The Royal Contract

"So, what do you have in mind?" The duke asked his guest who was quietly contemplating on his other side. He was curious about what this man had come up with that could help them with their current situation.

He was open to any suggestion that would be beneficial to both their kids and at the same time would be good for their families too.

"I am not sure yet. Let me think about it some more. In the meantime, tell me more about this tradition of yours," Ethan urged the couple to give him more information about their way of life. 

He was not about to allow her daughter to marry someone without knowing much of his background. He had dealt with many wealthy people in his line of business. Most of them had many skeletons hiding behind their closets or buried in their backyard. 

Secrets that were kept to protect themselves, their family, and their reputation. Nonetheless, those kinds of secrets could hurt his daughter and his family in the long run. 

Royalties were no different from them, as far as he was concerned. They too were capable of lies and deceits, maybe more.

"Well, my son is the next in line to my position as the duke of our house, the Blackstone House. My brother, King Philip, is expecting that like all the other princes in our family, Alexander will also follow our tradition. That is to present his future wife on his  twenty-eighth birthday." 

Fred momentarily stopped with his narration as a new set of food was placed in front of them. But continued afterward, while Ethan decided not to interrupt, wanting to know more about what his daughter was getting into.

"It usually takes around six months after his birthday to prepare for the grand wedding." He said as he started chewing on the roasted duck that was on his plate. 

"Wait! Aren't you required to marry with your kind, like it should be someone with royal blood or something?" Ethan questioned, remembering something like that on fairy tales and the movies.

Although he had met numerous numbers of royalties all over the world, he was never interested in their customs and practices, especially in terms of their marriage rituals. Unless he needed it in his business transactions. But that was the extent of his knowledge of the subject matter.

"That was the old tradition. But with the changes in modern times, the previous king, our father declared a decree that a prince or a princess could marry someone without royal blood as long as they came from a good reputable family worthy of the name of the royal family."

Fred looked at Ethan, gauging what he was thinking of their practices.

"There is no question that your daughter came from a noble family, if not by royal blood, but in the name. Your family is one of the most well-respected families in your country. We are more than glad to accept her to be part of ours, that is if Alexander will present her on his birthday."

If all the intelligence reports, Fred had received were accurate, he had nothing against Alexander, marrying Daniella. He believed this marriage would greatly be beneficial to his family and the kingdom. 

In terms of business, this would boost his company as well because of his association with Ethan. His house's reputation would also increase in the Royal kingdom and their society. To him, this would be a good and interesting merger of their two families.

"I respect that you have to follow your tradition. But you have to excuse me if I also have to protect my daughter." Ethan had to voice his opinion on the matter. 

"I can't just let my daughter marry your son without making sure that they were right for each other." Ethan continued, not wanting to be disrespectful with their host, but he was not about to just sit idly by.

To him, this was not just any business transaction. This was his daughter's future they were talking about. He could lose millions without blinking an eye, but he could not lose his daughter because of a mistake that he was not able to prevent.

He had seen how Daniella had struggled to get back on her feet after what Nick did to her. He was not about to seat on the sideline and let something like that happened to her again. They could accuse him of being ruthless at his job, but not with it came to his daughter.

"I also agree with that. I do not want my son to be forced into a marriage just because of our tradition." Katherine also spoke of her thought about their crude ways.

"Although, this tradition may be old, it proved more ways than one that it was effective. Look at us, we may not know each other when we got married, but we did learn to love each other." Fred defended their tradition as he pointed out that not all arranged marriages did end up in disaster. 

"Although it would seem that our families will greatly benefit by our kids' union, I will still like to make sure that my daughter is not getting the shorter stick in this bargain if things go bad," Ethan stated.

"So, how do you think we can resolve this situation? Because on this weekend, my son will be presenting a bride in front of us. It can either be your daughter or not." Fred declared with finality.

"Wait, should we not let our kids decide about this matter?" Laura finally broke her silence and joined the argument. "We can all argue about what will be best for them, but at the end of the day, it should be their decision, not ours."

This stopped the two men from their argument as the two women also joined in the conversation. Katherine and Laura would not seat silently while their husbands planned the future of their kids.

"What if we used this weekend to get to know our families much better? It would be an opportunity to spend some time with our kids and to know more about each other." Ethan suggested. That would give him time to study Alexander if he was worthy to have his daughter.

"Ok, how do you propose we do this?" Pointing to the four of them. "Getting to know each other."

"Why don't you invite us for a whole week here at your palace? It will be some sort of family vacation. A bonding moment to get to know our kids and each other." Ethan suggested, knowing that for the meantime, that was the best idea he could come up with.

"I think that is a great idea." Fred also thought that would help their families to get acquainted. He could not blame Ethan for protecting his daughter. On the contrary, Ethan just earned his respect. He would have done the same if Daniella was his daughter. 

Although in truth, he also somehow felt that the tradition was a bit outdated, he was still a traditional man. He had to follow the rules set in their family. His honor was very important to him, more than the wealth he possessed.

Overall, he believed that Ethan's idea of a week together would be good for all of them. The duke was also interested to know Daniella since she would become a part of their family.

"Then, it is settled." Ethan felt satisfied with their decision. "Besides, my wife and I also needed an excuse to take a vacation. Meeting new friends is always a welcome bonus." Ethan was glad that everything was set.

This time, he was not settling to get to know Alexander, but he was going to dig up more about him and his family. He had to make sure that they were not just using his daughter for some other purpose. Many did try because they wanted to get close to him and his wealth. But he would make sure that no one could use his daughter against him ever again.

His daughter might be intelligent, but she was still naïve to the cruelty of the real world. She might appear to have a hard exterior, but she had always been an innocent girl with a heart of gold. She had this idealism in her that she could save the people around her. But she still lacked the experience of the reality of man's selfish ways.

These people might look noble and respectable, but they might also be wolves, hiding in a sheep's skin. He was not about to send his daughter to a wolf's den. Not if he could help it.