A full hour had almost gone by in Clustervayne, and for the last thirty minutes, Ethan and Isabella had been in a private conversation within his study.

And it had reached a point where Ethan finally said...

"If I present the terms that way, I’m pretty sure it’ll work. At the end of the day, your father wants this more than I do. He will agree to them."

Bella had a thoughtful yet concerned look for a second. Then she exhaled.

"What if he doesn’t want you dictating the terms of alliance to him?" she asked. "He is the King, after all."

Ethan stopped pacing and turned to face her.

"Then it’s a straight refusal from there, and we don’t have to wait seven days," he said simply. "I’ll just have to find a different way to deal with Edgar."

Isabella stared into his determined eyes, and after a moment, she nodded in agreement.

"Alright."

With that, Ethan walked over to the coat rack and grabbed his coat, slipping it on smoothly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his car keys, then walked toward Isabella.

He leaned down and kissed her on the lips, while cupping the side of her face briefly.

When he pulled back, he gave her a reassuring smile. Then he turned and walked toward the doors.

Isabella’s eyes followed him the entire way, watching as he passed through the doorway and disappeared down the hall.

Then she exhaled deeply and sank back into the couch.

——

Half an hour later...

Ethan was back at the palace. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

After the first time, their meetings never held again in the throne room. Instead, they took place within the King’s private study.

King Carson sat behind the desk, with a smile on his face as Ethan took a seat. "I didn’t think you’d be back so soon, Mr. Stark," he said. "Have you come to a decision?"

Ethan nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty, I have," he replied. "I will agree to the alliance, but on a few conditions of my own. Three, to be precise."

The smile on Carson’s face disappeared almost immediately as he leaned forward. "Do you suppose that I bend to your whims, Mr. Stark?" he asked in a cold voice.

"That’s not the way to look at it, Your Majesty," Ethan replied. "But this is to be an alliance. For that purpose, and that purpose alone, we are equal partners who may negotiate the terms of the agreement."

Carson was quiet for a moment, with his eyes staring into Ethan’s unwavering ones.

Then, finally, he exhaled. "Very well, I will hear these conditions of yours."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Ethan said with a nod.

"The first condition concerns the marriage," he began. "I will only marry a princess of my choosing, not one who is simply assigned to me."

Carson’s brow lifted slightly, and a faint smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. "Hm... am I to assume you have one of my daughters in mind already?" he asked.

"To answer you simply, yes, I do," Ethan said.

"Which one?" Carson asked, now genuinely curios.

Ethan hesitated for just a moment.

"I will give you an answer, Your Majesty," he said, "but I ask that you hear the rest of it first. Knowing which princess it is holds little weight compared to the substance of the alliance itself."

Carson studied him for a moment, then gestured with one hand. "Hm... go on."

Ethan nodded and continued.

"The second condition: I want no interference from you in the matters between me and the chosen princess. That includes commanding her life be bound to mine, or any other such interference that might remove genuine affection from the equation."

He paused, letting the words settle.

"We are to be left to our own decisions on every matter. That includes a joint decision from us both on the timeline of the marriage, and on the matter of children."

Carson’s his eyes had narrowed slightly.

But Ethan pressed on.

"And finally, Your Majesty, if children are to ever come into the picture, they will bear the Stark name first, before any other."

He straightened slightly.

"These are my terms, Your Majesty."

There was silence for a while before King Carson asked again, "What daughter of mine is your chosen?" .

Ethan was silent for a few seconds, then sighed before speaking, "Isabella."

He was hoping he didn’t have to say her name yet until the King at least agreed to his conditions.

King Carson’s eyes widened just a fraction. And for a moment he looked... Disappointed.

"Of all my daughters..." he said, shaking his head. He sighed. "Am I to assume you both share affection for each other?"

"Yes, we do," Ethan answered.

He noticed the King’s instant discontentment at the mention of Isabella. But said or did nothing about it.

Carson sighed deeply and shook his head again.

Of all his daughters, Isabella was the one he considered too... unremarkable. Too ordinary. She may have been born with an S-tier talent, but that was the baseline for all his children, not a standout quality.

In his eyes, she was simply... there.

But after a short while, he spoke. "I agree to your terms."

A smile broke across Ethan’s face.

"But not in the matter of timeline."

The smile faltered and Ethan sighed.

King Carson continued. "I will give you both privacy, and I will do nothing to interfere. I will even act as though I know nothing of it. But... before the year runs out, you are both to appear before me, ready to be wed."

He paused, letting the weight of his words settle.

"Until then, I consider you both affianced, and you may openly display affection to my daughter before the eyes of the public."

Then he raised a finger. "One last thing... You will not wed another before you take any daughter of mine. She will stand as your bride first. Only then are you free to take others."

His voice dropped into this coldness. "No daughter of Tudor will come second...Do we have an agreement, Mr. Stark?"

Ethan was quiet for a moment then he exhaled and said, "Very well, Your Majesty."

"Good, good," King Carson nodded approvingly, the earlier smile now returning to his lips. "I’m glad we could come to an understanding."

Ethan wasted no time. "Now that that’s out of the way," he began, "perhaps we discuss the other reason I am here... the Desdemonas."

"Oh?" Carson’s brow lifted, his interest clearly piqued.

"Yes," Ethan said. "What if I told you there was a way to start crippling the amount of influence they have in this country?"

Then a devious smirk broke across the King’s lips "I’m listening."