Chapter 10

ALERA'S POV

I couldn't believe I had never thought of it, it was so obvious. If I wanted to protect Ezra without raising suspicion or giving anyone a reason to question my intentions, then I had to marry him.

I would be able to stay by his side, know where he was, know what he was doing, and, most importantly, protect him whenever necessary.

I would get to see him, I would get to admire him more and I wouldn't have to come up with some ridiculous excuse for constantly being around the Grand Duke.

I could simply say that I was his wife.

The thought alone made me want to smile.

My words were met with complete shock.

The men in the room went silent for several moments, staring at me as though I had suddenly announced that I wanted to marry the king himself.

I didn't blame them.

They had probably come here expecting to secure a marriage between the prince and Princess Alera. Instead, I rejected their prince and volunteered to marry the most powerful unmarried man in the kingdom.

And that man happened to be his uncle.

The situation was certainly unexpected.

"But Your Highness..." Count Rowan finally spoke.

I looked at him.

"The Grand Duke might not accept this arrangement. He has been against marriage his whole life."

I nearly smiled, of course he would say that.

Ezra had no interest in marriage in the original story. He was devoted to his duties and had never shown any interest in settling down. But that didn't mean he would refuse this. Ezra was loyal, he cared about the kingdom, he would do what was necessary for his people.

"Well, if you want this arrangement, you'll have to convince him," I replied clearly.

The count stared at me.

I remained perfectly calm.

"If this is important for your kingdom, and he is a good man, then he'll definitely accept."

That was just the kind of man he was, he would put his responsibilities before his personal desires and that was exactly why I loved him so much.

I didn't even want his love.

I wasn't asking for his heart, I didn't need him to look at me with affection or fall desperately in love with me. As long as I could protect him, he could do whatever he pleased.

If he wanted to keep his distance, fine, if he wanted to focus on his duties, fine, if he wanted to spend most of his time away from me, I would accept it.

All I wanted was for him to live, to have the future he deserved.

Of course, there was a slight double standard here.

Luke was just a stupid love sick fool while Ezra was a man.

A mature man and responsible man and, most importantly, Ezra had never had a love interest in the book.

So there was no woman I would have to worry about. so we would get married, problem solved

The men clearly didn't see it that way.

"We'll have to convince him," one of them said.

"I imagine that will take a lot." another added

They sounded like they were trying to reason with me. Maybe they thought I would suddenly change my mind once I realized how difficult it would be.

I almost laughed, I already made my decision.

"Well, I guess you have a lot to do then, don't you?"

I smiled sweetly.

"Don't worry. I have a lot of time."

I paused.

"But I don't think you do"

I left the words hanging in the air.

I didn't need to say anything else, the implication was obvious. If they wanted this alliance badly enough, they could figure out how to make it happen.

The men exchanged glances.

I could see them trying to figure out what to do next.

Good.

Let them worry about that

They came here expecting everything to go according to their plans, now they had a completely different problem.

They needed to convince the Grand Duke Ezra Dalio to marry me.

They looked lost as I watched them gather themselves and prepare to leave.

The prince was the last one to move.

Luke looked at me.

I looked back at him... with a bored gaze. I had no interest in him and I think her already figured that out.

Eventually, he looked away, they all walked out, the door closing behind them.

Silence settled over the study.

I finally turned toward my father. He was looking at me with a serious expression.

For a moment, he said nothing.

Then he spoke.

"So you don't want a young prince, and you don't want to be queen..."

His tone was almost questioning.

I looked at him.

"No, Father."

I shook my head.

"I don't want to be tempted by material things."

My father continued watching me.

"What use is it being queen if I have to live a miserable life?"

The words came naturally.

I meant them.

What was the point of becoming queen if the price was spending my life tied to a man I couldn't stand?....what was the point of having a crown if I had to constantly watch my husband run after another woman?

I would rather give up the title, and if that quieter life happened to be with Ezra...Well that would be perfect.

My father nodded slowly.

He didn't immediately agree to the marriage, Instead, he told me that he would think about the proposal after investigating the Grand Duke.

That was reasonable.

I wasn't expecting him to immediately approve a marriage between his daughter and the Grand Duke without asking questions.

He was still my father.

And judging from everything I had already seen, he genuinely cared about me.

He would want to know what kind of man I was proposing to marry.

"Thank you, Father."

I bowed.

He gave me a small nod.

I turned and left the study.

The moment the doors closed behind me, a huge smile spread across my face. I couldn't stop it. Everything had gone better than I had anticipated.

Much better.

I had entered this world knowing that I was supposed to die.

I expected to spend the next few days desperately trying to figure out how to avoid Alera's fate. Instead, I had already managed to change one of the most important parts of the story.

I wasn't going to marry Luke.

I wasn't going to become trapped in the same miserable marriage Alera had suffered through in the novel.

And, even better...

I had found a way to get close to Ezra.

I was going to get married to Ezra.

The thought made my heart flutter.