HERALD OF STEEL

Alexander would try to spend as time as possible during the journey with the two princesses, intending to bring them over to his side regarding the marriage.

The hope was they would intercede on his behalf to the elder Pasha Farzah.

Initially this proved difficult as the twins were quite wary of even letting a lone man into their rooms. Due to their religious upbringing, the girls were very guarding of their chastity, much more than normal noblewomen.

But ultimately the smooth talking Alexander, managed to slip past this hurdle, cajoling his way inside with all kinds of stories and games for the girls.

For the bored twins stuck in their small rooms with nothing to do but stare at the endless blue all day, this was a brand new breath of fresh air too attractive to resist.

“Bad man, are you really going to ask grandpa to marry us?”

Finally as the man slowly revealed his intention behind this trip, the more mature Azira turned to ask Alexander with a somewhat curious glance.

He was glad to see that the young girl was not totally opposed to the idea.

“Snort, forget it. There is no way grandpa will agree!” The usually much more feisty Azura however appeared a lot of reticent, sending Alexander a guarded glare.

“You are very impressive, bad man. But grandpa still won’t accept. Your lineage is too low.”

The princess really minched nothing.

“….” The pasha however did not seem much fazed by it and only gave a gentle smile, pausing to ask, “Then who would Your Highness prefer to marry?”

“…” The frank words stuck the rebellious ebony princess’s throat like a fish bone, causing her to lightly cough.

Indeed, they were aware that their list of potential candidates was really tiny.

As for them remaining celebate as priestesses and never marrying, this was politically impossible for someone of their status.

Perhaps they might have been allowed to do so if their father was the king and they were the Sacred Priestess of the Grand Temple.

But for any other member of the clergy…

In fact, the very question of whether priests and priestesses ought to be allowed to have families was a matter of great contention among the Ramuh faith itself, with both sides having its proponents.

The celibacy supporters claimed men of the cloth ought to remove themselves from all worldly affairs and give up all negative emotions like lust, greed, and in general all kinds of want, thus allowing them to focus all their dedication towards the sole worship of their god.

They thus viewed marriage, wife and kids as polluting things that diluted one’s faith and made them much more susceptible to sin- such as a priest perhaps wanting to earn money through unscrupulous means to care for his kid or even just to leave him with a very large inheritance.

This school of thought was mostly followed by priests from common or lower status backgrounds.

The opposing group- one supporting marriage however made completely opposite points.

They said that marriages were a part of life and one would be incomplete without it. So they encouraged it, even claiming the consensual act between a husband and wife was spiritual and let one experience another side of their god- the soft, gentle part.

‘He is called The Father for a reason.’

To further counter the celibate group, this group even proposed that a family made a man actually more moral, because even if he can hide everything from others, he will not be able to with those closest to him- his wife and children.

Thus in order not to humiliate himself, the man will always act with uprightness.

Most nobles and higher class priests were part of this group.

Now it was not hard to see why each group said what it said.

The former mostly consisted of priests who came from a lower position in society. So realistically this was the highest they were going to climb that ladder of power.

These men were in general also much more devout, wanting to just stay in the temple and pray without any disturbance.

The nobles however were of course a very different story. With much greater aspirations, they liberally mixed religion with politics for their gain and thus it was very difficult for them to give up a tool as powerful as marriage.

Not to mention the pure joyousness of the act. That itself was a hard drug to let go.

In fact, fueled by this, Alexander knew from Lady Nanazin that many nobles tried to have priestesses from the local temple attend some of their parties, these fresh, pure women always being in great demand.

Their sacred status and inexperience in bed apparently was an irresistible allure for many.

And given all that he had learned, Alexander was hardly surprised hearing this. He perhaps would have been more surprised if these priestesses were indeed left alone.

A bunch of chaste women surrounded in a den of hungry wolves never ended well.

This was the case even in his previous world, where medieval nuns and priestesses were known to be regularly abused by nobles and thier clergymen.

These men had the privilege to enter these female only monasteries and…. the can be easily imagined.

Sometimes even fellow travelers seeking shelter in those monasteries for the night were known to attack these vulnerable women.

And most of the time, these shamed women would never come forth.

Alexander guessed the same case to be also here, with perhaps only priestesses from noble backgrounds allowed to retain their purity.

Thus the Ramuh faith’s official stance regarding the marriage of their clergy was that priests were allowed to marry but it was highly discouraged.

While priestesses were required to always remain ‘chaste’.

If a priestess really wanted to marry, she was required to completely give up her position and become a commoner.

Although thankfully, due to the reality of the place, the rule was actually a lot more lenient.

Many times priestesses were allowed to remain in the temple, they were just not allowed to openly proclaim their status.

While others, such as with kids, were even given a part time status, with flexible hours.

Alexander even heard of a few nobles officially taking common priestesses as their concubines in this way, letting them work in the temple in the days and in the bed at night.

All these were also known to Azira and Azura as well, although they did not express any thoughts regarding this. These girls were perhaps even less interested in politics than Mean and just let all these things happen while turning a blind eye.

Now however they could see how that perhaps might have not been the best idea. They had no political allies who would let them stay their own grounds.

Alexander thus frankly laid out their options,

“Your highness, from your grandfather’s side, I can confidently say I am the best option your have. In terms of status, wealth and land, there is no substitute.”

“And if you were to go over to your father…. well I would sincerely advise not to. He will possibly send you to an unknown you had never even meet before.”

“So would it not be best if you come with me? You will continue to live as you have for the past five years. And no one will harass you to get married!”

“….” Alexander’s words seemed to greatly resonate with the mature Azira, whose eyes flickered perceptibly. Indeed, she was quite satisfied with her current living arrangements and was not eager to change.

“Hmmm… and what about Uncle Ptolomy?” The much cleverer Azura however was a much more difficult customer, quickly pointing to the third man Alexander had intentionally left out, inquiring what would be his stance and possibly even be a potential suitor.

“Hahaha, His Majesty is married to the Queen Mother and Princess Hellma. He will not be interested.” Alexander however quickly parried the attack with a frank chuckle, then insisted,

“Your Highnesses, I believe your esteemed grandfather will not oppose our marriage if we both insist. And he will easily give in if you ask yourself. So tell me, are you willing to take me as your husband?”

“…..” Azira slanted her eyes to give her sister an inquisitive look, as if waiting to see her answer.

“Bad man… are you going to attack us if we say yes?” As the more guarded sister turned to ask Alexander a very ‘important’ question, crossing her chest with her arms and appearing very wary in the process.

“Pffftt….Hahaha,” It was so cute that Alexander could not help but burst laughing, genuinely amused by the reaction.

“My lady, you lived with me all alone for five years. If I wanted to do anything to you, then I would have done so already. Why would I attack you now… when I am so close? I can officially take you in a few weeks, hahaha. “

Alexander was pleased by the answer and more so by what it implied.

The girls had tacitly agreed to help him against her grandfather.

Meaning Alexander had already won ninety percent of the battle. All he now needed to do was make the appropriate fee payments in the form of gifts and seal the deal.

Hence the two princesses all of a sudden began to appear too beautiful to him.

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