Duke Claude Rowanhart is many things. A father, husband, and brother to his family. A leader and problem solver to the noble faction. In being part of the noble faction, he's certain that the imperial family has its eyes on him. After all, they've managed to maintain their hold on the empire for thousands of years.
But all good things must come to an end—not that Claude would necessarily say the emperor is considered a "good thing." Still, the time is right for change.
Because among all the things that Duke Claude Rowanhart is, greedy and ambitious are at the top. He won't deny it, of course. If a noble claims that they're neither greedy nor ambitious, then they're a liar.
Except for one noble who's been a thorn in the noble faction's side for far too long.
Duke Alaric Barrowmere.
Claude's quill snaps under the pressure of his grip, splattering ink on the papers scattered over his desk. He obliged the emperor's order by sending Lenore to marry Barrowmere's duke in place of Alina, and he was glad that he had the foresight to take Lenore into his home when she was young. Even then, he knew she'd be more useful to him than to his little brother, Edric.
Lenore was a quiet, obedient child. A way to keep Edric from coveting the position of duke and trying to overthrow him. It's what Claude would do if their situations were reversed, and as much as he hates to admit it, Edric has something he doesn't.
A son.
The family elders brought that fact up repeatedly in their annual meetings. Claude knows that he needs an heir, but he only has a daughter and a wife who now secludes herself at the villa because the weight of expectations became too much.
A mistress is his only option if he wants an heir who shares his blood, and he knows time is running out before the elders bring up the issue again. Except he has no way to make Edric tell them that he's not interested in taking his brother's title, because Lenore is in Barrowmere.
How frustrating that he had to trade his solution to one problem for the sake of solving another, but he doesn't regret it. He has time before the next annual meeting, and Alina is still in Rowanhart. As an added bonus, Barrowmere doesn't gain any power with Lenore as its duchess. Not when her father is a simple viscount with only enough power and resources to manage his small territory within the duchy.
Yes, for now, the situation is manageable. He doesn't have a lot of time to plan his next steps, but he has enough time to make Alina the crown princess. With the crown prince at the point where he'll need to choose his bride soon, he's made Alina into the perfect candidate.
While he can't prove it, he suspects that's part of the reason that the emperor sent that marriage order. Few families hold the prestige of Rowanhart, and the emperor knows that the best bride in theory is Alina. But if Alina was sent to Barrowmere, it's easy for the crown prince to choose a bride with a lower status. That way he can strengthen his ties with a family in the imperial faction.
Well, that's not how it worked out for the imperial family, and Claude silently praises himself for listening to the paranoia that had him bring Lenore into his home in the first place.
"You're certain that there's no indication that the prince is going to announce that he's searching for crown princess candidates during the festival celebrating the emperor's birthday?" Claude asks.
His aide shakes his head. "The spies you assigned to the palace say that it looks like the event will be the same as last year, and there's not any evidence that the crown princess selection is being prepared."
"What is he waiting for? There's usually a crown princess when the price reaches this age, so why is it being delayed this time?"
The aide stays calm in the face of Claude's anger. "It seems like they're searching for a way to pick a lady from a family on their side."
Claude pinches the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache start to form. "How stubborn of them."
"Do you want the spies to keep digging for related information?"
"I'm not sure there's anything else to find. Call them back. I'll give them a new assignment for the birthday banquet."
"I will send out the message, my lord."
"Dismissed."
With a quick bow, the aide leaves the room. Claude is once more alone, but the silence of his study doesn't help him figure out his next steps. This isn't the only opportunity that the imperial family can use to announce the start of the crown princess selection process, but he's familiar enough with history to know that it's the most common event used for that announcement. After all, it makes sense to look toward the next emperor and empress during an event marking that the current emperor is another year older.
However, making the announcement this year would've made his life easier. At this point, it feels like the emperor is trying to wait out the time that Claude has to marry off Alina, like he can force him to pick a different suitor for her. Unlike Claude, the emperor doesn't have to worry about who will inherit his position.
So again, it comes back to the issue of Claude not having a son. But it's not as if Alina could be entrusted with the duchy. She's not interested in any position aside from crown princess, and he's not sure that she'd be able to handle the pressure that comes with running a duchy.
He tries to think about the pawns he still has at his disposal. Is there any way that he could force the emperor to start the crown princess selection faster? All he needs is for Alina to have a son with the crown prince so that the future emperor will be part of the Rowanhart family through blood.
How unfortunate that the world is working against his creation of a puppet emperor. It leads him to wonder if he can get anymore use out of Edric and his family.