A self-deprecating smile played on his features as he continued: “Rasantark is a bona fide knight of Dunkelfelger. He has the utmost faith in you and extols you for the part you played in true ditter. I, however... As much as I care about you, I cannot put my trust in someone who would betray her duchy at such a crucial moment and continue to waver despite having suitors chosen by her father.”
Kenntrips’s admission cut me deep. Although I had since made up for my shameful actions, it did not change the fact I had turned my back on both my duchy and his feelings. Perhaps I had no right to feel wounded, but that did nothing to ease the pain of such a biting remark from someone I had known since I was a child.
“Follow your own path,” Kenntrips said, clenching his sound-blocker so tightly that his hand trembled. “I cannot speak for anyone else, but if your feelings are strong enough for you to cross your own duchy, then I would rather you act in a manner befitting a Dunkelfelger archduke candidate and embrace them rather than keep them hidden.”
“And what do you mean by that...?”
“Remember, if you would, how Lady Magdalena propositioned Lord Trauerqual, or how Clarissa secured an engagement with Lord Hartmut to join Lady Rozemyne’s retinue. Ehrenfest might not understand bride-stealing ditter, but they should have no misconceptions about how the women of our duchy propose.”
For the second time that day, Kenntrips’s normally gray eyes swirled with colors betraying the intensity of his emotions. So passionate was his gaze that I could practically feel it boring into me.
“In short,” he said, “if you cannot obtain Lady Rozemyne’s aid, then propose to Lord Wilfried and secure conditions for your engagement.”
I understood what Kenntrips was saying. For as long as there was a chance I might betray my brother again, it was safer for me to marry into another duchy. Still, I could not agree with his suggestion.
“It is not easy to propose in such a manner; one needs great resolve and a certain strength of emotion. Furthermore, it is not something to be done at the prompting of another. You might be one of my suitors, but that does not mean you can intrude upon matters of my heart.”
Kenntrips’s eyes widened in response to my somewhat harsh rebuke. He put a hand to his forehead, and the tension between us evaporated in an instant. My longtime friend had finally returned to me.
“At the risk of sounding rude, I see you are as laid-back as ever. Our desperation does not get through to you at all.”
“Do elaborate,” I said, my brow furrowed. As far as I was concerned, I understood his worries as my brother’s retainer more than well enough.
“You have entered a most important year of your education. Most students will use this time to choose their escort partner and start thinking about marriage. Some will even arrange formal engagements. You know that, do you not?”
The blood drained from my face as Kenntrips addressed me as one would a child yet to be baptized. If he thought it necessary to explain something so obvious, then I must have been overlooking a most important detail.
“Your father, the aub, instructed you to choose your fiancé, and put Rasantark and me forward as candidates. You have until the Archduke Conference to decide—but if you intend to choose between the two of us, then you have only until the date of my graduation.”
Indeed, to present Kenntrips to the Zent as my future husband without raising any eyebrows, I would need to escort him at the end of winter. Not making up my mind before his graduation would result in Rasantark becoming my fiancé by default.
“Yes, I understand that much,” I said, prompting Kenntrips to continue.
“However, rather than choosing one of us, you are seeking ways to marry into another duchy. You wish to wed into Ehrenfest, if possible, do you not?”
I could not deny the truth: I really was looking for a way out of Dunkelfelger. That was why I had been so pleased by Lord Ortwin’s words, and so disappointed when Lord Wilfried had barely even reacted to them.
“Even if you were to accept Lord Ortwin’s feelings, you would need to decide upon a stance over the socializing season and work out how best to refuse Korinthsdaum’s proposal. You would need to lay the groundwork to persuade both of your parents before the Interduchy Tournament, and convince your father that it is a good idea to let you marry into Drewanchel.”
Father had chosen Kenntrips and Rasantark as my suitors. I had assumed I could postpone my decision until the time of Lord Ortwin’s and my graduation, but no—unless I made the proper arrangements to change my father’s mind, Rasantark would remain my only choice when the next Archduke Conference came around.
Oh my... I have less time than I thought.
“If you decide to pursue Lord Wilfried, then you have even less time,” Kenntrips stressed. “You would do well to know that Ehrenfest’s archduke candidates are being bombarded with proposals, owing to their connection to Lady Rozemyne.”
Ehrenfest ranked eighth in this year’s duchy rankings. But before Lady Rozemyne had entered the Royal Academy, it had sat about seven places lower—and in the years before the civil war, it had remained near the very bottom. Thus, all duchies, no matter their rank, were in a position to send proposals to its archduke candidates.
“Someone set to become an archduke or archduchess has the luxury of choosing their ideal partner, due to the long-term considerations they need to make, but other archduke candidates tend to have their partners selected for them, and their marriages serve to improve interduchy relations. I would imagine that, by now, Aub Ehrenfest has given Lord Wilfried several candidates to choose from.”