Although Green, as Duke of Northwest Province, counted among the high nobility, he had always remained outside the Kingdom's inner circle of decision-makers.
Only after Cyrabelle took the throne did Green enter that circle. But now that he had revealed even greater strength, he was bound to disrupt the balance that had only just settled.
Grand Duke Prady felt this most keenly. As a former king and an elder of the royal family, he had to consider the interests of both his lineage and the Kingdom. With Green so powerful and the royal family in a weaker position, this was hardly good news for the Prady Lineage.
The one consolation was that Green had backed Cyrabelle's rise to the throne, and the two were on good terms. There was no need to worry that he coveted the crown. Still, Grand Duke Prady, steeped in the thinking of the nobility, did not feel entirely secure. He began considering ways to strengthen Green's ties to the Lorenzo Kingdom.
A marriage alliance was usually the best approach, and one noble families used all the time.
The trouble was that Green was a Necromancer.
Ideally, Grand Duke Prady would have married Cyrabelle to Green. That would make Green the queen's consort, and their children would naturally inherit the throne. It would do the most to secure his loyalty to the Lorenzo Kingdom while removing any danger of him coveting the crown.
But Green was a Necromancer. If he married Cyrabelle, whether they could even have children was a serious question.
The other option was Princess Mulesina. They were well matched in status and position. Both were Necromancers, and they shared business interests. A closer union would seem only natural.
Yet they would face the same question of whether they could have children. Besides, a