"What, you're unwilling?" Just as Nalant's thoughts churned and he hesitated, Bernard frowned and spoke.
Stella beside him also looked nervous.
"No... no, My Lord Earl. I'd be willing ten thousand times over to take Miss Stella as my wife. I was just too excited and didn't react right away!"
Nalant hurriedly replied.
If he dared say no now, Bernard would definitely kill him and leave him unburied.
And he would break the heart of this Flower of Tulip.
Of course, he had no reason to refuse either. Stella was exactly his type.
"Very good! Then your engagement to Stella is settled! As for the gift for marrying my daughter, I won't demand anything. I don't mind however much you're willing to give—as long as the formalities are observed!"
"As for Stella's dowry, that territory from before counts for part of it. As for the rest, it seems you lack nothing at present. If you need anything in the future, bring it up with me!"
"Yes, My Lord Earl!" Nalant immediately answered.
He thought that the earl truly was generous. Not only did he not require a bride price, he even allowed Nalant to name the dowry.
Of course, he also knew that this carried a faint hint of marrying into the family.
But as a modern man, he was not so rigid about such things. After all, a doctor had once told him that his stomach was weak, so he needed to live off a woman...
"Very good. Then let tonight's banquet officially begin! Take Stella down and have a dance!"
An engagement was merely an agreement to marry, so there were no particular procedures—especially since Nalant was Bernard's vassal.
Thus, all Bernard needed to do was announce it before his vassals, and the marriage between the two was