The chapter is brought to you by マカロニ (Marcaroni) by Perfume.
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A few days after the "duel that was not a duel" between Tobus and Rowan, an air of animosity remained between the Calyptos and the Monttevis.
Lord Monttevi was unhappy with Tobus pointing a blade at his one and only child and heir. He was even more so when he found out the man had driven Rowan to tears in the middle of the city square.
Even after Tobus ended up being the person to comfort his crying teenage son--which was weird, by the way, like what the hell?--made him no less willing to forgive the offense.
"Tobus!"
Another day, another brawl fueled with a little more resentment than usual broke out in the city.
The ground was littered with the bodies of fallen mercenaries dressed in Calypto red and Monttevi blue.
They were all breathing and alive, just unconscious and bruised.
A few of the more aggressive offenders earned themselves a few cuts here and there, and their coats and shirts were absolutely shredded beyond repair.
At the very center of this mess stood Tobus, who was frowning at the display of patheticness around him.
Belwyn Monttevi was once again a step too late in stopping his beating spree.
Some of the men on the ground wished he could be a little more faster in containing Tobus' violent brand of peacekeeping instead of daydreaming about the man.
"... Again?" Belwyn was more dismayed than panicked at the sight of a pile of unconscious bodies in front of him.
Tobus sheathed his daggers and brushed off nonexistent dust out of his coat. He didn't have a single hair out of place as he calmly walked pass the bodies.
He came upon two of them and picked them up by the back of their coats. He hauled one over his shoulder and carried another in his arms.
"Kittens," Tobus explained with a blank face.
Belwyn looked at the two in pity.
Tobus walked away, leaving Belwyn to deal with the rest.
---
Valerius stormed into the Elder Council with barely repressed killing intent.
He slammed the door shut and slapped the offending paper on a desk before the elders.
"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded.
Elder Grem blinked his squinty eyes. His overall appearance was not unlike that of a snapping turtle.
"Huh?" he croaked. "A little louder, boy! Too blind to read your lips!"
No one would ever believe these were the same men and women in charge of forty-five percent of the decision-making process in House Calypto.
"You engaged my daughter to my nephew!" Valerius shouted.
It was Elder Hort, who had better eyesight than most in the Elder Council, who calmly nodded. "Yes."
Valerius took a deep breath. "Why?" he gritted out.
"The boy does not have Calypto blood in his veins, but he is a valuable asset. Putting him with your daughter will strengthen the bloodline."
"They're cousins!"
"Ah," Elder Meer smiled as if she had discovered a scientific breakthrough worthy of an Imperial Honor, "But his father is half-brother to your wife."
Elder Vink nodded in agreement. "Yes, cousins have married in this House before and their blood relations were much closer. Your daughter and nephew should have no problem."
"Those cousins were at least third-degree cousins!" Valerius didn't know how much he needed to stretch the problem of incest before the elders understood the actual problem. "Also, all of them divorced and left Vesna after the wedding ceremony."
Elder Hort turned his nose up to the air and crossed his arms. "Well, who else should we betroth her to? That boy from the Stella House had already rejected our proposal--"
"You did what?!"
"--and nobody else fits the qualification to be her husband."
Valerius' mind was reeling at what the elders had done.
Which Stella boy? Mercury? Venus? Pluto? Whoever the "boy from the Stella House" was, of course, he would have rejected the proposal! The Stellas were a neutral house! If Eartha found out his House wanted an engagement with his heirs, he would be incensed.
"Bah, Valerius, don't be such a wet cat," Elder Meer said, shaking her head, "Marriage is a good thing, and every woman loves a good wedding. Back in my day, marriages were so common. I had over fifty husbands over the years--though it was too bad most of them died of natural causes--and Jovette will, unfortunately, have to marry once in her lifetime. Let her live a little and experience the joy of becoming a wife."
Valerius would have very much liked to point out that back in Elder Meer's day, she was an assassin known as the Scarlet Widow and would marry her targets before killing them and stealing all their wealth.
And also, what "let her live a little"? Was marriage something that could be done all willy-nilly? It was a commitment of a lifetime and the elders were treating it like a summer vacation!
"Times have changed, Elder Meer. Jovette will not accept a marriage at her age, and being told her marriage partner is her own cousin will make her reject the proposal on the spot. And what of Tobus? Can you say for sure that he will even consider such a thing?"
Both Elder Meer, Elder Hort, and Elder Vink made a face like they had eaten a particularly sour lemon.
Elder Grem cupped his hand to his ear. "Huh?! Say it a little louder, boy!"
Valerius threw his hands into the air.
"Not to mention, if you have all forgotten, the Distinguished Protector of the House Heir is not allowed to marry their protectee. All of you signed the paper decreeing this thirty years ago when I married my wife!"
Elder Vink blustered. "W-well, we could have Tobus step down from the role--"
"You also signed the decree that made the role a lifetime position forty years ago."
"Oh... we did?"
Valerius sighed. The elders' memories were getting worse and worse every year.
