Chapter 1476: Another Union (Part-1)
Alexander's heart cheered at the promise of the two letters by Lady Nanazin, easily knowing it would be a great boon for him.
The one addressed to the Queen Mother was sure to have a much more decisive impact than Alexander's lone attempt, thus successfully subduing Ptolomy, and perhaps even getting him on his side.
The regal lady might even help douche some of her husband's flaming anger towards Alexander in this way.
But the much bigger impact of Lady Nanazin's letter would surely be the second one- the one urging Mikaya to soften her father towards the marriage deal.
If the favorite Matrak Princess were to intercede on Alexander's behalf, combine that with Azira and Azura's own insistence…. the man figured he could get away from the marriage with minimal investment.
'Hmmm…if Mikaya were to truly act then it would truly be a blessing! If it is just the twins asking Farzah, that old fox might object saying I have only deceived them. Or they might even get fooled midway and change their mind! Those two don't have the sharpest of common sense, so it should not be hard for that clever fart to twist their words' Alexander logically analyzed inside, thus feeling more hopeful than ever over the effect of Lady Nanazin's promise.
'But would Mikaya listen so easy?' However, as soon as he thought this, another creeping bout of doubt invaded his mind, menacingly chiming, 'After all the things I did to her… will she just forgive and forget? Tsk… what a stupid thing that was to do! And for what?'
The 'thing' Alexander was referring to was of course the fact that he had covertly lent the noble princess out to the peasant masses of Zanzan for a mere pittance in such a degrading way, letting them treat her in the most base manners possible.
In fact, before Alexander introduced it, the common people did not even know women could be treated in such a lowly manner.
So for the Matrak princess to be the first to be shown in that way… tied up, with just her pristine, alabaster butt and beautiful pink organs exposed out of the pleasure wall, letting anyone and everyone experience her most noble of facilities every week like a cheap sleeve. They even got to see her beautifully pee and some even showered her with theirs.
All this was certainly very humiliating for her.
'Hehehe, I wonder how Mikaya's 'to be husband' would feel if he came to know about this? He would probably punch me to death…. if he believes me at all. *Tsk*... too bad I did not have any way to keep any pictures!' And while imagining all the debauched sceneries he made the girl through, Alexander could not help but also smirk.
'No, what am I thinking!' But as soon as Alexander thought about it like this, regret over his actions came rushing back as in exchange for the momentary pleasure of shaming the girl, he now had to deal with this great mess.
Alexander could easily imagine Mikaya holding him hostage over this, even if all of it was consensual on her part. After all, she very well knew the man's malicious intention behind his pleasing actions.
So just like Alexander exploited her desire for sex to degrade her, Mikaya could also easily exploit his desire to marry her nieces to get great benefits.
'Shit! She might even ask for a bigger chuck than her father! Should I tell Nanazin about it?' Alexander seriously weighed.
'No, this is too embarrassing,' But at the end of the day, found confessing his 'crimes' too shameful. Stay connected with My Virtual Library Empire
Lady Nanazin and Mikaya were clearly close, so for the Adhanian queen to learn how her friend had been treated… Alexander did not want to even think about the kind of looks the mature lady would give upon learning of his perverse acts.
It might not be a direct admonishment but she would certainly disapprove, even blaming him for being short sighted.
In fact, Alexander thought he could already hear Lady Nanazin's sharp, objecting voice piercing his ears,
'How could you do something so foolish? You know Mikaya is like that… of course that loose b… girl is going to love it. But what about you? Can you take it when she returns the favor? How foolish! *Sigh*, forget the letter asking for her help…. I will instead write an apology letter on your behalf.'
The Zanzan Pasha did not want to hear all this nagging.
So he quickly expressed his thanks for the help, "Hmm… that will be really good. Thank you," while promising himself, 'I will deal with Mikaya and her father by myself.'
And then, feeling there was nothing to discuss, finished by chiming,
"..Nanazin...I will marry Azura and Azira no matter what… regardless of what anyone might say. This might be cold and cruel to them, but they are politically too precious to let them fall into another's hands."
It was unknown whether Alex was speaking to her or just to himself, wanting to reinforce his determination to do this regardless of the obstacles.
"Mmmm… of course you will master." While Lady Nanazin simply nodded while brushing the man's hair through her fingers and smiled, "Let me be the first to congratulate you on your fifth wife! Let them bear lots of healthy sons for you."
This was a typical greeting for newlywed couples in Adhania, and Lady Nanazin seemed genuinely happy for her nieces.
While to Alexander, what seemed truly interesting was how the Adhanian Queen had given the twins a single number designation for his wife- both were called the fifth wife.
Now, this was because religiously as well as legally, identical twins were seen as a single person, just with two different bodies. And even more interestingly, fraternal twins were not given the same status, but treated as different individuals, even though they were also born simultaneously,
This was one of the many quirks of Adhanian law.
And in this case, Alexander quite liked this arrangement. Because it absolved him of the responsibility of choosing who was the fifth and who was the sixth.
Even a blind him could imagine how the sisters, who always saw each other as equals, would bicker over him favoring one more than the other.
"I look forward to attending the Zanzan ceremony. When will you host?"
His thoughts were finally broken by this sweet tone from above, as Lady Nanazin posed.
Now, it was of course a given that Alexander was going to hold two ceremonies for the twins, one in the capital where he planned to get married, and then once again in his home city after he got back.
This was also quite a prevalent culture among both the nobles as well as the 'well to do commoners'- to travel to the sacred city to get married and then come back to have a second 'wedding feast' in the man's hometown.
For the former- this had great political implications, as having the chance to receive the blessing of the king- Ramuh's son on earth greatly legitimized the union and brought the two concerned noble families together.
Because marriages in this time period were that- a ceremony to bring each house closer as allies. And anyone would think twice about breaking off a marriage through divorce that had been overseen by the king himself- it was seen as being greatly disrespectful.
It was also seen as undeniable proof of the royal family's favor over the two families, giving them greater prestige among the nobility.
While for the common people- they only traveled to Adhan to try and have a priest from the Grand Temple oversee their ceremony.
For them, this was equivalent to the king's blessing, as the clergy here were thought to be the among the closest to Ramuh and so much more likely to have their prayers answered.
Then, if they were lucky, they might even be allowed to be blessed to bathe in the Life Sea, a ritual that was thought to cleanse oneself of all sins.
In fact, there was a whole business of middlemen, brokers, and even syndicates in Adhan just focused on this trade- arranging the required priest to preside over one's marriages as well as selling quotas for entering the Life Sea.
This was because the demand for both services was predictably overwhelming… despite the astronomical prices.
Even a 'normal' priest cost a few thousand ropals to hire, and it could turn to up to ten thousand if the clergy was an experienced senior.
But even then, people with the ability still flocked to them. Because as they say- 'You only get married once!'
Many would even borrow or sell their life savings just for this chance- to bring god's blessing into their life.
While the clergy also could not always serve these people- one because they had a reputation to hold, and it would look bad for men of the cloth to indulge so freely in filthy human desires like money and business.
But more so because they had to devote a large part of their time to other things- one of which was also overseeing the marriage ceremonies of nobles.
This was one of the temple's obligations to the nobility and they had to prioritise them over any regular appointment.
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