reznikolai | I N B O X

[Nikolai enjoys it perhaps a little too much, briefly pretending that his only obstacle to marriage is that he hasn't found the right girl yet. It's certainly preferable to the reality of it. That he has a secret, a literal inner demon, that would send any woman with two wits to rub together running in the opposite direction. That he cannot wait for love, because time is running out. That marriage can only be a political game for him, and he has no choice but to play.

His eyes are back on Konoha.]

You think so?

[He looks as though the idea has never occurred to him. Of course, his potential bride's dowry was yet another factor in Zoya's calculations as she gathered her list of candidates. It was the reason she kept pushing him toward Hiram Schenck's oh-so-eligible daughters. Having a father-in-law on Kerch's Merchant Council would be a huge boon to a debt-laden king.]

Do you think I might impress a wealthy merchant's daughter? [A grin, as if enjoying a private joke.] A duke's daughter? A princess?

Of course I think so.

[Konoha answers with the surety of a woman who saw very little merit or need to say something she didn't honestly believe. Well, of course there were times when one should be more diplomatic, especially with samurai or nobility in her social caste driven culture, but. They're just two people here, so why say something that she didn't think was true?

(Hah).]

I don't know about a lady that high class, since they have all sorts of rules to follow whether they're in love or not, but I think you could definitely marry a merchant's daughter!

[As much as she loved a good love story... She was a realist as well, and as charming as he was she couldn't imagine a duke or an emperor allowing their daughter to marry a ship's captain, no matter how dashing and gentlemanly he was... (An affair, well, maybe, depending on how discrete they were? But this is marriage talk!)]

And then you could go into business with her father and you'd probably make even more money!

[Love and business success!]

[Indeed, he knows all too well the rules that bind those with titles to bear. The higher the status, the tighter the expectations. But there is little point in worrying about that here. In a way, he's been granted a reprieve from the ticking time bomb of his search for a bride.

He smiles brightly at Konoha.]

An excellent proposition, Miss Konoha. Should I need advice in matters of love in the future, I'm certain I can rely on your wisdom and experience.

[He doesn't intend to fall in love here. It is only a temporary stay. Someday — he is determined — he must return to Ravka, his first love, his truest love, and whomever he meets here he cannot take with him.]

[Excellent, he says, and Konoha beams a little bit, glad to be told her idea held merit when she had become... admittedly somewhat used to her way of thinking not being as applicable in other worlds and these sorts of strange, energy-generating touch lands. She didn't have the education nor the imagination to conjure up ways to somehow manipulate time and space and magic to get them all back to their proper worlds, but.]

If it's love advice... you can leave it to me!

[... and, as she would soon prove, he could also leave the consumption of quesadillas, fajitas, burritos, and fish tacos to her as well, possessed of two stomachs in need of feeding to fuel a body over half a ton in weight.

At the very least, their hand holding at least produced enough manna to offset the bill...]

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