"And Tobus already took the binding vow, which you all consented to when you signed the approval form."
"..."
The elders pouted and sulked and complained about youth and their foggy memories before finally relenting.
Elder Grem took the marriage contract and slowly stood up. He made his way over to the furnace and threw the contract into the flame.
He gave Valerius a toothless smile.
"You know, I told them we didn't need that shipment of funny hats. Doesn't look good on my head, seeing as I'm lacking in hair. Good thing you said no, my Lady."
Then he walked away.
Valerius covered his face with his hands.
Why was this his life?
He picked up Dog--who had followed him into the room--and left.
---
"You engaged my daughter to my nephew!"
Puck's eyes went wide.
He slowly backed away from the door and made a run for it.
Who knew practicing his sneaking skills would make him stumble upon this super-secret-confidential-needed-to-be-told-right-now information?
He burst into the Sun Room with a crazed look on his face, and without pausing, he shouted, "Toby! The elders are engaging you to Lady Jovette!"
Unfortunately, the Sun Room was filled with everyone except Toby.
Puck ran out, screaming Toby's name, leaving everyone else shouting and demanding an explanation.
---
"My Lady, is it true?!"
Jovette jolted in her chair the moment Ophelia slammed her door open and shouted the question at her.
"Wh-what?"
Ophelia looked frantic. "Is it true that you and Toby are getting married?!"
"Hah?!"
She immediately dropped everything she was doing and rushed out the door.
---
Nine was brushing some of the cats in the courtyard with Quin and Juno--their punishment for being in another brawl--when Pluto suddenly showed up.
"Is it true?" he gasped, his focus entirely on Nine.
Otto groaned and buried his head into Hungry.
Nine put his brown down and blinked at Pluto in confusion. The other man had his fists clenched at his side and gasping as though he had run all the way from the Stella Estate.
"What?" Nine finally said.
"You--are you and Lady Jovette engaged?!"
"Huh?"
Juno made an odd choking sound and Quin stared at him in shock.
Nine blinked.
"What--"
Pluto let out an ugly sob,--to Nine's continued confusion--and ran out of the courtyard.
They were left in stunned silence.
A few minutes later, as he was removing a mat on Dog's chest, Venus raced into the courtyard.
"Is it true?!" he yelled, grabbing Nine by the shoulders.
"What--"
"Did you and Lady Jovette elope?!"
"How--"
But before he could even say anything to Venus, Bel came running toward him at lighting speed.
"Tobus!" Bel shouted, his face desperate and disbelieving. "You're marrying Jovette?!"
Then, all his kittens came out of the building, Jovette and Ophelia right at their heel, and made their way over.
"Toby, why are we engaged?!"
"Lady Jovette!" It seemed Rowan had also heard the news.
Though what news it was, Nine still had no idea.
"Are you marrying Toby?!"
Within a single afternoon, the entire city of Vesna knew the Heir of House Calypto was set to marry Tobus Arcadia.
---
That night, during dinner, Nine joined Jovette, his Lord Uncle, and his Lady Aunt in their private quarters.
"Lord Uncle," he said.
His Lord Uncle looked up from his plate. "What is it, Tobus?"
"Am I marrying Jovette?"
His Lord Uncle started to choke on air.
"Cough! Cough...!" his Lady Aunt patted him on the back harshly to dislodge the air from his throat. "Wh-what? Where did you hear about this?"
Nine pursed his lips. "Everyone."
"Everyone."
"Everyone knows. I was the last to find out."
His Lord Uncle had a pained expression on his face like someone had stabbed him twice in the gut and then salted the wound with coarse sea salt.
His Lady Aunt had stopped eating and was staring at his Lord Uncle with an unreadable expression.
"No one is getting married," his Lord Uncle assured him.
Both Nine and Jovette quietly sighed in relief.
"It's all a misunderstanding, I assure you. The elders thought they were being brilliant and believed the match was better than the discovery of magic stones. I argued it was not and they finally conceded to my reasons."
Jovette looked as if she had seen salvation.
"Thank the gods, father. I thought I needed to elope with Rowan or something after hearing the news."
Silence enveloped the table.
Clang!
His Lord Uncle had dropped his fork and knife.
"What?"
Nine also turned to his baby cousin. He tilted his head.
"I think I injured my head when I was speaking to Lord Uncle. Can you repeat what you just said?"
Jovette smiled tightly and stood up.
"This has been a lovely dinner. Mother, Father, Toby, have a wonderful evening."
Then she made a swift exit out of the room.
Nine got out of his seat and made his way over to the window.
"Where are you going?" his Lord Uncle demanded.
"Monttevi Compound."
"Wait, no--Tobus? Tobus! Come back here! At least let her explain first!"
He jumped out and disappeared into the night.
---
End of Part V
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The author has something to say:
I decided to end Part V with something funny. The main storyline of Poison-Laced Dagger is not over yet. There are still a few more plot points to get through, and I assure you, it will not end in death. Anyway, who's your favorite character so far? There's like, over twenty by now, but I'm interested to hear from you on who you like best ^^.