Kael cleared his throat loudly and glared at Luan. "Brother, you need to behave like a noble would. How dare you just bring back wild animals!" he sternly said.
His mother, Selis, nodded along at her son’s words as they both secretly glanced at Drago’s reaction.
Drago rubbed his temples and glanced at both of them, then he looked at Luan. "He’s right, Luan; be more mindful of your manners. Especially now that you’re back ho, you’ll be eting a lot of won and young ladies the next couple of days, so please pay attention to them."
When Kael and Selis heard that, their expressions hardened, but they nodded along at Drago’s words.
"I understand, Father, but was that the only reason I needed to return earlier? Because of marriage proposals?" Luan inquired; he was still bitter about it.
He had just entered a contract with Avalin and was certain his business would succeed if he even paid attention to it after he knew the sigil he had from the ga.
"Luan!" Hana interrupted sternly. "The third imperial princess will arrive in a couple of days. Are you sure you want to act so nonchalant?" she said.
"What?"
Luan was dumbfounded. The third imperial princess was coming? For a marriage proposal with him?
His mind raced with possibilities. Normally this would be basically impossible; he had heard about the successor of a duke getting engaged with an imperial princess. But most other imperials were either wed to neighboring countries or successors of prestigious nobles.
His brothers and their mothers had the sa reaction as they all stared blankly at Hana. Drago, on the other hand, held the bridge of his nose.
"Was that really necessary, Hana?" he whispered.
Hana playfully winked, "Of course he was acting like it was botherso to co ho."
"Well, there you have it, Luan. I was planning to tell you in private, but she had other plans, apparently, so make sure to be on your best behavior the next couple of days," Drago added.
But Luan barely registered anything he said; he was too busy fantasizing about that imperial princess.
’If she’s a princess, she must be gorgeous, right? I better do my best to win her over; having soone like that as my wife will be a trendous help for basically everything,’ he thought, as a massive grin appeared on his face.
"Understood, Father. I won’t disappoint you."
Hana chuckled at her son’s reply; it seed he had understood what this ant for him. If he could get engaged and eventually married to a mber of the imperial family, he would be guaranteed a noble rank even without succeeding as the duke.
The middle child, who sat between Luan and Kael, clutched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white.
"Father, why are they coming for him?" he said in a raised voice.
Drago glanced at Riven, a look of pity in his eyes. "You know why they’re coming for him, Riven," he stated.
With clutched hands, Riven glared at Luan, then looked back at Drago. "Father, I have a presumptuous request. Would you allow to first introduce myself to the imperial princess and have a chat with her? Maybe she—" But before he could finish his sentence, Drago slamd his fist on the table.
"How dare you! Kaida, take him and leave right now. I don’t want to see him anymore until the imperial princess has left," Drago ordered, and right after his order, multiple guards surrounded both Riven and Kaida.
Carefully escorting them out of the dining room, Drago glared furiously at his son. "How dare he suggest sothing like that! This isn’t just any family but the imperial family."
Luan could hardly stifle his laugh, as he almost burst out laughing because of the idiocy of his brother. Well, he couldn’t bla him; this was a once-in-a-lifeti opportunity, after all.
"Please calm down, honey," Hana whispered, trying to appease Drago’s anger.
Only after a couple of minutes did he finally calm down. "Kael, you aren’t thinking the sa thing, right?" he inquired.
He had to make sure if sothing like that happened, it would be a terrible scandal for the household, and the consequences would be unbearable.
Cold sweat dripped down Kael’s forehead as he looked his father dead in the eye. "No, Father, I have a fiancée already, and we are planning to get married soon. I would never dream of betraying her," he replied, sweat still dripping down his forehead.
Then the atmosphere shifted as Drago nodded, satisfied with his son’s answer. "Very good."
Kael wiped the sweat from his forehead with a napkin as he swallowed hard; his throat was dry from all the tension. And this reminded him once more that his father could be a very benevolent man, but when it mattered most, he was not for nothing a duke.
He took his duties very seriously, and he would never let anyone disrespect the imperial family. Not even his own flesh and blood.
"So Luan, you said you went to that rchant country, right? Why did you go there?" Drago shifted the topic as if he hadn’t just banned his son from coming to the main estate for a while.
"Well, I wanted to earn so money, so I decided to try and start a business," Luan said, shrugging.
"A business? Isn’t what I give you enough already?" Drago asked, raising an eyebrow.
Hana looked at Luan, curious as to what his explanation would be. She had read the letter he sent, and in it he had given a rather questionable reason to earn money.
"It is quite a good amount, yeah, but not nearly enough for . I need money to charm the ladies, you know, and to live lavishly," Luan stated.
Hana almost choked on her water as she burst out laughing.
Drago, on the other hand, just looked dumbfounded. "You do rember that an imperial princess is coming, right?"
"Of course, and I know it is a huge opportunity, but that doesn’t an I will change my goal," Luan said.
Drago could only sigh; it seed his son marrying the third princess wasn’t ant to be.
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