but after having such a question dropped on him, there was hardly a chance to be able to go through with that plan.

Trojan understood his own worth, and it made sense that the Royal Family wanted him to marry, but it was much too sudden.

"Of course, but I would like to hear your response today." The King said, his tone final.

Trojan knew the King was a smart man, he would have most definitely thought of the most effective manner of which to get Trojan to accept. In front of the entire Royal Family, in their estate, where should Trojan do something wrong, he might be arrested or even killed. With Alastor somewhere in the background, if the Royal Family wanted to kill Trojan, there was nothing stopping them. They wanted his answer before he could leave, before he had a chance to escape.

Trojan weighed the pros and cons of having the support of the Royal Family and the support of Duke Phoenix.

Should Trojan marry into the Royal Family, all his previous plans would have been for naught. The Royal Family would not support the defence efforts, for if they had intended to support it, they would not have pushed the responsibility to Earl Sichal.

Duke Phoenix, on the other hand, there was a chance for it to happen. Duke Phoenix was, from what Trojan could tell from the rumours, a man that could be bargained with. However, the problem still existed that Trojan had nothing to bargain with Duke Phoenix. He could only put his hopes on Domino should he decide to reject the Royal Family's offer, if he makes it out alive.

"I understand." Trojan nodded, adjusting his hat slightly.

Trojan, the more he looked around, the less he felt like marrying into the Royal Family. It seemed much too vast, yet cramped with practices. Trojan decided, although marrying into the Royal Family was good, it prevented him from doing a lot of things he had planned, especially one.

But there was another problem. Trojan needed an excuse. The Royal Family was not one to simply accept a 'no' without reason. If Trojan wanted to reject the offer, he had to make sure to give a proper excuse. He thought furiously, feeling the King's gaze directed towards him. He needed something, anything.

"Your majesty, if you would, may I speak with the Princess personally?" Trojan asked, hoping that it would work.

"What for?" The King responded.

"I would like to speak with the Princess personally about the marriage." Trojan told the King. "I shall make my decision swiftly after the talk."

Trojan knew it was a big jump, but he needed to take the risk if he wanted to get through this whole ordeal.