I waited to hear what he would say as he looked down on us. "You two are now as my own sons. You will carry on the name of Clearheart with you and produce me male heirs. If you do so and defend my honor from all of my many vicious enemies, you shall always have a home here with me and my lands." the baron stated seriously. It was not a joke for him to give 2 of his daughters away. This was a huge risk. He was definitely going to lose reputation for this. Enemies might even start to appear now in order to stop this. "Yes, Lord Clearheart. I will make you proud." Byron said sincerely. "I will preserve your house's legacy." I promised. His lips were in a firm, grim line and did not move either way. He did not have much faith in this. At the end of our swearing, he told us to wash up. He would call the local priest and tell them to get ready for a pair of marriages. The servants brought us to the washroom and bathed us. Byron was giving me looks of confusion and at points fear since we were next to each other in the tub. I just ignored him. As far as I was concerned, he was just the plan B.
My clothes were ready after the bath. It was the clothes of a poor noble. That was to say it was well made, but in drab colors. Byron was in a similar outfit. It took several days before the priest got back to him. He had a really big cathedral, but it was due to it being a pilgrimage site. There was a nice chapel in the castle that could be used for the ceremony. He would be getting himself ready and come to the castle to marry us. I smiled as it was soon. A good thing would be to get married and start baby making right away. However, that was the day that a couple of young nobles came by to stay here with us. Oscar Brightlife and Robert Armlight were children of his older sisters in marriages to other families. Because they were males, they would be the ones that would be first in line to inherit the barony. They both obviously knew this as well. "Uncle, we have come to call on you and keep you and your daughters company." Oscar said with high amounts of cheer. Robert teasingly said "You wouldn't mind that, would you Uncle?" Baron Clearheart looked at them. "Stay as long as you'd like."
Not caring about his opinion anyway, they turned to us nekojin. "Why are beastkin here!?" Oscar asked. The baron asked if they were aware of the Cat Pack. Oscar did a lot of artistic pursuits, so he did not know. Robert did and his face lit up. "You bought them as gladiators!? That's crazy." He then looked at me. Robert just looked at us disappointed. "I saw your match that time with the Dark Horse! It was great." He smiled bright at me. I reached out my hand to shake. "It's nice to meet you." I said. His face immediately soured. "Why would I ever shake a slave's paw? Put that down." he demanded. "Unfortunately, they are not slaves. I freed them." Oscar smiled. It was an energetic smile at that. "Thank goodness, uncle. You know that I don't care much for slavery. I've always looked up to how well you treat and pay the servants. That's why you don't have that many." he praised. The baron's lips curled up. Even he was weak to flattery. "I am glad you feel that way. I have always had an affinity for cats. It was nice. Seeing these nekojin fight moved me to buy them all." he explained to them.
Only Oscar seemed to think it was a good idea. "You need to think of your finances, Uncle. What will you and your daughters do while you wait for your pension?" Robert snapped. The baron turned to him and said "We have a small amount of money. The serfs are very productive here." He was calm. "Well, while I'm glad that they are free, but why are they here? Are they going to live here as mercenaries?" Oscar asked. "For the most part. While you are here, you will be privy to a wedding ceremony. I will be announcing this to the people of the surrounding villages today." They looked at him in surprise. "This seems a bit extravagant for servants or villagers. Who is getting married?" Robert inquired. Smiling, the baron called Elise and Cassandra forward. They came as called, but Elise was obviously happier about this. "I will see 2 of my daughters married to good matches while I still live. A proud day for any father." The 2 raised eyebrows at this. "Who will be their husbands!? I have heard nothing about this at court." Oscar said. This was obviously a big power play towards them.
